I hope you slept well and woke up as radiant and [ahem] 'refreshed' as Viola here. Thanks to all the faithful UK readers checking in with The Film Experience each morning. If you're feeling extra chipper, say hello in the comments.
Are you still trying to adjust to the new season --you're suddenly indoors a lot? Come to TFE each day for movie fun. Here's 10 highlights from the month that was...
Mamma Mia! ~ here it goes again. my my how can one describe it? Nobody Puts Angie in a Corner ~ Attack of the 50 Ft Woman or Oscar-baiting? Big Willie Shakespeare Style ~ Falling in (Shakespeare in) Love Again. Once More Into the Web ~ some thoughts on Spider-Man's place within the prevailing superhero culture... Batman dark, Iron Man snark, Wolverine bark. Little Shop of Horrors ~ I relished the chance to revisit the strange unusual plant but especially its namesake, the one and only "Audrey", created by Ellen Greene.
Oscars for My Birthday? How Kind ~ a true (dream) story Revive the Silents ~ TFE readers are fun. I love reading your answers to my questions. Elinor Dashwood's Sensibility ~Monologue Mondays returns for a third season Naked Gold Man: Baby Steps ~ Oscar annual circus and its repetitive September quirk (we know less than we think we know) EMMY Live Blogging ~ 4 hour continuous blogging can induce insomnia... I've no idea if reading it can do the same. Not for the faint of heart or weak in red carpet stamina
Coming in October Halloween costume ideas, the first real wave of Oscar contenders (Rachel Getting Married, Blindness, Mike Leigh's Happy Go-Lucky and Oliver Stone's W.), Pushing Daisies, a return ticket to Titanic, Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy, NYFF wrap-up, Touch of Evil (50th Anniversary), and 'fiddle-dee-dee'... yes, the one and only Gone With the Wind. Among Other Things.
Debra Winger is not that old. 53 year-olds do not require walking canes when they hit a movie premiere. Oh?! That's a stand to carry Anne Hathaway's giant poster face, you say? My apologies.
The House Next Door has Sheila O'Malley on Paul Newman Danny Miller on the screen giant Self Styled Siren also on the legendary actor (and come to think of it they're three of the writers I was most anxious to read pieces from) INF Daily pics from the set of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Tim's fetish for characters that look like Christina Ricci in Sleepy Hollow continues Nick's Flick Picks a lot of you still haven't voted in our Best Pic tournament. Do that! Spout's Karina Longworth doesn't much like this Che fellow Boy Culture James Franco in Interview Towleroad James Franco in Out. My god, he's everywhere
Scanners 'Sarah Silverman is a genius (still)'... a piece on her YouTube promo for The Great Schlep My New Plaid Pants a moment of silence for the Wedding o' the Week Defamer yet MORE fallout from that Reader release date kerfuffle. In Contention's top 10 Paul Newman performances. We agree heartily on #1.
Opinions on Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) vary from moviegoer to moviegoer -- not everyone responds to super sized style and theatrics but to me the Australian filmmaker is a blessed rarity. He's a real live descendant of the old showman style of filmmaker or Hollywood producer. You can see the D.W. Griffith ambition. You can see the Selznick in him. If he were born before the movies he could have been a circus impresario and, quite obviously, he's Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) in Moulin Rouge!, frantically sweating, pumping up and exploiting his talent and whipping his audiences into a carefully orchestrated frenzy. Baz thinks big. But more importantly, he thinks big naturally. His films, agonizingly slow in coming for fans, never bear the marks of required No. of Setpieces that Hollywood blockbusters do (particularly the action films). There's no straining to pad the running time, no lazy idea-free setpieces make their way in.
Even within his earliest film Strictly Ballroom (1992), which is indisputably modest in budget and story, he's going for the rousing super-sized moment. Consider the "L'Amour" sign (making its first big screen appearance, consider the hair and makeup, consider the triumphant crowd-rocking finale. Consider Paul Mercutio's ass.
Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001), which completed his aesthetic non-narrative "red curtain" trilogy of movies, were yet bigger, pricier and more successful. With each film his budgets, imagination and even the fame of his leading actors seems to increase exponentially. I worry for him a little as a result. His new film, brazenly going by the moniker of Australia stars Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman, two of the most famous stars on earth. It'll either be a big success or be declared a folly. This is probably as big as it gets unless his next film is called The Milky Way with a cast entirely populated by $15-25 million dollar movie stars. Even the extras will have to be household names.
Deep breaths now...
I know people have been asking me my opinion on the new trailer but I'm mostly speechless. I can sum up my reaction in basically three words which contain many more feelings.
That last refers not to the World War II explosions that end the trailer nor to the mini explosive notes mixed into the score as the showy cuts happen. It's the sound of my own heartbeat, thunderous.
Am I laying it on thick enough?
It's just that so many epics seem so desperate only to win Oscars. With Baz you know that this (Australia) is just what's inside of him. It's showy but it'll probably be damn sincere. One can't accuse any of his films of being made with awards in mind... which is more than can be said for many epics and golden hopefuls that find their way into theaters in November and December each year. It was a happy accident that Moulin Rouge!, a mad experiment, got as far as it did. It only became associated with the awards circus after it developed a feverish devoted fan base.
My greatest fear is that the new film will be stiffly weighed down by Baz & Nicole's efforts to top themselves (better not to try and top Moulin Rouge! methinks) and my greatest hope for it is that it will be every bit as thrilling in its 120+ minutes as it is in this new tiny dosage. *
Judging by the box office I'm assuming some of you saw it over the weekend. Do share. And have they improved the special effects since the days of Ladyhawke and Manimal? *
A few months ago I published a "best of the year thus far" post that looks ridiculous in retrospect. It's dangerous to do those in the early summer. I mean... people can still look it up laterand use it against you. An update...
That's my top 10 --okay, top 12. I don't like to decide exact rankings or final grades until late December/ early January. Films deserve more consideration than a "did'ja like that?" the second the credits roll. That's why I'm so anti-December when it comes to release dates. It's not fair to the films that top ten lists & awardage are chosen mere seconds after watching that last round of "please love me!" prestige flicks
Top Twelve 2008. Thus far ~ alpha order Burn After Reading -Like many Coen concoctions it's hard to wrap your head around initially. Funnier to think about afterwards than to watch. Therefore, I'm guessing it gets funnier to watch on multiple go-rounds. Got it? And how about that sneaky perfect punchline ending? Un Conte de Nöel (A Christmas Tale)-An absorbing, sophisticated and lengthy family drama/mystery/comedy. It's almost like seeing a really good novel or spending an inordinated amount of time with an overstuffed fascinating scrapbook. There's so much going on. Opens November. The Dark Knight-You've seen it already. Next...
Elegy-Fine adult performances from Kingsley, Cruz and Patricia Clarkson especially ... all of them lensed for maximum beauty/interest in their performances. (article) A Girl Cut in Two -Divisive (you might hate it) but I found it colorful, kinky and involving. Ludivine is luscious but Benôit steals the show with a flamboyant and charismatic star turn. In Bruges -Martin McDonaugh's strong debut feature. If you've seen his brilliant plays you won't be surprised at his depth, black humor, and intricate command of plot and character. Now on DVD Kung Fu Panda-Dreamworks makes an animated feature without excessively dated pop culture jokes. Slapstick gags rule instead. Those age just fine, think Looney Tunes. Rachel Getting Married-Anne Hathaway rises to a performance challenge and the formerly sleepwalking director Jonathan Demme is noticeably wide-eyed again. It's a vibrant, spontaneous, movingly humane picture. (prev post)Opens October Reprise-An overachieving Norwegian pictureabout talented 20something best friendswhose lives take abrupt turns once success hits.Director Joachim Trier is one to watch.Now on DVD
Trouble the Water-this raw rapping multi-faceted documentary on Hurricane Katrina, the US government, poverty and survival is a must see. "Who scared of water? Not me!" (review) Vicky Cristina Barcelona-Woody Allen's overly erudite sexy summer in Spain. Penélope Cruz is headed for her second Oscar nomination for her blazing funny take on that Woody staple: the rampaging ex-girlfriend/wife. Wall•E -You've seen it already. Next...
I figure if I show you these now, I'm using my teensy powers for good. See these before the year is through. It's an order a kind request. They're all quite discussable which is, in its own way, more of a recommendation than a "thumbs up" you know? ...for true movie lovers that is. But now that that's typed up it's soon to expire. Oh the sweet futility of the "in progress" list: I see Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler and Clint Eastwood's Changeling in the next two days. Wish me luck. *
TTT ~ Season 2: Horror Performances, Longest Best Picture Titles, Cinematic Princes, Jude Law, Weirdos, Hookers, Best of '07, Ways to Improve Oscar Ceremony, Black Actresses and more... TTT ~ Season 1 Index: Christian Bale, Bald Heads, Best of '06, Horseplay, Holly Hunter, Funny Girls, Future Bios, Catwoman, Oscar Nominationless and more *
I tell you this because, as an artist, I think you'll understand. Sometimes when I'm driving on the road at night I see two headlights coming toward me fast, I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly head on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glass, the flames rising out of the flowing gasoline. -Christopher Walken as "Duane Hall"
...right well --we have to go now, Chris. We're due back on planet Earth. (Christopher Walken is a nutjob. Or at least he plays one utterly convincingly onscreen. *
As I'm sure you heard, The Reader, a WW II themed literary adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet is now heading for a December 12th release after months of rumors and speculation about continued delays. I know this will strike many as big 7 or 8 on the Awards Richter Scale, i.e. total Bait™Quake news -- lots of damage ahead to other contestants. But I'm leaning towards: not so much... maybe a 4 [i.e. noticeable shaking of items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely]
Sure, it sounds golden and both stars are still unOscared (I know!) but haven't the Weinsteins lost their touch with AMPAS since losing Miramax. Which recent campaign run by the Weinstein's has had all that successful of a run towards the Kodak theater? Part, though certainly not all, of the problem is that they only know how to do one campaign style:
Release very late in the year at a scarcity of theaters
Resist adding theaters. My god, only do that if you actually get Oscar nominations.
Spend lots of money on schmoozing precursor bodies instead
Cross fingers
I'm snarkily oversimplifying, sure, but my point is this: the annual Oscar race is an evolving beast and unless I missed some major development, they haven't done much evolving. This was a successful style of campaigning 10 years ago. Recent history suggests that it doesn't work as well anymore. The Weinstein's were very clumsy with the release of I'm Not There for example and ended up botching 'Blanchett's Second Oscar' momentum that her fans were so excited for. Not that I'm complaining, loving Tilda Swinton as I do.
On a now unrelated note -- The Reader makes me think of the 2009 Oscar race. That's how I'd come to think of it -- I must tell you a tragic story. Bored on the subway last night, awaiting my stop, I was killing time playing with my iPhone's Magic 8 Ball. On a whim I asked the truth-telling device "Will Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Chéri next year finally win her that damn Oscar?" I gave my phone a gentle shake and you know what that Magic 8 Ball told me?
Unhappy with the answer, I decided to go for 2 out of 3. My Magic 8 Ball got even meaner. *
As we get closer and closer to the present day, the Vanity Fair cover girls (and sometimes boys) are starting to look more and more plausible as current cover subjects. It does take several years for an entire group of careers to change dramatically. Though, who would have guessed in April 2002 when this was published that Rachel Weisz would be the only Oscar winner within the next six years. (Connelly had already won hers).
Kirsten Dunst, newly 20, had been well known since she was 12 but her fame was exploding: that record breaking Spider-Man franchise was launching a month after this cover. She was the Next Big Thing coming off of a comic hit she carried (Bring It On, 2000) and lots of critical praise for three performance stretches: The Virgin Suicides (2000), crazy/beautiful (2001) and the just-opened period piece The Cat's Meow (2002). In other words her future was very very bright...
<-- One might say blinding: she hadn't even slept with Jake Gyllenhaal yet (!) who, and people forget this, was considerably less famous than she when that began in Sept 2002. One can never know what's coming, can one? Especially if you've just entered your twenties. Wildly hateful internet backlash and rehab for depression were still far ahead in Kiki's unforeseeable future.
Kate Beckinsale, almost 29, was very high profile at this exact moment though not so much before, having just starred in Michael Bay's blockbuster Pearl Harbor. Prior to that dumb epic she was known mostly for period pieces. Afterwards she seemed to mostly swear off indie fare (Laurel Canyon a notable exception) in favor of headlining big budget vampire flicks in skimpy costumes (Underworld, Van Helsing). Next up: Supposedly she's an Oscar hopeful for the true story political drama Nothing but the Truth. Jennifer Connelly, 31, had just cemented her typecasting as The Depressive Crying One with her Oscar win in A Beautiful Mind (2001) which was hot on the heels of a critical hit with Requiem for a Dream (2000). She hasn't equalled the success of the former or the performance skill of the latter since. Though it almost feels like she stopped trying at her peak, doesn't it? A year after this cover she was a newlywed with a child on the way (Her A Beautiful Mind co-star Paul Bettany was the lucky man). She's never exactly gone away but films like Reservation Road, Little Children, Dark Water, Blood Diamond, House of Sand and Fog and Hulk have done little for her reputation. The 30something years are generally the plum years for actresses of a certain fame level and, strangely, she seemed to sit hers out. Who could've predicted it? Is a comeback in store? [Pictured right at the 2002 BFCA Awards -photo src]
Rachel Weisz, turning 31, had driven up her fame co-starring in The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) but a date with Oscar seemed a little far fetched at this juncture. At the time she was something like a B version of Kate Winslet: a Sam Mendes dating, talented, pretty British actress. It wasn't until she married director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) and delivered that grand performance in The Constant Gardener that she started to seem like a potential A lister. Her career has since settled back into the mid level range but who knows. Next up: The Brothers Bloom from the director of Brick and a high profile gig as the grieving mother in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones.
Brittany Murphy, 24, had been dancing animatedly around the edges of big fame for some time. A feisty offscreen personality and memorable screen stints in Don't Say a Word (2001), Cherry Falls (2000), Girl Interrupted (1999) and Clueless (1995), kept her in the Hollywood running until the lead roles started hitting 'round about the time of this cover. Movie Star status didn't really take. Maybe it was the films she delivered in her brief headliner phase from 2002 to 2004... 8 Mile, Just Married, Little Black Book, Uptown Girls? She returned to firecracker supporting parts in Sin City (2005) and The Dead Girl (2006) which seem to fit more comfortably. Still, there was real screen presence and potential that one senses wasn't quite explored for a variety of reasons -- emotional instability, party girl madness and bad career moves chief among them.
Brittany on David Letterman in 2002 (when the future looked bright) and in the music video Faster Kill Pussycat in 2006
Selma Blair about to turn 30 was enjoying her second Hollywood cover (see Episode 6 for more on her). Conde Nast must have owned as much stock in her career as they did in Gretchen Mol's. Blair is now returning to TV comedy full time with the US adaptation of Australia's irreverent Kath & Kim.
Rosario Dawson was about to turn 23 and enlisted by Vanity Fair's strange Affirmative Action policy with these covers [unwritten but obvious rule: one non-white actor must be placed in the last third of the foldout]. She first hit Hollywood in the controversial Kids (1995, which also introduced Chlöe Sevigny -see episode 7) and she has been a hardworking game actress since --she's nearing 40 quite diverse feature credits after only 13 years in the biz). 2002 was bringing her three major opportunities to score with the public: Co-starring in two summer star vehicles for huge stars (Will Smith in Men in Black II and Eddie Murphy in The Adventures of Pluto Nash) and The Girlfriend part in Spike Lee's joint 25th Hour which turned out to be his best since Do the Right Thing! [pictured left at a party for the film -photo src] Her work ethic hasn't let up since (either that or she can't say "no" to any offer) and fame has continued rising at a steady if non A list clip. She's currently the star of the groundbreaking web series Gemini Division and in theaters with Eagle Eye.
Christina Applegate, 30, was something of an oddity for these covers which usually focus on film stars. Her fame had come from TV (Married With Children) but perhaps the Vanity Fair staff assumed she'd really cross over? She didn't. She made ooccasional forays into the big screen: The Sweetest Thing (2002) and Anchorman (2004) to name two high profile examples. She also had a minor success on stage with a revival of Sweet Charity (2005) but through it all she never strayed far from the small screen. She recently returned there to carry the hit sitcom Samantha Who? Though not a movie star, she's a success story not to mention a Hollywood survivor --consider that storied broken foot on Sweet Charity and her recent battle with breast cancer --and a likable celebrity, too.
Naomi Watts, 33, was then more commonly known as "Nicole Kidman's Best Friend" or even "Heath Ledger's Girlfriend" rather than for her own gifts (the Aussie friends are all pictured, right, at the premiere of The Ring). She was still a relatively untested screen presence when this issue debuted despite years in the biz. Sure she had just aced her role in David Lynch's Mulholland Dr [prev posts] ensuring her a place in cinephile hearts forever but it wasn't a mainstream success and didn't bring her Oscar attention. Luckily for Watts, filmmakers went crazy for her and after The Ring (2002), 21 Grams (2003), King Kong (2005), and The Painted Veil (2006 - previous post) among others she's now the most important Actress (capital intended) of the nine featured on this "Hollywood" cover. At the time, who knew? * * median age: 28, Kiki played the baby sister (20) and Naomi the mom (33) collective Oscar noms before this cover: 1 nomination and win for Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind [see prev post] who inexplicably won everything that year despite strong competition. collective Oscar noms after this cover: Only 2 (Naomi Watts in 21 Grams & Rachel Weisz) with one win (Weisz in The Constant Gardener) fame levels in 2008, according to famousr, from most to least: Kirsten Dunst (this is why actors make superhero movies, you know ;), Naomi Watts, Kate Beckinsale, Brittany Murphy, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz, Rosario Dawson and Selma Blair other episodes of 'VFH':1995 ,1996, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. bonus jpeg: The ladies now!
GreenCine rounds up the Newman tributes Are You There Blog? finds a great humanist quote from Newman. And I already really loved Newman. I didn't need more reasons. NewNowNext Gwyneth Paltrow's new business venture. (Maybe she should, you know, concentrate on improving her acting career while she's still young. Just a thought) Some Came Running Glenn Kenny on Bill Condon's Oscar gig. Crazy ass screengrabs Fabulon checks in with Sharon Stone. Someone has to Mirror Who's That Girl? It's not Madonna. It's Debbie Harry, looking all polished and Madonna-esque. Everything comes full circle you see? Defamer's a Call to the BullPen: Dakota Fanning on Facebook. Hee
Goatdog accomplishes the seemingly impossible. He's now seen every Best Picture nominee. Go congratulate him. I'm not even close. A Socialite's Life Anne Hathaway making the rounds with Rachel Getting Married in NYC Just Jared Ryan Reynolds and Scarjo are now husband & wife. [see previous TFE post for their engagement announcement] Filmbo makes an odd comparison. Honest to blog Moviefone asks Stan Lee (Marvel Comics) a bunch of questions. Bizarre asides about Will Smith as Captain America and Barack Obama follow. Coffee Coffee and More Coffee reviews Seoul Raiders, that movie I'm giving away starring Tony Leung. Today is the last day to enter that contest.
Great star, great man, great actor Paul Newman died yesterday of cancer [src]. Our hearts go out to his wife Joanne Woodward. The Oscar winners had been married for fifty years -- they married just a few months before their first film togetherThe Long Hot Summerarrived in theaters. Newman will live on forever in the movies. What an inarguably rich filmography he's left the audiences who loved him.
My personal favorite of his performances, and one I hope you'll watch to bid him farewell is Hud (1963). That indelible title role won him the third of his nine Oscar nominations for acting. I also must highly recommend his underdiscussed (at least nowadays) directorial debut Rachel, Rachel(1968). That collaboration won Joanne Woodward the second of her four Best Actress nod and Newman a Best Picture nomination (though not a directing nod). I was startled at how modern it felt while I was watching it. It's aged well just as the actor did. He will be missed. *
Fashion break! I enjoy a little premiere finery as much as the gossip blogs but it's just not my goddamned raison d'etre. I'm too busy talking about movies. And Oscar. Oh shiny Oscar. He who wears nothing but a sword. (Weird that he's so connected with fashion) Anyway... here's a random sampling of what some actresses were wearing this past week at premieres, awards and parties and whatnot. Just for fun. Maybe I'll arrange a rendezvous every Saturday?
(Because I am a giver I even tried to keep their heights in scale while bringing them all together for you)
Sarah Jessica Parker celebrated the launch of the Sex & The City DVD as some sort of punk Holly GoLightly. Am I mistaken or is the print doing the actual cigarette smoking for her? That's one way to not blacken your lungs. Dakota Fanning finally resurfaced to promote Hounddog. Renée Zellweger (yes I'm saying her name. I'm trying to be nice!) has wrapped herself up for a night on the town with Viggo & Ed (lucky girl) to promote Appaloosa. Mary Louise Parker didn't win the Emmy. boo. (I also love Tina Fey so that "boo" is said in knee jerk non-committal fashion) Madonna is "Sticky & Sweet" and still rock hard at 50 as she traverses the globe to Entertain You. Her pal Gwyneth Paltrow at a party. Sandra Oh is about to go blind in Blindness (previous posts) but she wasn't blind when she chose this Emmy gown, was she? Great stuff. And finally Kiki. She's just walking down the street. Just because. * *
If this were a literal co-habitation sort of contest I would enter daily and/or perform illegal acts to ensure that I myself would win. Alas... 'tis but a DVD. But Tony Leung Chiu Wai was made for the silver screen so taking a DVD home is the next best thing. Right? Right.
Seoul Raiders is a comic action film starring Tony as a tough Chinese detective/thief/spy (I guess he multi-tasks) and the über gorgeous Shu Qi (Three Times, The Transporter) as a cat burglar. It just came out on DVD and I have a copy to give away to a lucky reader. It's a popcorn flick but the stars are easy on the eyes (it's their 4th film together). To enter please send an e-mail with LEUNG as the subject. It should contain the following three pieces of info.
Your name
Your shipping address (kept private)
And one reason why you love Tony Leung Chiu Wai (which I might quote whether or not you win)
It's that easy. You have until Sunday night to send that entry. The lucky winner will be announced Monday.
And, no, I have no idea what's going on in this film still either. Perhaps Richie Ren is turning green with envy over Leung's inarguable awesomeness? It happens.
JA from MNPP here, popping my head back into these parts to direct y'all over to Yahoo! where they've got the trailer for Bryan Singer's Valkyrie, in case you haven't lain your eyes upon it quite yet. Or... maybe you don't give a crap. I've heard a lot of that. Snark here, snark there, everywhere a snark snark. And I've certainly had my... doubts. Which is why I'm pretending that Valkyrie will really be something closer to this:
I sometimes think I'm the only person who saw Tropic Thunder and didn't think Tom Cruise was funny (at all; Mcconaughey either dammit) so I'm not quite sure I'm gonna be able to deal with Tom Cruise... like, ever again. Which... well, that concerns me when it comes to whether I will like this movie or not since, in reality (and not the fake Kretschmann/van Houten movie I'm playing in my deranged head) Cruise is in like 90% of the shots in that trailer. He's gonna be present, ya know? Other faces that give me hope do pop up - Pleasure to see you, Tom Wilkinson! Looking good, Bill Nighy! - but I've some very real, very deep soul searching to stumble through before I sit down to the task at hand, it seems.
Or, ya know, I could just shut the hell up, realize it's just a damn movie, and behave like a sane person. Whatevs! .
Screenshots from the 20th minute and 8th second of films of 2008
and Caroline Herrerra... and Christian LaCroix... and DIOR [pictured] ... and Oscar de la Renta... and, finally, Vivienne Westwood.
Carrie Bradshaw, enduring pop culture clotheshorse and television's favorite neurotic single gal, enunciates each name carefully, as if not to wrinkle the dresses by blurting them out too forcefully or ripping a seam whilst stumbling over a jutting syllable.
<--- She's about to bust out that doubled-over / elbows out pose that's so popular on reality show modeling competitions. A pose that judges will invariably call "editorial" or "high fashion" and never once "derivative" even though people have been doing it since at least the days of Kristin McNemany and Linda Evangelista (and probably well before that)
Designers are namechecked a lot in the world of Sex & the City but in this particular scene it's appropriate since it is a fashion shoot. Our Carrie Bradshaw (the ever divisive Sarah Jessica Parker) is Vogue's bridal cover girl. Quite a coup. Unbeknownst to Carrie, this cover spectacle will ... well, it will cause P-L-O-T to happen. And it's about time since we're 20 minutes into the movie.
I kid. I love the movie... though I realize it's not so much a movie as a chance to reconnect with the girls. After watching the very awkward remake of The Women (2008) I became even more convinced that Sex & the City for all it's "now" appeal, is actually a worthy homage to girlie movies of yore. It even breaks for fashion shows just like the old black and whites used to. Sex & the City gets dinged often for being materialistic and shallow. The former charge applies, the latter does not. Carrie especially has been confronted with her own materialism and other less-than-desirable traits throughout the series. The actress and scripts have never shied away from her complexities or from investigating the shallower or, to be more generous, the fluffier pockets of her personality.
Most economic porn movies -- which is to say most movies -- including The Women never look deeply at their character's finances. Shopping sprees are rarely seen as anything other than triumphant and nobody would ever be forced to confront that they were living way beyond their means (as Carrie was during the course of Sex and the City). Now, that's shallow and materialistic, to continually glorify consumer culture and never once have to foot the bill. Everybody in television and the movies has apartments and wardrobes that they could never afford in real life -- I was giggling just last night that I was supposed to find Ugly Betty's spacious new Manhattan apartment (with big windows!) a horror. If I didn't already love my apartment I would've taken over her lease in a heartbeat. *
I still need to collect my thoughts on Rachel Getting Married but I will say this for now: beautiful.
Nathaniel Getting Hugged... that's how I felt. No, not in the sappy cheap way of many tearjerkers. The movie isn't interested in tidy endings or easy to swallow Life Lessons Learned™. It's willing to throw painful truth around. Kim (Anne Hathaway stepping it up in a big way) is often a complete nightmare... and not always in the loveable rogue way that the movies are so fond of. Sometimes you just want to slap her ... or at least gag her. The film has genuine heart, musical soul and a welcome spontaneity in its filmmaking (it's rare when a handheld camera actually feels organic rather than distracting).
Sadly, my Oscar hopes for it have dimmed a bit since seeing it. It's a modest gem and a true ensemble (it's easy to see supporting campaigns being hard to mount). But Oscar Schmoscar. It was yummy -- easy top ten material.
...the protagonists of films @ the 46th New York Film Festival sure do. I'll write more about the festival soon but for now enjoy the first brief overview that I whipped up for Tribeca. I started the festival off with an accidental trilogy of voyeurs... I'm still recovering from that.
Click on over for my brief thoughts on the strange triple feature of Chile's Tony Manero, Poland's Four Nights with Anna and US's Afterschool. And there's also a brief shout out to A Christmas Tale starring Catherine Deneuve which contains no certifiable voyeurs although everyone is still pretty neurotic. Just the way I like my French intellectual sophisticate families.
...except, apparently, movie poster designers. What exactly is the message here? Attack of the 50 Foot Woman? Angelina will one day overpower us all !
bonus jpeg: I've redesigned the poster to make it more appropriate for the context in which the movie intends to be received. (Thanks to Fox in the comments for his fine tuning suggestion!)
Overthinkingit.com has gone Bat-Crazy. First they asked this grammatical pop question: is it The Batman or just Batman? Hee. And they've made this odd Dark Bailout video. It'd be a funny mashup if it weren't so creepy.
I'm so horrified that the ridiculous hard right swerve we took as a nation is still viewed as OK by so many citizens. And in a way I'm even more horrified by undecided voters. How could you not have made a decision by now the way things are going? And McCain, the Great DeRegulator and faux maverick, is proving himself to be more of a hypocrite than I ever feared he was. But here's the real sting at the moment: Why is it that we're expected to think that socializing health care is EVIL (so many people in power seem to think so) but it's okay to socialize Wall Street, where people make 6 figures on up with great regularity? I'd be much happier if my tax dollars went towards subsidizing a neighbor's medical needs than insuring that some über wealthy person stayed that way. This country has some seriously f***ed up morals. Which is probably why The Dark Knight strikes such a chord with people. Even if people don't understand what's wrong, they understand something's wrong. WHAT A MESS.
I used to be the only site that covered the Oscar Foreign Film Race in anything more than a 'list of titles' way. The sandbox is no longer my terrain alone [*sniffle*] -- even the corporate sites have sections for it now. But at least, you'll give me this hat tip, my foreign Oscar section is always compiled with messy love rather than corporate mandated Oscar-mania. And it has been for years.
I even have a google map of the category --right now it's a charming toddler but when it's full grown (i.e. complete) you'll find it a very informative and handsome fellow. It should keep you well stocked in DVD rental ideas. Feedback appreciated though it's still under construction.
UPDATED 09/26* Spain is Oscar's third favorite submitting country (19 nominations and 4 wins) in this category. They narrowed their race down to three films. The first was Sangre de Mayo (Blood of May) from José Luis Garci who has represented Spain four times in this category winning for Volver a Empezar back in 1982. But Spain doesn't always go the way we expect. They've snubbed famous directors with potential winner films before: famously Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her was passed over in 2002.
The second was Gracia Querejeta's female drivenSiete Mesas de Billar Francés(Seven Tables of French Billiards --what an odd title?!) which co-stars Blanca Portillo (an Almodóvar favorite) who won Best Actress at the San Sebastian Film Festival for this film and Maribel Verdu (pictured, from Y Tu Mama Tambien and Pan's Labyrinth) who are grieving the loss of the same man, one's father the other's lover.
The third and the selected film is Los Girasoles Ciegos (The Blind Sunflowers) a post war drama by José Luis Cuerda which also stars Maribel Verdú -- she's popular these days -- and Talk to Her's Javier Camara.
Now on to the ever growing number of countries that have announced their representative films...
...with more movies still to be announced if the past number of total submissions is indication -- it usually reaches about 60, give or take a few. All entries must be submitted to AMPAS by October 1st but it'll take Oscar another week or three to release the "official" list.
Don't you love this part? Now if only all of them were available to each and every one us in whichever country we happen to watch movies in. Here's to global distribution for all of this year's submissions.
I bid you adieu with this trailer for Painted Skin which is playing the role of the mandatory Asian action submission
...which, following tradition, the Academy will then ignore, as is their habit post Crouching Tiger (with the wonderful colorful exception of Hero and the blah biopic size of Mongol. *
It's a new morning.
Oscars for My Birthday? How Kind ~ a true (dream) story
The House Next Door has Sheila O'Malley on Paul Newman
Scanners 'Sarah Silverman is a genius (still)'... a piece on her YouTube promo for The Great Schlep
Even within his earliest film Strictly Ballroom (1992), which is indisputably modest in budget and story, he's going for the rousing super-sized moment. Consider the "L'Amour" sign (making its first big screen appearance, consider the hair and makeup, consider the triumphant crowd-rocking finale. Consider Paul Mercutio's ass.
It's just that so many epics seem so desperate only to win Oscars. With Baz you know that this (Australia) is just what's inside of him. It's showy but it'll probably be damn sincere. One can't accuse any of his films of being made with awards in mind... which is more than can be said for many epics and golden hopefuls that find their way into theaters in November and December each year. It was a happy accident that Moulin Rouge!, a mad experiment, got as far as it did. It only became associated with the awards circus after it developed a feverish devoted fan base.
Top Twelve 2008. Thus far ~ alpha order
Elegy -Fine adult performances from Kingsley, Cruz and Patricia Clarkson especially ... all of them lensed for maximum beauty/interest in their performances. (article)
Trouble the Water -this raw rapping multi-faceted documentary on Hurricane Katrina, the US government, poverty and survival is a must see. "Who scared of water? Not me!" (review)
TTT ~ Season 2: Horror Performances, Longest Best Picture Titles, Cinematic Princes, Jude Law, Weirdos, Hookers, Best of '07, Ways to Improve Oscar Ceremony, Black Actresses and more...
As I'm sure you heard, The Reader, a WW II themed literary adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet is now heading for a December 12th release after months of rumors and speculation about continued delays. I know this will strike many as big 7 or 8 on the Awards Richter Scale, i.e. total Bait™Quake news -- lots of damage ahead to other contestants. But I'm leaning towards: not so much... maybe a 4 [i.e. noticeable shaking of items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely]
<-- One might say blinding: she hadn't even slept with Jake Gyllenhaal yet (!) who, and people forget this, was considerably less famous than she when that began in Sept 2002. One can never know what's coming, can one? Especially if you've just entered your twenties. Wildly hateful internet backlash and rehab for depression were still far ahead in Kiki's unforeseeable future.
Jennifer Connelly, 31, had just cemented her typecasting as The Depressive Crying One with her Oscar win in A Beautiful Mind (2001) which was hot on the heels of a critical hit with Requiem for a Dream (2000). She hasn't equalled the success of the former or the performance skill of the latter since. Though it almost feels like she stopped trying at her peak, doesn't it? A year after this cover she was a newlywed with a child on the way (Her A Beautiful Mind co-star Paul Bettany was the lucky man). She's never exactly gone away but films like Reservation Road, Little Children, Dark Water, Blood Diamond, House of Sand and Fog and Hulk have done little for her reputation. The 30something years are generally the plum years for actresses of a certain fame level and, strangely, she seemed to sit hers out. Who could've predicted it? Is a comeback in store? [Pictured right at the 2002 BFCA Awards -photo src]
Rosario Dawson was about to turn 23 and enlisted by Vanity Fair's strange Affirmative Action policy with these covers [unwritten but obvious rule: one non-white actor must be placed in the last third of the foldout]. She first hit Hollywood in the controversial Kids (1995, which also introduced Chlöe Sevigny -see episode 7) and she has been a hardworking game actress since --she's nearing 40 quite diverse feature credits after only 13 years in the biz). 2002 was bringing her three major opportunities to score with the public: Co-starring in two summer star vehicles for huge stars (Will Smith in Men in Black II and Eddie Murphy in The Adventures of Pluto Nash) and The Girlfriend part in Spike Lee's joint 25th Hour which turned out to be his best since Do the Right Thing! [pictured left at a party for the film -photo src] Her work ethic hasn't let up since (either that or she can't say "no" to any offer) and fame has continued rising at a steady if non A list clip. She's currently the star of the groundbreaking web series Gemini Division and in theaters with Eagle Eye.
Naomi Watts, 33, was then more commonly known as "Nicole Kidman's Best Friend" or even "Heath Ledger's Girlfriend" rather than for her own gifts (the Aussie friends are all pictured, right, at the premiere of The Ring). She was still a relatively untested screen presence when this issue debuted despite years in the biz. Sure she had just aced her role in David Lynch's Mulholland Dr [prev posts] ensuring her a place in cinephile hearts forever but it wasn't a mainstream success and didn't bring her Oscar attention. Luckily for Watts, filmmakers went crazy for her and after The Ring (2002), 21 Grams (2003), King Kong (2005), and The Painted Veil (2006 - previous post) among others she's now the most important Actress (capital intended) of the nine featured on this "Hollywood" cover. At the time, who knew?
GreenCine rounds up the Newman tributes
Goatdog accomplishes the seemingly impossible. He's now seen every Best Picture nominee. Go congratulate him. I'm not even close.
Sarah Jessica Parker celebrated the launch of the Sex & The City DVD as some sort of punk Holly GoLightly. Am I mistaken or is the print doing the actual cigarette smoking for her? That's one way to not blacken your lungs. Dakota Fanning finally resurfaced to promote Hounddog. Renée Zellweger (yes I'm saying her name. I'm trying to be nice!) has wrapped herself up for a night on the town with Viggo & Ed (lucky girl) to promote Appaloosa. Mary Louise Parker didn't win the Emmy. boo. (I also love Tina Fey so that "boo" is said in knee jerk non-committal fashion) Madonna is "Sticky & Sweet" and still rock hard at 50 as she traverses the globe to Entertain You. Her pal Gwyneth Paltrow at a party. Sandra Oh is about to go blind in Blindness (previous posts) but she wasn't blind when she chose this Emmy gown, was she? Great stuff. And finally Kiki. She's just walking down the street. Just because.
If this were a literal co-habitation sort of contest I would enter daily and/or perform illegal acts to ensure that I myself would win. Alas... 'tis but a DVD. But Tony Leung Chiu Wai was made for the silver screen so taking a DVD home is the next best thing. Right? Right.
I sometimes think I'm the only person who saw Tropic Thunder and didn't think Tom Cruise was funny (at all; Mcconaughey either dammit) so I'm not quite sure I'm gonna be able to deal with Tom Cruise... like, ever again. Which... well, that concerns me when it comes to whether I will like this movie or not since, in reality (and not the fake Kretschmann/van Houten movie I'm playing in my deranged head) Cruise is in like 90% of the shots in that trailer. He's gonna be present, ya know? Other faces that give me hope do pop up - Pleasure to see you, Tom Wilkinson! Looking good, Bill Nighy! - but I've some very real, very deep soul searching to stumble through before I sit down to the task at hand, it seems.
<--- She's about to bust out that doubled-over / elbows out pose that's so popular on reality show modeling competitions. A pose that judges will invariably call "editorial" or "high fashion" and never once "derivative" even though people have been doing it since at least the days of Kristin McNemany and Linda Evangelista (and probably well before that)
I still need to collect my thoughts on Rachel Getting Married but I will say this for now: beautiful.
...the protagonists of films @ the 46th New York Film Festival sure do. I'll write more about the festival soon but for now enjoy the first brief overview that I whipped up for Tribeca. I started the festival off with an accidental trilogy of voyeurs... I'm still recovering from that.
The second was Gracia Querejeta's female driven Siete Mesas de Billar Francés (Seven Tables of French Billiards --what an odd title?!) which co-stars Blanca Portillo (an Almodóvar favorite) who won Best Actress at the San Sebastian Film Festival for this film and Maribel Verdu (pictured, from Y Tu Mama Tambien and Pan's Labyrinth) who are grieving the loss of the same man, one's father the other's lover.
