He-Man.

Jose here with a bit of an awards doubt. After watching Antichrist (Read my review here) where the hell is Willem Dafoe's Best Actor buzz?

While it's true that Lars von Trier is a notorious actresses director (see Emily Watson, Nicole Kidman and Björk among others) he also has gotten some brilliant performances from his leading men (Paul Bettany was spectacular in Dogville).

His leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg got the Best Actress award in Cannes but he gives the film's best performance (although being one of only two actors in the movie this might be a bit hyperbolic). Once again he goes for extreme subtlety and commands the screen as he tries to deal with his wife's condition while coping with his own grief. Any actor who can subject himself to tortures which von Trier had previously reserved for the ladies should be getting more attention.

Because of Dafoe Antichrist goes beyond being the arthouse horror film most think it is/want it to be and actually grows a heart of sorts.

She Loves You, Too

Compose a mushy love letter to Julianne Moore in the comments. You know you want to.
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MM@M: I Try to Be Like Grace Kelly

Mad Men at the Movies: Talking bout movies and movie stars referenced in the '60s set series. Previously: Gidget, The Wizard of Oz, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Natalie Wood and Joan Crawford and Marty.

1.9 "Shoot"
An ad man angles to steal Don Draper from his firm by courting his wife for a modelling gig.

Jim Hobart: Anyone ever tell you you're a dead ringer for Grace Kelly?
Betty Draper: They used to.
Jim Hobart: You know what? Coca-Cola is deep into this international campaign right now. A European face like yours, like Grace Kelly's, might be a road we could go down. We could put a call out for a Grace Kelly 'type' but I don't think we'd come this close...

As compliments go, that's quite a doozy. Do you think January Jones heard that before Mad Men or is it all in that 50's princess styling?


That "European face" they refer to was second generation American, born in Philadelphia with German and Irish heritage. Kelly's movie career was meteoric. She was famous by the age of 23 and retired by 27 after marrying Prince Rainer of Monaco. As with other A-Listers who are gone from the screen too soon (usually from death but occasionally from self-imposed retirement) she became legendary and continues to fascinate people. Including Mika, Madonna and numerous other songwriters



other references in this Mad Men episode
Cinema: "More Audrey Hepburn, less Grace Kelly", Three Coins in the Fountain | Broadway: Fiorello! | Politics: Jackie O, Kennedy, Nixon | Celebrities: Suzy Parker

My Apologies to Vera Farmiga

I dream of celebrity. I don't even know what day it is anymore. I was sick all weekend and sleeping erratically. When I woke up this morning (last night? yesterday afternoon?) I was convinced that I had just been interviewing Vera Farmiga. She looked exactly like Sarah Paulson.

Instead of asking Ms. Farmiga about the her new picture, the Oscar contender Up in the Air -- view trailer -- I kept asking her what I should have for lunch. Did she maybe have the pancake recipe that made Claudette Colbert wealthy in Imitation of Life? If so, could I borrow it? Vera/Sarah became very frustrated that I wasn't interested in her career (but I am. Even though I never write about it!)

"Order the damn BLT" she finally declared with exasperation.

I ignored her and ordered the tuna melt instead.

P.S. Fans of I Heart Huckabees will sadly note that I was not lucid dreaming and therefore could not work Shania Twain and Jude Law into the proceedings once the tuna sandwich came up.
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9 Minutes on "9"

Katey and I got a little slap-happy when we were shooting this video. We tried to squeeze too much in to one day. And now weeks later (things have been crazy) I'm 4 days too late to capitalize on the 9 minutes on 9 which opened on 9/9/09. Ah well...

I feel a teensy bad that we were hard on this since we both hope to see a second feature from Shane Acker, the mastermind of this one. His visual imagination is commendable and I did really enjoy the Oscar nominated short back in 2005. The film made a strong $10 million this weekend so maybe he'll get that second feature. Oh sure, "strong" and $10 million don't often get mentioned in the same sentence and the experts are calling that gross "passable". But I, with my enviable complete ignorance of box office statistics, think it's strong for a hard to market movie that wasn't ubiquitously advertised. So there.

"9" Review (Katey & Nathaniel)
by nathanielr

Did you see it?
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Ellen's Triple Crowning. And Other Emmy Tales

The first batch of Emmy winners in creative / technical awards and "guest" acting were announced. It's the stuff they can't fit on the air because they have more categories than you could possibly keep track of, but still not so many as the Grammys.

Curiously the cancelled Pushing Daisies, which couldn't ever manage a "best comedy series" nomination beat EMMY's "best drama series" Mad Men in three of their four shared categories (Art Direction, Costume Design, Make-Up) and lost to Mad Men only once (Hairstyling). The lack of technical trophies for Mad Men makes me worried for their chances in the big categories next Sunday night. Not that there's ever a point in "worrying" about who might win EMMYs. It always feels so random.

I was amused to see True Blood taking the "casting" award. Wasn't the process of selecting all the frequently unclothed eye-candy reward enough for those casting directors? The guest spot acting winners were Justin Timberlake and Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live) for comedy and Michael J Fox (Rescue Me) for drama.

After years without a new "Triple Crowner" we got two in 2009:
Geoffrey Rush joined their ranks in June and Ellen in September.

And then there's Ellen Burstyn who joined the esteemed company of the Triple Crowners (Oscar + TONY + Emmy) with a winged trophy for her guest starring work on Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit. Burstyn's girded steel mantleplace has more than paid for itself by now. Add one Emmy to her haul which also includes an Oscar, a TONY, a BAFTA, a Globe, an Indie Spirit, a Satellite, a Genie and numerous critics, film festival and theater honors. As someone who loves the cinema and is none to fond of watching our great actresses vanish or spend their sunset years in procedurals like Law & Order, I'd like to congratulate the wonderful Burstyn but also slap Martin Scorsese. Why can't he (or Darren Aronofsky or William Friedkin for that matter) find another plum role for her? I don't want to say that Scorsese "owes" her for what she did for him in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) but certainly he's been exceedingly generous with other stars [oh, you know who] who didn't give half as much as Ellen in their collaborations. Why didn't he ever work with her again? Attention all filmmakers: She's 76 years old. Time is a wasting. Hand her something incredible soon.

for the complete list of Emmy winners
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Venice: Two Trophies for A Single Man

By now you've heard the news that Colin Firth received the papal blessing in Venice.


What?!?

The only church I believe in is the church of cinema and Ang Lee is a holy man. Don't tell me otherwise, blasphemer!

If you have to receive a blessing from an auteur, a vote of confidence if you will, what better man than Ang Lee? He has exceptional taste. Colin Firth might be floating up towards heaven even as we speak since Ang Lee and his Venice International Film Festival jury named Colin Firth Best Actor. The honor came for his work as a grieving gay academic in Tom Ford's A Single Man (see: related posts).

I'd like to intone "The Oscar race has begun" in sotto voce right about now, but has it? A Single Man's distribution is still up in the air. Though the movie, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, is having a great week (positive reception at both Venice and Toronto) only time will tell if the film will be eligible for any more trophies in 2009. For now, it has two.

The Golden Lion winner, Lebanon, which takes place in a tank

Ang's other holy blessings
Golden Lion (Best Film): Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz and Maoz Shmulik [Israel]
Silver Lion (Best Director): Women Without Men directed by Shirin Neshat [Iran]
Grand Jury Prize: Soul Kitchen directed by fest trophy magnet Fatih Akin of Head On and The Edge of Heaven fame [Germany]

Actress: Russian thespian Kseniya Rappoport (pictured right) in The Double Hour [Italy]
Young Performer: Jasmine Trinca in The Big Dream [Italy]
Screenplay: Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime [USA]
Set Design: Sylvie Olive for Mr. Nobody [USA]

The sidebar juries handed out the following prizes
Lion of the Future (Debut Film): Engkwentro by Pepe Diokno [The Philippines]
Queer Lion: A Single Man directed by Tom Ford [USA]
Documentary: 1428 directed by Du Haibin [China]
Special Mention: The Man’s Woman and Other Stories directed by Amit Dutta [India]
Controcompo Italiano: Cosmonauta by Susanna Nicchiarelli [Italy]

The only bum deal about the glorious Toronto International Film Festival that's in full swing as Venice shutters, is that they don't do juried awards. So this is your last big film award for awhile. Trophies, cups, scrolls, and golden statues are the way to go, you know. Oh sure, art is silly to quantify in that way but there's something generous and worthwhile about saying "you... you deserve this you beautiful piece of celluloid, you!" Ciao bella!

But back to "Darcy" himself for a second. I like Firth's chances in the Oscar race should the film find a distributor. Not only is that category awfully barren this year, but Firth is a respected enduring star who has never been nominated. When known previously neglected commodities do "best of career" work, big things can happen on Oscar night. Plus, he's a straight man playing gay as he reminded the world in his acceptance speech with a nod to his Italian wife.

I rarely seem to come home from Italy empty-handed – wine, balsamic vinegar, wife, two children, and now a nice piece of silverware.

Everyone knows how hard the Academy thinks that acting gay is for straight men. Imagine the unspeakable horror of locking lips with Matthew Goode! Poor, poor put upon Colin. He thought pretending to be in love with Bridget Jones was hard work.

TIFF Day Two: Dogtooth

Lev Lewis reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival

My second day at TIFF was likely to be my most relaxing. My first and only film was at 9:45pm, so I decided to head over to Yorkville to see if anything was happening. Walking along Cumberland I spotted Jeffrey Wells at a Starbucks and decided to say hello. For someone like me who lives in Toronto far removed from the film world of LA or New York it was fun to see someone I read everyday hanging out in my town.

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop with not much time between screenings (Day Three). So, the movie...

Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos' sophomore feature, which won Un Certain Regard at Cannes, tells the odd story of three "children" whose parents have guarded them from any interaction with or unfiltered knowledge of the outside world. The film moves languidly, eschewing narrative in favour of mood; filling its somewhat lengthy 94 minutes with striking compositions and random bursts of violence. Lanthimos cited conversations with friends about the current state of family as his main influence for the film. Dogtooth's themes of isolation and control come across as quite relevant and compelling. Had Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Fillipou nudged their film towards a stronger narrative, the film could've been more than the minor work I'm afraid it is.

Dogtooth makes up for any lapses in plot with its cinematography. Shot in 2.35 anamorphic and with nearly all natural lighting, Lanthimos and DP Thimios Bakatatakis' meticulously composed shots are stunning in their simplicity. Funnily enough, a film I was reminded of was The Royal Tenenbaums. Both films explore disturbed family dynamics within the confines of a sprawling house. The films shared similar moments of dry humour and troubled relationships between siblings despite the contrasts in tone. Had the script matched the cinematography's brilliance, Dogtooth could have been a masterstroke. Lanthimos' narrative oversights hinder an otherwise exemplary endeavour. Grade: B+

Red Carpet: Venice, Toronto and Tilda x 7

Which stars have been out and about this past week? Whole galaxies of them. I've collected a few randomly for this edition of the red carpet lineup. It's but a tiny fraction of the luminaries since we're now in the thick of festival season. Telluride is behind us, Venice wraps today, and Toronto just kicked off. And that's just the big ones.


Nicholas Hoult and Julianne Moore hit Venice for the premiere of A Single Man (see previous post). An Education's Carey Mulligan, quickly emerging as the one to beat for Best Actress, is going to be fought over fiercely when it comes to dressing for the Oscars, just watch. She wore this Prada 09 Fall/Winter collection piece for her film's Toronto premiere. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and her perpetually Oscar snubbed husband Paul Bettany were also in Toronto promoting the Charles Darwin biography / marital drama Creation.

Finally, Venice had the cast of the sci-fi drama Mr. Nobody starring Jared Leto as a 120 year-old man. And, what do you know, Sarah Polley came. Polley sightings are exciting since she's not exactly a red carpet staple. But --and it feels so weird to say this given my actress predilections -- I'd rather she get back behind the camera very soon as a writer/director. Away From Her was just fine filmmaking.

What else ya got, Sarah?

Little Know Fact: In late May of 1960 all of the world's major film festivals met for a wild orgy at Cannes. Just as La Dolce Vita was handed the Palme D'Or, Tilda Swinton was conceived. Cannes herself, heavy with child, fled to England and gave birth to Tilda not five months later (everything happens quickly at festivals). It's totally true! For Tilda is the film festival anthropomorphized: the rush of celebrity, the discovery of the exotic, the air of the international and the thrill of the avant garde. Festivals just don't feel complete without her, do they?

She was all over Venice last week (I've repurposed the photos from Zimbio). Witness...

Tilda's Venice palette: baggy black (a la 07 Oscars), earth tones, white.

I wonder if she'll show up in Toronto? While in Venice, she was promoting Lo Sono L'Amore, an Italian drama. Longtime Swintonites should note that a reunion with her Teknolust director is currently in development. It's called Gene to the Fourth and the actress would play a woman seeking eternal life through scientific experiments. But first, and as early as April, Swinton is set to go before the cameras as Die Blutgräfin (The Blood Countess). Yes, that's the same vampiric Hungarian role that Julie Delpy played in the unreleased film The Countess, a film I'm starting to feel I'll never have the opportunity to see.
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MM@M: A Mama's Boy and a Man's Man

Mad Men at the Movies: Talking bout movies and movie stars referenced in the '60s set series. Previously: Gidget, The Wizard of Oz, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Natalie Wood and Joan Crawford in The Best of Everything.

1.8 "The Hobo Code"
Inside ad agency Sterling Cooper, three operators connect calls and listen in. One of them Lois, played by Crista Flanagan (right) has developed a crush on Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt), the firm's closeted art director.

Lois: "Ciao Ciao". [smitten] My stars!
Operator #1: Two weeks in, she's already a goner.
Lois: He talks to his mother a lot.
Operator #2: Because he's not married.
Lois: He's in the art department? Well, what does he look like?
#1: Did you see that movie Marty with Ernest Borgnine? He lived with his mother.
#2: Stop teasing her.

Marty, released in 1955, won Borgnine the Oscar for best actor but in this context it's a derogatory remark, "Marty" as shorthand for homely mama's boy. The sassy operator even manages to make the Italian-American connection. At least she didn't compare Salvator to Norman Bates, right? He was the most famous mama's boy 'round about the time frame of this episode.

Later in the episode, a gay client Elliott (Paul Keeley) who is staying at the Roosevelt dangles a carrot for Sal.

I was in the lounge last night... and I end up having a drink with Robert Mitchum! Actually many drinks. [laughter]

I have no idea whether Mitchum was a favorite of the gay community in the 1950s but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he was. Either way, Elliott is luring Sal to his current night spot with an icon of taciturn masculinity. One episode, two suitors. By the end of the hour Sal has rejected both Lois and Elliott in his own frightened way. Sal has become the unexpected star of this 'Mad Men at the Movies' series, hasn't he?

other references in this episode
Cinema: The Wizard of Oz "I feel like Dorothy and everything just turned to color" and 42nd Street | Books: Atlas Shrugged | Politics: Joseph McCarthy | Music: Miles Davis

special thanks, as always, to Mad Men fansite "Basket of Kisses" for goading this series into being

"The Look" Gets the Gold

Some people are never down for the count. And Lauren Bacall is one of those people. The famously silver tongued siren began bewitching moviegoers when she was only 19 -- surely the most mature teenager the screen ever saw -- in To Have and Have Not (1944). Aside from a fallow 1970s, she's been working steadily since. In all that time she's never learned to hold her tongue (so many choice soundbites over the years, god bless) and she's still a lively soul at 84 going on 85. Her birthday is next week.

When she lost her only Oscar nomination (1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces) to Juliette Binoche in The English Patient, most assumed that she would be of the Have Not variety when it came to the statue, despite her marriages to two legendary Haves, Oscar winners Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards. But now, the wait for her very own golden boy is over. She'll receive her honorary Oscar in November.





While we'll see a clip of Bacall at the Oscar ceremony in March, it rankles me that it'll only be a clip. Such a stupid move. The Oscar were made for live moments like that, moments where you can celebrate the last of dying breeds and/or movie legends on the industry's High Holy Night as they mingle with contemporary stars and gazillions of people watch. And make no mistake, there are still plenty of people watching the Oscars every year despite the media's constant reports of Falling Sky! Falling Sky!

Just for fun, here's some of my favorite Tweets from "Lauren" over the past few months as she sounded off on smoking, cats, an unfinished Tarantino script, vampire and horror movies. So what if they were fake? They were so fun. Legendary name dropping, opinions, project pimping...




Now that the news and the tweets are out of the way I have to admit that I'm not really that well versed in Bacall's long career. I've always enjoyed her as a celebrity but aside from To Have and Have Not and How to Marry a Millionaire, my mind goes blank when it comes time to discussing her films. What's your favorite of her performances? Give us rental suggestions in the comments.