Michael Jackson
1958-2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Oscar’s Best Picture Nominees Will Expand to Ten
In the Best Picture category, instead of five nominees and one winner, next year there will be ten nominees and one winner.
Read article here:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/breaking-oscars-best-picture-nominees-will-expand-to-ten
My opinion? This is way too little, way too late...
The Academy needs a complete restructuring, right from the bottom up, with the addition of new categories like an Academy Award for CASTING, not to mention a change in the rules for who actually gets to be an Academy member (if an Academy member dies before their ten-year term as a voter is up, the privilege of voting often goes to a family member or spouse, even if they're not involved in the industry).
Oh well, at least they're doing something, I guess...
Read article here:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/breaking-oscars-best-picture-nominees-will-expand-to-ten
My opinion? This is way too little, way too late...
The Academy needs a complete restructuring, right from the bottom up, with the addition of new categories like an Academy Award for CASTING, not to mention a change in the rules for who actually gets to be an Academy member (if an Academy member dies before their ten-year term as a voter is up, the privilege of voting often goes to a family member or spouse, even if they're not involved in the industry).
Oh well, at least they're doing something, I guess...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Movies You May Have Missed - #8
Roger Dodger (2002)
As always, Facebook users need to click "View Original Post" to see the video clips.
Also, regarding the clips themselves: All of them contain varying amounts of strong language and/or semi-graphic sexual dialogue - so it's probably best to consider them NSFW.
Writer/director Dylan Kidd's debut feature Roger Dodger never really got the kind of attention it deserved when it was released back in 2002. But with its terrific, memorable dialogue and fascinating insight into human sexuality and loneliness, Kidd's film was able to garner critical acclaim, several awards, and a well-deserved place among many of 2002's "Best-of" lists.
Campbell Scott (Singles) plays the titular Roger, a perpetual bachelor whose life has always revolved around himself - and, by extension, his many women. A well-educated and intelligent man with an uncanny ability to quickly size-up anyone around him, he's been able to implement this talent into a successful career as an advertising executive, where he coerces people into playing a sort of "substitution game", as they attempt to fill the insufferable "voids" in their lives by purchasing material things.
There's only one thing Roger enjoys more than women: Hearing himself talk. Roger's a man with an answer for everything, and he wants to make sure you've heard every single word of it. This, of course, is where Dylan Kidd's amazing dialogue comes into play. I present to you the opening scene of the movie:
After watching the above clip, there's probably one thing that stood out for you even more than the deft wordplay... I'm talking, of course, of the camerawork. Now, this has proven to be a real sore spot with people. Even those who praised the dialogue and performances had a real problem with the constantly-moving, intentionally "shaky" hand-held camera. Me? I loved it. I thought it was perfect. It's a bold choice (the entire film is shot this way) - but for me, it's the perfect visual embodiment of Roger's chain-smoking, loose-cannon, shoot-from-the-hip character. The one sequence where the camera is locked off - a single shot near the end of the film - is a great pay-off, suggesting his character's growth and maturity. Of course, there were other technical and budgetary reasons behind the movie's style, but we'll get to that later...
So, from that first scene, we're introduced to the kind of person that Roger is, and has been, for quite some time. But Roger, now in his late 30's, has been flirting with stability. He's been in a relationship with his boss, Joyce (Isabella Rossellini), for an extended period of time. We sense that, with him reaching middle age and she being nearly twenty years older than him, he's grown content - perhaps even comfortable - with the arrangement. But his world is about to come crashing down.
Joyce dumps him, and Roger, enraged and at a loss for what to do next, returns to the late-night bar-hopping ways of which he's most familiar. We see him eyeing a girl across the room, and we think we know what's about to occur. But then Kidd's screenplay surprises us:
He obviously sees a parallel between these women and his own situation. But, feeling deeply hurt and betrayed, he's unable (or unwilling) to care about anyone or anything other than himself, and so he sets out to destroy them, so that he''ll be able to feel - if only for a moment - a little bit better about himself.
It's at moments like this when you realize how amazing the writing and direction - and especially Campbell Scott's performance - really are, because all of this is, at face value, some really fucked-up shit... But it's funny as hell, and you can't wait to see what will happen next.
What does happen next is not only a surprise, but the perfect place for the film to go. Roger's 16-year-old nephew, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg -The Squid and the Whale) drops by for a visit. The primary reason for Nick's New York trip is apparently some college interviews, but we quickly learn that he has other intentions: He's come for some much-needed advice from Roger...
The above sequence was shot in Times Square (only a month after 9/11), with no permits, and very little money. It was accomplished by placing the camera in a van, parked on the street, and placing a "shade" in the van's window which would allow the camera to see out, but no one else to see in. An obvious case of form following function, you can now see a main reason for the film's handheld look. The scene above was shot in the only way possible for the budget available: Throwing the two leads out into a sea of real people, and quickly framing-out of the picture the many, many people who have not signed releases to be in the film. But because they've started the film's bold camerawork from the very first scene, this sequence, admittedly chaotic from a cinematographic perspective, doesn't feel out of place.
So, without going much further and giving anything away, I'll mention that the film goes on to even more amazing dialogue and an incredible, nearly 30-minute sequence consisting entirely of four characters around a table. I'll leave it at that.
This picture, while not a huge success, was far from a failure. Its final gross was $1.2 million on a somewhat low budget. I've never been able to find an exact number on the budget, but it was not nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards' John Cassavetes Award (best film made for less than $500,000) so I'd guess that the budget was somewhere between that and $1 million.
The movie's real success was on the awards circuit: It won Best First Film at the Venice Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and (most surprisingly) Best Actor for Campbell Scott from the National Board of Review.
Dylan Kidd never really ended up delivering on the promise of this picture... His follow-up, P.S., starring Laura Linney, was based on a novel and was co-scripted by the novel's author and Kidd. A good film, but a complete 180-degree turn from Roger Dodger, and it only grossed $175,000.
So, in summation: Great movie, completely worth your time, not quite as dark as I may have made it seem from the comments and clips, and very, very funny.
(I should also mention that Spike Lee in 2005 named Roger Dodger as one of his "favorite films of the decade so far", alongside films like Brokeback Mountain and Requiem for a Dream.)
Also, regarding the clips themselves: All of them contain varying amounts of strong language and/or semi-graphic sexual dialogue - so it's probably best to consider them NSFW.
Writer/director Dylan Kidd's debut feature Roger Dodger never really got the kind of attention it deserved when it was released back in 2002. But with its terrific, memorable dialogue and fascinating insight into human sexuality and loneliness, Kidd's film was able to garner critical acclaim, several awards, and a well-deserved place among many of 2002's "Best-of" lists.
Campbell Scott (Singles) plays the titular Roger, a perpetual bachelor whose life has always revolved around himself - and, by extension, his many women. A well-educated and intelligent man with an uncanny ability to quickly size-up anyone around him, he's been able to implement this talent into a successful career as an advertising executive, where he coerces people into playing a sort of "substitution game", as they attempt to fill the insufferable "voids" in their lives by purchasing material things.
There's only one thing Roger enjoys more than women: Hearing himself talk. Roger's a man with an answer for everything, and he wants to make sure you've heard every single word of it. This, of course, is where Dylan Kidd's amazing dialogue comes into play. I present to you the opening scene of the movie:
After watching the above clip, there's probably one thing that stood out for you even more than the deft wordplay... I'm talking, of course, of the camerawork. Now, this has proven to be a real sore spot with people. Even those who praised the dialogue and performances had a real problem with the constantly-moving, intentionally "shaky" hand-held camera. Me? I loved it. I thought it was perfect. It's a bold choice (the entire film is shot this way) - but for me, it's the perfect visual embodiment of Roger's chain-smoking, loose-cannon, shoot-from-the-hip character. The one sequence where the camera is locked off - a single shot near the end of the film - is a great pay-off, suggesting his character's growth and maturity. Of course, there were other technical and budgetary reasons behind the movie's style, but we'll get to that later...
So, from that first scene, we're introduced to the kind of person that Roger is, and has been, for quite some time. But Roger, now in his late 30's, has been flirting with stability. He's been in a relationship with his boss, Joyce (Isabella Rossellini), for an extended period of time. We sense that, with him reaching middle age and she being nearly twenty years older than him, he's grown content - perhaps even comfortable - with the arrangement. But his world is about to come crashing down.
Joyce dumps him, and Roger, enraged and at a loss for what to do next, returns to the late-night bar-hopping ways of which he's most familiar. We see him eyeing a girl across the room, and we think we know what's about to occur. But then Kidd's screenplay surprises us:
He obviously sees a parallel between these women and his own situation. But, feeling deeply hurt and betrayed, he's unable (or unwilling) to care about anyone or anything other than himself, and so he sets out to destroy them, so that he''ll be able to feel - if only for a moment - a little bit better about himself.
It's at moments like this when you realize how amazing the writing and direction - and especially Campbell Scott's performance - really are, because all of this is, at face value, some really fucked-up shit... But it's funny as hell, and you can't wait to see what will happen next.
What does happen next is not only a surprise, but the perfect place for the film to go. Roger's 16-year-old nephew, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg -The Squid and the Whale) drops by for a visit. The primary reason for Nick's New York trip is apparently some college interviews, but we quickly learn that he has other intentions: He's come for some much-needed advice from Roger...
The above sequence was shot in Times Square (only a month after 9/11), with no permits, and very little money. It was accomplished by placing the camera in a van, parked on the street, and placing a "shade" in the van's window which would allow the camera to see out, but no one else to see in. An obvious case of form following function, you can now see a main reason for the film's handheld look. The scene above was shot in the only way possible for the budget available: Throwing the two leads out into a sea of real people, and quickly framing-out of the picture the many, many people who have not signed releases to be in the film. But because they've started the film's bold camerawork from the very first scene, this sequence, admittedly chaotic from a cinematographic perspective, doesn't feel out of place.
So, without going much further and giving anything away, I'll mention that the film goes on to even more amazing dialogue and an incredible, nearly 30-minute sequence consisting entirely of four characters around a table. I'll leave it at that.
This picture, while not a huge success, was far from a failure. Its final gross was $1.2 million on a somewhat low budget. I've never been able to find an exact number on the budget, but it was not nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards' John Cassavetes Award (best film made for less than $500,000) so I'd guess that the budget was somewhere between that and $1 million.
The movie's real success was on the awards circuit: It won Best First Film at the Venice Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and (most surprisingly) Best Actor for Campbell Scott from the National Board of Review.
Dylan Kidd never really ended up delivering on the promise of this picture... His follow-up, P.S., starring Laura Linney, was based on a novel and was co-scripted by the novel's author and Kidd. A good film, but a complete 180-degree turn from Roger Dodger, and it only grossed $175,000.
So, in summation: Great movie, completely worth your time, not quite as dark as I may have made it seem from the comments and clips, and very, very funny.
(I should also mention that Spike Lee in 2005 named Roger Dodger as one of his "favorite films of the decade so far", alongside films like Brokeback Mountain and Requiem for a Dream.)
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Baby reacts to "Where the Wild Things Are" Trailer
This has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen:
A one-year-old boy reacting to the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are.
I guess the studio shouldn't have had any worries about the movie not appealing to kids...
Here it is:
A one-year-old boy reacting to the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are.
I guess the studio shouldn't have had any worries about the movie not appealing to kids...
Here it is:
Trailer Reaction from We Love You So on Vimeo.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Movies You May Have Missed - #7
Jack the Bear (1993)
Wow, it's really been almost a month since I've posted anything? Crazy how time flies. Here's a new post for ya:
(As always, Facebook users must click "View Original Post" to see the clips)
Movies You May Have Missed #7:
Jack the Bear (1993)
Marshall Herskovitz has been responsible - in the form of either producer, writer, or director - for three of the best television shows of all time: Family (1976-1980), thirtysomething (1987-1991), and My So-Called Life (1994). After thirtysomething and before MSCL, Herskovitz made his feature directorial debut with this very likable little film.
Based on a novel by the same name, Jack the Bear centers on John Leary (Danny DeVito, in what is probably still his best-ever performance), a father who, after the death of his wife in a car accident, struggles to care for his two young sons: twelve-year-old Jack and three-year-old Dylan (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. and Miko Hughes, respectively).
In an attempt to give the family a fresh start, he moves with his boys to a close-knit, suburban community in Oakland, California. John - a kid-at-heart with some genuine comic ability - accepts a job as a late-night horror movie show host for a local TV station. The kids in the neighborhood, aware of his antics on the show, frequently knock on his door and ask him to play "the monster", chasing them around the yard as he pretends to be the character from his show. Behind closed doors, however, his title of "the monster" is, unfortunately, quite apt: He's a long-time alcoholic who's given to fits of rage while intoxicated. Since the death of his wife, the situation has gone from bad to worse, and since he's frequently drunk or hungover, older son Jack is forced to shoulder much of the responsibility for both the household, and his young brother Dylan.
This is a film that has somehow, over the years, fallen through the cracks. Reviews were mixed when it was released, and although it wasn't a total commercial bomb, it was far from successful (it grossed just over $5 million on a $3 million budget). With a wonderfully nuanced and touching performance from DeVito, and two of the most remarkable performances by young actors in quite some time, this is a film that's long overdue for a serious reevaluation.
The pedigree of the talent alone speaks volumes. Apart from Herskovitz, we have a great score by James Horner, and a script by future Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) who adapted Dan McCall's novel for the screen. Zaillian is able to strike a great balance between humor and sentiment, and succeeds in the difficult task of making DeVito's character sympathetic and likable. He's a flawed person, to be sure, but his character is so well-defined and anchored in reality that it makes both his inner-torment believable, and his eventual redemption emotionally satisfying. Very well-done.
And yes, that is a young Reese Witherspoon. The idea of young love is handled very well in this picture, by the way - just the right mix of awkwardness and longing and what-have-you. Set in 1972 Oakland, CA, the film also has a great sense of time and place. The feeling of a close-knit community is pretty spot-on, too; the neighborhood and its quirky inhabitants add another nice layer to the film.
Which brings us to the final act. It's the section of the picture that was most criticized. Without giving too much away, I'll briefly summarize: Throughout the film, in Jack's narration, we're introduced to a character named Norman Strick (played by the always-reliable Gary Sinise). He's quiet, lives alone, and keeps to himself. Needless to say, the children in the neighborhood find him to be pretty, well... creepy. On Halloween night, Norman stops by the Leary house, and shocks John by his actions in the following sequence:
(Oh yeah, word of caution: the following scene features some strong language. Nothing overly crude, but there are some racial epithets that some may find offensive)
So, yeah... the guy's a Nazi racist. Good times, eh?
Anyway, after a few twists and turns which I will not reveal here, the youngest son - 3-year-old Dylan - is kidnapped. This threatens to tear the family apart, as his deceased wife's parents (who've frequently voiced their disapproval of John's parenting because of his alcoholism) threaten to take the children away, as they believe he can no longer adequately care for them. And this all leads to a "showdown" of sorts - but probably not the kind you're expecting.
I'll be the first to admit that this last act is pretty unconventional. Most critics totally hated it. Even reviewers who had liked the film up until that point made sure to voice their displeasure. Loudly. But does it work? In my opinion... most definitely. Sure, it gets a little Hollywood-ized in this section, but the ending sure doesn't wrap everything up neatly with a ribbon and bow. It ends on a note of melancholy, with the distinct feeling that, while things have changed for the moment, and their lives have reached some sort of level of understanding and acceptance, it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of love. And that's the way it should be, because anything less would be a cop-out.
(As always, Facebook users must click "View Original Post" to see the clips)
Movies You May Have Missed #7:
Jack the Bear (1993)
Marshall Herskovitz has been responsible - in the form of either producer, writer, or director - for three of the best television shows of all time: Family (1976-1980), thirtysomething (1987-1991), and My So-Called Life (1994). After thirtysomething and before MSCL, Herskovitz made his feature directorial debut with this very likable little film.
Based on a novel by the same name, Jack the Bear centers on John Leary (Danny DeVito, in what is probably still his best-ever performance), a father who, after the death of his wife in a car accident, struggles to care for his two young sons: twelve-year-old Jack and three-year-old Dylan (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. and Miko Hughes, respectively).
In an attempt to give the family a fresh start, he moves with his boys to a close-knit, suburban community in Oakland, California. John - a kid-at-heart with some genuine comic ability - accepts a job as a late-night horror movie show host for a local TV station. The kids in the neighborhood, aware of his antics on the show, frequently knock on his door and ask him to play "the monster", chasing them around the yard as he pretends to be the character from his show. Behind closed doors, however, his title of "the monster" is, unfortunately, quite apt: He's a long-time alcoholic who's given to fits of rage while intoxicated. Since the death of his wife, the situation has gone from bad to worse, and since he's frequently drunk or hungover, older son Jack is forced to shoulder much of the responsibility for both the household, and his young brother Dylan.
This is a film that has somehow, over the years, fallen through the cracks. Reviews were mixed when it was released, and although it wasn't a total commercial bomb, it was far from successful (it grossed just over $5 million on a $3 million budget). With a wonderfully nuanced and touching performance from DeVito, and two of the most remarkable performances by young actors in quite some time, this is a film that's long overdue for a serious reevaluation.
The pedigree of the talent alone speaks volumes. Apart from Herskovitz, we have a great score by James Horner, and a script by future Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) who adapted Dan McCall's novel for the screen. Zaillian is able to strike a great balance between humor and sentiment, and succeeds in the difficult task of making DeVito's character sympathetic and likable. He's a flawed person, to be sure, but his character is so well-defined and anchored in reality that it makes both his inner-torment believable, and his eventual redemption emotionally satisfying. Very well-done.
And yes, that is a young Reese Witherspoon. The idea of young love is handled very well in this picture, by the way - just the right mix of awkwardness and longing and what-have-you. Set in 1972 Oakland, CA, the film also has a great sense of time and place. The feeling of a close-knit community is pretty spot-on, too; the neighborhood and its quirky inhabitants add another nice layer to the film.
Which brings us to the final act. It's the section of the picture that was most criticized. Without giving too much away, I'll briefly summarize: Throughout the film, in Jack's narration, we're introduced to a character named Norman Strick (played by the always-reliable Gary Sinise). He's quiet, lives alone, and keeps to himself. Needless to say, the children in the neighborhood find him to be pretty, well... creepy. On Halloween night, Norman stops by the Leary house, and shocks John by his actions in the following sequence:
(Oh yeah, word of caution: the following scene features some strong language. Nothing overly crude, but there are some racial epithets that some may find offensive)
So, yeah... the guy's a Nazi racist. Good times, eh?
Anyway, after a few twists and turns which I will not reveal here, the youngest son - 3-year-old Dylan - is kidnapped. This threatens to tear the family apart, as his deceased wife's parents (who've frequently voiced their disapproval of John's parenting because of his alcoholism) threaten to take the children away, as they believe he can no longer adequately care for them. And this all leads to a "showdown" of sorts - but probably not the kind you're expecting.
I'll be the first to admit that this last act is pretty unconventional. Most critics totally hated it. Even reviewers who had liked the film up until that point made sure to voice their displeasure. Loudly. But does it work? In my opinion... most definitely. Sure, it gets a little Hollywood-ized in this section, but the ending sure doesn't wrap everything up neatly with a ribbon and bow. It ends on a note of melancholy, with the distinct feeling that, while things have changed for the moment, and their lives have reached some sort of level of understanding and acceptance, it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of love. And that's the way it should be, because anything less would be a cop-out.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Wow.
Anybody else happen to catch the trailer for Spike Jonze's upcoming film Where the Wild Things Are?
Stop whatever you're doing right now and check it out below.
It looks AMAZING. Never read the book when I was younger, but I'm definitely excited for this. It's Spike's first film since Adaptation in 2002.
(Oh, and this is the HD version, so be sure to switch to full-screen mode and turn that sound up loud!)
Lots of behind-the-scenes drama on this one:
Stop whatever you're doing right now and check it out below.
It looks AMAZING. Never read the book when I was younger, but I'm definitely excited for this. It's Spike's first film since Adaptation in 2002.
(Oh, and this is the HD version, so be sure to switch to full-screen mode and turn that sound up loud!)
Lots of behind-the-scenes drama on this one:
- It was originally set up at Universal, but Spike and the studio had the classic "creative differences" and he took it to Warner Brothers.
- It's been in production since 2006 (that's when it started shooting - although some reports have said that filming began a year earlier in 2005) and is just now being finished.
- In an effort to give the film the surrealistic quality he wanted, Spike shot the majority of the film outside in the Australian wilderness. As most special effects-heavy pictures are shot inside on soundstages to provide more control over elements such as weather, the decision to shoot outside caused constant delays.
- Reports say that the estimated budget of $80 million may have ballooned to a figure of $115 million.
- Apparently, when the finished film was turned in to the studio last year, executives were shocked by what they saw - a dark, brooding picture that was deemed to be largely "inaccessible" to a family audience. They considered firing Jonze, hiring another director, and re-shooting the entire film, but instead he went back and completed several months of re-shoots in an effort to appease the studio and reach a satisfactory "middle-ground" in terms of tone and content. The release date was subsequently rescheduled from late 2008 to October of this year.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hey guys, just a quick post tonight - somebody wanted me to re-post this:
"The Great Movies"
I made this about 2 years ago. Took me about 3 nights to complete - most of that time was spent ripping the clips from the various movies. Full list of movies can be found below the video.
(As always, Facebook users have to click "View Original Post" to see the video.)
Score by Jerry Goldsmith (theme from "Rudy")
Clips from the following movies used in this video (in order):
Night of the Hunter
Breathless
Rain Man
Easy Rider
The Seventh Seal
The Shawshank Redemption
Brazil
Platoon
Fargo
Casablanca
The 400 Blows
2001: A Space Odyssey
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Midnight Cowboy
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Jaws
Rocky
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
On the Waterfront
Rebel Without a Cause
All Quiet on the Western Front
Fanny and Alexander
Harold and Maude
Back to the Future
Network
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Godfather
Dr. Strangelove
North by Northwest
A Clockwork Orange
12 Angry Men
Raging Bull
Apocalypse Now
Do the Right Thing
Annie Hall
Kramer vs. Kramer
Full Metal Jacket
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A Christmas Story
The Graduate
Taxi Driver
The Shining
Citizen Kane
The Wild Bunch
Cinema Paradiso
The Godfather, Part II
Apollo 13
Seven Samurai
Mean Streets
The Bicycle Thief
It's a Wonderful Life
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Streetcar Named Desire
Chinatown
The Searchers
Schindler's List
"The Great Movies"
I made this about 2 years ago. Took me about 3 nights to complete - most of that time was spent ripping the clips from the various movies. Full list of movies can be found below the video.
(As always, Facebook users have to click "View Original Post" to see the video.)
Score by Jerry Goldsmith (theme from "Rudy")
Clips from the following movies used in this video (in order):
Night of the Hunter
Breathless
Rain Man
Easy Rider
The Seventh Seal
The Shawshank Redemption
Brazil
Platoon
Fargo
Casablanca
The 400 Blows
2001: A Space Odyssey
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Midnight Cowboy
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Jaws
Rocky
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
On the Waterfront
Rebel Without a Cause
All Quiet on the Western Front
Fanny and Alexander
Harold and Maude
Back to the Future
Network
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Godfather
Dr. Strangelove
North by Northwest
A Clockwork Orange
12 Angry Men
Raging Bull
Apocalypse Now
Do the Right Thing
Annie Hall
Kramer vs. Kramer
Full Metal Jacket
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A Christmas Story
The Graduate
Taxi Driver
The Shining
Citizen Kane
The Wild Bunch
Cinema Paradiso
The Godfather, Part II
Apollo 13
Seven Samurai
Mean Streets
The Bicycle Thief
It's a Wonderful Life
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Streetcar Named Desire
Chinatown
The Searchers
Schindler's List
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
American High
Note: Facebook users have to click "View Original Post" to see the video clips.
Also, some of the clips below contain (mostly bleeped) strong language.
Today we're going to talk not about a movie, but instead a television series. The series in question is American High, a show that was briefly aired on Fox in the summer of 2000 (who airs a show about high school in the summer?) but canceled after only four episodes. Created by R.J. Cutler (who later went on to produce Morgan Spurlock's FX show 30 Days), American High was a documentary series presented in 30 minute episodes, in which we follow fourteen Illinois high school students (mostly Seniors) throughout a single year. Sound ambitious? Just wait, there's more... Along with the obligatory camera crew following the kids around, Cutler made the decision to equip each kid with their own DV camera, with which they would shoot their own footage. Originally meant only for shooting "Video Diary" segments which would be used later in editing for a narrative framing device, eventually the kids went off on their own and shot additional, non-"Diary" footage. The result was one of the most captivating, intimate, and honest looks into teenage life ever captured on film. I present to you the beginning of the first episode:
Wow. Brilliant, right? That has got to be one of the most amazing openings for a show, ever. Talk about setting the tone for a series...
So, anyway, Cutler produced 13 episodes of the show (including a one-hour finale), although only four ended up airing on Fox that summer. I was one of the few who watched those first episodes on Fox (it was the lowest-rated program on the network that year - ouch), and man, was I disappointed when it was canceled... Luckily, however, a year later PBS picked up the show and broadcast the entire 13 episodes over a several-week period (although they only aired it during those weeks and never re-aired it). Fortunately, I was able to record the entire series on videotape. Since it's never been officially released on DVD or any other format, this past week I started backing up my old tapes to DVD, and so I figured now would be a good time to share it with you all.
Each half-hour episode usually focused on 5-8 of the kids, and the opening credits were subtly different in each show, crediting the ones who appeared. The main subjects included:
From just a basic filmmaking perspective, there must have been an insane amount of footage to go through. The two film crews alone shot several hours of footage a day, seven days a week, for the entire school year (9 months). Then, add in the fact that you have an additional 14 cameras out there in the field, also shooting several hours of footage a day. That's over 75,000 hours of footage in total. Wow. That's crazy.
But it was also totally worth it. Take the scene below, for example. Morgan, using his "video diary" camera in a decidedly different way: walking around the house as his parents yell at him.
This is the show at its most unique, cinéma vérité best. People tend to clam up when a professional camera crew is around; whether it's intentional or not, it's completely natural. But that's not the case when it's just "a kid with a camera". Because of this, the show is full of great moments like the one above, whether it be nice little moments of happenstance, or late-night confessions by the kids, lying in their bed and lit only by a flashlight.
The professional crew was also able to capture great footage; just check out this scene below:
Immensely relatable, completely honest, and very, very funny.
And one of my favorite moments from the series - Allie singing along to Steve Miller's "The Joker" in her car. She follows right along, but trails off during the line "I sure don't want to hurt no one..." I'm probably reading too much into it, but I love it:
Because PBS airs programs with no commercials, and the episodes don't quite fill up an entire half-hour block (they're 22 minutes) when the series was picked up by them the following year, we also got a great bonus: R.J. Cutler filled up the extra time by producing new five-minute segments that aired after each episode. Titled "Stories From the Field", each segment deals with certain behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, including interviews with many of the producers and some never-before-seen footage. Here's the first segment, which aired after the first episode:
So, yeah... a wonderful, criminally underseen show that deserves to be rediscovered (and hopefully released one day on DVD - although I think music-rights issues will prevent that from happening for a while; there's lots of contemporary, popular music on that show). I will eventually post all the episodes up online in their full form, and post a message here to let you guys know when that happens.
I should also mention that American High won the Emmy for Best Non-Fiction Program, based solely on the four episodes that aired, and not the complete thirteen. It was nominated again the following year for the same award, this time for the rest of the episodes that had finally aired on PBS. (Unfortunately, this award has been re-named "Best Reality TV Program", and now counts shows like Extreme Makeover among its winners.)
It's not perfect - it sometimes suffers from "TV-itis", with melodramatic music and longing shots of teens looking at the horizon... and the middle episodes sometimes suffer from character overload, but for a 6-plus hour documentary production, it really is an amazing achievement, and one of the best programs ever produced for American television. It deserves, in my opinion, to be mentioned right up alongside Hoop Dreams as one of the best documentaries ever made.
(Postscript: R.J. Cutler returned to similar territory in 2003 with Freshman Diaries for Showtime, which followed first-year college students. Good program, but not as memorable.
Also, even though PBS only aired it once, its website for American High is, amazingly, still up. It's located here. Also, the AH page on Cutler's official company website, Actual Reality Pictures, is here.)
Also, some of the clips below contain (mostly bleeped) strong language.
Today we're going to talk not about a movie, but instead a television series. The series in question is American High, a show that was briefly aired on Fox in the summer of 2000 (who airs a show about high school in the summer?) but canceled after only four episodes. Created by R.J. Cutler (who later went on to produce Morgan Spurlock's FX show 30 Days), American High was a documentary series presented in 30 minute episodes, in which we follow fourteen Illinois high school students (mostly Seniors) throughout a single year. Sound ambitious? Just wait, there's more... Along with the obligatory camera crew following the kids around, Cutler made the decision to equip each kid with their own DV camera, with which they would shoot their own footage. Originally meant only for shooting "Video Diary" segments which would be used later in editing for a narrative framing device, eventually the kids went off on their own and shot additional, non-"Diary" footage. The result was one of the most captivating, intimate, and honest looks into teenage life ever captured on film. I present to you the beginning of the first episode:
Wow. Brilliant, right? That has got to be one of the most amazing openings for a show, ever. Talk about setting the tone for a series...
So, anyway, Cutler produced 13 episodes of the show (including a one-hour finale), although only four ended up airing on Fox that summer. I was one of the few who watched those first episodes on Fox (it was the lowest-rated program on the network that year - ouch), and man, was I disappointed when it was canceled... Luckily, however, a year later PBS picked up the show and broadcast the entire 13 episodes over a several-week period (although they only aired it during those weeks and never re-aired it). Fortunately, I was able to record the entire series on videotape. Since it's never been officially released on DVD or any other format, this past week I started backing up my old tapes to DVD, and so I figured now would be a good time to share it with you all.
Each half-hour episode usually focused on 5-8 of the kids, and the opening credits were subtly different in each show, crediting the ones who appeared. The main subjects included:
- Morgan (featured in the video above) - A somewhat childish, reckless teen suffering from ADD, who constantly struggles to pass his classes in his Senior year.
- Brad - A gay Senior who has kept his sexuality secret until only six months previous, when he decided to "come out" in the middle of his Junior year. He's also the only openly gay student in the entire school.
- Robby - Brad's straight friend, also a Senior, known around school for being a "jock", but who has much more going on underneath the surface.
- Sarah - Robby's girlfriend, who, in her Junior year, struggles with the fact that Robby is graduating at the end of the year and moving away for college.
- Allie - A Senior who ditched four months of school last year and may not graduate. Her home life is also in turmoil, with parents who are divorcing and her father set to marry the woman he left his wife for.
- Kiwi - Kicker on the school's football team, who is looking forward to playing for a college team next year.
- Anna - Kiwi's long-time friend, who, despite being beautiful and single, is perpetually boyfriend-less, mostly due to an overprotective father - who is also pressuring her to attend his alma mater, Brown University, next year.
- Pablo - Born in Ecuador and moved with his mother to the U.S. when he was young. His mother's been divorced twice, and he lives with her and his young half-sister. A talented writer, poet, and photographer, he's also well-known amongst school administrators for his frequent troublemaking and drug involvement. In a surprising turn of events, near the end of the series, he considers enlisting in the Marines instead of going to college next year.
- Suzy - A shy, insecure Senior whose one joy in life is singing. With ambitions of one day becoming an opera singer, and her fluctuating weight a constant damper on her self-esteem, she decides to basically give up on a high school "social life" and spend her Senior year refining her craft and pursuing her dream.
- Kaytee - One of the few Juniors chronicled in the series. A talented singer and songwriter, she really hasn't pursued this avenue seriously until this year, when she starts recording demos and performing in small gigs around town.
From just a basic filmmaking perspective, there must have been an insane amount of footage to go through. The two film crews alone shot several hours of footage a day, seven days a week, for the entire school year (9 months). Then, add in the fact that you have an additional 14 cameras out there in the field, also shooting several hours of footage a day. That's over 75,000 hours of footage in total. Wow. That's crazy.
But it was also totally worth it. Take the scene below, for example. Morgan, using his "video diary" camera in a decidedly different way: walking around the house as his parents yell at him.
This is the show at its most unique, cinéma vérité best. People tend to clam up when a professional camera crew is around; whether it's intentional or not, it's completely natural. But that's not the case when it's just "a kid with a camera". Because of this, the show is full of great moments like the one above, whether it be nice little moments of happenstance, or late-night confessions by the kids, lying in their bed and lit only by a flashlight.
The professional crew was also able to capture great footage; just check out this scene below:
Immensely relatable, completely honest, and very, very funny.
And one of my favorite moments from the series - Allie singing along to Steve Miller's "The Joker" in her car. She follows right along, but trails off during the line "I sure don't want to hurt no one..." I'm probably reading too much into it, but I love it:
Because PBS airs programs with no commercials, and the episodes don't quite fill up an entire half-hour block (they're 22 minutes) when the series was picked up by them the following year, we also got a great bonus: R.J. Cutler filled up the extra time by producing new five-minute segments that aired after each episode. Titled "Stories From the Field", each segment deals with certain behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, including interviews with many of the producers and some never-before-seen footage. Here's the first segment, which aired after the first episode:
So, yeah... a wonderful, criminally underseen show that deserves to be rediscovered (and hopefully released one day on DVD - although I think music-rights issues will prevent that from happening for a while; there's lots of contemporary, popular music on that show). I will eventually post all the episodes up online in their full form, and post a message here to let you guys know when that happens.
I should also mention that American High won the Emmy for Best Non-Fiction Program, based solely on the four episodes that aired, and not the complete thirteen. It was nominated again the following year for the same award, this time for the rest of the episodes that had finally aired on PBS. (Unfortunately, this award has been re-named "Best Reality TV Program", and now counts shows like Extreme Makeover among its winners.)
It's not perfect - it sometimes suffers from "TV-itis", with melodramatic music and longing shots of teens looking at the horizon... and the middle episodes sometimes suffer from character overload, but for a 6-plus hour documentary production, it really is an amazing achievement, and one of the best programs ever produced for American television. It deserves, in my opinion, to be mentioned right up alongside Hoop Dreams as one of the best documentaries ever made.
(Postscript: R.J. Cutler returned to similar territory in 2003 with Freshman Diaries for Showtime, which followed first-year college students. Good program, but not as memorable.
Also, even though PBS only aired it once, its website for American High is, amazingly, still up. It's located here. Also, the AH page on Cutler's official company website, Actual Reality Pictures, is here.)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Movies You May Have Missed - #6
Matinee (1993)
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"When I was in film school, I was the only kid wearing a Roger Corman button. Everybody else had a Jean-Luc Godard button. So I was a fan. I grew up watching Roger's pictures. I always thought he was a great filmmaker."
-Joe Dante
Matinee is director Joe Dante's love letter to the movies - and, more specifically, the "B movie" genre of the 50's and 60's. It's also one of the best matches of director and screenplay that you'll probably ever see.
Out of all the films I've talked about on this site, this is probably the one you're least likely to have seen. Not by virtue of its quality, but simply the fact that it's been out of print, in every format - VHS, laserdisc, and DVD - for over ten years. Used copies usually sell for over $50, and a brand new, sealed DVD of this film can easily go for $200. It's a shame, because it's one of Joe Dante's best films.
Set in Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Matinee stars John Goodman (in one of his best performances) as Lawrence Woolsey, a small-time film promoter who makes - what else? - monster movies. He's trying to sell his latest picture, MANT!, a cheesy horror film in which nuclear radiation turns a man into - you guessed it - a half-man, half-ant creature. In an effort to sell his movie to theater owners, he decides to preview the film with audiences. And what better place than in Key West, Florida, where the residents are frozen with fear at the potential of nuclear destruction. They're already scared, and Woolsey thinks his monster movie just might be enough to push everyone over the edge, and turn his film into an enormous hit.
In all honesty, this movie is a mess. There's secondary characters and subplots all over the place, and most of the running time consists of a bland teen romance. But it's all worth it to see Dante's unabashed tribute to the movies.
Having grown up on Roger Corman's films, and having started his career on Corman pictures such as Piranha, Dante knows this material well. He knows the appeal of these films, and the reason for that appeal. While poking good-natured fun at the low production value and bad acting in these pictures, he never looks down on them. He knows they're just as valid as anything else. And that's why almost everything in the film rings true.
Matinee was co-written by Charlie Haas, who had earlier worked with Dante on Gremlins 2. Something special seems to happen when these guys get together. In the case of the earlier film, Warner Brothers was in desperate need of a sequel to Gremlins, and begged Dante to make another one, after several other directors had turned them down. Dante agreed to make the film on one condition: that he be allowed to do whatever he wanted. The result of this was one of the most insane studio pictures ever made. Filled with vicious satire and an off-the-wall tone akin to a live-action cartoon, this second Gremlins film was the rare chance for Dante to completely let loose. Dante and Haas have managed to re-capture some of that magic here, and not surprisingly, both films are very similar in form and function: A wafer-thin plot, which serves only to place the characters in a situation that Dante can riff on for the rest of the film.
With Corman as his inspiration and his idol, Dante has made a career out of making the films he's always loved: low-budget monster movies. The only difference is that he's somehow been able to make them in Hollywood with millions of dollars of their money. And this is his tribute to the old days, when cheesy monsters and a well-timed buzzer under the seat could still give someone a cheap thrill. People will probably always remember Joe Dante for films like Gremlins and The Howling, but the rest of us, the ones who really understand what he's all about, will always remember Matinee as his magnum opus.
Oh, and remember: Keep your eyes open for the scary parts...
"When I was in film school, I was the only kid wearing a Roger Corman button. Everybody else had a Jean-Luc Godard button. So I was a fan. I grew up watching Roger's pictures. I always thought he was a great filmmaker."
-Joe Dante
Matinee is director Joe Dante's love letter to the movies - and, more specifically, the "B movie" genre of the 50's and 60's. It's also one of the best matches of director and screenplay that you'll probably ever see.
Out of all the films I've talked about on this site, this is probably the one you're least likely to have seen. Not by virtue of its quality, but simply the fact that it's been out of print, in every format - VHS, laserdisc, and DVD - for over ten years. Used copies usually sell for over $50, and a brand new, sealed DVD of this film can easily go for $200. It's a shame, because it's one of Joe Dante's best films.
Set in Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Matinee stars John Goodman (in one of his best performances) as Lawrence Woolsey, a small-time film promoter who makes - what else? - monster movies. He's trying to sell his latest picture, MANT!, a cheesy horror film in which nuclear radiation turns a man into - you guessed it - a half-man, half-ant creature. In an effort to sell his movie to theater owners, he decides to preview the film with audiences. And what better place than in Key West, Florida, where the residents are frozen with fear at the potential of nuclear destruction. They're already scared, and Woolsey thinks his monster movie just might be enough to push everyone over the edge, and turn his film into an enormous hit.
In all honesty, this movie is a mess. There's secondary characters and subplots all over the place, and most of the running time consists of a bland teen romance. But it's all worth it to see Dante's unabashed tribute to the movies.
Having grown up on Roger Corman's films, and having started his career on Corman pictures such as Piranha, Dante knows this material well. He knows the appeal of these films, and the reason for that appeal. While poking good-natured fun at the low production value and bad acting in these pictures, he never looks down on them. He knows they're just as valid as anything else. And that's why almost everything in the film rings true.
Matinee was co-written by Charlie Haas, who had earlier worked with Dante on Gremlins 2. Something special seems to happen when these guys get together. In the case of the earlier film, Warner Brothers was in desperate need of a sequel to Gremlins, and begged Dante to make another one, after several other directors had turned them down. Dante agreed to make the film on one condition: that he be allowed to do whatever he wanted. The result of this was one of the most insane studio pictures ever made. Filled with vicious satire and an off-the-wall tone akin to a live-action cartoon, this second Gremlins film was the rare chance for Dante to completely let loose. Dante and Haas have managed to re-capture some of that magic here, and not surprisingly, both films are very similar in form and function: A wafer-thin plot, which serves only to place the characters in a situation that Dante can riff on for the rest of the film.
With Corman as his inspiration and his idol, Dante has made a career out of making the films he's always loved: low-budget monster movies. The only difference is that he's somehow been able to make them in Hollywood with millions of dollars of their money. And this is his tribute to the old days, when cheesy monsters and a well-timed buzzer under the seat could still give someone a cheap thrill. People will probably always remember Joe Dante for films like Gremlins and The Howling, but the rest of us, the ones who really understand what he's all about, will always remember Matinee as his magnum opus.
Oh, and remember: Keep your eyes open for the scary parts...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Movies You May Have Missed - #5
The Cure (1995)
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This little forgotten film from 1995 stars Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) and the late Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers) as two young boys who set off down the Mississippi River to find a cure for AIDS, a disease which the Mazzello character suffers from. This story could have been ripe fodder for a bad TV movie, but instead becomes much more.
Peter Horton, a frequent TV director of shows like thirtysomething and The Wonder Years, made his first and only theatrical feature with this film, and it's a shame that he's yet to make another. His direction is confident and assured, and he shows a particular strength for directing the young actors in the film. The screenplay by Robert Kuhn thankfully sidesteps melodrama and theatrics, and remains simple, nuanced, and deeply moving. So it's similarly puzzling that Kuhn has also disappeared from features, having co-written only one film since this.
Mazzello and Renfro are terrifically cast, and are able to lift already good scenes off the page and turn them into sensational, heartbreaking moments.
This movie was barely a blip on the radar back in 1995, barely making back its minuscule $3 million budget. But today it stands, in my opinion, right up alongside Stand By Me as one of the best films about childhood - and friendship - ever made.
This little forgotten film from 1995 stars Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) and the late Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers) as two young boys who set off down the Mississippi River to find a cure for AIDS, a disease which the Mazzello character suffers from. This story could have been ripe fodder for a bad TV movie, but instead becomes much more.
Peter Horton, a frequent TV director of shows like thirtysomething and The Wonder Years, made his first and only theatrical feature with this film, and it's a shame that he's yet to make another. His direction is confident and assured, and he shows a particular strength for directing the young actors in the film. The screenplay by Robert Kuhn thankfully sidesteps melodrama and theatrics, and remains simple, nuanced, and deeply moving. So it's similarly puzzling that Kuhn has also disappeared from features, having co-written only one film since this.
Mazzello and Renfro are terrifically cast, and are able to lift already good scenes off the page and turn them into sensational, heartbreaking moments.
This movie was barely a blip on the radar back in 1995, barely making back its minuscule $3 million budget. But today it stands, in my opinion, right up alongside Stand By Me as one of the best films about childhood - and friendship - ever made.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Benjamin Button on Criterion too? Yes!
Wow. Pretty rare for a new-release title to debut on the Criterion label (except of course for Wes Anderson's movies), but I'm extremely happy that Button's going to be a Criterion release.
This was first reported over at The Digital Bits - visit the site for release info and cover artwork. I must also say I'm really happy with the cover artwork. It's a variation of the original poster, but it's nice and simple. Hope it stays that way.
It only sucks that The Wrestler is stuck over on the Fox Searchlight label. The DVD will only contain a few featurettes, and NO COMMENTARY from Aronofsky. Really sucks.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
My Dinner With Andre coming to DVD - from CRITERION!!
Hey guys, I've been busy lately, so I haven't been posting that much. But the next few days you'll see some interesting stuff, mostly some older movies I've revisited lately after having not seen them in a while.
But anyway, the real reason for this post is the news I discovered this evening:
The awesome 1981 film My Dinner With Andre (starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, and directed by Louis Malle) is FINALLY coming back to DVD via the amazing people over at the Criterion Collection (www.criterion.com). Now, this movie was actually released on DVD before, back in 1998, but then went out of print. It was not uncommon the last couple of years to see a used copy of the DVD selling for over $200 online. I (thankfully) resisted the urge to buy it, and now the best DVD company in the business has it set for release on June 23rd of this year.
I guess this post is really for my brother, Jim - the person who introduced me to the movie years ago...I don't know if you have that DVD (or maybe an old VHS), but damn, man - finally! Great news, right? Anyways, click here for more info on the release specs and whatnot.
But anyway, the real reason for this post is the news I discovered this evening:
The awesome 1981 film My Dinner With Andre (starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, and directed by Louis Malle) is FINALLY coming back to DVD via the amazing people over at the Criterion Collection (www.criterion.com). Now, this movie was actually released on DVD before, back in 1998, but then went out of print. It was not uncommon the last couple of years to see a used copy of the DVD selling for over $200 online. I (thankfully) resisted the urge to buy it, and now the best DVD company in the business has it set for release on June 23rd of this year.
I guess this post is really for my brother, Jim - the person who introduced me to the movie years ago...I don't know if you have that DVD (or maybe an old VHS), but damn, man - finally! Great news, right? Anyways, click here for more info on the release specs and whatnot.
Monday, March 02, 2009
The Red Balloon
Boy, do I have a treat for you guys! Below I've posted the entire 34-minute short film The Red Balloon. A French film from 1956, written and directed by Albert Lamorisse, it's about a red balloon that seems to have a mind of its own, and follows a little boy through the streets of Paris.
A total masterpiece, it won the Palme d'Or (Best Picture) at the Cannes Film Festival, and also won the Oscar for Best Screenplay (the only short film to have ever won the award). So sit back with your kids, your grandkids, or just by yourself, and watch this great little movie.
A total masterpiece, it won the Palme d'Or (Best Picture) at the Cannes Film Festival, and also won the Oscar for Best Screenplay (the only short film to have ever won the award). So sit back with your kids, your grandkids, or just by yourself, and watch this great little movie.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Best Films of the Year 2008 (in order):
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Wrestler (tie)
- The Dark Knight
- WALL-E
- Milk
- Frost/Nixon
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno
- Snow Angels
Friday, February 20, 2009
Frost/Nixon, and The Reader
Frost/Nixon
An extraordinary film and one of the best "political" films since All the President's Men.
This is a firecracker of a movie. Ron Howard is a director that understands how to take complicated matters and put them into layman's terms on screen (think Apollo 13), and this is no exception. With Hans Zimmer's excellent score driving the film forward, Howard is able to take scene after scene of, well, people sitting in rooms talking, and turn it into some of the most compelling stuff of the year. Excellent cast - right down to the supporting roles - and a great script by Peter Morgan (The Queen), who adapts his own play for the screen. Wonderful movie. Go see it.
The Reader
Wow... where to start? This movie has no business being nominated for Best Picture. It's not terrible by any means, but certainly not worthy of being listed among the other four nominees. The entire first half of the film simply doesn't work. It's even more frustrating because it's nothing you can put your finger on - it just never really "clicks". The second half is another matter - it's a much better movie after the first hour. But because the first half has come and gone with little to show for it, there's little emotional impact to be had. Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours) does his best with the material, but I have a feeling that hardly anyone could have adapted this story for the screen. The screenwriter, David Hare, was committed to adapting Bernhard Schlink's novel without using voiceover. A commendable challenge, but it ends up hurting the picture, as we're never able to get inside anyone's head. There are several montage sequences in which a character is reading aloud from a book - not his own thoughts. These scenes stand out, and the editing is excellent - but that's it in terms of voiceover. These five minutes or so are a rare glimpse inside of his head, but it only serves to highlight how good the movie could have been. Kate Winslet is excellent (is she ever not?) but this is nowhere near her best performance. It looks as if she'll finally win for this movie, but her other nominations were far more deserved.
"Best Actress" really should have been this film's only nomination, but unfortunately it's right at the top with the four other nominees for Best Picture. Why not The Dark Knight? Or The Wrestler? Or even WALL-E? Oh well... this is the Academy, after all. It's not common sense.
Tomorrow night: My "Top 10 Films" list.
An extraordinary film and one of the best "political" films since All the President's Men.
This is a firecracker of a movie. Ron Howard is a director that understands how to take complicated matters and put them into layman's terms on screen (think Apollo 13), and this is no exception. With Hans Zimmer's excellent score driving the film forward, Howard is able to take scene after scene of, well, people sitting in rooms talking, and turn it into some of the most compelling stuff of the year. Excellent cast - right down to the supporting roles - and a great script by Peter Morgan (The Queen), who adapts his own play for the screen. Wonderful movie. Go see it.
The Reader
Wow... where to start? This movie has no business being nominated for Best Picture. It's not terrible by any means, but certainly not worthy of being listed among the other four nominees. The entire first half of the film simply doesn't work. It's even more frustrating because it's nothing you can put your finger on - it just never really "clicks". The second half is another matter - it's a much better movie after the first hour. But because the first half has come and gone with little to show for it, there's little emotional impact to be had. Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours) does his best with the material, but I have a feeling that hardly anyone could have adapted this story for the screen. The screenwriter, David Hare, was committed to adapting Bernhard Schlink's novel without using voiceover. A commendable challenge, but it ends up hurting the picture, as we're never able to get inside anyone's head. There are several montage sequences in which a character is reading aloud from a book - not his own thoughts. These scenes stand out, and the editing is excellent - but that's it in terms of voiceover. These five minutes or so are a rare glimpse inside of his head, but it only serves to highlight how good the movie could have been. Kate Winslet is excellent (is she ever not?) but this is nowhere near her best performance. It looks as if she'll finally win for this movie, but her other nominations were far more deserved.
"Best Actress" really should have been this film's only nomination, but unfortunately it's right at the top with the four other nominees for Best Picture. Why not The Dark Knight? Or The Wrestler? Or even WALL-E? Oh well... this is the Academy, after all. It's not common sense.
Tomorrow night: My "Top 10 Films" list.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Real Time
Here we have a Canadian film from 2008, which wasn't even given a theatrical release in the U.S., save for a couple of festival showings. It's unfortunate, because it's truly an undiscovered gem of a picture - easily among the best of the year.I must preface this review by pointing out how astonishingly bad this film could have been. The plot is wafer-thin, and something we've seen many times before: A hit-man (Randy Quaid) gives a compulsive gambler who's $68,000 in debt (Jay Baruchel - Knocked Up, I'm Reed Fish) one hour to live. The movie takes place in "real time" - thus the almost cringe-worthy aptness of the title. So yes, by reading the paragraph above, it seems like an interesting diversion, but not exactly something to put on your must-see list.
But somehow, some way, this movie works. Credit a great script by writer/director Randall Cole and wonderful performances by the two leads for this movie's success. This is a film about dialogue. It's a low-budget picture, and mostly consists of the two men talking to each other in a car. It's sort of what I call the "holy trinity" of independent film. Some people may not be into it, but for my money, if you have two great actors speaking great dialogue, it's just as exciting as a car chase.
In this picture, all three guys step up to the plate and hit immediate home runs. Baruchel is great as lovable loser Andy Hayes, a guy who's most definitely getting what he deserves, but who somehow makes you feel that he deserves yet another chance. Randy Quaid turns in a career-best performance as Reuben, the hit-man who gives Andy one last hour to settle his affairs. Quaid has taken some real chances as of late, playing the homophobic ranch boss in Brokeback Mountain, and now this. In this picture, he plays the role with an Australian accent. What could have been a laughable mistake turns out to be a pitch-perfect and memorable character. People these days remember Quaid from his role as "Cousin Eddie" in the Vacation movies, but I always remembered him most from his early role in Hal Ashby's 1973 film The Last Detail (for which he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor), where he played a quiet, timid Navy man. In all honesty, if you compare these four roles - Cousin Eddie, Brokeback, Real Time, and Last Detail - this guy has some amazing range. Kudos to Quaid for taking these increasingly risky parts.
Last but not least, Randall Cole's script manages to be both funny and somber, at exactly the right moments - all in the span of a scant 77 minutes. And while there's only a few characters to speak of, they're all pretty well-drawn, given their short screen time. His direction is fittingly sparse, letting the actors take center stage.
The movie's not perfect - one sequence taking place at a fried-chicken restaurant (Andy's old job) feels strangely out-of place as it tries to hammer the humor home. But even this isn't a complete failure: I understand what Cole was trying to do, and the ending of the sequence provides a nice moment for the character of Andy. Hey - you can't have everything, right?
There are two moments in the film which I particularly liked. Two brief things which probably take up 10 seconds of screen time. Early in the film, speaking of long lost memories, Andy mentions playing with a Playdough barber shop toy when he was a kid. It's a short, fleeting moment, but it's a nice little detail. Later on, at his grandmother's house, he opens the refrigerator and presents Reuben with a deformed, flattened bottle of soda. As he does this, he explains how his grandmother would squeeze every last bit of air out of a two-liter bottle of soda, in order to maintain its freshness longer. Another nice little moment. A movie can't quite survive solely on things like this, but when they're present, they add just that little bit extra to push a good movie over into being great. I'm still thinking about this movie two days after I've seen it. Who knows if I'll be thinking of this movie two months or even two years from now, but at this moment, I still think it's pretty damn good.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
I would just like you guys to compare these two...
Joaquin Phoenix last night on Letterman:
Here's CBS's "official" shortened version, in case they take this one down:
Crispin Glover's infamous appearance on Letterman in 1987:
Déjà vu...
As a side note, I really hope this thing with Joaquin is all an elaborate joke.
Joaquin Phoenix last night on Letterman:
Here's CBS's "official" shortened version, in case they take this one down:
Crispin Glover's infamous appearance on Letterman in 1987:
Déjà vu...
As a side note, I really hope this thing with Joaquin is all an elaborate joke.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Revolutionary Road
I actually saw this about a month ago, but never felt compelled to write about it. I still don't, I suppose. This movie is just.... ehh. I never really cared about anyone or anything in this movie. It's based on an acclaimed novel from the early sixties, and while the content of the book was, well, revolutionary at the time, lots of time has passed since. In the movie world, we've seen lots of similar films covering similar subjects, and while this picture is definitely solid work from everyone involved, it's just all been done before, and better.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Lux Interior (1946-2009)
Lead singer of The Cramps
James Whitmore (1921-2009)
Actor (The Shawshank Redemption)
Lead singer of The Cramps
James Whitmore (1921-2009)
Actor (The Shawshank Redemption)
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