In this installment of DVD (and sometimes Netflix Instant Play) reviews we cover an amazing directorial debut, a Portuguese melodrama, and a biopic about one of the most controversial public figures of the twentieth century from a director who lived through almost all of it (I know, I have penance to do for that one, sorry Mr. Eastwood). Let the games begin:
Tyrannosaur - It seems like almost all of my favorite movies from 2011 made no money at the box office. I swear, it's not a personal bias. In 2010, films like Inception, Black Swan, and How To Train Your Dragon were at or near the top of my list. Even Exit Through the Gift Shop was a serious success story as far as docs go. But that was 2010...
I LOVED Tyrannosaur. Actor turned writer/director Paddy Considine should be immensely proud of his freshman effort. In it, he tells the story of a broken man who meets a good Christian woman whose world falls apart. It's about how easily man (or woman) can become like a beast and how treacherous the climb back out of that state can be. It is brutal and hard to watch in places. Everything means something, yet nothing about the film preaches at you or interrupts the believability of the story for the sake of symbolism.
Speaking of the believability of the story: You would be hard pressed to find two more natural performances or fully realized characters on the screen than this film's two leads. There was a movement among critics last year to try and get more attention paid to Olivia Colman in the awards races. If I had seen this film at that point I would have been rooting for both her and co-star Peter Mullan, who I found to be every bit as good.
This is a simple film, that tells an interesting story, with brilliant performances and it just works. Check it out. Available on DVD, coming soon to Netflix Instant Play. 5 of 5*
Mysteries of Lisbon - One of the late director Raoul Ruiz's final projects before his death last year, this film tells a story that Dickens would have told had he been Portuguese. It is full of twists, turns, accidents of birth, and unforeseen connections between people, time, and events. It is a mystery that we enter in the middle and discover largely in flashbacks covering over a decade of history. It covers this at its own relaxed pace, the film is six and a half hours long. I think that an hour or so could have been trimmed, but nowhere near enough to make it into a normal length movie. There is just too much story here. Treat it like a mini-series and you should be fine.
I will say that the acting was a little melodramatic for my tastes, even if the story is a bit of a melodrama. There were a few too many teethmarks in the (beautiful) scenery that didn't belong there. Otherwise, I would likely have scored the film higher, as the plot is fantastic. Available on DVD and Netflix Instant Play. 4 of 5*
J. Edgar - This film is the Leo show in much the same way that I pegged The Iron Lady as the Streep show. Most of what there is to recommend in this film is DiCaprio's performance. It is not his best work, but it is still beyond what most actors could have done with the role and served to elevate the quality of the movie overall. Which is not to say that this is a BAD film, it's just a little old-fashioned and has some annoying make-up work. In THAT respect, The Streep Show was actually stronger.
Eastwood's style as a director is beginning to appear something of a throwback. It was an interesting experiment to try and pair him with a writer like Dustin Lance Black, a writer very much of the NOW, and see if this could make him edgier or more current. The problem is that their styles never really meshed, and you wound up with a movie that is not quite one thing, and not quite another.
Aside from DiCaprio, Judy Dench gets best in show as J. Edgar's mother, although it is a fairly limited role. Watts was respectable in another small part, and Armee Hammer is pretty uneven in a much larger one. All in all, sort of mixed bag. Available on DVD. 3 1/2 of 5*
Awards Buzz, Oscar Predictions, Classic Cinema, and Movie Reviews
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Martha's Certified Method
In this installment of DVD reviews we cover a multi-lingual relationship drama, a costume psycho-sexual drama and perhaps the year's best freshman directorial effort. Let's jump in:
Martha Marcy Mae Marlene - Martha, etc. is another true indie drama like Bellflower that I discussed in my last post from another first time writer/director: Drake Doremus. Here, however, the craft is much more refined. There is still a rawness to it, but the edits are more natural, the acting more engaging. The basic premise is that a young woman escapes from a violent quasi-polygamist cult and has difficulty overcoming her brainwashing to mix back into society, all the while looking over her shoulder for signs of her former "family". I did think that the script left a few too many pieces for the audience to fill in, particularly at the end, but it is an incredibly promising effort that leaves me anxiously awaiting Doremus's next project.
You can't talk about this film without addressing the cast, primarily Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes. Newcomer Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of Celebrity Apprentice 2014 fodder (just a smart next career move suggestion) the Olsen twins so you know she started training with an acting coach before she started toilet training. However, so did her sisters, and the lessons didn't have nearly the same results. Olsen was on the edge of the best actress race this year and she deserved to be: a stunning debut. John Hawkes, on the other hand, is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. I've appreciated his work since HBO's Deadwood, but with Winter's Bone, this film, and this year's Sundance darling The Surrogate it seems like there is now a "John Hawkes kind of movie" on the indie circuit. His performances are understated, his characters are complex, and he elevates the quality of everything he's involved with. Marcy is no different.
Although Marcy was not a great film, it was a very good one that I would definitely recommend. If for no other reason, see it so that you can say that you remember Doremus, Olsen, and Hawkes when. Available on DVD 4 of 5*
Certified Copy - Writer/director Abbas Kiorastami is becoming one of the most celebrated international film makers and watching Certified Copy it is easy to see why. It is a very simple film in many ways, consisting largely of conversation between the two main characters. It is so cleverly executed, though, from the twist in the middle (which you do NOT see coming, at least I didn't), to the exploration of relationships and how they change over time, to the deeper themes of what makes something genuine, original, or valuable. Of course, it never hurts to have a captivating and beautiful screen presence like Juliette Binoche who is her usual, charming, talented self: a true original. Co-star William Shimell is also excellent. Together they create a captivating, believable little world set against the gorgeous backdrop of rural Italy. It is also notable that this film follows the recent trend of many international films in that it is multi-lingual. Both French and English speaking viewers will find themselves watching part of the film in their native tongue and part of it in subtitles (with a little Italian thrown in as well), making it more palatable to a larger audience. I can't say a lot more without risking spoilers, but the film is well worth the time investment required to watch it. Coming soon to DVD, available now on Netflix Instant Play. 4 1/2 of 5*
A Dangerous Method - I just expected something a little weirder. This film is a biopic about the iconic psychoanalyst Carl Jung. His life contains sexual scandal, insanity, sado-masochism, and a fascination with the paranormal. It is directed by David Cronenberg the twisted genius behind such oddly inspired bits of originality as The Fly, The Naked Lunch, and A History of Violence. So I expected it to be a little weirder. I know the movie is an adaptation of the stage play "The Talking Cure" and therefor was expected to honour the source material in tone to an extent, but surely there was some middle ground that could have been reached.
Instead, the picture is a "serious drama" costume piece, that is actually quite subdued. The script suffers from too many unrealized subplots. Jung's relationships with his wife and mentor Freud, the role of Jews in pre-World War European culture, Jung's own instability, and even the basic tenets of psychology are all subjects that are touched upon briefly, without much in-depth development.
The acting is quite good for the most part. Keira Knightley is a little over the top in the film's most demonstrative role as Jung's patient turned mistress, but it could just seem that way set in contrast against the overall low key tone of the film. Michael Fassbender is subtle but effective as Jung, and Vincent Cassell is quite good for the short time he is on screen. The stand out, however, is Viggo Mortensen as Dr. Sigmund Freud. He really disappears into the character, becoming almost unrecognizable and gives a very pleasantly wry delivery.
A Dangerous Method is a pretty good movie with some very solid performances that you will probably enjoy if the subject matter piques your interest. I just hoped it would be a little weirder. Available on DVD. 3 1/2 of 5*
Watch out for diving turtles,
Froggy
Martha Marcy Mae Marlene - Martha, etc. is another true indie drama like Bellflower that I discussed in my last post from another first time writer/director: Drake Doremus. Here, however, the craft is much more refined. There is still a rawness to it, but the edits are more natural, the acting more engaging. The basic premise is that a young woman escapes from a violent quasi-polygamist cult and has difficulty overcoming her brainwashing to mix back into society, all the while looking over her shoulder for signs of her former "family". I did think that the script left a few too many pieces for the audience to fill in, particularly at the end, but it is an incredibly promising effort that leaves me anxiously awaiting Doremus's next project.
You can't talk about this film without addressing the cast, primarily Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes. Newcomer Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of Celebrity Apprentice 2014 fodder (just a smart next career move suggestion) the Olsen twins so you know she started training with an acting coach before she started toilet training. However, so did her sisters, and the lessons didn't have nearly the same results. Olsen was on the edge of the best actress race this year and she deserved to be: a stunning debut. John Hawkes, on the other hand, is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. I've appreciated his work since HBO's Deadwood, but with Winter's Bone, this film, and this year's Sundance darling The Surrogate it seems like there is now a "John Hawkes kind of movie" on the indie circuit. His performances are understated, his characters are complex, and he elevates the quality of everything he's involved with. Marcy is no different.
Although Marcy was not a great film, it was a very good one that I would definitely recommend. If for no other reason, see it so that you can say that you remember Doremus, Olsen, and Hawkes when. Available on DVD 4 of 5*
Certified Copy - Writer/director Abbas Kiorastami is becoming one of the most celebrated international film makers and watching Certified Copy it is easy to see why. It is a very simple film in many ways, consisting largely of conversation between the two main characters. It is so cleverly executed, though, from the twist in the middle (which you do NOT see coming, at least I didn't), to the exploration of relationships and how they change over time, to the deeper themes of what makes something genuine, original, or valuable. Of course, it never hurts to have a captivating and beautiful screen presence like Juliette Binoche who is her usual, charming, talented self: a true original. Co-star William Shimell is also excellent. Together they create a captivating, believable little world set against the gorgeous backdrop of rural Italy. It is also notable that this film follows the recent trend of many international films in that it is multi-lingual. Both French and English speaking viewers will find themselves watching part of the film in their native tongue and part of it in subtitles (with a little Italian thrown in as well), making it more palatable to a larger audience. I can't say a lot more without risking spoilers, but the film is well worth the time investment required to watch it. Coming soon to DVD, available now on Netflix Instant Play. 4 1/2 of 5*
A Dangerous Method - I just expected something a little weirder. This film is a biopic about the iconic psychoanalyst Carl Jung. His life contains sexual scandal, insanity, sado-masochism, and a fascination with the paranormal. It is directed by David Cronenberg the twisted genius behind such oddly inspired bits of originality as The Fly, The Naked Lunch, and A History of Violence. So I expected it to be a little weirder. I know the movie is an adaptation of the stage play "The Talking Cure" and therefor was expected to honour the source material in tone to an extent, but surely there was some middle ground that could have been reached.
Instead, the picture is a "serious drama" costume piece, that is actually quite subdued. The script suffers from too many unrealized subplots. Jung's relationships with his wife and mentor Freud, the role of Jews in pre-World War European culture, Jung's own instability, and even the basic tenets of psychology are all subjects that are touched upon briefly, without much in-depth development.
The acting is quite good for the most part. Keira Knightley is a little over the top in the film's most demonstrative role as Jung's patient turned mistress, but it could just seem that way set in contrast against the overall low key tone of the film. Michael Fassbender is subtle but effective as Jung, and Vincent Cassell is quite good for the short time he is on screen. The stand out, however, is Viggo Mortensen as Dr. Sigmund Freud. He really disappears into the character, becoming almost unrecognizable and gives a very pleasantly wry delivery.
A Dangerous Method is a pretty good movie with some very solid performances that you will probably enjoy if the subject matter piques your interest. I just hoped it would be a little weirder. Available on DVD. 3 1/2 of 5*
Watch out for diving turtles,
Froggy
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Belle Had A Killer Weekend...
Today's reviews include a niche romantic master work, an inventive and violent first effort, and a pretty standard action flick.
Bellflower -Bellflower is a small, quirky indie drama in the tradition of small, quirky nineties indie dramas, quite a different breed of movie from the "independent" films of an age where The Artist sweeps the Independent Spirit Awards backed by Harvey Weinstein. It is the first feature length film for writer/director/star/editor Evan Glodell as well as the other two principal lead actors and I would be lying to say it didn't show a little. The film is raw. Some of the acting (especially Glodell's, who might benefit from being directed by someone else before he tries to direct himself again) is a little stilted, the inflections a little repetitive. It is an admirable first effort, however, with some very impressive moments, that shows a lot of promise for this young filmmaker's future. It is essentially the story of two best friends, obsessed with explosions, fire, and cinema of the post-apocalyptic variety who meet two girls and explore most of mankind's less pleasant tendencies and emotions. It is violent, sexually twisted and one of the earliest examples of the cinematic voice of a generation younger than myself (making me feel as if I'm not cool enough to judge it). The script is probably the film's strongest element, and I can well imagine that people who saw Beavis and Butthead as small children (rather than as already decadent and irreverent college student like myself) might actually turn out a lot like the guys in this movie.
Bellflower is a good, but not great picture that nevertheless demonstrates auteur Glodell's potential and should secure him the opportunity to explore it with greater resources. Available on DVD 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Killer Elite - Let me start out by saying that if I were judging this movie strictly against other action flicks by the standards that are usually prioritized in that genre it would do pretty well. If you just want to see gunfights, explosions, and chase scenes (with bees!) then this film has plenty of those things and they are rendered in a fairly believable manner. You will like it. Stop reading. You'll decide I'm a little bit of a film snob and I'm trying to keep it under wraps.
I was a little let down. I keep wanting Jason Statham to remind us that he is not just an action hero but a good actor. I want him to pick scripts that allow him to do that. I want the great Robert DeNiro to quit texting it in (the next generation of phoning it in), and I want him to pick scripts that inspire him to do so. This was not that script. Saorse Ronan's Hannah was a more compelling action hero and she's a wispy teen-age girl.
Basically, this pic could have benefited from following the advice of its background villains the "Feather Men" and applied a lighter touch. I can't say that I recommend this film unless you are just a big fan of most action flicks. If that IS the case, you could do a lot worse. Available on DVD 2 of 5*
Weekend - Maybe my extremely positive opinion of this movie is influenced by how relevant it is to me personally because I'm gay and it is a gay quasi-romance. However, sticking this film with that genre label and leaving it at that is an extreme disservice to sophomore writer/director Andrew Haigh's fine work. This film tells the story of two men who meet and have an intense affair over the course of one Autumn weekend. In this short course of time, the conversations and experiences that they have illuminate issues of personal identity, tolerance versus acceptance, and how straight society teaches gay people (specifically men) to see themselves. The sex definitely goes beyond kissing (although full frontal nudity is limited to partial glimpses)
and may well be enough to make some straight viewers a little uncomfortable, but this reaction is a big part of the movie thematically and these elements are in no way gratuitous. Rookie stars Tom Cullen and Chris New are both amazing in this film. If you are gay, this film will show you elements of your own life and experiences in a way that is much more realistic than you usually see in a feature film. If you are straight but have gay friends, this movie will help you to understand things about their lives and experiences in a way that will justify calling them such. Like the two men's weekend, the film is greatly enriching and ends too soon.
Still no US DVD release date, but available on Netflix instant play 5 of 5*
Bellflower -Bellflower is a small, quirky indie drama in the tradition of small, quirky nineties indie dramas, quite a different breed of movie from the "independent" films of an age where The Artist sweeps the Independent Spirit Awards backed by Harvey Weinstein. It is the first feature length film for writer/director/star/editor Evan Glodell as well as the other two principal lead actors and I would be lying to say it didn't show a little. The film is raw. Some of the acting (especially Glodell's, who might benefit from being directed by someone else before he tries to direct himself again) is a little stilted, the inflections a little repetitive. It is an admirable first effort, however, with some very impressive moments, that shows a lot of promise for this young filmmaker's future. It is essentially the story of two best friends, obsessed with explosions, fire, and cinema of the post-apocalyptic variety who meet two girls and explore most of mankind's less pleasant tendencies and emotions. It is violent, sexually twisted and one of the earliest examples of the cinematic voice of a generation younger than myself (making me feel as if I'm not cool enough to judge it). The script is probably the film's strongest element, and I can well imagine that people who saw Beavis and Butthead as small children (rather than as already decadent and irreverent college student like myself) might actually turn out a lot like the guys in this movie.
Bellflower is a good, but not great picture that nevertheless demonstrates auteur Glodell's potential and should secure him the opportunity to explore it with greater resources. Available on DVD 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Killer Elite - Let me start out by saying that if I were judging this movie strictly against other action flicks by the standards that are usually prioritized in that genre it would do pretty well. If you just want to see gunfights, explosions, and chase scenes (with bees!) then this film has plenty of those things and they are rendered in a fairly believable manner. You will like it. Stop reading. You'll decide I'm a little bit of a film snob and I'm trying to keep it under wraps.
I was a little let down. I keep wanting Jason Statham to remind us that he is not just an action hero but a good actor. I want him to pick scripts that allow him to do that. I want the great Robert DeNiro to quit texting it in (the next generation of phoning it in), and I want him to pick scripts that inspire him to do so. This was not that script. Saorse Ronan's Hannah was a more compelling action hero and she's a wispy teen-age girl.
Basically, this pic could have benefited from following the advice of its background villains the "Feather Men" and applied a lighter touch. I can't say that I recommend this film unless you are just a big fan of most action flicks. If that IS the case, you could do a lot worse. Available on DVD 2 of 5*
Weekend - Maybe my extremely positive opinion of this movie is influenced by how relevant it is to me personally because I'm gay and it is a gay quasi-romance. However, sticking this film with that genre label and leaving it at that is an extreme disservice to sophomore writer/director Andrew Haigh's fine work. This film tells the story of two men who meet and have an intense affair over the course of one Autumn weekend. In this short course of time, the conversations and experiences that they have illuminate issues of personal identity, tolerance versus acceptance, and how straight society teaches gay people (specifically men) to see themselves. The sex definitely goes beyond kissing (although full frontal nudity is limited to partial glimpses)
and may well be enough to make some straight viewers a little uncomfortable, but this reaction is a big part of the movie thematically and these elements are in no way gratuitous. Rookie stars Tom Cullen and Chris New are both amazing in this film. If you are gay, this film will show you elements of your own life and experiences in a way that is much more realistic than you usually see in a feature film. If you are straight but have gay friends, this movie will help you to understand things about their lives and experiences in a way that will justify calling them such. Like the two men's weekend, the film is greatly enriching and ends too soon.
Still no US DVD release date, but available on Netflix instant play 5 of 5*
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Feeding the Public Hunger...
Franchises built upon popular books aimed at children and/or young adults have become HUGE business in Hollywood over the last decade. Now that the two biggest success stories of this type have ended or are ending shortly, how do you top what has come before? Let's see...What if you had a story ten times darker than most of the Potter series? What if it also had ten million times the subtext of Twilight? Sounds good so far, right? Now, what if it had a talented and accomplished cast of adults, led by one of Hollywood's most talented young actresses who's already got one Best Actress Oscar nom under her belt? What would you have then? Well...then you'd have The Hunger Games. Lucky you.
If you don't already know, this film tells the story of a future in which two youths from each district within a country that is just barely not America are sent each year to a televised survivalist battle to the death in the wilderness. Like the story of Theseus from Greek mythology, except that the children are killed not by a minotaur, but each other with the sacrifice being given to the public's need for entertainment and drama.
Director/writer Gary Ross came back from an extended hiatus as a filmmaker for this one. He had not actually directed a film since the somewhat sappy Seabisquit back in 2003, but this film seems more like his earlier (in my opinion, far superior) work Pleasantville from 1998. He does excellent work here with a difficult challenge. Although the script suffers from the same ailment as the Potter movies: rabid fans who expect EVERYTHING to be covered lead to screenplays that feel slightly rushed and skimmy, Ross (along with co-writers Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray) does a very good job of covering a lot between the lines. I had not read the books but had no trouble following the storyline even if it was at times obvious how many pages of novel were being compacted into how few minutes.
If I have one real complaint (let's just get it out of the way, I have LOTS of nice things to say), it is with the art directions and costume design. I understand that District 12, where the story starts off, is supposed to be the poorest part of the Hunger Games world and that they probably have to make their own clothes from whatever materials they can find, but why are the only dress patterns that they can find leftover samples from the set of Little House on the Prairie? I know fashion is cyclical, but I had trouble buying it. Then, when you see the elite members of society in the capital city, they look like all the extras from Rocky Horror Picture Show on their way to the easter parade. It was a little too campy for the horrifying story that was unfolding. Perhaps the contrasting tonal elements were puposefull in some way that escaped me, but it was a little like John Waters' production team putting together a remake of Psycho.
Fortunately, the strength of the story and performances were able to overcome this handicap most of the time and draw me back in. The preparations for the games were full of intrigue and apt insight into mass psychology. The games themselves were horrific, suspensefull, and (except for one tumble down a hill that had me muttering "As...you...wish..." under my breath) completely captivating.
One thing that really sets this film above similar franchises is the strength of the cast, especially Jennifer Lawrence as Catness. In my opinion, Miss Lawrence is quickly proving herself to be a very capable artist, but Hunger Games is going to make her a star as well. Every facial shift or change in vocal tone in her performances is so well chosen, yet so natural. She possesses a quiet strength that most women twice her age have not mastered, and watching her on screen is like getting an eery glimpse of a singularly old soul. In her hands, we see Catness learn and develop in a way that the script doesn't have the luxury of time to address on its own. If you have not seen this young actress in Winter's Bone, go do it. It will give you an even greater appreciation for her performance in this film to see what sort of dramatic range this girl has.
The supporting cast is also very good. Josh Hutcherson definately shows that his performance in The Kids Are All Right was not a fluke and his adult acting career should be one to watch. Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson also turn in great performances, but it is Elizabeth Banks who is the stand out amongst the adult cast. She alone is able to wear her hideously gaudy clothes more than they wear her.
The most interesting thing about this film, though, is what it says in allegory about our modern society. I must apologize to my viewing companion at this film for partially plagiarizing his commentary but the competition of the Hunger Games is like Real World/Road Rules Challenge Extreme. It is reality TV to the nth iteration and not that far fetched considering modern trends in entertainment. It comes complete with falsified true life drama and romance, quasi-celebrity status for the competitors, and the promise that even the most common man can become captivating when gifted with pageantry, an audience and adversity. The major difference between Greek and Roman theater was that the Romans relied more on special effects and spectacle than storyline and character. Today's 3D blockbusters compare similarly to the film noire classics of old. Entertainment in Rome eventually progressed to gladiatorial combat and feeding Christians to lions, not so different from the world of The Hunger Games.
Class conflict is also explored in this movie. Donald Sutherland's character gives a speech about underdogs that seems frighteningly like the disdain that the wealthy in our society seem to feel towards the ninety-nine percent on the other side of the rapidly widening prosperity gap. The masses, meanwhile, seem constantly on the verge of outrage, but are beaten down by adversity and a propaganda filled media that uses fear to keep them towing the company line. Ironically, it is this same adversity that has made Catness into the strong, resilient young woman who is able to rise above it all.
All in all, The Hunger Games is not a masterpiece, but it is a very respectable effort that is both entertaining and thought provoking. If the film has peaked your interest, I feel it would be worth giving a look. 4 out of 5*
If you don't already know, this film tells the story of a future in which two youths from each district within a country that is just barely not America are sent each year to a televised survivalist battle to the death in the wilderness. Like the story of Theseus from Greek mythology, except that the children are killed not by a minotaur, but each other with the sacrifice being given to the public's need for entertainment and drama.
Director/writer Gary Ross came back from an extended hiatus as a filmmaker for this one. He had not actually directed a film since the somewhat sappy Seabisquit back in 2003, but this film seems more like his earlier (in my opinion, far superior) work Pleasantville from 1998. He does excellent work here with a difficult challenge. Although the script suffers from the same ailment as the Potter movies: rabid fans who expect EVERYTHING to be covered lead to screenplays that feel slightly rushed and skimmy, Ross (along with co-writers Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray) does a very good job of covering a lot between the lines. I had not read the books but had no trouble following the storyline even if it was at times obvious how many pages of novel were being compacted into how few minutes.
If I have one real complaint (let's just get it out of the way, I have LOTS of nice things to say), it is with the art directions and costume design. I understand that District 12, where the story starts off, is supposed to be the poorest part of the Hunger Games world and that they probably have to make their own clothes from whatever materials they can find, but why are the only dress patterns that they can find leftover samples from the set of Little House on the Prairie? I know fashion is cyclical, but I had trouble buying it. Then, when you see the elite members of society in the capital city, they look like all the extras from Rocky Horror Picture Show on their way to the easter parade. It was a little too campy for the horrifying story that was unfolding. Perhaps the contrasting tonal elements were puposefull in some way that escaped me, but it was a little like John Waters' production team putting together a remake of Psycho.
Fortunately, the strength of the story and performances were able to overcome this handicap most of the time and draw me back in. The preparations for the games were full of intrigue and apt insight into mass psychology. The games themselves were horrific, suspensefull, and (except for one tumble down a hill that had me muttering "As...you...wish..." under my breath) completely captivating.
One thing that really sets this film above similar franchises is the strength of the cast, especially Jennifer Lawrence as Catness. In my opinion, Miss Lawrence is quickly proving herself to be a very capable artist, but Hunger Games is going to make her a star as well. Every facial shift or change in vocal tone in her performances is so well chosen, yet so natural. She possesses a quiet strength that most women twice her age have not mastered, and watching her on screen is like getting an eery glimpse of a singularly old soul. In her hands, we see Catness learn and develop in a way that the script doesn't have the luxury of time to address on its own. If you have not seen this young actress in Winter's Bone, go do it. It will give you an even greater appreciation for her performance in this film to see what sort of dramatic range this girl has.
The supporting cast is also very good. Josh Hutcherson definately shows that his performance in The Kids Are All Right was not a fluke and his adult acting career should be one to watch. Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson also turn in great performances, but it is Elizabeth Banks who is the stand out amongst the adult cast. She alone is able to wear her hideously gaudy clothes more than they wear her.
The most interesting thing about this film, though, is what it says in allegory about our modern society. I must apologize to my viewing companion at this film for partially plagiarizing his commentary but the competition of the Hunger Games is like Real World/Road Rules Challenge Extreme. It is reality TV to the nth iteration and not that far fetched considering modern trends in entertainment. It comes complete with falsified true life drama and romance, quasi-celebrity status for the competitors, and the promise that even the most common man can become captivating when gifted with pageantry, an audience and adversity. The major difference between Greek and Roman theater was that the Romans relied more on special effects and spectacle than storyline and character. Today's 3D blockbusters compare similarly to the film noire classics of old. Entertainment in Rome eventually progressed to gladiatorial combat and feeding Christians to lions, not so different from the world of The Hunger Games.
Class conflict is also explored in this movie. Donald Sutherland's character gives a speech about underdogs that seems frighteningly like the disdain that the wealthy in our society seem to feel towards the ninety-nine percent on the other side of the rapidly widening prosperity gap. The masses, meanwhile, seem constantly on the verge of outrage, but are beaten down by adversity and a propaganda filled media that uses fear to keep them towing the company line. Ironically, it is this same adversity that has made Catness into the strong, resilient young woman who is able to rise above it all.
All in all, The Hunger Games is not a masterpiece, but it is a very respectable effort that is both entertaining and thought provoking. If the film has peaked your interest, I feel it would be worth giving a look. 4 out of 5*
Friday, April 6, 2012
Beautiful Melancholy Conspirator
In today's reviews we cover the OTHER teen sniper drama of 2011, a slightly sleepy historical courtroom drama and an extremely original apocalyptic drama that coulda been a contender if its director could handle himself in a press conference. Not an upbeat film to be found here, but some real treasure nonetheless.
Melancholia - If you haven't heard the story already, Melancholia was one of the big critical hits at Cannes last year. Then director Lars von Trier had to go and make comments (probably in jest, but...) that made him sound like a Nazi sympathizer and Melancholia's rewards trajectory went in the toilet. Let me tell you, it's a shame because this was one of the best written, performed, and shot movies of the year. The opening sequence reminded me a little of The Tree of Life, but this movie actually followed it up with a real plot line!
The first few minutes are like the entire story in miniature, except rendered abstractly enough that you spend the rest of the film figuring out what all the little hints meant at the beginning. The entire cast is very strong. Keiffer Sutherland gives his best film performance since...The Lost Boys?...ever? The real standout, however, is Dunst, who was able to take home an acting award at Cannes even after her director's snafu, but was unable to disperse the dark cloud it left over the movie enough to break into the big year end award races. It's a shame, because she gives a fully realized, mature, and nuanced performance that gives you plenty to think about once the movie is over (as does the film overall). The cinematography cannot be praised enough. All in all, this offbeat apocalyptic drama stimulates the mind and the emotions in a unique and intelligent way and should reward repeat viewings richly. I highly recommend!!! Available on DVD and coming soon to Nf Instant Play 5 of 5 stars
Beautiful Boy - I am completely unfamiliar with director Shawn Ku's previous work (The American Mall, Pretty Dead Girl) but this film, while not perfect, shows a great deal of promise. The picture was largely ignored last year due to the fact that its subject (a teen who goes on a killing spree at his college before taking his own life, and how his parents deal with the fall out) is almost identical to the higher profile film We Need To Talk About Kevin. I have not seen Kevin yet, and perhaps this allowed me to appreciate Boy without drawing comparisons. The parents in Boy are already struggling with a crumbling marriage before this happens, and Maria Bello and Michael Sheen do an excellent job portraying all of the uncertainty, confusion, and hopelessness you would realistically expect of people in their situation. Kyle Gallner (who's been creeping me out since the TV show Veronica Mars), as the son, also makes the most of a very small amount of screen time. The script and pacing lag a little in the middle of the picture, but it is well worth hanging in there for the conclusion. Available on DVD. 4 of 5 stars.
The Conspirator - A historical drama starring James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Klein, Evan Rachel Wood, and Tom Wilkinson sounds like it should be a slam dunk on paper, and The Conspirator is certainly a well acted film. There is a sense, however, that the script and direction here are a little old fashioned. Overall, it plays more like an unusually well cast made for network TV movie than a major motion picture. Also, the casting of Justin Long sort of spoils the illusion, because every time he spoke I felt like I had left the nineteenth century and landed in a modern day set romcom. Honestly, I kept waiting for him to call someone "Dude". I don't mean to take anything away from director Robert Redford's legacy or contribution to the American cinema. However, it is beginning to seem that, like Clint Eastwood, he has reached an age where he has lost the pulse enough that his films no longer seem fresh or current anymore. Available on DVD. 3 of 5 stars.
Melancholia - If you haven't heard the story already, Melancholia was one of the big critical hits at Cannes last year. Then director Lars von Trier had to go and make comments (probably in jest, but...) that made him sound like a Nazi sympathizer and Melancholia's rewards trajectory went in the toilet. Let me tell you, it's a shame because this was one of the best written, performed, and shot movies of the year. The opening sequence reminded me a little of The Tree of Life, but this movie actually followed it up with a real plot line!
The first few minutes are like the entire story in miniature, except rendered abstractly enough that you spend the rest of the film figuring out what all the little hints meant at the beginning. The entire cast is very strong. Keiffer Sutherland gives his best film performance since...The Lost Boys?...ever? The real standout, however, is Dunst, who was able to take home an acting award at Cannes even after her director's snafu, but was unable to disperse the dark cloud it left over the movie enough to break into the big year end award races. It's a shame, because she gives a fully realized, mature, and nuanced performance that gives you plenty to think about once the movie is over (as does the film overall). The cinematography cannot be praised enough. All in all, this offbeat apocalyptic drama stimulates the mind and the emotions in a unique and intelligent way and should reward repeat viewings richly. I highly recommend!!! Available on DVD and coming soon to Nf Instant Play 5 of 5 stars
Beautiful Boy - I am completely unfamiliar with director Shawn Ku's previous work (The American Mall, Pretty Dead Girl) but this film, while not perfect, shows a great deal of promise. The picture was largely ignored last year due to the fact that its subject (a teen who goes on a killing spree at his college before taking his own life, and how his parents deal with the fall out) is almost identical to the higher profile film We Need To Talk About Kevin. I have not seen Kevin yet, and perhaps this allowed me to appreciate Boy without drawing comparisons. The parents in Boy are already struggling with a crumbling marriage before this happens, and Maria Bello and Michael Sheen do an excellent job portraying all of the uncertainty, confusion, and hopelessness you would realistically expect of people in their situation. Kyle Gallner (who's been creeping me out since the TV show Veronica Mars), as the son, also makes the most of a very small amount of screen time. The script and pacing lag a little in the middle of the picture, but it is well worth hanging in there for the conclusion. Available on DVD. 4 of 5 stars.
The Conspirator - A historical drama starring James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Klein, Evan Rachel Wood, and Tom Wilkinson sounds like it should be a slam dunk on paper, and The Conspirator is certainly a well acted film. There is a sense, however, that the script and direction here are a little old fashioned. Overall, it plays more like an unusually well cast made for network TV movie than a major motion picture. Also, the casting of Justin Long sort of spoils the illusion, because every time he spoke I felt like I had left the nineteenth century and landed in a modern day set romcom. Honestly, I kept waiting for him to call someone "Dude". I don't mean to take anything away from director Robert Redford's legacy or contribution to the American cinema. However, it is beginning to seem that, like Clint Eastwood, he has reached an age where he has lost the pulse enough that his films no longer seem fresh or current anymore. Available on DVD. 3 of 5 stars.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
2012 Preview Postscript - Predictions
Yeah, I swore to myself I wasn't going to do this. Oscar predictions in April are A.) Just ridiculous and B.) doomed to be mostly wrong. Still true. However, there is something freeing about making stabs in the dark without the weight of informed buzz from other sources flying around your head. So, let's not call them predictions. Let's call them an educated wish list and take it for what it is. Things COULD go down like this:
Best Picture
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Les Miserables
3. The Master
4. Django Unchained
5. Lincoln
6. The Great Gatsby
7. Zero Dark Thirty
8. The Paperboy
9. Brave
10. either Beasts of the Southern Wild or The Surrogate
11. whichever of the Sundance darlings doesn't snag #10
12. Prometheus (I would love to put it in the ten, but both it and The Dark Knight getting in seems unlikely)
13. Gravity (see Prometheus)
14. Life of Pi (if it works, it will probably make it...if)
15. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (I think this will get tech nods and part two might break in here)
16. Moonrise Kingdom (so tough for comedies, but Anderson's films are too smart not to get in sometime)
17. The Place Beyond the Pines (Action flick may widen Cianfrance's audience, but will that help here?)
18. Argo (will this be the one that does more for Affleck than almost making it?)
19. Silver Linings Playbook (I PREFER Russell's original work to the Fighter, but the Academy doesn't seem to agree)
20. Hunger Games (well reviewed and a huge box office hit, can't be ruled out)
Director: pretty much just like above except that Nolan might well get left off for Dark Knight just because they like to leave him off, maybe in favor of Bigelow, to show us again that they don't REALLY hate women directors.
Actor:
1. Bill Murray - Hyde Park on Hudson
2. Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
3. Jamie Foxx - Django Unchained
4. Phillip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
5. John Hawkes - The Surrogate
6. Ryan Gosling - The Place Beyond the Pines (because he is Near Miss Boy)
7. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Great Gatsby (ditto, plus he plays more against type in Django, making it seem more likely for Leo to show in supporting)
8. Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables (may be overshadowed by showier supporting fare)
9. Christian Bale - The Dark Knight Rises (because sometimes they just get it right, no matter how unlikely)
10. Robert Pattinson - Cosmopolis (if he knocks it out of the park like Cronenberg is saying he will, how can they resist the exceeding expectations factor, but that's a big if)
Actress:
1. Carey Mulligan - The Great Gatsby
2. Sandra Bullock - Gravity
3. Helen Hunt - The Surrogate
4. Viola Davis - Won't Back Down
5. Laura Linney - Hyde Park on Hudson
6. Keira Knightley - Anna Karenina (could easily replace one of the five)
7. Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games (not Oscar-y, but so many raves)
8. Jennifer Lawrence - The Silver Linings Playbook (a more Oscar-y alternative)
9. Noomi Rapace - Prometheus (a lot of folks thought she was snubbed for Dragon Tattoo)
10. Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild (kids usually get supporting but she is sooo the lead)
11. Meryl Streep - Great Hope Springs (I would stop at ten, and surely they will give it a rest, but it is Streep)
Supporting Actor:
1. Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained
2. Russell Crowe - Les Miserables
3. Joseph Gordon Levitt - Lincoln
4. Sasha Baron Cohen - Les Miserables
5. John Goodman - Argo
6. Jude Law - Anna Karenina (been a long time)
7. Guy Pearce - Lawless (with Weinstein behind it, there must be a nom somewhere they will push)
8. James Gandolfini - Cogan's Trade (like Goodman, it seems like his time)
9. Tobey McGuire - Great Gatsby (has chops, never been nominated, meaty supporting role)
10. Tom Hardy - Dark Knight Rises (or best looking Supporting Actor)
Supporting Actress:
1. Helena Bonham Carter - Great Expectations
2. Samantha Barks - Les Miserables 3. Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
4. Kerry Washington - Django Unchained
5. Sally Field - Lincoln
6. Maggie Smith - Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Dench has already had some late in life Oscar lovin)
7. Helena Bonham Carter - Les Miserables (in the top five if Great Expectations fails to meet well... expectations)
8. Olivia Williams - Hyde Park on Hudson (because she's always fantastic)
9. Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables (most people are predicting her over Barks, but Barks will have more screentime, and a more complex role, if they stay close to the theatrical production)
10. Anne Hathaway - Dark Knight Rises (can't wait to see her and Nolan's take on Catwoman)
Original Screenplay:
1. The Master
2. Django Unchained
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. The Surrogate
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Brave
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. Seven Psychopaths
9. Gravity
10. The Place Beyond the Pines
Adapted Screenplay
1. The Great Gatsby
2. The Paperboy
3. Les Miserables
4. Lincoln
5. Argo
6. The Dark Knight Rises (really should be in top five, but we all know that's gonna be an uphill proposition)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (if it gets in for pic, there's a good chance, but I still think above the line noms will wait for the conclusion)
8. Anna Karenina (see below)
9. Great Expectations (will have to be a special take on a story told this often)
10. The Silver Linings Playbook (Russell has never broken in here, but now that he's had a directing nod...?)
Animated Feature:
1. Brave
2. Frankenweenie
3. Secret World of Arriety
4. Paranorman
5. Hotel Transylvania
6. Rise of the Guardians (it has more buzz than a couple of my choices above, but the first one was just okay)
7. Dorothy of Oz (practically no buzz, but I have to think this has a shot)
8. Lorax (depends on the strength of the field)
Cinematography:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Les Miserables
5. Django Unchained
Editing:
1. Dark Knight
2. Les Miserables
3. Master
4. Django Unchained
5. Zero Dark Thirty
Art Direction:
1. Les Miserables
2. Great Gatsby
3. Anna Karenina
4. Dark Knight Rises
5. Dark Shadows
Visual Effects:
1. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. Dark Knight Rises
3. Prometheus
4. Avengers
5. Dark Shadows
Costume:
1. Great Gatsby
2. Anna Karenina
3. Great Expectations
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Dark Knight Rises
Make-Up:
1. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. Dark Knight Rises
3. Great Expectations
Sound Editing:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Brave
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Django Unchained
Sound Mixing:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Les Miserables
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Django Unchained
Music (Score):
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Brave
3. Lincoln
4. Master
5. Django Unchained
Music (Song):
Always a big unknown at this point, but Brave, Hunger Games, Les Miserables, and Sparkle all seem like decent possibilities. Won't Back Down also seems like the sort of film to have an inspirational original song play over the end credits, so we'll throw that in as well.
Documentary Feature
Yeah, I know that the Doc branch always fails to shortlist half of the most obvious and/or most worthy contenders, but, what the hell?
1. The House I Live In
2. Bully
3. The Island President
4. Searching For Sugar Man
5. Detropia
I'm not even gonna try Foreign Film or shorts at this point in the game, I'd just be wasting your time (even moreso). After Cannes we'll have a SLIGHTLY clearer picture, we'll play this game again then.
Got them flicks like Jagger,
Froggy
P.S.: I would have anxiously included Only God Forgives and Inside Llewelyn Davis in many of the categories above and the "Hop of Faith" list from my previous post. However, they are both currently slated for release in early 2013. IF that changes, they both will premiere impressively in my next set of predictions.
Best Picture
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Les Miserables
3. The Master
4. Django Unchained
5. Lincoln
6. The Great Gatsby
7. Zero Dark Thirty
8. The Paperboy
9. Brave
10. either Beasts of the Southern Wild or The Surrogate
11. whichever of the Sundance darlings doesn't snag #10
12. Prometheus (I would love to put it in the ten, but both it and The Dark Knight getting in seems unlikely)
13. Gravity (see Prometheus)
14. Life of Pi (if it works, it will probably make it...if)
15. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (I think this will get tech nods and part two might break in here)
16. Moonrise Kingdom (so tough for comedies, but Anderson's films are too smart not to get in sometime)
17. The Place Beyond the Pines (Action flick may widen Cianfrance's audience, but will that help here?)
18. Argo (will this be the one that does more for Affleck than almost making it?)
19. Silver Linings Playbook (I PREFER Russell's original work to the Fighter, but the Academy doesn't seem to agree)
20. Hunger Games (well reviewed and a huge box office hit, can't be ruled out)
Director: pretty much just like above except that Nolan might well get left off for Dark Knight just because they like to leave him off, maybe in favor of Bigelow, to show us again that they don't REALLY hate women directors.
Actor:
1. Bill Murray - Hyde Park on Hudson
2. Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
3. Jamie Foxx - Django Unchained
4. Phillip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
5. John Hawkes - The Surrogate
6. Ryan Gosling - The Place Beyond the Pines (because he is Near Miss Boy)
7. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Great Gatsby (ditto, plus he plays more against type in Django, making it seem more likely for Leo to show in supporting)
8. Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables (may be overshadowed by showier supporting fare)
9. Christian Bale - The Dark Knight Rises (because sometimes they just get it right, no matter how unlikely)
10. Robert Pattinson - Cosmopolis (if he knocks it out of the park like Cronenberg is saying he will, how can they resist the exceeding expectations factor, but that's a big if)
Actress:
1. Carey Mulligan - The Great Gatsby
2. Sandra Bullock - Gravity
3. Helen Hunt - The Surrogate
4. Viola Davis - Won't Back Down
5. Laura Linney - Hyde Park on Hudson
6. Keira Knightley - Anna Karenina (could easily replace one of the five)
7. Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games (not Oscar-y, but so many raves)
8. Jennifer Lawrence - The Silver Linings Playbook (a more Oscar-y alternative)
9. Noomi Rapace - Prometheus (a lot of folks thought she was snubbed for Dragon Tattoo)
10. Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild (kids usually get supporting but she is sooo the lead)
11. Meryl Streep - Great Hope Springs (I would stop at ten, and surely they will give it a rest, but it is Streep)
Supporting Actor:
1. Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained
2. Russell Crowe - Les Miserables
3. Joseph Gordon Levitt - Lincoln
4. Sasha Baron Cohen - Les Miserables
5. John Goodman - Argo
6. Jude Law - Anna Karenina (been a long time)
7. Guy Pearce - Lawless (with Weinstein behind it, there must be a nom somewhere they will push)
8. James Gandolfini - Cogan's Trade (like Goodman, it seems like his time)
9. Tobey McGuire - Great Gatsby (has chops, never been nominated, meaty supporting role)
10. Tom Hardy - Dark Knight Rises (or best looking Supporting Actor)
Supporting Actress:
1. Helena Bonham Carter - Great Expectations
2. Samantha Barks - Les Miserables 3. Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
4. Kerry Washington - Django Unchained
5. Sally Field - Lincoln
6. Maggie Smith - Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Dench has already had some late in life Oscar lovin)
7. Helena Bonham Carter - Les Miserables (in the top five if Great Expectations fails to meet well... expectations)
8. Olivia Williams - Hyde Park on Hudson (because she's always fantastic)
9. Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables (most people are predicting her over Barks, but Barks will have more screentime, and a more complex role, if they stay close to the theatrical production)
10. Anne Hathaway - Dark Knight Rises (can't wait to see her and Nolan's take on Catwoman)
Original Screenplay:
1. The Master
2. Django Unchained
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. The Surrogate
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Brave
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. Seven Psychopaths
9. Gravity
10. The Place Beyond the Pines
Adapted Screenplay
1. The Great Gatsby
2. The Paperboy
3. Les Miserables
4. Lincoln
5. Argo
6. The Dark Knight Rises (really should be in top five, but we all know that's gonna be an uphill proposition)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (if it gets in for pic, there's a good chance, but I still think above the line noms will wait for the conclusion)
8. Anna Karenina (see below)
9. Great Expectations (will have to be a special take on a story told this often)
10. The Silver Linings Playbook (Russell has never broken in here, but now that he's had a directing nod...?)
Animated Feature:
1. Brave
2. Frankenweenie
3. Secret World of Arriety
4. Paranorman
5. Hotel Transylvania
6. Rise of the Guardians (it has more buzz than a couple of my choices above, but the first one was just okay)
7. Dorothy of Oz (practically no buzz, but I have to think this has a shot)
8. Lorax (depends on the strength of the field)
Cinematography:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Les Miserables
5. Django Unchained
Editing:
1. Dark Knight
2. Les Miserables
3. Master
4. Django Unchained
5. Zero Dark Thirty
Art Direction:
1. Les Miserables
2. Great Gatsby
3. Anna Karenina
4. Dark Knight Rises
5. Dark Shadows
Visual Effects:
1. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. Dark Knight Rises
3. Prometheus
4. Avengers
5. Dark Shadows
Costume:
1. Great Gatsby
2. Anna Karenina
3. Great Expectations
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Dark Knight Rises
Make-Up:
1. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. Dark Knight Rises
3. Great Expectations
Sound Editing:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Brave
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Django Unchained
Sound Mixing:
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Les Miserables
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Django Unchained
Music (Score):
1. Dark Knight Rises
2. Brave
3. Lincoln
4. Master
5. Django Unchained
Music (Song):
Always a big unknown at this point, but Brave, Hunger Games, Les Miserables, and Sparkle all seem like decent possibilities. Won't Back Down also seems like the sort of film to have an inspirational original song play over the end credits, so we'll throw that in as well.
Documentary Feature
Yeah, I know that the Doc branch always fails to shortlist half of the most obvious and/or most worthy contenders, but, what the hell?
1. The House I Live In
2. Bully
3. The Island President
4. Searching For Sugar Man
5. Detropia
I'm not even gonna try Foreign Film or shorts at this point in the game, I'd just be wasting your time (even moreso). After Cannes we'll have a SLIGHTLY clearer picture, we'll play this game again then.
Got them flicks like Jagger,
Froggy
P.S.: I would have anxiously included Only God Forgives and Inside Llewelyn Davis in many of the categories above and the "Hop of Faith" list from my previous post. However, they are both currently slated for release in early 2013. IF that changes, they both will premiere impressively in my next set of predictions.
Monday, April 2, 2012
2012 Preview Concluded - My "Hops of Faith"
In my previous two posts, I gave brief previews of the twenty films that currently have the greatest awards buzz at this early stage of the game. Today, I'm going to preview ten more films that are flying under the radar at the moment but could have the potential to make a splash or at least just be really worth watching.
A couple of these will probably only contend in the tech categories, and a couple of them are probably going to be too small and early out of the gate, but you never know. At any rate, these are my top ten most anticipated films that did not make the early buzz list:
10. WON'T BACK DOWN - opens September 28th
directed by: Daniel Barnz
written by: Brin Hill, Daniel Barnz
starring: Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ving Rhames, Oscar Isaac, Lance Reddick,
Rosie Perez
Director Daniel Barnz's previous two feature films (Beastly, Phoebe in Wonderland) were not exactly critical darlings, and his new production's concept (a parent who fights alongside educators to save their community's school system) certainly sounds potentially schmaltzy. So why on earth, you are asking yourselves, does this film make the list? Two words: Viola Davis. Aside from the fact that she is always excellent and can elevate the level of material she is given (she is and can), there was strong support for her to win Best Actress last year for The Help and it is largely believed that she almost did. This puts her strongly in the Academy's "make it up to her" category, which is a powerful thing if she gets a campaign. The rest of the cast is also pretty strong and Maggie Gyllenhaal in particular has a lot of fans in the AMPAS. I'm sure Won't Back Down will be a little overly sentimental, but at best it could be this year's The Help. At worst? Viola's Blind Side.
9. COSMOPOLIS - opens ????
directed by: David Cronenberg
written by: David Cronenberg
starring: Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, Jay Baruchel, Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche
Cronenberg's films are almost always interesting and he is such a wild card as a director that you never quite know what to expect. For instance, no one expected him to cast Twilight star Pattinson as the lead in this story of a young billionairre whose day gets increasingly complicated. Cronenberg, in his typical style, has addressed this issue head on, going on record saying that this film will lay to rest any doubts about the young actor's abilities. This I have to see. So should you.
8. DARK SHADOWS - opens May 11th
directed by: Tim Burton
written by: Seth Grahame-Smith, John August
starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Cloe Grace Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Lee Miller, Gulliver McGrath, Jackie Earle Haley, Christopher Lee
Granted, Alice In Wonderland was a huge, garish, and boorish (although wildly profitable) disaster made all the worse by having sooooo much wasted potential but I'm not ready to give up on the Burton/Depp dynamic...yet. Sweeney Todd and Corpse Bride were not so long ago. Dark Shadows, an adaptation of a 1960's supernatural soap opera that was a campy classic, seems like the sort of blend of zany and spooky that this team has done so well with in the past. As the vampiric patriarch of a dysfunctional family, Depp must be sauve and seductive with a smooth and sensual vocal tone. This is perfect, because it is a proven fact that the quality of a Burton/Depp collaboration is always inversely proportionate to the frequency of Johnny flying into falsetto. (What do The Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka, and Ichibod Crane have in common? A tendancy to squeal like little girls.) So many others in the cast seem perfect for this project as well, particularly Pfeiffer, Carter, Moretz, and Lee. I was a big fan of Eli Stone, so I am anxious to see what Miller contributes as well. Even if this is a big disappointment, it could easily see lots of awards love from the Academy's craft branches, particularly Art Direction, Costume, Make-Up and Visual Effects.
7. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL - opens May 4th
directed by: John Madden
written by: Ol Parker
starring: Judy Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel
The story of a gaggle of British retirees who try to conserve money by moving to a renovated hotel in India that turns out to be a little less posh than they expected, The Best Exotic Marigold hotel has received luke-positive early reviews and is opening pretty early in the season. It is also of note that director John Madden has been out of the awards game for a while. However, this cast has too dame much...oops, I mean, damn much...no, no, dame much talent in it for me to resist. How many more times will we have the honor to see Dench and Smith together on film? This film COULD actually break into the acting races, depending on how things go with the rest of the field. I don't care. Some things actually do just improve with age.
6. THE AVENGERS - May 4th
directed by: Joss Whedon
written by: Joss Whedon, Zak Penn
starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hiddleston
What other hero can rival Batman in popularity at the box office this summer? There probably isn't one, but maybe a whole team of them can give it a shot. This is it, the film that all those other Marvel Studios films starting with Iron Man have been leading up to. On paper, it shows great potential. Hemsworth, Evans, and Downey have all proven that they have a good handle on how to play their characters. Buffy creator Joss Whedon seems like a strong choice to pull all these individual worlds together, and you know they are going to go all out for the thrills, chills, and special effects possibly leading to some awards attention in the technical categories. As long as Zak Penn's script plays more like X-Men 2 than Elektra, we might have to make room for two perfectly respectable super hero flicks during the tentpole days of summer.
5. GREAT EXPECTATIONS - opens ???
directed by: Mike Newell
written by: David Nicholls
starring: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Robbie Coltrane, Holiday Grainger, Sally Hawkins, Ewan Bremner
Okay, so there is something that sounds a little tired and Oscar baity about yet another Dickens adaptation (I've found nearly ten big screen versions of just this story, plus numerous TV projects based on it). While this production does have a strong cast overall and a director who solidly hits the mark at least some of the time (although he's never quite lived up to Mrs. Brown or Shakespeare in Love over the course of the last decade), my excitement comes mainly from one source: Helena Bonham Carter as the tragic and spooky Mrs. Havisham. It is perfect casting, and should be enough to make this movie worth the price of admission. For anyone who was homeschooled by people who hate the British, Great Expectations is the story of a poor orphan named Pip who is elevated into high society under mysterious circumstances. It IS one of Dickens' best stories and Mike Newell's best works have been period pieces set in the UK, so I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. Of course, it goes without saying that Costume and Art Direction nominations could be in the film's future regardless of how it performs otherwise.
4. SAVAGES - opens July 6th
directed by: Oliver Stone
written by: Don Winslow, Shane Salerno
starring: Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Benicio del Toro, Demian Bichir
It has been over a decade and a half since Oscar courted Oliver last, but after two best director wins in five years (and a screenplay win several years earlier than that), he had sort of gotten his due for awhile. He's still plugging away though, and he's still often quite impressive. In Savages, he will tell the story of two pot dealers as they try to resque a girl they both have romantic ties to from a Mexican drug cartel. Sounds very Natural Born Killers (one of Stone's most criminally under appreciated efforts) and that sounds great to me. This film may slip under the awards radar entirely, but I'm in. The younger stars are somewhat untested, but there is a lot of proven talent in the supporting roles.
3. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES - opens ???
directed by: Derek Cianfrance
written by: Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, Darius Mardur
starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Rose Byrne, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Bruce Greenwood
Cianfrance follows up the depressing but excellent Blue Valentine with an action crime drama about a man who considers turning to crime to support his family. He repartners with Blue star Gosling who seems to have become the go to actor for thinking man's action roles since Drive. Perfectly understandable. My only reservation is that Gosling's role here seems so similar to his role in Drive: a stunt driver (albeit on motorcycles this time) who gets involved with criminals. Hopefully Cianfrance will present this versatile actor with something fresh to allow him to continue to grow.
2. THE PAPERBOY - opens November 23rd
directed by: Lee Daniels
written by: ???
starring: Zac Efron, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Scott Glenn
Director Lee Daniels follow up to the multiple Oscar nominated (and winning) Precious, The Paperboy is a thriller about a reporter investigating the case of a death row inmate upon his return to his hometown in Florida. I loved Precious, and this is such a different kind of a story. I can't wait to see just how versatile a director Daniels actually is. I also can't wait to see what he is able to do with Efron, and how the young actor will stack up next to the likes of Kidman and Cusack. McConaughey has also been making something of a comeback recently, and this could well be the next step on that path.
1. PROMETHEUS - opens June 8th
directed by: Ridley Scott
written by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson
Yeah, this is a horror/sci-fi/action flick and that's like a three strikes you're out with the Academy. Usually. But with a cast like this and three time Best Director nominee Scott at the helm, anything could happen. Scott's nominations in the past have all been for different genres, so his versatility is well established. Also, blends of this film's three genres have worked well for the director in the past (Alien and Blade Runner anyone?) so this could be the surprise critical hit of the year. Besides, I can't be the only one who is madly anxious to see what kind of range Rapace has outside of Lisbeth Salander in the original Dragon Tattoo movies. If she can pull this off, and make it different from what we've seen her do in the past, she might just establish herself as the greatest international female action hero ever (not that there is a lot of competition in that arena, but still...).
And that is the list. Of course, as we all know, SOMETHING is likely to come along at Cannes in May and flip everything we think we know about this year in movies on its head. These thirty films, however, are a great start to get you excited about what 2012 has to offer. At least, they are for this amphibian.
Froggy
A couple of these will probably only contend in the tech categories, and a couple of them are probably going to be too small and early out of the gate, but you never know. At any rate, these are my top ten most anticipated films that did not make the early buzz list:
10. WON'T BACK DOWN - opens September 28th
directed by: Daniel Barnz
written by: Brin Hill, Daniel Barnz
starring: Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ving Rhames, Oscar Isaac, Lance Reddick,
Rosie Perez
Director Daniel Barnz's previous two feature films (Beastly, Phoebe in Wonderland) were not exactly critical darlings, and his new production's concept (a parent who fights alongside educators to save their community's school system) certainly sounds potentially schmaltzy. So why on earth, you are asking yourselves, does this film make the list? Two words: Viola Davis. Aside from the fact that she is always excellent and can elevate the level of material she is given (she is and can), there was strong support for her to win Best Actress last year for The Help and it is largely believed that she almost did. This puts her strongly in the Academy's "make it up to her" category, which is a powerful thing if she gets a campaign. The rest of the cast is also pretty strong and Maggie Gyllenhaal in particular has a lot of fans in the AMPAS. I'm sure Won't Back Down will be a little overly sentimental, but at best it could be this year's The Help. At worst? Viola's Blind Side.
9. COSMOPOLIS - opens ????
directed by: David Cronenberg
written by: David Cronenberg
starring: Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, Jay Baruchel, Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche
Cronenberg's films are almost always interesting and he is such a wild card as a director that you never quite know what to expect. For instance, no one expected him to cast Twilight star Pattinson as the lead in this story of a young billionairre whose day gets increasingly complicated. Cronenberg, in his typical style, has addressed this issue head on, going on record saying that this film will lay to rest any doubts about the young actor's abilities. This I have to see. So should you.
8. DARK SHADOWS - opens May 11th
directed by: Tim Burton
written by: Seth Grahame-Smith, John August
starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Cloe Grace Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Lee Miller, Gulliver McGrath, Jackie Earle Haley, Christopher Lee
Granted, Alice In Wonderland was a huge, garish, and boorish (although wildly profitable) disaster made all the worse by having sooooo much wasted potential but I'm not ready to give up on the Burton/Depp dynamic...yet. Sweeney Todd and Corpse Bride were not so long ago. Dark Shadows, an adaptation of a 1960's supernatural soap opera that was a campy classic, seems like the sort of blend of zany and spooky that this team has done so well with in the past. As the vampiric patriarch of a dysfunctional family, Depp must be sauve and seductive with a smooth and sensual vocal tone. This is perfect, because it is a proven fact that the quality of a Burton/Depp collaboration is always inversely proportionate to the frequency of Johnny flying into falsetto. (What do The Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka, and Ichibod Crane have in common? A tendancy to squeal like little girls.) So many others in the cast seem perfect for this project as well, particularly Pfeiffer, Carter, Moretz, and Lee. I was a big fan of Eli Stone, so I am anxious to see what Miller contributes as well. Even if this is a big disappointment, it could easily see lots of awards love from the Academy's craft branches, particularly Art Direction, Costume, Make-Up and Visual Effects.
7. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL - opens May 4th
directed by: John Madden
written by: Ol Parker
starring: Judy Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel
The story of a gaggle of British retirees who try to conserve money by moving to a renovated hotel in India that turns out to be a little less posh than they expected, The Best Exotic Marigold hotel has received luke-positive early reviews and is opening pretty early in the season. It is also of note that director John Madden has been out of the awards game for a while. However, this cast has too dame much...oops, I mean, damn much...no, no, dame much talent in it for me to resist. How many more times will we have the honor to see Dench and Smith together on film? This film COULD actually break into the acting races, depending on how things go with the rest of the field. I don't care. Some things actually do just improve with age.
6. THE AVENGERS - May 4th
directed by: Joss Whedon
written by: Joss Whedon, Zak Penn
starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hiddleston
What other hero can rival Batman in popularity at the box office this summer? There probably isn't one, but maybe a whole team of them can give it a shot. This is it, the film that all those other Marvel Studios films starting with Iron Man have been leading up to. On paper, it shows great potential. Hemsworth, Evans, and Downey have all proven that they have a good handle on how to play their characters. Buffy creator Joss Whedon seems like a strong choice to pull all these individual worlds together, and you know they are going to go all out for the thrills, chills, and special effects possibly leading to some awards attention in the technical categories. As long as Zak Penn's script plays more like X-Men 2 than Elektra, we might have to make room for two perfectly respectable super hero flicks during the tentpole days of summer.
5. GREAT EXPECTATIONS - opens ???
directed by: Mike Newell
written by: David Nicholls
starring: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Robbie Coltrane, Holiday Grainger, Sally Hawkins, Ewan Bremner
Okay, so there is something that sounds a little tired and Oscar baity about yet another Dickens adaptation (I've found nearly ten big screen versions of just this story, plus numerous TV projects based on it). While this production does have a strong cast overall and a director who solidly hits the mark at least some of the time (although he's never quite lived up to Mrs. Brown or Shakespeare in Love over the course of the last decade), my excitement comes mainly from one source: Helena Bonham Carter as the tragic and spooky Mrs. Havisham. It is perfect casting, and should be enough to make this movie worth the price of admission. For anyone who was homeschooled by people who hate the British, Great Expectations is the story of a poor orphan named Pip who is elevated into high society under mysterious circumstances. It IS one of Dickens' best stories and Mike Newell's best works have been period pieces set in the UK, so I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. Of course, it goes without saying that Costume and Art Direction nominations could be in the film's future regardless of how it performs otherwise.
4. SAVAGES - opens July 6th
directed by: Oliver Stone
written by: Don Winslow, Shane Salerno
starring: Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Benicio del Toro, Demian Bichir
It has been over a decade and a half since Oscar courted Oliver last, but after two best director wins in five years (and a screenplay win several years earlier than that), he had sort of gotten his due for awhile. He's still plugging away though, and he's still often quite impressive. In Savages, he will tell the story of two pot dealers as they try to resque a girl they both have romantic ties to from a Mexican drug cartel. Sounds very Natural Born Killers (one of Stone's most criminally under appreciated efforts) and that sounds great to me. This film may slip under the awards radar entirely, but I'm in. The younger stars are somewhat untested, but there is a lot of proven talent in the supporting roles.
3. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES - opens ???
directed by: Derek Cianfrance
written by: Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, Darius Mardur
starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Rose Byrne, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Bruce Greenwood
Cianfrance follows up the depressing but excellent Blue Valentine with an action crime drama about a man who considers turning to crime to support his family. He repartners with Blue star Gosling who seems to have become the go to actor for thinking man's action roles since Drive. Perfectly understandable. My only reservation is that Gosling's role here seems so similar to his role in Drive: a stunt driver (albeit on motorcycles this time) who gets involved with criminals. Hopefully Cianfrance will present this versatile actor with something fresh to allow him to continue to grow.
2. THE PAPERBOY - opens November 23rd
directed by: Lee Daniels
written by: ???
starring: Zac Efron, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Scott Glenn
Director Lee Daniels follow up to the multiple Oscar nominated (and winning) Precious, The Paperboy is a thriller about a reporter investigating the case of a death row inmate upon his return to his hometown in Florida. I loved Precious, and this is such a different kind of a story. I can't wait to see just how versatile a director Daniels actually is. I also can't wait to see what he is able to do with Efron, and how the young actor will stack up next to the likes of Kidman and Cusack. McConaughey has also been making something of a comeback recently, and this could well be the next step on that path.
1. PROMETHEUS - opens June 8th
directed by: Ridley Scott
written by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson
Yeah, this is a horror/sci-fi/action flick and that's like a three strikes you're out with the Academy. Usually. But with a cast like this and three time Best Director nominee Scott at the helm, anything could happen. Scott's nominations in the past have all been for different genres, so his versatility is well established. Also, blends of this film's three genres have worked well for the director in the past (Alien and Blade Runner anyone?) so this could be the surprise critical hit of the year. Besides, I can't be the only one who is madly anxious to see what kind of range Rapace has outside of Lisbeth Salander in the original Dragon Tattoo movies. If she can pull this off, and make it different from what we've seen her do in the past, she might just establish herself as the greatest international female action hero ever (not that there is a lot of competition in that arena, but still...).
And that is the list. Of course, as we all know, SOMETHING is likely to come along at Cannes in May and flip everything we think we know about this year in movies on its head. These thirty films, however, are a great start to get you excited about what 2012 has to offer. At least, they are for this amphibian.
Froggy
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
2012 Preview Continued
So now that I've w(h)et your appetite (to match my froggy-skin), with the first ten films in this series it is time to get down to the ten most awards buzzed movies of the year so far. Oscar nominations are still a looong way away, so anything can happen. Films on this list will flop with the critics (Larry Crowne or J Edgar anyone?) and films we have no idea about at this early stage will appear (like a little movie called The Artist did last year in May). Still, I think it is safe to say that several of these films WILL be contenders and most, if not all, of them should at least be highly watchable. So settle in with a frosty bottle of fly juice (or whatever inferior libation you prefer) and let's get started.
10. THE SURROGATE - opens ????
directed by: Ben Lewin
written by: Ben Lewin
starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H Macy
Writer/director Ben Lewin has made a handfull of films in the past, but none of them have really broken through in a way that has made him into a name to be reckoned with. That may all change this year, however, with The Surrogate. In it, he tells the story of a man who has spent his life in an iron lung and now wants to hire a sexual surrogate to help him lose his virginity. It has already won the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival as well as a Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting. Its three stars are no strangers to the AMPAS. The Academy may be (or should be) chomping at the bit to reward John Hawkes after his snub for Martha, Marcy Mae, Marlene last year, and the film could provide excellent comeback material for Helen Hunt and/or William H Macy. I myself am particularly looking forward to this one.
9. ZERO DARK THIRTY - opens December 19th
directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
written by: Mark Boal
starring: Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Edgar Ramirez, Kyle Chandler
Formerly titled Kill Bin Laden, Bigelow and Boal's follow up to Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker tells the story of the military's mission to hunt down the infamous Al Queda leader. They had actually already begun filming before Osama was found and had to stop production to rewrite the ending as history unfolded. Which calls to the forefront the film's greatest advantage (besides its amazing production team and cast): it could NOT be more timely. It is also exactly the sort of film that Bigelow does best, one in a genre that is traditionally male dominated. The cast is also replete with talented up and comers (Strong, Chastain, Edgerton, and Ehle were all either in or dancing on the edge of last year's acting races), so if this film delivers the goods all manner of accolades are possible.
8. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY - opens December 14th
directed by: Peter Jackson
written by: Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Billy Connolly
Many pundits seem to feel that Peter Jackson has already been rewarded enough for adapting the tales of Middle Earth to film. The Lord of the Rings series was nominated for a total of thirty Oscars and won seventeen of them. However, considering the care that Jackson puts into these movies it is hard to imagine the first of this two part prequel to that series will not be a powerhouse in at least the technical categories. When you factor in how much of the incomparable cast and production team are returning for these films, the sky may well be the limit. Early delays plagued the production (along with departure of original director del Toro), but with Jackson back at the series' helm expect great things.
7. HYDE PARK ON HUDSON - December 7th
directed by: Roger Michell
written by: Richard Nelson
starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Olivia Colman
Okay, so a LOT (I am CAP happy today) of people feel that Bill Murray is way overdue to win an Oscar. At 61, he has paid his dues and come very close. Playing FDR in a biopic centered around a love affair between the iconin president and a distant, younger cousin (portrayed by three time nominee Laura Linney, whose career has been on an upswing of its own of late) sounds like the sort of role that could do the trick. Add in the always captivating Olivia Williams and Olivia Colman (who many feel was snubbed last year for her work in Tyrannosaur) and you have a pretty good recipe for some acting awards. Director Roger Michell has never really established himself as an awards magnet type in the past, so Picture and Director seem less likely, but that is why the word breakthrough exists. This film seems like a big question mark to me, but Murray's fans are keeping it at the forefront of the conversation.
6. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES opens July 20th
directed by: Christopher Nolan
written by: Jonathen Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S Goyer
starring: Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Juno Temple
Okay, am I going to lose all credibility and be written off as a mere fanboy if I admit that this may be the movie that I am MOST looking forward to this year? I'll keep it to myself then. But seriously, Nolan's Batman trilogy is the smartest, sleekest, and most brilliantly cinematic adaptation of a comic book character (and characters) ever. And so far, it just keeps improving. Nolan excells at transcending genres and, let's face it, the Best Picture field was widened largely in an effort to never let another film like The Dark Knight slip through the cracks. Just look at the cast. And the technical awards? I don't think I'm going out on too much of a limb to say that I could easily see this film getting ten or more nominations when it is all said and done.
5. THE MASTER - opens ???
directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
starring: Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Dern
Paul Thomas Anderson has only directed six feature length films over a span of sixteen years but he knocks it out of the park every time. His latest, The Master, is set in the 1950's and follows the ascension of a budding cult leader. Anderson's last film (There Will Be Blood) just missed the Academy's top two prizes. Also note, a charismatic religious "Master" seems like a role perfectly suited to allow Hoffman to knock it out of the park and into another park located several miles away. After last year's cotton candy Oscars, some slightly darker fare is sure to break in this year. Regardless of how the awards race turns out, I expect this to be one of the year's best.
4. DJANGO UNCHAINED - opens December 25th
directed by: Quentin Tarantino
written by: Quentin Tarantino
starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kurt Russell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Walton Goggins
When Tarantino makes a film it is always a unique event, whether he is embraced by Ampas or not (but he often is, despite the risks he takes or the boundaries he pushes). He shows no signs of growing any more conventional with Django Unchained, the story of a freed slave turned bounty hunter who returns to the plantation where his wife is still a slave. Oh, and it's being billed as an action/western. Likely to be controversial, Django is a real wild card, but Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds both challenged the definition of what it means to be an "Oscar Movie". Jackson and Waltz have both worked very successfully with Tarantino in the past. Also, the director's penchant for reviving the careers of fading stars (Travolta, Greer, Forster, etc) certainly bodes well for Johnson and Russell. If anyone can make Don Johnson hip again, its this man. Add in a whole assortment of OTHER great talent that has never worked with Quentin and this one promises to be FUN.
3. THE GREAT GATSBY - December 25th
directed by: Baz Luhrmann
written by: Baz Luhrmann
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Tobey Maguire
So...Christmas day at the cinema this year is going to be Leo in Django vs. Leo in Gatsby. Hmm.... Director Luhrman's record is inconsistant and this novel is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen, but the era of the flappers does sound sort of "Moulinesque" so we shall have to wait and see. Predicting DiCaprio for a nomination has become a regular pitfall for many on the web but the guy is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) actors of his generation, so let's just assume eventually we'll all be right. Yes, Bachir took me by surprise last year too, and I'm a little bitter. As an aside, this will be the first film DiCaprio and close pal Maguire have done together since This Boy's Life in 1994. Mulligan and to some extent Edgerton were also considered near misses last year for recognition, and that should work in the film's favor as well.
2. LES MISERABLES - December 14th
directed by: Tom Hooper
written by: Alain Boublil
starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks
Les Miserables is my favorite musical of all time (well, maybe tied with Cabaret). To say that it is not exactly musical comedy would be an understatement. It is dark and depressing and if it doesn't make you cry by the end either somebody did something wrong or you may be lobotomized or dead (like much of the cast). The casting here is interesting. When I first heard that Seyfried was on board I imagined her more as Eponine, but maybe that's just because I like her and Cosette is a much less interesting character. Cohen and Carter as the Thernardiers are inspired choices and I expect "Master of the House" to be a major highlight here. As a stage play, Les Mes relies largely on the proximity of the live actors and the immersion in the world of the French Revolution to get the audience fully invested in the melodrama and tragedy of it all. This is more difficult to do on a movie screen, but if The King's Speech revealed one great strength of director Tom Hooper's it is the ability to tug at the heartstrings. If he can do the same thing with a much less uplifting story I'll forgive him for beating at least five better movies at the Oscars a year ago. I really will.
Drumroll..........
1. LINCOLN - opens Dec ? (exact date TBA)
directed by: Steven Spielberg
written by: Tony Kushner, John Logan, Paul Webb
starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, James Spader, Walton Goggins, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Hawkes, David Straitharn, Hal Holbrook
The Oscars love a biopic. They love a costume drama. They love sweeping historical epics. They love Spielberg. They love Day-Lewis. So why on Earth wouldn't they love Lincoln? It's no wonder that this picture has the most buzz of all this year's offerings at this early point in the game. Of course, Spielberg's War Horse was in the same position last year and wound up winning nothing. It seems like a film tailor-made for awards love, but is that all it is? Only time will tell.
And that is the buzz list, but this is a three part series, and the next part is gonna be my favorite. Coming soon, my ten most anticipated movies that did not make this list. Froggy's "Hops of Faith" if you will. They may not have the focus of as many bloggers and pundits at the moment, but these films have me just as excited as the twenty we have already discussed.
Believe what I have "toad" you,
Froggy
10. THE SURROGATE - opens ????
directed by: Ben Lewin
written by: Ben Lewin
starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H Macy
Writer/director Ben Lewin has made a handfull of films in the past, but none of them have really broken through in a way that has made him into a name to be reckoned with. That may all change this year, however, with The Surrogate. In it, he tells the story of a man who has spent his life in an iron lung and now wants to hire a sexual surrogate to help him lose his virginity. It has already won the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival as well as a Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting. Its three stars are no strangers to the AMPAS. The Academy may be (or should be) chomping at the bit to reward John Hawkes after his snub for Martha, Marcy Mae, Marlene last year, and the film could provide excellent comeback material for Helen Hunt and/or William H Macy. I myself am particularly looking forward to this one.
9. ZERO DARK THIRTY - opens December 19th
directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
written by: Mark Boal
starring: Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Edgar Ramirez, Kyle Chandler
Formerly titled Kill Bin Laden, Bigelow and Boal's follow up to Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker tells the story of the military's mission to hunt down the infamous Al Queda leader. They had actually already begun filming before Osama was found and had to stop production to rewrite the ending as history unfolded. Which calls to the forefront the film's greatest advantage (besides its amazing production team and cast): it could NOT be more timely. It is also exactly the sort of film that Bigelow does best, one in a genre that is traditionally male dominated. The cast is also replete with talented up and comers (Strong, Chastain, Edgerton, and Ehle were all either in or dancing on the edge of last year's acting races), so if this film delivers the goods all manner of accolades are possible.
8. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY - opens December 14th
directed by: Peter Jackson
written by: Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Billy Connolly
Many pundits seem to feel that Peter Jackson has already been rewarded enough for adapting the tales of Middle Earth to film. The Lord of the Rings series was nominated for a total of thirty Oscars and won seventeen of them. However, considering the care that Jackson puts into these movies it is hard to imagine the first of this two part prequel to that series will not be a powerhouse in at least the technical categories. When you factor in how much of the incomparable cast and production team are returning for these films, the sky may well be the limit. Early delays plagued the production (along with departure of original director del Toro), but with Jackson back at the series' helm expect great things.
7. HYDE PARK ON HUDSON - December 7th
directed by: Roger Michell
written by: Richard Nelson
starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Olivia Colman
Okay, so a LOT (I am CAP happy today) of people feel that Bill Murray is way overdue to win an Oscar. At 61, he has paid his dues and come very close. Playing FDR in a biopic centered around a love affair between the iconin president and a distant, younger cousin (portrayed by three time nominee Laura Linney, whose career has been on an upswing of its own of late) sounds like the sort of role that could do the trick. Add in the always captivating Olivia Williams and Olivia Colman (who many feel was snubbed last year for her work in Tyrannosaur) and you have a pretty good recipe for some acting awards. Director Roger Michell has never really established himself as an awards magnet type in the past, so Picture and Director seem less likely, but that is why the word breakthrough exists. This film seems like a big question mark to me, but Murray's fans are keeping it at the forefront of the conversation.
6. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES opens July 20th
directed by: Christopher Nolan
written by: Jonathen Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S Goyer
starring: Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Juno Temple
Okay, am I going to lose all credibility and be written off as a mere fanboy if I admit that this may be the movie that I am MOST looking forward to this year? I'll keep it to myself then. But seriously, Nolan's Batman trilogy is the smartest, sleekest, and most brilliantly cinematic adaptation of a comic book character (and characters) ever. And so far, it just keeps improving. Nolan excells at transcending genres and, let's face it, the Best Picture field was widened largely in an effort to never let another film like The Dark Knight slip through the cracks. Just look at the cast. And the technical awards? I don't think I'm going out on too much of a limb to say that I could easily see this film getting ten or more nominations when it is all said and done.
5. THE MASTER - opens ???
directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
starring: Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Dern
Paul Thomas Anderson has only directed six feature length films over a span of sixteen years but he knocks it out of the park every time. His latest, The Master, is set in the 1950's and follows the ascension of a budding cult leader. Anderson's last film (There Will Be Blood) just missed the Academy's top two prizes. Also note, a charismatic religious "Master" seems like a role perfectly suited to allow Hoffman to knock it out of the park and into another park located several miles away. After last year's cotton candy Oscars, some slightly darker fare is sure to break in this year. Regardless of how the awards race turns out, I expect this to be one of the year's best.
4. DJANGO UNCHAINED - opens December 25th
directed by: Quentin Tarantino
written by: Quentin Tarantino
starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kurt Russell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Walton Goggins
When Tarantino makes a film it is always a unique event, whether he is embraced by Ampas or not (but he often is, despite the risks he takes or the boundaries he pushes). He shows no signs of growing any more conventional with Django Unchained, the story of a freed slave turned bounty hunter who returns to the plantation where his wife is still a slave. Oh, and it's being billed as an action/western. Likely to be controversial, Django is a real wild card, but Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds both challenged the definition of what it means to be an "Oscar Movie". Jackson and Waltz have both worked very successfully with Tarantino in the past. Also, the director's penchant for reviving the careers of fading stars (Travolta, Greer, Forster, etc) certainly bodes well for Johnson and Russell. If anyone can make Don Johnson hip again, its this man. Add in a whole assortment of OTHER great talent that has never worked with Quentin and this one promises to be FUN.
3. THE GREAT GATSBY - December 25th
directed by: Baz Luhrmann
written by: Baz Luhrmann
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Tobey Maguire
So...Christmas day at the cinema this year is going to be Leo in Django vs. Leo in Gatsby. Hmm.... Director Luhrman's record is inconsistant and this novel is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen, but the era of the flappers does sound sort of "Moulinesque" so we shall have to wait and see. Predicting DiCaprio for a nomination has become a regular pitfall for many on the web but the guy is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) actors of his generation, so let's just assume eventually we'll all be right. Yes, Bachir took me by surprise last year too, and I'm a little bitter. As an aside, this will be the first film DiCaprio and close pal Maguire have done together since This Boy's Life in 1994. Mulligan and to some extent Edgerton were also considered near misses last year for recognition, and that should work in the film's favor as well.
2. LES MISERABLES - December 14th
directed by: Tom Hooper
written by: Alain Boublil
starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks
Les Miserables is my favorite musical of all time (well, maybe tied with Cabaret). To say that it is not exactly musical comedy would be an understatement. It is dark and depressing and if it doesn't make you cry by the end either somebody did something wrong or you may be lobotomized or dead (like much of the cast). The casting here is interesting. When I first heard that Seyfried was on board I imagined her more as Eponine, but maybe that's just because I like her and Cosette is a much less interesting character. Cohen and Carter as the Thernardiers are inspired choices and I expect "Master of the House" to be a major highlight here. As a stage play, Les Mes relies largely on the proximity of the live actors and the immersion in the world of the French Revolution to get the audience fully invested in the melodrama and tragedy of it all. This is more difficult to do on a movie screen, but if The King's Speech revealed one great strength of director Tom Hooper's it is the ability to tug at the heartstrings. If he can do the same thing with a much less uplifting story I'll forgive him for beating at least five better movies at the Oscars a year ago. I really will.
Drumroll..........
1. LINCOLN - opens Dec ? (exact date TBA)
directed by: Steven Spielberg
written by: Tony Kushner, John Logan, Paul Webb
starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, James Spader, Walton Goggins, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Hawkes, David Straitharn, Hal Holbrook
The Oscars love a biopic. They love a costume drama. They love sweeping historical epics. They love Spielberg. They love Day-Lewis. So why on Earth wouldn't they love Lincoln? It's no wonder that this picture has the most buzz of all this year's offerings at this early point in the game. Of course, Spielberg's War Horse was in the same position last year and wound up winning nothing. It seems like a film tailor-made for awards love, but is that all it is? Only time will tell.
And that is the buzz list, but this is a three part series, and the next part is gonna be my favorite. Coming soon, my ten most anticipated movies that did not make this list. Froggy's "Hops of Faith" if you will. They may not have the focus of as many bloggers and pundits at the moment, but these films have me just as excited as the twenty we have already discussed.
Believe what I have "toad" you,
Froggy
Friday, March 23, 2012
Upcoming 2012 Awards Season Preview
I know I had promised a wrap up of last year's Oscar season but its pretty wrapped up already. With that in mind I am instead posting a three part series on upcoming films that may or may not play into this year's awards race. The first two posts will deal with the twenty films that currently have the loudest early buzz attached to them. The final post will cover ten films that don't have as much general buzz yet, but that I just can't wait to see anyway. Let's start with films 20 - 11 on the current buzzometer:
20. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD - opens June 29th
directed by: Benh Zeitlin
written by: Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin
starring: Quvenzhane' Wallis
Last year's awards race was frought with coming of age tales about young boys (War Horse, Extremely Loud, Hugo), so why not one focusing on an even younger girl. Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of Hushpuppy, a six year old girl who sets out alone to find her absent mother in a world where climate change is unleashing prehistoric beasts upon the world and her father has fallen gravely ill. The film has already won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance as well as the cinematography award and been critically received with fervor that is already drawing comparisons to Slumdog Millionairre and The Artist. Working against the film? Sundance is VERY early in the year (this time last year Martha, Marcy Mae, Marlene and Like Crazy were the toast of the festival) and the film's June release also gives it plenty of time to fade from voter's minds before the screeners start to arrive. A successful appearance at Cannes (?) or a strong box office performance could help to overcome these problems, but that is all conjecture at this point. The lack of experience and star power connected (this is Wallis's acting debut and Zeitlin's first feature length film) could also be a stumbling block. This will, however, be either a contender or one of the film's that is lamented for not having been. It would be so much fun to see Zeitlin triple nominated for directing, screenplay, and score.
19. THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - opens November 21st
directed by: David O. Russell
written by: David O. Russell
starring: Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, Jackie Weaver
Director David O. Russell's last film, The Fighter, allowed him to finally break into the Best Picture/Director races but failed to impress me as much as the Academy. This was mostly due to the script, however, as Russell obviously led his four leads to give powerhouse performances. His films that he also scripted have been much more to my liking (I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings particularly) and he returns to double writing and directing duties with The Silver Linings Playbook. The film is a drama centered around a young man who tries to put the pieces of his life back together after release from a mental institution. While stars Bradley Cooper and Julia Stiles have not been awards magnets in the past, they have definitely demonstrated that they have the chops to break through with the right roles. With De Niro and Weaver (can't wait to see her in ANYTHING since Animal Kingdom) as Cooper's parents and a late November release, this film seems poised to play for keeps this year.
18. MOONRISE KINGDOM - opens May 25th
directed by: Wes Anderson
written by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
starring: Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda
Swinton, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman
Wes Anderson's films have danced around the edges of the big races for years securing Animated Feature and Original Screenplay nominations in the past (for Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Royal Tennenbaums respectively) but suffered from the comedy curse when it comes to the Best Picture race. Once again, he seems poised to possibly break in with Moonrise Kingdom, a film about a young couple who runs away together and how the efforts to search for them turn their New England island town upside down in the process. Kingdom is already set to open the Cannes Film Festival just prior to a late May release, mirroring the path followed by the Tree of Life to a Best Picture nod last year. The cast is also filled with awards players (Norton, Murray, Swinton, McDormand, Keitel) many of whom have already proven to work well with Anderson in the past. Anderson's dry quirky brand of comedy seems like it should be more palatable to AMPAS than more broad comedies, and even gross comedy Bridesmaids made a good shot at Oscar last year, so who knows. Whatever the outcome, this movie is definitely on MY must watch list for 2012.
17. LIFE OF PI - opens December 14th
directed by: Ang Lee
written by: David McGee
starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tobey McGuire, Ge'rard Depardieu, Tabu
Even though Lee's last film (Taking Woodstock) fell a little flat, the man who brought us Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can never be counted out of the Awards races. He returns this year with Life of Pi, based upon the wildly successful novel by David Magee. It tells the story of a young Indian boy who is trapped with a variety of wild animals after a shipwreck. Many have cited that this will be a difficult novel to adapt to the screen and you know what they say about working with children and animals, but Lee is high on the list of directors who should be able to make a go of it. A mid December release date should give the film an excellent shot at awards consideration, should it be well received. It would also be great to see McGuire finally nab a Best Supporting nomination, but we will have to wait and see.
16. BRAVE - opens June 22nd
directed by: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
written by: Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews
starring (voice): Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connelly, Craig Fergusen
Unless it is the sequel to their worst reviewed movie ever (cough...Cars 2...cough), the latest Pixar feature must always be considered a serious contender for Animated Feature at the very least. This year they bring us Brave, the story of Merida a Scottish princess and archer who is propelled into adventure in an attempt to fix problems she has brought upon her kingdom. It also marks the first Pixar feature with a female lead character. What you can see of the animation from the early stills is encouragingly gorgeous. Both of the directors are relative newcomers to the role (although Chapman did direct Prince of Egypt) but have long histories with film and animation, and they have some great voice talent to work with. Only time will tell if the picture has the goods to break out of the animated ghetto, but if the field is wider than five this year, expect it to at least generate a lot of buzz about a Best Picture nomination.
15. TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE - opens September 28th
directed by: Robert Lorenz
written by: Randy Brown
starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman
Yes, we've all been burned the last few years by putting Clint Eastwood projects on our lists of early contenders, but this is a dramatic change of pace. Eastwood is turning over the director's chair to long time collaborator Robert Lorenz and making his first acting appearance since 2008's Gran Torino (which was meant to be his final film as an actor) and his first acting appearance under another's direction since In the Line of Fire almost twenty years ago. In Trouble With the Curve he stars as an aging baseball recruiter who takes his daughter (Adams) with him on one last road trip. Once again, we could be looking at Eastwood's swan song as an actor and that could be too much for the Academy to resist, even if sports films are often a hard sell (and we just had a baseball film last year).
14. UNTITLED TERRENCE MALICK PROJECT - opens ???
directed by: Terrence Malick
written by: Terrence Malick
starring: Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Chastain, Amanda Peet, Ben Affleck, Javier
Bardem
Sure it doesn't have a release date or even a title yet and Malick's films are synonymous with post production delays, but its currently scheduled for 2012 so we'll put it on the list and keep our fingers crossed that we see it this year. This writer/director's films almost always factor into the year end awards in some capacity and two of his last three have garnered Best Picture nominations from the Academy. This film is being billed as a romance about a man reconnecting with a girl he knew in his hometown. Of course, with Malick that is sure to be a less simple tale than it sounds like on the surface. While this picture is likely to be a contender in Picture, Director, Cinematography and possibly Original Screenplay (Score?, Editing?), the acting prospects are a bit more sketchy no matter how brilliant some of the performances might be. You see, NO ACTOR has EVER gotten an Oscar nomination from appearing in a Terrence Malick film. Strange but true.
13. GRAVITY - opens November 21st
\ directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
written by: Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron, Rodrigo Garcia
starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
The story of an astronaut stranded alone in mid-spacewalk, the rest of her crew dead, desperately struggling to get back to safety, Gravity promises to be the acting challenge of Sandra Bullock's life thus far. She is reportedly in almost every frame of the movie, and her and George Clooney in a much smaller role are pretty much the whole cast. Fans and critics alike have been anxiously awaiting director Cuaron's follow up to the widely acclaimed Children of Men. Movies set in outer space typically have a difficult time with the Academy (outside of historical dramas), but this could be the film to break through. One thing is for sure, it is an excellent chance for Sandy to prove that her Best Actress win was more than a one-shot fluke.
12. ARGO - September 14th
directed by: Ben Affleck
written by: Chris Terrio
starring: Bryan Cranston, Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Titus Welliver, Taylor Schilling
Ben Affleck's directorial efforts have played very well with critics and to some extent the Academy although neither Gone Baby Gone nor The Town quite managed a Best Picture nomination. Maybe the third time will really be the charm. Argo is the story of a CIA mission to rescue Americans trapped in Iran during that nation's revolution. Both of his previous efforts have garnered acting nods, so this might be excellent news for John Goodman who is surely due for his first nom (especially with appearances in two other high profile awards pics likely to be released this year).
11. Anna Karenina - November 9th
directed by: Joe Wright
written by: Tom Stoppard
starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Emily Watson, Kelly MacDonald
There have already been a dozen or so film adaptations of the classic Tolstoy novel going all the way back to 1910. However, the writing/directing team here is very strong, the cast has the makings of a stellar ensemble, and period dramas are right in the Academy's wheelhouse, so who can say? At the very least, this film should be a strong contender for Art Direction, Costume, and Make-up. Knightly, also, has been steadily building her award creds in recent years, so if she nails this, Best Actress could well be up for grabs as well.
And that's it for now. I will soon return with films ten through one, and they should have a little something for most tastes. The top ten has historical biopics, fantasy, musical numbers, new adaptations of classic characters, political intrigue, action, and a "Western" where the hero is an escaped slave.
Feeling fresh as a tadpole,
Froggy
20. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD - opens June 29th
directed by: Benh Zeitlin
written by: Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin
starring: Quvenzhane' Wallis
Last year's awards race was frought with coming of age tales about young boys (War Horse, Extremely Loud, Hugo), so why not one focusing on an even younger girl. Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of Hushpuppy, a six year old girl who sets out alone to find her absent mother in a world where climate change is unleashing prehistoric beasts upon the world and her father has fallen gravely ill. The film has already won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance as well as the cinematography award and been critically received with fervor that is already drawing comparisons to Slumdog Millionairre and The Artist. Working against the film? Sundance is VERY early in the year (this time last year Martha, Marcy Mae, Marlene and Like Crazy were the toast of the festival) and the film's June release also gives it plenty of time to fade from voter's minds before the screeners start to arrive. A successful appearance at Cannes (?) or a strong box office performance could help to overcome these problems, but that is all conjecture at this point. The lack of experience and star power connected (this is Wallis's acting debut and Zeitlin's first feature length film) could also be a stumbling block. This will, however, be either a contender or one of the film's that is lamented for not having been. It would be so much fun to see Zeitlin triple nominated for directing, screenplay, and score.
19. THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - opens November 21st
directed by: David O. Russell
written by: David O. Russell
starring: Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, Jackie Weaver
Director David O. Russell's last film, The Fighter, allowed him to finally break into the Best Picture/Director races but failed to impress me as much as the Academy. This was mostly due to the script, however, as Russell obviously led his four leads to give powerhouse performances. His films that he also scripted have been much more to my liking (I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings particularly) and he returns to double writing and directing duties with The Silver Linings Playbook. The film is a drama centered around a young man who tries to put the pieces of his life back together after release from a mental institution. While stars Bradley Cooper and Julia Stiles have not been awards magnets in the past, they have definitely demonstrated that they have the chops to break through with the right roles. With De Niro and Weaver (can't wait to see her in ANYTHING since Animal Kingdom) as Cooper's parents and a late November release, this film seems poised to play for keeps this year.
18. MOONRISE KINGDOM - opens May 25th
directed by: Wes Anderson
written by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
starring: Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda
Swinton, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman
Wes Anderson's films have danced around the edges of the big races for years securing Animated Feature and Original Screenplay nominations in the past (for Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Royal Tennenbaums respectively) but suffered from the comedy curse when it comes to the Best Picture race. Once again, he seems poised to possibly break in with Moonrise Kingdom, a film about a young couple who runs away together and how the efforts to search for them turn their New England island town upside down in the process. Kingdom is already set to open the Cannes Film Festival just prior to a late May release, mirroring the path followed by the Tree of Life to a Best Picture nod last year. The cast is also filled with awards players (Norton, Murray, Swinton, McDormand, Keitel) many of whom have already proven to work well with Anderson in the past. Anderson's dry quirky brand of comedy seems like it should be more palatable to AMPAS than more broad comedies, and even gross comedy Bridesmaids made a good shot at Oscar last year, so who knows. Whatever the outcome, this movie is definitely on MY must watch list for 2012.
17. LIFE OF PI - opens December 14th
directed by: Ang Lee
written by: David McGee
starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tobey McGuire, Ge'rard Depardieu, Tabu
Even though Lee's last film (Taking Woodstock) fell a little flat, the man who brought us Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can never be counted out of the Awards races. He returns this year with Life of Pi, based upon the wildly successful novel by David Magee. It tells the story of a young Indian boy who is trapped with a variety of wild animals after a shipwreck. Many have cited that this will be a difficult novel to adapt to the screen and you know what they say about working with children and animals, but Lee is high on the list of directors who should be able to make a go of it. A mid December release date should give the film an excellent shot at awards consideration, should it be well received. It would also be great to see McGuire finally nab a Best Supporting nomination, but we will have to wait and see.
16. BRAVE - opens June 22nd
directed by: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
written by: Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews
starring (voice): Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connelly, Craig Fergusen
Unless it is the sequel to their worst reviewed movie ever (cough...Cars 2...cough), the latest Pixar feature must always be considered a serious contender for Animated Feature at the very least. This year they bring us Brave, the story of Merida a Scottish princess and archer who is propelled into adventure in an attempt to fix problems she has brought upon her kingdom. It also marks the first Pixar feature with a female lead character. What you can see of the animation from the early stills is encouragingly gorgeous. Both of the directors are relative newcomers to the role (although Chapman did direct Prince of Egypt) but have long histories with film and animation, and they have some great voice talent to work with. Only time will tell if the picture has the goods to break out of the animated ghetto, but if the field is wider than five this year, expect it to at least generate a lot of buzz about a Best Picture nomination.
15. TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE - opens September 28th
directed by: Robert Lorenz
written by: Randy Brown
starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman
Yes, we've all been burned the last few years by putting Clint Eastwood projects on our lists of early contenders, but this is a dramatic change of pace. Eastwood is turning over the director's chair to long time collaborator Robert Lorenz and making his first acting appearance since 2008's Gran Torino (which was meant to be his final film as an actor) and his first acting appearance under another's direction since In the Line of Fire almost twenty years ago. In Trouble With the Curve he stars as an aging baseball recruiter who takes his daughter (Adams) with him on one last road trip. Once again, we could be looking at Eastwood's swan song as an actor and that could be too much for the Academy to resist, even if sports films are often a hard sell (and we just had a baseball film last year).
14. UNTITLED TERRENCE MALICK PROJECT - opens ???
directed by: Terrence Malick
written by: Terrence Malick
starring: Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Chastain, Amanda Peet, Ben Affleck, Javier
Bardem
Sure it doesn't have a release date or even a title yet and Malick's films are synonymous with post production delays, but its currently scheduled for 2012 so we'll put it on the list and keep our fingers crossed that we see it this year. This writer/director's films almost always factor into the year end awards in some capacity and two of his last three have garnered Best Picture nominations from the Academy. This film is being billed as a romance about a man reconnecting with a girl he knew in his hometown. Of course, with Malick that is sure to be a less simple tale than it sounds like on the surface. While this picture is likely to be a contender in Picture, Director, Cinematography and possibly Original Screenplay (Score?, Editing?), the acting prospects are a bit more sketchy no matter how brilliant some of the performances might be. You see, NO ACTOR has EVER gotten an Oscar nomination from appearing in a Terrence Malick film. Strange but true.
13. GRAVITY - opens November 21st
\ directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
written by: Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron, Rodrigo Garcia
starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
The story of an astronaut stranded alone in mid-spacewalk, the rest of her crew dead, desperately struggling to get back to safety, Gravity promises to be the acting challenge of Sandra Bullock's life thus far. She is reportedly in almost every frame of the movie, and her and George Clooney in a much smaller role are pretty much the whole cast. Fans and critics alike have been anxiously awaiting director Cuaron's follow up to the widely acclaimed Children of Men. Movies set in outer space typically have a difficult time with the Academy (outside of historical dramas), but this could be the film to break through. One thing is for sure, it is an excellent chance for Sandy to prove that her Best Actress win was more than a one-shot fluke.
12. ARGO - September 14th
directed by: Ben Affleck
written by: Chris Terrio
starring: Bryan Cranston, Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Titus Welliver, Taylor Schilling
Ben Affleck's directorial efforts have played very well with critics and to some extent the Academy although neither Gone Baby Gone nor The Town quite managed a Best Picture nomination. Maybe the third time will really be the charm. Argo is the story of a CIA mission to rescue Americans trapped in Iran during that nation's revolution. Both of his previous efforts have garnered acting nods, so this might be excellent news for John Goodman who is surely due for his first nom (especially with appearances in two other high profile awards pics likely to be released this year).
11. Anna Karenina - November 9th
directed by: Joe Wright
written by: Tom Stoppard
starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Emily Watson, Kelly MacDonald
There have already been a dozen or so film adaptations of the classic Tolstoy novel going all the way back to 1910. However, the writing/directing team here is very strong, the cast has the makings of a stellar ensemble, and period dramas are right in the Academy's wheelhouse, so who can say? At the very least, this film should be a strong contender for Art Direction, Costume, and Make-up. Knightly, also, has been steadily building her award creds in recent years, so if she nails this, Best Actress could well be up for grabs as well.
And that's it for now. I will soon return with films ten through one, and they should have a little something for most tastes. The top ten has historical biopics, fantasy, musical numbers, new adaptations of classic characters, political intrigue, action, and a "Western" where the hero is an escaped slave.
Feeling fresh as a tadpole,
Froggy
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Killing the Dream Contagion
My three new DVD reviews include the weakest entry in the great Jessica Chastain film festival of 2011, a high profile disaster flick, and a fairly standard horror movie with some A-list talent attached. Let's hop to it:
Texas Killing Fields - This is the fifth of the six films that Jessica Chastain appeared in during 2011 that I have seen. While she is definitely the strongest thing about the film, that is the most backhanded compliment since Reagan said that Bush was the best vice-president in his memory. Don't get me wrong, she does make the most of the material unlike her co-star the often brilliant Sam Worthington. Often. His over the top stylings here, however, call to mind every angsty junior partner in every B cop drama of the eighties. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chloe Grace Moretz do respectable jobs, making the most of the material if not quite overcoming its limitations. To be fair to director Ami Canaan Morgan, this is her first attempt at creating a major feature with name talent, and many a great director has put together a clunker or two before hitting their stride. Even a more experience director would have trouble spinning gold out of a script which is basically a murder mystery in which the killers might as well have ridden into town wearing black hats. If the audience knows who the killers are from the get go, you have to create suspense by making the audience wonder how the detectives will catch them. This flick made just made you feel incredulous that they hadn't caught them yet. 2 out of 5*(1 1/2 but for Jess)
Dream House - Director Jim Sheridan has made a couple of really good movies, but this was a bit of a let down. The acting is definitely stronger than in most horror films. Heading a cast with Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz should and did accomplish that. However, the beginning is lacking in chills and suspense. Then comes the twist, which made the middle a little more interesting, but created a plot hole when combined with the resolution. This hole reveals itself just as you are getting to the pay off scenes, rendering the believability non-existant. I, at least, was too angry about the plot's obvious contradictions to feel any fear. I can't say much more without spoiling it, but I'll post a comment that explains what I'm talking about so: spoiler alert in the comments section of this article. 2 1/2 out of 5*
Contagion - Steven Soderbergh is not only a prolific director, but a highly accomplished one and the disaster movie Contagion is certainly no embarrassment to him. It is slick, stylish, well acted, and has a cohesive storyline. It is, however, a little short on thrills for its genre. Fighting a disease does not make for as much action as a disaster movie about a threat of a more macrocosmic nature. This is understandable. Soderburgh tries to avoid the cheesiness that many films of this genre suffer from by keeping the professionals acting like professionals, rather than engaging in histrionic speechifying. This is an admirable choice, but the film swings a little too far in that direction, leaving the audience feeling as detached as the characters are forcing themselves to be. Most of the characters who are not professionals dealing with the threat (Jude Law as a blogger, Gwyneth Paltrow as patient zero) are unsympathetic in some way, again inhibiting an emotional connection. Even Matt Damon as a grieving husband and father keeps his emotions in check for most of the film for the sake of his daughter. It is only when the threat has passed that he allows himself a moment to let it all out and it is as much of a relief for the viewer as it is for him. While the film left me a little cold, it is highly watchable and well made, but not a must see. 3 1/2 of 5*
Texas Killing Fields - This is the fifth of the six films that Jessica Chastain appeared in during 2011 that I have seen. While she is definitely the strongest thing about the film, that is the most backhanded compliment since Reagan said that Bush was the best vice-president in his memory. Don't get me wrong, she does make the most of the material unlike her co-star the often brilliant Sam Worthington. Often. His over the top stylings here, however, call to mind every angsty junior partner in every B cop drama of the eighties. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chloe Grace Moretz do respectable jobs, making the most of the material if not quite overcoming its limitations. To be fair to director Ami Canaan Morgan, this is her first attempt at creating a major feature with name talent, and many a great director has put together a clunker or two before hitting their stride. Even a more experience director would have trouble spinning gold out of a script which is basically a murder mystery in which the killers might as well have ridden into town wearing black hats. If the audience knows who the killers are from the get go, you have to create suspense by making the audience wonder how the detectives will catch them. This flick made just made you feel incredulous that they hadn't caught them yet. 2 out of 5*(1 1/2 but for Jess)
Dream House - Director Jim Sheridan has made a couple of really good movies, but this was a bit of a let down. The acting is definitely stronger than in most horror films. Heading a cast with Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz should and did accomplish that. However, the beginning is lacking in chills and suspense. Then comes the twist, which made the middle a little more interesting, but created a plot hole when combined with the resolution. This hole reveals itself just as you are getting to the pay off scenes, rendering the believability non-existant. I, at least, was too angry about the plot's obvious contradictions to feel any fear. I can't say much more without spoiling it, but I'll post a comment that explains what I'm talking about so: spoiler alert in the comments section of this article. 2 1/2 out of 5*
Contagion - Steven Soderbergh is not only a prolific director, but a highly accomplished one and the disaster movie Contagion is certainly no embarrassment to him. It is slick, stylish, well acted, and has a cohesive storyline. It is, however, a little short on thrills for its genre. Fighting a disease does not make for as much action as a disaster movie about a threat of a more macrocosmic nature. This is understandable. Soderburgh tries to avoid the cheesiness that many films of this genre suffer from by keeping the professionals acting like professionals, rather than engaging in histrionic speechifying. This is an admirable choice, but the film swings a little too far in that direction, leaving the audience feeling as detached as the characters are forcing themselves to be. Most of the characters who are not professionals dealing with the threat (Jude Law as a blogger, Gwyneth Paltrow as patient zero) are unsympathetic in some way, again inhibiting an emotional connection. Even Matt Damon as a grieving husband and father keeps his emotions in check for most of the film for the sake of his daughter. It is only when the threat has passed that he allows himself a moment to let it all out and it is as much of a relief for the viewer as it is for him. While the film left me a little cold, it is highly watchable and well made, but not a must see. 3 1/2 of 5*
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Immortal Skin, Forgotten Dreams
Today's reviews include a fantasy period thriller, a documentary about an archaeological find, and gender bending horror movie from Spain's greatest filmmaker. Let us begin:
IMMORTALS - Director Tarsem Singh (The Cell) has not exactly carved out a niche for himself as a critic's darling and nothing about Immortals is going to change that. It tells a wildly adapted version of the life of the hero Theseus from Greek mythology that bears very little resemblance to its source material most of the time. This sort of story can be very interesting accompanied by interesting choices. The choices in this movie mostly seem to be determined based upon how well they show off the production values, which are impressive but a bit over blown. The acting ensemble is similarly either vapid or overblown. Even talent like Mickey Rourke is left to just stand around and look menacing most of the time. Mount Olympus looks a little bit like a male modeling agency's float in a gay pride parade, but it certainly works on that level. The film shares some of its production team with the similar film 300, and the look and feel are much the same. Much of the camera work, sets and effects are beautiful, but they tend to overshadow, rather than complement, the story and performances. All in all, Immortals is very pretty to look at, but you are unlikely to call it back like you promised you would when you left the next morning. 2 1/2 of 5*.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Cave is a documentary by famed director Werner Herzog who rose to prominence in the 70's making narrative films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God. His career has had a 21st century Renaissance in the field of non-fiction film making. Here he gives us a front row seat to the archaeological find of the century: cave paintings dating back 30,000+ years, the earliest examples of artwork known to man. The camera work inside the cave is amazing, and the images of the paintings have a certain power to them, a very haunting quality. The exposition and interviews with experts outside of the cave are very interesting if slightly less engaging. This is a minor gripe, however, scientists are not noted for their sparkling and photogenic personalities. The paintings...extraordinary. 4 1/2 of 5*
The Skin I Live In - I love the work of Pedro Almodovar in general. His films always have an element of campy melodrama, like a John Water's flick, but more elegant. My favorite films of his also have some wacky element of the fantastic involved as well. Not since All About My Mother has a film of his seemed as free in this way as The Skin I Live In. It strained credibility right up to the edge of the cliff, but kept me invested in the story the whole way through. Antonio Banderas is never better than when working with the director who got him started and their chemistry as a team has not faded with time apart. Every twist in the plot came just seconds after any careful veiwer's moment of realization that it was coming, heightening the suspense. Unless subtitles give you hives, check it out. 5 out of 5*
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is also available on Netflix Instant Play.
IMMORTALS - Director Tarsem Singh (The Cell) has not exactly carved out a niche for himself as a critic's darling and nothing about Immortals is going to change that. It tells a wildly adapted version of the life of the hero Theseus from Greek mythology that bears very little resemblance to its source material most of the time. This sort of story can be very interesting accompanied by interesting choices. The choices in this movie mostly seem to be determined based upon how well they show off the production values, which are impressive but a bit over blown. The acting ensemble is similarly either vapid or overblown. Even talent like Mickey Rourke is left to just stand around and look menacing most of the time. Mount Olympus looks a little bit like a male modeling agency's float in a gay pride parade, but it certainly works on that level. The film shares some of its production team with the similar film 300, and the look and feel are much the same. Much of the camera work, sets and effects are beautiful, but they tend to overshadow, rather than complement, the story and performances. All in all, Immortals is very pretty to look at, but you are unlikely to call it back like you promised you would when you left the next morning. 2 1/2 of 5*.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Cave is a documentary by famed director Werner Herzog who rose to prominence in the 70's making narrative films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God. His career has had a 21st century Renaissance in the field of non-fiction film making. Here he gives us a front row seat to the archaeological find of the century: cave paintings dating back 30,000+ years, the earliest examples of artwork known to man. The camera work inside the cave is amazing, and the images of the paintings have a certain power to them, a very haunting quality. The exposition and interviews with experts outside of the cave are very interesting if slightly less engaging. This is a minor gripe, however, scientists are not noted for their sparkling and photogenic personalities. The paintings...extraordinary. 4 1/2 of 5*
The Skin I Live In - I love the work of Pedro Almodovar in general. His films always have an element of campy melodrama, like a John Water's flick, but more elegant. My favorite films of his also have some wacky element of the fantastic involved as well. Not since All About My Mother has a film of his seemed as free in this way as The Skin I Live In. It strained credibility right up to the edge of the cliff, but kept me invested in the story the whole way through. Antonio Banderas is never better than when working with the director who got him started and their chemistry as a team has not faded with time apart. Every twist in the plot came just seconds after any careful veiwer's moment of realization that it was coming, heightening the suspense. Unless subtitles give you hives, check it out. 5 out of 5*
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is also available on Netflix Instant Play.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Senna, Take 13
Time to catch up on what I've been watching at home this week. Since at this point I'm trying to fill in all the best movies from 2011 that I have not yet seen, expect some strong reviews this month. One of these three may very well make my top ten list, but let's start with:
SENNA - Senna is the biographical documentary about Formula 1 race car driver Ayrton Senna, perhaps the most famous competitor the sport has ever known. The film is composed almost entirely of actual footage from the era. It sounds like a fairly pedestrian documentary. What sets it apart, however, is that the shots are so skillfully woven together that at times it seems more like a scripted biopic. Director Asif Kapadia was best known for making narrative dramas previously, so it is not that surprising. There is a real sense of storyline here. When you are with Senna during a race (seeing what he saw via an in-car camera, and hearing what he heard over his headset) there is a real sense of suspense. Most documentaries are informative in some way but, to me at least, the better ones are able to get an emotional reaction out of the audience. This film succeeds there admirably. Senna's face is so expressive (and the footage chosen so well) that by the film's end you feel like you don't just know the man's story, you know the man. The feelings of the people of his native Brazil are also almost palpable on the screen. I am not a fan of auto racing, yet found this feature completely engaging. 4 1/2 of 5*
13 ASSASSINS
Does the world really need yet another samurai action flick/ historical drama? I was skeptical...then I saw 13 Assassins. Don't get me wrong. It is not the best written film of the year. Many of the characters are stock archetypes. The acting is stronger than average and cheesy humor is kept to a bare minimum. But two things really elevated this film for me. The first was the stunning cinematography throughout the film (Nobuyasu Kita: DoP) from outdoor landscapes to indoor bloodbaths. The best part, however, was that the entire second half of the film is one hour long, outlandish, brilliantly choreographed and executed, lightning fast "Massacre" of an action sequence. I mean, one continuous scene. I won't say it transcends a typical martial arts movie the way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did, but it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. 4 out of 5*
TAKE SHELTER
If you would rather just rent the thing and see for yourself than listen to me shamelessly gush, this is your opportunity. Okay, anyone left? I have not seen writer/ director Jeff Nichols one previous film, Shotgun Stories, but I think maybe I will now, especially since it also stars Michael Shannon. This is the fourth of actress Jessica Chastain's six films released in 2011 that I have seen and again she shines in a role totally different from her Oscar nominated turn in The Help (see my August review), her equally impressive work in Tree of Life, or her best in show performance in The Debt, but this was really the Michael Shannon show. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Revolutionary Road but many of you know him best as Agent Nelson Van Alden on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. He is magnificent in this film. The plot basically centers around his character, "Curtis"'s internal struggles with his own sanity, and he is not a particularly verbose man. Every nuance of fear, doubt, and pain plays out clearly on Shannon's face and in his eyes. Now add in a subtly winding script that keeps you guessing and some truly gorgeous camera work, and...well...I warned you I was gonna be this way. All in all, Take Shelter was a unique experience that was written with great insight and care, performed brilliantly, and executed with consistently impressive quality.
5 of 5*
P.S. Assassins and Senna are also currently available on Netflix Instant streaming.
SENNA - Senna is the biographical documentary about Formula 1 race car driver Ayrton Senna, perhaps the most famous competitor the sport has ever known. The film is composed almost entirely of actual footage from the era. It sounds like a fairly pedestrian documentary. What sets it apart, however, is that the shots are so skillfully woven together that at times it seems more like a scripted biopic. Director Asif Kapadia was best known for making narrative dramas previously, so it is not that surprising. There is a real sense of storyline here. When you are with Senna during a race (seeing what he saw via an in-car camera, and hearing what he heard over his headset) there is a real sense of suspense. Most documentaries are informative in some way but, to me at least, the better ones are able to get an emotional reaction out of the audience. This film succeeds there admirably. Senna's face is so expressive (and the footage chosen so well) that by the film's end you feel like you don't just know the man's story, you know the man. The feelings of the people of his native Brazil are also almost palpable on the screen. I am not a fan of auto racing, yet found this feature completely engaging. 4 1/2 of 5*
13 ASSASSINS
Does the world really need yet another samurai action flick/ historical drama? I was skeptical...then I saw 13 Assassins. Don't get me wrong. It is not the best written film of the year. Many of the characters are stock archetypes. The acting is stronger than average and cheesy humor is kept to a bare minimum. But two things really elevated this film for me. The first was the stunning cinematography throughout the film (Nobuyasu Kita: DoP) from outdoor landscapes to indoor bloodbaths. The best part, however, was that the entire second half of the film is one hour long, outlandish, brilliantly choreographed and executed, lightning fast "Massacre" of an action sequence. I mean, one continuous scene. I won't say it transcends a typical martial arts movie the way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did, but it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. 4 out of 5*
TAKE SHELTER
If you would rather just rent the thing and see for yourself than listen to me shamelessly gush, this is your opportunity. Okay, anyone left? I have not seen writer/ director Jeff Nichols one previous film, Shotgun Stories, but I think maybe I will now, especially since it also stars Michael Shannon. This is the fourth of actress Jessica Chastain's six films released in 2011 that I have seen and again she shines in a role totally different from her Oscar nominated turn in The Help (see my August review), her equally impressive work in Tree of Life, or her best in show performance in The Debt, but this was really the Michael Shannon show. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Revolutionary Road but many of you know him best as Agent Nelson Van Alden on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. He is magnificent in this film. The plot basically centers around his character, "Curtis"'s internal struggles with his own sanity, and he is not a particularly verbose man. Every nuance of fear, doubt, and pain plays out clearly on Shannon's face and in his eyes. Now add in a subtly winding script that keeps you guessing and some truly gorgeous camera work, and...well...I warned you I was gonna be this way. All in all, Take Shelter was a unique experience that was written with great insight and care, performed brilliantly, and executed with consistently impressive quality.
5 of 5*
P.S. Assassins and Senna are also currently available on Netflix Instant streaming.
Friday, March 2, 2012
While I was away!!
Ok, obviously I cannot go back and give you reviews of everything my cinema addicted self watched between September and now but I can give you a list of which ones I highly recommend. Below I have done just that listing the films that I would give four, four and a half or five star ratings. If a film got four stars and sounds interesting, watch it. If it got four and a half and you don't hate the genre, watch it. If it got five, watch it no matter what. Films marked with an asterisk received pre-Oscar mini Twitter reviews which you can check out there @themoviefrog. Let's start with the five star films:
2010 - Incendies: French Canadian mystery, Foreign Language film nominee 83rd Oscars
In a Better World: Danish made drama, Foreign Language Film winner 83rd Oscars
2011 - The Tree of Life: VERY abstract drama, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Drive: Gory B action movie with A-list acting, script and production values *
A Separation: Iranian family drama, winner Foreign Language Film 84th Oscars *
Pina: German documentary on the famous interpretive choreographer in 3D, Doc nominee 84th *
The Descendants: Quirky family dramedy, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Rango: Wacky cartoon for kids and adults, winner Best Animated Feature 84th Oscars *
The Artist: Black and white, silent, romantic comedy, winner Best Picture 84th Oscars *
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Cerebral Brit spy thriller, 4 Oscar nominations *
Hugo: 3D fanciful adaptation of children's novel, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Then, the four and a half star films:
2010 - Undertow: Gay themed Peruvian romantic ghost story
Carlos: Six hour biopic crime drama about terrorist Carlos the Jackal
2011 - Hannah: Action thriller with 16 year old girl as the action hero
Red State: Horror thriller about an EXTREME right wing cult. Oh, and funny.
Crazy, Stupid Love: Romantic comedy, probably the year's best
Margin Call: drama about the dawn of the recent economic crisis, Screenplay nominee, 84th Oscars *
Midnight in Paris: time hopping romantic comedy, nominated for Best Picture 84th Oscars *
Attack the Block: Indie Brit sci-fi movie with a touch of comedy
50/50: dramedy about a young man diagnosed with cancer
Moneyball: sports drama, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
A Better Life: indie drama about the plight of Mexican immigrants Best Actor nominee 84th Oscars *
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: winner, Best Animated Short 84th Oscars *
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: dark and gritty mystery thriller Best Actress nominee 84th Oscars *
and if you really have a lot of time (or a serious film addiction), the four stars:
2010 - Of Gods and Men: French drama about monks in a foreign war zone
Love and Other Drugs: offbeat romantic comedy
Mesrine: Public Enemy: biopic about famous French bank robber
2011 - Jane Eyre: Period drama based on the classic novel. Nominated for Best Costumes *
Captain America: The First Avenger: the best of a bumper crop of super hero movies
Bridesmaids: Raunchy femal centric comedy. Nominated for writing and Supporting Actress *
The Devil's Double: dramatic thriller set in Sadam's Iraq
Warrior: MMA fighting family drama, nominated for Best Supporting Actor *
The Ides of March: Political intrigue drama nominated for Best Screenplay *
Chico and Rita: Cuban adult romance nominated for Best Animated Feature *
Hell and Back Again: War documentary about a wounded vet, Doc Feature nominee *
Albert Nobbs: Cross dressing period drama up for two acting awards *
Beginners: Gay themed family dramedy, nominated for Best Supporting Actor *
I have a few more films to watch (like Take Shelter, coming in today's mail!!!) before I feel comfortable making my best of lists for the 2011 season, but only a few, so we should have that soon. In the meantime, happy viewing.
Hangin at my pad (or on my pad?)
Froggy
2010 - Incendies: French Canadian mystery, Foreign Language film nominee 83rd Oscars
In a Better World: Danish made drama, Foreign Language Film winner 83rd Oscars
2011 - The Tree of Life: VERY abstract drama, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Drive: Gory B action movie with A-list acting, script and production values *
A Separation: Iranian family drama, winner Foreign Language Film 84th Oscars *
Pina: German documentary on the famous interpretive choreographer in 3D, Doc nominee 84th *
The Descendants: Quirky family dramedy, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Rango: Wacky cartoon for kids and adults, winner Best Animated Feature 84th Oscars *
The Artist: Black and white, silent, romantic comedy, winner Best Picture 84th Oscars *
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Cerebral Brit spy thriller, 4 Oscar nominations *
Hugo: 3D fanciful adaptation of children's novel, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
Then, the four and a half star films:
2010 - Undertow: Gay themed Peruvian romantic ghost story
Carlos: Six hour biopic crime drama about terrorist Carlos the Jackal
2011 - Hannah: Action thriller with 16 year old girl as the action hero
Red State: Horror thriller about an EXTREME right wing cult. Oh, and funny.
Crazy, Stupid Love: Romantic comedy, probably the year's best
Margin Call: drama about the dawn of the recent economic crisis, Screenplay nominee, 84th Oscars *
Midnight in Paris: time hopping romantic comedy, nominated for Best Picture 84th Oscars *
Attack the Block: Indie Brit sci-fi movie with a touch of comedy
50/50: dramedy about a young man diagnosed with cancer
Moneyball: sports drama, Best Picture nominee 84th Oscars *
A Better Life: indie drama about the plight of Mexican immigrants Best Actor nominee 84th Oscars *
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: winner, Best Animated Short 84th Oscars *
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: dark and gritty mystery thriller Best Actress nominee 84th Oscars *
and if you really have a lot of time (or a serious film addiction), the four stars:
2010 - Of Gods and Men: French drama about monks in a foreign war zone
Love and Other Drugs: offbeat romantic comedy
Mesrine: Public Enemy: biopic about famous French bank robber
2011 - Jane Eyre: Period drama based on the classic novel. Nominated for Best Costumes *
Captain America: The First Avenger: the best of a bumper crop of super hero movies
Bridesmaids: Raunchy femal centric comedy. Nominated for writing and Supporting Actress *
The Devil's Double: dramatic thriller set in Sadam's Iraq
Warrior: MMA fighting family drama, nominated for Best Supporting Actor *
The Ides of March: Political intrigue drama nominated for Best Screenplay *
Chico and Rita: Cuban adult romance nominated for Best Animated Feature *
Hell and Back Again: War documentary about a wounded vet, Doc Feature nominee *
Albert Nobbs: Cross dressing period drama up for two acting awards *
Beginners: Gay themed family dramedy, nominated for Best Supporting Actor *
I have a few more films to watch (like Take Shelter, coming in today's mail!!!) before I feel comfortable making my best of lists for the 2011 season, but only a few, so we should have that soon. In the meantime, happy viewing.
Hangin at my pad (or on my pad?)
Froggy
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