A great human being recently passed away - Frank Kameny, who was one of this country's leading gay rights activists and if he didn't invent the phrase - GAY IS GOOD - he personified
what it meant. He led the battle to strike down the federal government's policy of dismissing any and all openly gay men and women and was a key strategist in the gay rights movement long before the Stonewall riots in NYC in 1969.
The Washington Blade, an excellent local weekly newspaper, published an lengthy account of
Kameny's life and accomplishments in moving forward the gay rights' movement. In the same issue, there was an announcement that Ann Coulter, the darling of the conservative right wing of the Republican Party, was going to appear in an upcoming episode of the Logo TV cable network's
"A-List: Dallas" series along with Jimmy LaSalvia, the executive director of GOProud.
I've never heard of GOProud, but I am guessing that it is similar to the Log Cabin organization which is comprised of gay conservative Republicans who claim to be moderate on social issues but extremely conservative on fiscal matters as they relate to federal and state governments.
Frankly, I don't know how any conscientious homosexual could belong to such a group. I'd like to think that Frank Kameny would feel the same way. I don't understand how gay men and women can vote for Republican party candidates and claim to be strong advocates for equal rights for all minority groups - of which gays are one - in this country. It seems to me that like many of my wealthy Jewish friends and even a few of my well off Afro-American acquaintances,
they have forgotten their roots and the long and difficult struggle to achieve equality in racist America and vote instead to maintain their 401ks and stock investments.
In truth, most couldn't care less about issues that impact on the clear majority of Americans
who are just getting by financially, most likely living from paycheck to paycheck, if, indeed, they are fortunate to have jobs. I don't know about you, but very few of my friends subscribe to and read daily the Wall Street Journal.
Stock investments. Are you fucking serious? Give me a break.
Like many other liberal Democrats, I have been deeply disappointed in Barak Obama, although the problems he inherited from that prick he succeeded in the White House, have no easy solutions. At the same time, the total lack of cooperation in the House and U.S. Senate by Republican members has made it virtually impossible for him to confront and resolve those issues before us.
Still, I'd vote for Donald Duck before pulling the lever for any of the current Republican candidates. The most intelligent one - John Huntsman - stands the least chance of gaining the nomination to run against Obama. Every other Republican candidate
opposes gay marriage. And every single one of these assholes chose to remain silent when at a recent debate a gay soldier asked if they would support the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Not one of them stood up for this serviceman when he was booed by the mostly conservative Tea Party audience.
Which brings me back to the Log Cabin political group, GOProud and that bitch, Ann Coulter
appearing on Logo's "A-List: Dallas" series.
I must admit to an aversion to the series, not being able to watch "A-List: New York" for more than 10 minutes before hitting my tv remote. The queers on this show are mostly narcissistic,
inarticulate, self-absorbed and shallow.
Come to think of it, the whole damn bunch of them, including Ms. Coulter, deserve each other.
That's the way I see it.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...THE ACADEMY AND THE VIEWING AUDIENCE
It was announced today that film director Bret Ratner and comedian Eddie Murphy would not
produce and host the Oscar telecast next February. Ratner 'resigned' after angering hundreds of Academy members for making homophobic comments earlier this week on the Howard Stern radio show and boasting about all the hot Hollywood babes that he has fucked in recent times,
the size of his pecker and not using condoms when having sex.
Murphy, who stars in Ratner's latest film, TOWER HEIST, bowed out as host soon after Ratner
made his announcement. Meanwhile, the Academy hierarchy is freaking out because a new producer and host must now be found so rehearsals can begin prior to the Oscar telecast next
February.
Next February??? Isn't that nearly 4 months from now. And aren't most of the jokes and script written AFTER the nominations are announced in January. So I have to ask...what's the
problem here?
As far as Ratner and Murphy are concerned - good riddance. Ratner's background includes making music videos and directing a couple of the RUSH HOUR comedies and one of the X-MEN movies. His bio says he attended school in Israel before graduating from Miami Beach High School in Florida and NYU in 1990. Judging by some of the comments he made while being interviewed by Stern, he sounds like a class A asshole. It seems to me that the Academy must have been desperate to find someone to co-produce the next Oscars telecast
because there is nothing - I mean nothing - in Ratner's background to suggest that he would in fact produce a dynamite show next February.
As for Murphy, I would have been willing to betcha a crisp hundred dollar bill that he would suck big time as host and probably offend more than a few viewing the show live and on tv.
Murphy can still be funny - as long as he has a funny script - and he has done some fine work in some dramatic roles, but the Academy made a big mistake in turning to him to host the annual telecast which he was probably doing because Ratner had been signed to co-produce and direct the show.
In truth, short of having hot guys and gals galloping up and down the theatre aisles and running across stage butt naked, there isn't a lot to be done to make the Oscars exciting and worth wasting 3 hours over.
Most of the bigger than life movie stars are dead - Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, Natalie Wood and
Richard Burton. Back when I was a kid and counting the days in breathless excitement anticipating the Oscar telecast, it was the one night of the year that you saw all the cinema greats live on tv.
Nowadays, the Oscar telecast is anticlimatic, what with a myriad of awards shows (Screen Actors Guild, People's Choice, Director's Guild, etc., etc., etc.,) that begin in early December and culminate in late February wiith the Oscars when you pretty much know who's going to win the major acting awards.
All the same, millions still tune in and many of us have written blogs putting in our 10 cents worth of advice on how to make the telecast fun to watch.
I'll offer only one suggestion here and it's a no brainer at that: beg Billy Crystal to return as m.c. and if he won't do it, ask Neal Patrick Harris. Better yet, ask both off them to co-host the show.
For what it's worth, I'm betting on Steven Spielberg's Xmas release, WAR HORSE, the film adaptation of the Tony award winning play still playing to sold out audiences on Broadway, to
take the Oscar for best film this year.
You heard it first here.
produce and host the Oscar telecast next February. Ratner 'resigned' after angering hundreds of Academy members for making homophobic comments earlier this week on the Howard Stern radio show and boasting about all the hot Hollywood babes that he has fucked in recent times,
the size of his pecker and not using condoms when having sex.
Murphy, who stars in Ratner's latest film, TOWER HEIST, bowed out as host soon after Ratner
made his announcement. Meanwhile, the Academy hierarchy is freaking out because a new producer and host must now be found so rehearsals can begin prior to the Oscar telecast next
February.
Next February??? Isn't that nearly 4 months from now. And aren't most of the jokes and script written AFTER the nominations are announced in January. So I have to ask...what's the
problem here?
As far as Ratner and Murphy are concerned - good riddance. Ratner's background includes making music videos and directing a couple of the RUSH HOUR comedies and one of the X-MEN movies. His bio says he attended school in Israel before graduating from Miami Beach High School in Florida and NYU in 1990. Judging by some of the comments he made while being interviewed by Stern, he sounds like a class A asshole. It seems to me that the Academy must have been desperate to find someone to co-produce the next Oscars telecast
because there is nothing - I mean nothing - in Ratner's background to suggest that he would in fact produce a dynamite show next February.
As for Murphy, I would have been willing to betcha a crisp hundred dollar bill that he would suck big time as host and probably offend more than a few viewing the show live and on tv.
Murphy can still be funny - as long as he has a funny script - and he has done some fine work in some dramatic roles, but the Academy made a big mistake in turning to him to host the annual telecast which he was probably doing because Ratner had been signed to co-produce and direct the show.
In truth, short of having hot guys and gals galloping up and down the theatre aisles and running across stage butt naked, there isn't a lot to be done to make the Oscars exciting and worth wasting 3 hours over.
Most of the bigger than life movie stars are dead - Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, Natalie Wood and
Richard Burton. Back when I was a kid and counting the days in breathless excitement anticipating the Oscar telecast, it was the one night of the year that you saw all the cinema greats live on tv.
Nowadays, the Oscar telecast is anticlimatic, what with a myriad of awards shows (Screen Actors Guild, People's Choice, Director's Guild, etc., etc., etc.,) that begin in early December and culminate in late February wiith the Oscars when you pretty much know who's going to win the major acting awards.
All the same, millions still tune in and many of us have written blogs putting in our 10 cents worth of advice on how to make the telecast fun to watch.
I'll offer only one suggestion here and it's a no brainer at that: beg Billy Crystal to return as m.c. and if he won't do it, ask Neal Patrick Harris. Better yet, ask both off them to co-host the show.
For what it's worth, I'm betting on Steven Spielberg's Xmas release, WAR HORSE, the film adaptation of the Tony award winning play still playing to sold out audiences on Broadway, to
take the Oscar for best film this year.
You heard it first here.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
ONE NOT SO GOLDEN FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF DOCUMENTARIES
This is truly the golden age of film documentaries - far too many good ones to mention here - and the genre has become my favorite kind of cinema. I see as many as I can. Generally they play on only 1 or 2 screens in town and usually never more than a couple weeks.
Such is the case with THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU now playing at the West End Cinema in D.C. It runs over 3 hours without an intermission and were I to recommend it (I'm not), I would urge you to have a sandwich and visit the restroom off the lobby before sitting down in the screening room (which isn't much larger than my living room) to view it.
The first time I attempted to see it, my sister and I left before it began after the projectionist came out and explained to the 12 of us in the audience that there had been a problem at the afternoon screening with the print and that there were moments during the film when the screen would go dark and the audio would go off.
We took it as an omen - a bad one at that - and got up from our padded folding chairs and departed, but not before we got raincheck tix to come back another time.
So today, since I had no other plans than to feed peanuts to my little squirrel friends at Dupont Circle, I
decided to bike down to the theatre and catch the 2:30 matinee. I snuck in a sandwich from Subway and a coke from CVS so I wouldn't have hunger pains at any time during the film.
After a couple trailers and a "let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, and get ourselves some treats" trailer from the 1950s, the documentary began with Nicolae and his 'rifftica' wife
being interrogated by court officials shortly before their trial and subsequent execution on Xmas Day, 1989.
We then cut to the state funeral of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who ruled Romania with an iron fist from post WWII until his death in 1965. And what a funeral it was, judging by the size of the crowd - thousands of
people in line to view "G-G"s open casket and the thousands who followed it to the place of internment which sorta looked like the entrance to FedEx Stadium here in Landover, Md. Whatever.
So far, so good, I'm thinking, although I became acutely aware at this point that there was no narration.
In fact, there were moments where there was no sound at all and then there were moments when the screen went black. Then I remembered what the projectionist had told my sister and I when we were there a week ago. Can't say I wasn't warned.
I suddenly felt hungry and decided not to wait another minute before unwrapping my spicy Italian sub and biting into it. Not bad. I opened the coke bottle and took a big swig before giving my complete attention to the screen (that was barely bigger than my 60" flat tv screen at home).
For the next 60 minutes or thereabouts I watched a lot of hand clapping at Communist party rallies where Nicolae droned on and on and on about the virtues of Romania's socialist society and Communist rule, etc., etc., etc. I had read that director Andrei Ujica had viewed over 1,000 hours of film before editing and compiling this 3 hour pageant of handclapping and crowds. All I could think was - this was the best footage that he could come up with?
Now I have to be honest with you. I didn't make it to the end. Not even close. Despite the rave review of one of my favorite print critics - Manohla Dargis of the NY Times - and despite the fact that I wasn't hungry and didn't have to pee, I bolted towards the exit of the screening room just as Richard Nixon was about to speak standing next to dear ole Nicolae during his state visit to Romania in 1970 (or thereabouts) and left but not before yelling, "May they both be rotting in Hell."
Have a nice day.
'
Such is the case with THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU now playing at the West End Cinema in D.C. It runs over 3 hours without an intermission and were I to recommend it (I'm not), I would urge you to have a sandwich and visit the restroom off the lobby before sitting down in the screening room (which isn't much larger than my living room) to view it.
The first time I attempted to see it, my sister and I left before it began after the projectionist came out and explained to the 12 of us in the audience that there had been a problem at the afternoon screening with the print and that there were moments during the film when the screen would go dark and the audio would go off.
We took it as an omen - a bad one at that - and got up from our padded folding chairs and departed, but not before we got raincheck tix to come back another time.
So today, since I had no other plans than to feed peanuts to my little squirrel friends at Dupont Circle, I
decided to bike down to the theatre and catch the 2:30 matinee. I snuck in a sandwich from Subway and a coke from CVS so I wouldn't have hunger pains at any time during the film.
After a couple trailers and a "let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, and get ourselves some treats" trailer from the 1950s, the documentary began with Nicolae and his 'rifftica' wife
being interrogated by court officials shortly before their trial and subsequent execution on Xmas Day, 1989.
We then cut to the state funeral of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who ruled Romania with an iron fist from post WWII until his death in 1965. And what a funeral it was, judging by the size of the crowd - thousands of
people in line to view "G-G"s open casket and the thousands who followed it to the place of internment which sorta looked like the entrance to FedEx Stadium here in Landover, Md. Whatever.
So far, so good, I'm thinking, although I became acutely aware at this point that there was no narration.
In fact, there were moments where there was no sound at all and then there were moments when the screen went black. Then I remembered what the projectionist had told my sister and I when we were there a week ago. Can't say I wasn't warned.
I suddenly felt hungry and decided not to wait another minute before unwrapping my spicy Italian sub and biting into it. Not bad. I opened the coke bottle and took a big swig before giving my complete attention to the screen (that was barely bigger than my 60" flat tv screen at home).
For the next 60 minutes or thereabouts I watched a lot of hand clapping at Communist party rallies where Nicolae droned on and on and on about the virtues of Romania's socialist society and Communist rule, etc., etc., etc. I had read that director Andrei Ujica had viewed over 1,000 hours of film before editing and compiling this 3 hour pageant of handclapping and crowds. All I could think was - this was the best footage that he could come up with?
Now I have to be honest with you. I didn't make it to the end. Not even close. Despite the rave review of one of my favorite print critics - Manohla Dargis of the NY Times - and despite the fact that I wasn't hungry and didn't have to pee, I bolted towards the exit of the screening room just as Richard Nixon was about to speak standing next to dear ole Nicolae during his state visit to Romania in 1970 (or thereabouts) and left but not before yelling, "May they both be rotting in Hell."
Have a nice day.
'
Thursday, October 13, 2011
50/50 - A TOTALLY SATISFYING LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY
I know. I know. My previous rant on my blog was about ridiculous film critic quotes that studios use in promoting their new films and here I am using two of them in my title here: "totally satisfying" and "laugh out loud comedy", but they both apply to 50/50 which I saw earlier today and thoroughly enjoyed.
First, a personal admission on my part: I've had a crush on Joseph Levitt-Gordon ever since I saw him in a film in which he played a young gay hustler, only to be intensified in 500 Days of Summer but nearly lost when he appeared in Inception. With 50/50, he shoots to the top of my fantasy man list with arguably his best and most likable performance to date. Written by Will Reiser and based on his actual experience of nearly dying from a Cancerous tumor in his back, the film is deftly directed by Jonathan Levine who has assembled a terrific supporting cast, starting with Seth Rogen who in real life was/is a good friend of Reiser's and portrays his best friend in the film. Rogen is letter perfect and funny as hell. Anna Kendrick as Levitt-Gordon/Reiser's inexperienced psychotherapist, Bryce Dallas Howard as his girlfriend who bales out on him after his diagnosis
and Anjelica Huston as his loving but overbearing mother are terrific and oh so human.
But it is Gordon-Levitt who makes the film such a treat. Not a false note in his funny and touching performance, the kind of accomplishment that deserves recognition at Oscar nomination time but is always overlooked because it looks so easy. Ok...ok. I'm gushing over my fantasy man.
Yes, this is a LAUGH OUT LOUD comedy. At least I did. And yes, you will LAUGH...you will CRY.
There is a moment when Gordon-Levitt is alone in bed with his dog (an aging mutt from a pet shelter forced on him by his girlfriend soon after his Cancer diagnosis) that is so touching that if you don't cry, your heart must have turned to stone somewhere between the refreshment stand in the lobby and your theatre seat.
50/50 is 100 percent entertainment. Go and enjoy.
First, a personal admission on my part: I've had a crush on Joseph Levitt-Gordon ever since I saw him in a film in which he played a young gay hustler, only to be intensified in 500 Days of Summer but nearly lost when he appeared in Inception. With 50/50, he shoots to the top of my fantasy man list with arguably his best and most likable performance to date. Written by Will Reiser and based on his actual experience of nearly dying from a Cancerous tumor in his back, the film is deftly directed by Jonathan Levine who has assembled a terrific supporting cast, starting with Seth Rogen who in real life was/is a good friend of Reiser's and portrays his best friend in the film. Rogen is letter perfect and funny as hell. Anna Kendrick as Levitt-Gordon/Reiser's inexperienced psychotherapist, Bryce Dallas Howard as his girlfriend who bales out on him after his diagnosis
and Anjelica Huston as his loving but overbearing mother are terrific and oh so human.
But it is Gordon-Levitt who makes the film such a treat. Not a false note in his funny and touching performance, the kind of accomplishment that deserves recognition at Oscar nomination time but is always overlooked because it looks so easy. Ok...ok. I'm gushing over my fantasy man.
Yes, this is a LAUGH OUT LOUD comedy. At least I did. And yes, you will LAUGH...you will CRY.
There is a moment when Gordon-Levitt is alone in bed with his dog (an aging mutt from a pet shelter forced on him by his girlfriend soon after his Cancer diagnosis) that is so touching that if you don't cry, your heart must have turned to stone somewhere between the refreshment stand in the lobby and your theatre seat.
50/50 is 100 percent entertainment. Go and enjoy.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
BEWARE OF CERTAIN CRITIC QUOTES ADVERTISING FILMS
The ARTS/LEISURE section of the NY Times and Washington Post (and when I lived in LA the LA Times) has always been my favorite part of the newspaper and not the least the ads for first run movies that feature critic quotes in BIG BOLD type. But you have to be very careful when deciding what movies you wanna see on the basis of these quotes because they are very often taken out of context or from critics whose 'thumbs up' can be bought for as little as a free dinner.
Accordingly, I am offering a few tips to readers to help them discern which critics to pay attention to and what quotes - no matter how positive - are warning signs to avoid seeing these films at any cost.
Par example, pass on any film recommended by Pete Hammond who writes for BoxOffice Magazine,
Jeff Craig of SixtySecond Preview and any film critic on Fox Network. Another film critic to avoid is Susan Granger whose son was a productive executive at Paramount Pictures where I worked for 26 years and it was rumored that anytime you needed a positive quote for a new film ( no matter how awful it was), you could get one from Ms. Granger.
You should also avoid any film whose print ads feature quotes from critics in newspaper from
Ft. Lauderdale (Fla), Detroit, Phoenix, Birmingham (Ala) and any city in Texas (except Austin).
Do pay attention to the print reviews of most film critics in the NY Times, especially Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, Rex Reed in the NY Observer, Anthony Lane in the New Yorker and Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post (although I disagree with Ms. Hornaday a lot she's a terrific writer and I enjoy reading her reviews).
My favorite print critic of all time is the late Pauline Kael of the New Yorker and David Ansen who was the senior film critic for Newsweek for many years. I worshipped Ms. Kael and idolized Mr. Ansen.
Beware - I repeat - beware of critic quotes for films that read as follows:
"YOU WILL STAND UP AND CHEER..."
"YOU WILL LAUGH, YOU WILL CRY..."
"THIS IS A LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY..."
"ACHINGLY HILARIOUS...ALSO HEARTFELT."
"PROVOCATIVE...GRIPPING"
"POSITIVELY THRILLING...ENTHRALLING...SENSATIONAL."
"UPLIFTING...INSPIRATIONAL...TOTALLY SATISFYING."
"THE BLIND SIDE MEETS SAVE WILLIE"
"BEST FAMILY (or COMEDY or DRAMA) TO COME ALONG IN A DECADE"
"THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FILM"
"GREAT HEART...ANOTHER 'ROCKY'"
I could go on and on but I think you get my point and the above should provide you with enough warning signs to beware of certain films. Oh, and watch out when a critic says that a film is a mix of 2 films (i.e. The Big Chill meets Pretty in Pink, etc, etc etc) or says that the performances are...
ELECTRIFYING. Like when was the last time you saw a movie and left the theatre thinking that the lead actor's performance was 'electrifying'?
I recently saw MONEYBALL with Brad Pitt and enjoyed it though like the game of baseball it depicts, it has some pretty dull moments in it. Had I reviewed the film for a column, I would have given it a 'thumbs up' but I don't think I would have said that it ..."WILL LEAVE YOU CHEERING...POSITIVELY THRILLING as one critic raved or that it "RENEWS YOUR BELIEF IN THE POWER OF MOVIES" as another critic said.
Beware of hyperbole moviegoers. Any film that get such hype ends up disappointing. You are better off entering your local multiplex with low expectations of what you are about to see and end up being happily surprised by how much you enjoyed the movie.
And my last piece of advice is to be very, very careful when you watch trailers of coming attractions because they are most often misleading. I've seen trailers that knocked me out only to bore the hell out of me when I finally saw the film. Studios long ago learned how to make terrific trailers for lousy films. Be careful. Very careful and you will learn how to avoid wasting your hard earned dollars seeing DRECK.
Have a nice day. See ya at the movies.
Accordingly, I am offering a few tips to readers to help them discern which critics to pay attention to and what quotes - no matter how positive - are warning signs to avoid seeing these films at any cost.
Par example, pass on any film recommended by Pete Hammond who writes for BoxOffice Magazine,
Jeff Craig of SixtySecond Preview and any film critic on Fox Network. Another film critic to avoid is Susan Granger whose son was a productive executive at Paramount Pictures where I worked for 26 years and it was rumored that anytime you needed a positive quote for a new film ( no matter how awful it was), you could get one from Ms. Granger.
You should also avoid any film whose print ads feature quotes from critics in newspaper from
Ft. Lauderdale (Fla), Detroit, Phoenix, Birmingham (Ala) and any city in Texas (except Austin).
Do pay attention to the print reviews of most film critics in the NY Times, especially Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, Rex Reed in the NY Observer, Anthony Lane in the New Yorker and Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post (although I disagree with Ms. Hornaday a lot she's a terrific writer and I enjoy reading her reviews).
My favorite print critic of all time is the late Pauline Kael of the New Yorker and David Ansen who was the senior film critic for Newsweek for many years. I worshipped Ms. Kael and idolized Mr. Ansen.
Beware - I repeat - beware of critic quotes for films that read as follows:
"YOU WILL STAND UP AND CHEER..."
"YOU WILL LAUGH, YOU WILL CRY..."
"THIS IS A LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY..."
"ACHINGLY HILARIOUS...ALSO HEARTFELT."
"PROVOCATIVE...GRIPPING"
"POSITIVELY THRILLING...ENTHRALLING...SENSATIONAL."
"UPLIFTING...INSPIRATIONAL...TOTALLY SATISFYING."
"THE BLIND SIDE MEETS SAVE WILLIE"
"BEST FAMILY (or COMEDY or DRAMA) TO COME ALONG IN A DECADE"
"THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FILM"
"GREAT HEART...ANOTHER 'ROCKY'"
I could go on and on but I think you get my point and the above should provide you with enough warning signs to beware of certain films. Oh, and watch out when a critic says that a film is a mix of 2 films (i.e. The Big Chill meets Pretty in Pink, etc, etc etc) or says that the performances are...
ELECTRIFYING. Like when was the last time you saw a movie and left the theatre thinking that the lead actor's performance was 'electrifying'?
I recently saw MONEYBALL with Brad Pitt and enjoyed it though like the game of baseball it depicts, it has some pretty dull moments in it. Had I reviewed the film for a column, I would have given it a 'thumbs up' but I don't think I would have said that it ..."WILL LEAVE YOU CHEERING...POSITIVELY THRILLING as one critic raved or that it "RENEWS YOUR BELIEF IN THE POWER OF MOVIES" as another critic said.
Beware of hyperbole moviegoers. Any film that get such hype ends up disappointing. You are better off entering your local multiplex with low expectations of what you are about to see and end up being happily surprised by how much you enjoyed the movie.
And my last piece of advice is to be very, very careful when you watch trailers of coming attractions because they are most often misleading. I've seen trailers that knocked me out only to bore the hell out of me when I finally saw the film. Studios long ago learned how to make terrific trailers for lousy films. Be careful. Very careful and you will learn how to avoid wasting your hard earned dollars seeing DRECK.
Have a nice day. See ya at the movies.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
AFI LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Hola, amigas. Par favor. Habla espanol? Afraid not. Although after seeing 13 films (thus far) at the AFI Latin American Film Festival in Silver Spring, Md., you would think I would be fluent in the language by now. Alas,
I ain't, but at the same time I must say I'm getting more comfortable listening to Spanish while reading the English subtitles.
The festival started on September 22 and by the time it ends (Oct 8) over 40 films will have been shown. I bought a 'pase especial' which gives me priority access to all the films. It costs a mere $100 (for AFI members of which I am one) and if I were to attend each and every film during the festival, it would be worth over $400.
Such a deal. Of course, I hardly expect to see all 40 films and will probably see about 15 all told. Further,
most of the films have been shown in the renovated Silver theatre (built in 1938) that seats 700 and I don't think there have been more than 50 people in the theatre for any film I've seen since opening night when all seats were taken.
The festival opened with a terrific documentary from Mexico called THE MEXICAN SUITCASE which was about a suitcase holding over 4,500 photo negatives, the work of 3 young European photographers, that were taken during the Spanish Civil War. The suitcase was found in an apartment closet in Mexico City in 2007. The film deals with not only the mystery of how the suitcase was found but also with the living history of people affected by the civil war. This is yet another brilliantly put together documentary film and it deserves to be seen by a wide audience.
Of the many films I've seen two stand out as my favorites. The first is a delightful romantic comedy from Argentina called MEDIANERAS which is about a couple that live in buildings across from each other and keep just missing each other on the street. You just know these 2 lonely-hearts - one a newly single architect who pays her rent designing store windows, the other a web designer who spends most of his time in front of his pc monitor making dates with gals online that he has no intention of keeping - will eventually meet but the getting there is a delight and the 2 leads are irresistible. Stay for the closing credits when they lip sync the great r&b oldie, "Aint No Mountain High Enough".
My second favorite film is from Mexico called THE GOOD HERBS, in essence about a mother-daughter relationship. The mother studies herbal remedies and believes that they can heal not just the body but the soul as well. The daughter, a new-age hippie, must put her life on hold to care for her mother when the latter is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and begins to deteriorate rapidly. Incredible cinematography, beautifully written and acted, I can't recommend this film enough.
Another film that I enjoyed and touched my heart, also from Mexico, is called ABEL, about a young boy who has refused to talk since his father walked out on him, his mother, teenage sister and baby brother 2 years earlier and has been in a psychiatric hospital when the film opens. He returns home and suddenly begins talking again, but in the voice of an adult, the man of the house. A box office sensation in Mexico, it was showcased at this year's Sundance Film Festival and deserves a distributor for viewing in USA.
I also enjoyed a documentary from Panama which gives a revealing look into the lives of wealthy families there and those they employ as maids. I wish it was longer than the 64 minutes it ran because it was poignant and very, very funny.
Another film, Brazilian made and the biggest earner in that country's cinema history, is about police and political corruption in Rio de Janiero, a sequel entitled ELITE SQUAD 2: THE ENEMY WITHIN. Pulsating, suspenseful and beautifully acted, it was also shown at this year's Sundance Festival. A dynamite movie.
Another terrific film from Brazil was about how 2 high school aged brothers deal with their parents' separation and their father coming out of the closet and taking a male partner. This could have been maudlin and forgettable but the husband/wife writer/director team makes it funny, tender and warm. A film to be embraced called THE BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD.
The last film I'll mention is from Portugal called MYSTERIES OF LISBON. Originally shown in six one-hour segments on TV there, it has been cut to 4 hours and 30 minutes (with a 20 minute intermission) for viewing in American theatres. It shows because I felt I needed a scorecard to keep up with all the characters and their
'mishegas'. About a boy who grows up in an orphanage in 19th century Europe and spends a lifetime unraveling the story of his parents covering over 3 decades. The film maker, Raul Rulz, is well known throughout Latin America and recently died, probably as much from making this incredibly long film as from old age.
The festival concludes on Oct. 8 with the appearance of Mexican filmmaker Gerardo Naranjo and the screening of his latest film, MISS BALA which was shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday has raved about this film and I am looking forward to seeing it.
I've also seen films from Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile and Venezuela, some very good and some not so good.
Just to take a break from all the Spanish language films, I took in MONEYBALL with Brad Pitt and enjoyed it, although like the game itself (baseball), I found it to be a tad boring. Pitt gives another terrific performance and if he doesn't get an Oscar nom for TREE OF LIFE, he surely will get one for this film.
One last comment I'll make about the Spanish language films I've seen thus far at the festival has to do with the lasting impression of seeing people brush their teeth. In just about every film one character or several are shown in the bathroom (or kitchen) brushing their God damn teeth. I kept looking to see if a tube of Colgate or Crest was gonna show up as so often happens in American made films (product placement, don't ya know).
On that note, I'll close for now and say, 'Adios, amigo'.
I ain't, but at the same time I must say I'm getting more comfortable listening to Spanish while reading the English subtitles.
The festival started on September 22 and by the time it ends (Oct 8) over 40 films will have been shown. I bought a 'pase especial' which gives me priority access to all the films. It costs a mere $100 (for AFI members of which I am one) and if I were to attend each and every film during the festival, it would be worth over $400.
Such a deal. Of course, I hardly expect to see all 40 films and will probably see about 15 all told. Further,
most of the films have been shown in the renovated Silver theatre (built in 1938) that seats 700 and I don't think there have been more than 50 people in the theatre for any film I've seen since opening night when all seats were taken.
The festival opened with a terrific documentary from Mexico called THE MEXICAN SUITCASE which was about a suitcase holding over 4,500 photo negatives, the work of 3 young European photographers, that were taken during the Spanish Civil War. The suitcase was found in an apartment closet in Mexico City in 2007. The film deals with not only the mystery of how the suitcase was found but also with the living history of people affected by the civil war. This is yet another brilliantly put together documentary film and it deserves to be seen by a wide audience.
Of the many films I've seen two stand out as my favorites. The first is a delightful romantic comedy from Argentina called MEDIANERAS which is about a couple that live in buildings across from each other and keep just missing each other on the street. You just know these 2 lonely-hearts - one a newly single architect who pays her rent designing store windows, the other a web designer who spends most of his time in front of his pc monitor making dates with gals online that he has no intention of keeping - will eventually meet but the getting there is a delight and the 2 leads are irresistible. Stay for the closing credits when they lip sync the great r&b oldie, "Aint No Mountain High Enough".
My second favorite film is from Mexico called THE GOOD HERBS, in essence about a mother-daughter relationship. The mother studies herbal remedies and believes that they can heal not just the body but the soul as well. The daughter, a new-age hippie, must put her life on hold to care for her mother when the latter is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and begins to deteriorate rapidly. Incredible cinematography, beautifully written and acted, I can't recommend this film enough.
Another film that I enjoyed and touched my heart, also from Mexico, is called ABEL, about a young boy who has refused to talk since his father walked out on him, his mother, teenage sister and baby brother 2 years earlier and has been in a psychiatric hospital when the film opens. He returns home and suddenly begins talking again, but in the voice of an adult, the man of the house. A box office sensation in Mexico, it was showcased at this year's Sundance Film Festival and deserves a distributor for viewing in USA.
I also enjoyed a documentary from Panama which gives a revealing look into the lives of wealthy families there and those they employ as maids. I wish it was longer than the 64 minutes it ran because it was poignant and very, very funny.
Another film, Brazilian made and the biggest earner in that country's cinema history, is about police and political corruption in Rio de Janiero, a sequel entitled ELITE SQUAD 2: THE ENEMY WITHIN. Pulsating, suspenseful and beautifully acted, it was also shown at this year's Sundance Festival. A dynamite movie.
Another terrific film from Brazil was about how 2 high school aged brothers deal with their parents' separation and their father coming out of the closet and taking a male partner. This could have been maudlin and forgettable but the husband/wife writer/director team makes it funny, tender and warm. A film to be embraced called THE BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD.
The last film I'll mention is from Portugal called MYSTERIES OF LISBON. Originally shown in six one-hour segments on TV there, it has been cut to 4 hours and 30 minutes (with a 20 minute intermission) for viewing in American theatres. It shows because I felt I needed a scorecard to keep up with all the characters and their
'mishegas'. About a boy who grows up in an orphanage in 19th century Europe and spends a lifetime unraveling the story of his parents covering over 3 decades. The film maker, Raul Rulz, is well known throughout Latin America and recently died, probably as much from making this incredibly long film as from old age.
The festival concludes on Oct. 8 with the appearance of Mexican filmmaker Gerardo Naranjo and the screening of his latest film, MISS BALA which was shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday has raved about this film and I am looking forward to seeing it.
I've also seen films from Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile and Venezuela, some very good and some not so good.
Just to take a break from all the Spanish language films, I took in MONEYBALL with Brad Pitt and enjoyed it, although like the game itself (baseball), I found it to be a tad boring. Pitt gives another terrific performance and if he doesn't get an Oscar nom for TREE OF LIFE, he surely will get one for this film.
One last comment I'll make about the Spanish language films I've seen thus far at the festival has to do with the lasting impression of seeing people brush their teeth. In just about every film one character or several are shown in the bathroom (or kitchen) brushing their God damn teeth. I kept looking to see if a tube of Colgate or Crest was gonna show up as so often happens in American made films (product placement, don't ya know).
On that note, I'll close for now and say, 'Adios, amigo'.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A TURD BY ANY OTHER NAME...
I recently had a bout with constipation while recuperating from hernia surgery. Swallowing pain killers every 4 hours during the first few days of post surgery, I braced myself for this possibility. On the night table were my book of the moment, pain killers, stool softeners and a glass of juice mixed with several spoonfuls of Metamucil. I was prepared for the worst of times...the best of times.
By day 3 I was feeling no pain thanks to Oxycodone, but sometimes to gain something you gotta lose something and what I lost was the ability to make (choose one of countless synonyms here) DOO-DOO. By day 4 I had gained five pounds and looked like I was in the 5th month of pregnancy.
I got desperate and used the douche hose that is installed in my bathtub with limited success (no self respecting homosexual that I know would not have one). What came out I can only describe as small round pellets, milk duds if you will. I did not feel any real relief. And the stool softeners (Colace) that costs $20 for 60 capsules were of no help. For what they cost, I should have been dropping fur lined logs, but no go.
To take my mind off the matter, I walked over to Dupont Circle, a short 5 block walk from where I live in Washington, D.C. to feed peanuts to my 'pet' squirrels there. My surgeon had prohibited me from riding my bike but she had recommended that I get out and do as much walking as I could to facilitate my recovery. On the way home I stopped at my good friends, Nolan and Hynda, and mentioned how miserable I was, not from any residual pain from the surgery, but rather the inability to take a...(again, choose from your favorite synonym) DUMP. They were sympathetic and encouraging and promised that before push came to shove (ouch), I would soon be my old self.
That 'old self' is someone who has hardly missed a day when he hasn't taken a healthy (again...choose) DRECK (I'm jewish, of course).
In the course of our conversation, it dawned on me that there must be a hundred different names that people have used from childhood to adulthood to describe their (the most commonly used) BMs. It got me to thinking that it might be fun (illuminating?) to do a piece on my blog on the subject of...TURDS. So I emailed half a dozen friends and asked them to send back a list of names
they had used whenever referring to their...POOP. What I got back was amazing.
One friend sent me a list of over 20 names, but what I wanted were only those that people actually used as children, young adults, parents and as 'alta cockers' (senior citizens, the group to which I am a bona fide member).
I also wanted to get a survey that included regional considerations. For example, one friend, who happens to be black and was born and raised in Oklahoma, said his family called their BMs 'doo-doo', 'dooky', 'poopie' and 'stinkie'. Another friend said her stepfather (also from Oklahoma) called them (a personal fav of mine on this list) 'padoopies' pronounced 'pa-do-pees, as in "Honey, I'm in the bathroom taking a padoopie."
This same friend (whose mother is French) and lives on a beautifully landscapped estate with a fish pond, gardens and a state-of-the-arts movie theatre in the lower level (you don't say 'basement' in Great Falls) that I am still waiting to be invited to view a film in, says she usually just yells to her husband, "Sweetie, I'm in the bathroom taking a SHIT." I admire her directness, but at the same time it is the last word that I would suspect this very cultured friend to use when mentioning a BM.
Growing up my siblings and I usually referred to our BMs as 'EH-EH'. Like many parents, I don't think mine ever used any words to describe their BMs. A dear friend who grew up in England told me that she had to fight 6 other people in her family to use the one LOO (WC) they shared and they never ever made mention of (choose your fav) KA-KA.
My first girlfriend (I was 5 years old), Roberta Brotman, who was one of 4 sisters and grew up across the street from me, used the word 'GOATS' as in "I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell...I just made GOATS."
When I was married (to a wonderful gal I am still mad about), my wife and I used the word, 'DOODIES'. While I was unbelievably 'regular', poor Charl often went days without defecating and when she did, it was cause for celebration. "Honey, I just made a bunch of DOODIES. To this very day, we still use this word and yes, it is still cause for celebration in her home in Germantown, Md. He didn't offer and I didn't ask, but I suspect her husband, a former military policeman, probably uses the word SHIT. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Tommy's a no nonsense man's man and I can't imagine his telling Carol that he is going in the bathroom to make doodies.
The list, as you can imagine, is endless. Here are just a few more synonyms for the word: SQUAT, STEAMER, STINK PICKLE, STOOL, WOLF BAIT, LOG, FUDGE, SCAT, GUANO,
DINGLEBERRY, TOOTSIE ROLL, KLINGONS, BLACK BANANA, WATERLOG, LOADIE
and one of my favorites that a former drag queen once told me, BUDDA BABY.
One of my favorite stories from my 26 years at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles happened one morning when I was in a meeting with the producer, Alan Ladd, Jr., discussing the renovation of his office suite on the studio lot. It was around 9:30am and as he so often did, my 83 year old father had called me and my assistant forwarded the call to Ladd's office where I took it. When I got off, he asked if anything was wrong.
"Oh, no," I said. "He called to tell me he had just taken a healthy SHIT." Laddie roared and we resumed our discussion.
By the way, on the 5th day post surgery, I was able to relieve myself and sing...HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
THESE ARE JUST 2 OF MY FAVORITE FILMS...7 BRIDES - GODFREY
It's the dog days of August and not much happening at the multiplex and even less going on TV right now (other than a few series on premium cable channels), but I was able to catch up with a couple of my all-time fav films on TCM recently. Within 3 days, both MY MAN GODFREY (1936) and 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS (1954) were broadcast and I watched them (even though I own the 50th anniversary DVD of BRIDES).
MY MAN GODFREY is one of the great screwball comedies from the l930s. It stars William Powell and Carole Lombard, both Oscar nominated, as were 2 of its supporting actors (Alice Brady and Mischa Auer), its screenplay and director. None won, but more on that a little later.
Lombard plays a ditzy, spoiled socialite who meets Godfrey, a derelict living in the city dump, while playing a silly parlor game. She offers him a job as butler to her family who epitomizes the idle rich.
Her father is played by the great character actor Eugene Palette and her sister by the strikingly beautiful Gail Patrick (actually much prettier than Lombard). You sort of know where the story is going quite early on but it is the getting there that is so much fun.
The screenplay is a gem, the dialogue witty and delivered at a frenetic pace and loud. That is, except for Powell's whose character is really the only sane one in the family he serves. Always suave and smooth, his performance here is letter perfect with some great lines - "The only difference between a rich man and a homeless person is a job." I appreciate his performance more each time I watch it. He is that good.
Two years yearlier (1934) a film similar in style - IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT - won all the major
Oscars including best film, best actor (GABLE) and best actress (COLBERT). MY MAN GODFREY should have picked up the same awards because it is superior to the earlier comedy.
But it got caught in studio politics and behind the scene 'trades'.
Membership in the Academy was composed mainly of studio employees who included actors, writers, directors and executives under contract to the various studios with MGM having the greatest number. To push his studio's (MGM) THE GREAT ZIEGFIELD over the top for best film and to get Louise Rainer the Oscar for best actress for ZIEGFIELD, studio chief Leo B. Mayer instructed his people to vote for Paul Muni for best actor (in Warner Bros's THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR) over his own studio's Spencer Tracy who was nominated for SAN FRANCISCO. Mayer was only too happy to have Muni win since he was starring in his studio's THE GOOD EARTH about to be released at the time that year's Oscars were being announced.
Jack Warner at WARNER BROS. didn't mind that ZIEGFIELD won because he had THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (starring Paul Muni) set to take top honors the following year when Spencer Tracy finally won for MGM'S CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS.
Damn confusing, n'est pa?
The big loser in all of this studio manipulation of votes was MY MAN GODFREY (which wasn't even nominated for best film) and William Powell who should have won the Oscar for best actor over Paul Muni. Easy. No contest. It is a performance, unlike Muni's, that is every bit as brilliant today as it was in 1936. Of course, also working against Powell was the fact that his performance was in a comedy and the Academy was now leaning towards more dramatic peformances and films for its awards. Also nominated in 1936 was A TALE OF TWO CITIES and
ANTHONY ADVERSE. On the other hand, a musical with Deana Durbin from the same studio (Universal) that released GODFREY got nominated for best film that year so maybe I don't really know what the fuck I'm talking about.
Whatever. MY MAN GODFREY is a gem and I can't recommend it highly enough.
My second favorite film here is 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS which came out of nowhere when it was released in the same month and year that I was bar mitvahed in (July, 1954). I remember taking the streetcar downtown to the Lowe's Capitol Theatre on F Street to see it 7 days in a row.
Starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell, it is one of the great original movie musicals (along with SINGING IN THE RAIN) and features some terrific songs and dancing.
MGM had put all its money and publicity efforts behind its production of BRIGADOON. 7 BRIDES got a green light only after its producers agreed to do it on a very tight budget and on sound stages in Culver City rather than on location. Some 2nd unit exterior shooting took place in Utah but all the production numbers were done on sets and you can actually see the drapes (supposedly mountains and clouds) moving behind Jane Powell when she is singing early in the film.
But no mind. The ensemble cast of contract players, including a very young Russ Tamblyn, and dancers, including Jacques d'Amboise from the NY City Ballet, is high energy and a treat to behold.
Directed by Stanley Donen with choreography by Michael Kidd, the film became MGM's biggest box office hit of that year (BRIGADOON tanked) and garnered 5 major Oscar nominations, including best picture, which it deserved (unlike the also nominated 3 COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN).
It won none, but who cares (ON THE WATERFRONT won for best film that year). I have probably seen it more than any other motion picture ever made and whenever I'm feeling blue,
bored or both, I slip it into the ole DVD player and for the next 100 minutes I'm a happy person.
MY MAN GODFREY is one of the great screwball comedies from the l930s. It stars William Powell and Carole Lombard, both Oscar nominated, as were 2 of its supporting actors (Alice Brady and Mischa Auer), its screenplay and director. None won, but more on that a little later.
Lombard plays a ditzy, spoiled socialite who meets Godfrey, a derelict living in the city dump, while playing a silly parlor game. She offers him a job as butler to her family who epitomizes the idle rich.
Her father is played by the great character actor Eugene Palette and her sister by the strikingly beautiful Gail Patrick (actually much prettier than Lombard). You sort of know where the story is going quite early on but it is the getting there that is so much fun.
The screenplay is a gem, the dialogue witty and delivered at a frenetic pace and loud. That is, except for Powell's whose character is really the only sane one in the family he serves. Always suave and smooth, his performance here is letter perfect with some great lines - "The only difference between a rich man and a homeless person is a job." I appreciate his performance more each time I watch it. He is that good.
Two years yearlier (1934) a film similar in style - IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT - won all the major
Oscars including best film, best actor (GABLE) and best actress (COLBERT). MY MAN GODFREY should have picked up the same awards because it is superior to the earlier comedy.
But it got caught in studio politics and behind the scene 'trades'.
Membership in the Academy was composed mainly of studio employees who included actors, writers, directors and executives under contract to the various studios with MGM having the greatest number. To push his studio's (MGM) THE GREAT ZIEGFIELD over the top for best film and to get Louise Rainer the Oscar for best actress for ZIEGFIELD, studio chief Leo B. Mayer instructed his people to vote for Paul Muni for best actor (in Warner Bros's THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR) over his own studio's Spencer Tracy who was nominated for SAN FRANCISCO. Mayer was only too happy to have Muni win since he was starring in his studio's THE GOOD EARTH about to be released at the time that year's Oscars were being announced.
Jack Warner at WARNER BROS. didn't mind that ZIEGFIELD won because he had THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (starring Paul Muni) set to take top honors the following year when Spencer Tracy finally won for MGM'S CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS.
Damn confusing, n'est pa?
The big loser in all of this studio manipulation of votes was MY MAN GODFREY (which wasn't even nominated for best film) and William Powell who should have won the Oscar for best actor over Paul Muni. Easy. No contest. It is a performance, unlike Muni's, that is every bit as brilliant today as it was in 1936. Of course, also working against Powell was the fact that his performance was in a comedy and the Academy was now leaning towards more dramatic peformances and films for its awards. Also nominated in 1936 was A TALE OF TWO CITIES and
ANTHONY ADVERSE. On the other hand, a musical with Deana Durbin from the same studio (Universal) that released GODFREY got nominated for best film that year so maybe I don't really know what the fuck I'm talking about.
Whatever. MY MAN GODFREY is a gem and I can't recommend it highly enough.
My second favorite film here is 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS which came out of nowhere when it was released in the same month and year that I was bar mitvahed in (July, 1954). I remember taking the streetcar downtown to the Lowe's Capitol Theatre on F Street to see it 7 days in a row.
Starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell, it is one of the great original movie musicals (along with SINGING IN THE RAIN) and features some terrific songs and dancing.
MGM had put all its money and publicity efforts behind its production of BRIGADOON. 7 BRIDES got a green light only after its producers agreed to do it on a very tight budget and on sound stages in Culver City rather than on location. Some 2nd unit exterior shooting took place in Utah but all the production numbers were done on sets and you can actually see the drapes (supposedly mountains and clouds) moving behind Jane Powell when she is singing early in the film.
But no mind. The ensemble cast of contract players, including a very young Russ Tamblyn, and dancers, including Jacques d'Amboise from the NY City Ballet, is high energy and a treat to behold.
Directed by Stanley Donen with choreography by Michael Kidd, the film became MGM's biggest box office hit of that year (BRIGADOON tanked) and garnered 5 major Oscar nominations, including best picture, which it deserved (unlike the also nominated 3 COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN).
It won none, but who cares (ON THE WATERFRONT won for best film that year). I have probably seen it more than any other motion picture ever made and whenever I'm feeling blue,
bored or both, I slip it into the ole DVD player and for the next 100 minutes I'm a happy person.
Monday, August 1, 2011
I'M IN LOVE WITH LAURA LINNEY
I'm in love with Laura Linney.
I think I have been ever since I first saw her portray Mary Ann Singleton in the first TALES OF THE CITY mini-series on PBS in 1993. She was exactly as I had envisioned Mary Ann Singleton while reading the wonderful series of novels by Armistead Maupin. Perfectly cast, she went on to appear in the following 2 installments of the TALES book sequels (MORE TALES & FURTHER TALES), doing so even after she had established herself as a leading actress in films such as CONGO, PRIMAL FEAR and ABSOLUTE POWER.
When she did appear in the TALES sequels, I was very impressed and so happy that she did. She could have said, "No, I'm a movie star now, I don't do TV," but she didn't. She couldn't have been paid much to be in the series. After all, we're talking public television here. But act in them she did much to my happiness, because by then I had developed a serious crush on her.
Not a sexual kind of thing. After all, I'm gay. I adored the actor who played Michael in TALES but it was Laura Linney I remembered.
I worked at Paramount when she starred opposite Jim Carrey in THE TRUMAN SHOW in 1998
and I managed to snag a tix to the world premiere at the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. not because I wanted to see the film that much, but because I was hoping to meet Ms. Linney at the post-premiere party. I didn't get to meet her, but I did see her fairly up close and she's prettier in person than she is on screen.
She made appearances in the Oscar winning MYSTIC RIVER in 2003 and co-starred in LOVE ACTUALLY and THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE and was Oscar nominated (best supporting actress) in KINSEY. In 2005 she starred in one of my fav films of the year, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE. Twice she has been nominated for best actress for her performance in THE SAVAGES and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. It was in these 2 films, the first with Philip Seymour Hoffman and the second with Mark Raffalo, that my school boy crush turned into love. She touched my heart as no actress ever had.
It became a love affair for life when she portrayed Abigal Adams in the HBO series, JOHN ADAMS and took home the Emmy for her amazing performance. In her death bed scene, I sobbed like a baby. Unbelievably real, gut wrenching, brilliant acting.
She has done several plays on Broadway and I was so disappointed that I couldn't get up to NYC to see her performance in TIME STANDS STILL for which she received a Tony nomination.
This love affair has only deepened with the second season of her series (THE BIG C) on Showtime. The series - and Ms. Linney - have gotten even better this year. She's funny. She's
poignant. She can do everything. She's beautiful. She's intelligent. And I'm crazy about her.
Yup. I'm in love with Laura Linney.
I think I have been ever since I first saw her portray Mary Ann Singleton in the first TALES OF THE CITY mini-series on PBS in 1993. She was exactly as I had envisioned Mary Ann Singleton while reading the wonderful series of novels by Armistead Maupin. Perfectly cast, she went on to appear in the following 2 installments of the TALES book sequels (MORE TALES & FURTHER TALES), doing so even after she had established herself as a leading actress in films such as CONGO, PRIMAL FEAR and ABSOLUTE POWER.
When she did appear in the TALES sequels, I was very impressed and so happy that she did. She could have said, "No, I'm a movie star now, I don't do TV," but she didn't. She couldn't have been paid much to be in the series. After all, we're talking public television here. But act in them she did much to my happiness, because by then I had developed a serious crush on her.
Not a sexual kind of thing. After all, I'm gay. I adored the actor who played Michael in TALES but it was Laura Linney I remembered.
I worked at Paramount when she starred opposite Jim Carrey in THE TRUMAN SHOW in 1998
and I managed to snag a tix to the world premiere at the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. not because I wanted to see the film that much, but because I was hoping to meet Ms. Linney at the post-premiere party. I didn't get to meet her, but I did see her fairly up close and she's prettier in person than she is on screen.
She made appearances in the Oscar winning MYSTIC RIVER in 2003 and co-starred in LOVE ACTUALLY and THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE and was Oscar nominated (best supporting actress) in KINSEY. In 2005 she starred in one of my fav films of the year, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE. Twice she has been nominated for best actress for her performance in THE SAVAGES and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. It was in these 2 films, the first with Philip Seymour Hoffman and the second with Mark Raffalo, that my school boy crush turned into love. She touched my heart as no actress ever had.
It became a love affair for life when she portrayed Abigal Adams in the HBO series, JOHN ADAMS and took home the Emmy for her amazing performance. In her death bed scene, I sobbed like a baby. Unbelievably real, gut wrenching, brilliant acting.
She has done several plays on Broadway and I was so disappointed that I couldn't get up to NYC to see her performance in TIME STANDS STILL for which she received a Tony nomination.
This love affair has only deepened with the second season of her series (THE BIG C) on Showtime. The series - and Ms. Linney - have gotten even better this year. She's funny. She's
poignant. She can do everything. She's beautiful. She's intelligent. And I'm crazy about her.
Yup. I'm in love with Laura Linney.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
DONT MISS THE TONY AWARDS ON CBS SUNDAY NITE JUNE 12
The best produced and most enjoyable of all the awards shows will be broadcast on Sunday nite, June 12 and I don't mean the Academy Awards which year after year continue to bore and run waaaay too long.
It's the TONYS. The American Theatre Tony awards for the best in theatre for the past season and this year should offer one of the most entertaining broadcasts in some time because there is an abundance of award worthy shows and performances and scenes from many of them with high power talent who will be on view throughout the almost 3 hour telecast.
Granted, there have been seasons when Guild members who vote were hard pressed to come up with 4 plays and 4 musicals that deserved recognition. Not so this season when several terrific shows - one right after another - opened to critical acclaim and wide audience acceptance.
For example, any of the 4 nominated plays, including Good People, Jerusalem, The Motherf**ker with the Hat and War Horse, could take the Tony and no one would object. I hope to see all of them, either in NYC or when they tour in a year or 2. My guess is that War Horse will win by a hair over Good People.
Meanwhile, Book of Mormon (which I saw and loved) is a lock for best musical and will take home most of the 13 Tonys it has been nominated for, including Rory O'Malley for best performance by an actor in a supporting role, Nikki M. James for best performancce by an actress in a supporting role, best direction (musical), best choreography, best orchestrations, best lighting design and best sound design as well as best original score and book.
Because both Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells were nominated for best actor in a musical (Book of Mormon), Norbert Leo Butz will probably win the Tony for his sensational performance in Catch Me If You Can (He was also terrific as the deceased son in Next to Normal).
Sutton Foster will take home her 2nd Tony for her acclaimed performance in Anything Goes which will beat out How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying for best musical revival.
I'm betting that Frances McDormand (who won an Oscar for Fargo) will take home the Tony for best performance in a leading role in a play (Good People) while Joe Mantello will take honors for best actor in a play for his brilliant performance in the well received revival of The Normal Heart which will win in that category. All the nominees for best actor are worthy of a Tony and they include Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest), Al Pacino (The Merchant of Venice), Mark Rylance (Jerusalem) and dark horse Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf**ker with the Hat).
I saw the revival of The Normal Heart last month and it is as relevant and as moving as when I first saw it in 1985. Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe will most likely take honors for their direction of Heart over Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris who directed War Horse (soon to be a Steven Spielberg film due out this Xmas).
I must admit to an aversion to Jerusalem which I haven't seen and opened to rave reviews. I saw Mojo at the Studio Theatre here in D.C. by the same author (Jez Butterworth) and hated it. So you'd have to put a gun to my head to make me sit thru it. Mark Rylance (brilliant in last season's La Bete) got socko reviews for his performance in Jerusalem but I'm sticking with Joe Mantello as my pick for best actor.
All 4 nominated musicals will be showcased during the Tonys telecast plus a number from the fabulous Pricilla, Queen of the Desert (which I've seen twice and loved). It will win (deservedly) the Tony for best costumes. Only Tony Sheldon was nominated for best actor in a musical, but his 2 colleagues, Will Swenson and Nick Adams deserved recognition as well. Truth be known, I enjoyed Pricilla just as much as Book of Mormon which garnered 13 noms to Pricilla's 2. I presume it was overlooked for consideration as best musical because none of the music is original but everything else about it is inventive, ingenuous and great fun. The other nominated musicals are Catch Me If You Can, Sister Act and The Scottsboro Boys which closed after a short run and mixed notices.
Unlike the Oscars, it really doesn't matter (this year) who wins the Tonys on Sunday night. Most if not all the nominees are deserving of Tonys and the telecast should be great fun watching production numbers from all 4 nominated musicals and scenes from plays. It will be interesting to see which song is performed from Book of Mormon since the score is raunchy and profane.
The list of presenters reads like a who's who of movie stars and great actresses, including Vanessa Redgrave and Angela Lansbury.
Tune in. It should be a great show. Give my regards to Broadway.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
WE WERE HERE - Documentary About the AIDS Epidemic in SF
One of the pleasures of the Filmfest DC is seeing films that one might not ordinarily have the opportunity to see, due to lack of distribution or not being picked up by a studio or distributor who would have the means to book the film into various theatres throughout the States.
I saw one last night that may or may not find a distributor later this year and that would be a shame because the film, a documentary by David Weissman about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, called WE WERE HERE,
deserves to be seen by a large audience. Hopefully it will be picked up by one of the premium cable networks or PBS and telecast later this year.
The film traces the AIDS epidemic in SF very early on and does so mainly thru interviews with 5 members of the gay community who were intimately involved either as caregivers or active observers of the catastrophe that transpired over several years in the city by the bay.
One of those interviewed, a lesbian nurse who worked in the one AIDS ward at SF Memorial Hospital and was cofounder of the first Free Woman's Clinic in SF, was especially eloquent and moving, but so were the other 4 men, one an artist, who lost not one but 2 partners to AIDS; another who had a flower stand in Castro and provided, usually gratis, flowers for funerals and memorial services for so many young men who succumbed to the disease; and another who became a Shanti volunteer early on in the epidemic.
Despite the gravitas of the film - Weissman artfully uses a good deal of archival pictures and film - there are moments of great tenderness and humor along with pathos and deep sadness. Of course, I shed several tears throughout the film, but I left the theatre with a great sense of pride over being one of the survivors and a caregiver to several of my close friends who I lost to AIDS in Los Angeles years ago.
And I felt a great sense of pride as well as a member of the gay community at large that rose to the occasion and were there to care for thousands of young men who suffered and died from AIDS.
If only President Reagan and Congress had responded in kind and earmarked funds for AIDS research during the early stages of this horrendous siege that took the lives of over 20,000 men in SF alone, some of my dear friends I lost would still be alive.
If and when this fine documentary becomes available in theatres or on DVD, make every effort to see it.
I saw one last night that may or may not find a distributor later this year and that would be a shame because the film, a documentary by David Weissman about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, called WE WERE HERE,
deserves to be seen by a large audience. Hopefully it will be picked up by one of the premium cable networks or PBS and telecast later this year.
The film traces the AIDS epidemic in SF very early on and does so mainly thru interviews with 5 members of the gay community who were intimately involved either as caregivers or active observers of the catastrophe that transpired over several years in the city by the bay.
One of those interviewed, a lesbian nurse who worked in the one AIDS ward at SF Memorial Hospital and was cofounder of the first Free Woman's Clinic in SF, was especially eloquent and moving, but so were the other 4 men, one an artist, who lost not one but 2 partners to AIDS; another who had a flower stand in Castro and provided, usually gratis, flowers for funerals and memorial services for so many young men who succumbed to the disease; and another who became a Shanti volunteer early on in the epidemic.
Despite the gravitas of the film - Weissman artfully uses a good deal of archival pictures and film - there are moments of great tenderness and humor along with pathos and deep sadness. Of course, I shed several tears throughout the film, but I left the theatre with a great sense of pride over being one of the survivors and a caregiver to several of my close friends who I lost to AIDS in Los Angeles years ago.
And I felt a great sense of pride as well as a member of the gay community at large that rose to the occasion and were there to care for thousands of young men who suffered and died from AIDS.
If only President Reagan and Congress had responded in kind and earmarked funds for AIDS research during the early stages of this horrendous siege that took the lives of over 20,000 men in SF alone, some of my dear friends I lost would still be alive.
If and when this fine documentary becomes available in theatres or on DVD, make every effort to see it.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
FIRST AUDREY...NOW ELIZABETH...GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN
I cried last week when I heard that Elizabeth Taylor had died. She was one of two actresses whose films are among my most favorite and continue to give me great pleasure whenever I happen to view them which is quite often thru the years. More on Ms. Taylor later.
Who was my other fav? Audrey Hepburn. I loved Elizabeth but I idolized Ms. Hepburn. From the first time I saw her in ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) when I was a mere 12 years old, I was mesmerized by her beauty and elan. How could Gregory Peck NOT fall in love with the princess that she portrayed in this delightful film. Academy members must have felt the same because she won the Oscar for best actress for her performance.
The next year she enchanted filmgoers in SABRINA in which both Humphrey Bogart and William Holden lost their hearts to her, understandably so. In 1959 she gave a stunning performance (my personal favorite) in THE NUN'S STORY and I remember being broken hearted when Simone Signoret's name (for ROOM AT THE TOP) was announced as winner of the best actress Oscar that year.
She continued to enchant millions of fans (including me) with deft performances in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961), CHARADE (1963) with Cary Grant and of course, MY FAIR LADY (1964) which I saw 7 days in a row while skipping my afternoon classes at GWU. To watch her standing at the top of the stairs in that white empire gown with a tiara in her hair ready to attend the ball with Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison)
was a rush and pleasure that I have never experienced again while watching a movie. Heavenly. Her cockney accent in the first half of the film was dismissed by many critics (unfairly so I feel) and she was ignored by
Academy members when nominations for best actress were announced that year. Mind you, MY FAIR LADY won the Oscar for best film and I would have to ask how could it have won that honor without Ms. Hepburn's
Academy members when nominations for best actress were announced that year. Mind you, MY FAIR LADY won the Oscar for best film and I would have to ask how could it have won that honor without Ms. Hepburn's
enchanting (yup, that word again) performance as Eliza Doolittle. She showed her class when she presented the Oscar for best actress to Julie Andrews (the sentimental favorite for having been snubbed in favor of Hepburn being cast in the film version of MFL) for MARY POPPINS.
Can we talk?
Hepburn peaked in film in 1967 in TWO FOR THE ROAD with Albert Finney (also one of my fav Hepburn films) and her Oscar nominated performance in WAIT UNTIL DARK.
Other than a role in ROBIN AND MARIAN (with Sean Connery), she went into an early retirement from film work and concentrated on her activities as Special Ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF for Latin America and Africa between 1988-1993.
She died from appendicular Cancer in 1993 at age 64. I cried a lot the day she passed away. I adored her.
And now we've lost another bigger than life movie star who starred in some of my most favorite movies.
Starting with NATIONAL VELVET (1944) which I saw in re-release when I was 10 years old. Fast forward to 1956 when I was 15 and was mesmerized by her beauty and performance in my favorite film of hers (GIANT). I recently watched it on TCM and it holds up to this day. She's great in it along with Rock Hudson and James Dean. The following year I saw and loved her in RAINTREE COUNTRY, a film she refused to finish until her dear friend and co-star, Montgomery Cliff, recovered from a near fatal car crash during production.
She was terrific in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF with Paul Newman and SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER
with Katherine Hepburn and Cliff. And who can forget her in her Oscar winning performance opposite Richard Burton in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF? She had dismissed her Oscar winning performance in BUTTERFIELD 8, a film she hated.
I met Ms. Taylor when she was married to US Senator (Va) John Warner in '77 or '78. I drove her hairstylist ( a stunning gal from Luxembourg named Monique and a close friend of my sister's) out to Warner's estate in Virginia and remember being real nervous over the prospect of meeting the glamorous Ms. Taylor.
But she couldn't have been nicer and when I complained about having a headache while Monique was cutting her hair, she told me to go down the hallway and into her bathroom and to help myself to whatever pills I found in her medicine cabinet.
Eureka, I screamed. I helped myself to some valium, soma and a handful of diet pills and shared the booty with Monique on our drive back into the city. I'll never forget Taylor's magnificent violet eyes and gorgeous skin.
She was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overweight at the time but who cared. I'll always remember how down-to-earth she was that day.
I don't need to dwell on her charitable activities, in particular her involvement with AmFar which she was instrumental in establishing when no one, including President Ronald Reagan, was even mentioning the word
AIDS. In addition she created her own AIDS Foundation and was responsible for raising millions of dollars for AIDS research.
As with Audrey Hepburn along with all the dear friends I have lost thru the years (so many to AIDS),
I shed many tears last week when it was announced that Elizabeth Taylor had died. But they will all remain in my heart for the rest of my days on planet Earth..
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
PRICILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT - The Musical
Took the bus up to NYC last Sunday to see PRICILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which had its official opening at the Palace Theatre on Broadway a week ago. Reviews were mixed but PRICILLA will prove to be - like MOMMA MIA - immune to critics and have a long, successful run.
This ain't Shakespeare, folks. You want serious theatre, go see Tom Stoppard's ARCADIA.
The stage musical is adapted from the 1994 Australian film about 3 queens (one of them a transexual) who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus they have named 'Pricilla'.
One of the drag queens was portrayed by a young Guy Pearce (who I developed a crush on) and Bernadette, the transey, was played by English actor Terrence Stamp. At one time when the project was first pitched to producers attending Cannes in 1992, Tony Curtis was attached to it and later on, David Bowie.
Written and directed by Stephan Elliott, it was made on a shoe string budget and was one of the first films to feature popular disco songs that were lipsynced by the 3 drag queens throughout the film. Its costume designers took home an Oscar for their fabulous, over the top designs. An America rip-off, TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR was released in 1995 starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizano. It sucked.
Fast forward to 2006 when a musical stage version opened in Sydney and became the longest running play there. Last year it opened in the West End in London and became an instant hit. Prior to opening in New York,
it had a successful run in Toronto where major changes were made in the book and some songs deleted and others added to appeal more to American tourists who make or break musicals on Broadway. I can only comment on what I saw on Sunday and I LOVED IT.
Will Swenson (fresh from the successful revival of HAIR) is Tick (Mitzi) who is asked by his wife who runs a casino in Alice Springs to come and spend time with their 6 year old son whom he hasn't since since he was born. Joining him are Nick Adams as Adam (Felina) and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette, a retired cabaret performer and a transey of a certain age. Sheldon originated the role of Bernadette in Sydney and then in London and he is the heart and soul of PRICILLA. If he doesn't take the Tony for best actor in a musical this year, there's no justice. It is a one of a kind performance. Funny, poignant, honest and real and he alone makes PRICILLA special.
The costumes, designed by the same Oscar winning duo of the film, are over-the-top, fabulous, fantastic, spectacular and a hoot. They alone are worth the price of admisssion. But wait, there's more.
The sets are to die for. The tour bus is amazing. It moves forward, spins around and open to show the interior which has been redone by the 3 queens and it blew me away.
3 divas a la the Supremes open the show and slowly descend from the ceiling (on hooks) and appear periodically during the musical singing one popular disco treat after another. The supporting cast is terrific
and some have stand out moments that add to the merriment. The choreography is so-so but who cares.
Everyone looks like they're having a gay ole time and the audience, including my friend and myself, ate it up.
There are 21 production numbers, all done to popular disco hits from over 3 decades. I didn't mind the fact that some songs were lipsynced by Swenson, Adams and Sheldon because their characters would have been lipsyncing songs in the bars where they performed. And I wasn't bothered by there not being any original songs because I haven't seen a musical in several years with new scores that I wanted to hear again.
Bernadette's relationship with a heterosexual guy she meets along the way to the casino in Alice Springs is truncated here and the new ending with Swenson and his son singing a sappy duet is a bit much but who cares. Swenson more than makes up for his lousy Australian accent with a dynamite rendition of MacArthur Park.
The cast deserved the standing ovation it got at the performance I attended. I was won over from the moment a humongous mirrored disco globe descended from the ceiling above the orchestra seats with confetti falling everywhere. I was in musical heaven.
Next time I see it - and I bought tix to see it again in June - I'm taking my tambourine and police whistle with me.
3 cheers for PRICILLA. Forget your troubles, the wars in the Middle East, the earthquake in Japan and
enjoy. Great fun. Simply FABULOUS. I LOVED IT.
This ain't Shakespeare, folks. You want serious theatre, go see Tom Stoppard's ARCADIA.
The stage musical is adapted from the 1994 Australian film about 3 queens (one of them a transexual) who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus they have named 'Pricilla'.
One of the drag queens was portrayed by a young Guy Pearce (who I developed a crush on) and Bernadette, the transey, was played by English actor Terrence Stamp. At one time when the project was first pitched to producers attending Cannes in 1992, Tony Curtis was attached to it and later on, David Bowie.
Written and directed by Stephan Elliott, it was made on a shoe string budget and was one of the first films to feature popular disco songs that were lipsynced by the 3 drag queens throughout the film. Its costume designers took home an Oscar for their fabulous, over the top designs. An America rip-off, TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR was released in 1995 starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizano. It sucked.
Fast forward to 2006 when a musical stage version opened in Sydney and became the longest running play there. Last year it opened in the West End in London and became an instant hit. Prior to opening in New York,
it had a successful run in Toronto where major changes were made in the book and some songs deleted and others added to appeal more to American tourists who make or break musicals on Broadway. I can only comment on what I saw on Sunday and I LOVED IT.
Will Swenson (fresh from the successful revival of HAIR) is Tick (Mitzi) who is asked by his wife who runs a casino in Alice Springs to come and spend time with their 6 year old son whom he hasn't since since he was born. Joining him are Nick Adams as Adam (Felina) and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette, a retired cabaret performer and a transey of a certain age. Sheldon originated the role of Bernadette in Sydney and then in London and he is the heart and soul of PRICILLA. If he doesn't take the Tony for best actor in a musical this year, there's no justice. It is a one of a kind performance. Funny, poignant, honest and real and he alone makes PRICILLA special.
The costumes, designed by the same Oscar winning duo of the film, are over-the-top, fabulous, fantastic, spectacular and a hoot. They alone are worth the price of admisssion. But wait, there's more.
The sets are to die for. The tour bus is amazing. It moves forward, spins around and open to show the interior which has been redone by the 3 queens and it blew me away.
3 divas a la the Supremes open the show and slowly descend from the ceiling (on hooks) and appear periodically during the musical singing one popular disco treat after another. The supporting cast is terrific
and some have stand out moments that add to the merriment. The choreography is so-so but who cares.
Everyone looks like they're having a gay ole time and the audience, including my friend and myself, ate it up.
There are 21 production numbers, all done to popular disco hits from over 3 decades. I didn't mind the fact that some songs were lipsynced by Swenson, Adams and Sheldon because their characters would have been lipsyncing songs in the bars where they performed. And I wasn't bothered by there not being any original songs because I haven't seen a musical in several years with new scores that I wanted to hear again.
Bernadette's relationship with a heterosexual guy she meets along the way to the casino in Alice Springs is truncated here and the new ending with Swenson and his son singing a sappy duet is a bit much but who cares. Swenson more than makes up for his lousy Australian accent with a dynamite rendition of MacArthur Park.
The cast deserved the standing ovation it got at the performance I attended. I was won over from the moment a humongous mirrored disco globe descended from the ceiling above the orchestra seats with confetti falling everywhere. I was in musical heaven.
Next time I see it - and I bought tix to see it again in June - I'm taking my tambourine and police whistle with me.
3 cheers for PRICILLA. Forget your troubles, the wars in the Middle East, the earthquake in Japan and
enjoy. Great fun. Simply FABULOUS. I LOVED IT.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
POETRY From South Korea Well Worth Seeing
POETRY, written and directed by South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-Dong (love this name), lost out last May at Cannes to UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN REFLECT ON HIS PAST LIVES which took top honors (Palme D'or). It wuz robbed in my humble opinion. A far better film in every respect, Chang-Dong was awarded best screenplay honors at Cannes.
Mija, portrayed by Yun Junghee, a famous actress in her homeland but making her first screen appearance in 15 years, lives in a small town with her middle school aged grandson and barely gets by on her pension and what she makes as a caregiver for an old paralyzed man. She enrolls in a poetry writing class and is told by the poet instructor that poetry is a search for beauty and truth and that by the end of the month long class, each student will be expected to write one poem.
Meanwhile, she learns that her grandson is part of a gang of 6 teenagers who repeatedly raped a classmate until she commits suicide jumping off a bridge (the film opens, in fact, with a long shot of the body floating in the river as it moves closer to shore). Despite the fact that the grandson is a selfish jerk and feels no remorse for his actions, the grandmother meets with the fathers of the other teenage boys who have decided to try and buy off the dead girl's mother's silence and to prevent a police investigation of the crime.
Mija continues to attend her poetry classes and poetry readings and when she isn't fighting her conscience over whether or not to agree to the payoff and where she is going to come up with her share of it, she takes long walks smelling flowers and taking notes that hopefully will lead to her writing a poem.
She finally does write one out of suffering and self expression but from someone else's perspective and I won't ruin the ending of this lovely, lyrical film by telling you whose that it is. See it and discover for yourself.
Yun Junghee lost out to Juliette Binoche (Certified Copy) for best actress at Cannes but her performance is award worthy. Whatever the South Korean equivalent of our Oscar is, she deserves it.
I found it far more rewarding than Uncle Boonmee and I highly recommend it to you.
Mija, portrayed by Yun Junghee, a famous actress in her homeland but making her first screen appearance in 15 years, lives in a small town with her middle school aged grandson and barely gets by on her pension and what she makes as a caregiver for an old paralyzed man. She enrolls in a poetry writing class and is told by the poet instructor that poetry is a search for beauty and truth and that by the end of the month long class, each student will be expected to write one poem.
Meanwhile, she learns that her grandson is part of a gang of 6 teenagers who repeatedly raped a classmate until she commits suicide jumping off a bridge (the film opens, in fact, with a long shot of the body floating in the river as it moves closer to shore). Despite the fact that the grandson is a selfish jerk and feels no remorse for his actions, the grandmother meets with the fathers of the other teenage boys who have decided to try and buy off the dead girl's mother's silence and to prevent a police investigation of the crime.
Mija continues to attend her poetry classes and poetry readings and when she isn't fighting her conscience over whether or not to agree to the payoff and where she is going to come up with her share of it, she takes long walks smelling flowers and taking notes that hopefully will lead to her writing a poem.
She finally does write one out of suffering and self expression but from someone else's perspective and I won't ruin the ending of this lovely, lyrical film by telling you whose that it is. See it and discover for yourself.
Yun Junghee lost out to Juliette Binoche (Certified Copy) for best actress at Cannes but her performance is award worthy. Whatever the South Korean equivalent of our Oscar is, she deserves it.
I found it far more rewarding than Uncle Boonmee and I highly recommend it to you.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
My sister Marcia and I went to the beautifully restored deco treasure AFI-Silver Theatre last Saturday night to see a new film from Thailand called UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL
HIS PAST LIVES (or Tante Bobby Who Cannot Recall Which Hand He Used to Wipe...) and we will remember it for a long time and for all the wrong reasons.
Written and directed by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (try saying that quickly 5 times over), Uncle Boonmee, terminally ill, has returned to his village to die and has brought with him a nephew and his sister-in-law to take care of his needs.
I knew we were in trouble when the film opens with a shot of a water buffalo tied to a tree in the forest at night that seems to go on for minutes before the animal manages to free itself and takes off into the woods followed close behind by someone chasing it. Little did I realize at the time that the buffalo may have been Uncle Boonmee in a previous (or future) life.
The scene then shifts to the dinner table where Uncle Boonmee is visited by the spirit of his dead wife, very matter-of-fact like, who sits there smiling while Boonmee enquires about how things are going in the afterlife. Then Boonmee's long missing son makes an appearance wearing what looks like a King Kong halloween outfit from a Party Inc. store. He tells his dad that all is well with him and that he found true love in the jungle...with a monkey. Ah, l'amour, toujours...toujours, l'amour.
Not much else happens in the film although my favorite moment occurs when Boonmee in a previous life as a catfish is shown fucking a princess who is floating in the water near a beautiful waterfall. I kid you not.
At this point I turned to my sister and blurted out "O-M-G". Only moments before, I had almost
yelled, "B-O-R-I-N-G," but I was afraid sis would punch me out if I had (remembering how pissed she was the last time my cellphone rang while we were watching a performance of ANGELS IN AMERICA).
Not that my sister was enthralled by what she was watching. When I wasn't yawning and close to dozing off, she was. You could hear a pin drop in the crowded theatre. Either everyone else had dozed off or was stunned by the visual beauty of the film. I was stunned alright but for all the wrong reasons.
UNCLE BOONMEE was awarded the Palme D'or at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Tim Burton was the jury chairman and all I can say is that I wish I had smoked whatever Burton inhaled before he saw the film so I could have enjoyed it half as much as he did.
At the film's (merciful) conclusion, the audience politely applauded while my sister and I raced into the lobby to see if we could get our money back. Alas, no luck. When I got home, I goggled the film to read some print reviews and I was astounded to find them mostly glowing and favorable.
Had I seen a different film? Am I that jaded and cynical that I couldn't open up and embrace this quiet, lovely metaphysical story about life, death and reincarnation.
The answer, I guess, is YES. I can't recall being so bored by a film and soooooooo unmoved.
But that's why, I guess, that Baskin-Robbins makes over 31 different flavors of ice cream. Something for everyone. Here is a film that has won major international awards since it was first screened at Cannes last May and I just don't get it.
See it at your own risk.
HIS PAST LIVES (or Tante Bobby Who Cannot Recall Which Hand He Used to Wipe...) and we will remember it for a long time and for all the wrong reasons.
Written and directed by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (try saying that quickly 5 times over), Uncle Boonmee, terminally ill, has returned to his village to die and has brought with him a nephew and his sister-in-law to take care of his needs.
I knew we were in trouble when the film opens with a shot of a water buffalo tied to a tree in the forest at night that seems to go on for minutes before the animal manages to free itself and takes off into the woods followed close behind by someone chasing it. Little did I realize at the time that the buffalo may have been Uncle Boonmee in a previous (or future) life.
The scene then shifts to the dinner table where Uncle Boonmee is visited by the spirit of his dead wife, very matter-of-fact like, who sits there smiling while Boonmee enquires about how things are going in the afterlife. Then Boonmee's long missing son makes an appearance wearing what looks like a King Kong halloween outfit from a Party Inc. store. He tells his dad that all is well with him and that he found true love in the jungle...with a monkey. Ah, l'amour, toujours...toujours, l'amour.
Not much else happens in the film although my favorite moment occurs when Boonmee in a previous life as a catfish is shown fucking a princess who is floating in the water near a beautiful waterfall. I kid you not.
At this point I turned to my sister and blurted out "O-M-G". Only moments before, I had almost
yelled, "B-O-R-I-N-G," but I was afraid sis would punch me out if I had (remembering how pissed she was the last time my cellphone rang while we were watching a performance of ANGELS IN AMERICA).
Not that my sister was enthralled by what she was watching. When I wasn't yawning and close to dozing off, she was. You could hear a pin drop in the crowded theatre. Either everyone else had dozed off or was stunned by the visual beauty of the film. I was stunned alright but for all the wrong reasons.
UNCLE BOONMEE was awarded the Palme D'or at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Tim Burton was the jury chairman and all I can say is that I wish I had smoked whatever Burton inhaled before he saw the film so I could have enjoyed it half as much as he did.
At the film's (merciful) conclusion, the audience politely applauded while my sister and I raced into the lobby to see if we could get our money back. Alas, no luck. When I got home, I goggled the film to read some print reviews and I was astounded to find them mostly glowing and favorable.
Had I seen a different film? Am I that jaded and cynical that I couldn't open up and embrace this quiet, lovely metaphysical story about life, death and reincarnation.
The answer, I guess, is YES. I can't recall being so bored by a film and soooooooo unmoved.
But that's why, I guess, that Baskin-Robbins makes over 31 different flavors of ice cream. Something for everyone. Here is a film that has won major international awards since it was first screened at Cannes last May and I just don't get it.
See it at your own risk.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
WHEN YOU'RE WRONG...ADMIT IT
In my last blog about new film openings, I mentioned THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and how I planned on passing it up despite a couple glowing reviews in the NY Times and the Washington Post.
I also mentioned that David Denby in The New Yorker didn't care for it and called it a 'downer'.
Well, I saw it and Denby is wrong. With terrific performances by Matt Damon and Emily Blount who have great chemistry between them and a terrific supporting cast led by Terrence Stamp, the film is both suspenseful and romantic. It was the perfect film to see on a wet and dreary day in DC town and I recommend it to one and all.
I also mentioned another film (still playing first run), BARNEY'S VERSION, and said I just couldn't get it up to see it, primarily because Paul Giamatti was playing a romantic lead. Well, although I did have a slight problem accepting the scenario that 3 beautiful women would fall in love with Giamatti's character, he is so good - brilliant, in fact - that I got over my reservations and loved the film. He deserved the Golden Globe he won for best actor (comedy/musical) and should have gotten a Oscar nom for best actor as well. His performance will remain in my memory bank a helluva lot longer than Jeff Bridges' in TRUE GRIT (alright, alright, so I didn't see Bridges' film but I saw the trailer).
Although BARNEY'S VERSION was released last year, I didn't see it until last week so it will go on my 2011 top films list when I compile it next January along with the Spanish language film I just saw, EVEN THE RAIN.
So please accept my apologies for leading you astray by suggesting THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and BARNEY'S VERSION aren't worth viewing. I was dead wrong.
Have a nice day.
I also mentioned that David Denby in The New Yorker didn't care for it and called it a 'downer'.
Well, I saw it and Denby is wrong. With terrific performances by Matt Damon and Emily Blount who have great chemistry between them and a terrific supporting cast led by Terrence Stamp, the film is both suspenseful and romantic. It was the perfect film to see on a wet and dreary day in DC town and I recommend it to one and all.
I also mentioned another film (still playing first run), BARNEY'S VERSION, and said I just couldn't get it up to see it, primarily because Paul Giamatti was playing a romantic lead. Well, although I did have a slight problem accepting the scenario that 3 beautiful women would fall in love with Giamatti's character, he is so good - brilliant, in fact - that I got over my reservations and loved the film. He deserved the Golden Globe he won for best actor (comedy/musical) and should have gotten a Oscar nom for best actor as well. His performance will remain in my memory bank a helluva lot longer than Jeff Bridges' in TRUE GRIT (alright, alright, so I didn't see Bridges' film but I saw the trailer).
Although BARNEY'S VERSION was released last year, I didn't see it until last week so it will go on my 2011 top films list when I compile it next January along with the Spanish language film I just saw, EVEN THE RAIN.
So please accept my apologies for leading you astray by suggesting THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and BARNEY'S VERSION aren't worth viewing. I was dead wrong.
Have a nice day.
Friday, March 4, 2011
POST OSCARS AND THIS 'N' THAT
A FEW SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE OSCARS
______________________________________________________
1. BRING BACK BILLY CRYSTAL AS MASTER OF CEREMONIES
The Oscars' show hasn't been funny since Billy Crystal was M.C. James Russo and Anne Hathaway are nice to look at but they're not funny, period. Last year Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin had a moment or two, but the rest of the time...they weren't funny, period. Demographics be damned, ratings for the Oscars are dependent on the popularity of the movies and actors nominated. None of the actors nominated this year were marquee names.
And the most popular movie of the year (at the box office) was a family oriented film, TOY STORY 3, and most of audience who may have been rooting for it to take home the Oscar for best film had gone to sleep long before that Oscar was announced. Kids would have to wait unil morning recess to find out if their favorite pic won.
2. RETURN TO HAVING ONLY 5 FILMS UP FOR BEST PICTURE
10 nominated films? Bad idea. Stupid. Whoever came up with it should have his Academy membership cancelled and be forced to sit thru THE BLIND SIDE at least half a dozen times without any intermission.
If you have to have a category with more than 5 films nominated, how 'bout best foreign film and/or best documentary. I can think of at least 3 other foreign films that were worthy of 'best' nominations and several documentaries (think JOAN RIVERS: A WORK OF ART) that missed being on the short list.
3. GIVE OUT THE OSCARS FOR ALL MINOR CATEGORIES BEFORE THE TELECAST AND HAVE ONE PRESENTER ANNOUNCE (QUICKLY) THE WINNERS DURING THE TELECAST.
THESE WOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: COSTUME DESIGN, DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT; MAKE-UP, ORIGINAL SONG, LIVE ACTION SHORT, SOUND EDITING, SOUND MIXING AND VISUAL EFFECTS. THIS WOULD LEAVE 15 OSCARS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE ACTUAL TELECAST AND REDUCE THE LENGTH F THE SHOW BY AT LEAST ONE HOUR.
4. HAVE ONE BIG MUSICAL PRODUCTION NUMBER WITH DRAG QUEENS IMPERSONATING BIGGER THAN LIFE STARS LIKE BETTE DAVIS, JOAN CRAWFORD, SUSAN HAYWARD, JUDY GARLAND, GLORIA SWANSON, GRETA GARBO, VIVIEN LEIGH,
ELIZABETH TAYLOR (I know, I know...she's still alive). YOU GET MY DRIFT.
and
5. MOVE UP THE DATE OF THE OSCAR TELECAST TO MID-JANUARY SO THEY CAN COMPLETE WITH OTHER AWARD SHOWS LIKE THE GOLDEN GLOBES, SAG AND OTHER GUILDS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY. LET ACADEMY MEMBERS VOTE ONLINE SOON AFTER THE NOMINATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED NO LATER THAN JANUARY 15. BY THE TIME THE OSCARS ARE GIVEN OUT (late Feb), EVERY OTHER AWARDS SHOW HAS BEEN TELECAST MAKING THE OSCARS ANTICLIMATIC AND WORST, PREDICTABLE AND BORING.
OTHER THINGS ON MY MIND
____________________________
1. GET FUCKING CHARLIE SHEEN OUT OF MY FACE. I CANT TURN ON MY TV WITHOUT SEEING THIS JERK ON EVERY MAJOR NETWORK'S MORNING, AFTERNOON AND EVENING NEWS BROADCASTS, NOT TO MENTION THE LIKES OF ET, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, 20/20 AND DATELINE NBC. IN 9 SEASONS OF HIS LAME SITCOM, I HAVE SEEN MAYBE A TOTAL OF 10 MINUTES. AND WHAT LITTLE I SAW WASN'T THE SLIGHTEST BIT FUNNY. JON PRYOR LOOKS PUFFY AND DEPRESSED AND WHO IS THAT LITTLE FAT FUCK OF A KID PLAYING THEIR NEPHEW? THE NATIONAL MEDIA SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR GIVING SHEEN SO MUCH OF A PLATFORM AND THE VIEWING PUBLIC SHOULD BE CHASTISED FOR WATCHING HIM. JESUS. ENOUGH ALREADY.
2. GET THAT FUCKING HYPOCRITE NEWT GINGRICH OUT OF MY FACE. THIS IS THE SAME MAN WHO WHILE LEADING THE CHARGE TO IMPEACH BILL CLINTON FOR GETTING BLOWN IN THE PRIVACY OF HIS OFFICE, WAS, IN FACT, HAVING AN ILLICIT AFFAIR WHILE MARRIED TO HIS SECOND WIFE. HE DIVORCED HIS FIRST WIFE WHILE SHE WAS RECOVERING FROM CANCER SURGERY AND VISITED HER IN THE HOSPITAL TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF THEIR DIVORCE. GINGRICH SUBSEQUENTLY CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM AFTER MARRYING HIS 3RD WIFE.
3. EXPLAIN TO ALL THOSE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN WHO VOTED TO ELIMINATE FUNDS FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD THAT BY DOING SO, THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE AS A RESULT. TRY AND REASON WITH THEM AND WHEN THAT FAILS, SHOUT AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS, "GO FUCK YOURSELVES INTO OBLIVION".
HAVE A NICE DAY
______________________________________________________
1. BRING BACK BILLY CRYSTAL AS MASTER OF CEREMONIES
The Oscars' show hasn't been funny since Billy Crystal was M.C. James Russo and Anne Hathaway are nice to look at but they're not funny, period. Last year Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin had a moment or two, but the rest of the time...they weren't funny, period. Demographics be damned, ratings for the Oscars are dependent on the popularity of the movies and actors nominated. None of the actors nominated this year were marquee names.
And the most popular movie of the year (at the box office) was a family oriented film, TOY STORY 3, and most of audience who may have been rooting for it to take home the Oscar for best film had gone to sleep long before that Oscar was announced. Kids would have to wait unil morning recess to find out if their favorite pic won.
2. RETURN TO HAVING ONLY 5 FILMS UP FOR BEST PICTURE
10 nominated films? Bad idea. Stupid. Whoever came up with it should have his Academy membership cancelled and be forced to sit thru THE BLIND SIDE at least half a dozen times without any intermission.
If you have to have a category with more than 5 films nominated, how 'bout best foreign film and/or best documentary. I can think of at least 3 other foreign films that were worthy of 'best' nominations and several documentaries (think JOAN RIVERS: A WORK OF ART) that missed being on the short list.
3. GIVE OUT THE OSCARS FOR ALL MINOR CATEGORIES BEFORE THE TELECAST AND HAVE ONE PRESENTER ANNOUNCE (QUICKLY) THE WINNERS DURING THE TELECAST.
THESE WOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: COSTUME DESIGN, DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT; MAKE-UP, ORIGINAL SONG, LIVE ACTION SHORT, SOUND EDITING, SOUND MIXING AND VISUAL EFFECTS. THIS WOULD LEAVE 15 OSCARS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE ACTUAL TELECAST AND REDUCE THE LENGTH F THE SHOW BY AT LEAST ONE HOUR.
4. HAVE ONE BIG MUSICAL PRODUCTION NUMBER WITH DRAG QUEENS IMPERSONATING BIGGER THAN LIFE STARS LIKE BETTE DAVIS, JOAN CRAWFORD, SUSAN HAYWARD, JUDY GARLAND, GLORIA SWANSON, GRETA GARBO, VIVIEN LEIGH,
ELIZABETH TAYLOR (I know, I know...she's still alive). YOU GET MY DRIFT.
and
5. MOVE UP THE DATE OF THE OSCAR TELECAST TO MID-JANUARY SO THEY CAN COMPLETE WITH OTHER AWARD SHOWS LIKE THE GOLDEN GLOBES, SAG AND OTHER GUILDS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY. LET ACADEMY MEMBERS VOTE ONLINE SOON AFTER THE NOMINATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED NO LATER THAN JANUARY 15. BY THE TIME THE OSCARS ARE GIVEN OUT (late Feb), EVERY OTHER AWARDS SHOW HAS BEEN TELECAST MAKING THE OSCARS ANTICLIMATIC AND WORST, PREDICTABLE AND BORING.
OTHER THINGS ON MY MIND
____________________________
1. GET FUCKING CHARLIE SHEEN OUT OF MY FACE. I CANT TURN ON MY TV WITHOUT SEEING THIS JERK ON EVERY MAJOR NETWORK'S MORNING, AFTERNOON AND EVENING NEWS BROADCASTS, NOT TO MENTION THE LIKES OF ET, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, 20/20 AND DATELINE NBC. IN 9 SEASONS OF HIS LAME SITCOM, I HAVE SEEN MAYBE A TOTAL OF 10 MINUTES. AND WHAT LITTLE I SAW WASN'T THE SLIGHTEST BIT FUNNY. JON PRYOR LOOKS PUFFY AND DEPRESSED AND WHO IS THAT LITTLE FAT FUCK OF A KID PLAYING THEIR NEPHEW? THE NATIONAL MEDIA SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR GIVING SHEEN SO MUCH OF A PLATFORM AND THE VIEWING PUBLIC SHOULD BE CHASTISED FOR WATCHING HIM. JESUS. ENOUGH ALREADY.
2. GET THAT FUCKING HYPOCRITE NEWT GINGRICH OUT OF MY FACE. THIS IS THE SAME MAN WHO WHILE LEADING THE CHARGE TO IMPEACH BILL CLINTON FOR GETTING BLOWN IN THE PRIVACY OF HIS OFFICE, WAS, IN FACT, HAVING AN ILLICIT AFFAIR WHILE MARRIED TO HIS SECOND WIFE. HE DIVORCED HIS FIRST WIFE WHILE SHE WAS RECOVERING FROM CANCER SURGERY AND VISITED HER IN THE HOSPITAL TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF THEIR DIVORCE. GINGRICH SUBSEQUENTLY CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM AFTER MARRYING HIS 3RD WIFE.
3. EXPLAIN TO ALL THOSE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN WHO VOTED TO ELIMINATE FUNDS FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD THAT BY DOING SO, THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE AS A RESULT. TRY AND REASON WITH THEM AND WHEN THAT FAILS, SHOUT AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS, "GO FUCK YOURSELVES INTO OBLIVION".
HAVE A NICE DAY
ANOTHER FRIDAY OPENING...AND NOT A FILM TO SEE
Another slate of new films opening today and not a single one holds any interest that would compel me to race out my front door and bike to my nearest multiplex and throw down $9 (senior citizen rates, thank you very much) to see one.
Starting with RANGO, starring the 'voice' of Johnny Depp, in yet another new animated film, this one about a chameleon who has to fend for himself in the Mojave desert and finds himself in a old west town called 'Dirt' inhabited by various desert creatures and becomes a sheriff/hero a la 'High Noon'. Westerns have never been a favorite genre of mine and making one in an animated film interests me even less. I lost that child like wonder for animation when I crossed the half century mark in years. Sorry.
Another new film opening today is THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU which (apparently) has been sitting on the shelf for some time now. Beware ye of movies collecting dust while waiting for a distributor or better time slot in which to open. Still, the Washington Post gave it 3-1/2 stars out of 4, a rarity indeed and headlined "When 'Blade Runner' Meets Alfred Hitchcock". The desk editor who dreamed up this cap might be accused of overstatement and Ms. Ann Hornaday who wrote the review probably cringed when she saw it. I presume David Denby of The New Yorker saw the same cut. He called the film, "flimsy" and in the end, "a downer". Never a big fan of the writer, Philip K. Dick, who wrote the story that the fiilm is adapted from, I think I'll pass.
Moving right along, we have TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT, which according to reviews, is a throwback to 80s nostalgia. I don't recall having recently experienced any feelings of nostalgia for this decade so I will refrain from throwing down $9 (remember, senior citizen rates) to see this piece of shit. Furthermore, I refuse to see any film starring an actor with the name of Topher Grace.
Just what kind of name is TOPHER??? Not tonight...or any other night.
For foreign film fans (moi), there is A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN. I do prefer original language with English subtitles though I must admit a certain aversion to all of the Scandanavian languages...they just sound so weird. Just try watching any Bergman film, great as they are, and keep a straight face. This new film from Norway is about a recently paroled career criminal with a paunchy belly and receding hairline and ponytail who apparently gets more pussy than Brad Pitt ever did in his early films. Being gay, I think I'll pass on this one.
Back to English language films, there's THE GRACE CARD which sports an evangelical message and has been called by at least one critic as "inspirational" and "uplifting". That's enough to scare this agnostic off. But if you're a believer, be my guest.
Last, but certainly not least, is the new documentary, THE LAST LIONS. I remember fondly all of the Disney documentaries from the 50s about the wilds of Africa, lions and tigers and bears (oh my), The Living Desert, etc., but having just watched on cable tv a National Geographic doc about lions and tigers and leopards and how they care for their cubs, I cant imagine what this new film has to offer that I haven't seen before.
Still in release is BARNEY'S VERSION, starring one of my fav actors, Paul Giamatti, but I just cant seem to get it up to pluck down $9 to see it. There's also CEDAR RAPIDS that the NY Times' A.O. Scott (just what does A.O. stand for?) called "a tender and raunchy comedy of self discovery." Tender and raunchy? Spare me.
I'd go see KABOOM by gay filmmaker Greg Araki, but if I want to see some erotic foreplay on screen, I can always throw one of my porn flicks in the DVD player and...(OMG TMI).
Fret not. There's still a few more days of 31 DAYS OF OSCAR left on TCM.
And there's always next Friday.
Starting with RANGO, starring the 'voice' of Johnny Depp, in yet another new animated film, this one about a chameleon who has to fend for himself in the Mojave desert and finds himself in a old west town called 'Dirt' inhabited by various desert creatures and becomes a sheriff/hero a la 'High Noon'. Westerns have never been a favorite genre of mine and making one in an animated film interests me even less. I lost that child like wonder for animation when I crossed the half century mark in years. Sorry.
Another new film opening today is THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU which (apparently) has been sitting on the shelf for some time now. Beware ye of movies collecting dust while waiting for a distributor or better time slot in which to open. Still, the Washington Post gave it 3-1/2 stars out of 4, a rarity indeed and headlined "When 'Blade Runner' Meets Alfred Hitchcock". The desk editor who dreamed up this cap might be accused of overstatement and Ms. Ann Hornaday who wrote the review probably cringed when she saw it. I presume David Denby of The New Yorker saw the same cut. He called the film, "flimsy" and in the end, "a downer". Never a big fan of the writer, Philip K. Dick, who wrote the story that the fiilm is adapted from, I think I'll pass.
Moving right along, we have TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT, which according to reviews, is a throwback to 80s nostalgia. I don't recall having recently experienced any feelings of nostalgia for this decade so I will refrain from throwing down $9 (remember, senior citizen rates) to see this piece of shit. Furthermore, I refuse to see any film starring an actor with the name of Topher Grace.
Just what kind of name is TOPHER??? Not tonight...or any other night.
For foreign film fans (moi), there is A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN. I do prefer original language with English subtitles though I must admit a certain aversion to all of the Scandanavian languages...they just sound so weird. Just try watching any Bergman film, great as they are, and keep a straight face. This new film from Norway is about a recently paroled career criminal with a paunchy belly and receding hairline and ponytail who apparently gets more pussy than Brad Pitt ever did in his early films. Being gay, I think I'll pass on this one.
Back to English language films, there's THE GRACE CARD which sports an evangelical message and has been called by at least one critic as "inspirational" and "uplifting". That's enough to scare this agnostic off. But if you're a believer, be my guest.
Last, but certainly not least, is the new documentary, THE LAST LIONS. I remember fondly all of the Disney documentaries from the 50s about the wilds of Africa, lions and tigers and bears (oh my), The Living Desert, etc., but having just watched on cable tv a National Geographic doc about lions and tigers and leopards and how they care for their cubs, I cant imagine what this new film has to offer that I haven't seen before.
Still in release is BARNEY'S VERSION, starring one of my fav actors, Paul Giamatti, but I just cant seem to get it up to pluck down $9 to see it. There's also CEDAR RAPIDS that the NY Times' A.O. Scott (just what does A.O. stand for?) called "a tender and raunchy comedy of self discovery." Tender and raunchy? Spare me.
I'd go see KABOOM by gay filmmaker Greg Araki, but if I want to see some erotic foreplay on screen, I can always throw one of my porn flicks in the DVD player and...(OMG TMI).
Fret not. There's still a few more days of 31 DAYS OF OSCAR left on TCM.
And there's always next Friday.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
6 NEAT THINGS ABOUT LAST NIGHT'S INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
As boring as they were, last night's Independent Spirit Awards did have 6 neat things, including:
1. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE CHRISTIAN BALE ON THE STAGE WITH THE JERK HE PORTRAYED IN THE FIGHTER;
2. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE THAT FAT FUCK (thank you, Sheridan) SCOTT RUDIN ON THE STAGE ACCEPTING AN AWARD FOR THE SOCIAL NETWORK WHICH WAS INELIGIBLE FOR SPIRIT AWARDS BECAUSE IT WAS FINANCED AND RELEASED BY A MAJOR STUDIO;
3. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE COLIN FIRTH GIVE YET ANOTHER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN THE KING'S SPEECH SINCE THE FILM WAS ONLY NOMINATED IN THE BEST FOREIGN FILM CATEGORY (I kid you not). GRANTED, FIRTH IS A CHARMER, A WONDERFUL ACTOR AND HE WILL GIVE WHAT I AM SURE WILL BE A VERY HEARTFELT AND TERRIBLY TASTEFUL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT TONIGHT'S OSCARS CEREMONY, BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, DONT YA THINK?
4. WE GOT TO SEE 2 ACTORS, BOTH FROM THAT TERRIFIC FILM, WINTER'S BONE, WHO ARE NOT AT ALL WELL KNOWN (and who appear to be descendents of hillbillies in Kentucky), ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THEIR PERFORMANCES WITH SPIRIT AWARDS AND GIVE HEARTFELT ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES WITHOUT THE USE OF WRITTEN NOTES;
5. BECAUSE SONGS ARE NOT ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE SPIRIT AWARDS, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO ANY OF THE GOD AWFUL OSCAR NOMINATED SONGS WHICH MERCIFULLY I BELIEVE ONLY TOTAL 3 NOW; AND
6. NATALIE PORTMAN, IN ACCEPTING HER SPIRIT AWARD FOR HER PERFORMANCE IN BLACK SWAN, FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT AND MADE A VERY HEARTFELT AND SWEET SPEECH AND SPARED US THE MENTION OF HER HUSBAND AND HIS (presumably) MOY GRANDE PENGIS.
NOW BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE OSCARS TONIGHT. SHORT OF JAMES FRANCO PULLING OUT HIS PECKER AND JERKING OFF, I CANT IMAGINE ANYTHING EXCITING OR UNEXPECTED TO OCCUR.
BUT YOU NEVER KNOW, RIGHT?
1. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE CHRISTIAN BALE ON THE STAGE WITH THE JERK HE PORTRAYED IN THE FIGHTER;
2. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE THAT FAT FUCK (thank you, Sheridan) SCOTT RUDIN ON THE STAGE ACCEPTING AN AWARD FOR THE SOCIAL NETWORK WHICH WAS INELIGIBLE FOR SPIRIT AWARDS BECAUSE IT WAS FINANCED AND RELEASED BY A MAJOR STUDIO;
3. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE COLIN FIRTH GIVE YET ANOTHER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN THE KING'S SPEECH SINCE THE FILM WAS ONLY NOMINATED IN THE BEST FOREIGN FILM CATEGORY (I kid you not). GRANTED, FIRTH IS A CHARMER, A WONDERFUL ACTOR AND HE WILL GIVE WHAT I AM SURE WILL BE A VERY HEARTFELT AND TERRIBLY TASTEFUL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT TONIGHT'S OSCARS CEREMONY, BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, DONT YA THINK?
4. WE GOT TO SEE 2 ACTORS, BOTH FROM THAT TERRIFIC FILM, WINTER'S BONE, WHO ARE NOT AT ALL WELL KNOWN (and who appear to be descendents of hillbillies in Kentucky), ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THEIR PERFORMANCES WITH SPIRIT AWARDS AND GIVE HEARTFELT ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES WITHOUT THE USE OF WRITTEN NOTES;
5. BECAUSE SONGS ARE NOT ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE SPIRIT AWARDS, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO ANY OF THE GOD AWFUL OSCAR NOMINATED SONGS WHICH MERCIFULLY I BELIEVE ONLY TOTAL 3 NOW; AND
6. NATALIE PORTMAN, IN ACCEPTING HER SPIRIT AWARD FOR HER PERFORMANCE IN BLACK SWAN, FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT AND MADE A VERY HEARTFELT AND SWEET SPEECH AND SPARED US THE MENTION OF HER HUSBAND AND HIS (presumably) MOY GRANDE PENGIS.
NOW BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE OSCARS TONIGHT. SHORT OF JAMES FRANCO PULLING OUT HIS PECKER AND JERKING OFF, I CANT IMAGINE ANYTHING EXCITING OR UNEXPECTED TO OCCUR.
BUT YOU NEVER KNOW, RIGHT?
Friday, February 18, 2011
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...
Hollywood's big night is just around the corner and it will be the culmination of an unbelievably long season of awards shows beginning in December with the Critics Choice awards, moving into January with the Golden Globes and then the SAG awards, not to mention the various guilds (producers, directors, screenwriters) that also give out statutes of various sizes to the best in their crafts.
There are so many that the Academy Awards have become anticlimatic despite their being the most anticipated awards show of the year. At least they used to be.
When I was a kid growing up in the 50s, I would circle the date on which the Academy Awards were held (usually in mid or late March) and count down the days until the big night. My mother, who was as big a fan of movies as myself, would let me stay up late on Oscar night. I couldn't contain my excitement and I would write down all the nominations and check the ones I thought would win. Silly me. Even at a young age I thought the Oscars were given out for artistic achievement and were not a popularity contest. Little did I know that in many instances the major studios dictated who would win Oscars with their expensive advertising and publicity campaigns.
For many years employees at the various studios were were voting members of the Academy were urged to vote for the nominees from their respective studios.
But Oscar night was the most exciting night of the year for me. It was the one time that I got to see many of the giants in the motion picture industry.
In 1953, for example, I got to see Audrey Hepburn take the Oscar for her enchanting performance in ROMAN HOLIDAY. She won out over Leslie Caron (one of my favorite actresses, for LILI), Ava Gardner for MOGAMBO and Deborah Kerr for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. I saw William Holden take the Oscar for STALAG 17 over Marlon Brando (JULIUS CAESAR), Richard Burton (THE ROBE), Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY). And I got to see Frank Sinatra accept his Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. It was this film that rescued
Sinatra from near obscurity as an actor.
My point is Oscar night was memorable because you got to see many of the bigger than life movie stars that you never saw any other time except on the screen at your neighborhood theatre.
This was long before they began to appear regularly on late night talk shows and wherever else they could to publicize their upcoming releases.
Two years later (1955), I got to see Anna Magnani upset Susan Hayward (I'LL CRY TOMORROW) for her role in THE ROSE TATTOO. Also nominated for best actress that year and at the Oscars were Jennifer Jones (LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING) and Eleanor Parker (INTERRUPTED MELODY). Katherine Hepburn, as usual, did not attend as was her habit. She was nominated for SUMMERTIME.
That same year I saw ERNEST BORGNINE accept his best actor oscar for MARTY, beating out James Cagney (LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME), James Dean (EAST OF EDEN), Frank Sinatra (THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM) and Spencer Tracy (BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK).
A small budget film, MARTY, in black and white no less, won best pic honors over big studio films like LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING (Fox), MISTER ROBERTS (Warner Bros) and PICNIC (Columbia).
For some unexplicable reason, Doris Day was looked over for her performance in LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. Go figure.
I could go on and on and on about all the greats that I got to see that one night of the year during the Oscar telecast. Names like Susan Hayward, who finally got her Oscar in 1958 for I WANT TO LIVE, beating out icons like Deborah Kerr, Shirley MacLaine, Rosalind Russell for her wonderful performance in AUNTIE MAME and Elizabeth Taylor for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.
I'll never forget the 1959 Oscars when my idol, Audrey Hepburn,( who was nominated for her performance in one of my all time films, THE NUN'S STORY), was upset by Simone Signoret for ROOM AT THE TOP. I was a senior in high school that year and I cried when they announced Signoret's name. I jumped up and down screaming, "Audrey Hepburn deserved the Oscar. She was robbed. I hate the Academy members whoever they are."
But thru it all, I look back upon those years of viewing the Oscars when I was a teen as truly exciting experiences, a night when I got to see all the stars who thrilled me every week when I went to the movies.
Joan Crawford. Bette Davis. Jimmy Stewart. Charlton Heston. Vivien Leigh. Shelly Winters.
Grace Kelly. Cary Grant. Etc., Etc., Etc.
Fast forward to the present and what you see on Oscar night are actors/actresses who have (for the most part) appeared on every late night variety show pitching their latest film and winners who have already received awards and offered mostly forgettable acceptance speeches at award broadcasts in December and January.
By the time the Academy Awards roll around, it's deja vue and NOT HIM/HER AGAIN.
There's little excitement, not a whole lot of glamour and very little humor and surprises.
I will always carry with me the memory of watching all those wonderful Oscar telecasts back in the 50s and even into the 60s but by the time I moved to LA and began working at Paramount Pictures I had no delusions about the Oscars.
They are more a popularity contest than anything else, at least in the acting categories (see last year's winner, Sandra Bullock) and if any real artistic achievement is acknowledged on Oscar night, it's more a fluke than anything else.
The glamour of yesteryear is long gone and all that's left is hoping there will be a few 'moments' during the long, mostly boring 3-1/2 hour telecast. For me, the last year there were any real surprises and excitement was 2002 when Adrien Brody took the best actor oscar (THE PIANIST), upsetting favorites Jack Nicholson (ABOUT SCHMIDT) and Daniel Day-Lewis (GANGS OF NEW YORK and Roman Polanski won the Oscar for best director (THE PIANIST).
AND THE WINNERS THIS YEAR ARE:
BEST PICTURE - THE KING'S SPEECH (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST ACTOR - COLIN FIRTH (My Choice: JAVIER BARHAM
BEST ACTRESS - NATALIE PORTMAN (My Choice: NATALIE PORTMAN
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTOR - CHRISTIAN BALE (My Choice: Anyone but Bale cause I'm
sick of seeing his face)
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTRESS - MELISSA LEO (My Choice: Melissa Leo
BEST DIRECTOR - TOM HOOPER (My Choice: David Fincher
BEST ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY - DAVID SEIDLER (My Choice: Christopher Nolan for
INCEPTION
BEST ADAPTED
SCREENPLAY - AARON SORKIN (My Choice: Aaron Sorkin
BEST EDITING - THE SOCIAL NETWORK (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
THE KING'S SPEECH
BEST ART DIRECTION - ALICE IN (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
WONDERLAND
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - THE KING'S SPEECH (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST COSTUME
DESIGN - ALICE IN WONDERLAND (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
BEST MAKE-UP - THE WOLFMAN (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
BEST FOREIGN FILM -IN A BETTER WORLD (My Choice: BIUTIFUL cause I've seen it)
BEST SOUND EDITING - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION
BEST DOCUMENTARY - INSIDE JOB (My Choice: INSIDE JOB
BEST ANIMATED FILM - TOY STORY 3 (My Choice: TOY STORY 3)
BEST SOUND EDITING - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT,
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM AND
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - U R on your own
There are so many that the Academy Awards have become anticlimatic despite their being the most anticipated awards show of the year. At least they used to be.
When I was a kid growing up in the 50s, I would circle the date on which the Academy Awards were held (usually in mid or late March) and count down the days until the big night. My mother, who was as big a fan of movies as myself, would let me stay up late on Oscar night. I couldn't contain my excitement and I would write down all the nominations and check the ones I thought would win. Silly me. Even at a young age I thought the Oscars were given out for artistic achievement and were not a popularity contest. Little did I know that in many instances the major studios dictated who would win Oscars with their expensive advertising and publicity campaigns.
For many years employees at the various studios were were voting members of the Academy were urged to vote for the nominees from their respective studios.
But Oscar night was the most exciting night of the year for me. It was the one time that I got to see many of the giants in the motion picture industry.
In 1953, for example, I got to see Audrey Hepburn take the Oscar for her enchanting performance in ROMAN HOLIDAY. She won out over Leslie Caron (one of my favorite actresses, for LILI), Ava Gardner for MOGAMBO and Deborah Kerr for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. I saw William Holden take the Oscar for STALAG 17 over Marlon Brando (JULIUS CAESAR), Richard Burton (THE ROBE), Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY). And I got to see Frank Sinatra accept his Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. It was this film that rescued
Sinatra from near obscurity as an actor.
My point is Oscar night was memorable because you got to see many of the bigger than life movie stars that you never saw any other time except on the screen at your neighborhood theatre.
This was long before they began to appear regularly on late night talk shows and wherever else they could to publicize their upcoming releases.
Two years later (1955), I got to see Anna Magnani upset Susan Hayward (I'LL CRY TOMORROW) for her role in THE ROSE TATTOO. Also nominated for best actress that year and at the Oscars were Jennifer Jones (LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING) and Eleanor Parker (INTERRUPTED MELODY). Katherine Hepburn, as usual, did not attend as was her habit. She was nominated for SUMMERTIME.
That same year I saw ERNEST BORGNINE accept his best actor oscar for MARTY, beating out James Cagney (LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME), James Dean (EAST OF EDEN), Frank Sinatra (THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM) and Spencer Tracy (BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK).
A small budget film, MARTY, in black and white no less, won best pic honors over big studio films like LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING (Fox), MISTER ROBERTS (Warner Bros) and PICNIC (Columbia).
For some unexplicable reason, Doris Day was looked over for her performance in LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. Go figure.
I could go on and on and on about all the greats that I got to see that one night of the year during the Oscar telecast. Names like Susan Hayward, who finally got her Oscar in 1958 for I WANT TO LIVE, beating out icons like Deborah Kerr, Shirley MacLaine, Rosalind Russell for her wonderful performance in AUNTIE MAME and Elizabeth Taylor for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.
I'll never forget the 1959 Oscars when my idol, Audrey Hepburn,( who was nominated for her performance in one of my all time films, THE NUN'S STORY), was upset by Simone Signoret for ROOM AT THE TOP. I was a senior in high school that year and I cried when they announced Signoret's name. I jumped up and down screaming, "Audrey Hepburn deserved the Oscar. She was robbed. I hate the Academy members whoever they are."
But thru it all, I look back upon those years of viewing the Oscars when I was a teen as truly exciting experiences, a night when I got to see all the stars who thrilled me every week when I went to the movies.
Joan Crawford. Bette Davis. Jimmy Stewart. Charlton Heston. Vivien Leigh. Shelly Winters.
Grace Kelly. Cary Grant. Etc., Etc., Etc.
Fast forward to the present and what you see on Oscar night are actors/actresses who have (for the most part) appeared on every late night variety show pitching their latest film and winners who have already received awards and offered mostly forgettable acceptance speeches at award broadcasts in December and January.
By the time the Academy Awards roll around, it's deja vue and NOT HIM/HER AGAIN.
There's little excitement, not a whole lot of glamour and very little humor and surprises.
I will always carry with me the memory of watching all those wonderful Oscar telecasts back in the 50s and even into the 60s but by the time I moved to LA and began working at Paramount Pictures I had no delusions about the Oscars.
They are more a popularity contest than anything else, at least in the acting categories (see last year's winner, Sandra Bullock) and if any real artistic achievement is acknowledged on Oscar night, it's more a fluke than anything else.
The glamour of yesteryear is long gone and all that's left is hoping there will be a few 'moments' during the long, mostly boring 3-1/2 hour telecast. For me, the last year there were any real surprises and excitement was 2002 when Adrien Brody took the best actor oscar (THE PIANIST), upsetting favorites Jack Nicholson (ABOUT SCHMIDT) and Daniel Day-Lewis (GANGS OF NEW YORK and Roman Polanski won the Oscar for best director (THE PIANIST).
AND THE WINNERS THIS YEAR ARE:
BEST PICTURE - THE KING'S SPEECH (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST ACTOR - COLIN FIRTH (My Choice: JAVIER BARHAM
BEST ACTRESS - NATALIE PORTMAN (My Choice: NATALIE PORTMAN
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTOR - CHRISTIAN BALE (My Choice: Anyone but Bale cause I'm
sick of seeing his face)
BEST SUPPORTING
ACTRESS - MELISSA LEO (My Choice: Melissa Leo
BEST DIRECTOR - TOM HOOPER (My Choice: David Fincher
BEST ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY - DAVID SEIDLER (My Choice: Christopher Nolan for
INCEPTION
BEST ADAPTED
SCREENPLAY - AARON SORKIN (My Choice: Aaron Sorkin
BEST EDITING - THE SOCIAL NETWORK (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
THE KING'S SPEECH
BEST ART DIRECTION - ALICE IN (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
WONDERLAND
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - THE KING'S SPEECH (My Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST COSTUME
DESIGN - ALICE IN WONDERLAND (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
BEST MAKE-UP - THE WOLFMAN (My Choice: Couldn't Care Less
BEST FOREIGN FILM -IN A BETTER WORLD (My Choice: BIUTIFUL cause I've seen it)
BEST SOUND EDITING - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION
BEST DOCUMENTARY - INSIDE JOB (My Choice: INSIDE JOB
BEST ANIMATED FILM - TOY STORY 3 (My Choice: TOY STORY 3)
BEST SOUND EDITING - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - INCEPTION (My Choice: INCEPTION)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT,
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM AND
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - U R on your own
Saturday, January 15, 2011
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THE INDEPENDENT FILM INDUSTRY?
Here it is, only mid-January, and I have seen 2 films that will make my top 10 list for 2011 in less than one week.
They are RABBIT HOLE and BLUE VALENTINE. I realize that both films were released in December in LA and NY to qualify for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards (the former being held on January 16 and the Oscars on February 27). But I didn't see them until they opened in Washington, DC last week and I had already made my top 10 films of 2010 list so I will have to wait until the end of 2011 and include these 2 fine films at that time.
RABBIT HOLE was adapted for film by David Lindsay-Abaire from his own play and what could have been simply depressing and sad is both funny and poignant thanks to the deft hand of director John Cameron Mitchell, who directed and starred in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Playing the grieving parents are Nicole Kidman (in her best performance to date) and Aaron Eckhart, who are trying, but not having much success, at getting over the loss of their young son (hit by a car while chasing after his dog) and getting on with their lives. Eckhart is also terrific and Dianne Wiest, as Kidman's mother, adds dimension and warmth as she always does in any film she appears in. Sandra Oh, as another grieving parent, is also a delight. This is a film that may break your heart but will enrich it at the same time. Its tears are well earned.
I saw BLUE VALENTINE at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Md. This magnificent deco palace built back in the 30s has been restored to its former glory and to view a film in this auditorium is a treat almost beyond description. Comfortable seats and a state of the arts sound system (THX). This is another film that could easily have been dismissed as derivative and oh so depressing, but, again, strong performances not only prevent a feeling of 'been there, done that' but make the story compelling and heartbreaking. The old 'boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl gets over boy and the two make each other miserable as the years goes by' scenario feels fresh here thanks to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, two of the best actors in film today. They are both appealing, easy on the eyes and in a word, brilliant. Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance
has taken a time worn theme and made it fresh, funny and riveting. Great acting from everyone including the little girl who plays their young daughter.
Make a point of seeing these 2 films. Make the effort to find a theatre where they are playing and go, go go. Or else we take the risk of seeing fewer and fewer of these kind of films made for our viewing pleasure.
They are RABBIT HOLE and BLUE VALENTINE. I realize that both films were released in December in LA and NY to qualify for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards (the former being held on January 16 and the Oscars on February 27). But I didn't see them until they opened in Washington, DC last week and I had already made my top 10 films of 2010 list so I will have to wait until the end of 2011 and include these 2 fine films at that time.
RABBIT HOLE was adapted for film by David Lindsay-Abaire from his own play and what could have been simply depressing and sad is both funny and poignant thanks to the deft hand of director John Cameron Mitchell, who directed and starred in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Playing the grieving parents are Nicole Kidman (in her best performance to date) and Aaron Eckhart, who are trying, but not having much success, at getting over the loss of their young son (hit by a car while chasing after his dog) and getting on with their lives. Eckhart is also terrific and Dianne Wiest, as Kidman's mother, adds dimension and warmth as she always does in any film she appears in. Sandra Oh, as another grieving parent, is also a delight. This is a film that may break your heart but will enrich it at the same time. Its tears are well earned.
I saw BLUE VALENTINE at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Md. This magnificent deco palace built back in the 30s has been restored to its former glory and to view a film in this auditorium is a treat almost beyond description. Comfortable seats and a state of the arts sound system (THX). This is another film that could easily have been dismissed as derivative and oh so depressing, but, again, strong performances not only prevent a feeling of 'been there, done that' but make the story compelling and heartbreaking. The old 'boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl gets over boy and the two make each other miserable as the years goes by' scenario feels fresh here thanks to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, two of the best actors in film today. They are both appealing, easy on the eyes and in a word, brilliant. Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance
has taken a time worn theme and made it fresh, funny and riveting. Great acting from everyone including the little girl who plays their young daughter.
Make a point of seeing these 2 films. Make the effort to find a theatre where they are playing and go, go go. Or else we take the risk of seeing fewer and fewer of these kind of films made for our viewing pleasure.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
AND (THE ONCE MEANINGLESS) GOLDEN GLOBE GOES TO...
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)