Volver and The Times of Harvey Milk

Volver (2006)
*Second Viewing


In terms of quality, I would place this about smackdab in the middle of Almdovar's body of work, which means it's pretty darn good. All About My Mother and Talk to Her are two of my all-time favorites, and Volver doesn't quite live up to them. Penelope Cruz is magnificent as an earthy, tough, working-class Spanish mother who takes things (from cleaning up bodies to starting her own restaurant) into her own hands. This movie is truly a celebration (like many of Almodovar's films) of the strength and resilence of women. It's impressive that Almodovar can create a movie that includes death, incest, and cancer and yet still seem very fun to watch.

Grade: B+

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

If you've seen Milk, this documentary doesn't add a whole lot of new information, although you will be impressed at how much Sean Penn, James Franco, and Josh Brolin look like their characters. The best parts were hearing from a few on Milk's political allies and seeing the actual footage. And, of course, Milk's story continues to be both tragic and inspiring.

Grade: B

Best Performances of 2008: The Leads

Now for my favorite lead roles of the year. These roles are on screen enough to make or break a movie. If they're bad, they can ruin an experience and, if they're good, it's much easier to overlook a movie's flaws. Here are the performances that made mediocre movies enjoyable, good movies more compelling, or were essential elements in great movies.

Actor

Colin Farrell, In Bruges: So beneath the bad-boy antics lies a great actor. This movie was fun if not spectacular, but Farrell had the best moments and owned his screentime in a hilarious yet somehow poignant performance. His two essential monologues (one where you find out his original crime, and his final monologue, are great.



Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road: Plays his tricky character with the right mix of charm, guilt, and lost dreams. Plays his entirely believable character arc very well. After The Aviator, The Departed, and this, can we finally call this former Tiger Beat cover model one of our most consistently good actors?

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor: Great to see this character actor (perhaps best known for his role on Six Feet Under) get to be the star of the show. He gives a beautiful performance as an emotionally closed economics professor opening himself to all kinds of life's pains and joys. Bonus points for 2008: very funny in Burn After Reading.



Sean Penn, Milk: Penn takes Harvey Milk and, without imitation or obvious stereotyping, makes a three-dimensional character out of him. There are many ways this performance could have gone wrong, but Penn does everything right. The best performance by one of my very favorite actors.

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler: Perfectly cast as a washed-up wrestler looking for redemption. A physically and emotionally demanding role. I'm not sure if this role will cause a resurgence in his career, or if this performance is a "one-trick pony" (like Randy the Ram), but nevertheless this performance will continue to be remembered and celebrated.

My favorite performance: Sean Penn
Runner-Up performance: Mickey Rourke

Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married: Gives a complex performance as the force of nature sister whose visit to her sister's wedding throws the family into turmoil. Hathaway never makes the cheap easy choices that would gain obvious sympathy points, yet by the end of the movie the audience cares more about Kym precisely because of her brokenness and complexity.

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky: Has the incredibly difficult role of playing a character who is not only the main character, but also a sort of living treatise of the movie's philosophy. Director Mike Leigh allows his actors to improvise much of their roles, and Hawkins does an astonishing job. Poppy, the irrepressibly happy elementary school teacher, is one of the most memorable characters of recent years.



Melissa Leo, Frozen River: I was no superfan of this fairly predictable indie movie, but Leo captured my attention every second she was on screen. A powerhouse as a tough as nails working-class mom willing to fight for her piece of the pie.

Meryl Streep, Doubt: While at times her performance as Sister Aloysisus threatened to descend into caricature (and, OK, maybe the ending did), Streep expertly fleshes out her character to provide both humor and real emotion. Another great performance by (in my mind) one of the two greatest modern actresses. The other one being....

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road: To my mind, Winslet's performance here was a touch more accomplished than her excellent award-winning role in The Reader. I would have put both in my top 5, but I decided to limit myself to one appearance per actor. Watching Winslet as April Wheeler is spellbinding. There's not a moment where Winslet is not truly living the dark emotions of her character.

My favorite performance: Sally Hawkins
Runner-Up: Kate Winslet

Best Performances of 2008: Supporting Actor and Actress

As a follow-up to my Top 10 of 2008, here are my favorite performances of the year, or the performances I would have nominated for Oscars. I find supporting performances fascinating. At their best, they make me want to watch a new movie with them as a protagonist. These are the performances where they light up the screen each time they are on and elevate the movie to another level (Heath Ledger, Viola Davis). Other supporting performances are great because they play a perfect role in a great ensemble (Eddie Marsan, Rosemarie Dewitt). However their roles play in their movies, here are 10 supporting performances I found compelling.....

Supporting Actor:

Josh Brolin, Milk: Takes the villainous role of Dan White, which could be played as a cliched bigot, and turns it into a fascinating character study. Lets you see the internal struggles he goes through which leads him to his ultimate act.

Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married: Probably the most sympathetic role in the movie, the father trying to hold his family together. Natural, endearing, and responsive to the actors around him. I wasn't familiar with Irwin before this movie, but I hope he gets more roles after this movie.

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight: While I found The Dark Knight entertaining but slightly overhyped, there's no denying that Ledger's swansong is the most fascinating part of the movie. Finds the uneasy evil place inside his character and puts past superhero villains to shame. I wonder if Jack Nicholson feels angry?

Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky: If Ledger is the evil side to Batman, Eddie Marsan's driving instructor is the negative worldview in opposition to Sally Hawkins' Poppy. He expertly goes head-to-head with Hawkins' performance and is one-half of what feels like the emotional and intellectual core of the movie.

Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading: As a dim-witted gym instructor, Pitt manages to stand out in a cast that includes Frances McDormand, George Clooney, and John Malkovich. Made me laugh every moment he was on screen.



My favorite: Bill Irwin
Runner-Up: Josh Brolin

Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona: The Oscar-winning performance was terrific. Brings a huge dose of European humor and energy to Woody Allen's movie when she enters halfway through.

Viola Davis, Doubt: A performance that truly elevates the movie. In a few short minutes, Davis' turn as the mother of a possibly abused student adds countless layers of intellectual and emotional complexity to a movie that, before, risked being a "did-he-or-didn't-he" style mystery. Astounding.

Rosemarie Dewitt, Rachel Getting Married: As the title character, Dewitt does a beautiful job playing the counterpoint to Anne Hathaway's performance as drug addict Kym. The two do a beautiful job of showing the good and bad qualities of both sisters, so that as an audience our sympathies switch depending on the scene.

Hannah Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven: A beautifully understated performance of a somewhat distant mother who must deal with real emotions after a tragic event.

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler: Tomei takes a somewhat underwritten "stripper with a heart of gold" role and takes it new places. Moments that would seem cliched in the hands of other actresses feel emotionally truthful and beautiful.



My favorite: Viola Davis
Runner-Up: Penelope Cruz

Some reviews from my vacation....

I've had a string of visitors and have then been out of town, so I haven't been able to blog for awhile! On my vacation, I did manage to see two movies on DVD and one in the theater. Here are my reviews.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

I had seen this movie a bit after it came out, and I found that it lived up to my memories of its quality. Ian Holm (many roles, including Bilbo Baggins in TLOTR) plays a lawyer who comes to a small Canadian town to try to start a lawsuit with the families of children who died in a bus crash. Holm is excellent at portraying a man with complicated motives, including his guilt over his own drug-addicted daughter. While dramatically wrenching events occur (including the bus crash), the movie is structured and told in an understated way. The movie is pitched somewhere between the head and the heart, and it ends up affecting both. The most exciting thing about the movie's writing and direction (which both earned Oscar noms in '97) is its structure. The story flips back between three main times, before the crash, the weeks following the crash, and a couple of years later. It also includes one more flashback to many years earlier that I think is the emotional center of the film. Definitely a standout of the later 1990s.

Grade: A-

I Love You, Man (2009)

The most Judd Apatow movie not made by Judd Apatow. Pretty close in tone to Knocked Up and The-40-Year-Old Virgin, it doesn't quite measure up to those films, but still an enjoyable time if you go in for the usual mix of profane material mixed in with honest sentiment. Paul Rudd does a terrific job as Peter, a "nice guy" who is getting married and needs to find a best man. After a series of bad man-dates, he meets Sydney, played very funnily by Jason Segel. Their relationship follows many traditional routes of romantic comedy, with the catch that it's really friendship romantic comedy (despite Rudd's upcoming wedding his relationship with his fiancee is really background). Has some truly funny moments, but does peter out a bit at the end. Nevertheless, Rudd and Segel's interplay is worth the price of admission.

Grade: B

Twilight (2008)

I watched this one not entirely by choice, and I wouldn't choose to watch it again. While I had heard the hype, this was really my first full exposure to the Twilight franchise and I can't say it excited me. Brooding teen romance, crappy special effects, and a plot that seemed simultaneously rushed and a little bit boring. Some of the early scenes, where Bella and Edward meet, do have a kitschy appeal, but by the end I was mostly just bored. I'll take Harry Potter and his pals any day of the week.

Grade: C-

It's March 2009..... Time for "Best of 2008"

OK, so I know that it is several months past the end of '08, but I think I am ready to complete my "Top 10 of 2008" list. Because of the late-year Oscar glut, it took me awhile to catch up with movies I would like to see.

These are my (very) personal opinions of what I found most interesting, enjoyable, well-made of 2008's films. Please feel free to comment or argue with my picks! I'm also the kind of person that tends to go back to movies and find very different things (both positive and negative), so I see my top 10 list as a living list that may change.

A few critically-acclaimed films I have not yet seen (and thus, have no chance of making this list):
Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Synecdoche NY, Wendy & Lucy, Waltz with Bashir, Gran Torino.

Runners Up (movies that I felt pained to leave out):

Happy-Go-Lucky: Sally Hawkins gives an absolutely incredible performance in Mike Leigh's highly enjoyable and thought-provoking comedic drama (or dramatic comedy?).

The Visitor: Another movie anchored by a great lead performance (Oscar-nominated Richard Jenkins). A quiet and poignant movie about global connections and finding joy.

The Wrestler: I really wrestled (sorry) with whether to put this movie on the list. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei were terrific and its a movie I've thought about a lot since I've seen it. If the script had been up to the level of their performances, and the movie had reveled a little less in the violence, it would have made the cut. Still, definitely a powerful film.

And now to the list..... in descending order.


10: Slumdog Millionaire: While I do think this movie was over-awarded, there is no denying its energy and charm. Kudos to director Danny Boyle for creating a moving and enjoyable crowd-pleaser.

9. Chop Shop: In many ways, a response to the energy and color of Slumdog Millionaire. A quiet and realistic account of a young teenager and his sister surviving in a Queens slum. It has the power and truthfulness of a great documentary.

8. The Edge of Heaven: A German-Turkish film about the ways in which we make connections across ages, races, and nationalities. The kind of movie where you come to care about the characters so much, you almost wish for a sequel.

7. Revolutionary Road: Certainly not without its flaws, but its great moments are among the best moments of the year. Leonardo and (especially) Kate give fantastic performances as a 50s couple in a meltdown.


6. Vicky Christina Barcelona: In my mind, Woody's best since Husbands and Wives (1992). I love Woody at his best, and this is both a return to form and a new direction. He takes his camera to Barcelona and comes up with a sexy, breezy, melancholy look at love and desire. Penelope Cruz is rightfully heralded for her great performance. Rebecca Hall, a British actress who I was unfamiliar with, is also wonderful.

5. Trouble the Water: Extremely powerful documentary showing the struggle by Katrina survivors. Once you see this movie, I guarantee you will not forget Kimberly Rivers.

4. Milk: Enthralling biopic chronicling Harvey Milk's political birth and career. Sean Penn justly won the Oscar for his incredible performance.

3. The Class: The French nominee for Best Foreign Film. The documentary-like account of a year with a teacher and his students. Puts almost all American teacher movies to shame.

2. Wall-E: Instant classic. A mix of Chaplin-style slapstick, sweet romance, and sharp satire, it truly creates a world of its own.

1. Rachel Getting Married: This movie was somewhat divisive, and didn't get nearly the awards traction I think it deserved, and if you don't connect with it, it may surprise you to see it as my number 1. I love well-made slice-of-life movies. The kind of movies where the camera wanders, you meet many characters, and there are no easy resolutions. This is one of the best. The ensemble cast does an amazing job of inhabiting very specific characters that you alternately want to hug and slap in the face. With a great script by Jenny Lumet and direction by Jonathan Demme, its truly something special. I can't wait to watch it again.

Hope you enjoyed the list. Give me your thoughts (or your tops of the year) in the comments!

Coming soon- Ben's favorite performances of the year!

Revolutionary Road

On Saturday, I went to the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring (which I highly recommend if you're in the DC area) to see Revolutionary Road. As a huge Kate Winslet fan, I was of course interested to weigh in on which performance she should have been nominated for this year (RR or The Reader).

If you're not sure what to expect, make sure you're not looking for Titanic Pt. 2. There is much more pain than love to be found in this movie. Nevertheless, Kate and Leo do show the same chemistry that worked so well in Titanic. Yes, I'll admit it, I actually think Titanic holds up as a good blockbuster epic movie. Needless to say, the two actors go to a much darker place in Revolutionary Road.

To be honest, the movie started out a little shaky. After a very quick set-up of their meeting, the movie moves to a scene where they are already living in the suburbs and having a bitter fight in a car. Since we have no real clue of their relationship, this scene seems a little jarring and negative for a pre-titles sequence. While I realize that this movie is probably following the novel, I would have appreciated a little more time (if only 10 minutes or so), showing the falling in love phase of the two. While there are very small glimpses throughout the film, I think later scenes would have more resonance if we had a fuller sense of the love the two had lost.

Once Revolutionary Road gets into its particular rhythms, though, I found it quite compelling. While it is certainly insightful about life in the suburbs, condemning this particular lifestyle is not really its main point. The movie is more about individual choices and compromises that people make in their lives, and how these choices have repercussions throughout their lives.

DiCaprio does an outstanding job at a fairly tricky role. He plays a character who espouses independent ideas but, when push comes to shove, consistently ends up being the one taking the traditional route. He plays Jack Wheeler with an intelligence that shows us his character is always aware of his failings, even as he knowingly chooses more conventional route.

Winslet is absolutely fantastic playing a character that is fairly unlikable on the surface. There are things she does and says in this movie that are hard to swallow and certainly hard for many to relate to. Yet, because she is such a compelling actress, Kate helps us see underneath the actions of her character to her longing for an interesting life. There is a particular scene, a quiet breakfast scene that takes place between two crucial dramatic scenes, where she is absolutely riveting. Her brilliance as an actress is that she is as compelling in moments of calm as in moments of great drama. So, for the record, I do believe this is a slightly more impressive performance than The Reader (which is saying a lot).

The supporting cast is great as well. The actors playing their neighbors are wonderful, as is Kathy Bates as a realtor/neighbor. Michael Shannon received a Supporting Actor nomination for his small but pivotal role as a mentally unstable man who is able to see deep into the Wheeler's marriage.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie. While it is certainly flawed, I think it's a movie that I will think about for a long time.

Grade: A-

Misery and Citizen Ruth

This weekend I watched two films from the 90s that I have neglected to see up until now. One I watched mainly because I've heard so much about its lead performance (Kathy Bates in Misery), while the other I watched because I love the director (Alexander Payne's Citizen Ruth).

Misery (1990)

On the whole, I was a bit disappointed in Misery. Maybe I had seen enough clips of the movie so that nothing really surprised me. Kathy Bates does give a very entertaining performance, and Jame Caan does a perfectly fine job as the writer stuck under his number-one fan's control, but the movie got a little repetitive and didn't hold my attention the entire time. The premise, I admit, is a good one. A deranged fan takes her favorite author hostage and rages at him when she finds out her favorite romance-novel heroine is killed off. As the movie goes on, the neuroseus of Bates' character get stranger and stranger. For most of the movie, it is suspensful and entertaining to see where her obsessions will go next. By the end of the movie, we are in full-blown horror mode, and it didn't quite work for me. If she had stayed equally crazy but perhaps less dangerous, I actually think this movie would have been more powerful.

Another thing that I noticed while watchign this movie is the utterly boring and lazy way that many films from the 1980s/early 1990s were shot. Perhaps cinematographers and directors have gotten much more daring, but the production values seemed very workman-like and almost appropriate for a TV-movie. Of all the decades in which film was made, I think I have the least love for movies made in the 80s, and this picture (while released in 1990), shows me why so many films from this period are difficult to get really excited about.

Grade: C+

Citizen Ruth (1996)

While suffering from a few ending problems of its own, I found Citizen Ruth a much more satisfying movie to watch. Alexander Payne is one of my favorite modern directors. I absolutely love Election and About Schmidt, and I really like Sideways as well. This was his first movie, and it provides a taste of what Payne is able to achieve in his later films.

Citizen Ruth is a comedy about Ruth Stoops, a glue-sniffing pregnant woman who becomes an unlikely symbol in the battle between the pro-life and pro-choice movement. The movie satirizes both sides of the issue (although perhaps the pro-life side a little more brutally) and their blind allegiance to a cause. As we watch both sides battle over "Ruth," we see how easy it is for people to spout slogans without thinking about the actual people involved.

The most successful part of the film is probably Laura Dern's gutsy performance as Ruth. She plays a woman with barely any redeeming qualities and of limited intelligence, yet by the end of the film she has made this woman so vivid that the audience is cheering her on. She could have played her role for more sentiment or for more cheap laughs, but instead she fully inhabits her character.

Most of the supporting cast is great as well. Mary Kay Place (Big Love, Being John Malkovich, My So-Called Life) is wonderful as the pro-life activist who first takes Ruth in. Swoozie Kurtz is also amusing as her pro-choice counterpart. In fact, the whole cast provides an array of vivid characters until the end, when Burt Reynolds overplays his part as a national pro-life leader. He seemed to be coming in from a slightly broader movie.

All in all, Citizen Ruth is a highly entertaining movie. What Alexander Payne did not provide here, that he does in his other movies (even Election I think), is an emotional hook for the audience. While we do cheer Ruth on, it is hard to fully identify with her, and it is certainly difficult to connect with any of the other characters. What Payne leaves us with, then, is some quite good satire that is fun to watch, gives food for thought, but lacks the emotional heft of his other films.

Grade: B

Trouble the Water (2008)

Just before the Oscars, the National Archives sponsored a showing of all the shorts ( saw the live-action shorts) and each of the documentary features. I was lucky enough to catch Trouble the Water, which is easily one of the best films of 2008.

There is a scene about midway through the movie when a National Guardsman, referring to New Orleans residents who made it through Katrina, says "These people just don't know how to survive." Until this moment, we have seen home-video coverage of how Kimberly Rivers and her husband make it through the storm and help neighbors survive. At the screening I was at, the comment caused an audible gasp in the audience. If anyone knows how to survive, there is little doubt after seeing this movie that it is the people we have been following.

The filmmakers, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, went down to New Orleans a couple weeks after Katrina to shoot a documentary about the National Guard helping out in Iraq. This project fizzled because of governmental concerns, but they luckily met Kimberly. Kimberly shot home video in the day leading up to the storm, the day of the storm, and the weeks after as they try to rebuild their lives. A large chunk of the movie is taken up with Kimberly's video, while the rest follows Kimberly, her husband, and assorted others as they struggle to survive and get help.

No matter how much you have already seen of Katrina, it is absolutely astonishing to see what it was like to be in the middle of the storm. It also paints a picture of the lower-ninth-ward community as one that is troubled, yes, but also has enormous stores of goodwill and care for neighbors. It shows that most of those who stayed did so because they simply did not have transportation out of the storm.

It's not until later in the movie that we find out Kimberly is an aspiring rap artist. The scene where she sings her song "I'm Amazing" is one of the best scenes of the year. Once you see this documentary, you won't soon forget Kimberly and her struggles, and you won't think about Katrina the same way again. This movie is a portrait of some true American heroes, helping their neighbors and doing the best they can.

While Man on Wire was certainly artfully made, in my mind there is no question that Trouble the Water far surpasses it in emotional resonance. I think it easily deserved the Academy Award.

Grade: A

I'd Like Some Comments!

I was very excited during my Oscar live-blog to get some comments. I'd love to hear more from my readers, so I'll give you a topic to discuss. Name 5 movies that you really really love. These don't necessarily have to be your favorite per se (because I know how hard that can be).

I'll start it out:

-Nashville
-The Apartment
-Singin' in the Rain
-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
-Rear Window

You??

Quick Oscar Wrap-Up

So, after looking back at ceremony, here are a few thoughts.

What I Liked:

-The thematic format. I thought it was cool to go through the process of making the movies, and it seemed to move the awards through fairly quickly, at least in the beginning.
-The presentation of the acting awards by the former winners. I did miss the acting clips a little, but the format was really poignant. I don't know if it should be used every year, ,but it worked well to change it up.
-Tina Fey and Steve Martin presenting the screenplay awards. Can they co-host next year?? Please??
-Kate Winslet's dad whistling.
-Dustin Lance Black's (screenwriter for Milk) speech
-Anne Hathaway singing with Hugh Jackman.

What I Didn't Like:

-The "tributes" to animated, action, and romance movies. What's the point of showing long montages of movies that you didn't even nominate?? So Joe Shmoe can feel a connection to the Oscars.
-The musical number with Beyonce. Not necessary, and especially not that it included tributes to Mamma Mia! and High School Musical 3.
-The honorary award to Jerry Lewis. Can't we just cut the honorary award? It would actually make the ceremony clock in around 3 hours.
-No shockers in the big catergories. I respect all the choices, but its always fun to see at least one surprising win, and there really wasn't one.

What I Sort of Liked

-Hugh Jackman and his opening. It was pretty funny, but it didn't blow me away. As a host, Jackman also did a pretty nice job. As I said above, I'm still voting for Tina Fey and Steve Martin for next year.....

Now that I've seen Hugh Jackman give Barbara Walters a lapdance.....

I will begin my live-blogging of the Oscars. Seriously, I just turned on the very end of the Barbara Walters special and was treated to Hugh giving Barbara a provocative lap dance. I hope this does not continue as he hosts the show....

I will provide periodic updates throughout our evening.

8:00 pm

Already, Kate Winslet looks great rocking the one-sleeve dress.

8:10 pm

Yes, Mickey Rourke has pins of his dead dog Loki on..... poignant.

Yes, Zach Efron just said Dev Patel was a "great kid." I guess when you are 21, that makes an 18-year-old a kid.

Viola Davis is so great and classy. And she's willing to have snot running down her nose in her big scene in Doubt. I'd be happy to see her win tonight.

8:29

Meryl looked frumpy, Sarah Jessica Parker too poofy, and Anne Hathaway and Penelope Cruz looked great.

8:38

Pretty funny opening Hugh. Not great, but acceptable. And I had no idea Anne Hathaway could sing.

8:42

Ahhh, so having lots of former winners is the "format change" they were talking about. Interesting. Its actually very moving seeing the actresses so moved by the kind words

Winner- Penelope Cruz! I'm 1/1 so far. I slightly preferred Viola Davis, but Cruz was amazing as well. Good for her.

8:57

Original Screenplay. The only major category where I've seen all the films. Wall-E was my favorite screenplay, but way to go for Milk.

And of course...... Tina Fey and Steve Martin. SO funny.

9:19

I think this is a cool idea-going through the process of making movies. It also seems to be moving quicker than usual.

9:47

If you read my last post, you know I saw all these live-action shorts yesterday. Spielzeuguld was not the best (by any means) but its about the Holocaust and involves children, so I figured it would win.

10:00

OK, that musical number was semi-entertaining, but do we REALLY need a tribute to the stars of Mamma Mia! and High School Musical 3??

10:03

Cuba Godding Jr.?? He was picked as one of the 5 best supporting actors to present?

Also, I predict that the standing ovation for Heath will be at least 30 seconds.

10:15
Documentary: Man on Wire

Damn, I REALLY wanted Trouble the Water to win this one. I just saw it and it was astonishing (look for my review very soon).

10:45

Well, at least Jerry Lewis kept it VERY short. Surely there was someone else who deserved an honorary Oscar more than him....

10:53

Some good scores this year. I especially like Wall-E and Slumdog.

11:00

I like all three of these songs, but WHY wasn't Springsteen's "The Wrestler" nominated. Amazing song.

11:16

I always forget that some of these people have died. Interesting fact: Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were the producers of The Reader and they both died this year. We all miss Paul Newman. What an actor and what a star.

11:21

As expected, Danny Boyle. It was a big jump from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire (although they both have scenes where the lead character jumps in a toilet).

11:35
I didn't even think this was the best female performance of the year (I preferred Anne Hathaway and Sally Hawkins) but I LOVE Winslet and am so happy she now has an Oscar. The moment where her dad whistled was priceless.

11:44
Sean Penn: "I know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often" (LOL). I'm really glad he won. I thought Rourke was terrific, but the Rourke cult had been getting a bit much these past few weeks.

11:53
Slumdog, as everyone and their grandmother expected. Not the best choice the Academy has ever made, but certainly not the worst. Good for them. It's a good story of a small movie making it really big.

Live-Action Shorts

The National Archives held a screening of the 5 films nominated for the Live-Action Short award. The woman introducing them (from the National Gallery of Art's film division) stated that, this year, the "shorts were much stronger than the best picture nominees." This led to a "oooh" (as in "oh-snap") by the Academy savvy audience. Whether they are "better" than the best-pic nominees or not (to me its a bit like apples and oranges), they did absolutely captivate me and make me more interested in seeing shorts. Here are the films, in my descending order of quality.

New Boy

I absolutely loved this short from Ireland, based on a Roddy Doyle story. Its a rather simple story of an African boy who is new in an Irish school. While he adjusts to his first day, the film flashes back to his school and family in Africa. Funny, poignant, and beautifully shot.

Auf der Strecke (On the Line)

This movie was by far the longest of the bunch (30 min), and its able to tell a lot of story in a short amount of time. As it starts, it seems to be a slight comedy-drama about a shy man in love with a woman he works with. It quickly changes to something much darker as it deals with death, guilt, and responsibility. Powerful stuff.

Grisen (The Pig)

Dutch film that was the funniest of the bunch, and also the most provocative. Its about a Dutch man who is in the hospital and grows very attached to a whimsical picture of a pig. When a Muslim man shares his room, his family takes the picture down. A rather ridiculous fight ensues, and the movie raises questions of tolerance in modern society without providing easy answers.

Spielzeugland (Toyland)

At first, I was resistant to this film, as I didn't really think we needed another film about children and the Holocaust and it seemed overly reminiscent of Life is Beautiful. By the end, however, I was crying along with most of the theater. I still have some reservations, but it definitely moved me. Bet on it for your Oscar pool.

Manon sur le bitume (Manon on the Asphalt)

A very French film about the ways our lives intersect with others, the things we value, and how important it is to tell others. If this sounds trite, I think that's because it is. The Diving Bell and the Butterly covered similar material more skillfully and deeply. Still, the movie was well-made and it told its tale well.

Overall, a highly enjoyable bunch of movies. If you have any chance to see them, I recommend it!

New Boy: A-
Auf der Strecke: A-
Grisen: B+
Spielzeugland: B-
Manon sure le bitume: B-

Frozen River/ The Edge of Heaven

Frozen River (2008)


In my quest to see many Oscar-nominated movies in the days before Oscar, I watched Frozen River, which is nominated for Best Actress (Melissa Leo) and Best Original Screenplay (Courtney Hunt, who is also the director).

First off, I'll say that Melissa Leo absolutely deserves her nomination. She fully inhabits, without any hint of condescension or self-awareness, the working-class mom who unexpectedly finds herself in the immigrant-smuggling business. From the first moments of the movie, as the camera pans over her weathered skin, her pink bathrobe, and her pack of cigarettes, I was drawn to her character. She kept me engaged and interested through the movie.

The bad news is I don't really think the movie, or the rest of the cast, was as good as her. Misty Upham, who plays the Native American woman who teams with Leo in her business, a little flat as an actress. So as good as Leo was, the scenes often felt a little unbalanced.

The movie as a whole is fairly engaging, but also a little predictable. After the first 15 or 20 minutes, you can imagine many of the places the movie will go. I did find the ending poignant without leaning too hard towards depressing or hopeful. The movie is worth seeing for its portrait of working-class poverty and especially for Leo's performance.

Grade: B-

The Edge of Heaven (2008)



The Edge of Heaven follows 6 major characters (2 mothers and daughters, 1 father and son) and their connections to one another. In outline, it calls to mind similar cross-cultural movies such as Babel and Crash. I tend to enjoy these types of movies, and The Edge of Heaven is a worthy addition and puts its own spin on the genre.

The movie concerns Germans and Turks who throughout the movie move between the two countries. The movie begins with an older Turkish man living in Germany who falls in love with a Turkish prostitute living in Germany. Events ensue, and his son ends up going to Turkey. The prostitute's daughter ends up coming to Germany (and then back to Turkey), and so on and so forth.

The movie addresses in a beautiful way the ways that parents and children interact, and what happens when those bonds are broken. It also looks at the connections that can take place outside the bonds of family. Many sad things happen in the film, but it doesn't leave you feeling depressed. In the days since I've seen it, I've thought about the characters a lot. Its one of those movies where you wish you could follow the characters even longer. The director, Faith Akin, also never forces the connections between the characters. While lives intersect, I found the connections plausible and never forced.

Grade: A-

Finalish Oscar Predictions

So here are my final Oscar predictions, although I reserve the right to change a few. I realized when coming up with these that there is one great thing about the acting nominations this year. While my preferred nominees aren't favored to win in 3 out of 4 (or possibly 4 out of 4 depending on who's doing the predicting) categories, I'm perfectly happy with those who are favored to win. So, at least in the acting categories, there's little chance of it being an embarrassing night for Oscar.

I'm writing who I think will win, who I think has the greatest chance to upset (although in some cases the chances are close to zilch), and my personal preference.

Picture
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: uhmmmm.... nothing. OK, I guess The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: Milk

Actor
Will Win: Tough one, but I'm sticking with Sean Penn (Milk)
Alternate: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Should Win: Penn

Actress
Will Win: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Alternate: Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Should Win: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), BUT I will still be thrilled if Kate wins the Oscar. She deserves to be a winner three-times over.

Supporting Actor
Will Win: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Alternate: Josh Brolin (Milk)- but there's absolutely no way Ledger will lose.
Should Win: Brolin

Supporting Actress
Will Win: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
Alternate: Viola Davis (Doubt)
Should Win: Davis

Director
Will Win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Alternate: David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Should Win: Gus Van Sant (Milk)

Original Screenplay
Will Win: Milk
Alternate: WALL-E
Should Win: WALL-E

Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: The Reader
Should Win: The Reader

Animated
Will Win: WALL-E
Alternate: Kung Fu Panda (but.... really. no.)
Should Win: WALL-E

Cinematography
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Art Direction
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alternate: The Duchess
Should Win: The Dark Knight (have not seen the others)

Foreign Film
Will Win: The Class (going out on a limb)
Alternate: Waltz with Bashir
Should Win: The Class

Documentary
Will Win: Man on Wire
Alternate: Trouble the Water
Should Win: Man on Wire is the only one I've seen....

Costume Design
Will Win: The Duchess
Alternate: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: Milk (go 70s era clothing)

Editing
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: The Dark Knight
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Score
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: WALL-E
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Song
Will Win: "Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire
Alternate: "Down to Earth", WALL-E
Should Win: "Jai Ho," but where THE HELL is Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler"

Sound Mixing
Will Win: The Dark Knight
Alternate: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: WALL-E

Sound Editing
Will Win: The Dark Knight
Alternate: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: WALL-E

Visual Effects
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alternate: The Dark Knight
Should Win: The Dark Knight

Makeup
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alternate: The Dark Knight
Should Win: The Dark Knight

The categories where I have no real idea:

Animated Short
Will Win: Presto
Alternate: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Live Action
Will Win: Toyland
Alternate: The Pig

Documentary Short Subject
Will Win: The Witness
Alternate: The Conscience of Nhem Eh

Predicted Total Numbers

Slumdog Millionaire: 7
Milk: 2
Benjamin Button: 3
The Dark Knight: 2

I think everything else will be single wins.

Class Conflicts

Doubt (2008) and The Class (2008)



I've been looking forward to Doubt for quite a while. Philip Seymour Hoffman is probably in my top 3 modern actors, Meryl Streep in my top 3 favorite actresses, and I find Amy Adams quite delightful. Looking at that cast list, what could be better than a series of scenes between these actors?

For the most part, the film did not disappoint. All three of the leads (despite their supporting nominations, Hoffman and Adams are just as much leads as Streep) create vivid characters that bring the thoughts and ideas of the movie to life. Streep plays an Sister Aloysius, an old-school nun and school principal in the Bronx in 1964. Hoffman is Father Flynn, the new and progressive priest, and Adams is a young nun and teacher at the school. As you probably know (but if you don't you should probably stop reading), the movie concerns a struggle over the question of whether Flynn's relationship with the school's only black student is inappropriate. The young nun rather innocently brings the allegations, but is torn between the two forces.

In the first portion of the film, the viewer is involved in deciding which of the two is telling the truth. Hoffman's character is mostly likable but possibly corrupt, whereas Streep's is scary but possibly correct. Adams works as a perfect conduit for the audience, trying to decide where her true sympathies lie.

The movie acts much as a cat-and-mouse came until the 2-scene arrival of Viola Davis as the boy's mother. She carries the movie and its philosophical ideals of faith and doubt to a whole new level. Instead of deciding which character is correct in the argument, Davis makes us think about the implications of the situation in a whole new way. I have been a huge proponent of Penelope Cruz winning the Supporting Actress Oscar for Vicky Christina Barcelona, but I think I may switch my allegiance to Viola Davis based on her incredible performance.

The movie is obviously a stage adaptation and at times its source shows a little too much. I think a better director might have found a more involving way to tell the story rather than simply placing groups of 2 or 3 actors in different locales. Nevertheless, Doubt is a highly engaging movie to watch, and it definitely leaves the viewer with questions to ponder and discuss.

Grade: B+

The Class (2008)




I caught The Class, France's entry for foreign film this year, in a screening at the National Geographic Society last night. It opens on Friday in DC (and many other cities), and I hope it generates the audience it deserves.
The Class is based on a memoir by Francois Begaudeu, a teacher in an urban Parisian school. The director actually cast Francois as himself. The movie follows Francois over a year of teaching his 14- and 15-year old multiracial pupils. The movie is so realistic that it is easy to wonder if it is a documentary. It's not, although the filmmaker did use real French students as actors. Working from only the bare bones of a script, they developed their characters through workshops and their characters feel incredibly true.

With no musical score and few moments of what is usually considered extreme drama, The Class is nonetheless a suspenseful and riveting film. It is the most honest and revealing film of the teaching profession I have seen, and certainly puts American urban-teacher movies (with the exception of Half Nelson, another great and realistic film) to shame.

The movie is set in Paris, but I believe the position of the teacher with his class is universal to any teacher, particularly those in environments where race and nationality come into play. Through Begaudeu's give-and-take relationship with his students, the film examines issues of power, dialogue, and respect in the classroom. It also brings up issues of race, nationality, and the relevance of traditional education in a modern world. The movie bursts with life largely because of the young actors. They portray students who are bright, curious, but also constantly questioning the usefulness of what they are learning and the motives of their teachers. There are also scenes where we see glimpses of the students' home lives, although always in the context of the classroom.

The Class is a great film, one of the best of the year, that is thought provoking and engaging in the best way. As a teacher (although of much younger students), I certainly related to it in an especially powerful way, as I think most teachers will. If you are not a teacher, this movie will give you a glimpse into the passions and struggles that go into every single day in the classroom. See it.

Grade: A

Altman Gives Hollywood a Comeuppance

The Player (1992)

Robert Altman made The Player in 1992, and it satirizes the movie business that was often quite unfriendly to this talented director (one of my favorites). Tim Robbins plays Griffin Mills, a studio executive who ends up murdering a screenwriter. The film follows Griffin as he woos the screenwriter's lover, listens to movie pitches, and tries to dodge the law.

The movie works best as a satire of the big-studio industry. The movies that are pitched are hilariously ridiculous ("The Graduate Part II," "Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman"). Other movies are pitched as pure independent films and then end up as big-studio schlock. The movie also includes tons of cameos by early 1990s actors- including Cher, Julia Roberts, and Bruce Willis. It's a lot of fun to spot the actors in the scenes. The movie also begins with an 8-minute unbroken tracking shot, a great homage to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

The scenes when the detectives try to catch Griffin are also hilarious. Whoopi Goldberg and Lyle Lovett play cops who follow Griffin and take him down a few notches.

The movie is a lot of fun, but I think has lost a little of its bite over the past 15 years. Luckily, I do think the independent film scene is much more vibrant than in the early 1990s. While the big studio offerings have maybe not improved much, I think there is more available for the discerning moviegoer. Not that this negates the point of the movie, but as a faithful moviegoer who is usually able to avoid things that are terrible, I'm not quite as horrified by the workings of the studio system.

A fun movie, but I don't think its held up as well as a few other films from 1992 that I love: Howards End, Unforgiven, and Malcolm X. If you haven't seen any of these, watch them now. Short Cuts, Altman's film from 1993, is coming up soon on my Netflix queue. I saw it many years ago and remember it fondly, so look for the review soon!

Grade: B+

An Obsessive Vision

Man on Wire (2008)

Man on Wire is a documentary that tells the story of Philippe Petite, a French high-wire artist who achieved the amazing feat of crossing between the World Trade Center towers on a cable.

The movie is part study of a man with a (crazy?) obsession, part heist movie. The most entertaining parts to me were the depictions of the how the feat was accomplished. The director used reenactments to show how the men got into the building, how they got their equipment up, and how they strung the wire across the building. At one point, men in both towers had to hide while guards paced the floors they were on. These depictions are highly suspenseful, and I think the movie could have done even more with the details. We meet everyone involved, but except for Philippe and his girlfriend at the time, I don't think we fully get a sense of the personalities of each person and what drew them to this remarkable attempt.

Phillipe himself is an interesting character. He loves to perform high-wire feats (having walked across Notre Dame and the Sydney Bridge before), and states that when he first saw a picture of the planned towers, he knew that he was meant to climb them. He truly seems to believe this and makes this his life's goal. He knows he will be arrested and may die, but absolutely does note care. There are many times when he seems deluded, but many other times when you admire the single-minded determination, training, and skill that led him to this feat.

The movie wisely avoids any 9/11 imagery, and leaves the connections for the viewer to ponder. As I watched the crowds gather to applaud him, I thought how interesting it was that Philippe saw the Towers as a symbol that could bring him and his fellow citizens joy, while on September 11th they were targeted because of their image as a symbol of Western arrogance that would bring pain when they were destroyed. It does make the viewer think about the power of imagery and perception in how we interact with the world.

Overall I enjoyed, but didn't love, Man on Wire. I think it actually could have been improved with a little more nitty-gritty about how the feat was planned and more backstory on the main players. I'm a bit surprised that it's been sweeping all of the Documentary prizes at the awards shows. I have a few documentaries to catch up with (I'm especially excited to see Trouble the Water), but it's not a film I would label best. Overall, though, it's definitely worth a viewing.

Grade: B

My Favorite Films of the Year

Since I am behind on my 2008 Oscar-season diet, I will refrain from making my top 10 list (look for it in a couple months when I've caught up with some more flicks). Nevertheless, I am dying to write about my favorite films of the year. As I look back in the year, there are really only 3 films that I walked out of and felt just about completely energized and satisfied by what I had seen These would be my top 3 of the year, and I doubt if anything will overtake them. I'll write about them in the order I saw them.

Wall-E (2008)

When I read about the premise of this movie, I couldn't quite wrap my head around it. A movie that takes place hundreds of years in the future and stars a robot who is the only remaining "creature" on the desolate wasteland that is our planet? Now I'm a big fan of Pixar, and think they have done wonderfully innovative things, but I wondered if this would stretch even Pixar's imagination to the limit.

The moment the movie started, and pretty much the whole way through, all my doubts were erased. The first half, with Wall-E and Eve interacting on Earth, was absolutely sublime. The physical comedy and poignancy was absolutely reminiscent of the best of Charlie Chaplin. Somehow everything comes together to make us care about these two robots.

The second half, taking place on a spaceship full of obese humans, is slightly different, perhaps not as lovable, but no less fascinating. It's actually quite amazing that Pixar got such pointed satire through the studio.

As a whole, Wall-E is brilliant because it is completely original in an absolutely accessible way. I think it will definitely stand the test of time as one of the all-time greats of animated film.



Rachel Getting Married (2008)

If I had to pick a genre that I typically love, it is probably the naturalistic drama about family relationships, when it is well-done of course (You Can Count on Me, Junebug). Rachel Getting Married joins my list as one of the best. On the surface, it's about a sister (Kym) getting out of rehab for the weekend to attend her sister Rachel's wedding. Underneath, it's about much more than that. The movie is never played for cheap laughs or cheap sentiment.

Jonathan Demme directs in a style very reminiscent of Robert Altman (a favorite director of mine). His camera twists and turns and picks up conversations here and there. The movie does not feel excessively plotted (some probably find it underplotted and rambling), but that's what I love about it. You feel that this is a very specfic family with very real feelings, resentments, and joys. The wedding itself (which takes up a lot of the end of the movie) is a joyous occassion. As soon as I left the theater, my moviegoing companions and I all remarked we wished we could go to that wedding. Leading up to the wedding we learn a lot about this family and what has brought them to this point.

The performances could not be better. Anne Hathaway has gotten a lot of awards traction for this role, and she deserves it. She plays against type and is able to absolutely inhabit a prickly, wounded, guarded, character. Rosemarie Dewitt plays the responsible sister Rachel beautifully, with the right mixture of characteristics to avoid being heroine or villain. Bill Irwin, an actor I was unfamiliar with, has a key role as the father and the peacemaker of the family. The moments when his emotions slip are quite beautiful. Debra Winger also has the small but crucial role of the mother. Her quiet performance hints at deep layers underneath the surface actions of her character.

A great movie (my favorite of the year) and I can't wait to see it again.




Milk (2008)

Biopics are usually not my favorite genre. While they are often quite watchable, the scripts can often seem paint by numbers, as if you know exactly where they will go (even if you know next to nothing about the person). So why doesn't Milk fall prey to the same problems? First of all the movie wisely focuses solely on Harvey Milk's political awakening and subsequent career. When dealing with only a handful of years, it is much easier to develop interesting characters and not have to breeze through the obligatory plot points. It reminded me of how Capote focused not on Truman Capote's entire life, but only on his research and writing of In Cold Blood.

Much of the success of Milk certainly has to go to Sean Penn. Like many great performances this year (Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway), Penn plays against type. He is also able to inhabit a gay character without becoming overly effeminate or mannered (this is no Robin Williams in The Birdcage). He is also backed up by an extremely impressive cast. I loved Josh Brolin as his political nemesis Dan White, James Franco as his lover, and Emile Hirsch as his political protege.

While I think I would have loved this movie regardless of its release date, I think part of the reason it is so effective and was its political moment. Harvey's line of "You've gotta give 'em hope" was especially poignant as I saw this between the election and inauguration of Obama. While the repeal of Proposition 8 in California certainly makes this film bittersweet, it does show how far our country has come. Seeing Milk's political successes makes you think that with enough passion and leadership, change is gonna come.

Don't let the talk of politics bore you. Milk is vibrant, alive, engaging, and never didactic. See it.






Wall-E: A
Rachel Getting Married: A
Milk: A

Great Kate Winslet Scene

My viewing of The Reader made me think about great Kate Winslet performances. Especially in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of my all-time favorite movies. Enjoy.

Slumdog Again

The Directors Guild of America, with an excellent predictive track record, gave their Director award to Danny Boyle for Slumdog. That settles it- Slumdog has won the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Producers Guild, and Directors Guild awards. It's in. I don't believe any other movie has ever won this many awards and then lost Best Picture. It won't be the best choice Oscar has ever made, but it certainly won't be the worse (see my review a few posts below).

Hopefully a couple of the actor's races will stay semi-interesting.