Random Factoid #543

22 01 2011

Why do we bother to get to a movie that starts at 10:40 on time, rather than at 10:55 when the movie actually starts?  When it isn’t to assure ourselves of a good seat, it’s to kick back and watch the trailers for upcoming movies.  They tell us what we have to look forward to (or what to dread, cough “The Lincoln Lawyer”) and renew the circle of life that is moviegoing.

However, for some strange reason, AMC Theaters seems to stifle that chain when you go see a movie that hasn’t been released in the incredible recent past.  They never change the trailers from opening day, even if the movies have ALREADY OPENED!

It’s such a trite complaint, I know, but it really gets under my skin when I sit there and watch 15 minutes of previews for movies that I’ve already seen.  Just add it to my list of complaints about the theater chain between this, their ticket taker, their disgusting floors, their poor sound quality, their blaring hallway music, their constantly broken projectors,

Darn it for having cheaper tickets, free parking, easy accessibility, and good movie selection.


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“Rabbit Hole” Poll Results

22 01 2011

I loved “Rabbit Hole.”  I gave it A- back in November and ranked it #9 on my 10 best of 2010.  In defense of the movie, I wrote:

“Grief is either overdone or understated.  In ‘Rabbit Hole,’ it’s presented in a manner so raw that it manages to be both at the same time, making for one of the most moving experiences of the year.  A story about a husband and wife, played to brilliance by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, grieving their lost child, the movie shows many ways to cope.  Kidman’s Becca wants to move on, Eckhart’s Howie wants to live with it, and in the middle of it all is Becca’s mother, played by Dianne Weist, offering her advice on how to get to the peaceful state in which she resides.  There’s no answer to the question of who handles it best or which way is best; in fact, there’s not even an attempt to answer it.  But there’s something beautiful about an unanswered question, and maybe that’s why the grace of ‘Rabbit Hole’ has stuck with me for so long.”

So I’m a little upset that it has flown under the radar all season with the exception of Nicole Kidman’s moving work.  Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Weist both turned in astounding, Oscar-worthy performances as well.  The movie itself deserves to pop up in the expanded Oscar Best Picture field.

But alas, my hope is in likely in vain.  Despite the one voter in the poll who said it would be nominated for Best Picture back in October on my Oscar Moment about the movie, it just doesn’t look likely.  Anything is possible, I suppose, but this would make “The Blind Side” look like an expected nomination.


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Random Factoid #542

21 01 2011

No “Round-Up” today as final predictions are coming on Sunday/Monday.

I have a strange habit.  Well, I’ll let everyone judge how strange it actually is for themselves.  When I watch movies or trailers, I like to look at the movie advertisements plastering the city to get a sense of when the movie was shot.

This is easy in any movie filmed in Times Square, which is so saturated with ads that it’s impossible to film without catching at least one of them; examples of these include “Date Night” and “Enchanted.”  But sometimes they are more subtle, and I catch them out of the corner of my eye on a bus shelter or on a taxi.

I came up with this factoid through watching the trailer for “The Adjustment Bureau,” which upon rewatching actually had no ads.  Oops.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (January 21, 2011)

21 01 2011

Melissa Leo seems to have emerged as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress for her work in “The Fighter.”  I wasn’t a huge fan, but if you want to see her in a performance that does deserve an Oscar, look no further than her turn in 2008’s “Frozen River,” which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  My pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” the ultra-indie tale of how far a single mother will go to provide for her family will knock you out with its raw power.

Living along the New York-Canada border, Ray Eddy (Leo) is scrapping to get by, pulling coins out of furniture to pay the bills.  Her job at the Yankee Dollar hardly pays enough to feed her kids, and she’s often forced to resort to feeding them popcorn and Tang for multiple meals.  But she has hope enough to put down a sizable deposit for a bigger trailer, something which would substantially improve their quality of life.

However, Ray can’t pay what’s left on the trailer since a promotion at her job has yet to materialize and her husband has gone missing with some crucial cash.  Thanks to a chance encounter, she meets Lila (Misty Upham), a Mohawk Indian involved in smuggling foreigners across the border through reservation lands.  Ray has a car with a trunk big enough to fit three people, and she begins making regular runs for the money.

The movie would be just any other woman-on-the-edge movie if it weren’t for Leo’s incredible performance. She makes Ray’s desperation practically tangible with her raw and real approach to the character.  The powerhouse performance that put her on the map is still her best work, two years and potentially an Oscar win later.


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“The Way Back” Poll Results

21 01 2011

“The Way Back” opens nationwide today with no Oscar buzz to bolster box office numbers.  Given the tough subject material – an escape from a Siberian goulag and the long, dangerous walk home – Newmarket probably should have released this earlier.  But they opted for the qualifying run strategy, which worked for “The Last Station” in 2009.

However, it doesn’t look like it will pan out for Peter Weir’s movie for any nominations, least of all Best Picture.  There is no indication that much love for this movie exists at all – no critics listed it, and no guilds have shown support.  Heck, it’s entirely possible that most of the Academy voters haven’t even seen the movie.

The results from the poll I placed on the Oscar Moment back in November don’t seem to echo the obvious truth about the movie now.  Both voters (as in two) said they think the movie would be nominated for Best Picture.  I think that only in an incredibly dark horse scenario would that happen.


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REVIEW: Blue Valentine

20 01 2011

“Blue Valentine” is a story about a couple told in two different parts: how they come together and ultimately how they fall apart.  Like the yin and the yang, they complement each other to create a picture of broken marriage with vivid and heartbreaking color.  Writer and director Derek Cianfrance uses the broken narrative to provide the story with a harrowing sense of perspective as we observe what once sparked attraction between the two fuels repulsion six years later.

The movie opens on a scene of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) six years into their marriage, and no screaming match or fight is necessary to show that their relationship is crumbling.  With the demands of their daughter, the hassle of a lost pet, and the tension between their disparate jobs, the strain in their love is perfectly illustrated by their body language towards each other.

Cold, cruel, and distant they have grown – and Cianfrance doesn’t indulge us by telling where and when it all went south.  Is what we observe with the dog simply the straw that broke the camel’s back?  Was it having a child?  Or did their love gently erode over time?  “Blue Valentine” doesn’t offer us an easy answer, leaving it up to the audience to discuss in the theater lobby and the parking lot.

However, the question I asked wasn’t what caused them to fall out of love; I wondered if they were ever in love in the first place.  Strategically interspersed among their separation are flashbacks of Dean’s courtship of Cindy, which came as she was losing a dear relative and trying to shed an abusive father and boyfriend.  Perhaps it was just a perfect storm of circumstances that brought them together, not love.  And again, there’s no easy answer to that, which makes the heavy “Blue Valentine” land a little softer.

Read the rest of this entry »


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Random Factoid #541

20 01 2011

I think it’s interesting to see a movie like “Black Swan” hitting the mainstream consciousness so  dramatically.  Since I’ve been singing its praises ever since I saw it back in early November, my friends knew me as “the Black Swan guy” and have thus heard many differing reactions to the movie.

Some have told me that they loved it.  Some have told me that they were dazzled but were too terrified to enjoy it.  Some have told me they were so creeped out that they couldn’t even watch.  Among my parent’s friends, I’ve heard reactions ranging from obsession to walk-outs.  I really LOVE when a polarizing movie like this comes along because it makes cinema a centerpiece for discussion.  “Why do you hate it?” one person asks, only to hear the retort, “how can you love it?”  When everyone loves a movie, things can get kind of boring.

If you have any doubts that there are a wide gamut of reactions to the film, go see it at night and listen at key points in the movie.  Hear cringes, cheers, screams, and cat calls during the steamy sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.  Hear laughs and screams during some of the dialogue.  Hear terror or scared whispers during some of the grotesque physical transformation scenes.  A post on The Envelope got it right here:

“It was just before 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Los Feliz, and the assorted filmgoers that had gathered to see “Black Swan” sounded as if they were attending different movies.

Nas Moinee, 23, had come for the dancing and the costumes and was dreading the film’s scares. Peter Garcia, a longhaired, ball-cap-wearing 12-year-old attending with his mother, said he was looking forward to jumping out of his seat at the movie’s spooky scenes.

And while Shawna Joplin, 28, had bought a ticket because she heard about a bravura performance from star Natalie Portman, her companion, Greg Richmond, 32, came because his friends told him about an explicit sex scene between Portman and costar Mila Kunis. “This movie’s about ballet?” he said. He didn’t seem to be joking.”

What about YOU?  Being a movie lover, do you relish the opportunity for a polarizing movie to sweep the nation?


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“Blue Valentine” Poll Results

20 01 2011

Nobody, baby, but you and me…

Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, the stars of “Blue Valentine,” both missed out on Golden Globe wins and BAFTA nominations.  But will both, one, or neither get Oscar nominations?  Perhaps it’s time to check the poll!

There were five voters in the poll, and none of them thought that Ryan Gosling alone would get nominated or that neither of them would get nominated.  However, 40% thought Williams alone would receive a nomination.  In my opinion, she was the better of the two, and I’d much rather see her get nominated than her co-star.

60% of voters thought that both would get nominated.  I think what could end up hurting “Blue Valentine” in the end is that it’s like a combo deal: you can’t nominated one without the other.  I feel like it’s more likely to see both left off than one put on.  Williams has a better shot than Gosling at a nomination, but I feel like her fifth slot is ripe for a surprise nominee like Hailee Steinfeld, Noomi Rapace, or Julianne Moore (!).


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Random Factoid #540

19 01 2011

So, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.  Time for her to get her sexy on (since she won’t be able to rely on just straight up being naked like in “Love & Other Drugs“).  Guess we just have to trust Christopher Nolan’s casting instinct.

It’s hard being a fan to remind myself that I actually have no say in how movies are made.  I don’t get to write, cast, or direct Hollywood products (yet).  I don’t have control, and we have to remember that a studio wouldn’t give millions of dollars to a director if they didn’t know what they were doing.  And after “Inception,” I dare you to tell Christopher Nolan that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

A lot of people, particularly us vocal bloggers, have a hard time reminding themselves of these things.  We scream as if there’s actually some way we can change things.  But we really can’t, and it’s only worth writing about if you can joke about acting like you have a say.

What about YOU?  Do you struggle with remembering you don’t run Hollywood?


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REVIEW: Animal Kingdom

19 01 2011

A poor man’s version of Martin Scorsese’s crime classic “GoodFellas” with Australian accents, “Animal Kingdom” is a tale from down under that’s quite a few rungs down from the movies it so desperately wants to be.  Considering that it’s a debut film from writer/director David Michod, it’s somewhat more impressive, and I have a feeling that we can look for big things in the future.  But for now, we’re left with a movie that’s filled with one-dimensional characters played by actors without any gusto.

After the death of his mother, twenty-ish J (James Frecheville) is forced to take up residence with his estranged grandmother “Smurf” (Jacki Weaver), the matriarch of a crime family who’s grizzly enough to make Sarah Palin cower.  He unwittingly gets caught up in the exploits of his uncles, whose activities jeopardize his chances for a normal life with his girlfriend.  J is recognized by a cunning police officer (Guy Pearce, the movie’s only familiar face) as pliable, and he is faced with the choice between blood loyalty or the comforts available within the law.

The problem with “Animal Kingdom” is that it starts off really slow, and it takes a long time to get acquainted with the characters enough to care about them.  The movie starts getting really interesting around the hour mark, but by then, it feels like we’ve spent an abysmally long time in the Aussie underworld.  Michod throws plenty of action and twists at us in the second half, yet without dynamic characters, it ultimately goes in one ear and out the other.

As for Jacki Weaver, the reason I plopped this movie in my DVD player, I saw why she needed an Oscar campaign but not why she deserved a campaign.  She plays a one-note character that doesn’t play much of a part in the storyline until the conclusion.  Her big emotional scene falls pretty flat, unless, of course, you consider changing her facial expression ever so slightly compelling enough for an award.  Had I not heard all the buzz around Weaver, I would have forgotten about her as quickly as I’ll forget “Animal Kingdom.”  Neither have any teeth, something necessary to make a crime thriller bite.  B / 


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“Biutiful” Poll Results

19 01 2011

Javier Bardem got a BAFTA nomination for “Biutiful!”  That’s just about his first significant mention of the year!  Perhaps all is not lost on the horse Julia Roberts has vocally and publicly backed.

BAFTA has more crossover voters with the Oscars than ever, and a nomination here probably means more than a Golden Globe nomination (sorry, Ryan Gosling/Mark Wahlberg).  But will the 2007 Best Supporting Actor be nominated for an Academy Award?  Survey says…

Yes!  Both voters (both as in there were only two) thought that Bardem would get a nomination.  My predictions (basically final) will be announced on Friday, and don’t expect to see Bardem in there.  But the BAFTA nomination was a big boost, and I’m definitely taking him more seriously as a contender thanks to it.


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Random Factoid #539

18 01 2011

How much would you pay to own a piece of cinematic history?  If you’re looking for a way to waste some time (other than blogging or reading them), click on over to eBay and search movie memorabilia.  They were selling napkins from the “Mr. Deeds” set once, but there’s also plenty of really cool stuff that I would buy if I had a bigger disposable income.  (Or a disposable income that didn’t go all towards feeding myself.)

Do you happen to have $1.65 million in disposable income?  Do you want a house in Chicago?  Do you love “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” so much that you want to live in?  Thanks to the marvel of real estate, you can!  Buy Cameron Frye’s house, which is now on the Highland Park, Illinois market!

The house was a little too modern for my tastes, but if I could just buy the Ferrari garage, I’d transport it and put it in storage to install when I own a house of my own.

(Thanks to Cinema Blend for the tip.  And to the realtor, if this house is sold through a tip from this site, I expect a share of the profits.)


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REVIEW: City Island

18 01 2011

There have been plenty of dysfunctional family movies inundating movie theaters in recent memory, both of the dramatic and comedic variety.  “City Island” is of the latter type, which often tend to be more cliched and forgettable.  While I hate to make the claim that this is some fantastic entry into the genre that will forever stick out in my mind, it did make for one really great watch that I thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s nothing highly original, but the movie is presented with enough panache for it to be entirely excusable.  The weapon of choice in writer/director Raymond De Felitta’s arsenal is dramatic irony, or for those of you rusty on your literary terms, the art of the secret.  Everyone in the Rizzo family is guarding one closely, and it mediates their interactions with all the other family members.

Patriarch Vince (Andy Garcia) works as a prison guard but is an aspiring actor attending classes without his wife’s knowledge.  Mother Joyce (Julianne Marguiles) has lost all feelings of affection in her marriage and seeks outlets for her disillusionment.  Daughter Vivianne has become a stripper.  Son Vince Jr. has a fetish for obese women.  And then there’s the strange houseguest Tony (Steven Strait), who Vince brings home from the slammer without telling his family that it’s his illegitimate son from a past relationship.

We know the Rizzo family’s business, but they have no idea what’s going on with each other.  The movie is crafted carefully to bring revelation upon revelation until it all boils down to one heck of a comedic climax where all comes out into the open.  You can see the scene coming from a mile away, yet it’s still exciting and hilarious to watch.  The climax represents “City Island” in a nutshell: predictable but fun against all odds.  B+ / 


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“The Ghost Writer” Poll Results

18 01 2011

“The Ghost Writer” wasn’t expected to make much of a dent this awards season, and for the most part, it didn’t.  Polanski’s latest got some attention in Europe among independently minded awards ceremonies, but stateside, it only received a USC Scripter nomination for its screenplay.  It stands a chance of squeezing in that category, but a big name like “True Grit” or “Winter’s Bone” would probably have to fall out for it to get in.

Most people are saying that 11 films are vying for 10 spots in Best Picture, and I can’t argue with that.  But what about dark horses?  No one really thought “The Blind Side” was in legitimate contention last year, did they?  I think that as far as surprise nominees go, “The Ghost Writer” would probably be among the least shocking.

But given all the controversy involving Roman Polanski this year, it’s still a tough selection bound to kick up some unfortunate rhetoric.  I wrote this back in November:

“It has the name of high-prestige director on its masthead who has been rewarded by the Academy in the past decade (2002 for “The Pianist”).  It has critical support; both movies received identical BFCA scores of 81.  It is an audience-pleasing thriller that keeps you closely tied into the action until the conclusion.

But unlike “Shutter Island,” there is an aura of controversy surrounding “The Ghost Writer.”  Timed almost simultaneously with the movie’s stateside release was Roman Polanski’s arrest overseas for the statutory rape he fled the United States for decades ago.  The director instantly became a topic of heated conversation.  Should he face justice, or be pardoned after all these years?  No matter what you think, the debate put Polanski into a very present mainstream consciousness.”

Most people, when I polled, indicated that they think Polanski is ultimately too controversial a figure to receive a nomination.  60% said they did not expect the movie to be nominated, while 40% said they thought it would make the cut.  It would probably be in my #13 or #14 in the standings for Best Picture if I ranked that low – not entirely out of the question, but not incredibly likely.


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Random Factoid #538

17 01 2011

8 for 10 on my Golden Globes predictions, not too shabby!  (Darned Mila Kunis and Jake Gyllenhaal for blowing my perfect 10.)

It was a nice night (as is any with Natalie Portman at the podium), but a lot of people had issues with Ricky Gervais.  For what it’s worth, I thought he did a great job – no more offensive than last year.  He took shots at people who needed to be proven vulnerable, like the HFPA, Charlie Sheen, the lauded cast of “Sex and the City,” and “The Tourist.”

Except for perhaps his introductions of Tim Allen and Robert Downey Jr., every joke was in fairly good taste.  They weren’t just potshots; they made you think about why we care so much about certain institutions and celebrities.  It’s at this point in the factoid where I’ll refer you to “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” a documentary about the fantastic comedienne that makes many profound observations about the nature of good comedy.

I’m not expecting something as crude from Franco and Hathaway in a month, but I’m hoping for at least as good of a show.


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