...I may continue posting occasionally to this site. Of course I never updated as routinely as Adam did and I don't think I can step up the frequency of posts I make, but if any of our readers see this, if once in a blue moon you check back I may have something for you to read here.
4/20/11
Now Let's Not Get Excited, But...
...I may continue posting occasionally to this site. Of course I never updated as routinely as Adam did and I don't think I can step up the frequency of posts I make, but if any of our readers see this, if once in a blue moon you check back I may have something for you to read here.
3/29/11
It's Been Fun
I started this blog almost exactly a year ago and I like to think I've done at least a decent job of updating it and keeping it interesting. I know I've become a much more proficient writer/blogger over that time span and I certainly hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I am not totally precluding the possibility of continuing to post here at RA, but at least for now the articles will be much fewer and farther between. That is unless one of the other writers wants to pick up the slack, which would be awesome. In any case, I just wanted to say thank you one last time here before I go and I'd especially like to thank my co-writers Ben, Chris and Michael. It's been fun.
My Suite101 Profile
My first article at Suite101
2/26/11
The Oscars: Live With Routinely Average
2/25/11
RA's Oscar Picks
We are adding a late edit here with RA contributor Michael's picks. Be sure to check it out.
Best Live Action Short: This is one of the few categories that I know little to nothing about. I haven't seen any of the five nominees, nor do I have a whole lot of experience with the medium. From the various Oscar pieces I have read from people far more informed than I, the consensus seems to be that either Na Wewe ( which depicts ethnic violence in Burundi), or Wish 143 (which is about a young boy with a terminal illness). Cheery stuff. Based on nothing in particular, I predict the Oscar will go to.... Na Wewe.
Best Live Action Short: Having only seen the trailers of these nominees, I'm going to go with Na Wewe for tackling very serious subject matter (ethnic violence in Africa) - under the same principle that Holocaust films often do well at the Oscars.
Best Animated Short: I have seen two of the five entries here. Pixar's charming Day & Night, and the beautifully animated Madagascar, a Journey Diary. While I loved both of these shorts, I am always drawn more to story structure and character development than visuals so my vote would go to Day & Night. The internet buzz seems to be pushing the short adapted from a children's book, The Gruffalo. It certainly possesses the star power to put it over the top with voice contributions from Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, and John Hurt among others. I'll stick with the experts for now and say The Gruffalo takes home the prize.
Strangers No More (the story of a school for children from all over the world in Tel Aviv) and The Warriors of Qiugang (an environmental battle in rural China). Warriors has the cooler name and also has my vote for the Oscar.
Best Documentary Short: If a heartwarming tale of children of various ethnicities and nationalities learning together under the guidance of determined schoolteachers isn't a recipe for success at the Academy Awards, I don't know what is. Strangers No More takes it.
Best Documentary Feature: This was a very strong category this year, as the critically acclaimed and much discussed Waiting For Superman couldn't even garner a nomination. Here there seem to be three potential victors. The first is Exit Through the Gift Shop which is the story of the reclusive, infamous graffiti artist Banksy and the world of street art. Next is Inside Job, the tale of insider trading and the market crash in 2008. And finally, we have Restrepo which follows one platoon of American soldiers for one year in Afghanistan. I think Restrepo and Inside Job are both a bit too political and that will shy voters away, so my vote goes to Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Best Documentary Feature: I predict Restrepo with its shocking look into the war on terror, rides the wake of last year's The Hurt Locker to pick up this award.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: This is usually a fun one where movies that aren't competing in other categories have a shot to take home an Oscar. Unfortunately, Inception had to be so darn good they went and ruined that. It would be a massive upset (and a travesty), if Christopher Nolan and crew didn't take home the golden statue here. The only possible dark horse is Alice in Wonderland. My vote goes to Inception.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Inception. Coolest effects by a mile, and most of them done without CGI.
Best Achievement in Sound Editing: This category gets a bit too technical for me to offer an informative breakdown, but from what I've heard, Inception is a run away favorite here too, so I'll hop on the bandwagon.
Best Achievement in Sound Editing: I don't know much about the creation of sound effects, and I wouldn't be altogether surprised with Tron: Legacy scooping up it's only award, but my final answer is Inception.
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Again Inception is getting the most buzz. I have seen some picks for The Social Network in this category, but the consensus is that the Inception sound crew did some pretty incredible stuff. So for the third category in a row... Inception gets the Oscar.
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Inception again steals a technical award.
Best Original Song: It would be a pretty big surprise if Toy Story 3 and Pixar muse Randy Newman didn't snag a win here with "We Belong Together."
Best Original Song: Randy Newman's "We Belong Together" seems the obvious choice here.
Best Original Score: Another pretty competitive category here. The King's Speech and The Social Network both had excellent scores, but I thought the music for Inception was outstanding and really helped set the mood. I'm picking a slight upset here, but I think Inception takes home the Oscar.
Best Original Score: This is one of the toughest decisions, because all of these nominees have some really nice music, but I have to think that the Inception will win this for its pulsing, driving, emotionally intense score from start to finish.
Best Achievement in Makeup: This one is a gimme. Everyone is picking The Wolfman to win, and it should. For those of you who have doubts, just glance slightly to the right. The Wolfman is my prediction.
Best Achievement in Makeup: The Wolfman, 'nuff said.
Best Achievement in Costume Design: This is an interesting group of films here. There is the genre piece in True Grit (see the RA review here), the period piece in The King's Speech, two fantasy dominated films in The Tempest and Alice in Wonderland, and a portrait of the uber-wealthy in Italy with I Am Love. My pick, based purely on personal enjoyment of the costumes, is Alice in Wonderland.
Best Achievement in Costume Design: I was tempted by several nominees here, but I think a period piece about royalty is enough to tip the scale in favor of the Oscar heavyweight The King's Speech.
Best Achievement in Art Directing: I am torn on this category. I thought the art direction in True Grit was absolutely flawless. Some of the images in the movie possessed such an austere beauty. The internet buzz however, seems to be suggesting this is a battle between The King's Speech and Alice in Wonderland. While in my heart I want True Grit to win, my prediction is that The King's Speech is going to have a big night and this category will be a part of it.
Best Achievement in Art Directing: I predict the fantastical world of Alice in Wonderland will win out in this category.
Best Achievement in Editing: Another very strong category. The Social Network and 127 Hours were both outstandingly edited films taking very unique and entertaining approaches. I think my favorite however was the job done on Black Swan. The editing was a major part of that film and is some of the best I've ever seen. Most people are predicting a win for The Social Network, but my guess is Black Swan pulls the upset.
Best Achievement in Editing: This one will go to the frequent flash backs and forwards and the snappy, sharp, pacing of The Social Network.
Best Achievement in Cinematography: Inception's Wally Pfister did a spectacular job on his film, but the signs are pointing to a long overdue life time achievement award for the long time Coen brothers collaborator Roger Deakins and True Grit. The Coen's deliberate western will pull off the victory here.
True Grit |
Best Foreign Language Film: The debate is between the Mexican Biutiful and the Danish In a Better World. The difference will be Javier Bardem bringing the star power to Biutiful and the film will ride him to an Oscar win.
Best Foreign Language Film: I'm going to go with Biutiful, as it is supposed to be a truly remarkable performance from Bardem.
Best Animated Feature Film: Many people have made this joke before me. Many will make it after me. They should just call this the Pixar award. Toy Story 3 in a landslide. How to Train Your Dragon (see RA review here) is the distant dark horse here.
Best Animated Feature Film: Here's perhaps my only major underdog pick. I don't think the Academy can keep giving this to Pixar indefinitely, and a threequel, no matter how excellent, may be a good place to give someone else a chance. It would also be an opportunity to honor Sylvain Chomet, whose gorgeous film Les Triplettes de Belleville was nominated in 2004 but lost out to a deserving Finding Nemo. My prediction is The Illusionist.
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network is the run away favorite here. I think True Grit deserves some consideration for doing an excellent job bringing the Charles Portis novel to life. The fascinating, minimalist Winter's Bone is also terrific, but the Oscar will go to Aaron Sorkin and The Social Network.
Best Adapted Screenplay: One of tonight's giants, The Social Network.
Best Original Screenplay: This is another category with a clear favorite. The Kids Are All Right is the outside possibility, but The King's Speech will snag another here.
Best Original Screenplay: The other giant, The King's Speech, continues the fairly even split.
Best Supporting Actress: I thought this was a fairly weak category this year. Hailee Steinfeld was terrific as young Mattie in True Grit, but I wasn't wowed by any of the other performances. Helena Bonham Carter was strong in The King's Speech, but not outstanding. Melissa Leo could provide the upset with her performance in The Fighter, but Steinfeld, for her debut film, will win the Academy Award here.
Best Supporting Actress: I heard a theory that Melissa Leo and Amy Adams from The Fighter could split the Academy vote, thus giving it to the young but extremely talented Hailee Steinfeld for her performance in True Grit. This theory suits me, as I thought she is deserving, so I'll go with that.
Best Supporting Actor: In contrast to the Best Supporting Actress nominees, I thought this was a very strong year for the supporting actors. Christian Bale is the favorite for his role in The Fighter, Geoffrey Rush is the dark horse for The King's Speech, and Jeremy Renner was intense in The Town (see RA review here). I actually think the actor who is getting the least press had the strongest performance. That would be John Hawkes as the brooding, unpredictable Teardrop in Winter's Bone. However, personal preferences aside, my prediction is Bale takes home his first ever Oscar.
Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes in Winter's Bone |
Best Actress: This is also a much stronger field than the supporting actresses with Michelle Williams from Blue Valentine, and Jennifer Lawrence from Winter's Bone turning in pitch perfect performances in their respective films. Annette Bening is also wonderful in The Kids Are All Right and has the sentimental vote, but everyone (and myself included) will be shocked if Natalie Portman doesn't win for her work in Black Swan. Watching her act in that movie was physically exhausting. I can't imagine how demanding that role must have been to actually act out.
Best Actress: Word on the street is this will go to Natalie Portman for her intense physical preparation in addition to her performance, and I see no reason to dispute this.
Best Actor: This might be the easiest category to pick in the entire show. Heck, it might be the easiest pick in the last ten years of the show. Colin Firth as King George the VI was perfect. He carries The King's Speech turning in a confident but charming performance as the stuttering King. If hell freezes over, then James Franco has an outside shot for some very strong stuff in 127 Hours, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Best Actor: I'm ashamed to say that I haven't yet had the chance to see The King's Speech, but buzz alone makes this one a no-brainer. It's Colin Firth without a doubt.
Best Achievement in Directing: This is another category where my favorite nominee will not win. I thought Darren Aronofsky did an exquisite job taking us inside the world of elite ballet, and all the pressures that accompany it. His film, Black Swan, is an intense, terrifying, and unsettling piece of film making that should win the Oscar. The actual winner will come down to either David Fincher for The Social Network, or Tom Hooper for The King's Speech. Both of those films are excellent so I won't be too broken up when Aronofsky gets passed over. My pick is the Oscar will go to Fincher.
Natalie Portman in Black Swan |
Best Picture: Well, you finally made it. This is the second year now that we have ten nominees to choose from in this category, and all of the films were very good. My personal favorite film of the year was Black Swan, closely followed by 127 Hours, but both of these films are little better than long shot contenders. The real battle is between The Social Network and The King's Speech. The Social Network is the stylized story of the creation of Facebook, and the drawn out legal battles of inventor Mark Zuckerberg. The film is very well made, edgy, and has a lot of relevance for the modern audience. The King's Speech is a charming, sentimental tale of a stuttering King who, thanks to a confident Australian speech therapist, was able to grow into a symbol of national pride. My pick for the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture is The King's Speech.
Best Picture: This year we will again see the rare occurrence that is becoming more common at the Oscars, and that is the Best Director/Best Picture split. The Social Network and The King's Speech will share the accolades tonight, but The King's Speech is going to come away with the biggy. Michael out.
Thanks for sticking with us everybody. I hope to see you all back Sunday night at 8pm so we can all see just how wrong we are. Let me know if you have some predictions of your own in the comments.
2/9/11
Sexy Beast
Ben Kingsley as Don Logan |
2/2/11
Routinely Average News Coverage
Hugh Jackman and a giant robot |
I realize I am being long winded here, but I'm getting to the point, I promise. The reason I bring up all of this is. The Michigan film industry just landed a major coup with Christopher Nolan opting to shoot the third installment of his Dark Night trilogy in Detroit. This was something of a surprise as Chicago was used very distinctively in the box-office smash The Dark Night. Regardless, this will bring a lot of money into the D and could be very good for both the city and the state.
Tom Hardy in Inception |
Alright, enough with the caped crusader. We are moving on to a very different sort of superhero. A man who united a nation, who fought for equality regardless of race, a man who was the 16th President of the United States. Yes, thats right. I'm talking about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Now those of you who are fans of the Starz show Party Down will be saying, "wait, that's real?" And those of you who aren't will be saying, "wait, that's real?" And the answer to both questions is yes. It is based off a graphic novel and has been discussed as a possible feature length film for a while. Timur Bekmambetov and Tim Burton (who previously collaborated on the animated film 9) are joining forces again to bring it to the big screen. While it appears the role of Lincoln is still up for grabs, Joaquin Phoenix (fresh of the mockumentary I'm Still Here) seems to be the front runner for the role of Henry, Lincoln's ageless, vampire-killing mentor. Despite being thoroughly sick of vampires, I must say this sounds awesome. Burton and Bekmambetov have more than enough imagination between them to make this as wild as it should be, and Phoenix seems like he could fit right into place. Color me interested.
On to the next bit of news. It appears, contrary to previous RA news reports, that the latest James Bond installment is still a go and Sam Mendes is still in line to direct. On top of this already great news, Collider.com is reporting that Javier Bardem is being seriously considered as the next Bond villain. And as if it couldn't get any better than that, Bardem claims that the new film is going to take the franchise in an entirely new direction. I have actually been less than thrilled about the direction the last two Bond films have taken the franchise, so something fresh sounds great to me. Plus we already know Bardem can do evil.
Our final piece of news for today hits a bit closer to home, at least artistically. Arguably my favorite movie of all time is the Coen brothers' 1998 comedy, The Big Lebowski. The Jeff Bridges character of the Dude, is essentially a personal hero of mine. All of this is why this little rumor I heard only today has me both nervous and potentially overjoyed. Tara Reid, or Bunny from the film, has let slip that there has been some talk of a sequel. In all likelihood this is just another in a long line of false alarms as the Coens and Bridges have all denied any involvement. The absolute only way I could ever be ok with the making of a sequel is if those three were on board, and they are not known for being especially coy. However, with all the original pieces back, it could be a blast to spend another two hours with the Dude, Walter, Jesus and all of the other unique characters that made the first so wonderful. So basically, RA is adopting a wait and see approach.
Well, that is all we've got. Until next time, the dude abides.
1/26/11
And the nominees are...
The glitz and glamor can be fun. The history is great. Whoever is hosting usually has an enormous impact on how enjoyable the 3+ hours are (James Franco and Anne Hathaway could be fun), and it is an especially interesting twist that for the first time ever, a host will also be a nominee (Franco for 127 Hours), but the real reason I watch is the debate. So I thought I would open it up here to you guys for some friendly discussion. There is a link to the the full list of nominees at the bottom of the post. Go peruse and let me know what you think. Who got left off, who has no place being included, who should win, who is just receiving a career nomination... etc. So far the biggest stories appear to be the snubs of Christopher Nolan in the Best Director category for Inception, and the documentary Waiting For Superman.
James Franco and Anne Hathaway |
Link to list of nominees.
1/23/11
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
The same principle applies to Mac's nemesis, Nurse Ratched. Stoically played by Louis Fletcher (both Fletcher and Nicholson won Oscar's for their efforts), Ratched appears to be devoted to the care of her patients. However, as her need to control them slowly surfaces, Ratched is not demonized. One of the pivotal moments of the movie occurs as the hospital administrators discuss options to remove McMurphy from the ward, and Ratched admonishes them all for shying away from their duty to aid Mr. McMurphy.
1/8/11
Big Night
The majority of movies that make it on my to-watch list are either classic films or the recent releases being talked about today. However, sometimes the best movie-watching experiences I have are those where I take a chance on a film that is recommended to me, that is neither a time-tested classic nor a movie presently being hyped. If I’m lucky, I not only get to watch a good movie, I also feel that I’ve made a kind of rare discovery.
Such was the case with Big Night, a clever culinary dramedy: a story of two Italian immigrant brothers (amusingly named Primo and Secondo — "First" and "Second") who run a superb restaurant that is failing because their inspired cuisine is on a different level from the unsophisticated palates of their few New Yorker patrons. The brothers, charmingly played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci respectively, try to save it by going for broke on one big night to which they have invited renowned band leader Louis Prima. The star of the film, however, is the food, which takes center stage.
Before it was mentioned to me, I had never noticed Big Night on an AFI list or on comparable lists of must-sees. It’s not an old movie by any means, but its 1996 release date means that it came out considerably before I was paying attention to good cinema. So this underrated gem could have slipped right past me, were it not for the chance conversation that made me aware of it, and although it is sad that this movie is not as recognized as it deserves to be, at the same time that makes the experience of having come across it more valuable.
Perhaps the reason Big Night remains so unacknowledged despite its delightful story, excellent performances and stylistic flair is that the lead and supporting roles are all filled by character actors rather than major Hollywood stars. Those who are familiar with Tucci, Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, and Ian Holm know that they do very fine work, but they hardly rake in box office cash. The movie doesn’t feature grandiose effects and it’s not a blockbuster of epic figures and events. It’s just a story about a few ordinary people trying to create something extraordinary.
The film is primarily Tucci’s baby: he co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in it. And watching the final result, it is clear that he took great care in each of these steps, from the soundtrack full of wonderful Italian and Italian-American artists, to the beautiful long take of the final shot. If you enjoy seeing little known or underrated flicks, rent this fun movie for a night with friends and family. Watch it with a bottle of wine, heck, go all-out and cook a nice lasagna bolognese or risotto to go with it, and then sit back to enjoy Tucci and a mustachioed Shalhoub bantering in thick Italian accents. Fine movies, like fine cuisine, are the result of passionate and painstaking work. And they are something rare. They should be recognized and appreciated for what they are, and they need to be sought out.
“To eat good food is to be close to God” — Primo
25/30
1/6/11
The Tourist
Rufus Sewell watches Angelina Jolie in The Tourist |