The basu! Guide to the Movies
May 14th, 2004
One to Watch - Bollywood
Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Never Come)
Directed by: Nikhil Advani
Starring: Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Rajpal Yadav, Sonali Bendre
Plot: Pretty, studious New Yorker (!) Naina Kapur (Zinta) is best friends with Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan). However, she falls in love with the mysterious Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan).Unfortunately, since Aman is unable to give her what she needs, he convinces Rohit that he loves Naina; and then tries to get Naina to fall in love with Rohit by making him pretend he hates her. Look, just be sure to know that many melodramatic complications ensue.
The Buzz: I cannot stand Shah Rukh Khan. Hate that guy. Yet, it had been a while since I’d seen my grandmother, so the least I could do was to take her to watch this film. Adding to my hesitation was the name Karan Johar on the poster – this literally sent shivers down my spine. Boy was I relieved to learn that the idiot was only the producer and had wisely left directing duties to first-timer Advani. And then the film started; and right from the snazzy opening credit sequence (done by our very own desi Tata XLSI – who knew?) I was hooked. Yes, it was a little disconcerting to see a Bollywood film set entirely in New York; have my mother keep pointing out every single place where she had had lunch; and then seeing the normally insufferable Zinta jog from Manhattan to Queens without breaking a sweat on her pretty little head. Nonetheless, the film starts with such panache, and handles the comedy so well, that I could not believe I was watching something from the house of Johar. Witty set-pieces, funny little asides, snappy camerawork, great chemistry within the ensemble – it all works. That is until Shah Rukh Khan shows up, and well, sure enough, it goes downhill fast. The great Bachchan (Jaya not Amitabh) is wonderful, as is most of the supporting cast. Saif Ali Khan has really blossomed into a fine actor after Dil Chahta Hai (What the Heart Wants), and he really holds his own against his more famous namesake. Yadav, though, steals the whole dang show in a single hilarious scene. And it’s a pity when he shows up briefly in the second half of the film – this little glimpse is so expertly handled, that it only serves to show how badly the film has devolved at that point. My advice: watch the first hour and then listen to the CD at home. Now, if only I my cardiologist looked like Bendre…
Bottom Line: DVD
One to Watch - Brazil
Carandiru
Directed by: Hector Babenco
Starring: Enrique Díaz, Wagner Moura, Caio Blat
Plot: Unsavory behavior threatens to destabilize one of the world’s most notorious prisons. Election-year complications ensue…oh wait, that’s another prison. Never mind.
The Buzz: Incredible, just incredible. Brazil is working hard to atone for the sins of having tripe like Blame it on Rio and Wild Orchid filmed there. Babenco’s (proving that, 19 years after Kiss of the Spider Woman, he still has it) passionate, troubling film takes a hold from the very first frame and does not let you go. The latest in the long line of South American social realism film, this one is set apart with the clear-eyed depiction of the underclass inhabiting the prison, and its unflinching depiction of the violence that erupts swiftly and suddenly. Like most South American films, it wears its heart on its sleeve, and the melodramatic handling of the burgeoning relationships within the film threatens the viewer’s patience. Babenco teeters on the precipice, working hard to keep all the balls in the air, and this effort is very much apparent (in sharp contrast to the blithe slickness of last year’s City of God). The whole enterprise comes to a bloody and inevitable climax that is definitely not for the squeamish. Ultimately though, if you are willing to suspend your resistance, you come away transformed from an incredible movie-going experience.
Bottom Line: Those lucky few in New York and Los Angeles: Theatres – First Week; Others: DVD
New Movies
Troy
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bean, Peter O’Toole, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger
Plot: A small town in upstate New York is shaken to the core when…no, I keed, I keed. You know the story: beautiful queen runs away with a handsome prince; launches a thousand (and then some, judging by the trailer) ships; a battle to end all battles; and finally, an adjective that will either always be associated with USC or, you know…Anyway, epic complications ensue.
The Buzz: Ladies (and certain gentlemen), start your engines, here comes Brad! Impossibly chiseled, gorgeously backlight, Pitt’s sheer physical beauty eclipses almost everything else the second he steps on screen. Unfortunately, the spell is broken the instant he opens his mouth and has to, you know, act. Luckily, he is aided in this endeavor by a veritable who’s who of great British actors, as well as the effortless machismo of Bana (Bruce Banner in Hulk, a noble failure if there ever was one…but that, as you know if you had read my Oscar Guide, is a story for another day). The action scenes are expertly directed by Petersen, but the computer generated imagery does become a little irritating. Kruger, unfortunately, does not fare as well as the legendary Helen; and her puppy-love romance with the wimpy Paris (Bloom – overshadowed yet again) is painful to watch. The final hand-to-hand combat between Achilles and Hector is a cinematic achievement in and of itself, and could be one that stands the test of time…which, considering that this story is already 3000 years old, may not be that hard. Of course, it is the legendary O’Toole who steals the entire film. O’Toole knows a thing or two about true epics, and he rises to the occasion superbly. His scene at the end provides the only real emotional resonance in the film and proves once again that while some stars are ordained by the press and myopic Hollywood execs (e.g. Pitt) the true ones like O’Toole rise to the occasion and uh, shine forever.
Bottom Line: Me: Theatres – First Week; Other, more sensible people: Theatres - eventually
Breakin’ All the Rules
Directed by: Daniel Taplitz
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union
Plot: After being dumped, Quincy Watson (Jamie Gotta-Fire-My-Agent Foxx) writes a how-to manual on breaking up, which becomes a surprise bestseller. Unfortunately, he falls in love, and cannot follow his own rules. Romantic complications ensue.
The Buzz: Okay, so romantic comedies are not meant to be innovative, and this one certainly does not break that mold. However, it does have a certain easy charm, due mostly to the expert performances from the leads. Union (one of the very few recurring minority characters on the dearly departed Friends) makes the most of her wafer-thin role. Chestnut has always been a fine leading man stuck in thankless roles in thankless movies, and just like before, he rises above the fray. Most of the time I would be complaining about how he completely overshadows the leading man, but here the leading man is Foxx, and ain’t nobody overshadowing Foxx. Displaying all the loose, combustible charisma that really should have made him a star by now, Foxx holds this thing together. He shades his performance with more complexity than one has any right to expect. Luckily, he holds center stage with Tom Cruise later in the summer with Michael Mann’s Collateral, so maybe he shouldn’t fire that agent just as yet.
Bottom Line: Me: DVD; Other, more sensible people: Pass
Coffee and Cigarettes
Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, RZA, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina
Plot: Ten short films that explore our fascination with the most favorite of American addictions. Gastronomic complications ensue.
The Buzz: 17 years in the making, this ambitious film from the uber-cool Jarmusch plays like a really good student film – one that actually works. All the actors play variations of their own bad selves, riffing like jazz musicians on a number of subjects, all the while imbibing nicotine and caffeine (or in the cases of the Wu-Tang’s RZA and GZA, decaffeinated herbal teas). The vignettes play fast and loose, and while they ultimately do not add up to all that much, it’s a pleasure just to sit and let it all wash all over you. In a summer that is going to be filled with movies jumping over backwards to win your approval (and hard-earned cash-money), it’s refreshing to see one that challenges you with its self-satisfaction and emotional indolence.
Bottom Line: Those in New York and Los Angeles: Theatres – Eventually; Others: DVD
With all Deliberate Speed
Directed b y: Peter Gilbert
Starring: Vernon Jordan, Thurgood Marshall Jr.
Plot: A documentary that looks at the seminal decision to abolish segregation in public schools. Racial confusion ensues.
The Buzz: Fifty years later, and one could make the very strong argument that nothing has changed. And this is where Gilbert’s film flounders – caught between celebrating history and criticizing the present, it never finds a graceful link between these polarizing elements. However, this elegant, timely film is an important reminder that very little progress has been made in the last half-century. Some surprising details about the case are revealed, and the depiction of its incredible consequences is clear-headed and startling. After all these years, the wounds are still raw, and it is good to be reminded about how far we still have to go.
Bottom Line: Those socially-conscious types: Theatres – First Week; Others: DVD
DVD to Watch (releasing May 18th)
Miracle
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Kurt Russell, (Oscar nominee) Patricia Clarkson, and a cast of young unknowns
Plot: Pratik manages to hang on in Corporate America for more than five months…No, no. Apparently this film dramatizes the greatest moment in all of sports history. No complications ensue, none – this was the greatest feel-good moment in all of history.
The Buzz: For those unfortunate to have been born outside of the United States, let me qualify this by calling it the greatest moment in American sports history. A bunch of misfit underdogs (are there ever any other kind) come together to upset the heavily-favored behemoth that was the Soviet (ice) hockey team at the 1980 winter Olympics. [Truth be told, this was one of those rare occasions when sports did transcend the playing field (or in this case, the ice hockey rink) and manage to soothe a nation battered by oil shortages, the Iran hostage situation, bad economy, and the downward spiral of the Cold War.] Luckily, Disney went and got themselves a smart, indie director in O’Connor (the lovely Tumbleweeds) who keeps the schmaltz in check as much as he can. Clarkson, fresh off her Oscar nomination for Pieces of April does what she can with her unrewarding role, and the young men who make up the hockey team (a lot of them non-professional actors) are real fun to watch. Of course, it is the terminally under-appreciated, underrated Russell who makes the film worth watching. He gives a real edge to the character, taking him out of the stock, gruff-but-loveable coach that we have seen so often. So, I will be out there with the rest of the guys, cheering my little Indian head off, and then crying like a little girl when Al Michaels makes his immortal call: “Do you believe in miracles?” Yes I do Al, yes I do. I still have a job.
Bottom Line: Uh, DVD
CGI Overload
Van Helsing (Oh man, Hugh, please, please, promise never to do this again. I beg you, Hugh, never again!)
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Super Size Me
Shaolin Soccer
Man on Fire
Hellboy
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
Dawn of the Dead
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (so far – as you can see, I haven’t had the time to watch even 10 Movies, For Shame basu!, For Shame)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Starsky and Hutch
Ripley’s Game *
* Of course, since this premiered on DVD, it will not be eligible for my year-end list.
The weekly movie guide to beat all movie guides. Let me know what you think: email me: basublog@gmail.com
Friday, June 25, 2004
The basu! Guide to the Movies
May 7th, 2004
One to Watch – Most Definitely
Super Size Me
Directed by: Morgan Spurlock
Starring: Morgan Spurlock
Plot: A documentary about a young man (director Spurlock) who decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, and the devastating effects this has on his life. Culinary mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Well on its way to cult status before it’s even opened, this documentary has been riding a wave of must-see buzz since it debuted at Sundance in January. Funny, irreverent and finally, disturbing, the documentary is more of an indictment of the rampant commercialization that has infiltrated almost every aspect of American society. Spurlock’s descent into depression, quasi-liver failure, and all-around hell is handled with the right balance of dark comedy and drama – with less of the hectoring that sometimes makes Michael Moore’s work unpalatable. The surprising thing is that there is some unexpected pathos here that comes from the kids struggling with their weight, and their dependence on McDonald’s.
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Week!
New Movies
Van Helsing
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh
Plot: A mercenary (Jackman) is sent by a secret order of monks in the Catholic church to hunt down Dracula. Things became complicated when the Wolfman, Frankenstein and Mr. Hyde decide to crash the party. CGI mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns) is not known for his subtlety, and you are certainly not going to get it here. After a while, you start to tune out the bombastic soundtrack, the frenetic editing and complete lack of character development, but by that point it is much too late – resistance, as they say, is futile. The usually reliable Beckinsale is saddled with a horrendous mountain of curls, and an even worse accent. Roxburgh plays Dracula with all the menace and none of the charm. However, it’s left to Jackman, one again, to bring a little dignity to the proceedings. Though he is not given any of the emotional baggage of Wolverine from the X-Men movies, Jackman still manages to make a dashing, charismatic, involving figure out of a wafer-thin character. Ultimately though, there is no use debating the merits of films like these – just switch the brain off, grab the popcorn, slather on the fake cancer-causing butter topping and enjoy the unique pleasures of the Summer Movie.
Bottom Line: Me: Theatres – First Week; Other, more sensible people: DVD
New York Minute
Directed by: Dennie Gordon
Starring: Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Eugene Levy
Plot: Two separated-at-birth twins (waddya know, the Olsen’s) are reunited in New York while being chased by an especially dogged truant officer (an especially slumming Levy). Tweeny-bopper mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Now that Rolling Stone has essentially given the world the go-ahead to ogle at these 17-year-old girls, the filmmakers make sure the Olsen’s are featured in various stages of undress during the film. Yes, I find this as disturbing as you; and no I will not be recommending this terrible, terrible film. I guess Eugene Levy has to eat like the rest of us, and hopefully the impending failure of the film will send the twins back to DVD land.
Bottom Line: Pass
Valentin
Directed by: Alejandro Agresti
Starring: Rodrigo Noya, Alejandro Agresti, Julieta Cardinali
Plot: A young boy in Argentina tries to bring happiness to the troubled adults around him. Emotional mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: This uncomplicated, earnest film fits squarely in the mold of the other feel-good foreign films that have come before it (Kolya). Sentimental and predictable as it may be, the film still manages to surprise – especially in the complex relationship between the boy and his cantankerous grandfather. So, if you are in the mood for a cutesy, uplifting little film that might put a smile on your lips for the rest of the day, then wait for this one to come out on DVD; make yourself a cup of tea; make sure the shortbread cookies are close at hand; and watch it with a loved one.
Bottom Line: DVD
Seeing Other People
Directed by: Wallace Wolodarsky
Starring: Jay Mohr, Julianne Nicholson, Andy Richter
Plot: A couple (Mohr and Nicholson) agree to have one last fling two months before their wedding. Relationship mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: With a cast as eclectic, and a premise as promising as this, you would expect something interesting from this film. Well, you would be wrong. Employing all the verve and wit of an ABC sitcom, the film glosses over the intricate complexities of married life, straining instead to attain a sense of hip detachment. Mohr and Richter somehow manage to rise above this tripe, and one can only wonder what Mohr’s career might have been had Picture Perfect (you know the one with Jennifer Aniston in her first big feature role after the launch of a certain sitcom) clicked with audiences. Too bad man, too d**n bad.
Bottom Line: Pass
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Shaolin Soccer
Man on Fire
Hellboy
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
The Ladykillers
Dawn of the Dead
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
May 7th, 2004
One to Watch – Most Definitely
Super Size Me
Directed by: Morgan Spurlock
Starring: Morgan Spurlock
Plot: A documentary about a young man (director Spurlock) who decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, and the devastating effects this has on his life. Culinary mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Well on its way to cult status before it’s even opened, this documentary has been riding a wave of must-see buzz since it debuted at Sundance in January. Funny, irreverent and finally, disturbing, the documentary is more of an indictment of the rampant commercialization that has infiltrated almost every aspect of American society. Spurlock’s descent into depression, quasi-liver failure, and all-around hell is handled with the right balance of dark comedy and drama – with less of the hectoring that sometimes makes Michael Moore’s work unpalatable. The surprising thing is that there is some unexpected pathos here that comes from the kids struggling with their weight, and their dependence on McDonald’s.
Bottom Line: Theatres – First Week!
New Movies
Van Helsing
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh
Plot: A mercenary (Jackman) is sent by a secret order of monks in the Catholic church to hunt down Dracula. Things became complicated when the Wolfman, Frankenstein and Mr. Hyde decide to crash the party. CGI mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns) is not known for his subtlety, and you are certainly not going to get it here. After a while, you start to tune out the bombastic soundtrack, the frenetic editing and complete lack of character development, but by that point it is much too late – resistance, as they say, is futile. The usually reliable Beckinsale is saddled with a horrendous mountain of curls, and an even worse accent. Roxburgh plays Dracula with all the menace and none of the charm. However, it’s left to Jackman, one again, to bring a little dignity to the proceedings. Though he is not given any of the emotional baggage of Wolverine from the X-Men movies, Jackman still manages to make a dashing, charismatic, involving figure out of a wafer-thin character. Ultimately though, there is no use debating the merits of films like these – just switch the brain off, grab the popcorn, slather on the fake cancer-causing butter topping and enjoy the unique pleasures of the Summer Movie.
Bottom Line: Me: Theatres – First Week; Other, more sensible people: DVD
New York Minute
Directed by: Dennie Gordon
Starring: Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Eugene Levy
Plot: Two separated-at-birth twins (waddya know, the Olsen’s) are reunited in New York while being chased by an especially dogged truant officer (an especially slumming Levy). Tweeny-bopper mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: Now that Rolling Stone has essentially given the world the go-ahead to ogle at these 17-year-old girls, the filmmakers make sure the Olsen’s are featured in various stages of undress during the film. Yes, I find this as disturbing as you; and no I will not be recommending this terrible, terrible film. I guess Eugene Levy has to eat like the rest of us, and hopefully the impending failure of the film will send the twins back to DVD land.
Bottom Line: Pass
Valentin
Directed by: Alejandro Agresti
Starring: Rodrigo Noya, Alejandro Agresti, Julieta Cardinali
Plot: A young boy in Argentina tries to bring happiness to the troubled adults around him. Emotional mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: This uncomplicated, earnest film fits squarely in the mold of the other feel-good foreign films that have come before it (Kolya). Sentimental and predictable as it may be, the film still manages to surprise – especially in the complex relationship between the boy and his cantankerous grandfather. So, if you are in the mood for a cutesy, uplifting little film that might put a smile on your lips for the rest of the day, then wait for this one to come out on DVD; make yourself a cup of tea; make sure the shortbread cookies are close at hand; and watch it with a loved one.
Bottom Line: DVD
Seeing Other People
Directed by: Wallace Wolodarsky
Starring: Jay Mohr, Julianne Nicholson, Andy Richter
Plot: A couple (Mohr and Nicholson) agree to have one last fling two months before their wedding. Relationship mayhem ensues.
The Buzz: With a cast as eclectic, and a premise as promising as this, you would expect something interesting from this film. Well, you would be wrong. Employing all the verve and wit of an ABC sitcom, the film glosses over the intricate complexities of married life, straining instead to attain a sense of hip detachment. Mohr and Richter somehow manage to rise above this tripe, and one can only wonder what Mohr’s career might have been had Picture Perfect (you know the one with Jennifer Aniston in her first big feature role after the launch of a certain sitcom) clicked with audiences. Too bad man, too d**n bad.
Bottom Line: Pass
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Shaolin Soccer
Man on Fire
Hellboy
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
The Ladykillers
Dawn of the Dead
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
The basu! Guide to the Movies
April 30th, 2004
New Movies
Mean Girls
Directed by: Mark S. Waters
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Lucy Chabert
Plot: The New Girl (Lohan) incurs the wrath of Regina (McAdams) when she falls for the latter’s ex-boyfriend. Cady then realizes that high school girls are not as nice as they seem.
The Buzz: Which, of course, is a lesson I could have easily told her myself. But then we wouldn’t have this intermittently funny smarter-than-your-average teen comedy from the scabrous pen of co-writer and co-star Fey. However, Fey’s background in sketch comedy does not ultimately translate to the big screen. Lohan and director Waters (Freaky Friday) continue their winning streak, and should be well on their way to good careers. Chabert (of the insufferable Party of Five) is the surprise here, giving a winning performance in what was probably a throw-away role. The film ultimately begins to come apart at the seams and lose structural coherence, and ends up being a collection of some witty one-liners, a few funny set pieces, and the final ground-breaking lesson that high school girls are…mean man, real mean.
Bottom Line: DVD
Laws of Attraction
Directed by: Peter Howitt
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey, Frances Fisher, Michael Sheen
Plot: Two opposing divorce lawyers, the raffish, charming Daniel (Brosnan), and the uptight Audra (Moore) fall for each other despite their in-court sparring.
The Buzz: Yes, it’s true, Moore can do comedy. And Brosnan continues to blossom into a fine leading man, proving that The Thomas Crown Affair was no fluke. Unfortunately, the film is not up to the level of the lead pair, and ultimately devolves into a pastiche of clichés and not quite high-enough hi-jinks. Fisher, and the ex-Mr. Kate Beckinsale Sheen give sparkling turns that, like the leads, deserve a better movie. Not quite Adam’s Rib, but there are worse ways you can spend a Friday night, when you are by yourself in your little studio…oh dear, I may have said too much.
Bottom Line: DVD
Godsend
Directed by: Nick Hamm
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Plot: A seemingly benevolent doctor (DeNiro) offers to clone the recently departed son of a young couple (Kinnear and the ex-Mrs. John Stamos Rebecca Romijn). Things go horribly wrong, however, when their newly improved son proves to be evil…real evil, man.
The Buzz: After an intriguing start, which promises that the movie might transcend its obvious B-movie premise, the movie becomes exactly that: a B-grade thriller/horror film. DeNiro is terrible in role he has played many times before, and Romijn-Stamos cries effectively. Kinnear, meanwhile, turns in a strong, measured performance that points to better things ahead.
Bottom Line: Pass
Envy
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler, Christopher Walken
Plot: When his best buddy Nick (Black) becomes an instant millionaire after inventing a spray that vaporizes dog-poo, Tim (Stiller) turns against him and tries to bring him down.
The Buzz: As the trailers and constantly changing release dates may have already indicated, this one is truly, truly awful. Hard to imagine that this is the same Levinson that directed Diner and Rain Man (among other greats). Stiller is in his patented Everyman mode here, and his distressed mug clearly shows that his agent had not listened to his instructions on avoiding “black” comedies. Black, however, is surprisingly effective as the oblivious object of envy; and Walken enlivens the proceedings (as he is so often wont to do) the moment he appears on screen.
Bottom Line: Pass
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius
Directed by: Rowdy Herrington
Starring: James Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam
Plot: The true life tale of one of the world’s greatest golfers, who wins the Grand Slam and retires at age 28 (then proceeds to set up the most famous golf club in the world, and makes sure that women and minorities are denied access…but that clearly is a story for another film).
The Buzz: This bland, uninteresting film is a must-have for putting (geddit – haw, haw) young ones to sleep. Stultifyingly reverent, it puts its hero on such a pedestal that it is impossible to have a real sense of him as a human being. Only Northam manages to inject some life into the film as the boozing, insouciant Walter Hagen. Interesting trivia: Bobby Jones earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, another one from Harvard, and even passed the bar…smart man, real smart.
Bottom Line: Pass
The Saddest Music in the World
Directed by: Guy Maddin
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney
Plot: Musicians from around the world gather to compete in a competition to find the, yup you guessed it, saddest music in the world.
The Buzz: A strange, quasi-musical based on novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s original screenplay; it’s like nothing you will see in the cinemas this year. The plot is almost beside the point in a film that tries to blend together Charlie Chaplin comedies, 1950’s musicals, Busby Berkeley production numbers and melodrama into one hallucinatory package. Maddin is clearly carving out a career as one of the true visionaries of world cinema, and this film is an important step in the right direction. I would recommended you watch this in the theatres, but the release is so small that it’ll probably be easier just to wait for it on DVD – which is what I will do once I make it through the 419-odd movies on my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
The First Great Film of 2004 or Beneath Every Enfant Terrible Video Director and Screenwriter Lives a Weepy Romantic Dying to Get Out
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Shaolin Soccer
Man on Fire
Hellboy
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
The Ladykillers
Dawn of the Dead
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
April 30th, 2004
New Movies
Mean Girls
Directed by: Mark S. Waters
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Lucy Chabert
Plot: The New Girl (Lohan) incurs the wrath of Regina (McAdams) when she falls for the latter’s ex-boyfriend. Cady then realizes that high school girls are not as nice as they seem.
The Buzz: Which, of course, is a lesson I could have easily told her myself. But then we wouldn’t have this intermittently funny smarter-than-your-average teen comedy from the scabrous pen of co-writer and co-star Fey. However, Fey’s background in sketch comedy does not ultimately translate to the big screen. Lohan and director Waters (Freaky Friday) continue their winning streak, and should be well on their way to good careers. Chabert (of the insufferable Party of Five) is the surprise here, giving a winning performance in what was probably a throw-away role. The film ultimately begins to come apart at the seams and lose structural coherence, and ends up being a collection of some witty one-liners, a few funny set pieces, and the final ground-breaking lesson that high school girls are…mean man, real mean.
Bottom Line: DVD
Laws of Attraction
Directed by: Peter Howitt
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey, Frances Fisher, Michael Sheen
Plot: Two opposing divorce lawyers, the raffish, charming Daniel (Brosnan), and the uptight Audra (Moore) fall for each other despite their in-court sparring.
The Buzz: Yes, it’s true, Moore can do comedy. And Brosnan continues to blossom into a fine leading man, proving that The Thomas Crown Affair was no fluke. Unfortunately, the film is not up to the level of the lead pair, and ultimately devolves into a pastiche of clichés and not quite high-enough hi-jinks. Fisher, and the ex-Mr. Kate Beckinsale Sheen give sparkling turns that, like the leads, deserve a better movie. Not quite Adam’s Rib, but there are worse ways you can spend a Friday night, when you are by yourself in your little studio…oh dear, I may have said too much.
Bottom Line: DVD
Godsend
Directed by: Nick Hamm
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Plot: A seemingly benevolent doctor (DeNiro) offers to clone the recently departed son of a young couple (Kinnear and the ex-Mrs. John Stamos Rebecca Romijn). Things go horribly wrong, however, when their newly improved son proves to be evil…real evil, man.
The Buzz: After an intriguing start, which promises that the movie might transcend its obvious B-movie premise, the movie becomes exactly that: a B-grade thriller/horror film. DeNiro is terrible in role he has played many times before, and Romijn-Stamos cries effectively. Kinnear, meanwhile, turns in a strong, measured performance that points to better things ahead.
Bottom Line: Pass
Envy
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler, Christopher Walken
Plot: When his best buddy Nick (Black) becomes an instant millionaire after inventing a spray that vaporizes dog-poo, Tim (Stiller) turns against him and tries to bring him down.
The Buzz: As the trailers and constantly changing release dates may have already indicated, this one is truly, truly awful. Hard to imagine that this is the same Levinson that directed Diner and Rain Man (among other greats). Stiller is in his patented Everyman mode here, and his distressed mug clearly shows that his agent had not listened to his instructions on avoiding “black” comedies. Black, however, is surprisingly effective as the oblivious object of envy; and Walken enlivens the proceedings (as he is so often wont to do) the moment he appears on screen.
Bottom Line: Pass
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius
Directed by: Rowdy Herrington
Starring: James Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam
Plot: The true life tale of one of the world’s greatest golfers, who wins the Grand Slam and retires at age 28 (then proceeds to set up the most famous golf club in the world, and makes sure that women and minorities are denied access…but that clearly is a story for another film).
The Buzz: This bland, uninteresting film is a must-have for putting (geddit – haw, haw) young ones to sleep. Stultifyingly reverent, it puts its hero on such a pedestal that it is impossible to have a real sense of him as a human being. Only Northam manages to inject some life into the film as the boozing, insouciant Walter Hagen. Interesting trivia: Bobby Jones earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, another one from Harvard, and even passed the bar…smart man, real smart.
Bottom Line: Pass
The Saddest Music in the World
Directed by: Guy Maddin
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney
Plot: Musicians from around the world gather to compete in a competition to find the, yup you guessed it, saddest music in the world.
The Buzz: A strange, quasi-musical based on novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s original screenplay; it’s like nothing you will see in the cinemas this year. The plot is almost beside the point in a film that tries to blend together Charlie Chaplin comedies, 1950’s musicals, Busby Berkeley production numbers and melodrama into one hallucinatory package. Maddin is clearly carving out a career as one of the true visionaries of world cinema, and this film is an important step in the right direction. I would recommended you watch this in the theatres, but the release is so small that it’ll probably be easier just to wait for it on DVD – which is what I will do once I make it through the 419-odd movies on my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
The First Great Film of 2004 or Beneath Every Enfant Terrible Video Director and Screenwriter Lives a Weepy Romantic Dying to Get Out
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Shaolin Soccer
Man on Fire
Hellboy
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
The Ladykillers
Dawn of the Dead
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
The basu! Guide to the Movies
April 23rd, 2004
One to Watch
Ripley’s Game
Directed by: Liliana Cavani
Starring: John Malkovich, Ray Winstone, Dougray Scott
Plot: A sociopath convinces his friend to convince another man to kill an associate of the sociopath’s friend. And no, I’m not quite sure what this means either, but trust me, you won’t need to.
The Buzz: A movie so good, so well-reviewed that it wasn’t even released in theaters. Ah, welcome to Hollywood; a land where a CGI-dog and his nitwit Teen Scream friends get the full court press while one of the best movies of the year slinks straight to DVD. Winstone (unrecognizable, but brilliant in Cold Mountain) is great as the thuggish, not-too-bright best friend, the cinematography is first-rate and Porter proves that there is life after all for a female director after 35 (clearly evidenced by her economical, confident handling of the film). But the main attraction here is Malkovich, in a role he was, quite simply, born to play. As the titular Ripley he oozes the languid menace, quick-silver charm and elegant manipulation so very absent from Matt Damon’s portrayal in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Yes the film is too long, and yes, the third act is horrid; but there are few things in this world that are as satisfying as watching that thin smile spread across Malkovich’s lips, like a snake slowly baring its fangs, when he realizes that the victim is completely, and utterly, his.
Bottom Line: DVD (which is a pity)
New Movies
Man on Fire
Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini
Plot: A bodyguard is forced to take matters into his own hands when his charge, the young daughter of a Mexican industrialist, is kidnapped.
The Buzz: Oh yeah! Denzel once again indulges his dark side; and once again his director is up to the task. Scott’s films have always been accused of being long on style and short on…well you know. And this one is no different. Scott, however, has matured; and this shows through not only in the performances from the excellent cast (especially Fanning, Walken and Giannini), but also in the tender relationship that develops between Washington and Fanning. The film is a little long, and at times too over wrought; but it is so much better than all the other actioners out there (I am talking to you The Punisher), and is always so fun to watch, that I can’t wait.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
13 Going on 30
Directed by: Gary Winick
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer
Plot: A 13-year-old girl makes a wish and, wouldn’t you believe it, wakes up the next morning to find that she’s become Jennifer Garner. Lucky girl!
The Buzz: Yes, I know, a distaff, gender-reversal of Big. And yes, it is derivative, mostly unoriginal, and you can see it all coming from a few miles away. Yet, this thing is directed with so much flair by former indie director Winick (late of the overrated Tadpole) and features such an effervescent lead performance from Garner (a real surprise here, a real surprise) that it begs your attention. With so many other truly awful, alleged romantic comedies out there (I’m talking to you Connie and Carla), take the time to spend some money on this one. And when you do, you’ll realize how beautiful and talented both Mark why-won’t-someone-please-make-him-a-star-already Ruffalo and Judy destined-for-second-banana-roles-unless-someone-breaks-the-mold Greer are. And that music you hear in the TV commercials? Well, it’s one of my all-time faves: Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.” Oh yeah!
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Hellboy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
Ella Enchanted
The Ladykillers
Monsieur Ibrahim
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
April 23rd, 2004
One to Watch
Ripley’s Game
Directed by: Liliana Cavani
Starring: John Malkovich, Ray Winstone, Dougray Scott
Plot: A sociopath convinces his friend to convince another man to kill an associate of the sociopath’s friend. And no, I’m not quite sure what this means either, but trust me, you won’t need to.
The Buzz: A movie so good, so well-reviewed that it wasn’t even released in theaters. Ah, welcome to Hollywood; a land where a CGI-dog and his nitwit Teen Scream friends get the full court press while one of the best movies of the year slinks straight to DVD. Winstone (unrecognizable, but brilliant in Cold Mountain) is great as the thuggish, not-too-bright best friend, the cinematography is first-rate and Porter proves that there is life after all for a female director after 35 (clearly evidenced by her economical, confident handling of the film). But the main attraction here is Malkovich, in a role he was, quite simply, born to play. As the titular Ripley he oozes the languid menace, quick-silver charm and elegant manipulation so very absent from Matt Damon’s portrayal in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Yes the film is too long, and yes, the third act is horrid; but there are few things in this world that are as satisfying as watching that thin smile spread across Malkovich’s lips, like a snake slowly baring its fangs, when he realizes that the victim is completely, and utterly, his.
Bottom Line: DVD (which is a pity)
New Movies
Man on Fire
Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini
Plot: A bodyguard is forced to take matters into his own hands when his charge, the young daughter of a Mexican industrialist, is kidnapped.
The Buzz: Oh yeah! Denzel once again indulges his dark side; and once again his director is up to the task. Scott’s films have always been accused of being long on style and short on…well you know. And this one is no different. Scott, however, has matured; and this shows through not only in the performances from the excellent cast (especially Fanning, Walken and Giannini), but also in the tender relationship that develops between Washington and Fanning. The film is a little long, and at times too over wrought; but it is so much better than all the other actioners out there (I am talking to you The Punisher), and is always so fun to watch, that I can’t wait.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
13 Going on 30
Directed by: Gary Winick
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer
Plot: A 13-year-old girl makes a wish and, wouldn’t you believe it, wakes up the next morning to find that she’s become Jennifer Garner. Lucky girl!
The Buzz: Yes, I know, a distaff, gender-reversal of Big. And yes, it is derivative, mostly unoriginal, and you can see it all coming from a few miles away. Yet, this thing is directed with so much flair by former indie director Winick (late of the overrated Tadpole) and features such an effervescent lead performance from Garner (a real surprise here, a real surprise) that it begs your attention. With so many other truly awful, alleged romantic comedies out there (I’m talking to you Connie and Carla), take the time to spend some money on this one. And when you do, you’ll realize how beautiful and talented both Mark why-won’t-someone-please-make-him-a-star-already Ruffalo and Judy destined-for-second-banana-roles-unless-someone-breaks-the-mold Greer are. And that music you hear in the TV commercials? Well, it’s one of my all-time faves: Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.” Oh yeah!
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Hellboy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Dogville
Ella Enchanted
The Ladykillers
Monsieur Ibrahim
Young Adam
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
The basu! Guide to the Movies
February 27th – April 9th, 2004
Now Playing
Starsky & Hutch
Hidalgo
Secret Window
Spartan
March 19th
Taking Lives
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Dawn of the Dead
March 26th
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
The Ladykillers
Jersey Girl
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Never Die Alone
Ned Kelly
April 2nd
Hellboy
The Prince and Me
Home on the Range
The United States of Leland
Dogville
Walking Tall
April 9th
The Alamo
Johnson Family Vacation
The Girl Next Door
The Whole Ten Yards
I’m Not Scared
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
February 27th – April 9th, 2004
Now Playing
Starsky & Hutch
Hidalgo
Secret Window
Spartan
March 19th
Taking Lives
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Dawn of the Dead
March 26th
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
The Ladykillers
Jersey Girl
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Never Die Alone
Ned Kelly
April 2nd
Hellboy
The Prince and Me
Home on the Range
The United States of Leland
Dogville
Walking Tall
April 9th
The Alamo
Johnson Family Vacation
The Girl Next Door
The Whole Ten Yards
I’m Not Scared
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The basu! Guide to the Movies
The Weekend of February 20th, 2004
The Big One (Opening Ash Wednesday, February 25th)
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Weekend of February 20th, 2004
The Big One (Opening Ash Wednesday, February 25th)
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Friday, February 27, 2004
The basu! Guide to the Oscars 2004
Well kids, it’s that time of the year again. And what’s that you say, no Miramax film was nominated for Best Picture this year? Well, guess again my lovelies. If you look closely at the Executive Producer credits of the two epics on that list, you shall indeed see the name “Harvey Weinstein.” After all, this may be Peter Jackson’s year, but it’s Harvey’s world – we just live in it.
Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Who Should Win: I really want to say Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. However, if you look at what a monumental achievement the three films are taken together, well it’s hard not to give The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a “golden” pat on the back.
(Im)Possible Upset: Mystic River. Apparently the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is mostly made up of old codgers who just don’t get this whole fantasy “thing.” However, the chances of any other film winning this are slim to none, at best. However, in the (unlikely) event of an upset, expect Mystic River to be the winner.
Possible Dark Horse: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Seabiscuit aka The Little Movie That Could.
Most Notable Omission: This would most definitely have to be Cold Mountain. You take Miramax, a celebrated director, previously Oscar-nominated stars, a December release date, and you should have an automatic nomination. This omission, coupled with the surprise wins The Pianist had least year at the expense of Chicago, and methinks that there seems to be a backlash brewing against Harvey Weinstein’s heavy-handed ways.
Shoulda Been Here: American Splendor. What an amazing little movie. What an amazing leap of faith the co-directors took from the world of documentaries. What amazing inventiveness, especially when compared to the over-praised Lost in Translation. I have to admit that I did really like Translation, but Splendor was so much more inventive that it kills me that it was so roundly dismissed by the Academy.
Best Director
Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sophia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Peter Weir – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood – Mystic River
Fernando Meirelles – City of God
Who Will Win: Peter Jackson.
Who Should Win: Peter Jackson. This is a tough one. In any other year I would have said Peter Weir, or even Fernando Meirelles. Weir did an incredible job in breaking the mold of the action-adventure film, sprinkling little details that truly lifted his film out of the ordinary. Meirelles, a veteran ad director, tears through the screen with the bloody, vibrant, ultimately life-affirming City of God. He displays enough directorial flamboyance to make even Michael Bay jealous. What Meirelles does masterfully, however, is keep the human element front and center, making us so enmeshed with each character that we need to find out what happens to them as if they were real people (and in most cases, they were). Ultimately, though, there is no denying that The Lord of the Rings trilogy has to go down as one of the greatest artistic achievements of our time. Jackson has to be rewarded for pulling this mind-boggling feat off.
(Im)Possible Upset: Clint Eastwood. It would give the academy no greater pleasure than to reward a fellow old-timer who decided to take such a huge risk so late in his career. Plus, there are murmurs about most people not being able to look beyond the special effects in Jackson’s films.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Fernando Meirelles – more on him later.
Possible Dark Horse: Peter Weir.
Shoulda Been Here: Anthony Minghella. Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. Say what you will about Cold Mountain (too long, the love story was weak, Jude Law looked too young, Nicole Kidman looked too old, Renée Zellweger was way over-the-top, etc.), Minghella brought an artful, melancholy touch to what could have been an overwrought “epic” (see The Last Samurai). Unfortunately, he got caught in the middle of what could (hopefully) be a Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash. Pulcini and Berman, meanwhile, were completely overshadowed by all the attention paid to Francis’s little daughter, and her little movie. Since Lost in Translation filled the quota of the small, “independent” film, a true original like American Splendor was summarily dismissed. Too bad, just too d**n bad.
Best Actor
Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley – House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law – Cold Mountain
Bill Murray – Lost in Translation
Sean Penn – Mystic River
Who Will Win: Bill Murray. Wow, imagine the choice before the academy: Bill or Sean (two of their least favorite people)? This time, though, Bill decided to show up at the parties, and was actually on hand to receive some awards. Sean, on the other hand, has not only been decidedly MIA, but has also further dug himself in a hole with his vociferous anti-war protests.
Who Should Win: Bill Murray. Again, normally I would have said Ben Kingsley, who was absolutely mesmerizing in the mostly forgettable House of Sand and Fog. But Bill has been so good for so long, and has been passed over so many times (Groundhog Day, Rushmore, Ghostbusters II) that he is due. Sean will get many more chances to win this thing, I am afraid this is going to be Bill’s best chance. I mean, we want Bill to continue to do good work right? Let’s not drive him to projects like Larger Than Life.
(Very) Possible Upset: Sean Penn. Well, Sean was finally convinced to trot along to the Screen Actors Guild awards only to see the most unlikely winner anyone could have imagined. I hear that Clint is making a real push for Sean, and the latter seems to be finally working the circuit. This one is close folks, very close.
Wha?!: Johnny Depp. C’mon mate, did you really think that Capn’ Jack Sparrow would be up for this award?
Possible Dark Horse: Johnny Depp. Then again, he did win the Screen Actors Guild award, and the actors make up the largest voting bloc in the academy. Now that, my friends, would be a real upset.
Shoulda Been Here: Billy Bob Thornton for Bad Santa. Don’t laugh man, he was great, just great. The person who should win this award, and is not even nominated, is Paul Giamatti. He was absolutely brilliant in American Splendor; granted he had a lot to work with. He found the morbid humor, and the humanity, in a role that in lesser hands could have become a walking cartoon, in the less flattering sense of the word here. Still, the film opened Hollywood’s eyes to what he is capable of, and here’s hoping he gets that much-deserved nomination with the Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) film he is working on now.
Best Actress
Keisha Castle-Hughes – Whale Rider
Diane Keaton – Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton – In America
Charlize Theron – Monster
Naomi Watts – 21 Grams
Who Will Win: Charlize Theron, duh. This is the one sure thing this year. 100% guaranteed or your money back. Free shipping…sorry, been writing way too much ad copy.
Who Should Win: Charlize Theron. Amazing, simply amazing. I mean, who knew? I certainly didn’t, but man oh man, does she literally jump off the screen as Aileen Wuornos. Incredible.
Possible Upset: None, absolutely none. No chance whatsoever. Nada. Nil. Zero.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Little Keisha from the delightful Whale Rider. She gave a performance well beyond her years, and her nomination, well-deserved as it was, took everyone by surprise. Hopefully the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscar history will spur more people to catch this beautiful little film on DVD.
Possible Dark Horse: Diane Keaton. After all, it’s not everyday that an actress past the age of 35 gets to headline a $100 million-grossing film and steal the spotlight from Jack Nicholson.
Shoulda Been Here: Hope Davis from American Splendor. Like Giamatti, she turned what could have been a brittle caricature into a complex, layered performance. Plus, spare a thought for Jamie Lee Curtis, who was absolutely excellent in the terribly underrated Freaky Friday. No really, watch the film – like me you will be surprised. Guaranteed! Free shipping…
Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin – The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro – 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou – In America
Tim Robbins – Mystic River
Ken Watanabe – The Last Samurai
Who Will Win: Tim Robbins. While the showy Sean Penn got all the attention, Tim Robbins was the one turning in the truly great performance. Wounded, psychologically volatile, and the emotional core of a very bleak film – Tim turns in a career-defining turn. Usually I would say that his outspoken liberalism would work against him, but since there is no serious competition, he should finally win the one that got away (Best Director for Dead Man Walking). I wonder if he will actually say something inappropriate during his acceptance speech, or if he has mellowed with age (Susan and him were banned from presenting when they had the temerity of bringing up the Haitian refugee crisis – which did a fat lot of good given what’s happening over there now…I keed, I keed).
Who Should Win: Tim Robbins, for exactly the reasons outlined above. But please, spare a thought for the great, great Alec Baldwin, who is finally beginning to get his due. Unfortunately, The Cooler was seen by way too few people to have a real shot here.
Unlikely Upset: Benicio Del Toro. He, along with Naomi Watts, were by far the best things in the most overrated movie of the year.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Djimon Hounsou. His fine performance had completely flown under the radar before this surprise nomination. Hopefully, this will catapult his career to bigger and better things.
Possible Dark Horse: Ken Watanabe. Only because Alec Baldwin is not very well liked.
Shoulda Been Here: That weird guy from American Splendor; which pretty much covers all the supporting actors from that film. Peter Sarsgaard from the one-of-those-little-seen-but-really-good-movies-you-have-to-catch-on-DVD Shattered Glass. Albert Finney. Wasn’t he absolutely brilliant in Big Fish? At the end, when he was being carried down to the river, and he saw all his friends, and he then he finally sees his beautiful wife waiting for him…I…choked…up…d**n, can’t let anyone see me like this.
Best Supporting Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo – House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson – Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden – Mystic River
Holly Hunter – Thirteen
Renée Zellweger – Cold Mountain
Who Will Win: Renée Zellweger. She’s been up for this before, and since Cold Mountain failed to get too many other nominations of note for Harvey (apparently he doesn’t consider Jude Law’s nomination as important), he’s put all his marketing muscle behind her. To wit: the television ads for the film that pretty much trick you into believing that it’s all about her.
Who Should Win: Shohreh Aghdashloo. The quiet, dignified heart and soul of an overwrought film.
Unlikely Upset: Patricia Clarkson. She has been ignored for her fine work in too many small films. The Academy might want to reward for her years of hard work.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Marcia Gay Harden, who played a one-note role pretty much…in one note. Maybe the Academy wanted to give her something for being a film that portrayed all its women in a very dim light. Also, let’s not forget that Shohreh Aghdashloo had not been up for any award of any consequence before her nomination was announced. You go girl!
Possible Dark Horse: Shohreh Aghdashloo. I think this Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash may be for real. And just imagine what a bold, liberal, politically-correct statement it would make if the Oscar were to go to an Iranian-feminist-dissident-in-exile! Imagine!
Shoulda Been Here: Maria Bello from The Cooler.
Best Original Screenplay
Denys Arcand – The Barbarian Invasions
Steven Knight – Dirty Pretty Things
Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds – Finding Nemo
Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan – In America
Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Who Will Win: Sophia Coppola. This is a very common tactic to give a pat on the back to the director of a small film which has no chance in he..sorry heck, of winning Best Picture (a la, Jane Campion for The Piano; Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction etc.)…
Who Should Win: …which is too bad, since Francis’s daughter may have directed the film quite beautifully, but the weakest link, by far, was her alleged screenplay (apparently only 80 pages long – which means that Bill deserves his Oscar more than ever). Steven Knight should win for the criminally underappreciated Dirty Pretty Things (bad speech at the end of the movie notwithstanding).
Unlikely Upset: The cute Sheridan clan. A former nominee directs a lovely little ode to America, written with his daughters, based largely on personal experiences, and it gets four (mostly surprising) nominations. I think I can begin to hear Jim’s gentle brogue at the podium.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Denys Arcand, for a French film! Maybe that Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash has been overstated. Great film though, and it was a well deserved break for a respected veteran.
Possible Dark Horse: Steven Knight.
Shoulda Been Here: Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra for the not-that-good-but-fun-nonetheless Bend It Like Beckham. I really thought they would fill that My-Big-Fat-little-ethnic-comedy-that-could quota.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman – American Splendor
Braulio Mantovani – City of God
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Brian Helgeland – Mystic River
Gary Ross – Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: The Hobbits.
Who Should Win: Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. There’s no question that Philippa, Peter, and his “partner” Fran did an amazing job condensing Tolkien’s works into three wonderful fims. But American Splendor was one of my favorite films of the year, and I think it deserves this award as a validation for trying to do something completely original. Add this to the fact Pulcini and Berman were making the leap from the world of documentaries, and hands down they should be the ones accepting the trophy.
(Not That Im)Possible Upset: Brian Helgeland. Like I said, the codgers really want to reward Clint, and this might be the perfect way to do it. And, as wretched a director as Helgeland is (A Knight’s Tale, The Order), he is that fine a writer (LA Confidential).
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Braulio Mantovani, for a Brazilian film, that was actually released in 2002! Man, maybe I am overstating that supposed Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash.
Possible Dark Horse: Pulcini and Berman – after all, they did win the WGA award. Keep hope alive!
Shoulda Been Here: Anthony Minghella for Cold Mountain. How is it that Harvey could swing a nomination for a Portuguese-language film released in 2002, but couldn’t swing one for academy fave Minghella?
Best Animated Feature
Brother Bear
Finding Nemo
The Triplets of Belleville
Who Will Win: Finding Nemo.
Who Should Win: The truly remarkable The Triplets of Belleville.
Very Unlikely Upset: The Triplets of Belleville. Remember last year when the amazing Spirited Away stole the Oscar from right under the nose of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch? Well, Disney is probably not going to let something like this happen again, but it would be great if it did. Still, I really loved Finding Nemo and would not be crushed if it won.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: The mediocre Brother Bear.
Possible Dark Horse: The Triplets of Belleville, if only Brother Bear was so…mediocre.
Shoulda Been Here: Uh, can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Cinematography
Cesar Charlone – City of God
John Seale – Cold Mountain
Eduardo Serra – Girl with a Pearl Earring
Russell Boyd – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
John Schwartzman – Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: Russell Boyd, for the really-good-film-that-in-another-year-would’ve-won-a-lot Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. This will be the only way the Academy will see fit to reward the film…
Who Should Win: …which is ironic since I think this is the one award that another film should win. Eduardo Serra has done some truly astonishing work in getting Girl With a Pearl Earring to actually look like a Vermeer painting. Truly amazing stuff. Too bad it does not translate well to the small screen, which is probably how most of the Academy saw the film – if it all.
Possible Upset: John Seale, hey they might want to throw Harvey a bone.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Cesar Charlone for the quite amazing City of God. Very flashy stuff, and I am glad it has been recognized in a category not often associated with foreign films. Man was the film slick. First world technology, third world brutality – sounds like the perfect combination to me.
Possible Dark Horse: John Schwartzman, for the little-movie-that-could Seabiscuit.
Shoulda Been Here: Duh, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Of all the nominations, in all the Oscars, it had to bumped from this one, the one nomination that almost every epic can depend on. Things are getting crazy in therre (and by therre I mean normally-so-set-in-its-ways-it-should-be-a-wax-museum Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)!
Best Documentary Feature
Balseros
Capturing the Friedmans
The Fog of War
My Architect
The Weather Underground
Who Will Win: My Architect. This is a touching story about the most primal of adult familial relationships (fathers and sons). Also, it certainly does not hurt that the subject of the documentary, the ground-breaking architect Louis Kahn, is Jewish. My own pick for movie of the year (documentary or otherwise), Capturing the Friedmans, has been under fire of late, with many people attacking its veracity (which is harmful, considering that it is, well, a documentary). Its unseemly subject matter makes it an even harder sell for the blue-haired crowd. Which is a real pity…
Who Should Win: …since like last year, there is a real potential for some fireworks if it were to win. Friedmans is a deeply unsettling movie, that has polarized audiences everywhere. It gets the kind of reaction that most fiction films would kill for, and it stays with you for days after you see it. There are no easy answers in this film, and it most definitely should be rewarded for taking the risks that it did. This is a tough one, because (is this a running theme or what?) in any other year, I would say that the documentary that deserves to win is…
(Quite) Possible Upset: …The Fog of War. Errol Morris is probably the most respected documentarian out there. A true original in a field that plays it way too Ken-Burns-by-way-of-Biography safe, he has been passed over numerous times in the past. His nomination gives the Academy the chance to right these previous wrongs.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Balseros.
Possible Dark Horse: Capturing the Friedmans.
Shoulda Been Here: Los Angeles Play Itself. Mayor of the Sunset Strip. Power Trip.
Original song
"Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind, Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole
"Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain, T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello
“The Triplets of Belleville" from The Triplets of Belleville, Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain, Sting
Who Will Win: “Into the West.”
Who Should Win: “Into the West.” While “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” is a beautiful little number, and a perfect capper for the deadpan comedy, the Annie Lennox tune is a beautifully elegiac coda for the entire trilogy. Annie has been passed over by the Grammys many times, hopefully an Oscar can right those wrongs.
Quite Possible Upset: Sting. The Academy loves non-threatening, extremely rich, boomer rockers who write songs for nominated films (a la Bruce Springsteen for Philadelphia)…
Possible Dark Horse: …though this formula did not quite work for Paul McCartney or Paul Simon. Instead, T. Bone Burnett’s surprise Album of the Year Grammy for the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack might still be fresh in the Academy’s minds. His is the better song nominated from Cold Mountain, and it’d be a kick to see the former angry-young-man Costello give an acceptance speech to the ultimate establishment.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: “The Triplets of Belleville" from the stunning film of the same name. I know you’ve heard this tune during the trailers, and I know you’ve been humming it long after.
Shoulda Been Here: Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam for “Man of the Hour” from Big Fish.
Foreign Film
The Barbarian Invasions
Evil
The Twilight Samurai
Twin Sisters
Želary
Who Will Win: The Barbarian Invasions.
Who Should Win: The Barbarian Invasions.
Quite Possible Upset: Uh, I dunno.
Possible Dark Horse: Ditto.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: No idea at all.
Shoulda Been Here: Osama! What were they thinking? Here is a movie made with blood, sweat, and tears in country ravaged by many ills. Just imagine what a boost it would have been if a film from Afghanistan had been nominated for Best Foreign Film. Think of how this film represents the hopes and dreams of a nation of broken-spirited people. It makes me mad just thinking about it. And, even if you do not take into consideration the political implications of such a nomination, the film has been very warmly received by critics around the country. The Academy has been guilty of many oversights before (Hoop Dreams, Startup.Com), but this is the one I personally find most egregious. They really missed a tremendous opportunity with this one, a tremendous opportunity.
The Rest
Achievement in art direction: Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Achievement in costume design: Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Best documentary short subject: Ferry Tales.
Achievement in film editing: Jamie Selkirk, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But please, spare a thought for the great Walter Murch, nominated for Cold Mountain.
Achievement in makeup: Richard Taylor and Peter King, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Though, I cannot believe that Monster failed to score a nomination in this category. I think most of the bespectacled Academy-members did not even realize that it was Charlize Theron underneath all that skillfully applied latex.
Original score: Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Best animated short film: Destino. Disney + Dali = Oscar.
Best live action short film: Two Soldiers. Support our troops!
Achievement in sound: Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peck, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Achievement in sound editing: Richard King, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Yea, Master and Commander wins another one. Though, you can never count out the genius of Gary Rydstrom, who is nominated for Finding Nemo with Michael Silvers.
Achievement in visual effects: Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Wrap-Up
Long live the King!
Till next year…
basu!’s Top Ten Films (and Beyond) of 2003
The Top Ten
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
I Really Wish I Could Put This Film in the Top 10, But it Came Out in 2002
City of God
(Okay, here it goes: Brazil designated this film as its entry into the Best Foreign Film pool in 2003, as the film was released in 2002. The Foreign Film Committee, in all its wisdom, decided not to nominate it – typical. However, this being one of Harvey Weinstein’s pet projects, he realized that there was a loophole in the Academy bylaws. It seems that if film is entered by country into the Best Foreign Film pool, but is not nominated, it may be nominated in every other category the following year. Enter Harvey Weinstein, and voila! The rest, as they say, is Oscar history.)
Almost Top 10
Freaky Friday
Finding Nemo
Raising Victor Vargas
Dirty Pretty Things
Cold Mountain
13
The Good Thief
Big Fish
Elf
Bad Santa
Check Out On DVD
Mystic River
Down with Love
A Mighty Wind
X2: X-Men United
Shanghai Knights
The Italian Job
Pirates of the Caribbean
T2: Rise of the Machines
Identity
Bend It Like Beckham
Hulk (A noble failure…but that’s a story for another day)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Well kids, it’s that time of the year again. And what’s that you say, no Miramax film was nominated for Best Picture this year? Well, guess again my lovelies. If you look closely at the Executive Producer credits of the two epics on that list, you shall indeed see the name “Harvey Weinstein.” After all, this may be Peter Jackson’s year, but it’s Harvey’s world – we just live in it.
Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Who Should Win: I really want to say Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. However, if you look at what a monumental achievement the three films are taken together, well it’s hard not to give The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a “golden” pat on the back.
(Im)Possible Upset: Mystic River. Apparently the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is mostly made up of old codgers who just don’t get this whole fantasy “thing.” However, the chances of any other film winning this are slim to none, at best. However, in the (unlikely) event of an upset, expect Mystic River to be the winner.
Possible Dark Horse: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Seabiscuit aka The Little Movie That Could.
Most Notable Omission: This would most definitely have to be Cold Mountain. You take Miramax, a celebrated director, previously Oscar-nominated stars, a December release date, and you should have an automatic nomination. This omission, coupled with the surprise wins The Pianist had least year at the expense of Chicago, and methinks that there seems to be a backlash brewing against Harvey Weinstein’s heavy-handed ways.
Shoulda Been Here: American Splendor. What an amazing little movie. What an amazing leap of faith the co-directors took from the world of documentaries. What amazing inventiveness, especially when compared to the over-praised Lost in Translation. I have to admit that I did really like Translation, but Splendor was so much more inventive that it kills me that it was so roundly dismissed by the Academy.
Best Director
Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sophia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Peter Weir – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood – Mystic River
Fernando Meirelles – City of God
Who Will Win: Peter Jackson.
Who Should Win: Peter Jackson. This is a tough one. In any other year I would have said Peter Weir, or even Fernando Meirelles. Weir did an incredible job in breaking the mold of the action-adventure film, sprinkling little details that truly lifted his film out of the ordinary. Meirelles, a veteran ad director, tears through the screen with the bloody, vibrant, ultimately life-affirming City of God. He displays enough directorial flamboyance to make even Michael Bay jealous. What Meirelles does masterfully, however, is keep the human element front and center, making us so enmeshed with each character that we need to find out what happens to them as if they were real people (and in most cases, they were). Ultimately, though, there is no denying that The Lord of the Rings trilogy has to go down as one of the greatest artistic achievements of our time. Jackson has to be rewarded for pulling this mind-boggling feat off.
(Im)Possible Upset: Clint Eastwood. It would give the academy no greater pleasure than to reward a fellow old-timer who decided to take such a huge risk so late in his career. Plus, there are murmurs about most people not being able to look beyond the special effects in Jackson’s films.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Fernando Meirelles – more on him later.
Possible Dark Horse: Peter Weir.
Shoulda Been Here: Anthony Minghella. Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. Say what you will about Cold Mountain (too long, the love story was weak, Jude Law looked too young, Nicole Kidman looked too old, Renée Zellweger was way over-the-top, etc.), Minghella brought an artful, melancholy touch to what could have been an overwrought “epic” (see The Last Samurai). Unfortunately, he got caught in the middle of what could (hopefully) be a Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash. Pulcini and Berman, meanwhile, were completely overshadowed by all the attention paid to Francis’s little daughter, and her little movie. Since Lost in Translation filled the quota of the small, “independent” film, a true original like American Splendor was summarily dismissed. Too bad, just too d**n bad.
Best Actor
Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley – House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law – Cold Mountain
Bill Murray – Lost in Translation
Sean Penn – Mystic River
Who Will Win: Bill Murray. Wow, imagine the choice before the academy: Bill or Sean (two of their least favorite people)? This time, though, Bill decided to show up at the parties, and was actually on hand to receive some awards. Sean, on the other hand, has not only been decidedly MIA, but has also further dug himself in a hole with his vociferous anti-war protests.
Who Should Win: Bill Murray. Again, normally I would have said Ben Kingsley, who was absolutely mesmerizing in the mostly forgettable House of Sand and Fog. But Bill has been so good for so long, and has been passed over so many times (Groundhog Day, Rushmore, Ghostbusters II) that he is due. Sean will get many more chances to win this thing, I am afraid this is going to be Bill’s best chance. I mean, we want Bill to continue to do good work right? Let’s not drive him to projects like Larger Than Life.
(Very) Possible Upset: Sean Penn. Well, Sean was finally convinced to trot along to the Screen Actors Guild awards only to see the most unlikely winner anyone could have imagined. I hear that Clint is making a real push for Sean, and the latter seems to be finally working the circuit. This one is close folks, very close.
Wha?!: Johnny Depp. C’mon mate, did you really think that Capn’ Jack Sparrow would be up for this award?
Possible Dark Horse: Johnny Depp. Then again, he did win the Screen Actors Guild award, and the actors make up the largest voting bloc in the academy. Now that, my friends, would be a real upset.
Shoulda Been Here: Billy Bob Thornton for Bad Santa. Don’t laugh man, he was great, just great. The person who should win this award, and is not even nominated, is Paul Giamatti. He was absolutely brilliant in American Splendor; granted he had a lot to work with. He found the morbid humor, and the humanity, in a role that in lesser hands could have become a walking cartoon, in the less flattering sense of the word here. Still, the film opened Hollywood’s eyes to what he is capable of, and here’s hoping he gets that much-deserved nomination with the Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) film he is working on now.
Best Actress
Keisha Castle-Hughes – Whale Rider
Diane Keaton – Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton – In America
Charlize Theron – Monster
Naomi Watts – 21 Grams
Who Will Win: Charlize Theron, duh. This is the one sure thing this year. 100% guaranteed or your money back. Free shipping…sorry, been writing way too much ad copy.
Who Should Win: Charlize Theron. Amazing, simply amazing. I mean, who knew? I certainly didn’t, but man oh man, does she literally jump off the screen as Aileen Wuornos. Incredible.
Possible Upset: None, absolutely none. No chance whatsoever. Nada. Nil. Zero.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Little Keisha from the delightful Whale Rider. She gave a performance well beyond her years, and her nomination, well-deserved as it was, took everyone by surprise. Hopefully the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscar history will spur more people to catch this beautiful little film on DVD.
Possible Dark Horse: Diane Keaton. After all, it’s not everyday that an actress past the age of 35 gets to headline a $100 million-grossing film and steal the spotlight from Jack Nicholson.
Shoulda Been Here: Hope Davis from American Splendor. Like Giamatti, she turned what could have been a brittle caricature into a complex, layered performance. Plus, spare a thought for Jamie Lee Curtis, who was absolutely excellent in the terribly underrated Freaky Friday. No really, watch the film – like me you will be surprised. Guaranteed! Free shipping…
Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin – The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro – 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou – In America
Tim Robbins – Mystic River
Ken Watanabe – The Last Samurai
Who Will Win: Tim Robbins. While the showy Sean Penn got all the attention, Tim Robbins was the one turning in the truly great performance. Wounded, psychologically volatile, and the emotional core of a very bleak film – Tim turns in a career-defining turn. Usually I would say that his outspoken liberalism would work against him, but since there is no serious competition, he should finally win the one that got away (Best Director for Dead Man Walking). I wonder if he will actually say something inappropriate during his acceptance speech, or if he has mellowed with age (Susan and him were banned from presenting when they had the temerity of bringing up the Haitian refugee crisis – which did a fat lot of good given what’s happening over there now…I keed, I keed).
Who Should Win: Tim Robbins, for exactly the reasons outlined above. But please, spare a thought for the great, great Alec Baldwin, who is finally beginning to get his due. Unfortunately, The Cooler was seen by way too few people to have a real shot here.
Unlikely Upset: Benicio Del Toro. He, along with Naomi Watts, were by far the best things in the most overrated movie of the year.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Djimon Hounsou. His fine performance had completely flown under the radar before this surprise nomination. Hopefully, this will catapult his career to bigger and better things.
Possible Dark Horse: Ken Watanabe. Only because Alec Baldwin is not very well liked.
Shoulda Been Here: That weird guy from American Splendor; which pretty much covers all the supporting actors from that film. Peter Sarsgaard from the one-of-those-little-seen-but-really-good-movies-you-have-to-catch-on-DVD Shattered Glass. Albert Finney. Wasn’t he absolutely brilliant in Big Fish? At the end, when he was being carried down to the river, and he saw all his friends, and he then he finally sees his beautiful wife waiting for him…I…choked…up…d**n, can’t let anyone see me like this.
Best Supporting Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo – House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson – Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden – Mystic River
Holly Hunter – Thirteen
Renée Zellweger – Cold Mountain
Who Will Win: Renée Zellweger. She’s been up for this before, and since Cold Mountain failed to get too many other nominations of note for Harvey (apparently he doesn’t consider Jude Law’s nomination as important), he’s put all his marketing muscle behind her. To wit: the television ads for the film that pretty much trick you into believing that it’s all about her.
Who Should Win: Shohreh Aghdashloo. The quiet, dignified heart and soul of an overwrought film.
Unlikely Upset: Patricia Clarkson. She has been ignored for her fine work in too many small films. The Academy might want to reward for her years of hard work.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Marcia Gay Harden, who played a one-note role pretty much…in one note. Maybe the Academy wanted to give her something for being a film that portrayed all its women in a very dim light. Also, let’s not forget that Shohreh Aghdashloo had not been up for any award of any consequence before her nomination was announced. You go girl!
Possible Dark Horse: Shohreh Aghdashloo. I think this Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash may be for real. And just imagine what a bold, liberal, politically-correct statement it would make if the Oscar were to go to an Iranian-feminist-dissident-in-exile! Imagine!
Shoulda Been Here: Maria Bello from The Cooler.
Best Original Screenplay
Denys Arcand – The Barbarian Invasions
Steven Knight – Dirty Pretty Things
Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds – Finding Nemo
Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan – In America
Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Who Will Win: Sophia Coppola. This is a very common tactic to give a pat on the back to the director of a small film which has no chance in he..sorry heck, of winning Best Picture (a la, Jane Campion for The Piano; Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction etc.)…
Who Should Win: …which is too bad, since Francis’s daughter may have directed the film quite beautifully, but the weakest link, by far, was her alleged screenplay (apparently only 80 pages long – which means that Bill deserves his Oscar more than ever). Steven Knight should win for the criminally underappreciated Dirty Pretty Things (bad speech at the end of the movie notwithstanding).
Unlikely Upset: The cute Sheridan clan. A former nominee directs a lovely little ode to America, written with his daughters, based largely on personal experiences, and it gets four (mostly surprising) nominations. I think I can begin to hear Jim’s gentle brogue at the podium.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Denys Arcand, for a French film! Maybe that Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash has been overstated. Great film though, and it was a well deserved break for a respected veteran.
Possible Dark Horse: Steven Knight.
Shoulda Been Here: Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra for the not-that-good-but-fun-nonetheless Bend It Like Beckham. I really thought they would fill that My-Big-Fat-little-ethnic-comedy-that-could quota.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman – American Splendor
Braulio Mantovani – City of God
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Brian Helgeland – Mystic River
Gary Ross – Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: The Hobbits.
Who Should Win: Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. There’s no question that Philippa, Peter, and his “partner” Fran did an amazing job condensing Tolkien’s works into three wonderful fims. But American Splendor was one of my favorite films of the year, and I think it deserves this award as a validation for trying to do something completely original. Add this to the fact Pulcini and Berman were making the leap from the world of documentaries, and hands down they should be the ones accepting the trophy.
(Not That Im)Possible Upset: Brian Helgeland. Like I said, the codgers really want to reward Clint, and this might be the perfect way to do it. And, as wretched a director as Helgeland is (A Knight’s Tale, The Order), he is that fine a writer (LA Confidential).
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Braulio Mantovani, for a Brazilian film, that was actually released in 2002! Man, maybe I am overstating that supposed Harvey Weinstein/Miramax backlash.
Possible Dark Horse: Pulcini and Berman – after all, they did win the WGA award. Keep hope alive!
Shoulda Been Here: Anthony Minghella for Cold Mountain. How is it that Harvey could swing a nomination for a Portuguese-language film released in 2002, but couldn’t swing one for academy fave Minghella?
Best Animated Feature
Brother Bear
Finding Nemo
The Triplets of Belleville
Who Will Win: Finding Nemo.
Who Should Win: The truly remarkable The Triplets of Belleville.
Very Unlikely Upset: The Triplets of Belleville. Remember last year when the amazing Spirited Away stole the Oscar from right under the nose of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch? Well, Disney is probably not going to let something like this happen again, but it would be great if it did. Still, I really loved Finding Nemo and would not be crushed if it won.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: The mediocre Brother Bear.
Possible Dark Horse: The Triplets of Belleville, if only Brother Bear was so…mediocre.
Shoulda Been Here: Uh, can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Cinematography
Cesar Charlone – City of God
John Seale – Cold Mountain
Eduardo Serra – Girl with a Pearl Earring
Russell Boyd – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
John Schwartzman – Seabiscuit
Who Will Win: Russell Boyd, for the really-good-film-that-in-another-year-would’ve-won-a-lot Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. This will be the only way the Academy will see fit to reward the film…
Who Should Win: …which is ironic since I think this is the one award that another film should win. Eduardo Serra has done some truly astonishing work in getting Girl With a Pearl Earring to actually look like a Vermeer painting. Truly amazing stuff. Too bad it does not translate well to the small screen, which is probably how most of the Academy saw the film – if it all.
Possible Upset: John Seale, hey they might want to throw Harvey a bone.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Cesar Charlone for the quite amazing City of God. Very flashy stuff, and I am glad it has been recognized in a category not often associated with foreign films. Man was the film slick. First world technology, third world brutality – sounds like the perfect combination to me.
Possible Dark Horse: John Schwartzman, for the little-movie-that-could Seabiscuit.
Shoulda Been Here: Duh, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Of all the nominations, in all the Oscars, it had to bumped from this one, the one nomination that almost every epic can depend on. Things are getting crazy in therre (and by therre I mean normally-so-set-in-its-ways-it-should-be-a-wax-museum Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)!
Best Documentary Feature
Balseros
Capturing the Friedmans
The Fog of War
My Architect
The Weather Underground
Who Will Win: My Architect. This is a touching story about the most primal of adult familial relationships (fathers and sons). Also, it certainly does not hurt that the subject of the documentary, the ground-breaking architect Louis Kahn, is Jewish. My own pick for movie of the year (documentary or otherwise), Capturing the Friedmans, has been under fire of late, with many people attacking its veracity (which is harmful, considering that it is, well, a documentary). Its unseemly subject matter makes it an even harder sell for the blue-haired crowd. Which is a real pity…
Who Should Win: …since like last year, there is a real potential for some fireworks if it were to win. Friedmans is a deeply unsettling movie, that has polarized audiences everywhere. It gets the kind of reaction that most fiction films would kill for, and it stays with you for days after you see it. There are no easy answers in this film, and it most definitely should be rewarded for taking the risks that it did. This is a tough one, because (is this a running theme or what?) in any other year, I would say that the documentary that deserves to win is…
(Quite) Possible Upset: …The Fog of War. Errol Morris is probably the most respected documentarian out there. A true original in a field that plays it way too Ken-Burns-by-way-of-Biography safe, he has been passed over numerous times in the past. His nomination gives the Academy the chance to right these previous wrongs.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: Balseros.
Possible Dark Horse: Capturing the Friedmans.
Shoulda Been Here: Los Angeles Play Itself. Mayor of the Sunset Strip. Power Trip.
Original song
"Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind, Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole
"Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain, T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello
“The Triplets of Belleville" from The Triplets of Belleville, Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain, Sting
Who Will Win: “Into the West.”
Who Should Win: “Into the West.” While “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” is a beautiful little number, and a perfect capper for the deadpan comedy, the Annie Lennox tune is a beautifully elegiac coda for the entire trilogy. Annie has been passed over by the Grammys many times, hopefully an Oscar can right those wrongs.
Quite Possible Upset: Sting. The Academy loves non-threatening, extremely rich, boomer rockers who write songs for nominated films (a la Bruce Springsteen for Philadelphia)…
Possible Dark Horse: …though this formula did not quite work for Paul McCartney or Paul Simon. Instead, T. Bone Burnett’s surprise Album of the Year Grammy for the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack might still be fresh in the Academy’s minds. His is the better song nominated from Cold Mountain, and it’d be a kick to see the former angry-young-man Costello give an acceptance speech to the ultimate establishment.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: “The Triplets of Belleville" from the stunning film of the same name. I know you’ve heard this tune during the trailers, and I know you’ve been humming it long after.
Shoulda Been Here: Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam for “Man of the Hour” from Big Fish.
Foreign Film
The Barbarian Invasions
Evil
The Twilight Samurai
Twin Sisters
Želary
Who Will Win: The Barbarian Invasions.
Who Should Win: The Barbarian Invasions.
Quite Possible Upset: Uh, I dunno.
Possible Dark Horse: Ditto.
Most Out-of-left-field Nomination: No idea at all.
Shoulda Been Here: Osama! What were they thinking? Here is a movie made with blood, sweat, and tears in country ravaged by many ills. Just imagine what a boost it would have been if a film from Afghanistan had been nominated for Best Foreign Film. Think of how this film represents the hopes and dreams of a nation of broken-spirited people. It makes me mad just thinking about it. And, even if you do not take into consideration the political implications of such a nomination, the film has been very warmly received by critics around the country. The Academy has been guilty of many oversights before (Hoop Dreams, Startup.Com), but this is the one I personally find most egregious. They really missed a tremendous opportunity with this one, a tremendous opportunity.
The Rest
Achievement in art direction: Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Achievement in costume design: Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Best documentary short subject: Ferry Tales.
Achievement in film editing: Jamie Selkirk, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But please, spare a thought for the great Walter Murch, nominated for Cold Mountain.
Achievement in makeup: Richard Taylor and Peter King, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Though, I cannot believe that Monster failed to score a nomination in this category. I think most of the bespectacled Academy-members did not even realize that it was Charlize Theron underneath all that skillfully applied latex.
Original score: Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Best animated short film: Destino. Disney + Dali = Oscar.
Best live action short film: Two Soldiers. Support our troops!
Achievement in sound: Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peck, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Achievement in sound editing: Richard King, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Yea, Master and Commander wins another one. Though, you can never count out the genius of Gary Rydstrom, who is nominated for Finding Nemo with Michael Silvers.
Achievement in visual effects: Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Wrap-Up
Long live the King!
Till next year…
basu!’s Top Ten Films (and Beyond) of 2003
The Top Ten
1. Capturing the Friedmans
2. American Splendor
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. My Architect: A Son’s Journey
5. Tully
6. Monster
7. Lost in Translation
8. Swimming Pool
9. Whale Rider
10. Irreversible
I Really Wish I Could Put This Film in the Top 10, But it Came Out in 2002
City of God
(Okay, here it goes: Brazil designated this film as its entry into the Best Foreign Film pool in 2003, as the film was released in 2002. The Foreign Film Committee, in all its wisdom, decided not to nominate it – typical. However, this being one of Harvey Weinstein’s pet projects, he realized that there was a loophole in the Academy bylaws. It seems that if film is entered by country into the Best Foreign Film pool, but is not nominated, it may be nominated in every other category the following year. Enter Harvey Weinstein, and voila! The rest, as they say, is Oscar history.)
Almost Top 10
Freaky Friday
Finding Nemo
Raising Victor Vargas
Dirty Pretty Things
Cold Mountain
13
The Good Thief
Big Fish
Elf
Bad Santa
Check Out On DVD
Mystic River
Down with Love
A Mighty Wind
X2: X-Men United
Shanghai Knights
The Italian Job
Pirates of the Caribbean
T2: Rise of the Machines
Identity
Bend It Like Beckham
Hulk (A noble failure…but that’s a story for another day)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Friday, February 20, 2004
The basu! Guide to the Movies
The Weekend of February 20th, 2004
The Big One (Opening Ash Wednesday, February 25th)
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Weekend of February 20th, 2004
The Big One (Opening Ash Wednesday, February 25th)
The Passion of the Christ
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Plot: A young Jewish man decides to stand up to his Roman rulers and the rest, as they most decidedly say, is history…
The Buzz: Oh boy! I cannot think of a movie in recent history that has inspired so much self-righteous anger/defense before it even opened. Oh wait, there was that little movie that Martin Scorsese made a few years ago about this very same subject… In any case, with rumblings of anti-Semitism surrounding the film almost from its very first day, it has been awash with the kind of free publicity that most other studios would kill for. Definitely one of the most anticipated movies of all time, this is going to be a huge event, and you might as well get on board for the ride.
Bottom Line: Theatre, First week
New Movies
Welcome to Mooseport
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney
Plot: An ex-president runs against the local handyman in a small-town Mayoral race. Complicating matters is the fact that they are both in love with the same woman.
The Buzz: A slight, completely predictable comedy, the film coasts by largely on the performances of Hackman and the stellar supporting cast. Romano is probably wise to stick pretty closely to his popular sitcom persona. And, just like on his hit TV show, he leaves the heavy lifting to those that are more talented than him. Smart move, Ray, smart move.
Bottom Line: DVD
Against the Ropes
Directed by: Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton
Plot: Based on a true story. A young woman finds herself way in over her head when she decides to become the first ever female boxing manager.
The Buzz: I can just see the pitch: “Hey, let’s take ‘Erin Brockovich’ and set in the world of boxing, instead of Julia we’ll get Meg Ryan and bam! Box-office gold baby, pure gold!” Unfortunately, this flat, hackneyed movie fails to excite any real rooting interest. Epps, Shalhoub and Dutton (ironic, since he directed the film) are all uniformly good, but Ryan struggles mightily. Dressed in tight blouses, talking in a dis-dem-dose Mid-west-by-way-of-Brooklyn accent, Ryan’s Jackie Kallen is a walking caricature who knows only two modes – annoyingly grating or melodramatically teary-eyed. This is too bad, since there really was a kernel of a good idea here.
Bottom Line: Pass
Eurotrip
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jacob Pitts
Plot: A young boy decides to set things right after blowing of his German e-mail pen-pal, and goes looking for her with his three friends.
The Buzz: As the advertising campaign so succinctly puts it: “No wonder they hate us.” This xenophobic, sexist comedy wears its incompetence on its sleeve, and is still painful to sit through. The film wallows in the worst stereotypes that the producers harbor about people that dare to live outside of this country. Possibly more troubling than this is the fact that the basic crux of most of the alleged comedic situations stem from a deep fear of homosexuality. This coupled with the endless shots of a then 17-year-old Trachtenberg in various stages of undress make it a particularly odious proposition. Don’t be fooled by the “From the producers of ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School’” tag line – to paraphrase another critic, those movies may have been dumb, but they certainly weren’t stupid.
Bottom Line: Pass
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Directed by: Sara Sugarman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Plot: A young girl suddenly has to fight for her rightful place in the spotlight when her mother moves her form Greenwich Village to, horror of horrors, New Jersey.
The Buzz: The normally charming Lohan (who was absolutely sparkling in last year’s “Freaky Friday”) falls flat in this grating ode to conspicuous consumption. These movies aimed at the tween set are usually shallow showcases for their soon to be multi-hyphenate young stars (Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, et al), but every once in a while an intelligent, surprisingly well made film sneaks through (“The Princess Diaries” and “Freaky Friday”). This, unfortunately, is most definitely not one of them.
Bottom Line: Pass
Kitchen Stories
Directed by: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom
Plot: A Norwegian researcher decides to study the kitchen habits of an exceptionally eccentric Norwegian bachelor.
The Buzz: Not sure what happened, but we seem to be caught in the middle of a deadpan-Scandinavian-comedy renaissance (see last week’s “The Seagull’s Laughter”), and this is not a bad thing at all. A finely detailed little tone poem, this odd, extremely original, ingratiating film certainly puts American independent films to shame. Instead of following the patterns of all the other films out there, this one manages to surprise you at almost every turn. Since there is absolutely no hope of it playing down here in the OC, I’ll catch after I make it through the 315-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Eventually; Everywhere else – DVD
Lost Boys of Sudan
Directed by: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Starring: Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor
Plot: This documentary follows the incredible journey taken by two Sudanese refugees from their homeland to the United States.
The Buzz: A sad, sad story about what the promise of America holds for those that dream of coming here, and what the reality turns out to be. The film delicately unfolds the story of these young men, who come carrying with them the hope and dreams of their families back home. What could have been a didactic, heavy handed treatise instead ends up being a bitter-sweet meditation on what is increasingly becoming a universal immigrant experience. Once again, this will never make it down here, so I guess I will have to wait for it on DVD; and I suspect that I might see it before I make it through the 316-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: New York and LA – Theatre, First Week; Everywhere else – DVD
Crying Ladies
Directed by: Mark Meily
Starring: Eric Quizon, Sharon Cuneta
Plot: A comedy about three professional funeral mourners who are called to cry at the funeral of a prominent Filipino businessman.
The Buzz: A slight, if engaging Filipino comedy.
Bottom Line: DVD
DVD That Confirms That This Really is the Best Movie of the Year
Capturing the Friedmans (Be warned that this is a troubling, provocative film about a pretty taboo subject matter. However, if you are willing to take that risk, then I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.)
Yes She Is That Good
Monster (Charlize Theron is so much more than her makeup that it’s scary. After her less-than-stellar turns in pretty forgettable movies, this one is most definitely a shock. The film, though not quite as polished as “Boys Don’t Cry” is nonetheless ultimately heartbreaking. It may not be an easy movie to sit through, but it does mark the incredible debut of the young director Patty Jenkins, fresh out of NYU. Good for her, man, good for her.)
Sometimes the Mark of a Good Director is What They Do with a Genre Piece
In the Cut (Jane Campion brings such verve and style to this film that it almost makes you forget about the ludicrous plot. Lost in the Meg Ryan nudity hullabaloo is another fine performance from co-star Mark Ruffalo. Will someone please make this kid a star already?)
Film I Really Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
City of God
Touching the Void
In America
The Dreamers
Miracle
Osama
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Monster (new entry – what, did you think I would go against conventional wisdom?)
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The basu! Guide to the Movies
The Weekend of February 13th, 2004
50 First Dates
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin
Plot: A playboy veterinarian in Hawaii falls in love with a girl suffering from short-term memory loss, causing her to forget who he is every time she wakes up in the morning. So, he has to convince every single day, that they are, in fact, dating.
The Buzz: Yes, this is most definitely a dumbed-down version of the much underrated “Groundhog Day” (the first in an admittedly short line of Oscar snubs for Bill Murray, something that hopefully will be redressed this year). And yes, with Adam Sandler you know what you are going to get – very basic “comedies,” with many pratfalls, many shots of Sandler losing his temper, and finally, some lame romantic subplot in order for him to show off his “softer” side. Every movie then, ultimately, starts feeling the same, no matter what the premise. However, this time, Barrymore and him share such amazing on-screen chemistry, that they almost save the whole, overly-familiar affair. Certainly not a great film, but when your benchmarks are films like “Big Daddy,” “The Waterboy,” “Mr. Deeds,” and other such blights on cinematic history, you tend to be more forgiving. I will definitely catch this after I get through the 311-odd DVDs in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
After the Life
Directed by: Lucas Belvaux
Starring: Gilbert Melki, Dominique Blanc, Lucas Belvaux
Plot: The final film of Belvaux’s ambitious “Trilogy (where the same event is played out in three different film genres – as a thriller in “On the Run” and as comedy in “An Amazing Couple”). Here it is played as melodrama – a dishonored policeman seeks salvation by trying to arrest a criminal with odd connections to his own heroin-addicted wife.
The Buzz: Like I said before, this is an ambitious, if gimmicky project. This, however, happens to be the best of the three films. Oozing melancholy ennui, Belvaux coaxes heartfelt performances from his cast while creating a brooding, dreamlike atmosphere. Measured and unsentimental, the film completely transcends both the heavy-handedness of the conceit, and the somewhat self-conscious showmanship of Belvaux. Since it is unlikely this film is going to cross the Orange Curtain, I will catch it on DVD after I get through the 312-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
Directed by: Richard Schickel
Starring: Charlie Chaplin
Plot: A documentary detailing the life of screen legend Charlie Chaplin
The Buzz: Though I have never been much of a fan of film critic Schickel’s stolid writing, I have to admit that his love for all things film before 1973 comes in handy here. He dissects Chaplin’s film career (and some of the more scandalous episodes from his personal life) with the same dogged professionalism he brings to his criticism. This amounts to well-made, insightful film that makes you look at a beloved screen idol in a whole new light. Since this film will most probably play out its entire run in Manhattan, the rest of us will have to catch it on DVD – in my case after I make it through the 313-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: Manhattan: Theatre, First Week; Everyone else – DVD
Robot Stories
Directed by: Greg Pak
Starring: Tamlyn Tomita, James Saito, Wai Ching Ho
Plot: An anthology of four films that details the ways robots have impacted human lives.
The Buzz: This is a beautiful, if slightly detached, film, which signals the arrival of an exciting new talent in director Pak. Each story is a beautifully detailed cinematic haiku – elegant, spare and emotionally evocative. The performances from the mostly no-name cast are all uniformly good. I shall most definitely catch this on DVD after I get through the 314-odd film sin my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
The Seagull’s Laughter
Directed by: Agust Gudmundsson
Starring: Margret Vilhjalmsdottir, Eyvindur Erlendsson, Kristbjorg Kjeld
Plot: An Icelandic fishing village is thrown into turmoil when a prodigal daughter returns after a feckless romance with an American soldier.
The Buzz: A welcome breath of deadpan comedy, this film follows in the stylistic footsteps of other Scandinavian comedies like the underappreciated “Italian for Beginners.” Stylishly directed by Gudmundsson, the film breezes along, confidently underplaying the comedy so it rolls over you, not hit you over the head (like the films of a certain Messer. Sandler). The beautiful Vilhjalmsdottir steals the film with her bravura performance as the prodigal daughter, and could be well on her way to Hollywood.
Bottom Line: DVD
La Mentale the Code
Directed by: Manuel Boursinhac
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Samy Naceri
Plot: An ex-convict, reformed after his stint in prison, tries to make a new life for himself; but is drawn back into life of a crime by his childhood friend.
The Buzz: Who says that only Hollywood can make derivative knock-offs of its past cinematic achievements? After all, anything we can do, the French can certainly do better – and they “succeed” in spades here. Stale, unoriginal, and utterly generic, this film tells us a story we have seen many, many times before. And it definitely tells us this story in a way we have seen many, many times before.
Bottom Line: Pass
WHA?!
City of God (Didn’t it come out last year? This, and many other mysteries will be unraveled in my third annual Oscar guide – coming soon to an inbox near you!)
Film I Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Monster
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
Touching the Void
In America
Miracle
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Dirty Pretty Things
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Weekend of February 13th, 2004
50 First Dates
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin
Plot: A playboy veterinarian in Hawaii falls in love with a girl suffering from short-term memory loss, causing her to forget who he is every time she wakes up in the morning. So, he has to convince every single day, that they are, in fact, dating.
The Buzz: Yes, this is most definitely a dumbed-down version of the much underrated “Groundhog Day” (the first in an admittedly short line of Oscar snubs for Bill Murray, something that hopefully will be redressed this year). And yes, with Adam Sandler you know what you are going to get – very basic “comedies,” with many pratfalls, many shots of Sandler losing his temper, and finally, some lame romantic subplot in order for him to show off his “softer” side. Every movie then, ultimately, starts feeling the same, no matter what the premise. However, this time, Barrymore and him share such amazing on-screen chemistry, that they almost save the whole, overly-familiar affair. Certainly not a great film, but when your benchmarks are films like “Big Daddy,” “The Waterboy,” “Mr. Deeds,” and other such blights on cinematic history, you tend to be more forgiving. I will definitely catch this after I get through the 311-odd DVDs in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
After the Life
Directed by: Lucas Belvaux
Starring: Gilbert Melki, Dominique Blanc, Lucas Belvaux
Plot: The final film of Belvaux’s ambitious “Trilogy (where the same event is played out in three different film genres – as a thriller in “On the Run” and as comedy in “An Amazing Couple”). Here it is played as melodrama – a dishonored policeman seeks salvation by trying to arrest a criminal with odd connections to his own heroin-addicted wife.
The Buzz: Like I said before, this is an ambitious, if gimmicky project. This, however, happens to be the best of the three films. Oozing melancholy ennui, Belvaux coaxes heartfelt performances from his cast while creating a brooding, dreamlike atmosphere. Measured and unsentimental, the film completely transcends both the heavy-handedness of the conceit, and the somewhat self-conscious showmanship of Belvaux. Since it is unlikely this film is going to cross the Orange Curtain, I will catch it on DVD after I get through the 312-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
Directed by: Richard Schickel
Starring: Charlie Chaplin
Plot: A documentary detailing the life of screen legend Charlie Chaplin
The Buzz: Though I have never been much of a fan of film critic Schickel’s stolid writing, I have to admit that his love for all things film before 1973 comes in handy here. He dissects Chaplin’s film career (and some of the more scandalous episodes from his personal life) with the same dogged professionalism he brings to his criticism. This amounts to well-made, insightful film that makes you look at a beloved screen idol in a whole new light. Since this film will most probably play out its entire run in Manhattan, the rest of us will have to catch it on DVD – in my case after I make it through the 313-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: Manhattan: Theatre, First Week; Everyone else – DVD
Robot Stories
Directed by: Greg Pak
Starring: Tamlyn Tomita, James Saito, Wai Ching Ho
Plot: An anthology of four films that details the ways robots have impacted human lives.
The Buzz: This is a beautiful, if slightly detached, film, which signals the arrival of an exciting new talent in director Pak. Each story is a beautifully detailed cinematic haiku – elegant, spare and emotionally evocative. The performances from the mostly no-name cast are all uniformly good. I shall most definitely catch this on DVD after I get through the 314-odd film sin my Netflix queue.
Bottom Line: DVD
The Seagull’s Laughter
Directed by: Agust Gudmundsson
Starring: Margret Vilhjalmsdottir, Eyvindur Erlendsson, Kristbjorg Kjeld
Plot: An Icelandic fishing village is thrown into turmoil when a prodigal daughter returns after a feckless romance with an American soldier.
The Buzz: A welcome breath of deadpan comedy, this film follows in the stylistic footsteps of other Scandinavian comedies like the underappreciated “Italian for Beginners.” Stylishly directed by Gudmundsson, the film breezes along, confidently underplaying the comedy so it rolls over you, not hit you over the head (like the films of a certain Messer. Sandler). The beautiful Vilhjalmsdottir steals the film with her bravura performance as the prodigal daughter, and could be well on her way to Hollywood.
Bottom Line: DVD
La Mentale the Code
Directed by: Manuel Boursinhac
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Samy Naceri
Plot: An ex-convict, reformed after his stint in prison, tries to make a new life for himself; but is drawn back into life of a crime by his childhood friend.
The Buzz: Who says that only Hollywood can make derivative knock-offs of its past cinematic achievements? After all, anything we can do, the French can certainly do better – and they “succeed” in spades here. Stale, unoriginal, and utterly generic, this film tells us a story we have seen many, many times before. And it definitely tells us this story in a way we have seen many, many times before.
Bottom Line: Pass
WHA?!
City of God (Didn’t it come out last year? This, and many other mysteries will be unraveled in my third annual Oscar guide – coming soon to an inbox near you!)
Film I Wish I Could Put In My Top 10 List
Freaky Friday
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
Monster
The Triplets of Belleville
The Fog of War
Touching the Void
In America
Miracle
The Barbarian Invasions
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (2003)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
My Architect: A Son’s Journey
Lost in Translation
Irreversible
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Dirty Pretty Things
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Sunday, February 08, 2004
The basu! Guide to the Movies
The Weekend of February 6th, 2004
One to Watch
The Dreamers
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel
Plot: An American in Paris (and we are a long, long way from Gene Kelly here) gets caught up in popular protests as well as a reckless romantic “triangle.”
The Buzz: You would think that with all the flap over a certain body part inadvertently displayed during the Super Bowl, and its ensuing fallout, popular culture would be beaten back all the way to the Hayes Code. Well, apparently not. “The Dreamers” is the first film in a long while to be released with the dreaded NC-17 rating (kudos to Fox Searchlight). Bertolucci (“The Last Emperor”) works with the excitement and fervor of a man half his age in fusing together his love of Paris, cinema, the 60s, and finally, lovely, decadent youth. Bursting at the seams with the life sorely missing from the self-serious Oscar contenders that have been shoved down our throats over the last couple of months; this film commands your undivided attention from the very first frame. There is a certain naiveté in display here, but given the current climate, this is a more than a welcome change. You may as well see it for the young, up-and-coming cast: Green will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s opus “Kingdom of Heaven” with Orlando Bloom; and Pitt (that creepy kid from “Murder by Numbers”) is in M. Night Shyam-a-lama-ding-dong’s “The Village.” God bless Bertolucci!
New Movies
Miracle
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Kurt Russell, (Oscar nominee) Patricia Clarkson, and a cast of young unknown.
Plot: Pratik manages to hang on in Corporate America for more than five months…No, no. Apparently this film dramatizes the greatest moment in all of sports history.
The Buzz: For those unfortunate to have been born outside the United States, let me qualify this by calling it the greatest moment in American sports history. A bunch of misfit underdogs (are there ever any other kind) come together to upset the heavily-favored behemoth that was the Soviet (ice) hockey team at the 1980 winter Olympics. [Truth be told, this was one of those rare occasions when sports did transcend the playing field (or in this case, the ice hockey rink) and manage to soothe a nation battered by oil shortages, the Iran hostage situation, bad economy, and the downward spiral of the Cold War.] Luckily, Disney went and got themselves a smart, indie director in O’Connor (the lovely “Tumbleweeds”) who keeps the schmaltz in check as much as he can. Clarkson, fresh off her Oscar nomination for “Pieces of April” does what she can with her thankless role, and the young men who make up the hockey team (a lot of them non-professional actors) are real fun to watch. Of course, it is the terminally under-appreciated, underrated Russell who makes the film worth watching. He gives a real edge to the character, taking him out of the stock, gruff-but-loveable coach that we have seen so often. So, I will be out there with the rest of the guys, cheering my little Indian head off, and then crying like a little girl when Al Michaels makes his immortal call: “Do you believe in miracles?” Yes I do Al, yes I do. I still have a job.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Directed by: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve
Plot: A barbershop in Chicago faces competition when a large national haircut chain opens up shop next door.
The Buzz: Because one “Barbershop” was not enough. The first one was a surprise hit that featured some charming performances, and some surprises (it had the temerity to poke very gentle fun at revered figures in the Civil Rights movement). This one, however, has the same hastily-put-together, completely unoriginal, feel of the terrible advertising campaign MGM is running to promote the film. Me, I am still waiting for Netflix to send me that other great Ice Cube film: “Friday.”
Catch That Kid
Directed by: Bart Freundlich
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Sam Robards, Jennifer Beals
Plot: A 12-year-old girl tries to rob a bank to help her ailing father.
The Buzz: The tween action film genre peaked with Robert Rodriguez’s inventive “Spy Kids” and died with its tired retread of a sequel, “Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams.” Luckily, Frankie Muniz is nowhere to be found (though there seems to be that same icky feeling we got watching him lust after a very grown-up Angie Harmon). The kids are annoying, the action flat, and the entire premise (as well as the execution of it) seems somewhat disturbing. If you want a fun kids to watch this weekend, rent “The Goonies” instead, and watch the full-length video of Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies ‘R Good Enough.” Fun!
Osama
Directed by: Siddiq Barmak
Starring: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati
Plot: A young woman poses as a man in order to work in Afghanistan, when it was still under the rule of the Taliban.
The Buzz: I bet everyone was surprised when this little film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, and it was well deserved (unfortunately, the idiot Oscars shamefully failed to nominate it). I don’t think we have even begun to realize just how terrible things were under that hateful regime, and this film could have certainly devolved into a didactic, angry diatribe. Instead, the graceful Barmak keeps a clear eye, and even manages to inject small doses of humor in this otherwise bleak story. Just getting this film made (with donated equipment and non-professional actors literally plucked from the streets of Kabul) should be cause for celebration; the fact that it manages to be both heart-breaking and life-affirming, without dropping into sentimentality through the sheer power of its lyricism, should be cause for great hope. I will most definitely watch this movie, if it ever makes it down here to the OC.
The Return
Directed by: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov
Plot: Two brothers have to come to terms with the return of their father, and the threat he poses when he takes them on a fishing “trip.”
The Buzz: Winner of last year’s Venice Film Festival, this is an amazing debut for the 39-year-old director (39?! There is hope for us yet!). Not only are the tenuous, yet inescapable, bonds between the children and their father explored in a complex, unsentimental way; but the film also manages to make its naturalistic settings mirror the abstract emotions on display. I will definitely catch this on Netflix (since its unlikely to make down to the South Coast Plaza – crazy Russian films do not mesh well with copious amounts of conspicuous consumption) after I make it through the 309-odd films already in the queue.
An Amazing Couple
Directed by: Lucas Belvaux
Starring: François Morel, Ornella Muti
Plot: The same event is played out in three different film genres (as a thriller in “On the Run” and as melodrama in “After the Life”); all part of Belvaux’s “Trilogy.” Here it is played for laughs; as a wife suspects her husband of having an affair when he tries to hide his surgery from her.
The Buzz: This is an ambitious, if gimmicky project. Luckily, this part of the trilogy manages to avoid the latter, while aspiring for the former. The best of the three films; it features some amazing performances, and the farce is played with a cool, collected sense of timing that makes the compounding complications a pleasure to savor. And of course, it is absolutely great to see the grand dame of Italian cinema – Muti – in fine form. Since it is unlikely this film is going to cross the Orange Curtain, I will catch it on DVD after I get through the 310-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Most Unexpected Discovery
My Architect: A Son’s Journey (man, is it me, or have the documentaries completely blown away their fiction counterparts over the last couple of years?)
Most Foregone Conclusion
Charlize Theron winning the Best Actress Oscar for “Monster.”
I Still Cannot Believed I Missed This Film on the Big Screen
Winged Migration
Films I Suspect Are Really Good and I Should Have Seen in the Theater, That Most Critics Have Forgotten About
In This World
Elephant
Other Films I Am Mildly Piqued About Missing in the Theaters
Intolerable Cruelty
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Bubba Ho-Tep
Casa de los Babys
In the Cut
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Fog of War
Monster
In America
Paycheck
The Station Agent
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (so far – and yes, “Mystic River” is no longer on my list)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Lost in Translation (new entry – finally!)
Irreversible
My Architect: A Son’s Journey (new entry)
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Dirty Pretty Things
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Weekend of February 6th, 2004
One to Watch
The Dreamers
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel
Plot: An American in Paris (and we are a long, long way from Gene Kelly here) gets caught up in popular protests as well as a reckless romantic “triangle.”
The Buzz: You would think that with all the flap over a certain body part inadvertently displayed during the Super Bowl, and its ensuing fallout, popular culture would be beaten back all the way to the Hayes Code. Well, apparently not. “The Dreamers” is the first film in a long while to be released with the dreaded NC-17 rating (kudos to Fox Searchlight). Bertolucci (“The Last Emperor”) works with the excitement and fervor of a man half his age in fusing together his love of Paris, cinema, the 60s, and finally, lovely, decadent youth. Bursting at the seams with the life sorely missing from the self-serious Oscar contenders that have been shoved down our throats over the last couple of months; this film commands your undivided attention from the very first frame. There is a certain naiveté in display here, but given the current climate, this is a more than a welcome change. You may as well see it for the young, up-and-coming cast: Green will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s opus “Kingdom of Heaven” with Orlando Bloom; and Pitt (that creepy kid from “Murder by Numbers”) is in M. Night Shyam-a-lama-ding-dong’s “The Village.” God bless Bertolucci!
New Movies
Miracle
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Kurt Russell, (Oscar nominee) Patricia Clarkson, and a cast of young unknown.
Plot: Pratik manages to hang on in Corporate America for more than five months…No, no. Apparently this film dramatizes the greatest moment in all of sports history.
The Buzz: For those unfortunate to have been born outside the United States, let me qualify this by calling it the greatest moment in American sports history. A bunch of misfit underdogs (are there ever any other kind) come together to upset the heavily-favored behemoth that was the Soviet (ice) hockey team at the 1980 winter Olympics. [Truth be told, this was one of those rare occasions when sports did transcend the playing field (or in this case, the ice hockey rink) and manage to soothe a nation battered by oil shortages, the Iran hostage situation, bad economy, and the downward spiral of the Cold War.] Luckily, Disney went and got themselves a smart, indie director in O’Connor (the lovely “Tumbleweeds”) who keeps the schmaltz in check as much as he can. Clarkson, fresh off her Oscar nomination for “Pieces of April” does what she can with her thankless role, and the young men who make up the hockey team (a lot of them non-professional actors) are real fun to watch. Of course, it is the terminally under-appreciated, underrated Russell who makes the film worth watching. He gives a real edge to the character, taking him out of the stock, gruff-but-loveable coach that we have seen so often. So, I will be out there with the rest of the guys, cheering my little Indian head off, and then crying like a little girl when Al Michaels makes his immortal call: “Do you believe in miracles?” Yes I do Al, yes I do. I still have a job.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Directed by: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve
Plot: A barbershop in Chicago faces competition when a large national haircut chain opens up shop next door.
The Buzz: Because one “Barbershop” was not enough. The first one was a surprise hit that featured some charming performances, and some surprises (it had the temerity to poke very gentle fun at revered figures in the Civil Rights movement). This one, however, has the same hastily-put-together, completely unoriginal, feel of the terrible advertising campaign MGM is running to promote the film. Me, I am still waiting for Netflix to send me that other great Ice Cube film: “Friday.”
Catch That Kid
Directed by: Bart Freundlich
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Sam Robards, Jennifer Beals
Plot: A 12-year-old girl tries to rob a bank to help her ailing father.
The Buzz: The tween action film genre peaked with Robert Rodriguez’s inventive “Spy Kids” and died with its tired retread of a sequel, “Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams.” Luckily, Frankie Muniz is nowhere to be found (though there seems to be that same icky feeling we got watching him lust after a very grown-up Angie Harmon). The kids are annoying, the action flat, and the entire premise (as well as the execution of it) seems somewhat disturbing. If you want a fun kids to watch this weekend, rent “The Goonies” instead, and watch the full-length video of Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies ‘R Good Enough.” Fun!
Osama
Directed by: Siddiq Barmak
Starring: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati
Plot: A young woman poses as a man in order to work in Afghanistan, when it was still under the rule of the Taliban.
The Buzz: I bet everyone was surprised when this little film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, and it was well deserved (unfortunately, the idiot Oscars shamefully failed to nominate it). I don’t think we have even begun to realize just how terrible things were under that hateful regime, and this film could have certainly devolved into a didactic, angry diatribe. Instead, the graceful Barmak keeps a clear eye, and even manages to inject small doses of humor in this otherwise bleak story. Just getting this film made (with donated equipment and non-professional actors literally plucked from the streets of Kabul) should be cause for celebration; the fact that it manages to be both heart-breaking and life-affirming, without dropping into sentimentality through the sheer power of its lyricism, should be cause for great hope. I will most definitely watch this movie, if it ever makes it down here to the OC.
The Return
Directed by: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov
Plot: Two brothers have to come to terms with the return of their father, and the threat he poses when he takes them on a fishing “trip.”
The Buzz: Winner of last year’s Venice Film Festival, this is an amazing debut for the 39-year-old director (39?! There is hope for us yet!). Not only are the tenuous, yet inescapable, bonds between the children and their father explored in a complex, unsentimental way; but the film also manages to make its naturalistic settings mirror the abstract emotions on display. I will definitely catch this on Netflix (since its unlikely to make down to the South Coast Plaza – crazy Russian films do not mesh well with copious amounts of conspicuous consumption) after I make it through the 309-odd films already in the queue.
An Amazing Couple
Directed by: Lucas Belvaux
Starring: François Morel, Ornella Muti
Plot: The same event is played out in three different film genres (as a thriller in “On the Run” and as melodrama in “After the Life”); all part of Belvaux’s “Trilogy.” Here it is played for laughs; as a wife suspects her husband of having an affair when he tries to hide his surgery from her.
The Buzz: This is an ambitious, if gimmicky project. Luckily, this part of the trilogy manages to avoid the latter, while aspiring for the former. The best of the three films; it features some amazing performances, and the farce is played with a cool, collected sense of timing that makes the compounding complications a pleasure to savor. And of course, it is absolutely great to see the grand dame of Italian cinema – Muti – in fine form. Since it is unlikely this film is going to cross the Orange Curtain, I will catch it on DVD after I get through the 310-odd films in my Netflix queue.
Most Unexpected Discovery
My Architect: A Son’s Journey (man, is it me, or have the documentaries completely blown away their fiction counterparts over the last couple of years?)
Most Foregone Conclusion
Charlize Theron winning the Best Actress Oscar for “Monster.”
I Still Cannot Believed I Missed This Film on the Big Screen
Winged Migration
Films I Suspect Are Really Good and I Should Have Seen in the Theater, That Most Critics Have Forgotten About
In This World
Elephant
Other Films I Am Mildly Piqued About Missing in the Theaters
Intolerable Cruelty
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Bubba Ho-Tep
Casa de los Babys
In the Cut
Top 10 Films Out Right Now That I Positively Have to See
The Fog of War
Monster
In America
Paycheck
The Station Agent
Monsieur Ibrahim
Top 10 Movies of the Year (so far – and yes, “Mystic River” is no longer on my list)
Capturing the Friedmans
American Splendor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Lost in Translation (new entry – finally!)
Irreversible
My Architect: A Son’s Journey (new entry)
Whale Rider
Tully
Swimming Pool
Dirty Pretty Things
In a Class by Itself
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)