David's Anthem Journal

Film Review: “The Artist”

 

 

Heading into Sunday night’s (Feb. 26) Academy Awards event, two films, “Hugo” and “The Artist,” lead the nominees with 11 nominations for “Hugo” and 10 for “The Artist.”

Both films are still available in local theaters, and I urge you to see them. “The Artist” is at the Regal Colonnade and the Fiesta, while “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D film, is at the Regal Colonnade.

On the surface, these two films could not be more different. “The Artist” is a black-and-white silent movie, while “Hugo” is a lavish cinematic experience that places 3-D at the service of the filmmaker and does not try to startle audiences with various objects hurtling out of the screen at them.

And yet, “The Artist” and “Hugo” are both homages to the history of cinema. This article, however, is about “The Artist,” the leading candidate to bring home Oscars for Best Actor, Best Film and Best Director, among others.

In a fictional framework, “The Artist” visits a real period in cinema history when silent films were giving way to “talkies.”

During this transition, the careers of many silent-film stars crumbled with the determination that their voices were not suitable for speaking roles.

Debonair Frenchman George Valentin, a Hollywood silent movies box-office idol played by the real French actor-comedian Jean Dujardin, scoffs at the idea of talkies ever taking over the business, which of course we know is a false hope.

Meanwhile, Poppy Miller, a bit player who is given a role in Valentin’s last successful silent film, rises to fame in the talkies.

Played by Argentinian-born French actress Bérénice Bejo, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress but will not win it, Poppy befriends Valentin and rescues him after his descent into total despair and near oblivion almost costs him his life.

The film concludes with an inspiring ending in a scene that clearly pays tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Though “The Artist” is light and frothy, it has pleased audiences enough that spontaneous applause at its conclusion has been a frequent occurrence in theaters around the nation.

And while “The Artist” is a French film, the fact that it is silent with subtitles actually results in a movie that is quite cosmopolitan, with American actors John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller playing important roles.

Bérénice Bejo is married to the film’s Oscar-nominated director, Michel Hazanavicius.

Pet Club members, take note: The film is almost stolen away by Uggi, a Jack Russell Terrier who may be about the cutest canine to ever appear in a motion picture. Born in 2002, Uggi was about to be sent to a dog pound before being rescued by animal trainer Omar Van Muller. Uggi has appeared in several films, including “Water for Elephants,” along with television commercials, and will soon become the “spokesdog” for a Nintendo product.

In addition to all of the elements I described above, “The Artist” is served well by an excellent score composed by Ludovic Bourse, who also is a favorite Oscar candidate. Musical scores, of course, were an important accompaniment to silent movies.

Though described as a silent film, this is not completely accurate. There are moments of sound that are appropriately placed for effect. And because the story is so easy to follow due to the exaggerated facial and body expressions that were important in silent films, there are not as many subtitles as you might expect.

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer should take down well-deserved Oscars for “The Help” Sunday evening, but that won’t stop “The Artist,” the type of tribute to motion pictures that Hollywood insiders love, from grabbing more than its share of awards.

DO go see “The Artist” while you have a chance.

Here is the official trailer for “The Artist”: 

 

 

And here is the wonderful Uggi and his trainer on the Ellen Degeneres program:

 

Film Review: “War Horse”

 

 

“War Horse,” the new film from director Steven Spielberg, opens on Christmas Day. It is not often that I get to review a film before its official opening, but I am able to bring this magnificent and inspiring movie to your attention after attending an advance preview.

Based on a novel written for young adults by Michael Morpurgo, which was later turned into a London stage play that came to New York and won five Tony awards earlier this year, “War Horse” is a return to the sprawling, old-fashioned, classic cinema that Spielberg has given audiences over the years.

Employing the fictional plot of a thoroughbred horse, born and raised on a farm in Devon, England, and then “recruited” into service at the outset of World War One, “War Horse” looks at the horrors of this war in a way that war movies have not previously done.

Our empathy for the magnificent animal, named Joey, grows and grows as he bonds with a beautiful black horse, Topthorn, and the two pass through many hands, including two German brothers trying to escape the war, a French grandfather and his precocious but fragile granddaughter, and a German horse master who gets too attached to the animals he oversees.

Though Joey is a fictional animal, the role of horses in World War One is well documented and forms much of the basis of “War Horse.”

The Great World War was a transitional event. At its beginning, mounted cavalry still had a role to play in combat, but in short order they were rendered substantially useless by the advent of machine guns, especially on the German side, as well as the use of trench warfare, extensive deployment of barbed wire, and the introduction of poisonous gas.

As the four years of war wore on, horses became vital not so much for their role in battle, but to move artillery and other types of heavy equipment, frequently under the harshest conditions for both man and beast.

Not only did millions of soldiers die in World War One, but so did millions of horses. And at the end of the war in France, thousands of surviving horses were sold off to be butchered for food.

Spielberg’s other great war movie is “Saving Private Ryan,” but “War Horse” is nothing like it. Yes, it vividly portrays the horrors of war, and it is a wonder how the film managed to acquire a PG-13 rating, instead of a more restrictive rating that might have kept younger audiences away. But it stands on its own as a singular achievement.

The acting performances in “War Horse” are superb, especially Jeremy Irvine as young Albert Narracott, who instantly falls in love with Joey as he watches his birth, as well as Peter Mullan and Emily Watson as Albert’s parents. In addition, David Thewlis brightens the film as the landlord of the farm that Albert’s parents are on the verge of losing.

Two other elements make this film a memorable experience. First is the splendid cinematography of Janusz Kaminski, who has shot almost all of Spielberg’s films for close to 20 years, winning Oscars for “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan.”

Kaminski has captured some startling images in “War Horse,” including panoramic shots of the Devon countryside and a fatal cavalry charge that evokes a scene in “Lawrence of Arabia.”

Another beautifully photographed scene, perhaps the most telling vignette about the ultimate futility of war, is set in No Man’s Land and involves a German and an English soldier, a pair of wire cutters, a horse, and a casual conversation about home.

The other wonderful element is the sweeping score by the film’s composer, the legendary John Williams. At age 79, it is hard to know how many more of these scores we will get from the man whose iconic compositions have added to the beauty, mystique and sometimes horror of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Jaws,” and so many more.

“War Horse” has an uplifting ending that I will not reveal. Have your handkerchiefs ready. 

Please enjoy the trailer for “War Horse.”

 

 

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As I mentioned early in this review, the stage play of “War Horse,” also based on the Michael Morpurgo novel, won five Tonys earlier this year for its performances at Lincoln Center.

After seeing the film, with its vivid battle scenes, it was hard to imagine how the story could be effectively presented live, on stage.

Debuting in London in 2007, “War Horse” the play was the creation of The Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa. The central characters are the horses Joey and Topthorn, each operated by three men who work the legs and head of the puppets.

Here are links to two videos that will give you an idea of how the production was pulled off:

 

 

Click here to see Martha Teichner’s fascinating report on CBS Sunday Morning. 

Film Review: “Moneyball”

 

 

No other sport generates the breadth and depth of human interest stories as does baseball. After my wife, it is this reporter’s greatest love. While my primary baseball passion is for my beloved Boston Red Sox, currently sinking slowly into oblivion as the regular 2011 baseball season winds down, this passion also extends to an appreciation of the game itself, and the romance it conjures up in the mind of the true fan.

Part of the reason baseball tugs at me and millions of others is that it is with us for much of the year, certainly longer than any other professional sport. Starting in mid-February when players begin arriving for Spring Training, and continuing through 162 games and into late October when the World Series ends, it is a significant thread in the fabric of fans’ lives.

The greatest baseball films –and there are well over 200 of them to consider- tell intensely personal stories about human beings involved in the game, affording us the chance to see them as individuals while all around them the panorama that is baseball unfolds against the backdrop of blue skies –today it might be domes- and verdant outfields and Kate Smith singing “God Bless America.”

For the record, my favorite baseball films are: “Pride of the Yankees,” the Lou Gehrig story; “Fear Strikes Out,” with a young Anthony Perkins playing outfielder Jimmy Piersall, who battled the demons of his mental illness; “Field of Dreams;” “Bull Durham;” “A League of Their Own;” and above all, “Bang The Drum Slowly,” in which Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty are the principals in the story of an aging catcher dying of cancer.

One of today’s recurring baseball themes is the disparity between big-market teams, such as the Yankees and the Red Sox who can afford to pay vast sums to add superstar players to their clubs, and small-market teams that struggle with balancing financial constraints against the challenge of fielding competitive clubs that can offer enough hope of winning to bring fans into their stadiums.

Against this backdrop we have the new film “Moneyball,” produced by and starring Brad Pitt in one of the best performances of his career. After seeing it, I can understand why the favorable response from film critics has been virtually unanimous.

Based on the book of the same title written by Michael Lewis, whose previous works include Liar’s Poker and The Blind Side, “Moneyball” tells the amazing true story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics, whose $39 million budget paled beside the $114 million budget of the Yankees.

Pitt plays Oakland general manager Billy Bean, who is still in that position to this day.

Faced with the prospect of losing three of his top players from the competitive 2001 team because Oakland can’t afford their salaries, Beane and his administrative staff are debating what “affordable” players to go after when he comes across young Peter Brand, an economics nerd played extremely well by Jonah Hill in a breakout role from his previous performances in a string of comedies.

Brand has become a devotee of sabermetrics, a highly technical method, pioneered by statistician Bill James, of analyzing baseball through objective, empirical evidence that measures in-game activity. In fact, James defines it as “the search for objective knowledge about baseball.”

Going to work for Beane, Brand convinces him that there is value in overlooked ballplayers who do not command high salaries but whose “interior” statistics, such as the percentage of time they get on base, is more important than glamorous stats such as how many home runs they hit.

Much of the tension in “Moneyball” comes from the very real conflict between Beane and his staff of scouts, along with manager Art Howe, who refuse to accept the philosophy that Beane and the fresh-cheeked Brand are promoting. The friction gets so bad that Beane has to literally trade away several of the players manager Howe insists on putting on the field in preference to the wishes of the GM.

The great Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Art Howe with understated brilliance.

Practicing moneyball, the Oakland A’s went on to a very successful 2002 season, setting an all-time record for consecutive victories in the process. And today, the application of sabermetrics is used to some degree not by just a large number of baseball teams, but also by players’ agents in making the case for the contracts they think their clients should receive.

It is significant that the Red Sox, who won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, added sabermetrics legend Bill James to their staff as a vice president. And it is also worth noting, as shown in the film, that Billy Beane turned down a $12.5 million offer to become general manager of the Red Sox.

I recommend “Moneyball” to any fan not just of baseball, but of good films and well-told stories. Brad Pitt is likely to receive an Oscar nomination for his performance.

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“Moneyball” was not an easy film to get made. Pitt optioned it when the book came out, and it had two directors assigned to the project, including Steven Soderbergh, before director Bennett Miller brought it home in admirable fashion. Screenwriter par excellence Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network), came in late to contribute his talents, too.

Also, there is a fair amount of editorial license taken in the movie in order to get it onto the silver screen, but the basic facts are close enough to accuracy to make it a terrific story.

While most of the names of the characters in “Moneyball” are real, Jonah Hill’s character of Peter Brand is actually a representation of Paul DePodesta, now a vice president with the New York Mets. It was reported that DePodesta did not like the way his character was being played when he visited the set, and he threatened to sue if his name was used.

Enjoy the “Moneyball” trailer:

There’s an odd but effective placement of a song called “The Show” in the film. "Sung” by Beane’s daughter Casey, played well by young Kerris Dorsey in her first feature film, “The Show” was actually released in 2008, six years after the events in “Moneyball,” by an Australian singer named Lenka.

Working regularly with her collaborator, Lenka has produced some incredibly inventive music videos of her songs, and I urge you to click here to see her video of “The Show” on You Tube. This video has been viewed more than six million times. Click on the lower right corner to expand the video to full-screen size.

More on the “Apes” Technology

 

OK, I admit it.

I’m beating the drum for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” not just because of the great story, but because of the latest advance in technology that this film showcases.

I’ve been monitoring the Internet for interesting information about the technology, because whenever something comes along that takes movie-making to a new level, it is worth talking about. And it gives me another reason to urge you to see this film.

New Zealand-based WETA Digital is the company that pioneered motion-capture technology for recent films that include the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Avatar.”

But as revolutionary as “Avatar” was, WETA has taken performance capture where it has never gone before, capturing detail in ways that are completely new, especially offering the ability to take the performance-capture actors out of the soundstage and onto the set locations.

An interesting fact I learned is that besides the monumental performance of Andy Serkis as the chimp Caesar, some of the other actors are Cirque du Soleil performers, chosen for their skill in using their bodies in ways that allow them to portray simians in an authentic manner.

I also found a short documentary, commissioned by Twentieth Century Fox, that shows how the WETA motion-capture technology literally made this film possible.

One of the things that several of my correspondents have commented on is THE EYES of Caesar and other apes in the film.

The eyes of the featured apes have been given a depth that has never been previously achieved, and the close-ups that have you looking into those eyes may haunt you.

 

 

Click below to see the documentary.

 

 

Even better, click on this link to view the same video and expand the screen to full size.

“Rise” did $54 million in domestic box office the first weekend, but I noted that there was almost no fall-off in revenues from the first day of release to the second. For this reason, it will be interesting to see if this is one of those rare word-of-mouth films that  keeps the box office strong due to all the buzz from moviegoers.

If that happens, it will remind me of one film of many years ago, “An Officer and a Gentleman,” that debuted to mediocre reviews but was so popular with audiences that word-of-mouth turned it into a huge success.

More on “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

 

I received a surprising number of complimentary e-mails from blog readers about my “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” review, for which I am very grateful.

Here’s a little more information that focuses on the amazing motion-capture technology showcasing the work of actor Andy Serkis as Caesar the chimp.

 

 

If you click on the link below, it will take you to a fascinating Time Magazine video dealing with the subject, after you get through a brief advertising message. 

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1094404842001_2087076,00.html

 

After the video starts, make sure to click on the button shown below, in the lower right corner of your screen, to expand the image.

 

Film Review: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

 

 

 

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” newly opened and playing just about everywhere, is the summer blockbuster you may have been looking for.

Who can forget that stunning closing scene in the original “Planet of the Apes,” 43 years ago, when Charlton Heston, standing on a beach and looking at the half-buried Statue of Liberty, realizes that the alien planet he is stranded on is actually Earth, given up to simian domination in the wake of nuclear self-destruction?

“Rise” is a prequel, or what is known in the film biz as an “origins” film, designed to explain what happened before stories told in films that have already been released.

I am not especially fond of prequels, but this one works on several levels because it benefits from the recent advances in computer-generated animation, better known as computer-generated imagery (CGI).

CGI took a quantum leap forward with James Cameron’s spectacular “Avatar,” and it now works famously on a smaller, more intimate scale in “Rise,” with hundreds of chimps and other assorted apes that look far more real, and project much more character, than the costume-clad actors in the earlier “Planet of the Apes” series.

This is technology in service of movie-making at its finest.

In this era of genetic engineering, “Rise” offers an alternative explanation of how the process of imbuing apes with superior intelligence, leading to their takeover of the planet, began. Here, we see geneticist Will Rodman, played by James Franco, so obsessed with developing a “good” virus that can cure Alzheimer’s Disease, from which his own father (John Lithgow) suffers, that he injects a laboratory chimp with a substance that, in the process, gives the chimp a heightened intelligence level beyond what anyone has ever before seen.

It is a retelling of the modern morality tale of what can go wrong when man rushes to manipulate science and nature before he fully understands the possible consequences.

The real star of “Rise” is Caesar, an orphaned chimp raised to maturity by Franco’s character, with moral support from Caroline Aranha, played by the lovely Indian actress Freida Pinto, who was so memorable in “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Caesar is brought to life via the incredible motion-capture skills employed by actor Andy Serkis, building upon the acclaim he received for playing Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the title character in the 2005 remake of “King Kong.”

Serkis’s work as Caesar is monumental, and this writer strongly believes he will earn an Oscar Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing a chimp in this film.

This is a thoughtful film that builds to an action-packed climax, which is what the film trailers you’ve seen on TV have focused on. But “Rise” takes a while to reach its crescendo, and if a few plot twists ask you to suspend disbelief along the way, you will thoroughly enjoy the journey, and it will cause you to think about the challenges and risks of manipulating science while striving toward honorable goals.

This is not a great movie, but it is a very good one that is well worth the few dollars you will spend to enjoy it in air-conditioned comfort.

I was also impressed that the filmmakers took pains to pay homage to the original “Apes” films. For example, a character named Dodge Landon in “Rise” is a reference to the characters Dodge and Landon, Colonel Taylor’s (Charlton Heston) fellow astronauts in “Planet of the Apes.”

Also, there is a scene on a TV news program in “Rise” that shows a manned rocket being launched on a mission to Mars, from which we can infer that this was the space mission Heston and his crew were on in the 1968 original.

In addition, an orangutan character befriended by the chimp Caesar in his ape prison is named Maurice after actor Maurice Evans, who played the wise Doctor Zaius in the original.

One final note: Don’t get up to leave the theater when the closing credits start to roll. If you pay attention, you will see a brief closing scene, a coda if you will, that none-too-subtly suggests how mankind begins its demise just as the apes begin their rise.

There are some pretty nasty characters in this film, dear readers …and they are not the apes.

Click below to see the official “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” trailer. 

 

“The King’s Speech” Should Be Oscar Night’s Big Winner

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, the press of other obligations precluded my being able to review all the Academy-Nominated films as I had hoped to. But “The King’s Speech” is such a brilliant piece of moviemaking, now on my all-time top 10 list, that I am reviewing it here and predicting that it will win “Best Picture,” “Best Actor” for Colin Firth, and very likely “Best Supporting Actor” for Geoffrey Rush.

The Lock of the Year is Colin Firth’s to have and to hold.

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“The King’s Speech” is all the more gripping because it tells a true story of actual historic events.

The plot is simple to describe. Just months after becoming King upon the death of his father, King George V in 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated to marry the twice divorced American Wallis Simpson.

The result was that George V’s son Albert became King George VI, father of the present Queen Elizabeth II.

But George VI had a severe stutter, acquired when he was a child, which made him painfully shy and afraid to speak in public.

“The King’s Speech” explores the relationship between George VI and commoner Lionel Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist who, through his unconventional methods, worked literally on a daily basis to help rid the King of his stutter. Starting from a tenuous, uneasy battle of wills, the relationship between the two men grew into a close friendship that lasted the rest of their lives.

The film culminates in 1939, when the King, with much of the world listening on the radio and terrified at the rise of Hitler, must deliver a radio speech in which he speaks to the world and declares war.

This is the speech that the title of the film refers to, but of course it also can be viewed as relating to the King’s speech impediment.

An interesting sidebar is to understand why it took many decades for David Seidler to write the play on which the film is based, and then the screenplay of the film itself. When George VI’s widow, the Queen Mother, was in her 70s, Seidler wrote to her and asked for permission to tell the story. The Queen Mother wrote back, saying that the memories of what happened to her husband were too painful, and she asked Seidler to wait until after she passed away.

Many years later, the Queen Mother died at the age of nearly 102, and Seidler, who lost his paternal grandparents in The Holocaust, finally felt free to tell the story.

An explanation for why we, as viewers, can rely on the authenticity of the story came in the February 20 broadcast of “60 Minutes” on CBS. Researchers for the film tracked down Mark Logue, Lionel Logue’s grandson, in the hope that he would have some period photos that could be referenced for costume design. But it turned out that Mark Logue had much more, as a nearly forgotten trove of diaries and letters, including about 100 letters between the King and Lionel Logue, was discovered in the younger Logue’s attic.

“The King’s Speech” is one of the most Oscar-nominated films in history, with nominations in 12 categories. Though the “action” comes strictly from the dialogue, the David Seidler script scintillates and sparkles from beginning to end, with clever turns of phrase and bon mots coming one after another to delight and emotionally engage the viewer.

The subtle and seductive Oscar-nominated score by Alexandre Desplat, who has composed music for many recent film successes, adds much to the pacing and mood of this wonderful movie.

Helena Bonham Carter is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in this film, but I’d put my money on Melissa Leo for “The Fighter.”

Here is an entertaining short video look at “The King’s Speech:”

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Finally, a few comments about the competition. Some critics see “The Social Network” as a serious contender in several categories, but I’d be disappointed if it took too many awards away from “The King’s Speech.”

Admittedly, I am not a Facebook member and have no plans to become one, and the movie was a big letdown. I thought I’d learn a lot about Facebook from this film, but it was primarily about a deposition in a lawsuit concerning a feud between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and some former college acquaintances who claimed he stole their idea for what was to become a worldwide phenomenon. All in all, I thought “The Social Network” was shallow, smarmy and devoid of passion. Actor Jesse Eisenberg, playing Mark Zuckerberg, certainly talks fast, however. He’s nominated for Best Actor, too, but to put him in the same class as Colin Firth is, in my opinion, to compare Wedgwood china to paper plates.

My Oscar Picks – Assuming the Remote Possibility That Anyone Really Cares

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences kicks off its 82nd annual Oscar ceremonies Sunday night at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on ABC, and predictions are for a possible record viewing audience.

This potential always exists when there are nominated films that have generated lots of buzz. Just as happened with James Cameron’s “Titanic,” which helped produce high ratings for the awards broadcast, Cameron’s record-grossing “Avatar” is just one reason why this year’s show could be a record-setter.

Another reason interest may be running high is the change in the nomination process adopted this year for the Best Picture Award. Instead of the traditional 5 nominated films, the list was expanded to 10, so folks who have a favorite among those 10 may want to tune in to see how that film does. In addition, the voting formula for this category was changed; instead of asking Academy voters to vote for the one film they favor, they now must rank the 10 films in order of preference, with all the numbers from all the voters then being totaled to determine the winner.

Some of my readers may recall that my picks in 2009 were all winners. I don’t think I can match that result this time around, because I differ from the consensus on several of the nominations. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

First, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, here’s some information about the famous golden statuette give out to the Oscar winners.

The official name of the statuette is Academy Award of Merit. It is 13 1/2 inches tall and weighs a hefty 8 1/2 pounds. The first recipient was Emil Jannings in 1929, who was named Best Actor for his performances in two films, “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” Designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at MGM, it depicts a knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a reel of film featuring five spokes, which signify the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. 

BEST PICTURE

“Avatar” is my choice. James Cameron brought it all together in a film that takes the technology of movie-making to places it has never been before. Employing 3-D to heighten the experience, he immerses the viewer in a fully realized world that previously existed only in Cameron’s mind. Unlike his previous “Titanic,” his “Avatar” is a monster success on the technological, financial, and critical level. Until “Avatar,” I had never seen a film more than once during its initial release, but I saw “Avatar” three times, including just a few days ago as it wound down its IMAX 3-D run. This time I sat only a few rows from the screen in order to fully experience the immersive effect, and it was even more riveting than on my previous viewings, as I picked up nuances I had previously missed.

“The Hurt Locker” is “Avatar’s” chief competitor, and the ironies of this competition have been widely reported. The director of this gem of a movie is Kathryn Bigelow, who was briefly married to James Cameron about 20 years ago. Whereas “Avatar” cost more than $400 million to produce and market, “The Hurt Locker” came in at about $3 million and until now has grossed only $14 million domestically. If it wins for Best Picture, it will be the lowest-grossing film –as of the award date- ever to win.

But “The Hurt Locker” has some things going for it. Many rank it among the best war films ever, and there is no doubt that it is a taught, raw, intellectually honest film that has you on the edge of your seat from the very first minute. It is not my pick, but I would not begrudge it the Best Picture Award. James Cameron, very supportive of Bigelow, seems to feel the same way.

Director Bigelow is in line to become the first female director to ever win an Oscar, and that may appeal to Academy voters. In addition, she comes into the Oscars with the momentum of having won the Directors Guild award and other important honors.

BEST DIRECTOR

It’s Cameron or Bigelow. I favor Cameron for putting together and managing such a massive effort as “Avatar.” The closing credits of his film are the most extensive I’ve ever seen, with hundreds and hundreds of people involved, and it took a genius of Cameron’s magnitude to pull it all off. Bigelow, on the other hand, did a fantastic job with “The Hurt Locker,” making every second of every scene count and using multiple hand-held cameras to give her film a documentary effect that was stunning.

This could be one of those rare years in which Best Film and Best Director go to people associated with two different films. What Bigelow has going for her is her recent Directors Guild Award, and it is almost unheard of for the winner of that award to not win the directing Oscar. If Bigelow wins it, I guess I will be happy for her because Cameron will be happy for her.

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges came on in a hurry when “Crazy Heart” was released late in the year. George Clooney in “Up In The Air” and Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker were formerly considered to be the front-runners, but Jeff Bridges will win this award for his “Crazy Heart” performance, and perhaps also as acknowledgement of a distinguished if sometimes underrated career.

BEST ACTRESS

This is another category where I may differ with the Academy voters. I favor Meryl Streep for her marvelous evocation of Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.

It took Streep more than just speaking her lines to bring America’s first popular TV chef to life, and it was a great challenge for Streep to make us believe she was the much taller Child. I think the challenge of her role required more versatility than the job Sandra Bullock had to deliver in “The Blind side.”

Both Streep and Bullock are considered to be unpretentious practitioners of the actor’s craft, and are well-liked by Hollywood. Streep, a great American actress, has 16 Oscar nominations and 4 wins under her belt, reason why some may want to recognize Bullock for her first nomination and Oscar.

Have you ever heard of the Razzies? Traditionally held on the evening before the Oscar event, the Golden Raspberry Awards are given to the worst in cinema over the previous year. Sandra Bullock may be the first actor in history to win both a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year, as she up for a Razzie for her abysmal performance in the film “All About Steve.”

Bullock comes into the Oscars on a roll, having garnered several Best Actress awards already for her “The Blind Side” performance.

It gets easier the rest of the way ….

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Almost everything directed by Quentin Tarantino is over the top, usually filled with a goodly dose of violence and gore. The fanciful “Inglourious Bastards” – Hitler is assassinated in this film- is no exception.

I saw this movie but did not review it for the blog, which means I did not get to tell you about the memorable performance of Christoph Waltz as the coolly sadistic Nazi officer, Colonel Hans Landa, a.k.a. “The Jew Hunter.” Waltz, born in Vienna and little-known in America prior to “Inglourious Basterds,” is a child of the theater; his parents were set designers, his grandparents were actors, and his great-grandparents also worked in the theater.

Says Quentin Tarantino: “I think that Landa is one of the best characters I’ve ever written and ever will write, and Christoph played it to a tee. It’s true that if I couldn’t have found someone as good as Christoph I might not have made “Inglourious Basterds.”

Waltz has swept through the awards season and will walk away with the Best Supporting Actor honor at the Oscars. Ironic when you consider has role as a cruel Nazi taking pleasure in his work: One of his four children is studying to be a rabbi.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Take it to the bank! Bet everything you have! Here is the definition of a sure thing. Mo’Nique walks off with the Best Supporting Actress award.

This woman moved easily from her primary profession as a raunchy standup comic and TV host into a role that was heart-rending, touching, and appropriate for any superlative adjectives you can lavish upon her. As the bedeviled, abusive mother in “Precious,” she almost single-handedly lifts that film from merely good to something truly special.

All hail Mo’Nique!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“The Weary Kind,” featured in the film “Crazy Heart,” just seems so right and so  special that it should win the Oscar.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“The Hurt Locker” is a competitor, but it’s hard to compete with the audacity and vision of Quentin Tarantino. He virtually rewrites World War II in this film and deserves an Oscar for it. 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

It was once thought that “Up in the Air” would pull down a passel of Oscars, but many say the hope has faded. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner did a wonderful job of adapting the story for the screen, however, and I think this is one Oscar that will go to this film.

Those are my picks …..but I could be wrong!

 

Film Review: “The Blind Side.”

“The Blind Side” is one of those two-handkerchief films that will send you out of the theater –and it IS still available in some theaters- with a very good feeling about how lives can literally be changed through acts of kindness.

The good feeling you will have is all the more significant because, though allowing for some factual changes in service to the filmmaker’s vision, it is a true story about a real person you can see on your television screen almost every autumn weekend.

This is the story of a man and a woman from two worlds that could not be more different: well-to-do white suburbanite Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Sandra Bullock in a performance that has vaulted her into contention for the Best Actress Oscar along with Meryl Streep, and the homeless Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron.

This is not a great film. It is schmaltzy and manipulative in much the same way that financially popular films such as “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Titanic” managed to employ well-worn devices to tug at viewers’ heartstrings. But as many would tell you, “I don’t need a film to be a critics’ favorite every time out; I just want to enjoy a movie and feel good about it when it is over.”

The storyline: Michael Oher, who in real life now plays professional football for the Baltimore Ravens, lives in a Memphis housing project. He has a drug-addicted mother, an absentee father, and a childhood that sends him in and out of foster homes. He is taken in by Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family, in effect becoming a part of the family, and Tuohy guides him through a process of self-discovery and growth that turns him into an adequate student and an incredibly successful football player.

One critic described “The Blind Side” as “a quintessentially old-style story that is high on hope, low on cynicism and long on heart. If Frank Capra was still around, (the film’s director) would have had to fight him for the job.”

The “blind side” refers to the position of offensive left tackle in football, an important position for protecting right-handed quarterbacks who often cannot detect opposing players coming at them from the left side. It has been widely said that the left-tackle position became elevated in importance when one of the most gruesome injuries in NFL history occurred; in 1985, the career of stellar quarterback Joe Theismann ended with the snap of his leg resulting from a blindside tackle by New York Giants’ Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

Theismann says he has never been able to bring himself to watch video of the devastating injury, while Taylor, who frantically motioned for help after the hit, also says he has never seen replays of the play and never wants to. His tackle’s relevance to the film is highlighted as Bullock’s character narrates the horrific footage in “The Blind Side’s” opening moments.

There are some solid acting performances in support of Sandra Bullock’s award-nominated role, for which she has already received Best Actress Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. In particular, country singer Tim McGraw does an excellent job as Leigh Anne Tuohy’s husband Sean. It would seem that McGraw can relate to the importance of having a sense of family, growing up as he did without knowing that his own dad was prominent Major League Baseball pitcher Tug McGraw.

Also outstanding is young Jae Head, who plays the Tuohys’ precocious son S.J.

Other notable performances come from Kathy Bates as a woman hired to tutor Michael and from Kim Dickens, a standout in HBO’s “Deadwood” series, who plays the role of a compassionate teacher who advocates for Michael and detects that he is more intelligent than given credit for. Ray McKinnon, playing Oher’s high school football coach, is also excellent.

There are some delicious “bonus moments” in “The Blindside,” especially for fans of southern college football. For instance, you will see appearances by well-known coaches Phillip Fulmer, Lou Holtz, Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, Nick Saban and Tommy Tuberville.

Some additional trivia:

At six feet-eight inches, actor Quinton Aaron is three inches taller than Michael Oher, the football player he portrays.

When not doing acting jobs, Quinton Aaron had been working as a security guard. After his audition for “The Blind Side,” he left a card with his contact information and offered to work as a security guard on the set in case he wasn’t selected to play Michael.

To prepare for his role, Quinton Aaron trained with the Georgia Tech football team in the spring of 2009.

Officials of Briarcrest Christian High School, the actual school Oher attended, would not allow the name of the school to be used in the film, as they were concerned about scenes showing teachers expressing doubt about Oher’s learning ability. But the filmmakers still used the school’s color (green).

Julia Roberts was offered the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy but turned it down, paving the way for Sandra Bullock to give her Oscar-nominated performance.

Here is the theatrical trailer for “The Blind Side.”  

Film Review: “Crazy Heart”

Cinema history is filled with examples of perfectly ordinary films that were elevated into something special by a memorable acting performance.

So it is with Jeff Bridges, an accomplished American actor who rarely fails to deliver a well-crafted performance. With his starring role in “Crazy Heart,” which is still available in local theaters as I write this, Bridges will take home the Best Actor award at the March 7 Academy Award ceremonies. It is his fifth nomination, but it will be his first Oscar.

Variations of the story have been told often: A down and out country singer, once celebrated but now well past his prime and his audience popularity, comforted by little more than the booze and cigarettes he consumes to excess, travels around the southwest in his pickup truck, playing in bowling-alley lounges and anywhere else he can get a minor gig. It’s the type of peripatetic existence you might think of when you consider the hardscrabble careers of performers such as Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.

Bridges is Bad Blake (a perfect name for the character), married and divorced four times, with an adult son he has never seen. A newspaper reporter named Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a single mother with a young son, comes into Bad’s world to interview him, and the two begin a romantic relationship that is probably doomed from the start because of the age difference and Jean’s devotion to her child.

But still, there is hope for Bad, who is motivated to get sober and straighten out his life. As we leave him at the end, things are starting to turn up for him.

That’s the story, folks. Gyllenhaal earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance, but it is Bridges who makes this film worth seeing as he inhabits his character with an ease that turns it into the performance of his lifetime.

Enveloping “Crazy Heart,” you will find, are  superb performances by the supporting cast, notably Robert Duvall as a bar owner sympathetic to Bad and Colin Farrell as a country star who was once Bad’s protégé and has stayed loyal to him as his own popularity soared.

If you like country music, and even if you are ambivalent about the genre, you will appreciate the score, which seems to fit the film like a pair of comfortable old slippers. Actors Bridges and Farrell do their own singing in “Crazy Heart,” and the songs, mostly co-written by the legendary T Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton, are a perfect accompaniment to the drama. The film is dedicated to the memory of Bruton, who succumbed to cancer about 10 months ago.

Country artist Ryan Bingham wrote and performed “The Weary Kind,” the song which closes the film. It has a haunting melody and lyrics that may stay with you. Oscar-nominated for Best Original Song,  I believe it will win.

“Crazy Heart” almost didn’t make it to the big screen. It was made for only $7 million by Country Music Television, a unit of Viacom. When Viacom’s Paramount Pictures unit was about to send it straight to video release, Fox Searchlight stepped in to salvage it and allow filmgoers the opportunity to see this extraordinary performance by Jeff Bridges, whose actor dad Lloyd Bridges would have been very proud of him.

Here is the theatrical trailer for “Crazy Heart.”