New releases of DVDs and BluRays that are coming soon to the Des Plaines Public Library.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Questions in the Shadows
Out of all the major Oscars contenders making the rounds, three have managed to lodge together in my head as almost a single entity: Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. While completely different in many aspects, the one major thread running through all of these is the spotlight on the United States government and the hurdles overcome, many times from within the government itself, to accomplish tasks of prodigious proportions. More to the point, all three were a narrative focusing on how the actions of individuals can impact the outcome of the system, thus altering national policy and even impacting foreign policy.
The two films of this group depicting the CIA, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, form a syzygy with completely different tones and outcomes. While both offer a sobering view of the image of Americans abroad, Argo was a bit more comfortable to watch while Zero Dark Thirty was a film that needed to be seen but not necessarily enjoyed. While Argo maintained some character exploration and left the viewer with a bit of warmth in their heart, Zero Dark Thirty almost used the hunt for Osama Bin Laden itself as a main character to bleakly accentuate the question, "Where do we go from here?" I will long remember its final scene, and as far as endings go, it is one of my all-time favorites.
As for Lincoln, Spielberg delivers the genius and vision of Abraham Lincoln, no matter the slight massaging of actual history that was used to tell the story. The film was an incredible portrayal of the ultimate power of the American presidency combined with its most humbling limitations. At once an exegesis of Lincoln's personal life as well as an analysis of the workings of mid-19th century politics, Lincoln cast a microscopic view of a pivotal point in our nation's history.
In this sense, Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty all combine to provide the United States of America a long look at itself in the mirror. The questions of "how did we get here?", "who are we today?", "what is ahead of us?", and "how we are perceived by the rest of the world?" all may be in the background as the Oscars wash around us this week. But as awards season flows away, as the lights turn off and the red carpets are put away, these reflections will linger, if not loom. Hopefully we, both as a people and as individuals, can confront these ideas: digest them, be encouraged by our successes, acknowledge our failures, and help create a better world to live in.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Homage to Fromage
Can a bad movie be a good time?When I was in college, my friends and I would hit up the local video store and rent movies that promised to be bad, merely to view as unintentional comedy. I can remember one time in particular, we were watching "Don't Go in the Woods" (the original 1981 version) that opened with a girl running in the woods. At this point, one of my friends exclaimed to the on-screen character, "Oh no! Didn't you listen to the title?!?" This brought everyone else low with laughter and the good time had begun.
Movies can transfix us. They can wring tears from our eyes and wrench our hearts. They can make our breath catch and make us lose it again. They can also make us laugh: either through sharp and witty dialogue, a comedic plot juxtaposition, or simply by a terrible script, plot, effects, etc.
Films that are downright atrocious in their original intent to be taken seriously can be offered a new lease in life if they're viewed with an amused eye, an open mind, and a modicum of patience. It is possible for a bad film to offer a good time if it affords you an opportunity to laugh and enjoy yourself. We have a couple titles in our DVD collection here at DPPL that fall under the description of a bad movie offering a great time (at least in my experience).
The first is a 1971 flick that I can never say the title of with a straight face: Werewolves on Wheels. It is a portrayal of a motorcycle gang that runs afoul of a creepy monk and his Satanic cohorts, causing the cult to transform the bikers into werewolves. Add in the sounds of early '70's psychedelic rock and you have yourself a masterpiece of cheese film. I stuck with it and managed not to lose interest until about an hour and 15 minutes into the film, which is great because it turned out to be only 79 minutes long. I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of the plot and recognized the effort the film's creators had put into the concept, but ultimately the reveal of the werewolves was a bit disappointing: they looked someone wearing a ski mask with teeth glued to it, which was in itself pretty funny. What made me pick it up? Well, I could not resist the tagline above the title on the cover: "IF YOU'RE HAIRY YOU BELONG ON A MOTORBIKE!"
The other film that I recommend if you're a fan of B movies is Bubba Ho-Tep. This one has Elvis and an African-American John F. Kennedy living in a nursing home in West Texas where an ancient Egyptian mummy comes calling to devour their souls. The outlandish concept is what places this movie in the "bad movie" category, but overall it was actually a decent comedy. Mystery author Joe Lansdale wrote the screenplay and Bruce Campbell completely nails the part of Elvis, giving it a feel of quality, but the effects were inferior and the story line may be too preposterous for some audiences (i.e. my wife). Bubba Ho-Tep is unique because it is a bad movie and it knows it! (Bruce Campbell has made a living of not taking himself seriously). This movie had me within its first ten seconds, when the definition of "Ho-tep" came on the screen, followed by that of "Bubba".
Does anyone out there agree that bad films still have value? Tell us a few of your favorites!
Friday, September 7, 2012
IMAX, why did it have to be IMAX?
There are few instances in life when my schedule becomes instantly rearranged due to a piece of news: this is one such case. Now, I am not especially crazy about shelling out a chunk of cash on a suped-up movie viewing experience. Sure, there are some movies that just beg to be seen on the big screen (Marvel's the Avengers and Prometheus come to mind), but I have always viewed IMAX as a sort of overkill for the movie-going experience. I suppose my biggest fear is that I would feel that the quality of the movie would not stand up to the IMAX experience (and I'd feel like I wasted my hard-earned funds). Well, what better time to cut my teeth on a supposedly unbelievable way of watching a movie with a film that single-handedly personifies the term "larger than life"?
By the way, this whole Raiders-on-IMAX gig is meant to be a precursor to the release of the first three Indiana Jones movies (the real ones) on BluRay on Sept. 18. We'll have these at DPPL - keep an eye on our catalog for an opportunity to place these on hold!
Raiders of the Lost Ark is mine. Do you have a film that would make you drop everything and run to see it if it arrived back on the big screen?
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Other Side of Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese, the director of Raging Bull and The Departed, is so closely associated with dark, violent films, that at the 2012 Academy Awards, host Billy Crystal serenaded him with the following lines, to the tune of That's Amore:When Scorsese yells "print"
And no one's in a splint
Well that's Hugo.
There's no Pesci no Bob
There's no killing no mob
It's just Hugo.
But it's true I'd prefer
For the sequel
You don't be so arty.
Have the kid crack a head
Shoot Ben Kingsley in bed
'Cause you're Marty!
But there's more to Scorsese than Goodfellas, Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. The aforementioned Hugo, nominated for eleven Academy Awards and the recipient of five, is the story of a Parisian orphan who lives and tends to the clocks in a Paris train station. It's also a story that allows Scorsese, a passionate film preservationist, to introduce viewers to the figure of Georges Méliès, a French film pioneer who fell into obscurity and became a shopkeeper. (In the film he's played by Ben Kingsley.) Although based on a book for kids, this is a movie adults can enjoy, too. And it's especially poignant for longtime Scorsese fans to see the child hero, Hugo, peering down at the world through a clock as the young Scorsese, an asthmatic child, used to peer down at the streets of Little Italy from his parents' apartment.
Much has been made of Hugo's departure from what many see as the typical Scorsese film: one filled with violence and inhabited by wiseguys played by actors like Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. But in truth, Scorsese has long explored the lives of characters with no connection to Little Italy or the mob. Back in 1974 he directed Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, in which Ellen Burstyn played a thirty-five-year-old wife and mother. Newly widowed after an unhappy marriage, she heads for California in search of a singing career, but finds herself waitressing in Arizona, where she falls in love with a rancher played by Kris Kristofferson.
Scorsese, who considered becoming a priest and who attended seminary for a year, has also explored religion and spirituality in his movies. People sometimes forget that Kundun, about the current Dalai Lama, and The Last Temptation of Christ, based on the controversial novel of the same name, were both directed by Scorsese. Of The Last Temptation of Christ, Roger Ebert writes that it is"likely to inspire more serious thought on the nature of Jesus than any other film ever made."
And then there's my favorite Scorsese film, The Age of Innocence, which, like all of Scorsese's films, is visually stunning, its colors rich and vibrant, and so sensual that you'd swear you hear the crunch of a red velvet opera curtain as it touches down on a stage. Based on the novel by Edith Wharton and set in New York in the 1870s, The Age of Innocence stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer. Archer is a wealthy young man engaged to the conventional young woman that New York society expects him to marry. But as the wedding approaches, he finds himself falling in love with her older, more independent cousin, a divorcée who offers a glimpse of a freer, more satisfying life.
Scorsese once referred to it as "the most violent" film he's ever made, though no punches are thrown, no tables overturned. He's speaking, I think, of the ability of Archer's clannish New York crowd to thwart and separate in the interest of preserving the clan whatever the emotional cost. A bit of a stretch? Perhaps. And yet there's a scene in which a lovely young woman approaches Archer, all crinoline and smiles, and it's horrifying, because the door to a wider and more promising life is about to slam shut.
Do you have a favorite Scorsese movie? Click here to see the Scorsese-affiliated titles owned by our library.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Books on the Big Screen
March, only a short leap away, is going to be a prime month for movies
based on books. And it isn't just the big screen adaptation of Suzanne
Collins' smash hit Hunger Games (premiering on the 23rd) that we can anticipate. There's a little something for everybody.
For all of you children-at-heart out there, The Lorax will be released on March 2nd - Dr. Seuss' birthday!
On that same day, Bel Ami, based on the nineteenth century novel by Guy De Maupassant, will star Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Drawn from Nick Flynn's gritty urban memoir and featuring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano, Being Flynn also opens on the 2nd.
On the 9th, John Carter will charge onto the screen. It is a gladiator-style space adventure adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic pulp fiction series, which was originally published in 1917 and later became the inspiration behind several graphic novels.
If political intrigue is more to your liking, Game Change is based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's book about John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. With Julianne Moore portaying Sarah Palin, Ed Haris as John McCain, and Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, McCain’s campaign strategist, it is sure to attract audiences to it's March 10th premiere.
Remember, if you can't wait for the movie, whichever one tickles your fancy, you can always read the book first!
On that same day, Bel Ami, based on the nineteenth century novel by Guy De Maupassant, will star Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Drawn from Nick Flynn's gritty urban memoir and featuring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano, Being Flynn also opens on the 2nd.
On the 9th, John Carter will charge onto the screen. It is a gladiator-style space adventure adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic pulp fiction series, which was originally published in 1917 and later became the inspiration behind several graphic novels.
If political intrigue is more to your liking, Game Change is based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's book about John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. With Julianne Moore portaying Sarah Palin, Ed Haris as John McCain, and Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, McCain’s campaign strategist, it is sure to attract audiences to it's March 10th premiere.
Remember, if you can't wait for the movie, whichever one tickles your fancy, you can always read the book first!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Just in time for Father's Day...
Diabolical Dads
This weekend families everywhere will take time to celebrate all the ways they have been blessed by the dads in their lives. Gifts will be given and hugs exchanged and all of the tender, fatherly moments of wisdom, guidance and love will be remembered.
Sometimes, though, it's fun to head on over to the darker side and take another look at those dastardly dads we love to hate. These film and television characters have parenting styles that would give any family counselor the chills, but they sure can entertain us.
On TV:
- Archie Bunker All in the Family - He is the patriarch of badly-behaved TV dads.
- Al Bundy Married With Children - Al would probably sell his wife and kids for a some alone time -- if anyone would buy them.
- Homer Simpson The Simpsons - As a dad, he is best characterized by this iconic image:
- Peter Griffen Family Guy - Another animated example of over-the-top bad parenting, Peter is not the ideal family man.
- Dexter Morgan Dexter - Here's a quote from the new dad/serial killer: "Wanna know a secret? Daddy kills people." Enough said.
- Darth Vader (James Earl Jones & David Prowse) The Empire Strikes Back 1980 - Dismembering your kid with a light saber will not win you a Father of the Year award
. - Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) The Shining 1980 (Not a good year for dads.) - Nothing says daddy's home like, "Heeeere's Johnny!"
- Dr. Evil (Mike Meyers) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997 - "I hate you! I hate you! I wish I was never artificially created in a lab!" Poor Scott Evil.
- "Dad" Meiks (Bill Paxton) Frailty 2002 - Axe-murder is not the typical father/son bonding ritual.
- Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) There Will Be Blood 2007 - Papa Plainview should have known better. Ruthless ambitious and violent paranoia are not character traits that engender filial piety.
Did I miss any? Which fictional father-figure do you love to hate?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Best Picure nominees? Well, thank you, but I have my own.
With the Golden Globes in our rear-view mirror, this time of year always makes me reflect on the best movies that I've seen this past year, and how there are more great movies than just those nominated for Hollywood awards. While I whole-heartedly congratulate the winners of the Golden Globes (especially Mr. Jeff Bridges!), I'd like to put forth my favorite movies of the past year.1. Moon ~ Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut completing a three-year solo mission mining Earth's main energy source, helium, on the moon. Anxious to return home to see his family and to improve his declining health, strange events occur that make him question the integrity of the mining company, his sanity and even his own identity. The beauty of this film is that it embodies the idea of "less is more": allowing the film's subtle touches and retro sets to resonate alongside a fantastic soundtrack by Clint Mansell. Its small cast lends a terrific sense of intimacy with a man struggling with his growing isolation. I couldn't stop talking about this one after I'd seen it.
2. Hunger ~ Steve McQueen (no, another one) dazzles in his directorial debut depicting Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender) in the 66 days of his hunger strike to gain political prisoner status from the British government. While at parts it is difficult to watch, the camera work and frank dialogue provide the film's depth. There is an incredible 17 minute-long dialogue scene shot in one take that clinched the movie for me. Whether you agree with Bobby Sands or not, there are few more intense portrayals of people dedicated to their beliefs.
3. Che: Part One - The Argentine ~ Five years after his trek across South America depicted in The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara is now involved with fellow commandante Fidel Castro in leading the Cuban revolution of 1956-1959. Benicio Del Toro plays the lead perfectly, plumbing the depths of Che's historical persona as well as portraying his humanity. Whether as a proponent of harsh discipline willing to execute deserters from the cause or as a teacher showing his fellow comrades how to read, this film is an excellent and revealing depiction of an iconic figure. By the way, there is a Che: Part Two - The Guerilla, but I've not seen it yet (I'd like to finish Che's biography by Jon Lee Anderson before I do).
4. Drag Me to Hell ~ While the previous three movies have made the festival circuits, this one offers less critical acclaim and more pure fun! Director Sam Raimi proves that the magic he used to create the Evil Dead trilogy is still there; no one can mix horror and humor quite like he can. The premise is simple, a bank lender refuses to extend another loan to an old gypsy, who then curses the lender with a spirit that will drag her to hell in three days. What this movie lacks in complexity, it more than makes up with terrific action (i.e. the young heroine fending off the gypsy woman in the backseat of her car with a stapler). This movie offers up hearty laughter and genuine chills, a unique combination that landed itself on this list.
I'm curious to hear of your top movie nominees of the past year!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Zombies Are the New Black
Well, summer is coming and trends are changing. Swimsuits that match and flip-flops have become passé; wide-leg pants and platform wedges are currently the hot thing. Changes are sweeping through literature and media forums as well: vampires are so last year, the creature du jour is now the zombie.
Vampires gained traction throughout the seventies and eighties with novels like Stephen King’s ‘
Yet, a change is in the air. There has been a fascination with the walking un-dead throughout the years, from George A. Romero's 1968 cornerstone film Night of the Living Dead to Michael Jackson's Thriller video of 1983, to the Evil Dead trilogy directed by Sam Raimi (culminating in Army of Darkness in 1993) but it seems that in the 21st century, stories concerning zombies are reaching critical mass. Resident Evil (based on the popular video game) and 28 Days Later were crafted in 2002. The year 2004 saw both a re-make of Dawn of the Dead (based on Romero’s 1978 release of the same name) and the release of one of my favorite movies of all time: Shaun of the Dead (Shaun’s tagline is “A romantic comedy. With zombies.”). More zombie films have followed, but a recent zombie film has already become a cult hit, Dance of the Dead, that combines the zombie genre with a high school coming of age story.
The recent trend has bled over into books as well. World War Z by Max Brooks, Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Brown, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s latest installment of the
Why does it matter, you ask? Well, this entire zombie hullabaloo is merely social commentary. We as a society tend to pay more attention to ubiquitous television screens or personal communication devices than we do in developing relationships with one another. While people seem to be drawn to the vampire’s sensual struggle between vulnerability and power that seems to exist in another (previous) age, zombies represent the numbness of today, of us going through the motions of living, without really doing so. The apocalyptic plague aspect of these stories of the living dead is also a warning. It represents the bleakness of a future where we kill our own planet through pollution and negligence. In the movies and books, zombies are often unavoidable; in real life, they show a present and a future that we can avoid by taking care of ourselves and our environment. So go out, don’t be bitten by intransigence, but put your soul into everything that you do!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Intentional Meanderings
A frequent patron of the library and the Readers' Services department raved about the movie Snow Falling on Cedars. He spoke about it being beautiful to watch. He said he enjoyed the book by David Guterson, but loved the movie.
The patron is a prolific reader with varied interests but he is not a big film watcher. I suggested he consider other movies by the director of Snow Falling on Cedars. I'm not sure the patron followed my advice, but I did. Its been an interesting and delightful endeavor. One that has hit all the entertainment buttons - words, music and film.
Scott Hicks, the director of Snow Falling on Cedars, was nominated for best director in 1996 for Shine. It was a huge success of a film with Geoffrey Rush winning best actor. Though Hicks didn't win the Oscar, his work on this film propelled his career. Other films of Hicks' include No Reservations, Hearts in Atlantis, and a documentary of composer Philip Glass, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 Parts.
Hearts of Atlantis, a story based on a Stephen King work with Anthony Hopkins was a completely new title for me. The movie is presented as a flashback by a 50 year man to his 11th year. It's captivating with a poignant story and good acting.
Regarding the Philip Glass documentary, had it not been for these intentional meanderings, I probably wouldn't have checked it out. Glass is a unique, intellectual artist with a colorful personality but I'll give Scott Hicks the credit for keeping my attention for two hours. The bonus dvd is aptly named, with performances from Glass' operas.
I still have more meandering to do - the short stories of Stephen King, the music of Philip Glass, films with Geoffrey Rush, novels of David Guterson......
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler and Hundred Dollar Songs
To borrow the opening line of S. E. Hinton's great young adult novel, The Outsiders: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind . . . "The two things on my mind, however, were not Paul Newman and a ride home, but the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, the main character in the beautiful and heartbreaking movie The Wrestler, and the haunting Bruce Springsteen song of the same name, used to stunning effect at the end of the movie. Blocks from the theater, the song's refrain ("Then you've seen me") was still playing in my head. I needed to hear the song again and I wasn't going to be satisfied until I did.
So I understood when a co-worker came to the desk with need in her eyes and said: "Laura, where can I find the Bruce Springsteen song from The Wrestler. What CD is that on?"
"Oh my God!" I said. I put my hand on my heart, my all too frequent reflex when someone mentions a Bruce song that I love, that I REALLY love, as if I'm pledging allegiance to the country of Bruce. "I love that song. It's on the new Bruce album, Working on a Dream! Oh my God, that's a great song!"
My co-worker nods--she understands--and her hand is on her heart now, too, and she sings the opening lines of the the song about a battered and broken wrestler who tries to make a life outside the ring:
"Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me."
I love that song," I repeat, helpless at the moment to explain why it so moves me, but happy to talk with someone else who loves it. And in trying to express the importance of the song to me, I make a goofy comment: "That's a hundred dollar song! I would pay a hundred dollars for that song! If someone told me I could never hear that song again unless I paid a hundred dollars, I'd do it.!"
My co-worker is nodding and laughing. And a few days later, I find a post-it in my box from another co-worker. It says: "Write about hundred dollar songs for the blog!" (I love that I have co-workers who indulge my Bruce fanaticism.)
Now, I'm a frugal woman, and I wouldn't want the folks at Columbia Records to start charging more for Bruce CDs. But there are songs, Bruce songs in particular, that I so love and need that their value trumps all else. If forced to choose between new winter boots, which would be nice, and the latest Bruce CD, Working on a Dream, which has the song from The Wrestler, well, you're just going to have to look at my grungy boots for one more year. However! Since the library owns almost every Bruce CD, you never actually have to choose between boots and Bruce. We own lots of rock CDs and just about every other kind of CD. And you can check them all out for free! (The CDs, not the boots. You wouldn't really want to check out used boots now, would you?)
I realize that referring to hundred dollar songs may sound crass. I've put a price tag on art when what I really want to express is my tremendous love and awe of songs that I can't live without. (And yes, I am calling "The Wrestler" art. Right about now I'm picturing a co-worker in another department rolling his eyes, but good-naturedly, I like to think.)
Mickey Rourke's performance is also a masterpiece--I can't think of another performance that has stayed with me or moved me as much as his portrait of an aging wrestler who finds life outside the arena more excruciating than the repeated and brutal blows he endures in the ring. And the Springsteen song is the perfect, haunting coda to Rourke's performance. At the end of the movie, before the credits start to roll, synth strings rise out of the darkness, faintly at first, but then swelling and joined by a few spare, well-chosen notes on the piano that sound so perfect and inevitable that the foolish will say--"I could have written that"--but they can't, because they're not Bruce and because selecting just the right notes is an art. I then hear the scratchy, familiar voice that is Bruce count out "1, 2, 3, 4," the synthesizer fades and it's Bruce on an acoustic guitar singing of a "one trick pony," a man whose only home is the ring and who has driven away some of the people and pleasures that could offer him solace. Like the best Bruce songs, it captures the humanity of a specific person in specific situation, and in doing so sheds light on those around us and ourselves.
Bruce once said: "The best music, you can seek some shelter in it momentarily, but it's essentially there to provide you something to face the world with." In spite of my reference to 100 dollar songs, music like that is really priceless, its worth immeasurable.
Is there a song that you can't live without? A song that makes you place your hand on your heart and say, "Oh my God, I LOVE that song!"
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Oscars - This Guy's Perspective
Possibly the most asked question today might be "Did you watch the Oscars?"
In the past, if someone asked me, I would reply, "yeah, kinda". This year, I watched snippets of the 81st Academy Awards through commercials of the Blackhawks tilt against the Minnesota Wild then flipped over to it fully after the end of the Blackhawks game (to my wife's relief). Much as it is for my wife when she watches hockey, it was always difficult for me to stay focused on all the shenanigans going on during the Oscars. But through all the song and dance routines (I wasn't sure of Hugh Jackman's singing capability, but I thought he certainly hit the end of the show tune menagerie pretty well) and strange "homage to comedy" skits, there were a few things in this year's presentation that resonated with me.
Firstly, I'm always impressed to see people who can only speak a little bit of English brave the treacherous waters of the most difficult language while they are standing in possibly the biggest spotlight of their career. A great example of this was Kunio Kato accepting the award for the Best Animated Short Film (La Maison en Petits Cubes), plus his reference to the Styx song by quoting the line "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto" reminded me that a good sense of humor transcends any language barrier.
This leads into something else that impressed me: in the good portion of the show that I saw, I did not notice anyone going on longer than the allotted time in their acceptance speech. For me, there is often an uncomfortability inherent in watching these speeches, much akin to when I watch ice skating once every four years in the Olympics. I always feel horrible for the skater when they fall, ruining all the long hours that they trained for this one moment, and I always feel bad for the individual(s) who run out of time recognizing those who brought them to this pinnacle of their enterprise (though I also recognize that sometimes people can take advantage of the opportunity). I thought Heath Ledger's family handled the situation perfectly as they accepted the award on behalf of Ledger's 3 year-old daughter, Matilda - they were grateful, yet understated; they let the achievement of their beloved family member speak for itself.
A quick note, I'm almost always impressed with Will Smith's charisma when he's forced to ad lib. Could we see him host an Oscar night sometime in the future, maybe?
I really enjoyed the personal recognition of the nominees for the Best Actress, Best Actor, etc. I thought this was an excellent way to recognize everyone who was nominated. You could see that even though most of the nominees didn't win the actual hardware (the statues are made in Chicago, by the way), many would take away fond memories of peer recognition from the ceremony - and in the film industry, peer recognition can be an excellent consolation prize. I realize all of the nominee blurbs were scripted, but the pathos that was lent to the situation by the words of the former winners and the nominees' reactions was touching (ie. Shirley MacLaine speaking to Anne Hathaway). On a personal note, I enjoyed seeing Ben Kingsley and Michael Douglas, two of my ageless favorites.
To sum up, I liked this year's Oscar presentation. I thought Christopher Walken looked a bit disheveled, but that's all part of the fun. I also really liked the clips showing winners of the past - a reminder that watching the Oscars is watching history in the making. Also, with the awards honoring everything from art direction to sound mixing to best director, plus the annual remembrance not only of the actors and actresses, but of all the publicists, camera operators, and other unsung heroes of the movie business that have passed on, it is a humbling reminder that hundreds, if not thousands, of real people have contributed hard work and valuable time to provide a 2-hour escape for the rest of us on a Saturday evening.
Oh yeah, one more comment from the show last night: I'm sure going to miss Paul Newman.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Cinemania!
Okay, please raise your hand if you love going to movies (I know some of you mentally raised an arm). If so, you are like me. I absolutely love this time of the year because this is when many of the film studios release their Oscar hopeful movies (I call them their "heavy hitters"). The submission deadline for a film to be considered for an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is in the beginning of December (in this seasons case, December 3). Since the studios evidently don't trust the Academy members to have long memories, they save most of their Oscar hopefuls to be in theaters right around the submission deadline and after, to drum up support while the Academy members are watching the films to decide which films to nominate, and eventually, reward. The bottom line to all of this is that the true winners of this whole situation is the movie lover (I like to use the phrase "cinemanaic" myself)!
Now, admittedly, I have been terrible this year at getting to see all the movies that I wanted to. I still haven't seen Milk, a film by Gus van Sant chronicling the uplifting yet tragic story of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, or Slumdog Millionaire, the darling of some film festivals based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup. These are two flicks that are on my list to see before they exit the theaters. Another is Doubt (based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by John Patrick Shanley), a picture that tackles the age-old themes of religion, authority, and morality.
Occupying the absolute top of the list of movies I'd like to see, however, is the Wrestler. This work seems fascinating to me as it sheds light onto the human side of the generally bombastic and showy world of professional wrestling. Mickey Rourke plays Randy "the Ram" Robinson who was a star in the wrestling world twenty years ago, but is now working through an independent wrestling circuit. Forced to reassess his life after he has a heart attack, he tries to balance his desire to re-connect with his estranged daughter and romantic attraction to an exotic dancer with the allure of the sport that he has always loved. Incidentally, Rourke won the Best Actor in a Drama prize at the Golden Globe Awards. In the sense that a picture is worth a thousand words, please see the trailer for this film linked to the title above.
Now, of the movies I have been able to see so far, one of my favorites has been Gran Torino. It portrays Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who has recently lost his wife of many years. As his neighborhood is becoming more and more multicultural he must deal with his many prejudices, especially when he catches a Hmong boy trying to steal his 1971 Ford Gran Torino. This film is an excellent character study and extremely engaging, Eastwood does an terrific job in this role, which he says is his last acting role.
These films don't promise to be in the theaters for much longer, so keep in mind that you can always be able to get them from the library when they are released on DVD (presumably within the next few months). Have you seen any terrific movies lately? Let us know about them!
Also, the Oscar nominees will be announced next Thursday morning, January 22. Remember to keep an eye out for them.
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