Press release:
2011 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED
- $125,000 in grants to be awarded to filmmakers -
LOS ANGELES (November 30, 2010) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner served as presenters and 2011 Spirit Awards host Joel McHale was also on hand. Nominees for Best Feature include 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Winter’s Bone.
Please Give was selected for the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
2011 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
127 Hours
Producers: Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, John Smithson
Black Swan
Producers: Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver
Greenberg
Producers: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Rudin
The Kids Are All Right
Producers: Gary Gilbert, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Winter’s Bone
Producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Anne Rosellini
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik - Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell - Rabbit Hole
BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini - Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener - Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire - Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz - Life During Wartime
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Everything Strange and New - Director: Frazer Bradshaw, Producers: A.D. Liano, Laura Techera Francia
Get Low - Director: Aaron Schneider
, Producers: David Gundlach, Dean Zanuck
Night Catches Us - Director: Tanya Hamilton
, Producers: Sean Costello, Jason Orans, Ronald Simons
The Last Exorcism - Director: Daniel Stamm
, Producers: Marc Abraham, Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
Tiny Furniture - Director: Lena Dunham
, Producers: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell - Obselidia
Lena Dunham - Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler - Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini - Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener - Monogamy
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed
Daddy Longlegs
Writer/Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Producers: Casey Neistat, Tom Scott
Lbs.
Director: Matthew Bonifacio
Writer/Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti
Lovers of Hate
Writer/Director: Bryan Poyser
Producer: Megan Gilbride
Obselidia
Writer/Director: Diane Bell
Producers: Chris Byrne, Mathew Medlin
The Exploding Girl
Writer/Director: Bradley Rust Gray
Producers: Karin Chien, Ben Howe, So Yong Kim
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig - Greenberg
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein - Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
James Franco - 127 Hours
John C. Reilly - Cyrus
Ben Stiller - Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell - The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey - Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney - Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega - Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts - Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes - Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson - Mother and Child
Bill Murray - Get Low
John Ortiz - Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel - Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique - Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes - Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough - Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides - Greenberg
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Director: Banksy
Marwencol
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Restrepo
Directors: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Sweetgrass
Directors: Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
Thunder Soul
Director: Mark Landsman
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
Kisses
(Ireland)
Director: Lance Daly
Mademoiselle Chambon
(France)
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Of Gods and Men
(France)
Director: Xavier Beauvois
The King’s Speech (United Kingdom)
Director: Tom Hooper
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
(Thailand)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 17th annual Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Acura.
Hossein Keshavarz
Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate
The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott
Littlerock
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 14th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
In-Ah Lee
Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski
The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani
Meek’s Cutoff
AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 16th annual AVEENO® Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by AVEENO®.
Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor - Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg - Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker - Summer Pasture
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD - (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele
http://www.spiritawards.com/
http://www.filmindependent.org/content/2011-film-independent-spirit-award-nominations-announced
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Review: "Inglourious Basterds" is One Crazy Bastard
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Running time: 153 minutes (2 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence, language, and brief sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson
EDITOR: Sally Menke
Academy Award winner
ACTION/DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Jacky Ido, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, Martin Wuttke, Mike Myers, Julie Dreyfus, Rod Taylor, Samm Levine, and Samuel L. Jackson (uncredited voice)
Inglourious Basterds is the most recent film from Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). While Inglourious Basterds is actually short on the titular Basterds in action, it isn’t short of Tarantino hallmarks.
Apparently inspired by the 1978 Italian war movie, The Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino’s film opens in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), a “Jew hunter” or “Jew detective” (which is the term Landa prefers). Meanwhile, somewhere else in Europe, American 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish-American soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as, The Basterds, their mission is cause havoc and panic within the Third Reich by savagely killing Nazis and German servicemen. Raine tells his Basterds that being in this squad means they owe him a debt, and to pay it off, each man owes him 100 Nazi scalps.
Shosanna, who narrowly escaped Landa, fled to Paris, where four years later she has forged a new identity as Emmanuelle Mimieux, the owner and operator of a small cinema named La Gamaar. She catches the eye of a German marksman turned war hero, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl). In an attempt to impress her, Zoller convinces his superiors to hold a film premiere at La Gamaar. Meanwhile, Raine’s squad has joined German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich – during the film premiere at La Gamaar. It seems that fates have converged at the cinema, as Shosanna, with the help of her projectionist boyfriend, Marcel (Jacky Ido), is poised to carry out her own plan of revenge on the Nazis.
I consider Tarantino’s best feature-length films to be his first three: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Jackie Brown (1997), with Jackie Brown being his best work. His films since 1997 have been very good, but are mostly genre exercises and fanboy porn. Inglourious Basterds is the least of all of them, but compared to most American filmmaking, it is very good.
What else can be said about it? Basterds is not a World War II movie; in fact, it really isn’t a war movie. It’s just a Tarantino movie that may be, as the filmmaker himself described it, a spaghetti western dressed up as a WW II movie. Of course, the additives are gleefully executed violence and snappy banter passing as dialogue. Inglourious Basterds is a ferocious and sadistic fantasy that revels in a World War II that doesn’t even come close to existing.
This is also an ensemble movie. The film never depicts the entire Basterds squad in action together. Each scene focuses on a small group of characters chosen from the larger ensemble. In a way, Inglourious Basterds could have been called “Shosanna’s Last Picture Show” or “Landa the Basterd” because the film is as much about them as it is about Raine and his Basterds. Shosanna is one of the few truly high-quality characters in this film, and actor Christoph Waltz creates one of the year’s best villains in Hans Landa. Just about all the others are less characters and more like character types that Tarantino probably stole…err…borrowed from other films.
Inglourious Basterds is merely glorious Tarantino. He is a highly skilled filmmaker with an encyclopedic knowledge of film, but he desires to make bloody pastiches of the violent action/martial arts/war/western films he so clearly loves. Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s version of a summer movie – entertaining, but loud, violent, and empty.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, September 12, 2009
NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Christoph Waltz); 7 nominations: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Sally Menke), “Best Achievement in Sound” (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, and Mark Ulano), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Wylie Stateman), “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Lawrence Bender), “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Quentin Tarantino)
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Christoph Waltz); 5 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Director” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Editing” (Sally Menke), “Best Production Design” (David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Quentin Tarantino)
2010 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Christoph Waltz); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Running time: 153 minutes (2 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence, language, and brief sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson
EDITOR: Sally Menke
Academy Award winner
ACTION/DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Jacky Ido, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, Martin Wuttke, Mike Myers, Julie Dreyfus, Rod Taylor, Samm Levine, and Samuel L. Jackson (uncredited voice)
Inglourious Basterds is the most recent film from Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). While Inglourious Basterds is actually short on the titular Basterds in action, it isn’t short of Tarantino hallmarks.
Apparently inspired by the 1978 Italian war movie, The Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino’s film opens in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), a “Jew hunter” or “Jew detective” (which is the term Landa prefers). Meanwhile, somewhere else in Europe, American 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish-American soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as, The Basterds, their mission is cause havoc and panic within the Third Reich by savagely killing Nazis and German servicemen. Raine tells his Basterds that being in this squad means they owe him a debt, and to pay it off, each man owes him 100 Nazi scalps.
Shosanna, who narrowly escaped Landa, fled to Paris, where four years later she has forged a new identity as Emmanuelle Mimieux, the owner and operator of a small cinema named La Gamaar. She catches the eye of a German marksman turned war hero, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl). In an attempt to impress her, Zoller convinces his superiors to hold a film premiere at La Gamaar. Meanwhile, Raine’s squad has joined German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich – during the film premiere at La Gamaar. It seems that fates have converged at the cinema, as Shosanna, with the help of her projectionist boyfriend, Marcel (Jacky Ido), is poised to carry out her own plan of revenge on the Nazis.
I consider Tarantino’s best feature-length films to be his first three: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Jackie Brown (1997), with Jackie Brown being his best work. His films since 1997 have been very good, but are mostly genre exercises and fanboy porn. Inglourious Basterds is the least of all of them, but compared to most American filmmaking, it is very good.
What else can be said about it? Basterds is not a World War II movie; in fact, it really isn’t a war movie. It’s just a Tarantino movie that may be, as the filmmaker himself described it, a spaghetti western dressed up as a WW II movie. Of course, the additives are gleefully executed violence and snappy banter passing as dialogue. Inglourious Basterds is a ferocious and sadistic fantasy that revels in a World War II that doesn’t even come close to existing.
This is also an ensemble movie. The film never depicts the entire Basterds squad in action together. Each scene focuses on a small group of characters chosen from the larger ensemble. In a way, Inglourious Basterds could have been called “Shosanna’s Last Picture Show” or “Landa the Basterd” because the film is as much about them as it is about Raine and his Basterds. Shosanna is one of the few truly high-quality characters in this film, and actor Christoph Waltz creates one of the year’s best villains in Hans Landa. Just about all the others are less characters and more like character types that Tarantino probably stole…err…borrowed from other films.
Inglourious Basterds is merely glorious Tarantino. He is a highly skilled filmmaker with an encyclopedic knowledge of film, but he desires to make bloody pastiches of the violent action/martial arts/war/western films he so clearly loves. Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s version of a summer movie – entertaining, but loud, violent, and empty.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, September 12, 2009
NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Christoph Waltz); 7 nominations: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Sally Menke), “Best Achievement in Sound” (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, and Mark Ulano), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Wylie Stateman), “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Lawrence Bender), “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Quentin Tarantino)
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Christoph Waltz); 5 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Director” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Editing” (Sally Menke), “Best Production Design” (David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Quentin Tarantino)
2010 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Christoph Waltz); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino)
Countdown to Oscar 2011: "Winter's Bone" Wins Big at Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards were handed out Monday night, November 29th. The Gotham Awards honor independent films. The winners are as follows:
Best Film: Winter’s Bone
Best Documentary: The Oath
Best Ensemble: Winter’s Bone
Best Breakthrough Performance: Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Best Breakthrough Director: Kevin Asch, Holy Rollers
Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You: Littlerock
Festival Genius Audience Award: Waiting for “Superman”
Here is a list of the nominees (with the winners in bold) for the 20th Anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards:
Best Feature
Winter’s Bone
Debra Granik, director; Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan-Yorkin, producers (Roadside Attractions)
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky, director; Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Blue Valentine
Derek Cianfrance, director; Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky, producers (The Weinstein Company)
The Kids Are All Right
Lisa Cholodenko, director; Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Philippe Hellmann, producers (Focus Features)
Let Me In
Matt Reeves, director; Simon Oakes, Alex Brunner, Guy East, Tobin Armbrust, Donna Gigliotti, John Nording, Carl Molinder, producers (Overture Films)
Best Documentary
The Oath
Laura Poitras, director/producer (Zeitgeist Films and American Documentary/POV)
12th & Delaware
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors/producers (HBO Documentary Films)
Inside Job
Charles Ferguson, director; Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Public Speaking
Martin Scorsese, director; Martin Scorsese, Graydon Carter, Margaret Bodde, Fran Lebowitz, producers (HBO Documentary Films)
Sweetgrass
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash, directors; Ilisa Barbash, producer (Cinema Guild)
Best Ensemble Performance
Winter’s Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Lauren Sweetser, Garret Dillahunt, Kevin Breznahan
(Roadside Attractions)
The Kids Are All Right
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson (Focus Features)
Life During Wartime
Shirley Henderson, Ciarán Hinds, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Chris Marquette, Rich Pecci, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Reubens, Ally Sheedy, Dylan Riley Snyder, Renée Taylor, Michael Kenneth Williams (IFC Films)
Please Give
Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Ann Guilbert, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele, Thomas Ian Nicholas (Sony Pictures Classics)
Tiny Furniture
Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz, Alex Karpovsky, David Call, Jemima Kirke, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Garland Hunter, Isen Hunter (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Director
Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers (First Independent Pictures)
John Wells for The Company Men (The Weinstein Company)
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa for I Love You Phillip Morris (Roadside Attractions)
Tanya Hamilton for Night Catches Us (Magnolia Pictures)
Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Actor
Ronald Bronstein in Daddy Longlegs (IFC Films)
Prince Adu in Prince of Broadway (Elephant Eye Films)
Greta Gerwig in Greenberg (Focus Features)
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions)
John Ortiz in Jack Goes Boating (Overture Films)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
Littlerock
Mike Ott, director; Frederick Thornton, Laura Ragsdale, Sierra Leoni, producers
Kati with an i
Robert Greene, director; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, producers
On Coal River
Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood, directors; Jillian Elizabeth, Adams Wood, Francine Cavanaugh, producers
Summer Pasture
Lynn True and Nelson Walker, directors/producers; Tsering Perlo, co-director/co-producer
The Wolf Knife
Laurel Nakadate, director/producer
Best Film: Winter’s Bone
Best Documentary: The Oath
Best Ensemble: Winter’s Bone
Best Breakthrough Performance: Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Best Breakthrough Director: Kevin Asch, Holy Rollers
Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You: Littlerock
Festival Genius Audience Award: Waiting for “Superman”
Here is a list of the nominees (with the winners in bold) for the 20th Anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards:
Best Feature
Winter’s Bone
Debra Granik, director; Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan-Yorkin, producers (Roadside Attractions)
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky, director; Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Blue Valentine
Derek Cianfrance, director; Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky, producers (The Weinstein Company)
The Kids Are All Right
Lisa Cholodenko, director; Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Philippe Hellmann, producers (Focus Features)
Let Me In
Matt Reeves, director; Simon Oakes, Alex Brunner, Guy East, Tobin Armbrust, Donna Gigliotti, John Nording, Carl Molinder, producers (Overture Films)
Best Documentary
The Oath
Laura Poitras, director/producer (Zeitgeist Films and American Documentary/POV)
12th & Delaware
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors/producers (HBO Documentary Films)
Inside Job
Charles Ferguson, director; Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Public Speaking
Martin Scorsese, director; Martin Scorsese, Graydon Carter, Margaret Bodde, Fran Lebowitz, producers (HBO Documentary Films)
Sweetgrass
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash, directors; Ilisa Barbash, producer (Cinema Guild)
Best Ensemble Performance
Winter’s Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Lauren Sweetser, Garret Dillahunt, Kevin Breznahan
(Roadside Attractions)
The Kids Are All Right
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson (Focus Features)
Life During Wartime
Shirley Henderson, Ciarán Hinds, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Chris Marquette, Rich Pecci, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Reubens, Ally Sheedy, Dylan Riley Snyder, Renée Taylor, Michael Kenneth Williams (IFC Films)
Please Give
Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Ann Guilbert, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele, Thomas Ian Nicholas (Sony Pictures Classics)
Tiny Furniture
Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz, Alex Karpovsky, David Call, Jemima Kirke, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Garland Hunter, Isen Hunter (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Director
Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers (First Independent Pictures)
John Wells for The Company Men (The Weinstein Company)
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa for I Love You Phillip Morris (Roadside Attractions)
Tanya Hamilton for Night Catches Us (Magnolia Pictures)
Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Actor
Ronald Bronstein in Daddy Longlegs (IFC Films)
Prince Adu in Prince of Broadway (Elephant Eye Films)
Greta Gerwig in Greenberg (Focus Features)
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions)
John Ortiz in Jack Goes Boating (Overture Films)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
Littlerock
Mike Ott, director; Frederick Thornton, Laura Ragsdale, Sierra Leoni, producers
Kati with an i
Robert Greene, director; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, producers
On Coal River
Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood, directors; Jillian Elizabeth, Adams Wood, Francine Cavanaugh, producers
Summer Pasture
Lynn True and Nelson Walker, directors/producers; Tsering Perlo, co-director/co-producer
The Wolf Knife
Laurel Nakadate, director/producer
Negromancer's Winter's Tale
Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).
All images appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
All images appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Review: "The Motorcycle Diaries" Reveals a Land and its People (Happy B'Day, Gael Garcia Bernal)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux
Diarios de motocicleta (2004)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA, Brazil and others; Language: Spanish and others
The Motorcycle Diaries (USA)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
DIRECTOR: Walter Salles
WRITER: Jose Rivera (from the book Notas de viaje by Ernesto Guevara and Con el Che por America Latina by Alberto Granado)
PRODUCERS: Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, and Karen Tenkhoff
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Gautier
EDITOR: Daniel Rezende
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/ADVENTURE/BIOGRAPHY
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán, Jean Pierre Noher, and Lucas Oro
Before he was Che Guevara, the legendary Cuban revolutionary who also fought in the Congo and Bolivia, 23-year old Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Gael García Bernal) and his older friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De la Serna) traveled across South America on Alberto’s beat up late 30’s model motorcycle, “The Mighty One.” The duo’s adventures are sometimes comic (wooing women and numerous episodes of falling off their bike or pushing it for miles), suspenseful (fighting Ernesto’s asthma), or serious (volunteering to work at a leper colony). As the film progresses, we see the journey, which lasted over a year from 1951-52, have a profound effect on Ernesto as he saw the people of South America as one people rather than as a collection of provincial states. The journey would lead him to become the revolutionary, “Che” Guevara, who would have a huge impact on many nations.
Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries) is a subtle travelogue that shows us how our surroundings can shape who we are, as we see Ernesto Guevara’s long journey change him, or at least make him no longer be the person he was when he left home. Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo De la Serna give delicate performances that resonate over this stirring, yet quiet film. The actors seem to have a real friendship that carries over to the characters and vice versa. Rodrigo’s Alberto is the jolly free-spirited, womanizing clown who keeps Che from going to deep into himself and disappearing from us. Bernal gives us an Ernesto/Che who shows his intellectual and spiritual awakening in his smooth gaze and facial expressions.
Director Walter Salles and cinematographer Eric Gautier create a layered film by allowing the wonderful and diverse settings and exotic locales to permeate the film story. The Motorcycle Diaries literally reeks of being a foreign movie. Of course, there is the language, but unlike many American films, there is no sense of forcing genre conventions on this tale of how the land transforms the soul of a man. Sometimes, Diaries is too low key, but its power comes from its visuals. Every frame and each scene is like a magical symbol simultaneously telling a story and taking us on a journey that might mean spiritual transformation. It’s a film for those who are interested in seeing a movie that reveals the heart and spirit of the land and its people.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Jorge Drexler for the song "Al Otro Lado Del Río"); 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Jose Rivera)
2005 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Gustavo Santaolalla) and “Best Film not in the English Language” (Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, Karen Tenkhoff, and Walter Salles); 5 nominations: “Best Cinematography: (Eric Gautier), “Best Film” (Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, and Karen Tenkhoff), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Gael García Bernal), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Rodrigo De la Serna), and “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (José Rivera)
2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Brazil)
Diarios de motocicleta (2004)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA, Brazil and others; Language: Spanish and others
The Motorcycle Diaries (USA)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
DIRECTOR: Walter Salles
WRITER: Jose Rivera (from the book Notas de viaje by Ernesto Guevara and Con el Che por America Latina by Alberto Granado)
PRODUCERS: Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, and Karen Tenkhoff
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Gautier
EDITOR: Daniel Rezende
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/ADVENTURE/BIOGRAPHY
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán, Jean Pierre Noher, and Lucas Oro
Before he was Che Guevara, the legendary Cuban revolutionary who also fought in the Congo and Bolivia, 23-year old Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Gael García Bernal) and his older friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De la Serna) traveled across South America on Alberto’s beat up late 30’s model motorcycle, “The Mighty One.” The duo’s adventures are sometimes comic (wooing women and numerous episodes of falling off their bike or pushing it for miles), suspenseful (fighting Ernesto’s asthma), or serious (volunteering to work at a leper colony). As the film progresses, we see the journey, which lasted over a year from 1951-52, have a profound effect on Ernesto as he saw the people of South America as one people rather than as a collection of provincial states. The journey would lead him to become the revolutionary, “Che” Guevara, who would have a huge impact on many nations.
Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries) is a subtle travelogue that shows us how our surroundings can shape who we are, as we see Ernesto Guevara’s long journey change him, or at least make him no longer be the person he was when he left home. Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo De la Serna give delicate performances that resonate over this stirring, yet quiet film. The actors seem to have a real friendship that carries over to the characters and vice versa. Rodrigo’s Alberto is the jolly free-spirited, womanizing clown who keeps Che from going to deep into himself and disappearing from us. Bernal gives us an Ernesto/Che who shows his intellectual and spiritual awakening in his smooth gaze and facial expressions.
Director Walter Salles and cinematographer Eric Gautier create a layered film by allowing the wonderful and diverse settings and exotic locales to permeate the film story. The Motorcycle Diaries literally reeks of being a foreign movie. Of course, there is the language, but unlike many American films, there is no sense of forcing genre conventions on this tale of how the land transforms the soul of a man. Sometimes, Diaries is too low key, but its power comes from its visuals. Every frame and each scene is like a magical symbol simultaneously telling a story and taking us on a journey that might mean spiritual transformation. It’s a film for those who are interested in seeing a movie that reveals the heart and spirit of the land and its people.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Jorge Drexler for the song "Al Otro Lado Del Río"); 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Jose Rivera)
2005 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Gustavo Santaolalla) and “Best Film not in the English Language” (Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, Karen Tenkhoff, and Walter Salles); 5 nominations: “Best Cinematography: (Eric Gautier), “Best Film” (Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, and Karen Tenkhoff), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Gael García Bernal), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Rodrigo De la Serna), and “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (José Rivera)
2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Brazil)
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James Franco and Anne Hathaway to Co-Host 2011 Oscar Telecast
Yeah, I'm surprised, but I like these two. I can't wait to see this:
Press release:
Franco, Hathaway to Host Oscar® Show
Beverly Hills, CA (November 29, 2010) – James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today. Both have previously appeared on the telecast but not in hosting capacities.
"James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27," said Cohen and Mischer. "We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that."
Franco, who currently can be seen in "127 Hours," will be making his second appearance on an Oscar telecast. His other film credits include "Eat, Pray, Love," "Date Night," "Milk" and "Pineapple Express." Franco is also known for his portrayals of Harry Osborn in the "Spider-Man" trilogy.
Hathaway will be making her fifth appearance on an Academy Awards telecast. She was recently seen in "Alice in Wonderland" and currently can be seen in "Love and Other Drugs." Hathaway's other film credits include "Bride Wars," "Becoming Jane," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Princess Diaries." She was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for her lead performance in "Rachel Getting Married."
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Press release:
Franco, Hathaway to Host Oscar® Show
Beverly Hills, CA (November 29, 2010) – James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today. Both have previously appeared on the telecast but not in hosting capacities.
"James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27," said Cohen and Mischer. "We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that."
Franco, who currently can be seen in "127 Hours," will be making his second appearance on an Oscar telecast. His other film credits include "Eat, Pray, Love," "Date Night," "Milk" and "Pineapple Express." Franco is also known for his portrayals of Harry Osborn in the "Spider-Man" trilogy.
Hathaway will be making her fifth appearance on an Academy Awards telecast. She was recently seen in "Alice in Wonderland" and currently can be seen in "Love and Other Drugs." Hathaway's other film credits include "Bride Wars," "Becoming Jane," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Princess Diaries." She was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for her lead performance in "Rachel Getting Married."
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Review: "Vanilla Sky" is a Crazier Cruise-Diaz Team-Up
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2001) by Leroy DouresseauxVanilla Sky (2001)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality and strong language
DIRECTOR: Cameron Crowe
WRITER: Cameron Crowe (based upon the film Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) by Alejandro Amenábor and Mateo Gil Rodreguez)
PRODUCERS: Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Joe Hutshing and Mark Livolsi
COMPOSER: Nancy Wilson
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA/FANTASY/ROMANCE/SCI-FI/THRILLER
Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, Johnny Galecki, Michael Shannon, and Tilda Swinton
David Aames (Tom Cruise) is the wealthy scion of a publishing empire who lives only for himself and his pleasures. He treats his novelist friend Brian Shelby (Jason Lee, Chasing Amy) as a possession to be admitted or dismissed as needed, though Aames often professes deep love for Shelby. He has recreational sex with another friend, Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz), a girl who practically admits to being around the block quite a few times. At a party that he hosts, David sees a stunning beauty that Brian has brought to the party with him. The looker, Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz, who was in the Spanish film upon which Vanilla Sky is based), throws David for a loop and he falls very hard for her.
Aww, but Julie is jealous; she follows David and is waiting for him after he spends the night (a sex free night) with Sofia. In an insane rage, Julie, with David a passenger, runs her car off the road, killing herself. David survives, but his body is damaged and his face is badly scarred. From that point, David’s life is a series of time shifts; past, present, and future loose their meanings.
Directed by Cameron Crowe, who also directed Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky is a mind numbing and genre bending film that mixes elements of romance, romantic thriller, mystery, suspense, and science fiction. It demands the viewers’ complete attention, while it careens across the screen like the out of control car that changes David Aames life.
Vanilla Sky is also a movie that can test an audience’s patience. It has ideas and messages, and most people do not want their movies to preach to them, at least not preach smart ideas. They want a loud, vivid, cinematic experience – special effects and movie magic. “Entertain me” is the mantra, and Crowe adds only the thinnest of candy coatings to his film.
The movie begins with a beautiful scene in which David discovers that he is alone in Times Square; he runs down the street for a few minutes totally afraid of being alone before we learn that this is a dream. There are also voiceovers while we follow David’s privileged life. There is the accident, and then we find David in a dark room wearing a mask, while a psychologist (Kurt Russell) prods him for answers regarding a murder of which David has been accused. From then, we’re bouncing back and forth through time, through illusions, dreams, fantasies, flashbacks. It can be disconcerting, but the film is so alluring that you want to soldier on.
Cruise has always been a good actor in the hands of good director, and Crowe is good. Over his career, Cruise has learned to open himself up to the possibilities of using his handsome face to express a variety of feelings and emotions, where once he simply lit up that million dollar smile and that was that. He is good here and quite believable. It’s no trick to play a spoiled, wealthy brat, but he convincingly transforms himself into the tortured package of damaged goods.
The supporting cast in nice, but while Penelope Cruz got all the attention, Diaz is the surprise. Some may believe her looks carry her career, but she can act. She plays the wild, vulnerable, hurt, and angry Julie Gianni to the hilt while also playing it down low and subtle. She creates a three-dimensional villain of sly evil and of terrible sadness.
Vanilla Sky is rife with musical references, most of which are quite annoying, but the Jeff Blakely reference is dead on appropriate for its scene. There are lots of visual references from pop culture to fine art, and they mean something, but you have to catch them, as they fly by so quickly.
Vanilla Sky is a good film, especially because it asks for the viewer to get involved where most movies only want to yell at you. At its heart are good messages about responsibility for the choices one makes, selfishness, love, and sacrifice. It stumbles and rushes to it fantastical, sci-fi ending that almost destroys film, but the movie is a worthy effort by ambitious talents. By no means perfect, it is still a grand entertainment and a wonderful puzzle with which to struggle, and it doesn’t mind trying to be smart even when it over reaches its ambitions.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 nominations: “Best Music, Original Song” (Paul McCartney for the song "Vanilla Sky")
2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Paul McCartney for the song "Vanilla Sky") and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cameron Diaz)
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