So what’s it about?: Bonnie and Clyde rob banks and chaos ensues.

The Good: This film is considered a classic for a reason.  It’s a good film.  The script is well written, the acting is well done, and from a cinematography stand point there were some really cool shots in this.  You could just tell the crew put a lot of thought into this film and it shows.  And it has what all good films have: a good beginning and a killer ending.

The Bad: Like I feel most older films suffer from, this movie dragged on at times from the result of its slower pacing.  And Faye Dunaway and Estelle Parsons were so annoying at times that I began to hate them both, which was definitely more the fault of the characters rather than the actresses.

The Verdict: A must see for any fan of well made films, but if you are looking for a high octane gangster movie, perhaps look for something a little newer.

French Roast: A Big Mystery’s Brewing in the Fancy Parisian Café

French Roast is a subtle, gently humorous animated short film directed by the French filmmaker Fabrice O. Joubert.  The delightful film has been deservedly well received at film festivals around the world, culminating in receiving the Best of Show Prize at the annual Siggraph 2009.  French Roast was named last week to the short-list in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

The film is set entirely inside a small Parisian café, where a rather aloof cigar-smoking gentlemen is about to pay the check when he suddenly discovers that his wallet has disappeared.  In an attempt to stall for time, he decides to order some more coffee.  Very many cups of coffee later, with his bill quickly mounting up, he’s still rooted to the same spot in mortification, when a little old lady sitting next to him appears to have ample cash to donate to a wild looking vagrant.  Her bag is stuffed full of banknotes and looks quite inviting.  But events quickly take a turn for the worse when the police arrive.  Aside from revealing the gradual evaporation of the lead character’s unfriendly pomposity, one of the key directorial touches in the film is restricting the action very largely to one view of the café tables with a large reflecting window behind them upon which the wider action accumulates.

done

French Roast: A Big Mystery’s Brewing in the Fancy Parisian Café

Slide Show: French Roast/A Big Mystery’s Brewing in the Fancy Parisian Café

(Please Click Image to View Slide Show)

Please Share This:

The Cat Piano: A City of Imprisoned Singing Cats

The Cat Piano is an award-winning 8-minute animated short film directed by Australian filmmakers Eddie White and Ari Gibson, featuring narration by the iconic Australian musician Nick Cave. The film is a remarkable animation, a visual marvel that’s a perfectly executed narrative, seamlessly coalescing its gothic influences into a hypnotically sinister aesthetic that is never at odds with itself.  The Cat Piano was named last week as one of 10 films to advance in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

The story opens in a city of musically talented singing cats, where a lonely beat poet falls for the call of a beautiful musical siren.  However, a mysteriously dark and evil human soon emerges and begins kidnapping the town’s singing cats to imprison them inside of a cat piano, intent on carrying out his depraved musical plans to perform a twisted feline symphony.  At that point, the poet realizes that he must save his muse and put an end to the nefarious tune that threatens to destroy the entire city.

The Cat Piano: A City of Imprisoned Singing Cats

Please Share This:

A Matter of Loaf and Death: Big Trouble at the Mill

A Matter of Loaf and Death is an award-winning, delightful clay-animated short film directed by Nick Clark, a four-time Academy Award-winning English filmmaker of stop-motion animation.  The film, starring the much-loved duo Wallace and his faithful dog Gromit, was named last week as one of 10 films to advance in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.  A Matter of Loaf and Death played on BBC Television last year and was the highest-rated program of 2008 and the highest-rated non-sporting event in the United Kingdom since 2004.  In 2008, the film won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject.

A Matter of Loaf and Death is a suspenseful, romantic high-action murder mystery, with Wallace and and the ever-trusty Gromit starting a new bakery business, Top Bun.  Gromit learns that a number of bakers in town have been mysteriously disappearing, and tries to solve the case before Wallace ends up a victim himself.  The mystery involves a new love interest for Wallace, Ms. Piella Bakewell, who is a bread enthusiast and former pin-up girl for the “Bake-O-Lite” bread company, as well as, for the first time, a cute sweetheart for Gromit: Ms. Bakewell’s charming little French poodle, Fluffles.  The very urgent question now is: will Gromit be able to discover the identity of the Cereal Killer before poor Wallace ends up becoming the next ghastly victim?

done

A Matter of Loaf and Death: Big Trouble at the Mill

The full-version of A Matter of Loaf and Death can also be viewed here.

Slide Show: A Matter of Loaf and Death

(Please Click Image to View Slide Show)

Please Share This:

Halle Berry (Born 1966 in Cleveland, OH) is a Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award winning American Actress and Producer. In a Hollywood career that began in 1989, she has quickly established herself as one of the most successful Actresses in recent film history. Her films to date include “The Last Boy Scout”, “The Flintstones”, “Jungle Fever”, “The Program”, “Losing Isaiah”, “Executive Decision”, “The Rich Man’s Wife”, “Bulworth”, “X-Men”, “Die Another Day”, “Monsters Ball”, “X-Men: The Last Stand”, “Gothika”, “Robots”, “Perfect Stranger”, “X2″, “Catwoman”, “Swordfish”, and many others. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her role in “Monster’s Ball”. She is the first African-American Woman to ever win the Best Actress Oscar. She has also done extensive work in Television including her Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in the made for cable movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”. She has also made appearances on shows such as “Frasier”, “Living Dolls”, “Knots Landing”, and “Amen”. As a Producer, she produced the made for cable films “Lackawanna Blues” and “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”. A former beauty queen, she was crowned Miss Ohio in 1986 and finished as first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame.

Autograph #257 in Collection.

By Jen

Throughout her distinguished career, Lauren Bacall has been recognized, nominated, and rewarded for her groundbreaking roles, distinctive abilities, and personal choices.  However, one specific award always managed to elude her.

In 1997, after over 50 successful years in movies which included work in some of today’s classics with a variety of the most well-known movie stars of the time, Lauren Bacall was finally nominated for her first Academy Award for her supporting role in The Mirror Has Two Faces.

However, the competition that year was fierce and the little golden man fell into the hands of the lovely Juliette Binoche for her supporting role in The English Patient.

Finally, this year, not long after her 85th birthday, the dazzling actress was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for her life’s work, which was presented at the Inaugural Governor’s Awards which took place on November 14, months ahead of the widely televised and more well-known Academy Awards show.

Grazia Fashion: Lauren Bacall’s early Oscar!

Screen legend Lauren Bacall given Oscar for life’s work – Yahoo! News

Lauren Bacall – Wikipedia

Lauren Bacall – IMDb

Partly Cloudy: A Lonely Cloud Creates Hazardous Babies for His Stork-Partner

Partly Cloudy is a delightful animated short film by Pixar Animation Studios, which was named as one of 10 films to advance in the voting process for the “Animated Short Films” category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.  The list is international, with movies representing production companies from Australia, France, America, Canada and other countries.

In Partly Cloudy, the storks get their babies from way up high in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life.  However, in this story there is a real dilemma.  Gus, a lonely and insecure gray cloud, is a master at creating “dangerous” babies: crocodiles, porcupines, rams and even much worse.  Gus’s beloved creations are truly works of art, but they’re more than a handful for his loyal delivery-stork partner, Peck.  As Gus’s creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck’s job gets harder and harder.  How on earth will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend’s fiery temperament?

Partly Cloudy: A Lonely Cloud Creates Hazardous Babies for His Stork-Partner

Please Share This:

 Can a movie change a slum kid’s life? Shafiq Syed, who played the lead role of Krishna in ‘Salaam Bombay’ as a 12 year old feels it cannot. He is now working on a script about a story of street kid who ends up back on the street even after becoming famous with a film.

“Even after winning the national award for the best child actor, I was begging in Mumbai for a living. Now, I am driving an auto to make ends meet. Film makers just use us and throw us. The children in Slumdog Millionaire too will be forgotten with time. Just like the way I was forgotten. I only wish that the media keeps following these kids, at least because of which the film makers ensure a good life to them,” Shafiq, who is now 32 years old told MiD DAY.

When we met Shafiq he was waiting in an auto lane for passengers at Koramangala in Bangalore. Dressed in khakhi auto drivers’ uniform he was reading four newspapers. “I have bought these papers today just because Slumdog won the Oscars. I am looking at the pictures of these kids and their families celebrating the victory. I remember my past. It is good to see that these children went for the Oscar ceremony. I hope the focus on these kids remains,” he said.

Though Shafiq is happy with the Oscars, he did not like ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ “Fr George of Bosco House for street kids took me to a multiplex to watch the film. I did not like it. It is a good commercial film, but does not show the reality. Just tell me a simple thing. How can a chai wala reach Kaun Banega Crorepati and speak in English in the first place. Moreover, he gets all the answers right because of the flashbacks. We have been watching the quiz show for so many years, has any slum boy won the big money?” he reasons.

He however lauds the story of ‘Salaam Bombay.” “There the boy Krishna ends back on the streets and is lost in the crowd. The same happened to me. This is reality. Slumdog won the Oscars just because it was made by a foreigner,” he said.

Shafiq is now working on a script based on his life. “I ran to Mumbai, acted in an award winning film, won a national award for best actor and ended back on the streets. Now, I am driving this auto to feed my wife and three kids. I know the reality is that I need to take care of them,” he said.

When he was 12 years old, Shafiq ran away from home in Bangalore and went to Mumbai. “We would beg near a dargah in Churchgate and sleep on foot path. One day we were standing at Churchgate railway station when someone came and asked if we were interested in acting in a drama. I went with them. A workshop was conducted and I was selected for the lead role. It was only after a month and half that we were told that we were to act in a movie. Manoj Balpai and Irrfan Khan were among the people who conducted the workshop. Now they are all big people. Meera Nair directed the film and it won accolades. I won the national award for the best actor. After that I acted in another film Goutam Ghose’s ‘Patang’ which also won the national award for the best film. I was back on the footpath and I returned home to Bangalore,” he said.

Awards for Salaam Bombay

Won

• 1988: Audience Award, Cannes Film Festival
• 1988: Golden Camera, Cannes Film Festival
• 1988: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
• 1988: National Film Award for Best Child Artist: Shafiq Syed
• 1988: National Board of Review Awards: Top Foreign Film
• 1988 : Lilian Gish Award Excellence in Feature Film, Los Angeles Women in Film Festival (tied with Elysium)
• 1988: Jury Prize, Montréal World Film Festival (tied with The Dawning)
• 1988: Most Popular Film, Montréal World Film Festival
• 1988: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Montréal World Film Festival

Nominated

• 1989: Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• 1990: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language
• 1989: César Award for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger)
• 1990: Filmfare Best Director Award
• 1989: Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

 This story was published in MiD DAY. Check it on the online edition http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/feb/250209-Shafiq-Syed-Salaam-Bombay-former-child-star-Slumdog-Millionaire-Rubina-Ali-Azharuddin-Ismail.htm

My Top 10:

The final shot of Modern Times (1936): Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard walking off into the future.

1. Modern Times
2. The Petrified Forest
3. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
4. A Tale of Two Cities
5. My Man Godfrey
6. The Secret Agent
7. Dodsworth
8. Fury
9. After the Thin Man
10. The Great Ziegfeld

Academy Awards:

• Best Picture:  The Great Ziegfeld
• Best Director:  Frank Capra  (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)
• Best Actor:  Paul Muni  (The Story of Louis Pasteur)
• Best Actress:  Luise Rainer  (The Great Ziegfeld)
• Best Supporting Actor:  Walter Brennan  (Come and Get It)
• Best Supporting Actress:  Gale Sondergaard  (Anthony Adverse)
• Best Screenplay:  The Story of Louis Pasteur
• Best Original Story:  The Story of Louis Pasteur

Consensus Award Winners:

• Best Picture:  Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
• Best Director:  Frank Capra  (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)
• Best Actor:  Walter Huston  (Dodsworth)
• Best Actress:  Luise Rainer  (The Great Ziegfeld)

TSPDT Consensus Top 5 Films:

• Modern Times – #48
• Swing Time – #541
• Carnival in Flanders – #748
• Fury – #987
• Toni – #997

Top 5 Awards Points:

1. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – 415
2. The Great Ziegfeld – 390
3. Dodsworth – 330
4. Anthony Adverse – 290
5. The Story of Louis Pasteur – 280

AFI Top 100 Films:

• Modern Times – #81  (1998) / #78  (2007)
• Swing Time – #90  (2007)

Nighthawk Awards:

• Best Picture:  Modern Times
• Best Director:  Charlie Chaplin  (Modern Times)
• Best Actor:  Charlie Chaplin  (Modern Times)
• Best Actress:  Bette Davis  (The Petrified Forest)
• Best Supporting Actor:  Humphrey Bogart  (The Petrified Forest)
• Best Supporting Actress:  Maria Ouspenkaya  (Dodsworth)
• Best Adapted Screenplay:  The Petrified Forest
• Best Original Screenplay:  Modern Times
• Best Foreign Film:  The Crime of Monsieur Lange

Nighthawk Notables:

• Best Film to Watch Over and Over:  Modern Times
• Best Scene:  Spencer Tracy reliving “dying” in Fury
• Best Line:  “I am dead.”  (Fury – Spencer Tracy)
• Best Ending:  Modern Times

Ebert’s Great Movies:

• Swing Time
• My Man Godfrey

Almost a decade into the Sound Era, and Charlie Chaplin was still making his own kind of film.  I’ve already talked here about how brilliant Modern Times is and the amazing virtuoso that was Charlie Chaplin.  It is easily the best film of 1936, currently sitting almost 500 spots higher than any other film from the year in the Top 1000.  In my own Top 1000, Modern Times finishes a good 160 spots above The Petrified Forest and some 250 above Mr. Deeds.  I don’t find 1936 to be quite as bad a year as the Top 1000 does, but it is one of the lower years for both Top 5 films and Top 10 films, though not in the bottom 10 years for either.

Film History: The film world is shaken by the death of Irving Thalberg of pneumonia at the age of 37.  Norma Shearer, his widow, will never be the same again on-screen.  Deanna Durbin makes her film debut, marking the start of a long, but very annoying career.  Bugs Bunny is created by Warner Bros. as a way to counteract Mickey Mouse.  Carl Laemmle is one of the first of the big studio heads to exit, selling Universal Films.  Price-Waterhouse begins as the tabulator of Academy Awards votes.  The Screen Directors Guild is incorporated.  John Gilbert, whose career died out in the Sound Era, makes his last film with Greta Garbo (Queen Christina), then dies of a heart attack at age 40.

Academy Awards: The Academy decided to finally reward the actors who weren’t stars with the addition of Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.  They are both established with 5 nominees, and Actor, Actress, Director and the Screenplay categories are also changed to have 5 nominees.  The Academy gives Best Original Story to Story of Louis Pasteur, inspiring the question of how a true story can be the Best Original Story.  Frank Capra joins Frank Borzage and Frank Lloyd with his second Oscar.  My Man Godfrey becomes the first film to earn acting nominations in all 4 categories, and in spite of that and nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, fails to get a Best Picture nomination while Libeled Lady gets a Best Picture nomination and nothing else (and both star William Powell).  In spite of sympathy for Norma Shearer, she comes in third for Best Actress, behind Rainer and Carole Lombard.  Gary Cooper comes in second to Paul Muni for Best Actor.  Frank Capra finishes just barely ahead of W.S. Van Dyke (San Francisco) and Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey).  The Story of Louis Pasteur comes in second for Best Picture.

• Worst Oscar:  Best Editing for Anthony Adverse
• Worst Oscar Nomination:  Best Editing for Anthony Adverse
• Worst Oscar Omission:  Best Picture for Modern Times
• Worst Oscar Category:  Best Editing
• Best Oscar Category:  Best Actress

Awards: The two critics groups agreed not just on Best Picture (Mr. Deeds), but also on Foreign Film (Carnival in Flanders).  The NYFC Awards for Best Actor would go to Oscar nominee Walter Huston, while the Best Actress would go the eventual Oscar winner, Luise Rainer.  But oddly, Best Director would go to Rouben Mamoulian for The Gay Desperado, an almost forgotten film today.  The NBR would do better than the Oscars in that it would once again take my choice for the best film (Modern Times) and put it in its Top 10.  Only three of the NBR Top 10 would overlap with the Best Picture nominees and would not include the winner (Mr. Deeds, Story of Louis Pasteur, Romeo and Juliet).

My winner for Best Actress (Bette Davis) and Best Supporting Actor (Humphrey Bogart) with my #2 Best Actor (Leslie Howard) in my #2 film of 1936: The Petrified Forest

Over-looked film of 1936:

The Petrified Forest (dir. Archie Mayo)

How can a film so good be so unknown?  With all the attention paid among film buffs to Bette Davis and clips of her films all over YouTube, with Bogart the most widely celebrated film star of the 20th Century and still it’s nowhere in sight.

The Petrified Forest is the perfect way to remember Leslie Howard.  He was so wrong in Gone with the Wind, it’s hard to figure out where to begin explaining.  And the problem with his Romeo and Juliet wasn’t that he was too old (as was Norma Shearer, but she was radiant); the problem is that Leslie Howard is utterly unbelievable as Romeo.  If there is anything to define Howard’s screen persona it is the quiet intellectual, the one who thinks and ponders.  He may have strong feelings, like in Pygmalion, he may have an air of romance like in Berkeley Square, he may even be the hero, like in The Scarlet Pimpernel, but he is someone who has taken the time to think about things.  He could never be confused with someone who would act so irrationally, so blindly out of passion (and stupidity) as Romeo.  He would have been far more believable as Mercutio, the dreamer, the thinker, not the fickle Romeo.  But in The Petrified Forest, as the depressed, world-weary Alan Squier, the thinker, the man who wants to act and can’t bring himself to do it, who will so quickly fall in love with the waitress who shares that dream, but be unable to fully act upon it, that is the role that Leslie Howard was born to play.

Of course, you need someone to play opposite him.  He dominates Pimpernel and Berkeley, but is matched well with Wendy Hiller as Liza in Pygmalion.  So he is cast opposite Bette Davis, who had already proved his watch on screen in Of Human Bondage (being robbed of an Oscar at the same time).  But they have been on screen together before, have shown how much they can match.  So to add something more we have Bogart, and not the Bogart we would all later know and worship.  This is the younger Bogart, desperate to become a bigger star, helped along by Howard, both in terms of getting the role, and as the character Duke Manatee in the film.  It is Howard’s push that propels the action, much as he propelled the making of the film.  This is a Bogart performance that will help you to understand how the same actor could so convincingly play both Rick Blaine and Fred C. Dobbs.

Then there is the script, of course.  Yes, there is not a whole lot of opening up of it as a film, it feels much like a staged play.  But when you have a location like this, when you have star power like this that knows so well how to respond to each other do you really need more than that?

Today in KROQ Music News: Anberlin talks about their album and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Vampire Weekend release a video for their new single “Cousins” and Rock is snubbed in the documentary category for the Oscars.

Last Friday night the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 10 animated short films that will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards. The original list contained thirty-seven films that were eligible for the category and this new list is in itself only interim. The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy will now vote amongst themselves to select five films that will make up the final short-list, which will be announced on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 around lunchtime.

Irish eyes will be firmly fixed on this category with Brown Bag Films’ Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty representing our fair isle. Competition is set to be tough with Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park up for A Matter of Loaf and Death and Disney/Pixar’s excellent short Partly Cloudy also in contention.

The full list of the current ten is as follows:

The Cat Piano
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Kinematograph
The Lady and the Reaper
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Partly Cloudy
Runaway
Variete

The Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7th, 2010.

OK so I’ve not entered anything, to be honest I wouldn’t know where to start making a film, let alone one of this standard, but if your interested in which short animations will be competing for oscars at the next Academy Awards we’ve got the list:

• The Cat Piano Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation)
• French Roast Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)
• Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)
• The Kinematograph Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)
• The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)
• Logorama Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)
• A Matter of Loaf and Death Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)
• Partly Cloudy Peter Sohn, director (Pixar Animation Studios)
• Runaway Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
• Variete Roelof van den Bergh, director (il Luster Productions)

Now we know winning an Oscar is not as big an accolade as receiving an award at Flip, but we’ve all got to start somewhere

Steph x

RE: Your mental stability

I hope this is just a hilarious joke and that on April 1st next year when I wake up to get my morning coffee and daily online reads, there your face will be with a big smile giving the world the always reassuring finger guns as if to say “I fooled you all, you big bunch of foolio’s!” and oh how we will laugh and in 2020 we will look back on it and say “remember how you got us good 10 years ago?”

What are the chances of that happening? Can we ever get back to the status quo? Don’t answer these questions for I do not want to know.

You’re a darn good actor sir. You’ve been in a few masterpieces such as Return to Paradise and Murder, She Wrote, and some not so good productions like the Village (although you are not to blame for this as M. Night “I Think I’m The Man” Shyamalan is an overrated ass and doesn’t realise he hasn’t produced a quality film since Unbreakable).

Are you pissed that you didn’t win an Oscar for Walk the Line, is that what prompted this sudden lifestyle change? Because you should know that I was rooting for you. I mean Philip S. Hoffman, good bloke, but come on he was in Patch Adams! I am a true believer in holding films against award winners. That way we could be guaranteed that David Caruso and Elizabeth Berkley would never win an Oscar – I know they already have a very slim chance, but a chance nonetheless!

Now I’ve heard you “rap” and I’m not going to be one of those “haters” that make ill-informed decisions before being presented with the entire story nor am I going to pass judgment on the lives of others. Having said that you’re slightly shit. I know I said I wasn’t going to say that but I lied. You’re so shit that I would rather listen to that white guy in 5ive freestyle before I have to endure another listen of what you’re bringing to the table. Take it back and get a refund. Do not put all your eggs into this rapping basket, because you will need a fallback. If asked to do ‘Gladiator 2: Attack of the Zombies’ I say take it.

I will treat this as an open letter as I believe Joaquin would regularly Google the terms “Shyamalan”, “Overrated” and “Philip Seymour Hoffman is a tampon”. This post should be right up there in the searches.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
★★★★ / ★★★★

I find it an uncommon experience to watch a movie that really gets involved with my emotions, but it’s rare that I watch a movie that has the ability to completely transport me in its reality. Directed by Lee Daniels, “Precious” tells the story of an pregnant, obese, illiterate African-American teenager (Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe) who has grown accustomed to the physical and emotional abuse inflicted by her mother (Mo’Nique) and how she eventually found strength inside of her to stand up and take her life in a positive direction. A few people who genuinely took interest in Precious were Paula Patton as the school teacher, Mariah Carey as one of the people who works for the welfare system, and Lenny Kravitz as a male nurse who took care of her after she had her second baby.

I have to admit that I choose to ignore or even actively stay away from people like Precious, partly due to fear since she came from a terrible neighborhood and partly due to how she presented herself: very quiet yet volatile and someone that seemed like she had no interest in taking care of herself. That stereotype that I often rely on doesn’t come consciously to me anymore and it was nice, through watching this film, to be reminded that despite physical appearances, everyone has a surprising (and even touching) story to tell, a story that transcends all the stigma and the pain that a person shows and hides. Even though the subject matter of this film was depressing, it found enough moments to insert not just amusing lines and moments but actual hopes and dreams of the lead character’s. Such scenes illustrated that although Precious didn’t like herself (when she looks in the mirror, she sees a completely different person–Caucasian, skinny, happy), she wanted to break out from her violent living environment and ultimately be loved for who she is and what she has to offer.

I thought the scenes of physical abuse from her father were done in a sensitive and insightful way. Instead of actually showing us the act, I admired how the picture chose to dissociate itself from the scene as when Precious would dissociate herself from the experience and think shiny, happy thoughts. From what I learned in Psychology, rape victims, especially those people who were raped ever since they were children, dissociate their minds from their bodies as a defense mechanism. So I thought the film’s craft was spot-on. Mo’Nique’s character was beyond cruel but just when I thought she was a complete monster, the movie shows us that she does indeed have a heart. It’s just that she became angry and bitter over the years because of how she interpreted certain events and how she saw certain realities. Again, I saw this through a psychological lens so her reaction made sense to me even though I do not agree with the way transfered all her frustration and anger (that should have been directed to her husband and herself) to her only daughter. Mo’Nique has been getting a lot of strong Oscar buzz for Best Actress and I believe she should be nominated because out of the many movies I’ve seen in 2009, her performance stands out by a mile.

The reason why I consider “Precious” one of the strongest movies of 2009 is because, despite its gloomy premise, it’s ultimately a very inspiring story about a seemingly hopeless girl from Harlem who chose to break the chains of abuse and find an alternative path so that she could grow as a person and maybe even reach her potential. This is a great film to show to kids from the poorer neighborhoods because it might give them enough courage to speak out and discover a role model that they might not have in their respective homes. It’s been a while since I saw people actually crying in the movies and people talking about it right when we were walking out of the theaters. Even though I saw this film alone (For some reason, I almost always watch the best films of the year by myself), I felt connected with the world and wanting to embrace everyone in it.

My Top 10:

Victor McLaglen in his Oscar winning role in The Informer (1935)

1. The Informer
2. Bride of Frankenstein
3. The 39 Steps
4. Les Miserables
5. Mutiny on the Bounty
6. The Man Who Knew Too Much
7. Captain Blood
8. Top Hat
9. A Night at the Opera
10. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Academy Awards:

• Best Picture:  Mutiny on the Bounty
• Best Director:  John Ford  (The Informer)
• Best Actor:  Victor McLaglen  (The Informer)
• Best Actress:  Bette Davis  (Dangerous)
• Best Screenplay:  The Informer (from the story by Liam O’Flaherty)
• Best Original Story:  The Scoundrel

TSPDT Consensus Top 5 Films:

• A Night at the Opera – #202
• Bride of Frankenstein – #223
• Top Hat – #307
• The 39 Steps – #309
• Triumph of the Will – #347

Top 5 Awards Points:

1. The Informer – 635
2. Mutiny on the Bounty – 410
3. Lives of a Bengal Lancer – 220
4. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 150
5. Ruggles of Red Gap – 120

Consensus Awards Winners:

• Best Picture:  The Informer
• Best Director:  John Ford  (The Informer)
• Best Actor:  Charles Laughton  (Mutiny on the Bounty / Les Miserables / Ruggles of Red Gap)
• Best Actress:  Bette Davis  (Dangerous) / Greta Garbo  (Anna Karenina)

AFI Top 100 Films:

• Mutiny on the Bounty – #86  (1998 – not on 2007 poll)
• A Night at the Opera – #85  (2007 – not on 1998 poll)

Nighthawk Awards:

• 

  Katharine Hepburn was denied her second Oscar for Alice Adams (1935)

• Best Picture:  The Informer
• Best Director:  John Ford  (The Informer)
• Best Actor:  Charles Laughton  (Mutiny on the Bounty)
• Best Actress:  Katharine Hepburn  (Alice Adams)
• Best Supporting Actor:  W.C. Fields  (David Copperfield)
• Best Supporting Actress:  Una O’Connor  (The Informer)
• Best Adapted Screenplay:  The Informer (from the story by Liam O’Flaherty)
• Best Original Screenplay:  The Man Who Knew Too Much

Nighthawk Notables:

• Best Film to Watch Over and Over:  Bride of Frankenstein
• Best Scene:  the cabin scene in A Night at the Opera
• Best Ending:  Bride of Frankenstein (“You go.  We belong dead.”)
• Best Line:  If we shadows have offended / Think but this and all is mended / That you have but slumbered here / While these visions did appear / And this weak and idle theme / Yielding no more but a dream / And as I am an honest Puck / If we have unearned luck / Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue / We shall make amends ‘ere long / Else the Puck a liar call / So good night unto you all / Give me your hands if we be friends / And Robin shall restore amends  (A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Mickey Rooney – still in my memory 23 years after being in the play in 6th grade)
• See the Movie – Don’t Read the Book:  The 39 Steps

Ebert Great Movies:

• Bride of Frankenstein
• Top Hat
• Triumph of the Will

At the very moment where American movies were taking their place at the top of the pile (notice I have no Best Foreign Film for 1935), we have a disgusting reminder of the power of film with Triumph of the Will, the all important documentary from Leni Reifenstahl that documented a Nuremberg rally and the utter worship of Adolf Hitler.  There was no question that this was powerful propaganda (as Hollywood knew could happen – the year before, Louis B. Mayer had used newsreel films critical of Upton Sinclair to keep him from becoming Governor of California), a stunning look at the pure craftsmanship of political construction were those rallies, and the only real antidote to watching the film (and a pure interest in film history is the only reason to watch it) is to watch Night and Fog, a film just as disturbing in the naked depiction of what the Nazism of Reifenstahl’s film would result in.

The Informer, in spite of terrible box office, is widely acclaimed as the best film of the year, winning both critics groups and several Oscars, while losing Best Picture, yet today doesn’t get the acclaim.  Bride of Frankenstein brings the Golden Age of Horror to an end.  While Universal will continue to churn out Horror films, they will decrease in quality.  Only twice in the next 25 years will a Horror film make my Top 10.

Film History: David O. Selznick leaves MGM and becomes an independent producer.  20th Century Fox and Republic Pictures are founded.  Errol Flynn stars in Captain Blood, becoming a star.  Becky Sharp, the first three-color Technicolor feature film, is released.  The Museum of Modern Art establishes its film library.  Porky Pig debuts, the first of what will become the Loony Tunes characters.  Will Rogers dies in a plane crash in Alaska.

Academy Awards: For the last time, we have a film (Mutiny on the Bounty) win Best Picture and nothing else.  Mutiny does set a new record though with 8 nominations and is the first film with 3 acting nominations (all for Best Actor).  The Informer, on the other hand, wins 4 Oscars, the second most at the time, but fails to win Best Picture.  It will be 13 years before a film again wins Director and Screenplay without winning Picture.  Bette Davis makes up for her snub the year before by winning Best Actress, the first widely accepted example of a “make-up Oscar”, possibly costing Katharine Hepburn a second Oscar.  A Midsummer Night’s Dream becomes the only film to win an Oscar (Best Cinematography) without an actual nomination due to the allowing of write-in votes.  Write-ins finish in second place for Best Actor (Paul Muni in Black Fury) and Director (Captain Blood) while Captain Blood comes in third for Screenplay and Score as a write-in.  The Academy adds a new category, Dance Direction, will which only last a few years.

• Worst Oscar:  Best Sound for Naughty Marietta
• Worst Oscar Nomination:  Best Picture for Naughty Marietta
• Worst Oscar Omission:  Best Cinematography for Bride of Frankenstein
• Worst Oscar Category:  Best Cinematography – ignored Bride of Frankenstein, The Informer and Captain Blood – and the winner was a write-in (and better than the actual nominees)
• Best Oscar Category:  Best Song – I would have gone with “Cheek to Cheek” for the win, but definitely three great nominees

Awards: The New York Film Critics Circle decided that they wanted in on the awards action, so they broke out with their initial awards in 1935.  They and the NBR pick The Informer for Best Picture.  This begins a trend as five more times in the next decade a film will win both critics groups and all five times that film will lost at the Oscars (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Citadel, The Grapes of Wrath, Citizen Kane, In Which We Serve).  While the NBR continues with a Best Foreign Film (Chapayev), the NYFC decides to give a Best Director (eventual Oscar winner John Ford), Best Actor (Charles Laughton for his work throughout the year) and Greta Garbo (who fails to get nominated by the Academy for Anna Karenina).

Peter Lorre menacing Leslie Banks in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Hitchcock's first great film

Under-appreciated film of 1935:

The Man Who Knew Too Much (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)

This film is so under-appreciated that it is ranked 32nd among Hitchcock’s films on the IMDb, behind such mediocre films as I Confess, Marnie and the remake.  I personally find it to be the 11th best Hitchcock film.  It was Hitchcock’s first great film, the one that established him as a master of suspense.  It is so obviously superior to the re-make that I can’t understand why anyone would champion the latter.

What does the re-make have in its corner?  Jimmy Stewart.  Jimmy Stewart proved over the course of several films that he was the proper lead for Hitchcock in an emotional role (to counter-act Cary Grant in a more comedic role – Hitchcock’s opinion as put forth in Hitchcock/Truffaut) and in he, of course, is the emotional core of the re-make.  But on the other hand, the re-make also has Doris Day, in Hitchcock’s continual quest to replace Grace Kelly as the perfect icy blonde, has the annoying child and simply takes too long.  Hitchcock, in the book, talks about how the longer scene at the Royal Albert Hall allows for a greater feeling of suspense, but it just makes it seem to take so much longer (that and Doris Day was so badly miscast – the only reason for casting her was the song “Que Sera Sera” which seems so out of place in a Hitchcock film).

Then look at the earlier film.  Yes, it is not particularly technically polished.  It is the work of someone younger, with a British cinema that is not as advanced.  But it has suspense, it has style, it moves, it flows, it doesn’t crawl along.  Did you really need 120 minutes to tell the same story that you had already done in 75?  And it has the teenage daughter as opposed to the young son, so much more interesting, both in the opening scene, and at the conclusion, out on the rooftop.

Then there is the most important aspect of the original: Peter Lorre.  The story goes that Lorre didn’t actually know English yet, that he faked his way through his interview with Hitchcock and learned his part phonetically.  It doesn’t really matter.  Lorre was a master actor, who had already given one of the great screen performances in M and had fled Nazi Germany.  This film was the beginning of a long and fruitful career as one of the best character actors in film.  He would later team again with Hitchcock in a brilliant, bizarre performance in The Secret Agent, but here, he is so despicable, so subtly slimy and creepy.  The language barrier only adds to the performance.  How could adding Jimmy Stewart possibly make up for the loss of Peter Lorre?  While the Academy did film a great dis-service by never awarding an Oscar to Claude Rains, the greatest of all character actors, they did an even greater dis-service by never even nominating Peter Lorre, for a masterful career that included M, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Secret Agent, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Casbah.  Every time he appeared on screen, you could instantly think to yourself, I should never, ever trust that man.  That career truly began in this role and if you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself and seek it.  Skip the re-make.

I went to see Precious with a close friend of mine.  When we got the chance to discuss what we had just seen, we agreed on a key point: we never want to see this movie again. The story of Clarice Precious Jones, an obese, black sixteen-year-old living in 1987 Harlem, is peppered with fetishisms of poverty.  Precious, though hopeful at its conclusion, often panders to those who like to gawk at abuse and impoverishment.

The film introduces us to Precious as a daydreaming 8th-grader with dreams of getting out of Harlem. Unfortunately for Precious, she has a horribly abusive mother (Mo’nique, who may very well receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress) and is pregnant with her second child by a disgusting rapist of a man, her own father.  When her school principal learns that she is pregnant, Precious is expelled and referred to an “alternative school.” There she meets kind Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), who seems as though she will stop at nothing to help Precious.

At first it was a bit difficult for me to feel any empathy for Precious. However, I did quickly realize that my life is beyond ideal when compared with that of Precious’. There are numerous scenes in which Precious does mean, horrible, stupid things: she steals a 10-piece bucket of chicken, she kicks a frying pan at her mother, only receiving more wrath in return, and refers to her first child as a mongoloid (the little girl has Down Syndrome).

The climactic scene in which Precious reveals a secret to her teacher and classmates oozed with sickly treacle; Ms. Rain continues to urge Precious to write, but realistically, who would ever want to write at such a low point? The forced histrionics of the scene made me cringe.

There are constant reminders of Precious’ poverty everywhere in the film. The food Precious is forced to cook for her mother is dripping in grease (in one scene Precious’ mother forces her to eat pig’s feet that she deems “too hairy”). Perhaps, most importantly, Precious is virtually illiterate. Intermittent fantasies Precious plays out in her mind show Gabby Sidibe dolled up in makeup and elegant gowns, a far cry from the uniform of a sweatshirt and Adidas that Precious dons. The escapism that Precious finds within her mind is the only reward she can conjure.  By the end of the film, Precious is living in a half-way house, reading at an 8th grade level, and trying to raise her children on her own. This may not seem to be an ideal situation, but for Precious, hope has finally surfaced in the doldrums of Harlem.

I am unsure of whether this film made an impact on my worldview; it did make me momentarily more conscious of the perils of physical and sexual abuse, but as soon as we exited the theater, my friend and I exchanged the same words: “Our lives are great compared to Precious.” If one can take something away from this film, it may as well be that the awareness that someone has it worse than you (no matter how bad things seem to get).

Other than granting me with a moment of selfless mental clarity, Precious is full of lively performances that are in definite need of recognition.  All of the hype over Mo’nique’s performance is well-warranted – she plays hateful, manipulative, and predatory all in one shot.  Gabby Sidibe was also great (in her film debut), and even Mariah Carey turned in some hard work as a plain Jane social worker. All that was Glitter may be soon forgotten.

If you are contemplating whether you should see this movie and you are lucky enough to live in a city with a theater playing it, do it already.  Everyone is talking about it anyway and at Oscar time you will have a better grasp on the nominees.

Grade: B+

Borrow Academy Award for Best Picture Films Here

With the fall (and soon winter) film season here we can expect to see the contenders for Academy Awards start to be released! For fun, check out some of the recent films which earned the top prize of Best Picture here. If you’ve already seen all of the films on the list, why not borrow them and watch them again?! The Academy of Motion Picture will be very pleased with you if you do!

My personal suggestion is to begin with the most recent winner, Slumdog Millionaire:

Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” When the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the layered story of his life in the slum which reveals where he learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible questions. When the new day dawns, the Inspector and sixty million viewers watch to find out if Jamal can answer the final question.

Borrow this DVD by clicking here, or watch the trailer below if you need further proof that this film was worthy of garnering a best picture Oscar!

Ready, Set, Educate! Bah! … this list was cut short! Of all the documentaries that premiered this year, these are what Academy members will vote on. Reason? Rules and Regulations have changed. The dates for this category don’t follow the ones for the feature film category. And there’s one more issue: Mr. O is not too impressed with how much money your documentary made (slaps on the wrists for “This Is It,” and “Capitalism: A Love Story”) but with the meaning behind the producers and directors choice of issue. The exposure of humanity, especially the unfortunate kids in third world countries, usually takes this category home. They win big. Promoting the hatred for the American government? Also big. But, Mr. Moore — we know that you hate the government. We’ve known since “Fahrenheit 911.” Please move on.

Nevertheless, I’ve got myself some major issues here! Know what’s surprisingly missing from the  (of course due to rules for eligibility) is “Prom Night in Mississippi,” Morgan Freeman’s subsidized documentary on the last Racial Battle in the US. You would think, considering our presidential circumstances over the past year, that something like this would make the list, even make the nomination. But — it’s not there. That’s because it premiered too late. We’ll definitely see it on the list next year. You know what shouldn’t be listed below? This ridiculous thing about Valentino. Why are we praising a designer? Doesn’t that clash with the rest of the subjects these documentaries have covered? I don’t get it. I’m stuck. You’ve got something about Doctors-Without-Boarders, you’ve got the garbage-stricken land of poverty … and then … Valentino. What?! Oh, Producers. Sigh.

Let me just explain once again how this works — the documentary must premiere anytime between September 1st, 2008 to August 31st, 2009. A full year — but not the same as the Motion Picture year (January 1st, 2009 to December 31st 2009). And the documentary must be screened in the US for 7 consecutive days. That’s how it works. And since the better documentaries that we all expected to show up on this years eligibility list (“Prom Night,” “It Might Get Loud”), because of these rules, won’t. Next time around, though.

This list was released just this afternoon. And it’s as follows — which means that we’ve narrowed down our search for documentaries to screen for Oscar predictions — the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. We’re getting closer, Friends!

Beverly Hills, CA (November 18, 2009) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards®. Eighty-nine pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

• “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
• “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
• “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
• “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
• “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
• “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
• “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
• “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
• “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
• “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
• “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
• “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
• “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
• “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

My Top 10:

William Powell, Myrna Loy and Asta in The Thin Man (1934)

1. The Thin Man
2. The Gay Divorcee
3. It Happened One Night
4. Death Takes a Holiday
5. Mauvaise Graine
6. Story of Floating Weeds
7. The Scarlet Empress
8. Of Human Bondage
9. Twentieth Century
10. Madame Bovary

Academy Awards:

• Best Picture:  It Happened One Night
• Best Director:  Frank Capra  (It Happened One Night)
• Best Actor:  Clark Gable  (It Happened One Night)
• Best Actress:  Claudette Colbert  (It Happened One Night)
• Best Adaptation:  It Happened One Night (from the short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams)
• Best Original Story:  Manhattan Melodrama

TSPDT Consensus Top 5 Films:

• It Happened One Night – #198
• The Scarlet Empress – #298
• Man of Aran – #311
• It’s a Gift – #423
• Our Daily Bread – #821

Top 5 Awards Points:

1. It Happened One Night - 490
2. One Night of Love – 245
3. The Thin Man – 170
4. Cleopatra – 155
5. The Gay Divorcee – 135

AFI Top 100 Films:

• It Happened One Night – #35  (1998) / #46  (2007)

Nighthawk Awards:

Bette Davis as the Cockney waitress in Of Human Bondage - even with write-in votes she only finished third in the Oscar voting

• Best Picture:  The Thin Man
• Best Director:  W.S. Van Dyke  (The Thin Man)
• Best Actor:  William Powell  (The Thin Man)
• Best Actress:  Bette Davis  (Of Human Bondage)
• Best Supporting Actor:  Charles Laughton  (The Barretts of Wimpole Street)
• Best Supporting Actress:  Alice Brady  (The Gay Divorcee)
• Best Adapted Screenplay:  The Thin Man (from the novel by Dashiell Hammett)
• Best Original Screenplay:  Mauvaise Graine
• Best Foreign Film:  L’Atalante

Nighthawk Notables:

• Best Film to Watch over and over:  The Gay Divorcee
• Best Scene:  Claudette Colbert stopping traffic in It Happened One Night
• Best Ending:  It Happened One Night
• Best Line:  “I read where you were shot 5 times in the tabloids.”  “It’s not true.  He didn’t come anywhere near my tabloids.”  (The Thin Man – Myrna Loy and William Powell)
• Read the Book – Don’t See the Movie:  The Age of Innocence

Ebert Great Films (in order they were added):

• The Thin Man
• The Scarlet Empress

In 1934 the Academy Awards and NBR finally lined up as the Academy stuck to the actual calendar year.  It is the last of the weaker years, as many of the Best Picture nominees are widely forgotten today, with a few of them (The White Parade, The House of Rothschild, Here Comes the Navy) especially hard to find.  Of the 5 films hailed in the Top 1000, one is a British documentary and one is a W.C. Fields film lauded more for his wit than for any greatness in the film itself.  While It Happened swept the awards, I prefer the wit of The Thin Man.  Is there a more entertaining movie couple than William Powell and Myrna Loy?  But either way, it’s close – my top 3 are pretty much a tie.  All of them are well made, well acted and first rate entertainment and all of them have wit and romance — two things that aren’t combined well enough anymore.

Film History: Thanks to films like The Story of Temple Drake and She Done Him Wrong, the Production Code begins to be strictly enforced in June, thus ending the Pre-Code Era. We have the first appearances of Donald Duck and The Three Stooges, the start of the Thin Man series and the beginnings of screwball comedy with It Happened One Night.  Jean Vigo dies of leukemia, just after the release of his L’Atalante.  John Dillinger makes Manhattan Melodrama famous as the trivia question answer to “What movie was Dillinger coming out of when he was killed by police?”

Academy Awards: It Happened One Night is still remembered as the first film to win the big 5: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay (it was also the first film to win more than 3 Oscars).  It would take 41 years before it would happen again (or even before the same film would win Actor and Actress).  The Academy expanded, adding Editing, Score, Song and Assistant Director.  For the final time, more than 1 film will get a Best Picture nomination and no other nominations (the 3 hard to find films mentioned above).

• Worst Oscar:  Best Cinematography for Cleopatra
• Worst Oscar Nomination:  Best Adaptation for Viva Villa!
• Worst Oscar Omission:  Best Actress for Bette Davis  (Of Human Bondage)
• Worst Oscar Category:  Best Editing
• Best Oscar Category:  Best Actor

Awards: For the first time, the NBR and the Oscars were working on the same calendar and yet, only three of the Top 10 NBR films made the Best Picture nominations, though they did both agree on It Happened One Night as the best film of the year (the other two were The Thin Man and Viva Villa!).  For the first time (according to their records), the NBR picked a specific Best Foreign Film, the documentary Man of Aran.

Helen Venable and Frederic March in Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

Over-looked film of 1934:

Death Takes a Holiday (dir. Mitchell Leisen)

Do people today understand the extent to which Frederic March was a star?  When they look back at the 30’s, and look at Gable and Cagney will they even remember March?  But Frederic March was one of the first great actors to emerge in the Sound Era.  He had the forceful presence of John Barrymore (without the self-destructive drinking), the elegance and class of Leslie Howard (without the foppishness) and he could romance with the best of them.

So why, why, why would anyone in their right minds ever have conceived of re-making a Frederic March film with Brad Pitt in the March role?  March had charisma, had star power, knew how to act.  Pitt can do great acting in character roles, but as a lead is a complete vacuum, and never more so than in Meet Joe Black, the over-long, tedious re-make of Death Takes a Holiday.  Pitt’s idea of being Death was to simply never show the slightest sign of emotion.

March, on the other hand, was one hell of an actor, one of the first to win an Oscar for Best Actor and one of the few to do it a second time.  As Death, he actually seeks out to explore a world.  He gives a performance of someone who has ventured out beyond what they are normally accustomed to and what to understand what the new world means.  He is genuinely seeking out a chance to explore life, the very thing that he brings an end to.  And Death Takes a Holiday is a fascinating film, often forgotten, for it was nominated for no Oscars and has not been seen much over the years (it is unavailable on DVD).  But it is a sharp reminder of the star power of the Studio Era.

Treat yourself to some Frederic March.  It doesn’t just have to be Death Takes a Holiday.  It could be either of his Oscar winning roles: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or The Best Years of Our Lives.  It could be the film he should have won an Oscar for: A Star is Born.  It could be his Oscar nominated performance as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.  Or his amazing late career performance in Inherit the Wind.  Just discover him and watch how amazing he truly was.

By Steven Zeitchik

“An Education” director Lone Scherfig recently lamented, good-naturedly, that she was tired of producers thinking of her for stereotypically female projects. “Everyone sends me scripts with these sweet stories,” she said. “I’ve done that already. I want to make a movie with chases and explosions. I want to blow things up.”

Scherfig might have a point about typecasting, but she also might consider herself lucky — at least she’s in a category in which women are finally getting their due. This awards season couldn’t be a happier time for female helmers — as many as three (Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion and Scherfig) could be nominated for best director. That would equal the total number of women nominated — can this be? — in the 73-year history of the award (Sofia Coppola, Lina Wertmuller and Campion, if you’re playing Trivial Pursuit).

And yet a look at a category specifically designed for women shows a different picture.

In the best actress field, there’s a single Oscar perennial (Meryl Streep, for “Julie & Julia”), some buzzed-about newcomers (Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe for “An Education” and “Precious,” respectively) and … that’s pretty much it .

The women toplining the season’s two costume dramas, Emily Blunt and Abbie Cornish in “The Young Victoria” and “Bright Star,” respectively, are in the mix, along with Penelope Cruz fron “Broken Embraces,” though none is generating loads of talk. You can throw in Hilary Swank, but with “Amelia” drawing mixed reviews, she could face a tough road.

Meanwhile, there are some unknown quantities from movies that have yet to screen widely: Saoirse Ronan in “The Lovely Bones,” Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” and the women in the ensemble cast of “Nine.” But without a consensus, and without even knowing if these actresses notch enough screen time to be considered leads, it’s hard to regard them, at least at this point, as strong contenders.

How shallow is the pool? Some are talking about Sandra Bullock (in “The Blind Side,” not “All About Steve.” We hope.)

The lack of depth has led to a slew of awards-season chatter, from the expected downplaying — all categories are cyclical — to blanket explanations about studios making fewer awards movies in general.

Of course if the latter explanation were a factor, best actor also would be weak this year. It’s not. Colin Firth, Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner and George Clooney are considered best-actor front-runners for their respective meaty performances in “A Single Man,” “Crazy Heart,” “The Hurt Locker” and “Up in the Air,” which means such Oscar-pedigreed types as Daniel Day-Lewis, Viggo Mortensen and Morgan Freeman will have to jostle just to get nominated. That category could expand to 10 slots and still leave someone out.

So what’s really going on here?

It’s axiomatic that older actresses who want to play strong lead roles often have to abandon features for venues like cable TV. Awards season has a way of reinforcing the point. During the 1980s, three women older than 50 won the best actress Oscar, while a fourth (Shirley MacLaine) was about to turn 50.

During the past 20 years, on the other hand, exactly one fiftysomething woman has taken the prize (Helen Mirren, for “The Queen”).

That’s far from a comment on this generation’s talent or even on the preferences of voters. But it does say plenty about the roles women are being offered.

In a way, there’s a nice inversion to female helmers like Kathryn Bigelow getting an opportunity to direct male stars like Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie, especially as they engage in stereotypically masculine activities like fighting a war.

But it also highlights that, for all the strides made by the women behind the camera, the women in front of them can still be subject to the old prejudices. Indeed, the more cynical in town — including at
least one actress awards-contender — say that the director and actress trends are hardly a coincidence. Many female directors, they argue, can feel pressure to cast a preponderance of strong male leads to negate the perception that theirs is a female-oriented film.

Awards voters increasingly are willing to recognize emerging actresses. This year brings the possibility of two young breakouts in Mulligan and Sidibe. That’s good news for their generation, and for any of us excited about fresh talent.

But in their way, that pair is telling too. Both actresses landed choice lead roles not in mainstream studio or specialty productions but offbeat indies that struggled to get made or released. It turns out that it’s not just older performers facing obstacles: It’s hard even for younger actresses not named Angelina Jolie to get a serious movie made within conventional Hollywood.

The season will progress, with female directors being honored and with the actress category struggling to fill its ranks. The way things are going, that trend will continue until someone in the system, well, blows things up.

Debbie Reynolds (Born 1932 in El Paso, TX) is a Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Emmy Award nominated American Actress, Author, Producer, Dancer, and Singer. Her film career began in 1950 and has included roles in “Singin in the Rain”, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (Academy Award nomination), “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis”, “Tammy and the Bachelor”, “How the West was Won”, “Divorce American Style”, “Charlotte’s Web”, “The Bodyguard”, “Mother”, “In and Out”, and many others. Her Television credits include “The Debbie Reynolds Show”, “The Love Boat”, “Hotel”, “The Golden Girls”, “Wings”, “Roseanne”, “Will and Grace”, “Family Guy” and countless others. She appeared with, and danced with, Gene Kelly in the classic film “Singin in the Rain” when she was just 19yrs old. Previously married to actor Eddie Fisher, she is the mother of Actress Carrie Fisher. A successful businesswoman, she once owned her own namesake Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas in which she would frequently appear as the headline entertainer. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame.

Autograph #250 in Collection.

WARNING: EXTREME SPOILERS ON “AN EDUCATION”

Once upon a time in the little town where I lived I dated the high school star. He was the all American type, clean cut, and as honest as they come. He was my age, and my parents liked him, despite his more secular upbringing. So that said, one night in high school we took the liberty of staying out a little later than my curfew. As a result, you would have thought a meteor had hit my little town, on my little block, in our little house. So all I have to say to the parents of Carey Mulligan’s character, Jenny, from the movie An Education, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Were 16-year-olds more mature in the 1960s London than the 1970s My Town, USA? (Yips #1). I want to preface this blog by saying that the only thing I knew about Carey Mulligan before seeing An Education was that she was British, and the only thing I knew about the movie was that it was a “coming of age” story. (Yips #2). I’ve already talked about Yips #3 in my Carey Mulligan and her Cello Education blog and finally, Yips #4 goes to the predictable and silly stuff movies are made of.

Yips #1: Why is it that in some movies the 16-year-old or any “child” is smarter and more mature than any adult in the film? Jeff Foxworthy reminds us daily that adults aren’t smarter than 5th graders, but why rub it in? Mr. and Mrs. Jenny were so manipulated by their daughter, David the Cassanova, and his pretend aunt that my head was spinning. The mother turns a blind eye when Jenny ignores her curfew. Why? Because she approves of Jenny’s relationship to a man twice her age (marry up) who charmed the apron off of her too. At the very least, Jenny should have apologized to show a little respect for her parents but that didn’t happen. Manipulative kid, stupid mom.

Yips #2: A Coming of Age story? COME ON! As charming as Carey Mulligan is, the closest she got in representing a normal 16-year-old was having her hair in pig tails. The hairstyles changed with her level of suggested sophistication. One day she’s Jenny from the Hood and the next she’s Audrey Hepburn storming Paris. I thought she was acting about 25 when she was first introduced. Just compare Jenny to her two squealing school chums. They acted their age. Jenny’s education, composure, self assuredness, and comfortable handling of her nights out with her boy-toy screamed someone who needed no education. She was just looking for a good time. Yes, Carey Mulligan is charming, but that charming little smile was on her face from the first day of class, and it was only wiped off with a bit of humble pie in the end. I was completely unconvinced.

Yips #3: See previous blog.

Yips #4: Silly stuff. Jenny is standing out in the pouring rain with her cello (by the way she carried it, it was probably an empty case). What is she waiting for? They never tell us! Her father? A bus? She lives around the freakin’ corner! WALK! The cello isn’t that heavy! It’s hollow! I’ve walked home from high school with heavier instruments. So it’s raining and David charms her into his sports car and by the time he drives her around the corner, it’s sunny! Other problems abound. Jenny’s hand on her papers from one angle, Jenny’s hand off her papers from another angle. A banana gets thrown across the room in one direction but is miraculously picked up on the couch in the other room. Someone shaking hands from one camera, not shaking hands from another camera, and then back to shaking hands. Silly stuff like that.

Um, and don’t get me started on the glove compartment. I knew the minute that the glove compartment was introduced that it would be a focal point for future drama. It was like being hit by an unpublished Nancy Drew mystery: The Clue in the Glove Compartment, by Carolyn Keene. The writer had to find some way for the protagonist to have a V-8 moment, so let’s throw some letters in there! Yes, of course! Everyone throws their mail in their glove compartments! Why, that’s where I keep all my bills and circulars! I’m surprised they weren’t in David’s trunk. He keeps everything else in there. Stupid Jenny, it didn’t bother her at all that David and his tag team were robbing and conning people left and right, but she was stunned that he was married? I could swear I heard Jenny saying, “Why that CAD! Why didn’t he tell me before the banana?”

Sigh. Why does every teacher and librarian in the movies wear mousy glasses? When I was 16, my English teacher was a former Radio City Rockette. Every young man in school hoped to be assigned to her class. And, wasn’t that a hint of a moustache on Headmistress Thompson? Jenny is damn lucky Emma Thompson didn’t grab her with her giant angel wings and carry her off (by the look on Meryl Streep’s face, a better time than the banana for sure), but she gave her a second chance, thanks to Miss Stubbs (the mousy one).

Who wrote this screenplay? A man? You didn’t have to go to Oxford looking for a teaching degree. Just ask Antonia Fraser, Amelia Fletcher, Barbara Castle, Indira Gandhi, and Dame Emma Kirkby. Even Telebobbies like Bobby Jindal got into Oxford.

Okay. My rant is over, but don’t despair. An Education is an imperfect movie that’s worth seeing but you can wait for the DVD. Carey Mulligan may get an Oscar nomination in a year the Academy is searching for some good female performances. Her performance was good but not convincing. She’s young and her talent will grow.

P.S. I’m sorry that Sunshine Cleaning got such an early release. I much preferred Emily Blunt’s performance in that movie over Mulligan’s in this, although Blunt’s would probably be considered a supporting role.