Lo primero es que he estado un pin ocupado estos días por cuestión de un trasteo y he descuidado un poco el blog. Lo peor es que no se avecinan tiempos de calma y libertad de escribir porque voy a tomarme unas vacaciones. Entonces de antemano me disculpo por mi futura ausencia.

En esta ocasión quisiera hablar de Tarsem Singh. Recientemente, una amiga por Twitter me comentó que ya que estaba en la onda de hablar de cine, debería verme The Fall que la estaban pasando por Cinemax en TV y me mandó un enlace de YouTube con el corto de la peli. Lo primero que hice fue revisarlo y darme cuenta que Singh había sacado una nueva peli.

A Tarsem Singh lo recordamos por The Cell, una peli protagonizada por Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn y Vincent D’Onofrio en 2000. En esa época, estaba muy en voga M. Night Shyamalan y entonces ver una peli de Singh no sólo era delirante sino que a la vez era estar al tanto de las últimas tendencias independientes con los directores indios pisando fuerte en Hollywood. Recuerdo claramente las sensaciones y fibras que este director tocó en mí, con esta peli. Independiente si la actuación de Lopez fue buena o mala, si Vaughn estaba más perdido en un papel de acción hollywoodense, la peli era estremecedora, surreal, hermosa, alucinante, descrestante. Con una actuación impecable de D’Onofrio, la peli se guardó en mi memoria como un referente gráfico y una oda a este gran actor.

Tuvieron que pasar seis años para que volviera a realizar una peli, tuvieron que pasar otros tres años más para que los colombianos pudieramos verla a través de Cinemax, pero lo logramos. No entiendo la figura de “presentador” pero esta peli es antecedida por su “presentación” por parte de David Fincher y Spike Jonze y puede entonces que sea mecanismo de promoción en Hollywood o algo así porque ni la peli es producida por ellos o están involucrados a nivel creativo en nada que yo sepa.

La peli trata de un cuentero que es más un actor frustrado por un amor no correspondido y quien postrado en una cama de un hospital en la California de los 20’s se hace amigo de una niña que se acaba de romper un brazo. La niña es de origen rumano y apenas si sabe desenvolverse en el inglés, es la traductora de su madre y su pequeña hermana en un campo de naranjas contiguo al hospital donde trabajan para sobrevivir.

La peli entonces empieza a ilustrar la historia que el actor empieza a improvisar para la niña, un cuento acerca de seis maravillosos hombres que se unen en torno a su sed de venganza por un malvado governador, cada uno maravillosamente descrito en su perfil y fantásticamente adecuados en la historia.

¡Pare de contar!

Aparte de las bellísimas locaciones indias, los magníficos alrededores del Taj Mahal o la delirante cinematografía a la que nos tenía acostumbrados Singh, la peli no llena mis expectativas como historia o como material cinematográfico.

Estuve muy molesto por la pésima actuación de la niña, que le quitaba carácter al guión y a la continuidad de la historia. Si al principio de la obra es súper divertido ver sus ojos iluminados por la fantasía, después es realmente desorientador la poca dirección sobre la pequeña actriz y somos entonces protagonistas de una serie de incontables sobreactuaciones que terminan contagiando al resto del equipo.

La historia se pierde y no la volvemos a encontrar, el cuento se reacomoda como una narración que es improvisada (cosa que no me parece tan grave) y se resuelve de manera lógica en un final feliz, pero la historia que es el eje de la peli es abruptamente mal contada y su relación con el resto de la peli se vuelve incluso absurda.

No digo que no hay que ver la peli. La recomiendo completamente por una bellísima y sobrecogedora fotografía. Pero tengo mis reservas para recomendarla como un buen producto. Espero el director siga teniendo este tipo de experiencias porque a nivel comercial no hay nadie que lo supere en su estilo y en su gráfica, sin embargo ojalá la próxima vez tenga más estructurada su narrativa y su grupo de actores.

December brings snow, Christmas, and more movies! Some very interesting options this month.

This Weekend: See Up In The Air. The next feature by director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking). The story of a man who is constantly traveling for his job, and hopes to rack up 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles. Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, and Danny McBride. Already getting an INSANE amount of buzz, this film is promising to be an Oscar contender. And seriously, after seeing Juno, does anyone need any more reasons? Only issue, this is a limited release. But, it looks so good, that really shouldn’t stop you.

- If this isn’t your cup of tea: Everybody’s Fine. Though the plot isn’t terribly promising, it has a cast of Robert Di Niro, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, and Kate Beckinsale. Even an alright movie is bearable for them. Oh, and Sir Paul McCartney wrote a song for it!

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December 11th: See A Single Man. Now, this is not going to be a mainstream hit. But, I am putting it at the top because it has one of the most breathtakingly beautiful trailers I have ever seen. Starring Colin Firth, Matthew Goode, Julianne Moore, Lee Pace, and directed by the famous designer Tom Ford. Just… watch and absorb the beauty.

- If this is not your cup of tea: Princess and the Frog. It is a retelling of the classic fairy-tale. Though surrounded by controversy, good reviews are starting to show. It is Ron Clements and John Musker, who directed many Disney Classics, including Aladdin. It looks promising, and I hope Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation is a successful one.

-If this is not your cup of tea: Invictus. There are just too many good movies being released to not show them all! Clint Eastwood’s new film is not only family friendly, but moving. With Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, it tells the story of how Nelson Mandela used rugby to bring South Africa together. If its Clint Eastwood, it is good. Enough said.

- If this is not your cup of tea: The Lovely Bones. Based off of the famous novel, it is directed by Peter Jackson. Again, enough said.

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December 18th: See Nine. Directed by Rob Marshall, who is known for the film Chicago. Daniel Day Lewis (!!!) plays a film director, who needs some inspiration. He searches for it amongst the nine women in his life. These women are played by Marion Cotillard, Dame Judi Dench, Fergie, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Penelope Cruz, and THE Sophia Loren. Is there any way this could be awful?

- If this isn’t your cup of tea: See Avatar. James Cameron (Titanic) is back with avengence! Excited that technology has advanced enough for him to tell his story of the alien planet Avatar, he has used ever trick in the box. From 3d to CGI, this is going to be an interesting film to say the least. With Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, and Zoe Saldana.

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December 25th: See Sherlock Holmes. Alright, I am bitter that this film has pretty much destroyed one of the great British characters ever written. But, BESIDES that, it looks great. As a Guy Ritchie film, it promises fast talking, fast action, and a fast pace. Its gritty feel is intriguing, and the action sequences look wonderful. Starring Robert Downey Jr. (can he do a British accent?), Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong. We will see!

- If this isn’t your cup of tea: See It’s Complicated. Nancy Meyers’ new romantic comedy. I personally adored the Holiday, so I am very excited about this one. Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, and John Krasinski, it takes a look at relationships which have weathered over time. A divorced couple deal with lingering feelings, and end up having an affair with each other. I personally love a story when the original wife becomes the “other woman”. I am feeling very good about this one.

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Thats December!

I just watched this movie, encouraged by my 15 year old son, who was very impressed by it. All about an injured stunt man in the 1920’s, who has given up on life due to his injury and the loss of his lover. While under medication, and while trying to get more of it  so that he could kill himself with an overdose, he befriends a young girl, about 8-9 years old. He begins to tell her a fantastic story to win her trust and persuade her to get him to morphine. This young girl, Alexandria, has had a difficult life tormented by war and the loss of her father, has a very positive and innocent outlook on life. Their relationship is an emotional roller coaster, mostly due to his profound depression. He tries to manipulate her through his story, which becomes a mixture of reality and fantasy, mixing in details of  her life and his. The story he tells changes before your eyes as it changes to adjust to the young girl’s requests and pleadings. As the story progresses, it becomes desperate and reflective of his life. With the help and reality of the young girl, he comes to terms with himself and with life, and he learns that life is worth living. Although my son disagrees that there is a moral or lesson to this movie, that I should take it at face value, I cannot agree. This movie says that life is not always as you want it to be, but you must grasp it for what it is, make the best of it. ..and reach out to others. But most of all, I think it told me that when bad things happen, you need to suck it up and get over it. It’s not easy, you will change and learn and possibly grow, but you need to keep moving.

I don’t usually get into TV shows that are on before midnight, but it seems like when i actually do, those shows get the boot. Right now the only show that I watch regularly are True Blood, which is entertaining.

My previous favorites were canceled in there second season; Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me( both created my Bryan Fuller). I miss these shows, and I wish they would get picked up by another station.

Just in case you are not familiar with either show, here’s the run down:

Pushing Daisies: Is about a man named Ned, who can bring the dead back to life for one minute by touching them. He has to touch them again before one minute is up, or else some one will die in their place.

It sounds odd, but it was a great show, with excellent performances by, Lee Pace(Ned), Anna Friel(Chuck), Chi McBride(Emerson), Kristin Chenoweth(Olive), Ellen Greene (Vivian), and Swoosie Kurtz (Lily).

Dead Like Me: An unhappy girl is killed by a toilet seat from a space station. After finding out she is dead she is assigned a job as a grim reaper. She has to reap a certain quota of lives before she well be able to “pass on”.

Really Really miss this show, and once again we are now missing out on fantastic performances by: Ellen Muth (Georgia), Callum Blue(Mason), Jasmine Guy(Roxy), Mandy Patinkin(Rube), and Laura Harris(Daisy).

Come on Networks, pick up this shows! Please

~Nicole

I hate movies with misleading titles. But I like movies that can tell an effective story in an hour and a half.

When my wife made me watch “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” I thought I was getting some sort of fantasy movie where the character ages uncommonly a la “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” or a murder mystery where the titular character has only 24 hours before the bad guy strikes.

What I actually got was a screwball romance set in pre-WWII bombed London.

The movie would more accurately be titled “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Lot of Days, One of Which is Presented Here for Comical Effect.”

How do I know it was a screwball comedy? In an early scene the characters run around an apartment to the soundtrack of a clarinet and high-hat cymbals. Nothing says zany like a high hat cymbal.

Here’s an example where the right instruments set the mood for the movie. Add staccato violins and bass and you’d have a suspense movie. Throw in a banjo and a moonshine jug and we’d have a getaway scene from “Bonnie and Clyde.” I think they were saving the horns and tympani for the sequel: “Miss Pettigrew Conquers the Huns.”

The apartment-scurrying characters are Pettigrew and her new employer Amy Adams. Pettigrew is an out of work nanny who thinks she’s about to babysit Adams’ child but soon realizes she has to untangle three of Adams’ suitors. There’s Nick, a nightclub owner who provides Adams with luxury, Phil a theater producer who can offer her fame, and Lee Pace as a jilted fiance who is Adams’ only chance at finding love.

Adams doesn’t know what she wants; fame will get her a career, riches will get her clothes and love with get neither of the two. Frances McDormand’s Pettigrew urges her to chose Pace’s penniless piano player.

Pettigrew herself is struggling to understand the world Adams so desperately wants to inhabit. One where a silk scarf is a casual castoff to one character but a prized possession of another and where cucumbers are not for eating but to keep the eyes puffy.

As she untangles Adams’ lovers, she herself falls under the affection of a lingerie-designer (played here by Ciaran Hinds, who was also Caesar from HBO’s “Rome”). Whenever I recognize character actors from other movies or TV shows, I wonder how the old characters would fare in their new situations. For example, would Brutus be so quick to stab Caesar if he knew of his penchant for making negligees or men’s socks? Would Adams be so quick to run off with Pace if she knew he had the ability to raise the dead as his character had in “Pushing Daisies?”

I realize this practice easily drifts into the fanboy area of IMDB-philes such as myself. Rather than speculate who would win in a fight between captains Kirk and Picard, I imagine if how McDormand’s Pettigrew would fare if she switched places with McDormand’s character from “Fargo.”

But I digress.

This being a movie set in the pre-war era, we know everything will be settled with fisticuffs in a nightclub against a background of hot jazz.

Pettigrew’s main fear is her new-found friends will discover her frumpy, street urchin past, despite the fact that she has made little effort to hide this. The inevitable conclusion is reached when the secret does come out and everything ends happily for the characters who deserve it, Pettigrew included.

But as she walks off with Caesar, I mean the lingerie designer, I’m left to wonder, did the title just refer to the event’s just shown to us or is there something more sinister ahead.

When I told my wife this, she said I need a new hobby.

originally published in the middlebury campus

Every now and then people need escape. No matter how stress-free your life is, an hour and a half of fantasy is necessary to ensure emotional and psychological health. That being said, fantasy and escape don’t need to be mindless. Jerry Bruckheimer doesn’t have the market cornered on escapism with pithy one-liners, half hearted romance, and over the top bombast. Recent years have proven that adult-oriented fantasy can combine escapist entertainment with intelligence, and The Fall is a perfect example of just that kind of fantastical escape.

The Fall was released with relatively little fanfare early in the summer of 2008, and was released on DVD that September. The film tells the story of young girl Alexandra (the plucky Catinca Untaru) who is spending time in a 1920s Hollywood hospital after a fall from a ladder while picking fruit with her migrant worker parents. There she meets paralyzed and heartbroken stuntman, Roy (the fantastic Lee Pace, of Pushing Daisies fame), who spins a fantastical yarn of cowboys, Indians, ex-slaves, Italian explosive experts, and Charles Darwin for her. However, Roy’s intentions aren’t as simple as entertaining a young girl. Singh utilizes a narrative device similar to films like The Princess Bride, framing the fantastical story-within-a-story by interrupting it and moving back to reality.

Mr. Singh (here working under the name Tarsem) is one of the most renowned directors of commercials and music videos, and here his visual flair is on full display. We are presented with underwater shots of swimming elephants, gorgeous desert vistas, a city painted blue, and a scene that involves intersecting walls of zig-zagging staircases. There isn’t a single shot that isn’t stunning in its beauty, or awe-inspiring in its grandeur. What makes the film so remarkable is that none of these visuals are done using computer generated effects. Not even the shot of a man emerging from a burning tree. That little nugget of information, when combined with the fact that this film was self-financed by Tarsem, shot on twenty-six locations in over eighteen countries, and took four years to complete, makes the mere existence of this film a minor miracle.

When put up against such majestic and fantastical backdrops, it is sometimes easy for actors and characters to get lost in the fray, but Tarsem manages to ensure that the human element is never overwhelmed by the visuals. One is never given a privileged position over the other, and he is fortunate to have two extremely appealing leads in Pace and the ten year old Untaru.

Tarsem isn’t mining new territory here. As I mentioned before, he leans on classic fantasy films like The Princess Bride, the 1950s epics of David Lean, and the Bollywood films of his home country, India. It is Tarsem’s vivid visual flourishes that set him apart, though. At the time of its release some critics held this virtue against him, claiming that the unrestrained visual flairs were gaudy and pretentious. These criticisms seem to miss the point, though. The Fall, like Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, is a fairy tale for adults. It presents us with a fantastic world and asks us to not only remember what it was like to have the imagination of a child, but to try and regress to that state of innocence and wonder. Tarsem has managed to capture the purity and power of a child’s imagination, which is a feat that demands respect and makes The Fall a much more worthwhile bit of escapist entertainment than whatever movie Jerry Bruckheimer is planning to impose upon movie theaters in the near future.

Miss Pettigrew is a middle-aged governess in London, who is unfairly dismissed from her job. On her quest to find a new job she takes the address from the agency in which she works for and turns up pretending that she has been sent by the agency.

As you can imagine going into the life of Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) an American singer and actress. Who seems to have quite a lot of different men in her life. Miss Pettigrew ends up helping Delysia out with the men in her life trying to sort everything out for the better. Miss Pettigrew seems to be able to control the men in this world, which is so far from her own.

Frances McDormand always seems to pull out total drop draw performances in which ever role she finds herself in. As Miss Pettigrew that is no exception, at the beginning looking a lot older than her actual age. Then looking much better after the make over. Her acting is very believable and kind of takes you in and consumes you.

Amy Adams really has played a few different characters so far, in this movie I could kinda of see parts of Giselle from Enchanted in her performance.

One thing that made me really happy was seeing Mark Strong first appear, I have some little fandom going on for him. I am not really that sure why or how, I just think he is brillant. Having him in this film made me pay attention, but only when he was in it really.

The tagline for this film bothers me quite a lot “Every woman will have her day” – I dont think thats very positive really, do you want to just have one day? As I think that is what the tagline implies that you will have your day. Lets hope it means on lots of occasions, right?

Overall, it was an ok film. It did not really excite me and I did not really get anything from it, but it was easy to watch and not difficult to follow. Quite amusing at times and also quite sweet, not one that will really stick in my memory for being brilliant or having anything really special about it.

Owen Wilson has decided to go from acting opposite a dog in Marley & Me to actually being a dog. He has joined the live-action/CG movie Marmaduke, and will voice the rascally Great Dane in Fox’s adaptation of the long-running comic strip. I put my head in my hands in despair. This does not bode well.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the story follows a family named the Winslows who move from Kansas to Orange County with their dog Marmaduke, a slobbery pooch who creates chaos wherever he goes.

In adapting the strip created in 1954 by Brad Anderson and Phil Leeming, the script by Tim Rasmussen and Vince Di Meglio sees Marmaduke navigate a volatile Mutts vs. Pedigrees turf war, woo the purebred of his dreams and overcome a fall from grace.

Judy Greer, Lee Pace and William H. Macy play the humans, while Fergie, Emma Stone, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans supply the voices.

Whoa. Hold up. The Wayans brothers are in it so my misgivings were misplaced. This is bound to be comedy gold! –disengage sarcasm

Tom Dey is directing, and John Davis is producing the family comedy, which has a June 2010 release date.

Source: MovieWeb

Wedding Crashers star Owen Wilson has been cast to voice the cartoon strip dog Marmaduke for a feature length film. The film will be about The Winslows who move Kansas to Orange County with their Great Dane Marmaduke who causes chaos everywhere he goes.

Judy Greer, Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) and William H. Macy (Pleasantville) play the humans, while Fergie (Planter Terror), Emma Stone, George Lopez (The George Lopez Show), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Steve Coogan, Damon Wayans (In Living Color), Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) supply the voices.

Marmaduke will hit theaters on June 4, 2010

A lovely trio of Depression-era fashionistas.

(Focus) Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Payne, Mark Strong, Christina Cole, Stephanie Cole. Directed by Bharat Nalluri.

In these economic times we are all of us riding the thin line between success and poverty, with one push in either direction sending us skittering towards one or the other. While in some sense this is almost always generally true, in only one other era was this more the case than the one we live in now – the Great Depression.

Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) is a vicar’s daughter who works as a governess. Plain, socially awkward and somewhat plain-spoken, she finds herself dismissed from one position after another. After her latest dismissal, her agency declines to find another placement for her – ever. Desperate, knowing starvation and homelessness are awaiting her she impulsively steals a placement as a social secretary for a flighty and somewhat promiscuous actress by the unlikely name of Delysia Lafosse (Adams).

Adams, an American working in London as World War II looms, came to the UK as a lounge singer but hopes to find success enough in the West End to propel her to Hollywood. She has her sights set on a part in a new play produced by Phil Goldman (Payne) and is willing to do anything – and anyone – to get what she wants. Ditzy and disorganized, she lives in a swanky London flat that turns out to be the address of Nick Calderetti (Strong), the hot-headed nightclub owner she works for and is sleeping with. However, her heart belongs to Michael Pardew (Pace), a talented pianist who has just finished serving a term in jail for a “misunderstanding.”  

Miss Pettigrew is completely out of her element, but all the characteristics that made her unsuitable as a governess are just what the doctor ordered for Delysia. Conversely, Delysia is able to make the dowdy governess blossom with her knowledge of fashion, make-up and hair. The two are perfect for each other.

However, the world around them is spiraling out of control. The part that would make Delysia’s career is in danger of going to another actress, Charlotte Warren (C. Cole) but accepting that role would put an end to her relationship with Michael, who is returning to New York. Add to that the complication of Edythe Dubarry (Henderson), a fashion maven whose engagement to lingerie designer Joe Blomfield (Hinds) she wants Miss Pettigrew to rescue. However, Miss Pettigrew is attracted to the quiet, gallant Joe herself while Edythe begins to suspect the Miss Pettigrew isn’t who she says she is.

Based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, the film rights had belonged to Universal since 1939 languishing there for nearly 70 years before finally getting made by Focus, the studio’s independent and art film arm. Director Nalluri takes the elements of a screwball comedy and adds a 21^st century romantic comedy ethos to it. The results are neither fish nor fowl, but an odd amalgam of both, rendering a not-unpleasant effect.

McDormand, one of Hollywood’s most consistent leading ladies, is quite understated as the somewhat timid Pettigrew. Adams, who is blossoming into not only a fine actress but also a charismatic lead, is sensational. She takes a character that sleeps around and is something of a birdbrain and gives her humanity and charm. You wind up liking this girl even though in real life, you probably wouldn’t…unless she was Amy Adams, that is. She also gets to sing a song, “If I Didn’t Care” which just about brings down the house. Lee Pace, so good in TV’s “Pushing Daisies” is somewhat lost in his role. Better are Henderson and Hinds, character veterans who have richly earned reputations for solid performances, and they don’t disappoint here.

Screwball comedies, so popular in the 1930s, are a skill in and of themselves. When done properly, they are some of the best entertainment value there are. In all honesty, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day doesn’t really hold up with the best of that genre, but is sufficient enough that because they are so rarely made these days, its rating might be skewed up a bit because of it. With the economy rapidly mimicking that of the Great Depression, I wouldn’t be surprised if we begin to see a lot more of them in the coming years. That, in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

WHY RENT THIS: Decent screwball comedies are rare and this one is definitely that. Adams and McDormand are two of the best actresses in Hollywood, at the top of their games here.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: 21^st century audiences may find this a bit dated stylistically speaking.  

FAMILY VALUES: Suitable for all ages; almost no raunchiness to speak of, although the Delysia Lafosse character’s promiscuity is implied.

TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Miss Pettigrew’s father is revealed to be a minister. Actress McDormand’s father is also a minister.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: An interview with the author’s son, who gives some fascinating insight into how the movie came into being.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: Inkheart

I’m not quite sure why I never got around to dropping this trailer hotness until now.  The trailer itself has been floating about the internet for about a month, and the film’s been getting some early Oscar buzz since its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.  Also, this trailer’s pretty much all of my favorite things ever ever.  Anyways, here’s the trailer for A Single Man:

I may know next to nada about Tom Ford’s career in the fashion world, but I do know that man gives me the vapors in a serious way:

As such, I’m pretty certain that him adapting a Christopher Isherwood isn’t going to help 2009’s cause célèbre, Stop the Vapors.  He’s amassed Julianne Moore and Colin Firth and Matthew Goode and fabulous production design from the people behind Mad Men for a story about loss and other homo things in the ’60s, which is like vapors on top of vapors.  It’s just too much, y’all.

But wait!  There’s more (cause for vapors):

Don’t play games, y’all.  You know her hair looks totally ferocious in the trailer.  Easily worth the price of admission, I’d say.  But let’s take a look from another angle to make sure it is indeed worth the price of admission:

Julianne Moore is working some fabulous variation of the Betty Draper Coiffure of Roman Pleasures.  I would gladly pay extra to see that in IMAX.  I think things just got a little bit more vaporlicious.

Oh, and then there’s this:

Lee Pace is great because I said so.  He was great in Wonderfalls, and he was great in Pushing Daisies, and he was really great in The Fall and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.  And by “great,” I mean “he’s a charming and talented actor that I would not kick out of bed for eating crackers.”  Lee Pace homo things or no Lee Pace Homo things, one thing is for sure: there will be Lee Pace vapors.

So, yeah.  A Single Man gets a limited release December 11, and it looks excellent/sure to induce the vapors.  There’d damn well better be complimentary collectible smelling salts in the lobby.  Preferably with little labels that have Julianne Moore and her fabulous, fabulous hair on.

A Single Man

A Film By Tom Ford

One of the most anticipated films of the year is about to be released. The designer directed the film, and the script was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s work. With an acclaimed showing at the Venice Film Festival like Brokeback Mountain – We all know how it ended – Do I smell Oscars? Could the Almighty Mr. Ford win an Academy Award? He has proven he can do it all.

The film, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, is presented as a poem about a man who believes he is living the last day of his life. Critics have applauded Ford’s sensitivity and composure behind the cameras. And the film won the Gay Gold Lion award for the best film with a homosexual theme.

The story is about how a Californian teacher loses his partner, and then loses all meaning in his life. And if you take a look at the trailer you’ll see that model Jon Kortajarena, an icon of Tom Ford ad campaigns, plays a brief but intense role in the film.

Tom Ford. Fall/Winter 2009-10

]]> http://theoscarboy.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/91/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:18:59 +0000 umurtas http://theoscarboy.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/91/

Oscar yazısını daha yeni tamamlamışken bültenimize yepyeni bir film daha düştü.

Çok beğendiğim moda tasarımcısı Tom Ford kariyerinde bir ilk yaparak sinema işine el atmış.Hem de beklenenin aksine oyuncu olarak değil yönetmen olarka.Venedik Film Festivali’nde Colin Firth‘e En İyi Erkek Oyuncu ödülünü kazandıran A Single Man adlı bu film çok beğenildiğinden dolayı kısa sürede Oscar yarışının içine dahil oldu.

Colin Firth dışında Julianne Moore, Ginnifer Goodwin ve Lee Pace‘i de kadrosunda barındırıyor A Single Man.Ayrıca Mad Man‘dan tanıdığımız Jon Hamm da sesiyle filme katkıda bulunmuş.Yüzyılın moda dehalarından biri olarak tanımlayabileceğimiz Tom Ford, Christopher Isherwood‘un aynı adlı eserinden uyarladığı filminde bir gay’in partnerinin ölümü sonrasında başından geçenleri anlatıyor.Kendi de gay olduğundan açıkçası Tom Ford‘un böyle bir filme el atmasına şaşırmadım.Ama resimlerine baktığımda dahi beni heyecanlandırdı bu film.Eğer kostüm departmanına da el attıysa bu filmi izlemeye doyamayacağız.Bu arada Tom Ford‘un daha önce son James Bond filmi Quantum of Solace için çeşit çeşit takımlar hazırladığını da ekleyelim.Görsel olarak doyacağımız kesin.Bakalım iddia edildiği gibi En İyi Film dalında da Oscar için önemli bir film olacak mı?

Note: This will be a recurring blog post. The last entry focused on pop culture articles and while this one has its fair share, there’s also more randomness and seriousness. Here are links to stuff (stories, photos, videos, etc.) I found interesting over the past few days:

• ”Grey’s Anatomy” blog entry on its Season 6 opener — ABC.com

Every night, after ”Grey’s Anatomy” airs, the scriptwriter types up a blog entry that gives us insight about the episode. For the two-hour season premiere, it’s blogging as usual, but Krista Vernoff includes 25 things viewers don’t know about the show’s ensemble cast and writing staff. Like what? “Shonda’s birthday and Patrick Dempsey’s birthday are the same day” and “Kevin McKidd plays a mean guitar.”

• Mary Louise Parker (“Weeds”) in a music video! — YouTube.com

The song’s pretty good, too. It has hints of Jason Mraz, John Mayer and the Weepies. The singer also just happens to be Parker’s current beau. I have to say though, there will always be a place in my heart for her and ex-beau, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Weeds,” “Grey’s Anatomy”).

• Which country should host the 2016 Olympics? — The Huffington Post

The contenders are Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. When I read it, Chicago was in the lead. Do you agree?

• President Obama will now take your questions. — RT @JobHuntOrg @WestWingReport

E-mail your inquiries to WestWingRpt@gmail.com and it may be asked at the next White House news conference.

• A chlamydia epidemic among koala bears? — Newsweek

• Celebrities throw out their reading lists. — Oprah.com

Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, O, is actually good for something. As you can tell, I’m not a fan of Ms. Winfrey, but I found out that they have an ongoing series where various celebrities share the “books that made a difference” to them. There’s so many that even if you’re not interested in what the celebrities have to say, some of their book suggestions are so outside the box that they may be worth a look. 

Notable people who’ve appeared in the publication: journalist Anderson Cooper, rapper Jay-Z, authors  Jodi Picoult and  J.K. Rowling as well as actors who range from the acclaimed, Rachel McAdams, Natalie Portman and Laura Linney to TV heavyweights, Hugh Laurie,  Kyra Sedgwick, Lee Pace, Allison Janney, Mary Louise Parker and Amy Poehler to Academy Award winners, Kate Winslet, Julianne Moore and Julia Roberts  and countless more.

• Can a girl with black skin be the Chinese idol? — TIME

A black girl named Lou Jing recently won China’s version of “American Idol.” Jing is of Chinese descent (her mom) and speaks the language fluently, but she has received backlash from a lot of people. They argue that she’s not Chinese and therefore, shouldn’t  have competed in the Chinese contest. Is this a logical argument or deeply rooted racism? Weigh in.

• Hilarious photo blogs! — Newsweek

What better way to waste your time than looking at people’s awkward (at best) pictures? My favorites include Insanewiches, which shows crazy sandwiches, and Engrish, which displays the king of pathetic grammar usage. Special mention for orginality: Laserportraits, which showcases people’s portraits taken with a laser, Star Wars-like background. I wonder if George Lucas has one …

• ‘Til the Run Water Runs Dry … — The Huffington Post 

Typhoon Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy) struck the Philippines, resulting in floods that have reached the roofs of people’s homes. Above is a link to a photo slideshow of the typhoon and here’s a list of organizations you can make donations to if you want to help.

The Fall is a movie by Tarsem Singh, starring Catinca Untaru and Lee Pace.

Plot:
After an accident the stuntman Roy Walker (Lee Pace) finds himself in the hospital, where he is soon approached by a little girl with a broken arm, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru). He is suicidal but not able to leave his bed, so he decides to use Alexandria to get enough pills to kill himself. He starts to tell Alexandria a story, the story of the Blue Bandit (Lee Pace) and his friends and a little bit like Sheherazade only tells fragments, which he continues only after receiving more pills.

This movie is a masterpiece. Visually stunning, touching story, good writing… just WOW. I know that it took some time to be big, but it’s starting to get there (Austrian cinematical release 3 years after it was actually made, but no bad critique, at least as far as I’ve read). And rightly so.

[This post is going to be picture-heavy, because I just can't decide which pictures to choose. But there won't be any spoilers.]

Tarsem Singh first came to my attention when I watched The Cell. I thought, “What a beautiful movie, visually! How unfortunate that it has J-Lo as the main actress…”

In the case of The Fall, everything fit together. Singh keeps the surreal beauty of The Cell, but gets together a very good cast and a wonderful story.

Catinca Untaru gives a layered performance, which should be impossible for anybody her age. Lee Pace is awesome and sexy as usual. Leo Bill is very funny as Darwin. Marcus Wesley is great as Otta Benga. And of course the Indian (Jeetu Verma) and Luigi (Robin Smith) and the Mystic (Julian Bleach)!

The story is so sweet and very bitter at the same time. It’s amazing (and huge props, again, to Lee Pace who manages to pull off his character, his desperation and self-centeredness without ever losing the audience who will still root for him). And the story within the story is absolutely magnificent. Of course, no little part of that are the amazing sceneries and locations Singh chose for his movie.

[I was in the cinema with my almost-brother from Canada who is probably the most-travelled person I will ever get to know. And he was like, "Yeah, that's there, and I have been there. And this one's there. And this dance is very traditional in (I don't remember)..." Almost frustrating if it wasn't so fascinating.]

But to get back to the story: I loved how it started out as a completely conventional story and then had the audacity to not be one and to not end like one. And boy, did I ever cry my eyes out!

Also I haven’t mentioned the costumes yet. If you haven’t guessed already: They were beautiful. Let me say this again: bee-you-tee-full.

Okay, before I go on and on and on about how great this movie is and bore you all to death, two things: 1. take a look at the trivia mentioned on imdb. It’s very cool.

And 2. GO SEE THIS MOVIE LIKE RIGHT DAMN NOW!

Seriously,  I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Tarsems zweiter Film “The Fall” ist ein episches, bildgewaltiges Drama über einen verletzten Stuntman, ein kleines Mädchen und eine gehörige Menge Fantasie.

Los Angeles, 1920.
Stuntman Roy (Lee Pace) ist in einem Sanatorium aufgrund eines Sturzes sozusagen ans Bett gefesselt, daher erfindet er für die 5-jährige Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) – ebenfalls Insassin des Krankenhauses – eine spannende, fantastische Geschichte über fünf verschiedenartige Personen, auf ihrem Rachefeldzug gegen einen bösen Gouverneur. Die freudige Abwechslung ist für Roy jedoch nur Mittel zum Zweck. Alexandria muss sich die Geschichte etappenweise verdienen, indem sie für Roy Medikamente stehlen soll.
In die Geschichte selbst, mischen sich immer wieder Elemente aus Roys Vergangenheit, Alexandrias Fantasie und Teilen des sie umgebenden Sanatoriums. So werden die spanischen Lakaien des Gouverneurs in Alexandrias Vorstellung schnell mal zu dem düsteren Röntgenmann, den sie noch kurz zuvor in seiner metallenen Isolationshaube durch die Krankenhausgänge gehen sah.

Die fünf Protagonisten aus Roys Geschichte, die im Laufe des Films mehr und mehr die Grenzen zur Realität schwinden lässt, könnten unterschiedlicher kaum sein. Zum einen wäre da der maskierte Bandit, der die Hinrichtung seines Bruders verhindern will; dann ein Ex-Sklave, dessen Bruder auf dem Feld starb; ein italienischer Sprengmeister, in seiner Heimat ausgestoßen; ein Inder, der um seine Liebste gebracht wurde und ein seltsam anmutender Charles Darwin, dessen Forschungen verhöhnt wurden. Sie alle sind von nichts geringerem als Rache am schändlichen Gouverneur Odious getrieben.

Erzählt wird die packende Handlung zum einen in farbenprächtigen Bildern und Einstellungen von Wüsten, Seen und Palästen und zum anderen von den düsteren Gängen und tristen Zimmern des Sanatoriums. Musikalisch wird das Abenteuer vor allem vom 2. Satz aus Beethovens 7. Sinfonie, der oftmals absolut passend die Atmosphäre unterstreicht.
Tarsem gelang mit “The Fall” ein wahrhaft großes, audiovisuell beeindruckendes Stück Film, das nicht so leicht in Vergessenheit geraten wird.

ever since pushing daisies was murdered (well…cancelled), i’ve been watching the series over again on dvds from netflix.

and it seems like there was something that i didn’t quite catch the first time around: how wonderful charlotte charles is. i mean, her outfits are adorable and she’s happy-go-lucky… it’s awesome!

and i looked up anna friel on imdb, and guess what! she’s 5′2!!! yay! i love when my petite peeps are represented on television… especially with this influx of supermodel-tall actors. (like in grey’s anatomy, though i still love the show.)

this show also features my new boy-crush: lee pace. i love guys with prominant eyebrows. haha

Muita gente não sabe, mas esse filme é dirigido pelo estilista Tom Ford. O que podemos esperar dele é um mistério. Mas pelo trailer que vazou hoje já dá pra ter uma idéia…

O filme tem no elenco Julianne Moore (Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira), Colin Firth (Mamma Mia!), Ginnifer Goodwin (Ele Não Está Tão Afim de Você), Nicholas Hoult (O Sol de Cada Manhã, O seriado Skins), Matthew Goode (O Segredo de Beethoven) e Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies).

A trama gira em torno de um professor universitário homossexual que perde seu companheiro, com quem estava junto há mais de quinze anos. O filme é adaptado do livro escrito por Christopher Isherwood.