tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4107006718838298512024-03-05T06:07:57.132-05:00The Pretentious Know It AllCommentary and discussions of all things pretentious as they relate to film and culture...See, even that sentence is pretentious.The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-11900285638359994512013-08-13T16:17:00.000-04:002013-08-13T20:25:30.857-04:00Hit Me With your Best Shot: The Color Purple<style>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
an embarrassingly long hiatus, I'm happy to return to the blog...and what
better way to do so than by participating in Nathaniel's "Hit Me With Your
Best Shot" over at <a href="http://thefilmexperience.net/">The Film
Experience. </a>Finding a single frame to focus on from Steven
Spielberg's <i>The Color Purple</i>(1985) was no easy task.
It's a seminal film for my personal movie-watching narrative. Had I been
alive and following the Oscar race at the time, I would probably regard it much
in the same way that I regard <i>The Hours</i> (stay with me for a
moment). An adaptation of a challenging Pulitzer-prize winning novel in
which (according to vocal detractors) the edges of the source material were
sanded down to a fault; a film very much interested in the interpersonal
relationships between women; queer undertones (and overtones) that seem to be
standing in for larger ideas, rather than as hyperreal representations of
homosexuality. Both films frustrate and engage me, almost in equal
measure. And while neither <i>The Color Purple</i> nor
<i>The Hours</i> is the film from its respective Best Picture crop
that, all elements of filmmaking considered, I would likely have crowned
"best" (that would have been <i>Kiss of the Spider
Woman</i> and <i>The Pianist</i>, for the record), they are
the entries that have burrowed deepest into my heart and which I return to most
often with a complicated, but enduring affection.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My first inclination was to <span style="font-size: small;">go with this shot:</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4riSTvEu1NoSh-D-GQoce_BV2c3ceIFH0rhyphenhyphenwKdli8YmcSeLrhlCw_0zZgthHuwivGQgEqZjcvfjBpSNT48aCrJgw7PgJd3EYWuk_bPhJK-CN4f2Zg8nNESHXKbZ13MDx9bqU9BnvP-Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-13+at+12.01.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4riSTvEu1NoSh-D-GQoce_BV2c3ceIFH0rhyphenhyphenwKdli8YmcSeLrhlCw_0zZgthHuwivGQgEqZjcvfjBpSNT48aCrJgw7PgJd3EYWuk_bPhJK-CN4f2Zg8nNESHXKbZ13MDx9bqU9BnvP-Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-08-13+at+12.01.37+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many calm-before-the-storm moments for Miss Sofia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sofia, as rendered by Oprah Winfrey is such a force of nature that the
film often has a "come hither" energy where she's concerned.
Having first seen <i>The Color Purple</i> years after Oprah had
entered the consciousness (and the living rooms) of millions as a television
personality, I understand my handicap in trying to view the film outside of
that context. Every scene with Sofia, from her animated walk up to
Mister's house, to her famous dinner table monologue feels portentous of just
what a ubiquitous cultural figure Ms. Winfrey would become after the film.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For
a long time, I thought Winfrey was my favorite of the 1985 Best Supporting
Actress lineup (Confession time: I've never seen <i>Twice in a
Lifetime</i>, have only seen <i>Agnes of God</i> once a very
long time ago and have a strong apathy-leaning-towards-dislike for
<i>Prizzi's Honor</i>, which probably colors my read of Anjelica
Huston's Oscar-winning performance). However, the more I watch the film,
the more I latch onto what I truly love about it, which are the aforementioned
character relationships, especially between the women. While an
impressive turn, Oprah loses points upon closer inspection for the way she
seems to be acting in parallel, rather than with her co-stars, especially
Goldberg. Her big moments often feel pre-ordained and scripted, rather
than genuinely reactive to the other performers. I never really get a
sense of how Sofia and Celie feel about one another, outside of tangibles that
are very much beholden to everything else that's going on. Even in scenes
that they share, even in scenes where they are talking to one another, Sofia
and Celie seem to occupy completely different universes (much like the
actresses who portray them). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
heart has ultimately found its way to Margaret Avery's Shug as the Belle of the
1985 Supporting Actress Ball. Despite the brouhaha associated with <i>how</i>
she got her Oscar nomination, she is my favorite of the pack. It's a
sympathetic, complicated and fully-realized portrayal of one of the novel's
most nebulous creatures. In her scenes at the Juke Joint, performing
"Miss Celie's Blues" (my favorite moment in the film), we see Avery
and Goldberg interacting and feeding each other's magnificent performances like
no other two actors in the film. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr1BD3_pCsLR5-u8WwoOYNZnD_3w_6wK2HpEWyOPki6vzhO-zE1UIxUQI7Wnneqg7ydrRE3wEmk3YK3ozq0U7zvZMmf6nAHbyQ6qpKYghxAN3v6F7Fr_Fj60B-8BMJeWB80mW3G2dqig/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-13+at+11.56.22+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr1BD3_pCsLR5-u8WwoOYNZnD_3w_6wK2HpEWyOPki6vzhO-zE1UIxUQI7Wnneqg7ydrRE3wEmk3YK3ozq0U7zvZMmf6nAHbyQ6qpKYghxAN3v6F7Fr_Fj60B-8BMJeWB80mW3G2dqig/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-08-13+at+11.56.22+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Celie can't take her eyes off of Shug and neither can we.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Has Goldberg ever looked more convincingly and joyfully overwhelmed and
radiant as she does in this moment (my favorite shot in the film) when Shug is
singing to her? The very notion that someone is acknowledging her existence, let alone crooning a verse just for her is almost too much happiness (a feeling she is not familiar with) for Miss Celie to take. As accomplished as Goldberg's performance in <i>The Color Purple</i> is (and it's very accomplished, to be sure), she owes a huge portion of that turn's power to Margaret Avery and her centered, exuberant and welcome presence.
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The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-37392822689688105442013-03-24T18:05:00.001-04:002013-03-24T18:05:14.589-04:00I'm Back! And I'm Re-Vamping!It's been far too long since I've posted. Without getting too personal, I will just say that life got in the way as it is wont to do. However, I am back and will be making a few changes to the blog. I am aware that Oscar season 2012 came and went with nary a whisper from this lowly hyper-amateur film-blogger. I do plan on weighing in, not necessarily on the Oscar race itself, but on my thoughts on the 2012 film year as well as an abbreviated version of my annual Pretentious Film Awards.<br />
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I will also be trying out a series of posts that will keep me watching movies, old and young, with some structure in mind so as to keep me writing. I hope you enjoy!<br />
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<br />The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-49182198734868938112012-07-23T00:32:00.002-04:002012-07-23T00:32:41.966-04:00The Best Films of The Aughts (50-59)<span style="font-weight: bold;">59. <span style="font-style: italic;">Before Sunset</span> - dir. Richard Linklater (2004)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-AjhzACrnUOcaLP4JxgBGbzzLNYv_aym_c144_tiHLoHB5kLReHeGsHBL_-hQWV4i0ec4k-Cx0TUq4ww3npKudW6zuf0_tZ7UqhLL25Jffgp8hNiv1a_1UtwCkB0WeE0Ljf9AScEfkY/s1600/59BeforeSunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-AjhzACrnUOcaLP4JxgBGbzzLNYv_aym_c144_tiHLoHB5kLReHeGsHBL_-hQWV4i0ec4k-Cx0TUq4ww3npKudW6zuf0_tZ7UqhLL25Jffgp8hNiv1a_1UtwCkB0WeE0Ljf9AScEfkY/s320/59BeforeSunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;"> "What
is love, if it's not respect, trust, admiration? And I felt all those
things. So, cut to the present tense. I feel like I'm running a small
nursery with somebody I used to date."</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">58. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Royal Tenenbaums</span> - dir. Wes Anderson (2001)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitC67l75wRtnyCI3G1SfNClherm0tqtIqnz9WRtWo5ioJwSd9y0xJKmLdPFLQfCLSFoj8qJ3xEWVbkUrSLAq-_Ab_D3DU1u1T8415Fxx3lbLWjEpYwSMyo7VcvkXpidDIqWBf_LmPS8e0/s1600/58royaltenenbaums.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitC67l75wRtnyCI3G1SfNClherm0tqtIqnz9WRtWo5ioJwSd9y0xJKmLdPFLQfCLSFoj8qJ3xEWVbkUrSLAq-_Ab_D3DU1u1T8415Fxx3lbLWjEpYwSMyo7VcvkXpidDIqWBf_LmPS8e0/s320/58royaltenenbaums.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> "</span>Look,
I know I'm gonna be the bad guy on this one. But I just wanna say the
last six days have been the best six days of probably my whole life."</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">57. <span style="font-style: italic;">A History of Violence</span> - dir. David Cronenberg (2005)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-36g_r5FonDMrKO77TLJj2Huyo9q5k-E28KaVbhECaJWhFRXqzSZ19Z0TK1YM3gUArad5R0XHEx1HjYwU-JVO74zg-QCHnpHpC16RuxBn6zMguFyMDBaIcC6esxb78ShDktMfyz7l80s/s1600/57historyofviolence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-36g_r5FonDMrKO77TLJj2Huyo9q5k-E28KaVbhECaJWhFRXqzSZ19Z0TK1YM3gUArad5R0XHEx1HjYwU-JVO74zg-QCHnpHpC16RuxBn6zMguFyMDBaIcC6esxb78ShDktMfyz7l80s/s320/57historyofviolence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;"> "You should ask Tom...how come he's so good at killing people?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">56. <span style="font-style: italic;">Capturing the Friedmans</span> - dir. Andrew Jarecki (2003)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnNkVJGPbVZK031CQIK7EyxCJU19Mhbp8hGBfCvjdOmSy45_ulLNntEEyCIa6mwEgEpuitEDyhvh-g7dV9iDXlnTmRHordzzcXNb6ABn9BQ6-FNhYg6baZcvhD_nrWhS0ITy2EcC4WnE/s1600/56capturingthefriedmans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnNkVJGPbVZK031CQIK7EyxCJU19Mhbp8hGBfCvjdOmSy45_ulLNntEEyCIa6mwEgEpuitEDyhvh-g7dV9iDXlnTmRHordzzcXNb6ABn9BQ6-FNhYg6baZcvhD_nrWhS0ITy2EcC4WnE/s320/56capturingthefriedmans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;">"We had a middle class home, educated...where did this come from?"</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">55. <span style="font-style: italic;">Day Night Day Night</span> - dir. Julia Loktev (2006)</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAFpQrl6t_EJA58V2rzBGFDLsjgHu51GenU4vMtGznCPZRKgAXmtE0NGq4Z7HlfrhKSCII5WYBfa_aSpOONp5GdvBwi_aSGExGOqA_bOIUu4ddRkyVU7HjQWS9poCfrnyxiiag1IU0Gk/s1600/55daynightdaynight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAFpQrl6t_EJA58V2rzBGFDLsjgHu51GenU4vMtGznCPZRKgAXmtE0NGq4Z7HlfrhKSCII5WYBfa_aSpOONp5GdvBwi_aSGExGOqA_bOIUu4ddRkyVU7HjQWS9poCfrnyxiiag1IU0Gk/s320/55daynightdaynight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;">"If
I think that I've been noticed or there is a small chance that I may be
caught I must execute the plan immediately, even if there is no one
nearby."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">54. <span style="font-style: italic;">In America</span> - dir. Jim Sheridan (2003)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"Don't 'little girl' me. I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year. He was my brother too."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">53. <span style="font-style: italic;">Superbad</span> - dir. Greg Mottola (2007)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"Are
you insane?! Look at Jules' dating record. She dated Dan Remmeck who's
had a six pack since like kindergarten. Jason Stone who looks like
fuckin' Zack Morris, and Matt Muer...he's the sweetest guy! Have you
ever stared into his eyes? It was like the first time I heard the
Beatles."</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />
The
2000s weren't exactly replete with relatable cinematic teenage
behavior, especially where sex and sexuality are concerned. I have read
the criticisms of <i>Superbad</i> many times over. It's aimless, it's
vulgar, it's cartoonish in its portrayal of adolescent sexual desire.
However, it's also funny. Consistently funny from start to finish,
while peppered with truly heartfelt moments between its protagonists
Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
If you've
ever been a teenager, you know that the pursuit of some tail is as
honest and urgent an inciting incident for a narrative as any. People
will do strange things, often garnering reactions of head-scratching, if
there is even a chance that sex will be the end result. This is
especially true if one has never actually had sex. Is this the most
groundbreaking or profound of hypotheses? Hardly. But it's a notion
portrayed cogently, with humor and and an excellent ear for dialogue and
timing in <i>Superbad</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4dGFyEXFXpbi7yEVUijaHoJjsE9HroEHtoX2kE8AqUsWHCUYfxlD27jdJsEAkU5ClAmppeVb3dQvViErGEpeGbrq5pSni7T8xUB-lUuWgIDr_JZqEZ_v1_r__4qn7DPOwqL9-C1XVbc/s1600/53superbad03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4dGFyEXFXpbi7yEVUijaHoJjsE9HroEHtoX2kE8AqUsWHCUYfxlD27jdJsEAkU5ClAmppeVb3dQvViErGEpeGbrq5pSni7T8xUB-lUuWgIDr_JZqEZ_v1_r__4qn7DPOwqL9-C1XVbc/s320/53superbad03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Yes, one can easily bemoan the fact that such films seem to completely co-opt the teenage female perspective on one end and ignore it altogether on the other. I once wrote, on this very blog that a version of <i>Superbad</i>
wherein two teenage girls attempt to buy liquor for a party in order to
impress and bed boys for the sheer purpose of sexual gratification
could not exist in the current Hollywood landscape. <i>Bridesmaids</i>
made some strides in this arena (though I have mixed feelings about the
final result) and women are at least allowed to be funny in ways we have
rarely seen before. However, our culture seems to be vaguely
threatened by the notion of women, especially teenage girls, enjoying
sex. I mean none of this in any way as an indictment of <i>Superbad</i> itself, as these are all criticisms that exist completely extrinsic to the merits of the actual film. <br />
<br />
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<br />
I chose the quote listed
above, which exemplifies exactly what I'm talking about. Too often in
films, characters fail to inhabit any sort of universe that feels
specifically drawn. This problem usually stems from a lack of character
specificity in its own right. Seth and Evan are sex hungry teenage boys,
yes. But they are more than that. The scene from which the dialogue
is taken occurs fairly early on in the narrative and it shows us that
we're in incredibly capable hands with screenwriters Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb2wlrGdALJ9nsSkhFxpR2YZFBQX59_A0eXFri03Y3iMmZlDFad0TmyB78nvHMVRx1kafd2M3edO7aCmKc6UQViFlFt79sQRnjfw1L56vb1J2RhhB0Uy7BO-1Qmsj_7r7Yn2GXmSudJc/s1600/53superbad01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb2wlrGdALJ9nsSkhFxpR2YZFBQX59_A0eXFri03Y3iMmZlDFad0TmyB78nvHMVRx1kafd2M3edO7aCmKc6UQViFlFt79sQRnjfw1L56vb1J2RhhB0Uy7BO-1Qmsj_7r7Yn2GXmSudJc/s320/53superbad01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There is a beating heart at the center of what seems like a raucous comedy of sexual misadventure as we chart Evan and Seth's one-night odyssey, in search of Jules's party, in search of the nookie that's sure to await them. It's easy to bemoan the fact that such human truth about the nature of growing up and moving on has to be wrapped in a seemingly facile package of raunch and menstruation humor. But when it's done so effectively, is there anything left to do but smile?<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">52. <span style="font-style: italic;">He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not</span> - dir. Laetitia Colombani (2002)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVTqh8Z9hNSjD0sjDnWnhri6DIBZcpN5GRtAMyxqIoZjEm_KDAnrZ0jF3Y0dFjZF_h1zmnLFWW36lw5JPR1_H6EEQfSYjTeTLQ54pvDgffiwErxxgP-eTTlFPK8ZqaoNqyIIMdzKyWHM/s1600/52helovesmehelovesmenot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVTqh8Z9hNSjD0sjDnWnhri6DIBZcpN5GRtAMyxqIoZjEm_KDAnrZ0jF3Y0dFjZF_h1zmnLFWW36lw5JPR1_H6EEQfSYjTeTLQ54pvDgffiwErxxgP-eTTlFPK8ZqaoNqyIIMdzKyWHM/s320/52helovesmehelovesmenot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="font-style: italic;">Though my love is insane my reason calms the pain in my heart, it tells me to be patient and keep hoping."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">51. <i>The Departed </i>- dir. Martin Scorsese (2006)</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BINfrVlgK-OXMVZ8awSMmxtOHLfkm6Ty6f-awiIbvpPF7Hmlu_RgwpxChopeCGphNndYeZvjVpAywPa4rLpboJ499X_9u9XHZEJ37hIq2J05paGEg8OMoKfa-BdYjWj8DEABQc_PD-U/s1600/51thedeparted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BINfrVlgK-OXMVZ8awSMmxtOHLfkm6Ty6f-awiIbvpPF7Hmlu_RgwpxChopeCGphNndYeZvjVpAywPa4rLpboJ499X_9u9XHZEJ37hIq2J05paGEg8OMoKfa-BdYjWj8DEABQc_PD-U/s320/51thedeparted.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span>When I was growing up, they would say you could become cops or
criminals. But what I'm saying is this. When you're facing a loaded gun,
what's the difference?"</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>50. <i>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King </i>- dir. Peter Jackson (2003)</b><br />
<br />
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<i>"Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It'll be spring soon. And the
orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel
thicket. And they'll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields...
and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the
taste of strawberries?"</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Next: 40-49<i> </i></b><b><i> </i></b><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-72539481447643541742012-04-25T14:17:00.002-04:002012-06-21T22:20:44.101-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Top Ten (5-1)<b>5. </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyEK7AQRmeZE0AASMC-k95KD8R3srIwIuXlFHK7Cdss27L9l5FuG79d-pAux7Nc_DYVt3vnGO6MEdke5hrHQZRV1d_gajlfbS3RWLqS9IuFVguQ5zR0Q92E9hwa8DytEpmreFZU3_iOc/s1600/marthamarcymaymarlenetitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyEK7AQRmeZE0AASMC-k95KD8R3srIwIuXlFHK7Cdss27L9l5FuG79d-pAux7Nc_DYVt3vnGO6MEdke5hrHQZRV1d_gajlfbS3RWLqS9IuFVguQ5zR0Q92E9hwa8DytEpmreFZU3_iOc/s1600/marthamarcymaymarlenetitle.jpg" /></a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>(dir. Sean Durkin</b>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I can't think of another film in recent memory that left me as frightened and physically unsettled as this one. I literally felt my body unclench as the end credits began to roll. It is so arresting and startling, almost from start to finish, due to all the elements clicking so perfectly. Firstly, there's Sean Durkin's writing and direction, already discussed at length that I still cannot praise enough. He exerts so much control over this story, laying things bare and keeping information at bay at all the right moments. Elizabeth Olsen's breakthrough performance, which by all rights should have been the acting ascension story on everyone's lips during awards season, carries the film while still having remarkably few externalities to lean on. Finally, the sound design of the film, which is worked organically into the film in a really eery, evocative fashion, so much so that you often don't know (much like Martha) where certain aural sensations are coming from. The level of craft and polish on this film, a low-budget indie debut, really shocked me and I (broken record, I know) can't help but think that given a bigger budget and more resources to play with next time at bat, Sean Durkin will emerge as a creative force to be reckoned with.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>4.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVrtVZQrNvT0OrGtXZTg5j2jcA1RAZiLEWvtnSfIYlmGAomuczPrg8kaqBD5FKqolo9HwVtwJEUmlvgRk-lXAQEFpky21vedIuu-bCFSASTwRQb9vj5CcZLwE-kcVfTJCmdXG_uuBBbA/s1600/treeoflifetitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVrtVZQrNvT0OrGtXZTg5j2jcA1RAZiLEWvtnSfIYlmGAomuczPrg8kaqBD5FKqolo9HwVtwJEUmlvgRk-lXAQEFpky21vedIuu-bCFSASTwRQb9vj5CcZLwE-kcVfTJCmdXG_uuBBbA/s1600/treeoflifetitle.jpg" /></a><b> </b><br />
<b>(dir. Terrence Malick)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
I have to admit my bias up front, which is that Terrence Malick is my favorite living filmmaker. I was always inclined to be receptive to <i>The Tree of Life</i>, which I understand is polarizing. I understand, but thoroughly don't care. While it remains, for me, Malick's least "successful" film to date, that statement is much more a testament to Malick's overall brilliance and sure hand as a director, rather than a denigration of <i>The Tree of Life</i> itself. As with most Malick films (with the <u>possible</u> exception of <i>Badlands</i>), narrative, rigid structure and traditionally drawn character beats remain secondary to tone and imagery, but no more so than here. While depicting the birth, life and death of the universe (a lot to bite off), Malick somehow (mostly) avoids painting in broad strokes, with the exception of Jessica Chastain's Mrs. O'Brien; a cipher character (an effective one, but a ciper nonetheless).<br />
<i>The Tree of Life</i> is not a perfect film. It is deeply frustrating, as engrossing as it is and there are one or two sequences that, while interesting as stand alone vignettes, do not really function as a cohesive part of the rest of the film. I'm not talking about the dinosaurs, which is what everyone has had their claws out about since Cannes 2011. Specifically, the scene on the beach, which plays a little maudlin in the context of the rest of the film, but still strikes an emotional chord that is pretty undeniable. But none of this underwrites the film's power. What I saw were moments of truth, maybe not in a traditionally narrative fashion, but laid out one after another. The way the film so effectively (and almost wordlessly) addresses the inexplicable need in little boys to be violent. The effect that death and grief have on a family, even in (especially in, rather) adulthood. I've revisited it twice since my initial viewing and I already know that it will be a film I continue to revisit, gathering something new to behold each time.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>3.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EXUz9h5y4O6pq20XW-Rm5j45ryjaeG_-if6xmIQ9hbHzRSd9Gz229GD_xDn_LB6h02Dn3Z5_O3Zc1P-hdcYBrhM1MwRXXs-L0Cxas-H1r0G2O8XiIpmrdJca5fv3bT3fuHMz6a2NPx0/s1600/weneedtotalkaboutkevintitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EXUz9h5y4O6pq20XW-Rm5j45ryjaeG_-if6xmIQ9hbHzRSd9Gz229GD_xDn_LB6h02Dn3Z5_O3Zc1P-hdcYBrhM1MwRXXs-L0Cxas-H1r0G2O8XiIpmrdJca5fv3bT3fuHMz6a2NPx0/s1600/weneedtotalkaboutkevintitle.jpg" /></a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b> (dir. Lynne Ramsay)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
An artful, visually interesting, sometimes ugly looking movie that puts you at alarmingly close range with the horror it's depicting. The story of a grieving mother named Eva (Tilda Swinton) nursing her guilt after her son Kevin (Ezra Miller) commits an archery massacre at his school is told in fragmented snippets as it jumps back and forth between four separate chronologies; Eva's life before marriage and children, Kevin's infancy/toddlerhood, Kevin's adolescence and the aftermath of the massacre. I must say, <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i> is very high up on my top ten list for a film in which there are several things that don't quite click. The relationship between Swinton's Eva and her husband Franklin (John C. Reilly) is a peculiar, nebulous one. I wouldn't go so far as to call it unbelievable, but there are definite pieces missing as to why this woman and this man met and fell in love. I don't normally balk too much at the absence of backstory, but given the film's structure, this sometimes felt like vagueness for its own sake.<br />
Those story and character elements aside, the visual language in this movie succeeds gracefully and admirably where a film like <i>The Lovely Bones</i> (originally slated to be directed by Lynne Ramsay before Peter Jackson got the job) failed so miserably. The imagery in <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i> sticks with you,
unwilling to let go Close, lingering shots of Kevin's face, pock
marks, dead eyes and pores are some of the most jarring visuals of the
year. The production design is jarring, unforgettable and stark, but it feels purposeful and specific. Even the family house (a sticking point for many detractors who feel it too sparse, untended and nondescript) feels purposeful, in that Eva never unpacked and settled into her new life/role as a mother. Combine this visual style with the absolutely fascinating spectacle of watching Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller go toe-to-toe as guilty mother/demon seed, respectively and the result is frightening.<br />
*Completely extrinsic to the film itself, watch or listen to an interview with Ezra Miller if you have the chance. Because what the world clearly needs more of are ridiculously beautiful, asshole actors who you hate all the more <i>because</i> they're also talented. (I'm not even sure what, if any part of that was sarcasm).<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOm9jNqfQcJmvBouCWIebNedBOY16x3CRyfQfvL3WUmwzUmzC0-wqcEaEs5h2kdwPDPedLhcBppiQcN5IKTopeTu7w-eNW6YZ0u00Z7h-fC4hANWiYJyQ-gXNMYjV4GXtMDAvr1KckQk/s1600/drivetitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOm9jNqfQcJmvBouCWIebNedBOY16x3CRyfQfvL3WUmwzUmzC0-wqcEaEs5h2kdwPDPedLhcBppiQcN5IKTopeTu7w-eNW6YZ0u00Z7h-fC4hANWiYJyQ-gXNMYjV4GXtMDAvr1KckQk/s200/drivetitle.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>(dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Look...what I'm about to say will offend people, even fans of the film (and it's my second favorite of the year, clearly) but it needs to be said. <i>Drive </i>is fucking ridiculous. At times, laughably so. And everyone involved, from Refn, to Gosling, to Mulligan to the key grips is aware of it. When you have Carey Mulligan(!) playing the young mother of a cute Chicano imp whose father's name is "Standard"; or when Christina Hendricks plays a character named "Blanche" who scarcely utters a word and kind of walks like Peg Bundy; or when you have Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan staring at each other for what feels like the entire length of a song only to have Gosling snap out of his romantic stupor and literally smash a man's face into a jelly; OR (last one I swear) when you have Ron Perlman doing ANYTHING to ANYONE EVER...I have to believe that you know exactly what you're doing. <br />
My reaction to <i>Drive</i> was something akin to my reaction to <i>Crank</i> (stay with me). Totally different films, I'm well aware, but both of genre-pieces are made with a supreme level of confidence. They also both hinge on everything running like a well-oiled machine. The direction, acting, cinematography, editing and (clearly) the soundtrack seem to be operating on a certain kind of next-level sleekness, to the film's credit. <i>Drive</i> also wisely plays on Ryan Gosling's smoldering charisma in new and interesting ways and it will likely be this role that people look at as a marker of his transition from Indie-God to bona fide movie star.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1.</b> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuGctll9vMi2lMUeSA9IT64PRAeES-bxObAH5AHl5VflVRicznbnm2rczv5feNzGM4tHuOwLF2BGDdWHUhvt0GqMulYffiwZFrP-vQzlQ9Syg9TglYEnOPBW8KZwiq9j7fOP3Nld_6dw/s1600/shametitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuGctll9vMi2lMUeSA9IT64PRAeES-bxObAH5AHl5VflVRicznbnm2rczv5feNzGM4tHuOwLF2BGDdWHUhvt0GqMulYffiwZFrP-vQzlQ9Syg9TglYEnOPBW8KZwiq9j7fOP3Nld_6dw/s200/shametitle.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b> (dir. Steve McQueen)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
With his sophomore effort, Steve McQueen cements his status one of the most exciting emerging directors working today. <i>Shame</i>, like its predecessor (<i>Hunger</i>) is obsessive in its filmmaking, every shot meticulously composed, every bit of production design has been fussed and combed over, ever scene and character beat feels specific. A film that begins with the hot-button, controversial (in certain circles) subject of sex-addiction is, in a way, behind an 8-ball to start with (which makes <i>Shame's</i> success as a piece of filmmaking all the more spectacular). The question loomed before I sat down to watch; will this film value honest and poignant depictions of the human conditions at least as much as it values ham-fisted controversy? I consider movies like<i></i><i><b> </b>Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom </i>and <i>Oldboy</i>, neither of which are terrible films, but both of which seem to collapse under the ponderous weight of "The Thing They're About," often leaving out character, emotion or even something interesting to say on the matter (<i>Oldboy</i> especially).<br />
What McQueen achieves here in <i>Shame</i> is quite remarkable. The reports of much sex and nudity have not been widely exaggerated. None of it is arbitrary. There is very little excess or bloat in this film, perhaps with the exception of a sequence towards the end involving a particularly bad bender for Brandon (Michael Fassbender). Said sequence in no way sinks the movie, so beautifully shot and acted it is. This is the story of a man whose achieved a certain balance with his addiction, which is a scary place to be in. It is not seriously affecting his work or his physical well-being. He is affluent and physically fit. What, therefore, is his incentive to stop and is stopping the issue?<br />
A lot of these questions are raised, in some way or another, and not necessarily answered, which will serve to alienate much of the audience. But everything here just felt so real and resonant, tapping into the ugly truth about our basest human instincts. I'm not being puritanical and speaking just of the sex, which is very clinical and matter-of-fact (with one exception). The relationship between Brandon and his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan like you've never seen her before) is so realistically ugly. His frustration with her, fair or unfair, which permeates every uttered word between them, even if it is said with a smile. Her selfishness and almost pathological inability to reciprocate any sort of kindness or generosity is palpable. There is an unspoken undercurrent of some possible trauma (be it shared by the siblings or inflicted by one onto the other) from their childhood and the scenes between Brandon and Sissy are the hardest to watch in the film. This is due in large part to performances by Fassbender and Mulligan, who both deliver early career-best performances. Mulligan especially surprised, hitting an unfussy emotional register of pain and self-destruction that, while I've been previously impressed with her, I didn't know she was capable of achieving.<br />
I remember, very distinctively, the first time I watched <i>Shame</i>. I was in the theater alone, as were (apparently) many of the other audience members at the sparsely attended screening. There was very little conversation as we trudged out of the theater, unable to shake what we had just seen and felt. For many movies (and not necessarily in a bad way) the experience ends when the film ends. For days, I felt the weight of <i>Shame</i>, the more I considered it and it just refused to let go, which is incredibly powerful. <br />
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<br />
Complete list of nominees and winners after the jump. Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>4th Annual Pretentious Film Awarsd Complete List of Nominees/Winners </b><br />
*Denotes Winner<br />
**Denotes First Runner-Up<br />
***Denotes Second Runner-Up<br />
<br />
<b>Best Picture</b><br />
<br />
<i>Drive**</i><br />
<i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i><br />
<b><i>Shame* </i></b><b> </b><br />
<i>The Tree of Life</i><br />
<i>We Need to Talk About Kevin***</i><br />
<br />
<b>Best Director</b><br />
<br />
Nicolas Winding Refn - <i>Drive***</i><br />
Lars von Trier - <i>Melancholia</i><br />
<b>Steve McQueen - <i>Shame*</i> </b><br />
Terrence Malick - <i>The Tree of Life**</i><br />
Lynne Ramsay - <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i><br />
<br />
<b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role</b><br />
<br />
Jean Dujardin - <i>The Artist***</i><br />
Michael Fassbender - <i>Shame**</i><br />
Ryan Gosling - <i>Drive </i><br />
Ewan McGregor - <i>Beginners</i><br />
<b>Brad Pitt - <i>Moneyball* </i></b><br />
<br />
<b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role</b><br />
<br />
Viola Davis - <i>The Help***</i><br />
<b>Kirsten Dunst - <i>Melancholia*</i></b><br />
Elizabeth Olsen - <i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i><br />
Tilda Swinton - <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i><br />
Charlize Theron - <i>Young Adult</i>**<i> </i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role</b><br />
<br />
Ezra Miller - <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i><br />
Patton Oswalt - <i>Young Adult***</i><br />
Brad Pitt - <i>The Tree of Life**</i> <br />
<b>Christopher Plummer - <i>Beginners*</i></b><br />
Corey Stoll - <i>Midnight in Paris</i><br />
<br />
<b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role</b><br />
<br />
Nicole Beharie - <i>Shame</i><br />
Rose Byrne - <i>Bridesmaids**</i><br />
Jessica Chastain - <i>The Help***</i><br />
<b>Carey Mulligan - <i>Shame* </i></b><b> <i> </i></b><br />
Sarah Paulson - <i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i><br />
<br />
<b>Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The Artist</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cast: </span>
Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jean Dujardin,</span> John Goodman, Malcolm McDowell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Uggie<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><i>Bridesmaids</i><i>*</i><i> </i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Cast: Rose Byrne, Jill Clayburgh, Jon Hamm, Ellie Kemper, Matt Lucas,
Melissa McCarthy,Wendi McLendon-Covey, Chris O'Dowd, Maya Rudolph,
Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson</b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Melancholia</i>**</div>
Cast: Brady Corbet, Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Hurt,
Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgård, Cameron Spurr, Kiefer
Sutherland<br />
<br />
<i>Midnight in Paris</i>***<br />
Cast: Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard,
Adrien de Van, Kurt Fuller, Yves Heck, Tom Hiddleston, Mimi Kennedy,
Rachel McAdams, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll, Owen Wilson
<i> </i> <br />
<br />
<i>The Tree of Life</i><br />
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Laramie Eppler, Hunter McCracken, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Fiona Shaw,
<i> </i>Tye Sheridan<br />
<br />
<b>Best Original Screenplay</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mike Mills for <i>Beginners</i></div>
Sean Durkin for <i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan for <i>Shame***</i></div>
Andrew Haigh for <i>Weekend</i>**
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Diablo Cody for <i>Young Adult*</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b>Best Adapted Screenplay<i> </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hossein Amini fo <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Drive</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(Based on James Sallis’s novel of the
same name by)***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pedro Almodóvar for<i>
The Skin I Live In</i> (Based on the
novel “Tarantula” by Thierry Jonquet)</div>
Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian for <i>Moneyball</i>
(Based on the book “Moneyball: The Art
of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis)**
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Rory Stewart Kinnear and Lynne Ramsay for <i>We
Need to Talk About Kevin</i> (Based Lionel Shriver’s novel of the same name)*</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apichatpong
Weerasethakul for <i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</i> (Loosely Inspired by “A Man Who Can Recall
His Past Lives” by Phra Sripariyattiweti)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Editing</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Beginners</i> - Olivier Bugge Coutté<b><i> </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Drive - </i>Matthew Newman*</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Moneyball</i> - Christopher Tellefsen**</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Shame</i> - Joe Walker</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Young Adult</i> - Dana E. Glauberman***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Costume Design</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>The
Artist - </i>Mark Bridges* </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Drive - </i>Ericn Benach <i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Captain America: The First Avenger - </i>Anna B. Sheppard <i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - </i>Trish Summerville*** <i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Skin I Live In - </i>Paco Delgado and
Jean Paul Gaultier**</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Art Direction</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<i>The Artist**</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Hanna***</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Melancholia</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>The Skin I Live In*</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Tree of Life</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> </i></div>
<br />
(Note: I'm aware how it seems like I'm purposely going against the grain by not citing <i>Hugo</i> here, but the award is <u>best</u> art direction, not <u>most</u> art direction. The art direction in <i>Hugo</i>, while extravagant, often served very little, if any narrative function.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Cinematography</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Drive - </i>Newton Thomas Sigel </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Hanna - </i>Alwin H. Küchler<br />
<i>Melancholia - </i>Manuel Alberto Claro***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>S</i><i>hame - </i>Sean Bobbitt**</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>The Tree of Life - </b></i><b>Emmanuel Lubezki*</b></div>
<b> </b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Visual Effects</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Hugo**</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Melancholia***</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>The Tree of Life*</i></b></div>
<br />
<b>Best Original Score</b><br />
<br />
Ludovic Bource - <i>The Artist</i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roger Neill, Dave Palmer and Brian Reitzell - <i>Beginners**</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Chemical Brothers - <i>Hanna***</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mychael Danna - <i>Moneyball</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Alberto Iglesias - <i>The Skin I Live In*</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Sound Mixing</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Drive*</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Martha Marcy May Marlene** </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Melancholia</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives***</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Tree of Life</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best Sound Editing</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Captain America
The First Avenger</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Drive**</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo***</i><br />
<b><i>Martha Marcy May Marlene* </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>We Need to Talk About Kevin </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Nomination Tallies</b><b><i> </i></b></div>
<i>Drive - </i>9 Noms/2Wins<br />
<i>Shame - </i>8 Noms/3 Wins<i> </i><br />
<i>Melancholia</i> - 7 Noms/1 Win <br />
<i>Martha Marcy May Marlene - </i>6 Noms/1 Win<br />
<i>The Tree of Life - </i>6 Noms/1 Win<i> </i><br />
<i> We Need to Talk About Kevin - </i>6 Noms/1 Win<br />
<i>The Artist - </i>5 Noms/1 Win<br />
<i>Beginners</i> - 5 Noms/1 Win<br />
<i>Moneyball</i> - 4 Noms/1 Win<br />
<i>The Skin I Live In</i> - 4 Noms/2 Wins <br />
<i>Young Adult</i> - 4 Noms/1 Win <br />
<i>Hanna</i> - 3 Noms <br />
<i>Bridesmaids</i> - 2 Noms<br />
<i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i> - 2 Noms <br />
<i>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</i> - 2 Noms<br />
<i>The Help</i> - 2 Noms<br />
<i>Midnight in Paris</i> - 2 Noms<br />
<i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</i> - 2 Noms <br />
<i>Hugo</i> - 1 Nom<br />
<i>Weekend</i> - 1 Nom<br />
<br />
<b>Top Ten Films of 2011</b><br />
<br />
1. <i>Shame</i> (dir. Steve McQueen)<br />
2. <i>Drive</i> (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)<br />
3.<i> We Need to Talk About Kevin</i> (dir. Lynne Ramsay)<br />
4. <i>The Tree of Life</i> (dir. Terrence Malick)<br />
5. <i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i> (dir. Sean Durkin)<br />
6. <i>Melancholia</i> (dir. Lars von Trier)<br />
7. <i>Weekend</i> (dir. Andrew Haigh)<br />
8. <i>Young Adult</i> (dir. Jason Reitman)<br />
9. <i>The Skin I Live In</i> (dir. Pedro Almodóvar)<br />
10. <i>Moneyball</i> (dir. Bennett Miller) <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-52923492745863434612012-04-23T14:49:00.001-04:002012-06-24T19:57:34.818-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Top Ten (10-6) <b>10.</b> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaLzy9aYHjuKOwBr-5aqRpIN4FFbHRQvT5iuQe20Zd6DqfyZfDQ2FnEA52SV4Y1BFv_ie2GvQ62eMaXBQBGBRsR-nIOKwVZAeDuMkzLMN2ebkzYvedkohYaFSwHzb6iVVNmTFDARFxI0/s1600/moneyballtitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaLzy9aYHjuKOwBr-5aqRpIN4FFbHRQvT5iuQe20Zd6DqfyZfDQ2FnEA52SV4Y1BFv_ie2GvQ62eMaXBQBGBRsR-nIOKwVZAeDuMkzLMN2ebkzYvedkohYaFSwHzb6iVVNmTFDARFxI0/s320/moneyballtitle.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><br /></b><br />
<b>(dir. Bennett Miller)</b><br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJIEQbzvnTu1EAUfpTPXlDYU2G5tacg0Tpd0m2h6xFjFowrSBvo3I2FcGF_ASnzJRZ9tKbenJn-70ClEoJXSaumHM3uJGanipcj98P6LSAv283waZZR6N6Y2suqadNXwHV4HzlltT4-w/s1600/melancholia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>I had a lot of mental roadblocks up going into this movie, which I didn't catch until a couple of months after its initial release. A baseball fan, I am not. Brad Pitt, an actor who I admire greatly, is someone about whom the general public and I rarely agree (ignore him in <i>Fight Club</i>, <i>The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford</i> and <i>Burn After Reading</i>, but by all means nominate him for <i>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</i>...for God's sake). Even the promise of another Sorkin-penned feature, following on the heels of <i>The Social Network</i> wasn't a huge lure for me; <i>Charlie Wilson's War</i> and <i>The American President</i> are more representative of the register Sorkin <u>usually</u> hits in his feature work. Do I sound like Oscar the Grouch already? I really enjoyed <i>Moneyball</i>, which is so crisply edited and elegantly scored. The greatest thing to recommend it going in was Bennet Miller, whose direction on his debut feature <i>Capote</i> made me immediately excited to see him tackle another feature. There is a delicate, but sure touch here. The movie avoids grand-standing and "big scenes," hitting that perfect register of subtlety. While Miller gets a superb performance from Brad Pitt, he manages to do so without <i>under</i>directing the other players. When you have such a huge star, the impulse to ignore the remaining well of characters is understandable, but can often hurt a piece. I will mention <i>The Descendants</i>, which seemed to be viewed by many as a spirit twin to <i>Moneyball</i> on paper (the Brad-George connection, fathers and their daughters, um..search me). But <i>Moneyball</i> really succeeds where <i>The Descendants</i> fails in that Alexander Payne seems almost unwilling to direct any of the actors besides Clooney and even then he's only directing Clooney a certain way. Watching <i>Moneyball</i>, I was also reminded of what I found so interesting about <i>Capote</i>; that it wasn't just an acting exercise for Philip Seymour Hoffman. That he was able to direct Catherine Keener in such a way where she was neither too muted nor too outwardly expressive. He achieves much of the same delicate strokes here, making me wonder if Miller will emerge as an even more formidable directing talent on his next feature. I am very excited to see what he does next.<br />
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<b>9.</b> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK5_4y84YZ2aAnvJ6oi_duHW4UKFPiHmWPfcWjvfHOOco8LYXRAEP8xZ_myGczuA5B8M967JC8bKL1-sOZ18T5JNB_NU5ZFoN2QARKM3xhTowMgWQOWfBQff2qIccEWF4THKSgCn7unw/s1600/skiniliveintitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK5_4y84YZ2aAnvJ6oi_duHW4UKFPiHmWPfcWjvfHOOco8LYXRAEP8xZ_myGczuA5B8M967JC8bKL1-sOZ18T5JNB_NU5ZFoN2QARKM3xhTowMgWQOWfBQff2qIccEWF4THKSgCn7unw/s1600/skiniliveintitle.jpg" /></a><b> </b><br />
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<br />
<b>(dir.</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Pedro Almod</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">óvar)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Operates as both a stylized melodrama and a haywire mystery, in true Almodóvar fashion. I was surprised to see this film more or less dismissed by even the most devout of Almodóvar disciples last year, who came to the conclusion that this ranks in the lower tier of his work. Perhaps had I further examined his filmography and my response to it, I would have been less shocked. I find <i>All About My Mother</i>, widely considered by many to be one of his best (if not his best) films to be hugely overrated. Ditto for <i>Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown</i>. Then you have <i>Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!</i>, viewed as a trifle, but his best film in my estimation. <i>Talk to Her </i>(justifiably lauded as a masterpiece) is just about the only time that I've hugely aligned with the critical community on Almodóvar. I will concede that <i>The Skin I Live In</i> breaks no new ground, and certainly not for Almodóvar who has explored themes of dominance, gender and psychosexual horror in many of his previous works. But there is something to be said about staying in one's comfort zone when you're <i>this</i> good at telling <i>this</i> kind of story, especially in the midst of a career that is groundbreaking in its own right. The mystery at the center of the story, which can ostensibly be reduced to "Who is this woman in the room?" is unfolded in a very strange fashion indeed. Structurally speaking, there is some slight lull during the middle sections of the film and the match cuts between past and present do get a little precious at key moments. What elevates the film above all of these deficiencies (minor as they are) are widely different, but complimentary lead performances by Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya. Each of them strikes a remarkable balance of believability and nuance, even within the moments of heightened, Almodóvar-style theatrics. With time, I imagine <i>The Skin I Live In</i> will be looked upon fondly as one of Almodóvar's most solid and well-made. That is, perhaps not his <i>Annie Hall</i>, but very possibly his <i>Husbands and Wives</i> (qualitatively speaking).<br />
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<b>8.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKlC0u1ZpiT6ttL8kVbQaFwtlPMcQT3YNSvf9s40Iil2P37CEMxs2-xGeq9JngEa_F4qvDbZfsMMxkYCY5itDW-TvZolmONH-nq46XhSKqRXZ2hkBZk69cN24lAsDPNydlZ5w4pHq3OQ/s1600/youngadulttitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKlC0u1ZpiT6ttL8kVbQaFwtlPMcQT3YNSvf9s40Iil2P37CEMxs2-xGeq9JngEa_F4qvDbZfsMMxkYCY5itDW-TvZolmONH-nq46XhSKqRXZ2hkBZk69cN24lAsDPNydlZ5w4pHq3OQ/s320/youngadulttitle.jpg" width="320" /></a><b> </b><br />
<b>(dir. Jason Reitman)</b><br />
<br />
For my money, this is handily the best of Reitman's films to date. It
is certainly the most refined, both in terms theme and
character, thanks to a perfect synergy of Diablo Cody's writing (matured, yet still recognizably Cody) and Reitman's direction (crisp, cold, precise). Charlize Theron turns in a stiff, angry bitchslap of a
performance that is so consistently horrifying, embodying the thesis
statement "What if some people are just, in fact, assholes?" Theron's
Mavis Gary is a wonderfully specific and fascinating cinematic creation
in that the text does not attempt to humanize her or give a root cause
for her radioactive personality. <br />
Would it be reductive of me to suggest that Reitman stick to directing films penned by another writer? Of Reitman's four feature films to date, <i>Juno </i>and <i>Young Adult</i> is leagues ahead of <i>Up in the Air</i> and <i>Thank You For Smoking</i>. I mentioned Reitman's directing style which, even in <i>Thank You For Smoking</i> was very noticeably clinical and cold (to his credit). The problem, I think with <i>Thank You For Smoking</i> and<i> Up in the Air</i> is a certain veneer. Masculine charisma (Aaron Eckhart and then George Clooney) functions as ersatz humanity and truth. I am fascinated and delighted that this somehow doesn't manage to creep into the stories that Reitman tells about women, which never feel arched and convinced of their own profundity in the same way his "male" movies do. I would be thrilled if <i>Young Adult</i> represented a turning point for Reitman as it's such a leap forward for him, qualitatively, from <i>Up in the Air</i>. I'm also eagerly awaiting Diablo Cody's directorial debut, which I'm sure will be polarizing, but almost certainly promises to be necessary viewing.<br />
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<br />
<b> 7.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDOiDcT5lC-EF-RnE1CRMScCBUfUK9fP-maFp-pKiqoBrq7CKOrK47MZmI5c2IulPIGuiZwff08NKcN0-rd8K2YMuYpxUKhvksrTMOWZk8t6ZYq9ShoiE-lpXwI-NyJyradx54RyfHag/s1600/weekendtitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDOiDcT5lC-EF-RnE1CRMScCBUfUK9fP-maFp-pKiqoBrq7CKOrK47MZmI5c2IulPIGuiZwff08NKcN0-rd8K2YMuYpxUKhvksrTMOWZk8t6ZYq9ShoiE-lpXwI-NyJyradx54RyfHag/s320/weekendtitle.jpg" width="320" /></a><b> </b><br />
<b>(dir. Andrew Haigh)</b> <br />
<br />
Dubbed by many as "The Gay <i>Before Sunrise</i>," in a way that only serves to reduce the power of Andrew Haigh's arresting and nuanced debut feature. Structurally, the similarities are apparent, but Haigh's examination of two men (Tom Cullen and Chris New) attempting to form some kind of connection in the days immediately following an alcohol fueled hookup has a unique, bare bones texture to it. The result is an incredibly honest, stripped-down examination of two very representations of male homosexuality.<br />
Tom Cullen's Russell is introspective, shy, with eyes that always seem to be searching and contemplating. Chris New's Glen is artistic, forthright, a shade militant and often vulgar. Glen sees Russell's tentative nature as stemming from shame or internalized homophobia on some level. Russell sees Glen's brashness as a facade masking insecurity. It's a dynamic very familiar within contemporary gay interaction, but never put to film in this manner.<br />
None of this is to say that the film is about this dichotomy, in the strictest sense of the word "about." In fact, the way the film seems to move along, adapting and changing like a living breathing thing, truly discovering these characters and what the narrative is, in fact, "about" is what's so wonderful about what Haigh is able to accomplish. It's acted with heartbreaking realism, but it's not self-consciously improvised to the point that it stilts the scenes and disrupts the narrative flow. The plot is not tethered to a strict structure, but the film also manages not to feel shaggy or bloated. There was very little narrative fat here that could have been trimmed, everything feeling very integral to getting inside the lives of these two men at this moment in time.<br />
Haigh wisely avoids over-sentimentalizing the subject, which could have easily made for more mawkish, manipulative fare. The final scene in the train station breaks your heart, yes, but it is completely earned and one gets the impression that there were few other places these characters could reasonably have ended up. <i>Weekend</i> has the exciting freshness and enthusiasm of a great debut (though it is in fact Haigh's second film) and I am eager to see what he follows this up with.<br />
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<br />
<b>6.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDBoZbvzu8wrlc5ch5RHg6w_YYvGS0MaZH3n_5yuD6cijibc152pga19fT4JAqNQV_SCwCxJSEOTuuc4wJ4q2YYFQObYxJ7LGCbu1NW6nM9h-sEbuHZ_HiG7WJztVoT5MlrVSRA8w88Y/s1600/melancholiatitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDBoZbvzu8wrlc5ch5RHg6w_YYvGS0MaZH3n_5yuD6cijibc152pga19fT4JAqNQV_SCwCxJSEOTuuc4wJ4q2YYFQObYxJ7LGCbu1NW6nM9h-sEbuHZ_HiG7WJztVoT5MlrVSRA8w88Y/s320/melancholiatitle.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<br />
<b>(dir. Lars von Trier)</b><br />
<br />
I run very hot and cold on what I've seen of von Trier, truth be told. I really enjoyed <i>Dancer in the Dark</i> and <i>Breaking the Waves. </i><i>Dogville</i> and <i>Manderlay</i> were both slogs and sitting through them definitely yielded diminishing rewards (<i>Manderlay</i> especially). Finally <i>Antichrist</i>, which I would categorize as an interesting failure, seemed to reach a point of self-parody by last frame; not for its violence (which did not affect me viscerally) but for its excessive misery. So, while I hardly went into <i>Melancholia</i> expecting to be bored (his films are never <u>boring</u>) or met with inadequate filmmaking, it's not a movie that I ever expected to love.<br />
von Trier somehow manages to take all the elements that serve as assets to his films and really hone them this time around. Marrying (no pun intended) an uneasy wedding reception with the imminent destruction of the planet allows him to showcase his flair for heightened human drama and allows him to express his fatalistic ideologies. Make no mistake, there are several "von Trierisms" ever present in this narrative. The film manages to somehow be at once comically insular <u>and</u> geographically generic. There is a deep, seemingly endless well of characters who behave absolutely deplorably, including Kirsten Dunst's Justine (a radiant performance). Apropos to nothing, I challenge anyone to find an actress better at playing insufferable than Charlotte Gainsbourg (to her credit). <br />
All this being said, I found myself loving <i>Melancholia</i>, almost from first frame. As with all von Trier movies, it's difficult to disparage any of the formal elements. The photography, production design, editing and even the visual effects are all top form. He thankfully is using his great ability with craft (mostly) for good rather than evil this time as the story (specifically watching how each of these uniquely drawn characters) reacts to what's coming is fascinating. It also avoids a lot of cliched character beats that a lot of other filmmakers, including von Trier, have shown a penchant for falling prey to. For instance, Keifer Sutherland's John is ever the pragmatist, concerned with facts and the bottom line, but von Trier doesn't draw him as such by making him completely cold and impenetrable.<br />
When the inevitable moment actually comes, it may be easy to impulsively read it as traditional von Trier-esque misery, but it feels almost peaceful, so expected it is. The characters have been stripped bare at this point and there is an eery calm* washing over the narrative, as horrifying as it is to consider what's happening.<br />
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*Charlotte Gainsbourg aside, because she goes out with a loud fight or she doesn't go out at all.<br />
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<b>Part 2 of Top Ten of 2011 (5-1) Coming Up Next...</b><br />
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<br />The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-50143533099541626632012-04-23T13:51:00.001-04:002012-04-23T13:51:33.465-04:002011 Film Grades<h2 class="title">
2011 Film Grades</h2>
<span style="font-style: italic;"><div>
The Iron Lady (D)<br />Moneyball (B+)<br />Something Borrowed (D+)<br />Weekend (A-)<br />The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (B-)<br />Young Adult (B+)<br />Melancholia (A-)<br />The Descendants (D+)<br />Hugo (B)<br />The Artist (B+)<br />Shame (A)<br />We Need to Talk About Kevin (A)<br />The Skin I Live In (B)<br />Martha Marcy May Marlene (A)<br />Drive (A-)<br />Another Earth (C+)<br />The Help (B-)<br />30 Minutes or Less (C)<br />Rio (C)<br />Captain America: The First Avenger (B+)<br />Beginners (B+)<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Midnight in Paris (B+)<br />Super 8 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(D+)</span></div>
<div>
X-Men: First Class <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(B+)</span></div>
<div>
The Tree of Life <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(A-)</span></div>
<div>
Bridesmaids <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(B)</span></div>
<div>
Scream 4 or...Scre4m<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> if you must (C-)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</span> (B)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Hanna </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(B)</span></div>
Like Crazy</span><span> (B-)</span><span style="font-style: italic;">No Strings Attached</span> (D)The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-171286294890619472012-04-23T13:47:00.002-04:002012-04-23T13:47:53.218-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Ensemble Cast<b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The Artist</i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cast: </span>Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jean Dujardin,</span> John Goodman, Malcolm McDowell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Uggie</b><br />
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For a consistent dedication to the movies stylization. The cast somehow manages to do this without everyone's acting style feeling homogenized. Very impressive work.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Bridesmaids</i>:</b><br />
<b>Cast: Rose Byrne, Jill Clayburgh, Jon Hamm, Ellie Kemper, Matt Lucas, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Chris O'Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson</b><br />
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When the comedy clicks, it rewards and the cast is so dedicated. Each of these performers either builds on their persona in an interesting way or introduces us to a new side of them.<br />
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<br />
<b><i>Melancholia</i></b><br />
<b>Cast: Brady Corbet, Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Hurt, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgård, Cameron Spurr, Kiefer Sutherland</b><br />
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The ensemble takes on the dual task of effectively and admirably portraying a group of people with unique histories and relationships, while still reacting to the impending doom. Everyone here feels essential.<br />
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<b><i>Midnight in Paris</i></b><br />
<b>Cast: Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Adrien de Van, Kurt Fuller, Yves Heck, Tom Hiddleston, Mimi Kennedy, Rachel McAdams, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll, Owen Wilson<i> </i></b> <br />
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The conceit in <i>Midnight in Paris</i> is rife with complications, many of which the screenplay doesn't rush to explain. The successful lure can therefore be attributed to the cast and their commitment to the material. They walk a fine line between broad caricature and specific interpretations of this melange of literary and cultural figures.<br />
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<br />
<b><i>The Tree of Life</i></b><br />
<b>Cast: Jessica Chastain, Laramie Eppler, Hunter McCracken, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Fiona Shaw, <i> </i>Tye Sheridan</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KGyWuK-ZsWGTpH5YuG9yCZLYQPKJJBY1cv4S5uvMte4a3e9ldWwU51fzjs9vzfwLOJN9fsg17sxsNnykQqv-ePew5SVHEAfdw6wHahyphenhyphen8hEvv5NX9UAHtlDdcUk-eYH-HZLExDwwo_kM/s1600/treeoflifeens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KGyWuK-ZsWGTpH5YuG9yCZLYQPKJJBY1cv4S5uvMte4a3e9ldWwU51fzjs9vzfwLOJN9fsg17sxsNnykQqv-ePew5SVHEAfdw6wHahyphenhyphen8hEvv5NX9UAHtlDdcUk-eYH-HZLExDwwo_kM/s320/treeoflifeens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Brad Pitt aside, few are given the opportunity the opportunity in this piece to showcase really meaty, actorly moments. As a whole, however, the cast remarkably cohesive with a palpable family dynamic that feels lived- in and authentic.<br />
<br /><br />The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-82141570558627494052012-04-19T20:04:00.002-04:002012-04-25T19:18:55.736-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Cinematography<br />
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<b>Newton Thomas Sigel
for <i>Drive</i> </b></div>
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Reminiscent of Dante Spinotti's best work with Michael Mann in the way Sigel photographs Los Angeles like a dark, looming, chameleon-like character in the narrative.</div>
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<b> </b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YLLf_DCH6jzod62UkViXaAQTR1v75Hyu0QoASART7_4KaABK4CGyQGgxp2MMRgzYsrC3bia_NoM0edJMLYzBECNS2HuzxkTnLLnvJuwFGRmCTOOibUihyphenhyphennzOnaDD2zdIK2-jywjKF38/s1600/hannacine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YLLf_DCH6jzod62UkViXaAQTR1v75Hyu0QoASART7_4KaABK4CGyQGgxp2MMRgzYsrC3bia_NoM0edJMLYzBECNS2HuzxkTnLLnvJuwFGRmCTOOibUihyphenhyphennzOnaDD2zdIK2-jywjKF38/s320/hannacine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Alwin H. Küchler for
<i>Hanna</i></b></div>
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Fast-paced and frenetic, like the film itself. Very clearly envisioned and executed stylized photography that really clicks.<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b>Manuel Alberto Claro for <i>Melancholia</i></b></div>
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Perfectly suited for Von Trier's piece. Lush, long, drawn out shots (very much like the narrative), the photography drinks in everything that's going on at the house. The ending sequence is spectacular.<b><i> </i></b></div>
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<b>Sean Bobbitt for<i> Shame</i></b></div>
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Serves Brandon's arc so well, as the cinematography helps us feel his emotional claustrophobia. Even exterior shots feel like the world is closing in on him. </div>
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<b>Emmanuel Lubezki for<i> The Tree of Life</i></b></div>
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A consensus pick for a reason, Lubezki tops himself here. His work with Malick on <i>The New World</i> was breathtaking, in a completely different way. The shots of the O'Brien home and the twenty-first century business world are just as considered and beautiful as the shots of nature.<br />
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<br /></div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-58170625164956105982012-04-19T19:39:00.000-04:002012-04-19T20:11:19.936-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best ScreenplayOriginal Screenplay Nominees...<br />
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<b>Mike Mills for <i>Beginners</i></b></div>
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The quirky veneer would absolutely crumble if not for the
deeply universal, human truth lying underneath it. The scenes between Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer are some of the most wrenching and honest of the year. <i><br /></i></div>
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<b>Sean Durkin for <i>Martha Marcy May Marlene</i></b></div>
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Operates as both a fascinating character study of an
emotionally scarred young woman and as the creepiest thriller of the year. The screenplay's two-ply structure (life in
the cult vs. life at the lake house) is handled superbly.</div>
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<b>Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan for <i>Shame</i></b></div>
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Structurally, it's not as tight as some of the other
nominees, but damn if McQueen doesn't make up for that with deeply interesting,
truthfully written scenes of human interaction.
Broken record, I know, but </div>
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Brandon and Marianne's date scene contains some of the
year's best writing.<i> </i></div>
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<b>Andrew Haigh for <i>Weekend</i></b></div>
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The dialogue is rich with insight into the dynamic between
Russell and Glen that seems so real, yet has never been portrayed on screen
this way. An unfussy yet truthful
distillation of two very different ideas of male homosexuality. </div>
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<b>Diablo Cody for <i>Young Adult</i></b></div>
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Cody has had less of an uphill battle with me than she does
with the rest of the world. I maintain <i>Juno</i>
as an example of great writing (if a little slow going in the beginning) and
her work on <i>United States of Tara</i> was top drawer. Here, she creates a tapestry of unlikeable
characters and does so with her signature humor, ear for great dialogue with
just the right amount of humanity and honesty.
That she manages to do so almost every time out without creating work
that seems like carbon copies of one another makes me value her all the more.</div>
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Adapted Screenplay Nominees... </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hossein Amini</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
fo <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Drive</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(Based on James Sallis’s
novel of the same name by)</b></div>
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So deliciously visual and specific, yet still clearly
conceived of on the page. Refn’s
direction elevates much of the script, certainly, but Amini’s balance of
character deepening and economic storytelling go a long way.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pedro Almod</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">óvar
for<i> The Skin I Live In</i> (Based on the novel “Tarantula” by Thierry Jonquet)</b></div>
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Not so much for the
handling of the mystery, which is dolled out in somewhat odd pieces throughout
the narrative, but for how well the scene construction and characterization
transcends the stylish veneer to hit very rewarding emotional beats.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Aaron Sorkin</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
and Steve Zaillian for <i>Moneyball</i>
(Based on the book “Moneyball: The Art
of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis)</b></div>
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Two of the industry’s highest regarded screenwriters somehow manage to
coalesce very different styles on a project plagued with development problems
in service of adapting a tricky, non-fiction story that doesn’t inherently lend
itself to the cinematic moments birthed in <i>Moneyball</i>.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rory Stewart</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
Kinnear and Lynne Ramsay for <i>We
Need to Talk About Kevin</i> (Based Lionel Shriver’s
novel of the same name)</b></div>
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The script makes
for a unique, auterist approach to the text managing to be at once a clearly
distinguishable Lynne Ramsay film
(why doesn’t she work more often?) and a recognizable representation of the
novel. Adaptations need not always be
cut-and-paste renderings of their source (paging Taylor, Faxon and Rash…).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Apichatpong
Weerasethakul for <i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall
His Past Lives</i> (Loosely Inspired
by “A Man Who Can Recall His Past
Lives” by Phra Sripariyattiweti)</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Of these nominees, it is one that I saw least
recently, but it still burns bright in my memory. So uniquely constructed, yet imbued with so
much depth and sympathy for its characters.
A seemingly abrupt change in both setting and rhythm towards the late
middle strangely insulates the two halves of the narrative against one another
in a way that’s fascinating, if it doesn’t entirely work. A revisit is certainly warranted.</span></div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-73441973669928448832012-03-04T01:35:00.003-05:002012-04-25T15:39:39.553-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best DirectorAnd the nominees are...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvn5eWSP4sgfo4VnlIAzkgZDZiCw0Q8mVbGLhTCvJhKNJQaIwu4OguH3n518ZRe9j1upFs4jbAXp5CPMSlEv-ryimJGYBQDc9iM3n8-qJF7VGztkQkSZRR5YRmMftKMzXdUE2PxazXBBA/s1600/refn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvn5eWSP4sgfo4VnlIAzkgZDZiCw0Q8mVbGLhTCvJhKNJQaIwu4OguH3n518ZRe9j1upFs4jbAXp5CPMSlEv-ryimJGYBQDc9iM3n8-qJF7VGztkQkSZRR5YRmMftKMzXdUE2PxazXBBA/s200/refn.jpg" width="158" /></a><br />
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<b>Nicolas Winding
Refn – <i>Drive </i></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhLhgouMTjl4SNG9eG8uqEORVCCnYuqTrID_scliR2vlpvxDJuTpFQOyYzHv7Yssv2pnWXBzlIgOIe4nLz6YpJD5CGbjqUqigrktUqcHshlHwoUCWwNxJPQVyg8Pp5hViVaFUdydFSAk/s1600/movies_melancholia_lars_von_trier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhLhgouMTjl4SNG9eG8uqEORVCCnYuqTrID_scliR2vlpvxDJuTpFQOyYzHv7Yssv2pnWXBzlIgOIe4nLz6YpJD5CGbjqUqigrktUqcHshlHwoUCWwNxJPQVyg8Pp5hViVaFUdydFSAk/s200/movies_melancholia_lars_von_trier.jpg" width="200" /></a>Refn's stylistic
exercise rests completely on his direction—his control over tone,
his ability to guide his actors through what is not exactly the most
verbose of pieces. He rises to the occasion admirably. Other
directors tackling action, whether it's a first-time foray or a
return to the genre should take note.<br />
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<b>Lars von Trier<i> –
Melancholia</i></b><br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHSg3eBhLpT8DrhdUufzhTVTXhtCB9RDXuBqj9avSDyrYqvqzvfMhNwEspxu_ESVaNRP-ZvJ4BgXlACmU1NBo-7pnsBfaoxtfUs9nBpB8hjDsVdasrpO5Wody6SUCMvIju1mRNgE5u1c/s1600/durkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Puts his misanthropy and angry fatalism to good use, making an effective, lush and beautiful mood piece that operates as an actorly showcase and displays his unmatched talent with powerful, visual storytelling. Few of his films fail to say "Only Lars could make this." A true auteur working at peak form.</div>
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<b>Steve McQueen –
<i>Shame </i></b>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecfNNznA7QHBRIQFBVeQXoLiTqckQ8Dl5gWxrS9sIzO0U2ys2cD5ViFBQV6oq_7KyV4FrDipu-y6s27llGJymvpJWSfKbizEXeugoCZy0c2hn06gKmzxsSJ5nUN9EOYg5ti2NgGAwvRs/s1600/Mcqueen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecfNNznA7QHBRIQFBVeQXoLiTqckQ8Dl5gWxrS9sIzO0U2ys2cD5ViFBQV6oq_7KyV4FrDipu-y6s27llGJymvpJWSfKbizEXeugoCZy0c2hn06gKmzxsSJ5nUN9EOYg5ti2NgGAwvRs/s200/Mcqueen.jpg" width="200" /></a>McQueen's sophomore
effort flirts dangerously between being an actor's exercise and a
truly narrative experience, but his touch is so deft here, drawing
the most out of his actors, his location and his subject matter to
craft an incredibly arresting and haunting piece of cinema.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<b>Terrence Malick –
<i>The Tree of Life</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7-OsNRRAN2npwZLmKHUT9jAk59q7S4wEyQXkxZfBpdVP_vnOilI1UPU7xfGBwfwqGIxmDBmpcFK7h_a58h2pWlnASfO5eGPyjykYQPf61uCMcbA6QrGAh8V9s8VJJxY754QIcjN5fp8/s1600/Malick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7-OsNRRAN2npwZLmKHUT9jAk59q7S4wEyQXkxZfBpdVP_vnOilI1UPU7xfGBwfwqGIxmDBmpcFK7h_a58h2pWlnASfO5eGPyjykYQPf61uCMcbA6QrGAh8V9s8VJJxY754QIcjN5fp8/s200/Malick.jpg" width="171" /></a>A tone poem, like
Malick's previous four films. Yes it's problematic (the most
problematic of all of Malick's films to date), but crafted so
lovingly and so specifically that one cannot deny its power. He
tackles the birth and death of the universe, as well as the fecund
period in between with his signature eye for location and ear for
tone. Ethereal, wistful and beautiful through and through.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Lynne Ramsay – <i>We
Need to Talk About Kevin</i></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9k4de-MGftIcX2iuBjOkC62GU1KwGQ57lxzn_Wc6LAtYOBTpUI4xoH7eBbaAHiitGdwulqwXjml36UDYe1gmQjfqgzvXjpc7VqXZi6tDLhiuDkAu0B-dZZx5WdbUmfZNZYAzJOXWEXA8/s1600/ramsay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9k4de-MGftIcX2iuBjOkC62GU1KwGQ57lxzn_Wc6LAtYOBTpUI4xoH7eBbaAHiitGdwulqwXjml36UDYe1gmQjfqgzvXjpc7VqXZi6tDLhiuDkAu0B-dZZx5WdbUmfZNZYAzJOXWEXA8/s200/ramsay.jpg" width="139" /></a>It's hard to watch <i>We Need to Talk
About Kevin</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and not imagine </span><i>The
Lovely Bones</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> that could have
been (Ramsay was originally slated to direct the film before the
project was wrested away from her). Here, she does what few
filmmakers can accomplish—taking a novel, adapting it recognizably
yet still giving it her artistic, personal stamp. Let's just hope we
don't have to wait nine years for the next Ramsay film. (her previous
film was 2002's excellent </span><i>Morvern Callar</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
</span>
</div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-18224627847734691162012-02-26T04:10:00.001-05:002012-02-26T04:10:25.042-05:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Actor in a Leading RoleAnd the nominees are...<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyLUkavK8eQ_CVvF2dZf3juYfExxIXIqnyOJNTMeCKXt3HxJ9Ls3WCEn4BCoIihda9KYvyKdj-gUwDLnXPQRjdiXOUBuy2FDVznB3FNHDPDG89eYLOv6eF-8juVNPqKdalv63SNusReU/s1600/Dujardin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyLUkavK8eQ_CVvF2dZf3juYfExxIXIqnyOJNTMeCKXt3HxJ9Ls3WCEn4BCoIihda9KYvyKdj-gUwDLnXPQRjdiXOUBuy2FDVznB3FNHDPDG89eYLOv6eF-8juVNPqKdalv63SNusReU/s200/Dujardin.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-style: normal;">J</span>ean
Dujardin in <i>The Artist</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For taking broad
strokes and giving them shading, texture and depth. More than
charming mincing. The film's success (and it is successful in its
goals) rests completely on Dujardin's shoulders. The reductive claim
that his is the easiest of this year's lauded performances is
ludicrous. What Jean Dujardin can convey with his face, without the
benefit of dialogue is wondrous.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Michael Fassbender in <i>Shame</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDR9OvQLafiikUGKmZpOukdyXVcJaGsb2nkJ9VCwjpC_XtIP3pePxTiXrPWyZvXiHGctE5b_hT_aDT13-xZ3pfcmcy__I5pTVFsFUCqjkp73qtWaTwOyfUUIa99k1TSUme2ug1GtDRUU/s1600/Fassbender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDR9OvQLafiikUGKmZpOukdyXVcJaGsb2nkJ9VCwjpC_XtIP3pePxTiXrPWyZvXiHGctE5b_hT_aDT13-xZ3pfcmcy__I5pTVFsFUCqjkp73qtWaTwOyfUUIa99k1TSUme2ug1GtDRUU/s200/Fassbender.jpg" width="200" /></a>Brandon is often
written as blankly as the art direction that surrounds him.
Fassbender digs into this character's tortured, ambiguously
unpleasant backstory with fierce intensity. The moments of rage
(particularly toward Sissy, but especially toward himself) are
brilliant. Even more brilliant are the quieter moments (the date
with Marianne) where its clear that this man may be incapable of
being at peace. A stirring and accomplished performance through and
through.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Ryan Gosling in <i>Drive</i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUI2zbHLRmE_d9a1H7RtdP1KY8mgfXU1EKFkIwbGx8MxE0WtfbvspcSimWskNvp-AB6WnoFa-qr40f29I8VnCMIN7tdpH2m34NoKA5rNLaGrZofPwY05E62IuxlR8K3Oo3m9R3H6_Mgg/s1600/Gosling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUI2zbHLRmE_d9a1H7RtdP1KY8mgfXU1EKFkIwbGx8MxE0WtfbvspcSimWskNvp-AB6WnoFa-qr40f29I8VnCMIN7tdpH2m34NoKA5rNLaGrZofPwY05E62IuxlR8K3Oo3m9R3H6_Mgg/s200/Gosling.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the unnamed
driver, Gosling ramps up his charisma and the ferocity, while
remaining relatively quiet and playing the character's cards close to
the vest. The performances that look the easiest are often the
trickier ones to nail as well as Gosling does it here. Not many
actors could have sold the driver's tactical silence without seeming
blank (paging Taylor Lautner). Gosling doesn't lean too heavily on
the stylization of the film, but simply uses it to enhance the
driver's intrigue. A great turn by a performer who is quickly
becoming the gold standard in acting for his generation.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Ewan McGregor in <i>Beginners</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvZA2if-q8LZtJSOayCBBM2LDY6LaCTfmsp9OaA-McOlE7JdUoOLGqn_AnkLQ53fmedttyDIY0bTJJiIVC7hWHQhGplf6pHKaO7VH0Yx-HpeJNeDPju5J4ykqOKd3_ifFKSkXoBDRGQg/s1600/McGregor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvZA2if-q8LZtJSOayCBBM2LDY6LaCTfmsp9OaA-McOlE7JdUoOLGqn_AnkLQ53fmedttyDIY0bTJJiIVC7hWHQhGplf6pHKaO7VH0Yx-HpeJNeDPju5J4ykqOKd3_ifFKSkXoBDRGQg/s200/McGregor.jpg" width="200" /></a>McGregor, who has
had a career full of great turns, has not (for my money) been as good
in years as he is here. So much of what is set up for his character
here could have led to facile and trite indie-by-numbers character
beats. McGregor instead imbues Oliver with specificity and a certain
warmth that's slightly world-weary. He sells the character quirks
while simultaneously remembering to infuse them with the character
backstory. Very subtle and interesting work.</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Brad Pitt –
<i>Moneyball </i></b>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5fSGVcOQsQAypGhmG5BB6tN0kp3oatn4NteePPIescBSjPKvMEuzWqhNd-TvCK6HYQnrqItQ5pQhJ8a-RdL1ujTW3Zsjvxo1qpoSMtDPFogRMf1VjS9nGQ4w2FzLqkIxjvJERStrJqo/s1600/Pitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5fSGVcOQsQAypGhmG5BB6tN0kp3oatn4NteePPIescBSjPKvMEuzWqhNd-TvCK6HYQnrqItQ5pQhJ8a-RdL1ujTW3Zsjvxo1qpoSMtDPFogRMf1VjS9nGQ4w2FzLqkIxjvJERStrJqo/s200/Pitt.jpg" width="200" /></a>The star turn is an
undervalued commodity in Hollywood, often taken for granted when
they're as skillfully delivered as Brad Pitt's performance in
<i>Moneyball</i>. He does some of his best work here (and it's not
even his best performance this year!). Would that he could find more
roles that suit his charisma and charm and allow him to fashion such
an interesting character creation as he does here. Billy Beane has
no huge arc to speak of. The team loses, his opinion of the sport
does not markedly change (he approaches it as a tactician even before
he meets up with Jonah Hill). And (not to go there, because this is
about celebrating great acting), but as far as crying scenes go, he
blows George Clooney out of the park. And with less tears.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-54443170217946353952012-02-26T03:52:00.001-05:002012-02-26T03:53:35.220-05:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Actress in a Leading RoleAnd the nominees are...<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Viola Davis in <i>The Help</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE5CDNJVyJInY1sL1TgH3DkzF0GtXEvLxPa9awikpdRMz-Fr962Vf-AMl-ud-wg5xaaOsO5KToyIrylvXxIVl_6yPM2Gk0AWZM2BKkoyiQwWr5AS2t0s_iHeKgvCknbzLg047LeHkzAE/s1600/Davis01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE5CDNJVyJInY1sL1TgH3DkzF0GtXEvLxPa9awikpdRMz-Fr962Vf-AMl-ud-wg5xaaOsO5KToyIrylvXxIVl_6yPM2Gk0AWZM2BKkoyiQwWr5AS2t0s_iHeKgvCknbzLg047LeHkzAE/s200/Davis01.jpg" width="200" /></a>Neither clumsy
pacing nor on-the-nose dialogue will stop Viola Davis. Where the
urge may have been present in other actors to play Aibileen as a
simple woman with simple, modest goals, Davis turns the part on its
head with her watchfulness, soul and complexity. Through silence and
an unending register of conflicting emotions, Davis spins gold out of
a role that, while not totally thankless as some have reductively
called it, certainly would give no script reader to expect all that
Davis gives here. Bonus points for “I told him I drank too much
coffee.”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Kirsten Dunst in <i>Melancholia</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRStMPHc4AYc-H4TQviYmsEwKCK_Za0MBOfv1AgEJNUICYBid7Qqjr68IbnYj0rJpl-dK4WxbHMVAXj0CXXbiPs6dD3Y1OlboIz9JgDy6JQE0olrIXPsjfDsPCSal5ilFiF-oCLSGIelI/s1600/Dunst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRStMPHc4AYc-H4TQviYmsEwKCK_Za0MBOfv1AgEJNUICYBid7Qqjr68IbnYj0rJpl-dK4WxbHMVAXj0CXXbiPs6dD3Y1OlboIz9JgDy6JQE0olrIXPsjfDsPCSal5ilFiF-oCLSGIelI/s200/Dunst.jpg" width="200" /></a>An actress who has
always been gifted, even if she has been adrift in roles that either
don't suit her or don't utilize her talents, Dunst works marvels here
as Justine. What's even more marvelous? I'm not even sure she's
given much to work with on paper. Still, I love the choices she
makes. Though she morphs tragically from apprehension to near
complete catatonia/nihilism (only VonTrier...), she remains the most
recognizably human character in this piece. Even in the film's
earliest moments (the maneuvering of the limousine, for instance) she
makes it interesting and modulated as we watch her play a woman
playing at being happy. I hope this marks an exciting new phase in
the career of an actress I've always been intrigued and impressed by,
but no more so than here.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b> Elizabeth Olsen in <i>Martha Marcy May
Marlene</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZOYrGaw20BbXO95ri_6gvhEtfmele5NFkEzSeSOUdCHv23Di-Q-3taAINYdsLHGq1jVJb8vdTsaElx0rF9SY7VsrG-F_pKD9OGvcPjtDkM_IVBW8mY5WPeM0UpZ0fW8a5jexLqbuKyE/s1600/Olsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZOYrGaw20BbXO95ri_6gvhEtfmele5NFkEzSeSOUdCHv23Di-Q-3taAINYdsLHGq1jVJb8vdTsaElx0rF9SY7VsrG-F_pKD9OGvcPjtDkM_IVBW8mY5WPeM0UpZ0fW8a5jexLqbuKyE/s200/Olsen.jpg" width="200" /></a>Watchful, reactive,
without a hugely recognizable external arc. None of these elements inherently make for good
drama, but man Olsen knocks it out of the park here. In one of the
year's most terrifying films, she takes much of the credit for the
eery pall of impending doom that envelopes <i>Martha Marcy May
Marlene</i>. She is quiet, but still recognizably womanly and
damaged. Bonus points for the film's opening scene where Olsen gives
us an incredible, almost unspoken etching of a woman troubled beyond
the telling of it—a promise she makes good on for the rest of the
movie.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Tilda Swinton<i> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">in
</span><i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLI6cyPXK0oXC0b9-F3TyoiT5bOS3jEYhOb1Y1HCg7uUdDj5ynVgVf1Kz_c-iRkM2yRcuYbJrhMQDpZCK3Msu6L02dZHXKFlUL2-ECYfdt-PCdQNdeEjPJ1Xf-w9hvd0RthrL7B08XlI/s1600/Swinton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLI6cyPXK0oXC0b9-F3TyoiT5bOS3jEYhOb1Y1HCg7uUdDj5ynVgVf1Kz_c-iRkM2yRcuYbJrhMQDpZCK3Msu6L02dZHXKFlUL2-ECYfdt-PCdQNdeEjPJ1Xf-w9hvd0RthrL7B08XlI/s200/Swinton.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Swinton
lands her third consecutive Pretentious Film Award nomination (I'm
sure she's proud) for yet another one of her searing, indelible
cinematic marks. Largely a silent, watchful performance, Swinton
plays a woman whose situation we can't help but empathize with (and
we do). But, she doesn't garner empathy for Eva by making her
perfect or even likeable most of the time. The difference between
Eva before the incident and after is not that of a woman who is whole
versus one who is broken, respectively. It is that of a woman who
knows the truth, even if it is self-fulfilling prophecy (how much of
Kevin's proclivities are her fault?) and one who has the truth
horribly confirmed from her. It is fascinating to watch a character
empty out before your eyes. It is even more fascinating the way
Swinton makes interesting watching a woman who has already emptied
out.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Charlize Theron in
<i>Young Adult</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vFiHVR-PwZRhfa30GK6k0qQ9cq8n8KGwc8-c-MG_5qMOoJ19V3UtIEOFcNrDh8ZT4ntI_XR4zIg-7bspzl3UdvQ1dFbO85TRF6eNrSDl0XNlew_SkW_Gcbmn3T6-tZI6I16jvXDz8-8/s1600/Theron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vFiHVR-PwZRhfa30GK6k0qQ9cq8n8KGwc8-c-MG_5qMOoJ19V3UtIEOFcNrDh8ZT4ntI_XR4zIg-7bspzl3UdvQ1dFbO85TRF6eNrSDl0XNlew_SkW_Gcbmn3T6-tZI6I16jvXDz8-8/s200/Theron.jpg" width="200" /></a>In a category of
roles that contains a downtrodden maid, the mother of a serial
killer, the traumatized survivor of a cult and a recently jilted
bride facing the end of the world, Charlize Theron's Mavis Gary is,
believe it or not, the most damaged. I love the way Theron (and
Reitman) don't easily show us the roots of Mavis's jaded and
poisonous core. Theron taps into the comedienne we've seen only
shades of before (her interviews, “Arrested Development”) and
births a compelling, specific and funny creation. The control she
has over her voice, the most important part of this performance, is
something to behold. Bonus points for “I love your sweat-errr...”</div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-28150940539504454362012-02-26T03:37:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:31:00.707-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Supporting Actor And the nominees are... <br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Ezra Miller in <i>We Need to Talk About
Kevin</i></b></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkivRhcRDWjjwcNPMWBSXRMhaUodwD43b9DWpcYo5Qstu0UevupvPK7-6IOSGaTqtkenABlse2SDEzu7eO9_FsZluCtJCpnfj6fDni4kG36Sv4SvmTwiWikLMoQBqk7rkogTYFKpCkTdg/s1600/miller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkivRhcRDWjjwcNPMWBSXRMhaUodwD43b9DWpcYo5Qstu0UevupvPK7-6IOSGaTqtkenABlse2SDEzu7eO9_FsZluCtJCpnfj6fDni4kG36Sv4SvmTwiWikLMoQBqk7rkogTYFKpCkTdg/s200/miller.jpg" width="200" /></a>Arguably a
cartoonish portrayal of a villain, but never atonal as the movie
itself operates on a certain level of hyper-reality from first frame.
Extremely well cast in his almost otherworldly androgynous beauty,
he is a formidable scene partner for Tilda Swinton. Bonus points for
his final scene. He absolutely nails it by not trying to humanize
Kevin in any obvious or cloying ways.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQuWFLE9n1bzDQXiuWCl1NbdTPwtH5Gy9nK8JvO4sE9KDV1KAS-0tvlIm_svGZawTWl6NHRtueWn9E1jQX5xkZciE4DfZS0HkdgMRKPli-ssa8LVaNPLr5OtiwKEgPqn5hffcaq6AulY/s1600/plummer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQuWFLE9n1bzDQXiuWCl1NbdTPwtH5Gy9nK8JvO4sE9KDV1KAS-0tvlIm_svGZawTWl6NHRtueWn9E1jQX5xkZciE4DfZS0HkdgMRKPli-ssa8LVaNPLr5OtiwKEgPqn5hffcaq6AulY/s200/plummer.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Christopher Plummer in <i>Beginners</i></b></div>
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One of the best
portrayals of a man in the winter of his life. Much of the film's
success can be attributed to his humanity, his register and the way
he takes what could have easily been a larger, more outwardly showy
role (even in this film) and anchors it in a deep well of years of
emotion. Bonus points for the way he asks about house music.</div>
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<b>Patton Oswalt –
<i>Young Adult</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23FdOY5lO9ZnIqdLNH70iiosfltmHWp_ut8Z_q8x95HrBVCJmzI8iBP64bMu8HMLPAJkXoOHJEE8LsxvrpCmvQwTY3p3jCNvUnfV0aPxxhe_IWM8F7pslBpdhm62OyJN7krqjR81RpEM/s1600/oswalt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23FdOY5lO9ZnIqdLNH70iiosfltmHWp_ut8Z_q8x95HrBVCJmzI8iBP64bMu8HMLPAJkXoOHJEE8LsxvrpCmvQwTY3p3jCNvUnfV0aPxxhe_IWM8F7pslBpdhm62OyJN7krqjR81RpEM/s200/oswalt.jpg" width="200" /></a>Plays a needy,
desperate man without any of the usual, predictable beats. In a
character study full of ugly people and even uglier behavior, Oswalt
understands the temptation to play the film's ethical compass. He
instead opts for the more difficult, but much more interesting route of
showing Matt's moralizing as the result of a man with clear
vulnerabilities and limitations. Bonus points for the scene in the
woods. He gets the best out of Theron and himself in these scenes.</div>
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<br />
<b>Brad Pitt – <i>The
Tree of Life</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbxY1uZ0Dbl1xRKYJJFRrs22ZWsuDO8HEYr3p6z6mL3BQQOiSMCubgmkSMe1dhyphenhyphenLoxM45rUO7WaFOow3C61oJG2SmpH8PZS5CTApGsle7Z2lEXNjshE08amjt_DT5UFhOdJyhe0Gbt7U/s1600/pitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbxY1uZ0Dbl1xRKYJJFRrs22ZWsuDO8HEYr3p6z6mL3BQQOiSMCubgmkSMe1dhyphenhyphenLoxM45rUO7WaFOow3C61oJG2SmpH8PZS5CTApGsle7Z2lEXNjshE08amjt_DT5UFhOdJyhe0Gbt7U/s200/pitt.jpg" width="200" /></a>Malick's film,
accomplished as it is, contains not so much characters, but markers
and guideposts for larger concepts. Pitt manages to eke out an
accomplished, career-best performance as the stern yet emotional Mr.
O'Brien. His age and wear, something most roles try to suppress, are
his greatest asset here as he empl<span id="goog_154001979"></span><span id="goog_154001980"></span>oys them to a past his prime,
unwilling to face it, flawed yet loving patriarch. Bonus points for
the lighter scene. The way he asks for a kiss from his son is both
character-deepening and fascinating.</div>
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<b>Corey Stoll in <i>Midnight in Paris</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_YddbIlzBtl5DH660XMFxc9WNvZJdHIBS978vTfJAfhDu_ncgwaoM6lZ_ngVOXEHMteNKgHsudyRUiVg9sbSuWktaXEEFmtDMh4gGfscPbbRdqpmEvzXqzuhsOzH7K00WiHYHIUymmg/s1600/stoll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_YddbIlzBtl5DH660XMFxc9WNvZJdHIBS978vTfJAfhDu_ncgwaoM6lZ_ngVOXEHMteNKgHsudyRUiVg9sbSuWktaXEEFmtDMh4gGfscPbbRdqpmEvzXqzuhsOzH7K00WiHYHIUymmg/s200/stoll.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-style: normal;">Plays
not just Gil's (Owen Wilson) idea of Ernest Hemingway, but what many
perceived him to be. Stoll's Hemingway is thinly written, but
masterfully elevated. Every line-reading, mouthfuls they may indeed
be, seem to roll out of him effortlessly with gruff humor and fierce
intensity, unmatched by any of the imaginary figures in this piece.
Bonus points for the eyes. So expressive, never relenting, never
ceasing to pass judgment, even in silence.</span></div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-79754892437824140592012-02-26T02:56:00.000-05:002012-04-25T18:55:47.162-04:002011 Pretentious Film Awards - Best Supporting Actress<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7HpPF56ENE4OceUyO2ktZ1LUXceEkDg9rG1f33zQhG2TVMghpJyX0d1d8wF3IV7jsBTEfHAvUhIeu-kwQvkYx-nBvF5clLG-yjhATHEmzhiq5CjD82U3tZnKPXwQ7HMg6i9X4KEoFZQ/s1600/beharie01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7HpPF56ENE4OceUyO2ktZ1LUXceEkDg9rG1f33zQhG2TVMghpJyX0d1d8wF3IV7jsBTEfHAvUhIeu-kwQvkYx-nBvF5clLG-yjhATHEmzhiq5CjD82U3tZnKPXwQ7HMg6i9X4KEoFZQ/s200/beharie01.jpg" width="200" /></a>And the nominees are...<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-style: normal;">She's
reticent, but the only character in this ode to wounded and damaged
souls who knows who she is. Beharie adeptly shows us the precise
moment Marianne bristles and decides she's out, but plays it with
authenticity and unfussy reserve. Bonus points for the date scene,
easily the best in the film.</span></div>
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<b>Rose Byrne in <i>Bridesmaids</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZTWbrWg1FBAWW_PdpGPX55MoGAa20PRlsV5mB7nCRsStj86hMDcQ7y7gkQVcQR-HtD1bnsHnoQOZrxgrc_tmaR9WzWVib584yy1lmYLX5d5nOQNj2XZW9iX8iQBI6IJiQNlW7gKfHOE/s1600/byrne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZTWbrWg1FBAWW_PdpGPX55MoGAa20PRlsV5mB7nCRsStj86hMDcQ7y7gkQVcQR-HtD1bnsHnoQOZrxgrc_tmaR9WzWVib584yy1lmYLX5d5nOQNj2XZW9iX8iQBI6IJiQNlW7gKfHOE/s200/byrne.jpg" width="200" /></a>In a sea of broad,
often serviceably dismounted comedy, Byrne has the most difficult
task, which incidentally looks like the least difficult task; playing
humor subtly, on character as the least showy part of a gifted
ensemble. An inspired, hilarious take on fermented, well-intentioned
bitchery. Bonus points for the bridal shop scene. Some of her best
bits and her character doesn't even have the benefit of the food-poisoning
comedy to play with.</div>
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<b>Jessica Chastain in <i>The Help</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc0mJUHNpSjm66jkorFtNILR8BMCEcXD-672IlKU139Dx2raHxjeQdUnxs_IqOS5RodcsZi16vA9SZRhlIRQ5kNbXqDLsIDBbWpICqJwXLKbB4Z47216uh1qWW5v0mMhJZxbl3nGM0fg/s1600/chastain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc0mJUHNpSjm66jkorFtNILR8BMCEcXD-672IlKU139Dx2raHxjeQdUnxs_IqOS5RodcsZi16vA9SZRhlIRQ5kNbXqDLsIDBbWpICqJwXLKbB4Z47216uh1qWW5v0mMhJZxbl3nGM0fg/s200/chastain.jpg" width="200" /></a>For doing the most
with the role that, of her slew of performances this year, arguably
asks the least of her.
On paper, Celia Foote could easily read as nothing more than “wall
to wall white carpet with gold trim” and a Big Dramatic Moment™ . Chastain elevates this character beyond the
vocal tics, mannered acting and scenery chewing that a lesser actor
may have employed. She has it all down—the walk, the timbre in the
voice, the facial expression. Bonus points for the conflicted “Thank
you for telling me?” and “I <u>really</u> need a maid,” two
of the best line-readings in the entire film.</div>
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<b>Carey Mulligan in <i>Shame</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaco-ltJePw60bgQ9b3ASXGM8etWrftzJzDOlkP6M2juhkHUmQfJu6VfNQAxBIJkg1ApaPW2VEIUgHOs9Hz2GwLS33aCviW5h6M91-5JztL20EpAzh4Fno3RBfi4CGXe_nOkOpB8DNjW0/s1600/mulligan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaco-ltJePw60bgQ9b3ASXGM8etWrftzJzDOlkP6M2juhkHUmQfJu6VfNQAxBIJkg1ApaPW2VEIUgHOs9Hz2GwLS33aCviW5h6M91-5JztL20EpAzh4Fno3RBfi4CGXe_nOkOpB8DNjW0/s200/mulligan.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Not to sound
reductive, but Mulligan could not have chose a role like this soon
enough. Though a previous Pretentious Film Awards nominee (one I
stand by), I have to admit to being impressed by the formal, superbly
polished performative elements of much of her previous work while
still desiring more. As Sissy in <i>Shame</i>, Mulligan delivers one
of the best “Where did <u>that</u><span style="text-decoration: none;">
come from?” performances in recent memory, digging down deep and
conveying the longing, selfishness and pain of an emotionally
fragmented young woman with heartbreaking realism. Bonus Points for:
“New York, New York.” A fascinating scene of a character
unobtrusively, yet clearly collapse.</span></div>
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<b>Sarah Paulson in <i>Martha Marcy May
Marlene</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQ2-fJ5fP-IHNtyP2_BeKui7tdrtB-nmsPYOdprhPOHgqX9MouJgZtq3kOarE6-P5587gofPgv0qDgsTBjj1wL6DNoOBFyuSdb-jCx47fpuPPletEYhsJZblzrkicmPITl80fTI86DsY/s1600/paulson01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQ2-fJ5fP-IHNtyP2_BeKui7tdrtB-nmsPYOdprhPOHgqX9MouJgZtq3kOarE6-P5587gofPgv0qDgsTBjj1wL6DNoOBFyuSdb-jCx47fpuPPletEYhsJZblzrkicmPITl80fTI86DsY/s200/paulson01.jpg" width="200" /></a>A believable
sibling dynamic is one of the most difficult things to convey. Sarah
Paulson's Lucy conveys a certain exasperation and marmish exterior
that is part who she is and part who she becomes when she's around
Martha (Elizabeth Olsen). I love how her voice and her attitude
shifts perceptibly when she's talking to Martha versus when she's
talking to Ted (Hugh Dancy). In a film justifiably lauded (though
not enough) for its tremendous lead performance, Paulson is an
example of a truly supporting performance in every sense of the word.
Bonus points for “Can you get your feet off the counter?”
Nothing about the delivery begs for attention, but it's such a great
bit of character detail.</div>
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<br /></div>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-65621536617681759972012-01-30T21:23:00.001-05:002012-01-31T04:36:06.465-05:00Five Talking Points About "The Descendants"I had honestly hoped it wouldn't come to this. For this lowly Oscar-obsessive, even I recognized that wishing for a total shut out of <i>The Descendants</i> was a bridge too far. But, I did hope for something akin to <i>Frost/Nixon</i> or <i>Finding Neverland</i>. That is, an inevitable Best Picture nominee whose appeal remains alien to me, but becomes easy to ignore past the nomination announcement due to its unlikelihood of actually <u>winning</u> any major awards. (Truthfully, that Best Original Score trophy for <i>Finding Neverland</i> does still loom as a minor "what the fuck" moment in Oscar history, but I suppose that's a conversation for 2004).<br />
<br />
Alas, not only is Alexander Payne's latest effort a nominee for Best Picture, but it has a decent enough chance of picking up a couple of trophies as well. Fine. Even then, I'm happy enough to leave it alone. <i>The Descendants</i> lovers, <a href="http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/01/tired_blood.php">up until today</a> have more or less behaved themselves. But things, as is their wont to do this time of year, are getting ugly. I'm not going to pretend that the nine films selected as Best Picture nominees by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences represent the pinnacle of cinematic excellence in 2011. Hardly anyone is making that claim. What I can no longer abide nor stomach is the vitriol being thrown at <i>The Artist</i>, a film I'm not even particularly passionate about but, given the slate, is clearly in the upper tier of that list. I'm especially baffled when this <i>Artist</i> hatred comes from people who say they love Payne's milquetoast paradise milieu. Rather than writing a review of <i>The Descendants</i>, I thought I would position it against films that were in the Oscar hunt this year that are being torn down, ripped-apart and otherwise lambasted. These are all criticisms that, regardless of my opinions on the other films, these same charges should easily be levied (but are not) against <i>The Descendants</i>. Not wanting to incur any rath (because my blog has such enormous readership) I'll merely paraphrase and refrain from directly quoting anyone (aforementioned link aside).<br />
<i></i><br />
<br />
1. <i>The Artist </i>is a shallow trifle that does not stand on its own as a resonant piece of cinema. In short, it's not about anything.<br />
<br />
I've heard some variation of this more than I can even count this awards season. To be fair, it's not an accusation that <i>The Artist</i> can refute with any modicum of truth. But, hasn't <i>The Artist</i> always, more or less, presented itself as a film that is all about appropriation for the sake of novelty? I have less problems with a film that wears its intentions on its sleeve and is rewarded or rebuked as such than I do with a film that claims, on paper, to be about something deeper than it really is.<br />
<br />
<i>The Descendants</i> masquerades as a probing character study about a man dealing with grief while coming to terms with his role as a father to his two daughters. I say masquerade because the film only half-commits to setting up this dynamic, then proceeds to treat its viewer to paint-by-numbers beats, arriving at a conclusion that feels at once predictable given the film's lack of ambition and unlikely given how little the film has worked to earn any of its payoffs. Matt's (Clooney) narration tells us that he's "the back-up parent." This bit of info is sandwiched between two scenes of he and his youngest daughter Scottie (Amara Miller) getting along more or less famously. Later, we're <u>told</u> (there's that word again) that Matt and eldest daughter Alex (Shailene Woodley) have a troubled relationship and that she is the type of out-of-control adolescent that Sally Jesse used to ship off to boot camp in the 90s. This is "evidenced" by a tame episode of teenage drinking, some uttered profanities (clutch the pearls!) and a therapeutic dunk in the pool, which is right about where Woodley's bafflingly lauded performance sinks for me (no pun intended). Alex then tells Matt that her mother was cheating on him. For the rest of the film, their relationship is easy like Sunday morning, with nothing to speak to the character details we were plainly and obtusely presented with. <i>The Descendants</i> is a textbook case of a film that avoids conflict, even when logic dictates that there's no other place to go. That, to me, is a hallmark of lazy, easy writing, which is almost never <u>not</u> shallow. I can take shallow when I'm being sold shallow. It's a little harder to swallow that pill when it's being presented as the great new story about the twenty-first century experience.<br />
<br />
2. <i>The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo </i>is a chauvinistic male fantasy cloaked in something that resembles feminism if you squint and turn your head to the right.<br />
<br />
Okay, so the bit about feminism may not apply directly to <i>The Descendants</i>, but I smell a rat where sexism is concerned. Every female character in this film feels narratively neutered and is
barely given a "character" to speak of. Say what you will about Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander (and plenty has been said), but at least she's dynamic and she also exists in a film that relies on a conceit of heightened, stylized reality. The women in <i>The Descendants</i> totally bend and conform to what the film needs them to do in any given moment and I would argue that they are just as much creations of male fantasy. The difference is that here they are being presented as realistic reflections of the human condition. Judy Greer's Julie
Speer (the wife of the man Matt's wife cheated with) is at sea as well,
being asked to play blissful and ignorant, then shrill and scorned with little modulation. I've already spoken of Shailene
Woodley's Alex, who seems to totally evaporate as if she was lobotomized
in a scene that was left on the cutting room floor. I also want to add that I have nothing against Woodley. In every interview I've seen with her, she seemed lovely, articulate, primed and genuinely excited about awards season, even though her nomination did not come to pass. Though the nominees are entitled to experience the distinction in their own way, on some selfish level, I have to admit that the season is more fun to watch with people who enjoy being there. In short, I welcome more Shailene Woodley levels of enthusiasm, with the caveat that they come with performances to match the acclaim. Sadly for her, when the pretty young things are just-misses for Oscar nominations, the opportunity rarely presents itself again. One can look at examples ranging from Scarlett Johansson to Cameron Diaz of young performers who, at one time or another, just missed nominations for baity parts only to have the world slowly but surely realize their apparent actorly limitations. Where Woodley is concerned, I'm more than happy to be proven wrong. <br />
<br />
I'm not sure what accounts for the simplistic ways in which this film fails to humanize Matt's comatose, philandering wife. Yes, she is in a coma, but the film's desire to demonize this woman without any real context into the texture or dynamic of the marriage is rather glaring. Payne will try to have you believe that this is not the case in the scene where Matt tearfully kisses his wife goodbye while uttering niceties wrapped in thinly veiled hostility. Don't believe it! He might as well be saying "Well, you are a cheating slut. But we were married for a long time. And you are the mother of my two lovely daughters with whom I have no <u>real</u> relationship problems. And for that, I guess you're worth something. Goodbye, whore." I'm oversimplifying(?), but given the film's unwillingness to even entertain the idea that Matt King is not perfect (outside of him telling us that he's not perfect), I see some serious chauvinism afoot.<br />
<br />
3. <i>Young Adult</i>...beyond the fact that the protagonist is completely unlikeable, am I supposed to believe this behavior? No one acts like this.<br />
<br />
Okay, so I'm cheating a little. <i>Young Adult</i> is not technically in the Oscar race anymore (though, by all rights, it should be). I like Clooney. I think he's a talented actor. <i>The Descendants</i> clearly likes him too. I think he plays a big part in the aforementioned inability of the film to paint Matt King as a man with any real character flaws. We are left with a movie about a gorgeous father of two whose bitch of a wife has the gall to step out on him. Take likeable Clooney out of the equation and actually look at the sequence of events. Matt King comes out looking like a grade-A asshole. This may seem hypocritical to call his character an asshole and also say that he's not flawed. Not so. Why? Because the film deifies him and does not depict his bad behavior as bad behavior. What kind of man drags his daughters island hopping in search of the man who slept with his wife? Okay, it was also in the interest of a business deal that would make this already wealthy man even wealthier. Is that any better? Especially since his wife is in a coma and already on borrowed time, but a confrontation with the philandering Matthew Lillard can surely wait until after the funeral. And why, for the love of God, would he ever consent to his troubled teenage daughter bringing her cro magnon boyfriend along for the ride? The small, easy bits of comic relief that Nick Krause provides aren't worth the questions his presence in the film raise. When all is said and done, Matt King isn''t called to task for what I see as incredibly selfish, passive-aggressive transgressions. At least in <i>Young Adult</i>, Charlize Theron's Mavis Gary pays somewhat of a price. Matt King's actions could have easily been framed as a grief-stricken man on an ill-advised warpath. It's hard to say whether such a change would fix what's wrong with this film at its core, but that would have made for some much needed ass-handing by Shailene Woodley to break up the uneventful, even-keel of the film's last act. This is an unlikeable protagonist, coddled and protected by the writer/director and therefore made to look likeable. This is a protagonist whose motivations aren't logical, but are given a pass by the film. Am I supposed to believe/abide this behavior?<br />
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4. What's with <i>The Ides of March</i> nomination for adapted screenplay? Is it doing anything new in the cinematic landscape? Does it tell us anything about America that we don't already know?<br />
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Losing your wife really sucks. Especially if she's cheating on you. Living in Hawaii is not nearly the vacation you would think it is. But make no mistake. It's still Hawaii. And Hawaii's beautiful. And George Clooney is so handsome. Thank you, <i>The Descendants</i>. <br />
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5. <i>The Help's</i> ideas about race and ethnicity are indelicately handled in ways that make it at cross-purposes with its own message on one end and offensive on the other.<br />
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As a person of color, I found the hullabaloo surrounding <i>The Help</i> to be just a tad overstated. The talking points about that film are all in line, certainly. I feel its gravest sins are that it's not graceful, neither in pacing nor in the way it handles its subject matter, like a toddler holding china with oven mitts. But what about race as it relates to <i>The Descendants</i>?<br />
<br />
Clooney's narration contains a brief, atonal sequence that goes into the King family lineage,
bending over backwards to double as an explanation to the viewer about why we're not dealing with
any non-white Hawaiian protagonists. I was flummoxed. It was the only part of the movie that made me genuinely curious to read the source material. Were the ethnic and cultural politics handled this clumsily in the novel? Before you come at me with torches and pitchforks, I don't think that <i>The Descendants</i> is a decidedly racist film. If anything, this strange subplot is likely a symptom of the film's larger problems. The narrative is a hastily gathered collection of half-formed ideas that don't seem to coalesce with one another in a meaningful or satisfying way. Among these are some very peculiar hypotheses about Hawaiian culture that suggest a certain level of unease on the part of the filmmakers about how white this movie is in contrast to pre-ordained ideas about its locale. And Matt's oddly worded "We're the true Hawaiians!" (or something) speech at the end certainly does this assertion no favors, nor do the twee music choices throughout the film. When it comes to whiteness vs. other, <i>The Help </i>is clumsy, but well-meaning. That's way more credit than I can give to <i>The Descendants</i>.<br />
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None of the films mentioned above are films that I no-holds-barred love, nor are they without their own unique flaws and shortcomings. I do at least understand <u>why</u> people love them. There's real craft and commitment to conceit in a lot of cases, even if I don't agree with the love.<br />
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I hold no ill-will against Alexander Payne. I love <i>Election</i> and <i>Sideways</i> (in that order). There are large portions of <i>About Schmidt</i> that really work for me. <i>Citizen Ruth</i>, while not without its limitations (there are definite moments in that movie where it's clear that we're watching a first-time director) is an interesting watch. That being said, <i>The Descendants</i> is unquestionably Payne's worst film to date, I'm sad to report. I sincerely ask anyone who loves <i>The Descendants</i> and thinks it deserves the pedigree it has received to point me to the article that explains why. If no such article exists, write it yourself. Refute my points one-by-one. I'm not being facetious. I'm genuinely looking for a level of discussion that I'm just not seeing from people who love <i>The Descendants</i> and are quick to point the finger at other movies as being bastions of mediocrity that brought AMPAS down a few notches in their estimations. I wrote this long piece, not to dump all over Payne or Clooney. I wrote it because it seems like the most misguided thing someone could say about <i>The Descendants</i>, even if they are cool on it, is that it's bland, but enjoyable. That is simply not the case.<br />
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<b>Grade: D+</b>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-41520215460817478582012-01-19T17:57:00.000-05:002012-01-21T01:33:03.086-05:00My First (and Final) Stab at 2011 Oscar Predictions (pt. 1)Although this year has many a pundit in a tizzy about not only which films will be nominated for the Best Picture prize, but how many. In the first year of a fluid number of Best Picture nominees, one would expect more excitement. For a while there, before <i>The Artist's</i> official frontrunner position was writ-large over the critics and many other voting bodies, it seemed like an open race. But the die, it appears, has been cast and things will go the way of <i>The Artist</i>, which is what many were saying in the first place before they had any "evidence" to support the notion. As I have stated before, I have no problems with <i>The Artist</i>, a film I enjoyed quite a bit. I guess my lack of enthusiasm stems from my lack of a real dog in the eventual Best Picture race. It wasn't a bad year for movies or even a bad year for Oscar movies, necessarily (save <i>The Descendants</i>...more on that later). It was certainly a middling year for the latter. As a cinema enthusiast, I admired <i>Hugo</i> well enough to grade it a "B" when I first saw it. As time passes and I consider Scorsese's latest offering, I do find myself somewhat baffled by its prominence in this year's awards race as it is not without its significant problems, both narratively and stylistically. At any rate, here are my predictions.<br />
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<b>Best Picture</b><br />
<b> </b>1. <i>The Artist</i> (lock)<br />
2. <i>The Descendants</i> (lock)<br />
3. <i>Hugo</i> (lock)<br />
4. <i>The Help</i> (probable)<br />
5. <i>Midnight in Paris</i> (probable)<br />
6. <i>Moneyball</i> (shaky)<br />
7. <i>Bridesmaids</i> (somewhat wildcard)<br />
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Likely to Spoil: <i>War Horse, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</i> <br />
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As my above predictions indicate, I think we're looking at seven best picture nominees. I am going out on a rather big limb and predicting <i>Bridesmaids</i> as the seventh nominee. Before you tell me how crazy I am, consider the guild support for <i>Bridesmaids</i> (PGA, WGA, SAG, ACE, ADG, CDG, plus probably a few more that I'm forgetting). It's considerably more than <i>War Horse</i> has gotten, so I suspect that it gets left off in a year where a film needs five percent number one votes to land a slot. Also, this isn't the 1980s. That's the last time Steven Spielberg was able to get into the Best Picture race without a corresponding nod for his direction. Despite claims that AMPAS loves him, they tend to be all or nothing where he's concerned. Regarding <i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</i>, which has gotten guild nods from the big four (PGA, WGA, DGA and ACE), it's obviously a bigger threat than any of us thought. How much of this is residual guilt for last year's about-face that turned the tide from <i>The King's Speech</i> to <i>The Social Network</i> is up for debate. I do suspect that the guild love for <i>Dragon Tattoo</i> will help it, if not necessarily in Best Picture. <br />
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<b>Best Director</b><br />
1. Michel Hazanavicius - <i>The Artist</i> (lock)<br />
2. Martin Scorsese - <i>Hugo</i> (lock)<br />
3. Alexander Payne - <i>The Descendants</i> (lock)<br />
4. Woody Allen - <i>Midnight in Paris</i> (probable)<br />
5. Tate Taylor - <i>The Help</i> (wildcard)<br />
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Likely to Spoil: David Fincher (<i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), </i>Bennett Miller (<i>Moneyball</i>), Steven Spielberg (<i>War Horse)</i>, Terrence Malick (<i>The Tree of Life), </i>Nicolas Winding Refn (<i>Drive)</i><br />
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Tate Taylor is the big question mark here, which gets to the question of how much will the Academy really love <i>The Help</i>? Call me crazy, but when a film has such solid guild support as <i>The Help</i>, it's silly to not consider it even a threat for Best Director. Lest we forget that Marc Forster, Bill Condon and Sean Penn all got up early on Oscar nomination morning (well, maybe not Sean Penn). Then it was Mike Leigh, Paul Greengrass and Jason Reitman who were awoken by phone calls from agents, cutting short what I'm sure they assumed would be a morning of uninterrupted sleeping in. My point is, there are always kinks to be seen and I do have a feeling about Tate Taylor. It may seem insane, but is there really an abundance of sound logic in instead predicting Steven Spielberg, whose film has been largely shut out by the key guilds? Or Terrence Malick, whose film I love and who certainly engenders respect in the directing branch, but at the end of the day, may have crafted something too self-consciously esoteric for the straight-laced Academy? Even when he somewhat surprisingly got in for <i>The Thin Red Line</i>, there was a corresponding DGA nod to predict it. Plus, it's not like Malick would show up if they nominated him anyway. Really, from where I'm sitting, David Fincher is the only one who you can justifiably put ahead of Tate Taylor in that he's in the club and has the guild support to boot. Yes, Tate Taylor is a newbie, but if they love the film (ie. Jason Reitman's suprise nod for <i>Juno</i>), anything can happen.<br />
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<b>Best Actor in a Leading Role</b><br />
1. George Clooney - <i>The Descendants</i> (lock)<br />
2. Jean Du Jardin - <i>The Artist</i> (lock)<br />
3. Brad Pitt - <i>Moneyball</i> (lock)<br />
4. Michael Fassbender - <i>Shame</i> (probable)<br />
5. Gary Oldman - <i>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</i> (wildcard)<br />
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Likely to Spoil: Leonardo DiCaprio (<i>J. Edgar</i>), Michael Shannon (<i>Take Shelter</i>), Ryan Gosling (<i>Drive)</i>, Demian Bichir<i> (A Better Life</i>)<br />
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My reasons for omitting DiCaprio, but keeping Fassbender may seem contradictory. I'm chucking DiCaprio because his movie was so poorly reviewed and it seems so quiet right now for him. He's hit many of the precursors thus far, but where's the heat? Where's the passion? Michael Fassbender may seem quiet too and he did miss SAG, which might prove to be the death knell in hindsight should he miss at AMPAS. I think Fassbender's charm, his cinematic ubiquity in 2011 combined with the performance itself puts him in for a "We're happy you're getting famous" nomination that even Academy members who neglected to pop in their <i>Shame</i> screeners won't feel badly about. They already gave one of those nods to Michael Shannon back in 2008 and given the general lack of real buzz surrounding <i>Take Shelter,</i> I doubt they'll feel compelled to oblige him again, though many are predicting such an outcome. Ryan Gosling had a high-profile year as well, following up his career-best performance in <i>Blue Valentine</i>. In a weaker year, he'd have a shot for either <i>Drive </i>or <i>The Ides of March</i>. Let me rephrase. In a year where a weak performance like George Clooney's wasn't so solidly in the five, Gosling might have a chance. But, as it stands, the top three are looking good to go and your winner will likely come from that list of names. I'm just praying it's not Clooney. Not just to beat up on <i>The Descendants</i>, but because Brad Pitt is so good and so understated in <i>Moneyball</i>. And Du Jardin is so charismatic and committed in <i>The Artist</i>. And (back to beating up on <i>The Descendants </i>for just a moment), isn't Clooney's unremarkable, autopilot, death-rattle of a performance exactly the type of turn we should avoid rewarding to an actor of his considerable talents, lest we encourage more unimaginative and facile project choices for him in the future? Basically, I'm saying less <i>The Descendants</i> and <i>Up in the Airs</i>, more <i>Michael Claytons</i>, please.<br />
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<b>Best Actress in a Leading Role </b><br />
1. Viola Davis - <i>The Help </i>(lock)<br />
<i> </i>2. Meryl Streep - <i>The Iron Lady</i> (lock)<br />
3. Michelle Williams - <i>My Week With Marilyn</i> (lock)<br />
4. Tilda Swinton - <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i> (probable)<br />
5. Rooney Mara - <i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</i> (shaky)<br />
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Likely to Spoil: Glenn Close (<i>Albert Nobbs</i>), Charlize Theron (<i>Young Adult</i>), Kristen Wiig (<i>Bridesmaids)</i> <br />
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I'm very tempted to put Close in over Swinton, whose role is tricky and even fans of hers doubt that she really pulled it off. I could also see Close replacing Mara, who is a late surge in the race, is absent from much of her movie and (rumor has it) is anything but warm and fuzzy on the press circuit. But, Swinton stays because she's hit all the major precursors (Globes, SAG, BFCA, BAFTA and an NBR win to boot). Also, Tilda Swinton is uber-personable, despite her seemingly impenetrably "weird" persona and a lot of people like her, even if they aren't going to rush to pop in their <i>Kevin</i> screeners. If the guild support for <i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</i> is going to help anyone, it's Rooney Mara. This category rarely lacks a PYT and if it can't be Elizabeth Olsen or Kirsten Dunst, I'll predict Mara and just be glad it's not Felicity Jones (<i>Like Crazy).</i> Given the at best tepid response to <i>Albert Nobbs</i>, I see no reason to put her in ahead of either of these women, though she could obviously get in there simply for the respect her name still commands. The win is likely down to Davis vs. Streep. For a while, it looked like a three woman race with Michelle Williams getting her fair share of critical citations. After her gracious, but hardly gushing or effusive Golden Globes speech last weekend, I don't think people are eager to hand her the win just yet. To that, I say fine. I haven't seen <i>My Week With Marilyn</i>, but for an actress as interesting and versatile as Williams to go down in the history books as winning an Oscar for a Marilyn Monroe biopic seems wrong somehow. After 2010's banner year in Best Actress (seriously, take a gander again. What a phenomenal list of performances and roles), it's a little hard to get truly excited about this lineup, however it happens to shake down. There are really two things keeping my favorite Oscar category salvageable in terms of my own overwhelming enthusiasm. Finally (knock on wood) seeing Swinton as a lead actress nominee without having sanded her edges to get there and that they may award Viola Davis the statue. Kristen Wiig would certainly be an exciting, if not necessarily worthy choice. But, since they are likely to give her a screenplay nod, that may have to suffice as her reward. Charlize Theron really should have been more solidly in there, not just because she's so good in <i>Young Adult</i>, but because she's campaigned so well. A perfect mixture of enthusiasm, gratitude and humor, without seeming desperate. I sincerely hope that Kirsten Dunst (<i>Melancholia</i>) and Elizabeth Olsen<i> (Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene</i>) don't take the awards season cold shoulder as a sign that they should stop challenging themselves with great performances in prickly, difficult parts. March on, ladies. I'm in your corner.<br />
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<b>Best Actor in a Supporting Role</b><br />
<b> </b>1. Christopher Plummer - <i>Beginners </i>(lock)<br />
2. Albert Brooks - <i>Drive</i> (lock)<br />
3. Kenneth Branagh - <i>My Week With Marilyn</i> (lock) <br />
4. Jonah Hill - <i>Moneyball</i> (probable)<br />
5. Brad Pitt - <i>The Tree of Life</i> (shaky)<br />
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Likely to Spoil: Nick Nolte (<i>Warrior</i>)<i>,</i> Patton Oswalt (<i>Young Adult)</i>, Viggo Mortensen (<i>The Dangerous Method</i>)<br />
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I think this is the lineup, honestly. Despite the fact that there has been relative fluidity in terms of the precursor rosters (give an Armie Hammer here or take an Andy Serkis there), there does seem to be lack of real spoilers who could jump into the race at this point. Although Brad Pitt hasn't been cited for <i>The Tree of Life</i> anywhere, I do believe that he's always been comfortably on the outside as a just miss in many of those cases. He is very beloved in Hollywood, as evidenced by how he always escapes unscathed in the tiredly retreaded Jolie vs. Aniston debate. He's excellent in both <i>The Tree of Life</i> and <i>Moneyball</i> (in that order) and I'm hoping what would be a relatively surprising double-nomination is what it takes to push him ahead of George Clooney in Best Actor. Plummer looks good on paper for a win that, despite my love for the performance and film, baffles me. In an expanded Best Picture field, <i>Beginners</i> has failed to catch fire in any other category and yet Plummer is solidly in there for the trophy? The math doesn't add up for me and I still think that Albert Brooks could upset at the end of the day.<br />
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<b>Best Actress in a Supporting Role</b><br />
1. Octavia Spencer - <i>The Help</i> (lock)<br />
2. Berenice Bejo - <i>The Artist</i> (lock)<br />
3. Jessica Chastain - <i>The Help</i> (lock)<br />
4. Shailene Woodley - <i>The Descendants</i> (probable)<br />
5. Melissa McCarthy - <i>Bridesmaids</i> (probable)<br />
<br />
<br />
Likely to Spoil: Janet McTeer (<i>Albert Nobbs</i>) and...really, not much else. Sorry, Vanessa Redgrave.<br />
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Again, what once seemed like a wide-open race has firmed up nicely. Spencer is looking more and more like the frontrunner for the win and the other two are locks. Chastain hardly seems like a lock to many and I'm hearing pundits dusting off the old "vote splitting may hurt her" theory, which rarely happens in practice. I think she's in and she's a lock for two reasons. Firstly, despite being everywhere this year, the voting bodies have clearly rallied around <i>The Help</i> as the Chastain performance d'annee. Does anyone think her work in <i>Take Shelter</i>, <i>The Debt </i>or even <i>The Tree of Life </i>for that matter are really going to be pulling that many votes away from the machine that is <i>The Help</i>? Secondly, regarding vote-splitting with Octavia, I'm going to give you some years. 2000, 2001, 2002*, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010*. Those are the years where two people from the same film managed to get nominated in supporting actress. It's happened more often in the past ten years than it hasn't happened, with asterisks next to the years where one of the actresses won the trophy. Know your history, pundits. It's not that difficult. Shailene will likely ride <i>The Descendants</i> train to a nomination, though I'd gladly give her the boot. Would it be for Janet McTeer, whose film I haven't seen? I can't say at this point. Like Close, I think McTeer will suffer from the lack of enthusiasm surrounding <i>Albert Nobbs</i> and come up empty on nomination morning. Since I'm predicting <i>Bridesmaids</i> for a Best Picture nomination, it doesn't make sense to exclude Melissa McCarthy, who even managed a BAFTA nomination. On the outside of these six contenders are Vanessa Redgrave and Carey Mulligan, neither of which has any real shot, though I'd love to see Mulligan get in.<br />
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Coming Next: Screenplays and Other Below the Line Predictions...<br />
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<br />The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-70411756753946141252012-01-19T04:50:00.002-05:002012-01-19T04:50:56.297-05:00A Break in Our Regulalry Scheduled Programming...Or Rather, Some ProgrammingThe Pretentious Know it All is alive and well. Rather than doing the usual apology about my long absence and how I fully intend to blog more regularly (which I do), let's discuss the game plan.<br />
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Firstly, I have every noble intention of completing my Best of the 2000s series. Expect to see that in the coming weeks, as I am not merely publishing the list (as you can tell if you've been reading it...to the one person out there who reads my blog). It is a painstaking, albeit reward task, not just to do a write-up of one of the films from every grouping of ten on my top 100 list, but <i>deciding</i> which film to cover? Oy vey. These are my favorite films of the decade, each one in its own complicated way very near and dear to my heart and I can't wait to share more.<br />
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Secondly, the fourth annual Pretentious Film Awards (Fourth!) are fully under way. The nominees have mostly been selected, though I still have a few films from 2011 left to watch. Full disclosure, my list of films seen in 2011 is slightly thinner than in previous years due to factors I won't bore you with here. I have not seen <i>My Week With Marilyn, The Iron Lady, Carnage, Albert Nobbs, War Horse, J. Edgar </i>or <i>The Ides of March</i> (though I did read the script for <i>The Ides of March</i> last summer). Though each of the previous films may factor into the Oscar race, though to what degree is being hotly contested on all counts, I no huge rush to see them in order for me to cite my personal favorites. As lazy and patently unadventurous as it sounds, nothing I've heard about any of these titles qualifies them as urgent viewing in my book, outside of their supposed awards potential. <br />
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Conversely, there are a lot of films from 2011 that I am genuinely sad to have missed in time for this year's Pretentious Film Awards, though I do plan on viewing them as soon as possible. For reasons, both complicated and uncomplicated, I was unable to see (in descending order of personal excitement/enthusiasm) <i>Margaret, A Separation, Pariah, Poetry, Submarine, Attack the Block, Potiche, A Dangerous Method, Pina</i> and <i>Jane Eyre</i>. As one of my resolutions for the new year is to write more, this blog included, I will surely make every effort to watch these films and any and every film I can get my hands on and write about them year round. You will be hearing from me. I can assure you of that.<br />
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Thirdly (and lastly) regarding my year end film awards, be prepared for what might be the most off-consensus year I've had yet in terms of the general landscape of film awards. Despite this blog's title, this is a rather dubious claim to fame and not one I was planning in the slightest. Consider 2010, where my top ten list included four of the eventual Best Picture nominees (and my feelings were generally warm about the entire ten). Regarding my list, I must reiterate again (not that film criticism should ever include "defense" of one's taste in the strictest sense of the word) that I am not, nor have I ever feinted left to go right in terms of my cinematic proclivities. For instance, although <i>The Artist</i>, our probably Best Picture winner at this point, does not appear on my top ten list, I have no real objections to its eventual victory in the Oscar race. I will delve more into these thoughts when I review most of the films I saw in 2011 over the next few days. You'll hear me weigh in on the heavily debated politics of <i>The Help</i>. You'll learn why I gave a "D+" to <i>The Descendants</i>, a film so seemingly innocuous that, even if it weren't your cup of tea, one wonders how anyone could ever possibly feel so passionately against it to award it such a low grade. All will be revealed. <br />
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So, as I often say, I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts here on this blog, which (though it has been sporadic) I'm happy to have kept up with for the past four years. <br />
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Peace, Love and Pretension.The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-86185931835908738532011-08-27T16:52:00.007-04:002011-11-14T02:04:29.127-05:00The Best Films of the Aughts (60-69)<span style="font-weight: bold;">69. <span style="font-style: italic;">Talk to Her</span> - dir. Pedro </span><b> Almod</b><b>óvar (2002)<br /></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9X0N8Ipbga1sw6BPumeB-8p2zPAIITbTInAMTpxbmuorNweVy2fmkNFddXJG7smOfxeFXlo0NUgKSkK5mIc-JtFxcOrfV8VL1EswKm_8TSoTzfTyHstME4oPhoQfvdsTWI1l-qqqeZY/s1600/69talktoher.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9X0N8Ipbga1sw6BPumeB-8p2zPAIITbTInAMTpxbmuorNweVy2fmkNFddXJG7smOfxeFXlo0NUgKSkK5mIc-JtFxcOrfV8VL1EswKm_8TSoTzfTyHstME4oPhoQfvdsTWI1l-qqqeZY/s320/69talktoher.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649190407823617458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"A woman’s brain is a mystery, and in this state even more so. You have to pay attention to women, talk to them, be thoughtful occasionally. Caress them. Remember they exist, they’re alive and they matter to us. That’s the only therapy. I kno</span><span style="font-style: italic;">w from experience."</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">68. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sherrybaby</span> - dir. Laurie Collyer (2006)<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nIymn4Yekk8EWTXCARE44XJkHcaFadZmihC-Kdu_qJF4GpHEuOqKEYQfgxXqsbH_-Lw20ORIUVBQGmVojMs9RvCTjrZ4OMXNJrcYNJ9QcvyVQNpL5s1KPvenf8FQk_cP3U_MYwT1ETQ/s1600/68sherrybaby.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nIymn4Yekk8EWTXCARE44XJkHcaFadZmihC-Kdu_qJF4GpHEuOqKEYQfgxXqsbH_-Lw20ORIUVBQGmVojMs9RvCTjrZ4OMXNJrcYNJ9QcvyVQNpL5s1KPvenf8FQk_cP3U_MYwT1ETQ/s320/68sherrybaby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649190407508832178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Lord please please please please please</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> hear my extra pra</span><span style="font-style: italic;">yer tonight. Forgive me my weaknesses and my mistakes. Give me the s</span><span style="font-style: italic;">treng</span><span style="font-style: italic;">th to</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> take life one day at a time and take care of my daughter again. Amen."</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">67. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Savages</span> - dir. Tamra Jenkins (200<span style="font-style: italic;">7)</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaXXyDt8fLO_ELl1newVElQpve-BOvJ8A-djsB0b79tkOnoaKuXovje_4U1OLuq8vMf5DxgvzzDtbW07M0RFANr4fn6pVvprNasj2GwaL3uulEP8fsAM10d3i87sGk5vm7hvFYGzdTL8/s1600/67savages.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaXXyDt8fLO_ELl1newVElQpve-BOvJ8A-djsB0b79tkOnoaKuXovje_4U1OLuq8vMf5DxgvzzDtbW07M0RFANr4fn6pVvprNasj2GwaL3uulEP8fsAM10d3i87sGk5vm7hvFYGzdTL8/s320/67savages.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649190402380804914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"People are dying, Wendy! Right inside that b</span><span style="font-style: italic;">eau</span><span style="font-style: italic;">tiful building. Right now! It’s a fucking horror show! And all this wellness propaga</span><span style="font-style: italic;">nda and landscaping is just trying to obscure the miserable fact that people die and de</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ath is gaseous and gruesome and filled with piss and shit and rot and stink</span><span style="font-style: italic;">."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />66. <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost in Translation</span> - dir. Sofia</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Coppola (2003)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYaRWDC5_VVgqfTjALp8M-PpMBWOOw_13BfpzUE0b5KzVaEKekOBZ2O5EqoGyylfLlyUNwnFUKxtwyoAXLmrcjLtYgvSaQpEGCnS4itTf0HGR8Fm9gpkey_thVPfrlZsCxuA2b-5ghtU/s1600/66lostintranslation.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYaRWDC5_VVgqfTjALp8M-PpMBWOOw_13BfpzUE0b5KzVaEKekOBZ2O5EqoGyylfLlyUNwnFUKxtwyoAXLmrcjLtYgvSaQpEGCnS4itTf0HGR8Fm9gpkey_thVPfrlZsCxuA2b-5ghtU/s320/66lostintranslation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649189729888996898" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Let's never come </span><span style="font-style: italic;">here again becaus</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e it </span><span style="font-style: italic;">will never be as much fun."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spotlight--65. <span style="font-style: italic;">Erin Brockovich</span> - dir. Steven Soderbergh (2000)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtUQBfa50n8EKdGpT6nFyuBk0quNCZR4PHnPOMGZTJZoi944PQtjqecDGi_GrrWZtZa8RnEshjMCbqSXALfG0rJ6CQ_8iv0l8lwi70quXWcPO1erfFBAE_nCW6Vsk4u0ihHeetHZqbC8/s1600/65erinbrockovich04.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtUQBfa50n8EKdGpT6nFyuBk0quNCZR4PHnPOMGZTJZoi944PQtjqecDGi_GrrWZtZa8RnEshjMCbqSXALfG0rJ6CQ_8iv0l8lwi70quXWcPO1erfFBAE_nCW6Vsk4u0ihHeetHZqbC8/s320/65erinbrockovich04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649189716166859506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Well, um, seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise, a</span><span style="font-style: italic;">nd Ed here was losing all faith in </span><span style="font-style: italic;">th</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e sy</span><span style="font-style: italic;">s</span><span style="font-style: italic;">tem, am I right? I just went out the</span><span style="font-style: italic;">re and performed sexual favors. Six hundred and thirty-four blow jobs in five days... I'm really quite tired</span><span style="font-style: italic;">."</span><br /><br />It's a serendipitous and wonderful thing when a movie star is celebrated for a star turn, deserving of all accolades and hyperbole, that seems to steamroll through all awards season precursors all the way to the podium on Oscar night. So rarely does it happen this way, particularly in the Best Actress category. There often seems to be a finely tuned mix of people's actual response to said performance and another, hard to pinpoint x-factor of "something else" that leads to people winning the Best Actress trophy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW820rwKA_LjBzEuNu3MjchcLjCCcEiwuPeLJhhw50pAvcP1ZrSbJ2QGwJE_LvO1K7Qcsc-tiKUveDechLlvJ_OS24yEmWQUCW5cOkKb0Xj3ZOfGeG215CJY12v9QLfY5w5aRHUXY7RjY/s1600/65erinbrockovich03.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW820rwKA_LjBzEuNu3MjchcLjCCcEiwuPeLJhhw50pAvcP1ZrSbJ2QGwJE_LvO1K7Qcsc-tiKUveDechLlvJ_OS24yEmWQUCW5cOkKb0Xj3ZOfGeG215CJY12v9QLfY5w5aRHUXY7RjY/s320/65erinbrockovich03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649189718671941474" border="0" /></a><br />Why have I begun my write-up of 2000's <span style="font-style: italic;">Erin Brockovich </span>by bringing up the Best Actress race? Because (and I may be misreading the climate) it seems to be a widely held view that Julia Roberts coasted to an easy victory that she didn't deserve, or at the very least should have been met with more resistance (out come the Ellen Burstyn fans, complete with their torches and pitchforks). Eleven years later, I am proud to throw my full, weighty support, not just behind Roberts's radiant and accomplished turn, but the film itself. I worry that even fans of Julia's work here may write off the film as a feel-good trifle/bloated whistle-blower picture, all the while completely ignoring how richly Roberts and the film serve each other.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2QGEneIZB9-NR-Nql3pSoh7vL8rO1mAOGeOGQX7DtEZh-g-vV9oB3WCeAk7VBz_-Q4-qfAIyYJJh9L5EaLoPHeljn8odS166Kri4HeN-_MxCkVRwk5yT3nStzuIM_UKUlTSRXxqq6q8/s1600/65erinbrockovich02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2QGEneIZB9-NR-Nql3pSoh7vL8rO1mAOGeOGQX7DtEZh-g-vV9oB3WCeAk7VBz_-Q4-qfAIyYJJh9L5EaLoPHeljn8odS166Kri4HeN-_MxCkVRwk5yT3nStzuIM_UKUlTSRXxqq6q8/s320/65erinbrockovich02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649189721320165650" border="0" /></a><br />We open with a wonderful sequence of finely spliced together monologues by Erin (Julia Roberts), who is on the painstakingly difficult hunt for a job. In those early moments, we learn nearly all we need to about Erin Brockovich to warrant serious investment in this character. A little self-effacing, but intelligent. Wry, yet totally aware of the seriousness of her circumstances. It's quiet, unfussy and consistently on-character work in these first minutes that allow for the big meaty moments later on where Erin lets her frustration/lack of practical training get the better of her. On paper, all of this could read incredibly obvious and facile, but Roberts layers all of the elements beautifully, never forgetting one, when the scene mostly calls for the other. She has never been better, before or since. I say that not to denigrate Julia Roberts, who I actually like. I think that for any performer, her turn in <span style="font-style: italic;">Erin Brockovich</span> is a tough thing to top. Her string of roles after this stunner don't really seem to be utilizing her talents appropriately, though the missteps are certainly understandable (<span style="font-style: italic;">Closer </span>aside, in which I actually think Mike Nichols got some very interesting notes out of her). Her post-<span style="font-style: italic;">Brockovich</span> directors, even Steven Soderbergh himself, seem content to saddle her with either large, external affectation (<span style="font-style: italic;">Charlie Wilson's War</span>) or attempt to play on her stardom and her public persona in ways that are transparent in how commercially minded they are (<span style="font-style: italic;">Eat, Pray, Love</span>). What I love about what Steven Soderbergh gets out of Roberts here is that he enhances so much about what already works about her as a performer--her comedic undertones, her sassiness, her accessible beauty and her warmth--while still fashioning a fascinating character that feels neither cloying nor obtusely against type.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ6_bewXwetcrNA5_wx3qwTnWcvxpuxDjSZWhv3nAUZaqFzmlZyBDwAL-Xd67K3x-AQvER9JZ1o0BswyNr3ypFWG6wFRk4YBoaKtSJDuqH67qELf75Mikf5QPidbTanxaZhb-x6aNwVM/s1600/65erinbrockovich01.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ6_bewXwetcrNA5_wx3qwTnWcvxpuxDjSZWhv3nAUZaqFzmlZyBDwAL-Xd67K3x-AQvER9JZ1o0BswyNr3ypFWG6wFRk4YBoaKtSJDuqH67qELf75Mikf5QPidbTanxaZhb-x6aNwVM/s320/65erinbrockovich01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649189725728179234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Erin Brockovich</span> is predictable, make no mistake. Even without knowing the details of the "true story" of how a plucky legal secretary took down a major corporation, one can probably guess with great accuracy where the film is headed. What we have here is an example of how dedication/investment in the craft of filmmaking can elevate even the most simple and seemingly rote of stories. Take, for example the scene of Erin describing her past as a beauty queen to George (Aaron Eckhart) in a fun, yet character-deepening scene of post-coital conversation. Would one have read that scene on the page and seen the frisky, creative editing or how the camera knows exactly during which moments to get close to Erin and George?<br /><br />Not to take anything away from Susannah Grant's script, which is accomplished and serviceable and filled with great one-liners to boot ("Bite my ass, Krispy Kreme!" It just rolls off the tongue...). But I can't help but feel that there a more pedestrian version of this film could have easily existed, perhaps made for television, perhaps directed theatrically by the likes of Ron Howard, Stephen Frears or Tom Hooper. If we must have biopics and straight-down-the-middle narratives (and from Hollywood's output, apparently we must) why can't they all be as specific and well-crafted as this?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />64. <span style="font-style: italic;">The 40-Year-Old Virgin</span> - dir. Judd Apatow (2005)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqmhTiZBYR-FVX8obl99JZ4EwTREi8eJ6Jr7TvzBEkAQtLBzK7oLnzXDK1c8KiZ-sPU80zC6SHGLtl6JRpHOjDugWR13OBbB812Q5BD21iRIw8rt0MkP6NObtu6UdiN6nWel3TCdKTiY/s1600/64the40yearoldvirgin.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqmhTiZBYR-FVX8obl99JZ4EwTREi8eJ6Jr7TvzBEkAQtLBzK7oLnzXDK1c8KiZ-sPU80zC6SHGLtl6JRpHOjDugWR13OBbB812Q5BD21iRIw8rt0MkP6NObtu6UdiN6nWel3TCdKTiY/s320/64the40yearoldvirgin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649188429809781394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"You know when you, like...you grab a woman's brea</span><span style="font-style: italic;">st and it's...and you feel it and...it feels like a bag of sand when you're touching it?"</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />63. <span style="font-style: italic;">Paranoid Park</span> - dir. Gus Van S</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">nt (2008)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCehwmTA5OQw0UDm2zy1oGy62MVTSO0u7AO6TwcP63s4FfJ-JIt7GvZFaltRbXH8CZF-J3GiV0jKmkyUisByas_2de1yC0EGcbEXNie8fHcN8Y3uthAIdeg6788SwO_R7lnsnCa23sah8/s1600/63paranoidpark.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCehwmTA5OQw0UDm2zy1oGy62MVTSO0u7AO6TwcP63s4FfJ-JIt7GvZFaltRbXH8CZF-J3GiV0jKmkyUisByas_2de1yC0EGcbEXNie8fHcN8Y3uthAIdeg6788SwO_R7lnsnCa23sah8/s320/63paranoidpark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649188429636685714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I j</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ust f</span><span style="font-style: italic;">eel like there's some</span><span style="font-style: italic;">thing outside of normal life. Outside of teachers, breakups, girlfriends. Like, right out there, like outside - there's like different levels of... stuff."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />62. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Class</span> - dir. Laurent Cantet (2</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">0</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">08)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVAMIFDVCNhvq5akr4Cjfb-WgEQv0JZdmmtTx7tHtWqSIrgmBDRFZJVOvCr1r_XzQWZ06Vyes3ozuY07EY9ReJXkRrT657AgGBfi_i9GmaG-Fhpf1By3U2mjsd4TEnfTdJBvsmEKHgl8/s1600/62theclass.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVAMIFDVCNhvq5akr4Cjfb-WgEQv0JZdmmtTx7tHtWqSIrgmBDRFZJVOvCr1r_XzQWZ06Vyes3ozuY07EY9ReJXkRrT657AgGBfi_i9GmaG-Fhpf1By3U2mjsd4TEnfTdJBvsmEKHgl8/s320/62theclass.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649188427803805298" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I'm Sou</span><span style="font-style: italic;">leymane. I have </span><span style="font-style: italic;">nothing to s</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ay about me becau</span><span style="font-style: italic;">se no one knows me but me."</span>ˆ<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">61. <span style="font-style: italic;">Once</span> - dir. John Carney (2007)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4jkscLhHEUe175yfo42fKmIGDqsMxG6a73FYGQTbljRYkKj5y6cDymq_xt90sFdTMv_YkqM2Hnr0FC0_NW-7VqBBDWmz7iF_Y7hHGOwR1MgTrWOpcxCkjlMy0k1hTOCwJixOFbYKsjk/s1600/61once.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4jkscLhHEUe175yfo42fKmIGDqsMxG6a73FYGQTbljRYkKj5y6cDymq_xt90sFdTMv_YkqM2Hnr0FC0_NW-7VqBBDWmz7iF_Y7hHGOwR1MgTrWOpcxCkjlMy0k1hTOCwJixOFbYKsjk/s320/61once.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649188427496910066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"D</span><span style="font-style: italic;">uring the daytime peopl</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e would wa</span><span style="font-style: italic;">nt to hear songs that they know, just songs that they recognize. I play these song at night or I wouldn't make any money. People wouldn't listen."</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">60. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bourne Ultimatum</span> - dir. Paul Greengrass (2007)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhyphenhyphenFOrhQkafyKw7T2ggTy_yqyjdx8s6lNFNhHV4h1UKLkxCGVj5fgVk9t5whxV8xoMGgxhDw_KnK2QzXEhDa8ik80ufkywsvYGFhJHzmEbtCvGKLO1D9uiN-rImwzXA9IZLZDhvVNJ_I/s1600/60thebourneultimatum.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhyphenhyphenFOrhQkafyKw7T2ggTy_yqyjdx8s6lNFNhHV4h1UKLkxCGVj5fgVk9t5whxV8xoMGgxhDw_KnK2QzXEhDa8ik80ufkywsvYGFhJHzmEbtCvGKLO1D9uiN-rImwzXA9IZLZDhvVNJ_I/s320/60thebourneultimatum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649188423346565330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"It was difficult for me...with you."</span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-58858253574081415112011-07-24T19:16:00.007-04:002011-08-26T20:11:22.582-04:00The Best Films of the Aughts (70-79)<span style="font-weight: bold;">79.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">WALL-E</span> - dir. Andrew Stanton (2008)</span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgB02N5BB8kkheY01tH6eqw1fTErSauREGd7m-1u69Vc1aiAcAQsy6lNskU_9hR5fi-ZoTYDe7AVlas3HfFoYFpoUk6Dn7h0jq7mZYbGh3z4wnxcII24zmUkrtiOSYOGDnBq4LTuo5V0/s1600/79wall-e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgB02N5BB8kkheY01tH6eqw1fTErSauREGd7m-1u69Vc1aiAcAQsy6lNskU_9hR5fi-ZoTYDe7AVlas3HfFoYFpoUk6Dn7h0jq7mZYbGh3z4wnxcII24zmUkrtiOSYOGDnBq4LTuo5V0/s320/79wall-e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633078709285006466" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"Com</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">puter. Define 'dancing'.</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span>
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<br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">78. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fish Tank</span> - dir. Andrea </span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arnold (2009)</span></span><span>
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5P50LODTZ0_rMJP2XkiTi71XtGH3-A1z0y1C0Jin7xLzumkREkrcmvA8-XrdBfb8upvJGdaCMwwvhhyphenhypheniyTFOwbsQGwQkjtGO4W7J2ofVnwykFj5h0OzmH0gS_QRcs8rzI0xL8qmAGtg/s1600/78fishtank.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5P50LODTZ0_rMJP2XkiTi71XtGH3-A1z0y1C0Jin7xLzumkREkrcmvA8-XrdBfb8upvJGdaCMwwvhhyphenhypheniyTFOwbsQGwQkjtGO4W7J2ofVnwykFj5h0OzmH0gS_QRcs8rzI0xL8qmAGtg/s320/78fishtank.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633078704459525266" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"You dance like a black. It's a compliment."</span>
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<br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">77. <span style="font-style: italic;">Reprise</span> - dir. Joachim Trier (2008)</span>
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKfTBNt8ZpZMA1GURLER21wsWbF1LORrq6T_RchX3hpaSZLh_u9TQpj3k1GuOwN1r0yrs7NZDf_xg-D1mnEtLUOvfmyup61UGvNx1YOPBnZDTJxyEJmDt4T1Mt7AlNQfYg5bOlTTRwnI/s1600/77reprise.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKfTBNt8ZpZMA1GURLER21wsWbF1LORrq6T_RchX3hpaSZLh_u9TQpj3k1GuOwN1r0yrs7NZDf_xg-D1mnEtLUOvfmyup61UGvNx1YOPBnZDTJxyEJmDt4T1Mt7AlNQfYg5bOlTTRwnI/s320/77reprise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633077962600725698" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"We're supposed to write and read. And if we feel the urge we'll pr</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">actice deviant, fetishistic sex with prostitutes."</span></span>
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<br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">76. <span style="font-style: italic;">Million Dollar Baby</span> - dir. Clint Eastwo</span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">od (20</span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">04)</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1AxhK57G1ToG0JDpQ0oZIFqZQCyOEeZmSm6ldJ5S5sk8mJz26eUjPPbLwo4laJrHWpwXUCrl24hlLAT6uP5ipwP3I20tAI2v4j7Sc3VAfHv_qoJfIphTGbL2xryYXQ2_fpT5Ki_lLTM/s1600/76milliondollarbaby.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1AxhK57G1ToG0JDpQ0oZIFqZQCyOEeZmSm6ldJ5S5sk8mJz26eUjPPbLwo4laJrHWpwXUCrl24hlLAT6uP5ipwP3I20tAI2v4j7Sc3VAfHv_qoJfIphTGbL2xryYXQ2_fpT5Ki_lLTM/s320/76milliondollarbaby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633077956485833330" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Mama, you take Mardell and JD and get home before I tell that lawyer there that you were so worried about your welfare you never signed those house pape</span><span style="font-style: italic;">rs like you were supposed to. So anytime I feel like it I can sell that house from und</span><span style="font-style: italic;">er your fat, lazy, hillbilly ass. And if you ever come back, that's exactly what I'll do."</span>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">75. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cell</span> - dir. Tarsem Singh (200</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">0)</span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31WG6YRtuer_LxpCKXpJGdbhyiVT5Hl8fKW8T8SS54jkNdP0ZIXgUqZ3ZEqnmvN87lTGW_FVL5Fy37BqA7CRq0muq4yH3Xo3L8mw8PhdNbmJD_KzaNBJlDMr0A6LV2kB6JNNJM0esCiQ/s1600/75thecell.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31WG6YRtuer_LxpCKXpJGdbhyiVT5Hl8fKW8T8SS54jkNdP0ZIXgUqZ3ZEqnmvN87lTGW_FVL5Fy37BqA7CRq0muq4yH3Xo3L8mw8PhdNbmJD_KzaNBJlDMr0A6LV2kB6JNNJM0esCiQ/s320/75thecell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633077956932678482" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="font-style: italic;">My Worl</span><span style="font-style: italic;">d. My Rules</span><span style="font-style: italic;">."</span>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spotlight--74. <span style="font-style: italic;">Raising Victor Vargas</span> - dir. Peter Sollett</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (2003)</span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyg-ZBlAD_9b4oXT-VTyuQ7lDwudLCs-L-IMIowbdHuA_EVBLp_UpAhmRyxYsWl5MQZVGAEIQRUf_S2vheBaFyv0XnQML5rcKKzv8_j3UZscmR6d6Rrwn8a17DSAcjcmh5WZvmFniIkE/s1600/74raisingvictorvargas01.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyg-ZBlAD_9b4oXT-VTyuQ7lDwudLCs-L-IMIowbdHuA_EVBLp_UpAhmRyxYsWl5MQZVGAEIQRUf_S2vheBaFyv0XnQML5rcKKzv8_j3UZscmR6d6Rrwn8a17DSAcjcmh5WZvmFniIkE/s320/74raisingvictorvargas01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633076957520680082" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Listen. I'm a private person. What we do is betw</span><span style="font-style: italic;">een me and you. You still want this loving, right?"</span>
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<br />Peter Sollett's jolting, vibrant and energetic tale of adolescent love and folly abounds with discovery nearly at every turn. Nearly every one of the principle players (with the exception of under-the-radar Indie queen Melonie Diaz) makes his or her feature film debut here. Peter Sollett announced himself as a powerful and interesting new cinematic voice. An aside: I have yet to watch his 2008 follow-up, the relatively high profile <span style="font-style: italic;">Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist</span>. Should I?
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqmBvWedI4txMrPEhmS9E9Bj0fhxS6uuSXRdQystunEdvlGq5sCFZJjFLbsnDGDvPFMgqDcnEbpjKI1EQEkXDa1DXDwUsou1rpEjT0l0XsEQpyn8gNQO0E44tRUXSutovrIWQQSt3KsA/s1600/74raisingvictorvargas03.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqmBvWedI4txMrPEhmS9E9Bj0fhxS6uuSXRdQystunEdvlGq5sCFZJjFLbsnDGDvPFMgqDcnEbpjKI1EQEkXDa1DXDwUsou1rpEjT0l0XsEQpyn8gNQO0E44tRUXSutovrIWQQSt3KsA/s320/74raisingvictorvargas03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633077951060990802" border="0" /></a>
<br />At first glance, this would appear to be exactly the type of cinematic outing designed to bore the shit out of movie-watcher who complains about what is perceived to be the current trend of meandering, navel-gazing independent cinema, heralded as brilliant and cutting-edge by the flannel clad temp at your office (stay with me). I sympathize with this frustration, often siding with it. In my brief write-up of <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span>, I talked about an air of human truth that's sometimes hard to pinpoint, but adds such richness to a great movie. There wasn't a moment of <span style="font-style: italic;">Raising Victor Vargas</span> that felt false or playing to my very contrary, untested perceptions of twenty-first century life in the Lower East Side for these characters.
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<br />Victor Vargas (a fabulous Victor Rasuk) speaks the line quoted above. It is one of the first lines uttered in this film and it lets you know that you are in capable hands. Victor Vargas drips with a confident, slightly insular teenage male bravado that permeates everything from his words to his gestures. But what, if anything, is it masking? And why is Judy (Judy Marte), the wise girl he chases after seem more put off by Victor than any of the other boys in her neighborhood? Especially given that one young man candidly offers Judy anal sex in a manner that can only be described as less than chivalrous. These are questions that are answered by last frame. Victor is confident, yes. But the confidence he wears is something akin to a fancy pair of shoes worn by a newborn baby. Shiny and new, certainly. But Victor is still forming, still growing, still becoming himself and he may discover one day soon that his own self-perceived greatness may not fit the person he ultimately becomes. And Judy, for all of her womanly wisdom, for all of her desire to be anything but just another notch in the bedpost of one of the many boys who wish to bed her, really does like Victor. Sounds like your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, doesn't it? Perhaps it does. But <span style="font-style: italic;">Raising Vi</span><span style="font-style: italic;">c</span><span style="font-style: italic;">tor Vargas</span> is anything but.
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSi0iCcOA75qZTgtDn1Xzsc79Lg9TUphp811tfyZXKZQ7h_QS3Yz4vvlplTLt6lc3kBh-qEzACuhJOhnzSRTlnlCkXe8Sw68u9SXo8Ja2zrtd2e4jJHtEXYNVKfhpWbpvjjBqZ2ill7ek/s1600/74raisingvictorvargas02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSi0iCcOA75qZTgtDn1Xzsc79Lg9TUphp811tfyZXKZQ7h_QS3Yz4vvlplTLt6lc3kBh-qEzACuhJOhnzSRTlnlCkXe8Sw68u9SXo8Ja2zrtd2e4jJHtEXYNVKfhpWbpvjjBqZ2ill7ek/s320/74raisingvictorvargas02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633077947608254914" border="0" /></a>
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<br />I spoke, very briefly, about Melonie Diaz. Like many of the actors in the film, she shares her character's first name. In a storyline that exists almost completely parallel to everything else in the film, Melonie (Judy's best friend) falls for one of Victor's chums, the sweet but somewhat cocky Harold (Kevin Rivera). Melonie and Harold's courtship is different than that of Victor and Judy. She is resistant and he is persistent, but not in the same ways and not for the same reasons. Melonie keeps what becomes a very deep, meaningful relationship with Harold a secret from Judy for most of the film. She is desperate to avoid Judy's judgmental stares and comments, not because they would influence her greatly, but because with a look in her eyes and a small gesture, Diaz lets you know that Melonie knows exactly how it's going to turn out and she's already kind of rolling her eyes. I've noticed this consistency in many of Melonie Diaz's performances. She seems naturally aplomb at playing that character who "gets it" just a little bit more than all the other characters around her, who are a a little slow on the uptake. It is a small performance that betrays how integral Diaz's watchfulness and knack for conveying teenage conflict is to the film.
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<br />While the Lower East Side of Manhattan has become somewhat of a gentrified hipster haven, that is not the Lower East Side presented in this film. That being the case, it's rife for poverty porn, but Peter Sollett wisely resists the urge to make this a story about a group of minority youths trapped by their circumstances. Or rather, he resists to urge to tell that tired story in the rote, pedestrian fashion that has become all too familiar. The neighborhood is replete with life and there is a youthful innocence and a playfulness that runs throughout <span style="font-style: italic;">Raising Victor Vargas</span>. These are not wealthy people, but, like all young people, they live in and engage with their surroundings.
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<br />A key element that lets the viewer know that this is not a typical story of inner-city youths and strife is Victor's grandmother, Altagracia (played by Altagracia Guzman). She is hard on Victor, constantly demanding he set a good example for his younger brother and younger sister. She gifts the movie with soft, maternal humor that is steeped in obliviousness and a clinging to the old guard. At one point, she takes Victor down to social services, probably just to scare him, with the stated intention of turning him over to foster care as punishment for his wild ways and misbehavior. Why? Because she has caught Victor's brother Nino (Victor Rasuk's real life younger brother, Silvestre Rasuk) masturbating and she is almost certain he picked up this vile habit from Victor. Nino is far too sweet and innocent to have learned it elsewhere. Social services of course turns Altagracia away, stating that it is illegal to abandon children for no good reason. There is obviously a sweet humor in the sad ridiculousness of this situation. The subtext may also be that for all of his outlandish behavior, Victor is, at his core, a good kid. Furthermore, given the universe these characters inhabit, there are problems worse than masturbation where a teenage boy is concerned that Altagracia very well could be, but thankfully doesn't have to deal with.
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<br />In the end, Victor's conflicted relationship with his grandmother still remains, especially in a key scene near the end where the realities of his relationship with Judy are laid bare and everyone is forced to feel the way they feel. The last frame of the film doesn't offer an entirely tidy conclusion. But it's a lovely, subtle and graceful note to end on. One that doesn't lay out the paths of these characters for very long beyond the narrative, but also doesn't leave you unsatisfied. And in a film about teenage love and discovery (an honest one anyway) this is the truest way to leave it.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">73. <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombieland</span> - dir. Ruben Fleishcer</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (2009)</span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxS2Nt4zn0UyTbIFW9QazINf3GV0GHcK4NCdLXwk764_YhBseutF1feZ_RG3k4G08saJ2Ov39xpB3Y_A8MabdW9QQOYe6VLtiSq9oK58FH_Tuv4mJbcfRCKrPqGIoLo-SRWjsiWPnAQ8/s1600/73zombieland.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxS2Nt4zn0UyTbIFW9QazINf3GV0GHcK4NCdLXwk764_YhBseutF1feZ_RG3k4G08saJ2Ov39xpB3Y_A8MabdW9QQOYe6VLtiSq9oK58FH_Tuv4mJbcfRCKrPqGIoLo-SRWjsiWPnAQ8/s320/73zombieland.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633076950644056434" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"You are like a like a giant cock-blocking robot. Like, developed in a secret fucking government lab."</span>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">72. <span style="font-style: italic;">Head-On - </span>dir. Fatih Akin (200</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4)</span></span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVhbH4_frEpdI0q9EOXez9D88KoJD0i8Tn5o_ew8BTfShRZu8JpRQ2nyXODU8ecKVOAsnhfy89k0FMp0tuOmrd6TyfediGv52KWPXCMZ4TKujYEZEaBVlhKCeeMDvOcv0qtuPBvQPWaY/s1600/72head-on.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVhbH4_frEpdI0q9EOXez9D88KoJD0i8Tn5o_ew8BTfShRZu8JpRQ2nyXODU8ecKVOAsnhfy89k0FMp0tuOmrd6TyfediGv52KWPXCMZ4TKujYEZEaBVlhKCeeMDvOcv0qtuPBvQPWaY/s320/72head-on.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633076952373015442" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"If y</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ou want to end your life, e</span><span style="font-style: italic;">nd it. You</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> don'</span><span style="font-style: italic;">t have to kill yourself to do that."</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">71. <span style="font-style: italic;">Inglourious Basterds</span> - dir. Quentin Tarantino (2009)</span></span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UW6CrGUCzneBkzw0mUA9KIoE2Ke0W1qd6T3GODEIF2MhmuNK8VhKdhXUC5LQArfkziTlBAMZR1DKKMEjruAf1faM2SE2b7Bplhqgob5jNwIAJxudL05KFUdHH014cluo5xdpq9zpw-Q/s1600/71inglouriousbasterds.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UW6CrGUCzneBkzw0mUA9KIoE2Ke0W1qd6T3GODEIF2MhmuNK8VhKdhXUC5LQArfkziTlBAMZR1DKKMEjruAf1faM2SE2b7Bplhqgob5jNwIAJxudL05KFUdHH014cluo5xdpq9zpw-Q/s320/71inglouriousbasterds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633076948551746578" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Not so fast, Willi. We only have a deal if we trust each other. A Mexican standoff ain't trust."</span>
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<br />70. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Darjeeling Limited</span> - dir. Wes Anderson (2007)</span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9FX4BAoR_zJCyxdWD74xIpI6nDBngY9ptp3FrLfPohpAH5oNuq2GqZvvvXWcS3XGreu1PX_fqjiajy0qa-1-G-0qO7hTP7gcJeHLhjujqdX-iX1k0F24MVNn38zBCiGy472o0cvyx8w/s1600/70darjeelinglimited.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9FX4BAoR_zJCyxdWD74xIpI6nDBngY9ptp3FrLfPohpAH5oNuq2GqZvvvXWcS3XGreu1PX_fqjiajy0qa-1-G-0qO7hTP7gcJeHLhjujqdX-iX1k0F24MVNn38zBCiGy472o0cvyx8w/s320/70darjeelinglimited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633076935844796498" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I wonder if the three of us would have been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people."</span><span>
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<br />Next: 60-69
<br /></span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-29230391098460367582011-07-19T23:37:00.007-04:002011-07-24T19:19:44.927-04:00The Best Films of the Aughts (80-89)<span style="font-weight: bold;">89. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wendy and Lucy</span> - dir. K</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">elly Reichardt</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(2008)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1AIoIszSjK5npGmkymsG3roZ_eDPLUMvIe5NJUor2TqEI0qQpqKBGv7UK5ipxkPVFy0otPcyoeAVmfGpVP6epki4CWNQne6dxRs0LBEtAj8_ngVMefPQ9MyRqOAYZ_QfAV7XJ7jEjmU/s1600/89wendyandlucy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1AIoIszSjK5npGmkymsG3roZ_eDPLUMvIe5NJUor2TqEI0qQpqKBGv7UK5ipxkPVFy0otPcyoeAVmfGpVP6epki4CWNQne6dxRs0LBEtAj8_ngVMefPQ9MyRqOAYZ_QfAV7XJ7jEjmU/s320/89wendyandlucy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633060298062231250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"You can't get an address without an address. You can't get </span><span style="font-style: italic;">a job wit</span><span style="font-style: italic;">hout a job."</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">88. <span style="font-style: italic;">Morvern Callar</span> - dir. Ly</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">nne Ramsay (2</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">002)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR9qqLnqCCjdCX1tLkkfQtx1ZZ3WkRIGHsUah69rYdg2CpF8DL7A7ENONKcUbCNSilCPlTADqhxFS2a4oMTzH0mGpAOcAa2yFR8v2n3dDKuLTByw_uTpNmH5hxwxGyh_zNSlyZsCdi7Y/s1600/88morverncallar.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR9qqLnqCCjdCX1tLkkfQtx1ZZ3WkRIGHsUah69rYdg2CpF8DL7A7ENONKcUbCNSilCPlTADqhxFS2a4oMTzH0mGpAOcAa2yFR8v2n3dDKuLTByw_uTpNmH5hxwxGyh_zNSlyZsCdi7Y/s320/88morverncallar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633060294461391618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Fuck work, Lanna. We can go wherever you like."</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">87. <span style="font-style: italic;">Mystic River</span> - dir. Clint Eastwood (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">2003)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHNAWhyphenhyphenr-_Rlt-pdEOiG0PWu3S2cky0aMwSQYneDt8orN_eEj0u56kObdp7B1_JI9cNVBxr_kvBaiRFehjbWgZTTHeaePc9FpVIf9WsMaIoJ_Dh1qcl-KeREFbduqYD2eaiw1eaLtlFM/s1600/87mysticriver.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHNAWhyphenhyphenr-_Rlt-pdEOiG0PWu3S2cky0aMwSQYneDt8orN_eEj0u56kObdp7B1_JI9cNVBxr_kvBaiRFehjbWgZTTHeaePc9FpVIf9WsMaIoJ_Dh1qcl-KeREFbduqYD2eaiw1eaLtlFM/s320/87mysticriver.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633059532247286482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Their daddy's a king. And a king knows what to do</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> and does it. Even when it's hard. And their daddy will do whatever he has to for tho</span><span style="font-style: italic;">se </span><span style="font-style: italic;">he loves. And that's all that matters. Be</span><span style="font-style: italic;">cause everyone is weak, Jimmy. Everyone but us. We will never be weak. And you, you could rule this town. And after Jimmy, let's take the girls down to the parade. Kati</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e would like that."</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">86. <span style="font-style: italic;">Match Point</span> - dir. Woody Allen (2005)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2U8NDx0sYJhDWcllTV8hjfvS8gz64cXTdoLlSdIxi5oHC-fsH-bQx8KBaZ8cjmtHj-IYb9gxfVVUQBUxLLnSU9N9LaqAEla_OhhEtezTxsNFBVcxKjQc9mjFmKvfct5WmetB-QFAwvs/s1600/86matchpoint.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2U8NDx0sYJhDWcllTV8hjfvS8gz64cXTdoLlSdIxi5oHC-fsH-bQx8KBaZ8cjmtHj-IYb9gxfVVUQBUxLLnSU9N9LaqAEla_OhhEtezTxsNFBVcxKjQc9mjFmKvfct5WmetB-QFAwvs/s320/86matchpoint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633059525613074546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I never got along with her, but this is just tragic."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />85. <span style="font-style: italic;">Moulin Rouge!</span> - dir. Baz Luhrmann (20</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">01)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArVg6YOl4k4MbqyPRzjnRyVYAQglzS_i7Di3RmhFkaflG7xqMhdSNJKZxq-B0KCfKIr_OWMWK0oTIhf6WXVHUnWLip9tXSscN21SyXXVu4dsYVmVDdJNV2_i0I9i6Uy4ZuM98UwzNVus/s1600/85moulinrouge.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArVg6YOl4k4MbqyPRzjnRyVYAQglzS_i7Di3RmhFkaflG7xqMhdSNJKZxq-B0KCfKIr_OWMWK0oTIhf6WXVHUnWLip9tXSscN21SyXXVu4dsYVmVDdJNV2_i0I9i6Uy4ZuM98UwzNVus/s320/85moulinrouge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633059522367468690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"What's his type? Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or sm</span><span style="font-style: italic;">oldering temptress?"</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />84. <span style="font-style: italic;">Stevie</span> - dir. Steve James (2002)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FF4wbW3Ji0w3qIl6kDzrmibZrdHGqYwqEHkjStoeuAeHn26tlg1fw3ZxWwi1RdIjORu53as9oxNKiL81_tLTqYd-6BazFUnkPlyFveaTf66Cc10VZlxooEeT91RLeJena85mHCMOiuI/s1600/84stevie2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FF4wbW3Ji0w3qIl6kDzrmibZrdHGqYwqEHkjStoeuAeHn26tlg1fw3ZxWwi1RdIjORu53as9oxNKiL81_tLTqYd-6BazFUnkPlyFveaTf66Cc10VZlxooEeT91RLeJena85mHCMOiuI/s320/84stevie2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633059522971638610" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"You</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> e</span><span style="font-style: italic;">xpect me to say something when my fiancee's sitting </span><span style="font-style: italic;">right her</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e? So I can get in trouble with her? I know </span><span style="font-style: italic;">when to hold 'em and w</span><span style="font-style: italic;">he</span><span style="font-style: italic;">n to fold 'em."</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">83. <span style="font-style: italic;">Vera Drake</span> - dir. Mike Leigh (2004)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOgzpLV4ESx7GkcyNJb967w1OwJfGGd4uoB-NokUTofXJDZgcULM9dg1t7T71I-0VNL9fdMNf2ieVxuQ0E-7eGZBwRcnJoqr6_wcmqvAQHAce5NbaLm37AE-pxbElvNGXFwDMWhG-SuI/s1600/83veradrake.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOgzpLV4ESx7GkcyNJb967w1OwJfGGd4uoB-NokUTofXJDZgcULM9dg1t7T71I-0VNL9fdMNf2ieVxuQ0E-7eGZBwRcnJoqr6_wcmqvAQHAce5NbaLm37AE-pxbElvNGXFwDMWhG-SuI/s320/83veradrake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633059518661295506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"T</span><span style="font-style: italic;">hat's not what I do dear. That's what you call it. Bu</span><span style="font-style: italic;">t they need help. Who else they got to turn to? N</span><span style="font-style: italic;">o one. I help them out."</span><br /><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">82. <span style="font-style: italic;">Prodigal Sons</span> - dir. Kimberly Reed (2009)</span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jL-RE3KLeZRoroctqmq6qhIxX0l8ORIfdwzxjS082mU78uBpwObbfLG-lWxFwa3QqMnuuN0d3I4NZ4AFcLdB05DTs2K95gg1vInsn2-FMDiZzgpVRP2JBZGGttFU9YIOVJfW-giKwak/s1600/82prodigalsons.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jL-RE3KLeZRoroctqmq6qhIxX0l8ORIfdwzxjS082mU78uBpwObbfLG-lWxFwa3QqMnuuN0d3I4NZ4AFcLdB05DTs2K95gg1vInsn2-FMDiZzgpVRP2JBZGGttFU9YIOVJfW-giKwak/s320/82prodigalsons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633057949915008482" border="0" /></a><br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"I've told people about myself. They've st</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">ood up and walked out of the room, never to talk to me again. Th</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">ere's one sentence I can tell pe</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">ople that can make them never want to talk to me again."</span><br /></span><br /><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Spotlight--81. <span style="font-style: italic;">My Life Without Me</span> - dir. Isa</span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">bel Coixet (2003)</span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoi_XgOJFUNA4XfgUQpU1mQ7yXOudjOqUNZTwgbX6QijnOJfxijYLTFPD1fzKODs0r3122HAkf0zNybCvEgO8chy6gN7zCLO8Hn2kTSbMixc0x44EqS7ux-A3lW3BvsBtcIa5XLmtWyVs/s1600/81mylifewithoutme3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoi_XgOJFUNA4XfgUQpU1mQ7yXOudjOqUNZTwgbX6QijnOJfxijYLTFPD1fzKODs0r3122HAkf0zNybCvEgO8chy6gN7zCLO8Hn2kTSbMixc0x44EqS7ux-A3lW3BvsBtcIa5XLmtWyVs/s320/81mylifewithoutme3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633057950371595554" border="0" /></a><br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Hey</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;"> my budd</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">y, Penny. I'm not going to be at your birthday party, but there's nothing I'd like more in the whole, wide world. I bet Grandma's made a special birthday cake just for you with your name on it in big chocolate letters. Penny, I want you to know that the day you were born, I held you in my arms and that was the happiest day in my whole life. I was so happy I couldn't even speak. I just stroked your little feet and cried with </span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">happiness. Without you, I could have never found out that lions eat pancakes or that the bed could be a raft. Try and look after Patsy, okay? I know it's hard 'cause somet</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">imes she makes you</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;"> mad and everything. I know it's not easy being the big sister, b</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">ut I know you can do</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;"> it. Mommy sends you millions and </span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">millions of kisses."</span><br /></span><br /><span>What a deplorable, unpleasant and implausible premise Isabel Coixet's <span style="font-style: italic;">My Life Without Me</span> begins on. Ann, a young woman in her earl</span><span>y twen</span><span>ties (a fantastic Sarah Polley) who lives in a trailer with her unemployed husband and two young daughters discovers that her days our numbered. Stricken with ovarian c</span><span>ancer, she has two months to live. Rather than disclosing this information to her family, Ann decides not to burden them and instead records audio tapes for her daughter</span><span>s for each of their remaining birthdays until they turn eighteen and tapes for her hus</span><span>band as well. As if this character couldn't seem any more detestable and selfish, she also finds it prudent to sleep with another man (she's only ever slept with her husband) just to see w</span><span>hat it's like. She meets Lee (Mark Ruffalo) and the two begin an affair. What a horrible person! Who on Earth would want to spend 100 minutes with this woman, watching her playing the admittedly shitty hand she's been dealt, doing the wrong thing at every turn. I'm not being facetious. I'm simply marveling at how the way I reacted to the premise of <span style="font-style: italic;">My Life Without Me</span> was wholly different from my reaction to the film itself.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPS4wFrwJ2n_QWk-NoPcRaeLdesn4jZbQhphB1Oe5XX5wXyJDfUJabwdmlA3WWtnJkYYJ36nFv7GKeFoJ2D-abSX91-4Tv_j-Flt28a6R2Quw5LLo9-nFk-WUXnWwexqloUyBxmpEkxg/s1600/81mylifewithoutme2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPS4wFrwJ2n_QWk-NoPcRaeLdesn4jZbQhphB1Oe5XX5wXyJDfUJabwdmlA3WWtnJkYYJ36nFv7GKeFoJ2D-abSX91-4Tv_j-Flt28a6R2Quw5LLo9-nFk-WUXnWwexqloUyBxmpEkxg/s320/81mylifewithoutme2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633057948779555138" border="0" /></a><br /><span>Isabel Coixet has crafted a lovely, airy and evocative piece of filmmaking. As abhorrent as the logline seems, it can also read as a setup fo</span><span>r something much more maudlin, sanguine and Lifetime Movie of the Week than the result we are given. The subject matter is prickly and unpleasant. The film does not pretend that what Ann is doing is co</span><span>mmendable and based on so</span><span>me kind of all-knowing altruism. S</span><span>arah Polley is a pitch perfect as Ann. She seems to have such a knack for interna</span><span>l psychology, something that no</span><span>t all actors can claim. The scene in which Ann first learns of her illness is played very interestingly, and it's quite thrilling to watch the choices Polley makes. She doesn't underplay the moment which, given the sedate nature of the narrative, would have felt at once obvious and forced. Nor does she blow it up into a big exercise where she can chew the scenery. She starts off with humor, then goes in for the kill like a shark in the water. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" she asks the doctor, an abrupt shift after cracking wise for a beat. Her face registers the shock and she conveys a woman who is collapsing in on her</span><span>self. Between her performances here, in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sweet Hereafter</span>, hell, even in <span style="font-style: italic;">Splice</span>, a film's determined to strip a mildly interesting premise of its sheen in service of a telling an incredibly lame, by-the-numbers thriller, Polley seems to pack an actorly wallop. Even going back as far her days on <span style="font-style: italic;">Road to Avonlea</span>, she always presents a very subtle, intriguing maturity. I understand, on the most basic level, why Polley'</span><span>s ratio of high-profile roles, even in smaller character pieces, seems disproportionate to her talents as an actress. She seems quite loyally stationed in the Canadian film scene, so in a way, that limits the number of projects we'll see her in. She'</span><span>s pretty, but not breathtaking and some might even say that she has an otherwordliness about her fact (much like Samantha Morton, Emily Watson and even Tilda Swinton) that limits the number of roles casting directors are willing to imagine her inhabiting. And lastly, and most intangibly, she always seems to read as very prickly and complicated. But the fact that she is always so interesting to watch still causes me to selfishly want more of her. I'm not so naive as to i</span><span>magine a Katherine Heigl level of visibility, but I wouldn't mind a Michelle Williams-</span><span>style career from Sarah Polley.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6YUTyFBo5-s1pqpe9orTMw1MYKl2fFCcFgDidksYZR95YwI2KK515bG2pbNckJHjoAXSX4D_G863LCYUQ6Buwd6fO4ZlTwG_p32l2wscZD9IdQwwOBI1NCcPsYNkeHK_rvFcgHtjB0I/s1600/81mylifewithoutme.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6YUTyFBo5-s1pqpe9orTMw1MYKl2fFCcFgDidksYZR95YwI2KK515bG2pbNckJHjoAXSX4D_G863LCYUQ6Buwd6fO4ZlTwG_p32l2wscZD9IdQwwOBI1NCcPsYNkeHK_rvFcgHtjB0I/s320/81mylifewithoutme.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633057947604715538" border="0" /></a><br /><span>This is by no means a perfect film. It sometimes meanders, though never in ways that are not compelling. Mark Ruffalo, who I mentioned in my write-up of <span style="font-style: italic;">You Can Count On Me</span> does seem best at playing the selfish manchild, but it doesn'</span><span>t always serve the narrative. While fine here, he does contribute (maybe adversely) to the film's misanthropic nature, but it doesn't sink the film and I'm still not convinced, after several viewings, that Ruffalo was miscast. He serves as the perfect foil for Ann's husband, Don (Scott Speedman). Don is sweet, stupid and satisfied. There aren't many notes to play, but Speedman seems to understand the character perfectly. Imagine Ryan Gosling's Dean in <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span>, with better hair, less beer in the morning and more baffled than openly hostile about his wife's emotional wanderlust. Interesting side note: <span style="font-style: italic;">My Life Without Me</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span> would make for a fascinating (albeit very depressing) double bill. Despite all of the aforementioned limitations, I found myself enthralled with <span style="font-style: italic;">My Life Without Me</span>. The characters are observant and flawed. The dialogue is unfussy and believable. Th</span><span>e same, I suppose, could be said of Isabel Coixet's more heralded 2008 offering <span style="font-style: italic;">Elegy</span>, which I enjoyed well enough and would hardly recommend passing over on one's Netflix watch instantly queue. But there was a certain artifice and sheen about that film that left me admiring much, but ultimately feeling little by the last frame. I felt <span style="font-style: italic;">My life Without Me</span> and I </span><span>couldn't take my eyes off of it. </span><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />80. <span style="font-style: italic;">United 93</span> - dir. Paul Greengrass </span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">(2006)</span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpV_8MgV_Zk-lvJ9KRHGscPpiHX5nYPir0fOL8T9hvt69aDWSKlChQqx2B53yOiEagp5cHEU0dn_faqzcszx0T8kJCYANj5fs2pKi_9tfLKlioZzR7wUPHZkdnlXAB2_WL0La1alunsk/s1600/80united93.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpV_8MgV_Zk-lvJ9KRHGscPpiHX5nYPir0fOL8T9hvt69aDWSKlChQqx2B53yOiEagp5cHEU0dn_faqzcszx0T8kJCYANj5fs2pKi_9tfLKlioZzR7wUPHZkdnlXAB2_WL0La1alunsk/s320/80united93.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633057944541028162" border="0" /></a><br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"Hi mom, it's me... this really kind woman handed me the phone and told me to call you."</span><br /><br />Next: 70-79<br /></span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-85768281064832637762011-07-19T16:46:00.015-04:002016-01-25T11:31:01.740-05:00The Best Films of the Aughts (90-100)Better late than never. Here are the top 100 films of the 2000s as determined by yours truly. Just a<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">100.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">You Can Count on Me</span> - di</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">r. K</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">ennet</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">h Lonerga</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">n (2000)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwovT-Sbse1hoO2o2R1GAwr0xcJwp3Kd8uixRyXwSQxKfmE7DzdVIeZSnEfsOvVQSmNWKdnwgz6wZ5xF5nnmhnH6MPDYua5qHmBtC-lTSLPX_jtoerhCmVEnDryfXPROLGirWP56vvW8/s1600/100youcancountonme.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631187479933941234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwovT-Sbse1hoO2o2R1GAwr0xcJwp3Kd8uixRyXwSQxKfmE7DzdVIeZSnEfsOvVQSmNWKdnwgz6wZ5xF5nnmhnH6MPDYua5qHmBtC-lTSLPX_jtoerhCmVEnDryfXPROLGirWP56vvW8/s320/100youcancountonme.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 181px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"I cleaned the</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> whole fu</span><span style="font-style: italic;">cking house </span><span style="font-style: italic;">just so</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> it would look nice for you! I </span><span style="font-style: italic;">had no idea you were just broke again! I wish you'd just send me an invoice!</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">99. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Crank</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dirs. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (2006)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfgIRq7zlIP0QcTmjNjQXT32fM0zvguBZUTiE6y_3awToZTMbGfUJY8bMMTfhqfS21WxjZAWOwWyVtzORFNgeD2AkwTESRnI0sgpm_akqDfWedKevM5G1xJq40QL-A-ZjRK_V-SxiHe0/s1600/99crank.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631188198950469314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfgIRq7zlIP0QcTmjNjQXT32fM0zvguBZUTiE6y_3awToZTMbGfUJY8bMMTfhqfS21WxjZAWOwWyVtzORFNgeD2AkwTESRnI0sgpm_akqDfWedKevM5G1xJq40QL-A-ZjRK_V-SxiHe0/s320/99crank.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 185px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"Don't talk to him like that! My boyfrien</span><span style="font-style: italic;">d kills people!"</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />98. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Maid - </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">dir. Sebastian Silva (2009)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOp_XFFwO4aPf4iGss0QePv95ViOa8SBIVfFVkO7b4idSmpY0FJNybHaYMRe-uT4uWAZ9YHcD-Z6jTp9QVFzcmHxQcsNu0fZzGsDto25e2BbnSfkrncVTArmgV_7eSYC-WWOtXxiqqw9Y/s1600/98themaid.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631191397405019058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOp_XFFwO4aPf4iGss0QePv95ViOa8SBIVfFVkO7b4idSmpY0FJNybHaYMRe-uT4uWAZ9YHcD-Z6jTp9QVFzcmHxQcsNu0fZzGsDto25e2BbnSfkrncVTArmgV_7eSYC-WWOtXxiqqw9Y/s320/98themaid.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 192px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"I've thi</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ngs to tell her too!</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> You're just the maid!"</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />97. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">American Psycho</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> -</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> dir. Mary Harron (2000)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DkGlHOMulvy8ViYazdd_SP5R0f_upfoIcnTyg-CRDk78BkmYrsJyWlXgye_xXB9pzZ9B3N_7jl7880l8CctShEM_Yo1yPGYy3frMvxKAWytbtvaK_2D-meBxWRQk5TMn69w6iMdQg4k/s1600/97americanpsycho.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631191403299256578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DkGlHOMulvy8ViYazdd_SP5R0f_upfoIcnTyg-CRDk78BkmYrsJyWlXgye_xXB9pzZ9B3N_7jl7880l8CctShEM_Yo1yPGYy3frMvxKAWytbtvaK_2D-meBxWRQk5TMn69w6iMdQg4k/s320/97americanpsycho.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 177px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; bu</span><span style="font-style: italic;">t not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horri</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ble is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.</span>"<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />96. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Marie Antoinette</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Sofia Coppola (2006)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5keXSQKil5U7UagbBqnFibq5J0MQG9qLZqoZTUlvCROIOOf3qDX6MJzMEREuQS-edmDp2HKonH2Hf1XxC4d6RpVlMJycFO4-bUD2ZDtrCbdGtA3lzuMTDKEBz7vKgrsDNdBUjxVpsa0w/s1600/96marieantoinette.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631191399816307874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5keXSQKil5U7UagbBqnFibq5J0MQG9qLZqoZTUlvCROIOOf3qDX6MJzMEREuQS-edmDp2HKonH2Hf1XxC4d6RpVlMJycFO4-bUD2ZDtrCbdGtA3lzuMTDKEBz7vKgrsDNdBUjxVpsa0w/s320/96marieantoinette.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 182px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, you were not what was desired, </span><span style="font-style: italic;">but that makes you no less dear to me. A boy would have been the Son of France, but you, Marie Thérèse, shall be mine."</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />95. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Kill Bill Vol. 1</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Quentin Tarantino (2003)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ4eanu44wxv9S7ns6PR4XyQ_-SIeKCnBT6hb0rLrQt9s-3zDiAmk0fdv7YvkVQbveroV7I2dWZajxX7zM17kGtPB094zMosIPl5jTnYuhPMS1iDKkrlVeFlNMNw-6qQLGGhQH-7uiK0/s1600/95killbillvol1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631191403786675106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ4eanu44wxv9S7ns6PR4XyQ_-SIeKCnBT6hb0rLrQt9s-3zDiAmk0fdv7YvkVQbveroV7I2dWZajxX7zM17kGtPB094zMosIPl5jTnYuhPMS1iDKkrlVeFlNMNw-6qQLGGhQH-7uiK0/s320/95killbillvol1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">"Your name is Buck. And you came here to fuck."</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />94</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Gone Baby Gone</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Ben Affleck (2007)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oDyqsw_GhzxbOzw2CvBZZjbe2yq9gYjNvlT0Dh01AvU87xR3xmBsYcUVd0yytfDnYi8LA_O2YKv2PTdcUd7abf5V_THzpuq8sVsxyGk0yORskxGy1huTN-6AaQSwQ9KpeB74fUMJGkU/s1600/94gonebabygone.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631191411366203938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oDyqsw_GhzxbOzw2CvBZZjbe2yq9gYjNvlT0Dh01AvU87xR3xmBsYcUVd0yytfDnYi8LA_O2YKv2PTdcUd7abf5V_THzpuq8sVsxyGk0yORskxGy1huTN-6AaQSwQ9KpeB74fUMJGkU/s320/94gonebabygone.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 187px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-style: italic;">"W</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-style: italic;">hen I was young, I once asked m</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-style: italic;">y priest how you can get to heav</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-style: italic;">en and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God told his children: 'You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.' "</span><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />93. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Piano Teacher</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Michael Haneke (2002)</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDMLAVjceth5Ff7ZRYaTr1mCjzUIIo2U3r5rYgdtyFJUAnUnhQfFmB3wtNjlp0DOZP6W_xbgyMHkiTeQ5IthM_4Cof1gmb_6wad6G1GAj6SBOZczVl9LQGZN4PhguVszqT4eIdlRugyk/s1600/93thepianoteacher.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631193141735469506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDMLAVjceth5Ff7ZRYaTr1mCjzUIIo2U3r5rYgdtyFJUAnUnhQfFmB3wtNjlp0DOZP6W_xbgyMHkiTeQ5IthM_4Cof1gmb_6wad6G1GAj6SBOZczVl9LQGZN4PhguVszqT4eIdlRugyk/s320/93thepianoteacher.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 176px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Schubert's dynamics range from scream to whisper, not loud to soft. Ana</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">r</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">ch</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">y hardly seems your forte. Why not stick to Clementi?"</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />92. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A Mighty Heart</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Michael Winterbottom (2007)</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-ACjGn1gN2EkLivB7Y1D0_UZ-7kx1RKK7L07qkwZla8uSHqz97bpSzNDNX_4rAs1HWiOCC9GO3wnELopzgYayk0pbxvvFI4-Ss7JfC_VlLyMR5C7vOms5nqeI4gTheqijKKPjChMMQ8/s1600/92mightyheart.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631193143483791554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-ACjGn1gN2EkLivB7Y1D0_UZ-7kx1RKK7L07qkwZla8uSHqz97bpSzNDNX_4rAs1HWiOCC9GO3wnELopzgYayk0pbxvvFI4-Ss7JfC_VlLyMR5C7vOms5nqeI4gTheqijKKPjChMMQ8/s320/92mightyheart.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 218px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">I j</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ust wanted to sa</span><span style="font-style: italic;">y something to everybody. I wan</span><span style="font-style: italic;">t </span><span style="font-style: italic;">to, I want to thank you for all of your work and all of your effort and your kindness and I know how much you wanted to find and bring Danny home. You did not fail, you know? Danny's </span><span style="font-style: italic;">dead, but the kidnappers, their point is to terrorize people, right? I am not terrorized. And you can't be terrorized. I am very grateful to all of you. Very, very grateful. So thank you. So, please, let's eat."</span><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />91. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Long Night's Journey Into</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> Day</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dirs. Deborah Hoffmann and Frances Reid (200</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-weight: bold;">0)</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6829qDbytLQ5v1T-N0v7lduk83SrtU7XH_YCA5ymBJt_yx1BIxroEg3nHWTcG2y9RgtSYlTdmQoVRkxO2uDfCZFqRc6HT11vcg0Sg03j54o6EM0ZKEjg7SQ5xS7887yTqEj7s2MHJEU/s1600/91longnightsjourneyintoday.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631193146860414146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6829qDbytLQ5v1T-N0v7lduk83SrtU7XH_YCA5ymBJt_yx1BIxroEg3nHWTcG2y9RgtSYlTdmQoVRkxO2uDfCZFqRc6HT11vcg0Sg03j54o6EM0ZKEjg7SQ5xS7887yTqEj7s2MHJEU/s320/91longnightsjourneyintoday.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 203px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">*A documentary film about post-Apa</span><span class="text_exposed_show">rtheid South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commi</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ssion (TRC) and the Amy Biehl </span><span class="text_exposed_show">murder. This film is currently unavailable to rent on Netflix, nor is the DVD available for purchase on Netflix. I can't offer up any other useful advice other than to seek it out.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />90. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Sideways</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - dir. Alexander Pa</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-weight: bold;">yne (2004)</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWAXfBiF3tNQXBXgkOyz6rUY9Rd_u7dsFbSmg2ihRGzclst7YmNxoGL5PGJF9N7_s5iyQC49xgQAE83OvAtmTW4MPK5XVDCOn2QosOoEuhKmOI_ynJsqBtdI_wiZ1BN57Vx-Xr0xtlJs/s1600/90sideways.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631193149751042418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWAXfBiF3tNQXBXgkOyz6rUY9Rd_u7dsFbSmg2ihRGzclst7YmNxoGL5PGJF9N7_s5iyQC49xgQAE83OvAtmTW4MPK5XVDCOn2QosOoEuhKmOI_ynJsqBtdI_wiZ1BN57Vx-Xr0xtlJs/s320/90sideways.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 205px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">"I like to think about the life of wine. How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was g</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">oing on the year</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">s the grapes were</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-style: italic;"> growing. How the sun was shining, if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes and if it's an old wine how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve. Like, if I opened a bottle of wine today, it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive and it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is until it peaks--like your '61 and then it begins its steady, inevitable decline. And it tastes so fucking good."</span><br /><br />Next: 89-80</span></div>
The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-75506076881166957682011-06-15T21:42:00.007-04:002011-06-16T21:20:18.255-04:00New Best Picture Rules...Desperation is Not BecomingTwo years after changing the rules so that ten rather than five films would be nominated for the coveted Best Picture Oscar, it would appear that the bastion of slightly elevated middlebrow establishment masquerading as top-drawer cinematic aesthetic--the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences--is at it again.<br /><br />They have determined that in order to receive a Best Picture nomination, five percent of a film's votes have to be number one votes on the ranking weighted ballot. This means that the number of nominees will no longer be fixed. From year to year (as long as they keep this policy in place, mind you) the number of films nominated for Best Picture can now range anywhere from five to ten.<br /><br />I'm not going to talk about how this diminishes the Academy's integrity as a distinguished voting body. That argument has been raised already, by people more eloquent than I with more of an inside baseball perspective. Also, I've long ceased getting all precious about the Academy and the choices they make. They are, after all, just a group of people weighing in on the matter. I do, however find myself wondering what exactly they think it is this move is going to accomplish. And I also wonder about the implementation of such a change following this past particular Oscar year.<br /><br />What was it about last year that made the AMPAS panic? A year that boasted seven 100 million plus grossing Best Picture nominees and three modest financial successes when one takes relative scale and budget into account. Was it the fact that the Oscar telecast had lower ratings than the previous year, whose Best Picture roster included <span style="font-style: italic;">An Education</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Serious Man</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">District 9</span>, a veritable "Who's Who" of films your Aunt Martha from Lansing, Kansas has never heard of?<br /><br />I've already given <a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/03/some-random-thoughts-on-academy-awards.html">my thoughts at length</a> about the 83rd Annual Academy Awards telecast, but one thing I neglected to mention was how 2010's crop of nominees were practically gift-wrapped and placed on a silver platter for the Academy. Monster box office? Check. Audience interest? Check. No real stinkers, even by the most lenient, Gene Shalit-y of standards? Check. With so much goodwill going into the ceremony, the producers of the telecast really just had to make it not terrible. Easier said than done, I know. But it's my want, like all internet people, to pass judgment. Still, it should have been like taking an open notes test in school. If you've at least been halfway paying attention and have somewhat of a clue, there's only so much you can fuck it up. Yet everything about the ceremony, from the intriguing but ultimately disappointing choice of host(s) to the confoundedly perplexing/putrid production choices made it a real stinker.<br /><br />I'm going off on a tangent, but my point is that many of these decisions regarding the tinkering of the Best Picture race are in some way or another related to the telecast. Even while having no real qualms about this particular tweak (more on that later), that simple fact leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. After <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dark Knight</span> (and arguably <span style="font-style: italic;">WALL-E</span>) were not nominated, the list was expanded to ten. Contact me personally if you still think this is a coincidence because I doubt whatever reality-altering medication you're on is over-the-counter and I do enjoy my fun.<br /><br />With these new rules, we would have likely seen <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span> dropped from last year's roster, leaving us with eight films nominated for the top prize. Some have made the argument that <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> would have fallen by the wayside as well, but the way Martin Scorsese and Kathryn Bigelow were both thumping for it makes me think it still would have been there. <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> is precisely the type of film that gets into the race BECAUSE most of it's votes are number one votes. But back to my original question, which is what does this accomplish? Would having <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span> or even <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> absent from the lineup really have changed anything? Not really. Since October of 2010, the race had been framed as being between <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span>. And the producers did their darndest during the telecast to act as if <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span> didn't exist anyway, so I'm not sure why this change was made. More often than not, we know who's going to win the top prize months before the race is done and no film that's seriously in contention is going to be affected by this switch.<br /><br />One thing I hope this does accomplish is a return of the lone director nominee, which the ten Best Picture system was threatening to make extinct. I guarantee that although Fernando Meireilles, Pedro Almodovar and David Lynch each received lone Best Director nominations that neither <span style="font-style: italic;">City of God</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Talk to Her</span> nor <span style="font-style: italic;">Mulholland Drive</span> would have had enough number one votes to make the Best Picture cut under this newly implemented system. The Academy probably hopes to wind up with a group of Best Picture nominees that people are genuinely excited about rather than six or seven passion projects and three or four ho-hum filler nominees. I can understand, at least on paper, how the decision makers thought that this new policy was the best way to accomplish that goal. But we don't have to look back too far in history, when the Academy nominated only five films, to find sore thumbs like <span style="font-style: italic;">Finding Neverland, Ray, Seabiscuit, Frost/Nixon, Chocolat</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cider House Rules</span>. These titles all share the dubious distinction of films I can't imagine anyone in a million years being passionate enough about to put at the top of their ballots for Best Picture nominations. And yet there they were...and in years of five, no less. My apologies to anyone who absolutely loves any of the aforementioned titles. I'm not making fun of you. I just didn't know you existed.<br /><br />I'd be surprised to see this policy last beyond five years. It's nice to stretch and try new things, but reputable organizations, especially those as old as the Academy thrive on consistency. A rotating number of nominees in any category is so...Broadcast Film Critics Association. And I don't think the Academy wants to be the Broadcast Film Critics Association. While a fiscally naive sentiment, I think the Academy should simply embrace the fact that they have their tastes, which are sometimes anomalous and strange to lay outsiders like us. Moves like this almost always read as an apology to the public for the Academy's cinematic proclivities, which isn't what the Oscars are about. Or at least, it's not what they should be about. I've said it many times, but it bears repeating. It is a show, like the Tonys, which is about honoring something that a small segment of the viewing population is interested in/knowledgeable of. That's fine. But I hope the Academy never ceases to consider the people in the room who they're honoring, who the show is actually for. Most people can smell desperation and it's a scent that few are attracted to. So, to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences I say stop scrambling. Relax. Take a breather. And, most importantly, make it about the movies.The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-5193973420105666742011-03-11T17:37:00.001-05:002011-04-29T17:40:57.444-04:002010 Reviews Vault<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fish Tank</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-...had I seen this in time, it would have factored into my year end awards)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Biutiful</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(C+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Illusionist</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">A Prophet</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Restrepo</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-more-reviews.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-more-reviews.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Still Here</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(C-)</span></a><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-more-reviews.html"><br /></a></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-more-reviews.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">For Colored Girls</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-more-reviews.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Exit Through the Gift Shop</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-more-reviews.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Easy A</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Toy Story 3</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Going the Distance</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-more-reviews.html"> </a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-more-reviews.html">(B-</a>)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-still-again.html"><span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B-)</span></span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-yet-again.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-yet-again.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-contd-again.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-contd-again.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span></a><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-contd.html"><br /></a></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-contd.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fair Game</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Animal Kingdom</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Enter the Void</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-in-film-contd.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span></a><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-in-film-part-3.html"><br /></a></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-in-film-part-3.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Catfish</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">It's Kind of a Funny Story</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-in-film-part-3.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(D-)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/10/2010-in-film-part-3.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dogtooth</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Town</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Never Let Me Go</span></a><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/10/2010-in-film-part-3.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span></a><br /></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-in-film-part-2.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Machete</span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(C+)</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Prodigal Sons</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(A-)</span></a><br /><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/07/few-thoughts-on-inception_22.html"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inception</span></span></a><span><span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/07/few-thoughts-on-inception_22.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)</span></a><br /></span></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-in-film-part-2.html"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span></span><span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+...upgrade upon further analysis)</span><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I Am Love</span></span><span><span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B+)</span><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span></span><span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (A)</span></span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-in-filmso-far-part-1.html">Iron Man 2</a></span></span><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-in-filmso-far-part-1.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(C+)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Mother and Child</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(B)<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Greatest</span> (<span style="font-weight: bold;">D+)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Date Night</span> </a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://thepretentiousknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-in-filmso-far-part-1.html">(C+)</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-51875216379824401602011-03-02T03:54:00.013-05:002011-03-11T05:27:35.126-05:00Some Random Thoughts on the Academy Awards And My Final Thoughts on 2010 in Film...Warning: Extremely stream of conscious<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Superficial:</span><br />Regarding the presentation itself, I'll keep this brief, as the hosts, the rhythm, the writing, etc. have all been discussed ad nauseum. I'll just say the following: I'm not so naive as to be clueless that a lot of decisions (if not all) are driven by money. Yes, it's true there is a sizable chunk of the Academy Awards viewing audience who don't watch or care about movies and are simply tuning in for the spectacle. These people are real. I've met several of them. I'm sure they are perfectly decent people. But (and here's where the pretension kicks in) they are not an audience that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences should desire to please or even want anything to do with. The Oscars should take a cue from the Tony Awards, The Independent Spirit Awards and even your local industry specific trade show honoring the best in automotive and farm equipment. That is, actually make it about the people in the room you're honoring rather than desperately, transparently, unappealingly and unsuccessfully trying to cater to the lowest common denominator. That is all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Winners/Nominees:</span><br />An extremely scatter-shot year where the Academy seemed to spread the wealth. But I want to be effusive for a moment and talk about the acting winners. Reading various blogs and awards pundits, I understand there are varying opinions about the merits of Christian Bale, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo and Natalie Portman. For my money, this is the first year in a long time where each of the four acting categories were awarded to both good and iconic performances. I can easily see each of the four actors being remembered for their turns in their respective films. Let me elaborate. Even in years like 2008, which awarded four worthy performances, there were one or two that seem destined to become forgettable. Kate Winslet was fine in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Reader</span>, but that will not be the performance she is remembered for in her career retrospective. If not for the fact that she won an Oscar for it, I bet <span style="font-style: italic;">The Reader</span> might have joined <span style="font-style: italic;">Little Children</span> as one of Winslet's roles people have a hard time remembering twenty-five years from now when sounding off each of her Oscar nominated performances. But Colin Firth's Bertie, Natalie Portman's Nina, Melissa Leo's Alice and Christian Bale's Dicky are all accomplished turns (to varying degrees) and memorable ones as well. What's more fantastic is that my vote would have only gone to one of these performers (Bale) if I actually had a ballot. It was gratifying to watch Natalie Portman, for instance--a limited actress who gave what was easily the weakest performance in her very strong category--win for a very accomplished, tricky turn, also her best to date.<br /><br />Poor Tom Hooper. The guy is now saddled with winning a Best Director trophy on his first nomination and the backlash is brewing. It's analogous to Ron Howard beating Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, David Lynch and Robert Altman in 2001, which I hope the Academy looks back upon with the appropriate level of embarrassment. Luckily, Tom Hooper doesn't seem nearly as self-important and fatuous as Ron Howard, but I do wonder what his incentive is to try at this point, since he's been so hastily rewarded for such a pedestrian effort. Fincher, Aronofsky and Russell each created singular pieces of work, without the slightest hint of ambivalence to their direction. The dubious distinction of least deserving among the directing nominees is pretty much a toss-up between Tom Hooper and the Coens. I firmly believe that had <span style="font-style: italic;">No Country for Old Men</span> not won three years ago, we may be have been looking at a <span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span> love fest this year. Nonetheless, Hooper unseated some seriously visionary filmmakers to get the win and the look on his face during his acceptance speech (or am I imagining things?) tells me that he seems at least partially aware that the nomination without the win probably would have been better in the long run for his career. Ask Sam Mendes about that one. As the dust settles on 2010, Hooper's win won't smell so fresh, even more so than <span style="font-style: italic;">The King Speech's</span> Best Picture win. He will join the ranks of Carol Reed, John G. Avildsen and Richard Attenborough as anomalous best director winners, regarded with some measure of head-scratching, given that at least two or three of the also-rans in their respective years would have made more interesting and historically resonant alternatives. None of this is to say that I think the guy is a bad filmmaker. He may well surprise in the years to come. I hope I'm wrong. Your move, Hooper.<br /><br />Back to Best Actress for a moment. I adore Michelle Williams. I'm so glad she exists and I really like what she's giving cinema in terms of prickly, complicated performances in interesting, striking films that are neither commercial nor critical slam dunks on paper. Here she sits with her second Oscar nomination in five years, Busy Phillips still loyally at her side (love that friendship) and wearing it with a mix of clear affection for the work, but mild befuddlement for its recognition. I suspect that had <span style="font-style: italic;">Brokeback Mountain</span> not been her debut nomination, she may have won. Not to take anything away from Rachel Weisz, but 2005's crowning of her lead work in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Constant Gardener</span> as the Best Supporting Actress performance of the year reads as a clear example of what lack of consensus can breed. I suspect the reasoning that year went something like this. "Michelle Williams was great, but...giving an Oscar to a "Dawson's Creek" alum? Let's let her prove herself a little more. Amy Adams in <span style="font-style: italic;">Junebug</span>? Who the hell is Amy Adams? And furthermore, what the hell is <span style="font-style: italic;">Junebug</span>? Catherine Keener? I like her. She's nominated for <span style="font-style: italic;">The 40-Year-Old Virgin</span>, right? <span style="font-style: italic;">Capote</span>? Nah...not enough theatrics. Frances McDormand in <span style="font-style: italic;">North Country</span>? Um...no thanks. Didn't see that movie. Rachel Weisz...she kind of looks like Kate Winslet. She's British, so I'm sure she's good. Plus, I heard the movie's really serious and world conscious. Tic." And scene. Watching the trailer for <span style="font-style: italic;">Meek's Cutoff</span> earlier today, I'm convinced that Michelle Williams will be nominated again in the near future, if not necessarily for that film. She seems committed to making the kinds of films that cinephiles love, even if they leave audiences and most critics cold. I also suspect that she may never win, which is totally fine. Looking at her filmography, it seems that <span style="font-style: italic;">Brokeback Mountain</span> may be as close to Oscar's wheelhouse as she's willing to get. I applaud her choices and it's nothing short of miraculous that her work in <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span> got cited.<br /><br />What about Jennifer Lawrence, who I've heard referred to as the Carey Mulligan of this year. I hope Lawrence secretly takes umbrage that comparison, given how slight <span style="font-style: italic;">An Education</span> is when propped up against <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> as a film swept into a ten wide Best Picture field by its central performance. Despite having had no chance to get up on stage and deliver a gushing speech, I still think Lawrence, in the few interviews I saw has made the season work better for her than Mulligan did a year ago. I'm not sure if either will ever see a nomination again (a little over half of first time acting nominees don't), but Lawrence is in a good position right now. She's the acting nominee whose next move I'm most awaiting with bated breath, <span style="font-style: italic;">X-Men: First Class</span> notwithstanding (I'm sorry, that movie just looks silly and I am a huge X-Men fan).<br /><br />I am less curious about Natalie Portman's next career-move. I say this not to slight her. As I've stated, her performance in <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> is handily her best work. It's preferable by a mile to most of the recent Best Actress winners going back as far as Charlize Theron (easily the best of the 2000s winners). That being said, Portman's Oscar-winning turn in <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> feels less like a great actress finally getting her due (Kate Winslet) than it does a limited actress with clear strengths and weaknesses finally finding a director and a vehicle that plays to her assets as a performer (Hilary Swank, the first time). This idea that Natalie Portman is overdue for a win and that her laurels for <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> are the culmination of a great career is an idea I've heard floated all season from casual and literate movie-watchers alike. Being comfortably familiar with her filmography and looking at what she has coming down the pipe, this is a narrative that I just do not understand, even while having no real qualms about her winning Best Actress for this particular performance. Over at <a href="http://thefilmexperience.net/">The Film Experience</a>, on a recent podcast, the idea of which Oscar nominated performers could play which of the other Oscar nominated roles was discussed (a fun hypothetical to consider). Natalie Portman's possible inability to play something as naturalistic and stripped down as Michelle Williams's part in <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span> was discussed. I agree wholeheartedly and I'll further submit that Williams, also capable of petite, frail and shrinking, could quite possibly have given us a completely different, but no less captivating Nina Sayers. Nicole Kidman, fabulous in <span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span> (and in general) is an actress who I could also see bringing something interesting to the role, had the project been made fifteen years ago. And though Jennifer Lawrence remains relatively untested, the way she avoided all of the scenery-chewing cliches that could have made her turn in <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> more showy, sure, but less interesting makes me think we're bound to see a career with real range. I'm not sure Natalie Portman could convincingly play any of the other four Best Actress performances. I'm less sure that she'll ever top her turn in <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> and almost certain that she's not necessarily interested in doing so. She seems very content at shrinking away, not just from public life, but from acting in general, so in that way (and many others) it's good she was rewarded for this performance.<br /><br />I've heard enough griping about <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network's</span> wins in both editing and original score that I feel it prudent to address both. First of all, I take issue with the notion that elaborate editing is an automatic catch-all for good editing. In the tech categories, it often seems that best equals most, as evidenced by <span style="font-style: italic;">Alice in Wonderland's</span> baffling Oscar for Best Costume Design and, even more infuriatingly, Best Art Direction. Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall did a marvelous job on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network, </span><span jsid="text">juggling three or four different timelines. Flashback and parallel narrative structure i<span class="text_exposed_hide">.</span><span class="text_exposed_show">s really hard to pull off well and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network </span>weaves it all seamlessly and in a way that serves the narrative. <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span>, which is much flashier fare, could have done with less </span></span><span jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show">cuts (and less obvious cuts), especially in the cave.</span></span> And hats off to the Academy for recognizing Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's superb work in the original score category. It's kind of flabbergasting the number of people I've heard gripe about this win who I've never heard comment one way or the other on the a film's score. Atmospheric, minimalist, instantly recognizable and sure to become iconic. At once, everything that an Oscar winning score should be and the type of score they overlook too often.<br /><br />How I wish I had stuck to my instinct that Roger Deakins wouldn't win for his work in <span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span>. Even I fell prey to the groupthink that surrounded the notion that the overdue lenser would finally land a statue, though my gut told me Wally Pfister would get it. If I had my ballot to make over again, I'd probably replace Deakins (who I cited) with Yorick Le Saux for <span style="font-style: italic;">I Am Love</span> or the evocative, unfussy work of Michael McDonough in <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span>, a film which I loved (and love more each time I rewatch), but ultimately won no gold medals in my year-end rewards. Deakins work in <span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span>, while tailor made for awards consideration on paper, isn't terribly exciting and I'm fine with his loss here.<br /><br />In my review of <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span>, I stated that both the effusive response of the audience at the theater and the demographic of said audience told me that it would definitely give <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network </span>a run for its money. Actually, what I knew in my heart, but probably didn't want to admit at the time, was that it was definitely going to win Best Picture. Ultimately, I'm surprised by how much the outcome didn't really upset me. This is, after all, quite similar to 2005 when <span style="font-style: italic;">Brokeback Moutain</span> lost to <span style="font-style: italic;">Crash</span> in that Best Picture was actually within grasp for my favorite film of the year, but was then given to my least favorite of the nominees. Maybe it's because I saw <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network's</span> loss coming and was able to steel myself, whereas <span style="font-style: italic;">Crash's</span> victory over <span style="font-style: italic;">Brokeback Mountain</span> was out of nowhere and still remains unprecedented. And now, five years later, I do think that in a twisted way, appreciate<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Crash's</span> Best Picture win, if only because of what it revealed about the Academy and what it said about the climate at the time. <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> winning Best Picture for 2010 does not indicate a backslide, but rather says a lot about the cinematic landscape in 2010. Regardless of my misgivings about Bertie and his wacky pals<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>, it was simply too successful in its modest goals and too comfortably within the Oscar wheelhouse to lose. The idea that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Departed, No Country for Old Men</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> represented some changing of the guard at the Academy is a falsehood. It's always about what's going on in each given year. And lest we forget that in 2008, <span style="font-style: italic;">Slumdog Millionaire</span>, a very traditional film with traditional narrative tropes (albeit wrapped in a flashy package) won Best Picture, smack dab in the middle of this supposed new trending towards darker, more forward-thinking and visionary Best Picture winners. If we want to get reductive and talk about <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> equivalent in the years of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Departed, No Country for Old Men</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span>, you'd probably be looking at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Queen</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Atonement</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">An Education</span>, all of which were pre-ordained, sight-unseen Oscar bait of various quality and none of which were beloved enough by audiences or the Academy to do as well as <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech </span>did. Will history look kindly on a Best Picture win for <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span>? I'm almost certain that it won't. But one can't know for sure. Take <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span>, which I cited as my favorite (at the time) of the 2009 Best Picture nominees. Even though I'm happy it won, if pressed, I have to admit that I seldom think about the <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> a year after the fact. If I had a ballot to cast today, <span style="font-style: italic;">Inglourious Basterds</span> would probably get my vote as the more robust and resonating piece of cinema. It's anyone's guess which 2010 films will rise and fall in terms of my own esteem. I can already tell you that <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span>, two films I loved in my initial viewings and still admire greatly, have started to experience the dreaded fade. Ungodly numbers of subsequent viewings of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> have only made me love those titles more. But for 2010, the Academy has spoken. <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> will be remembered as the film they loved and that, as they say, is that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closing Thoughts<br /></span>Another Oscar year has come and gone and really...what is there left to say? Well, if you've been following my blog, there's plenty. I've been more terse about the Oscar race than I have in the previous two years that I've been operating this blog. Full disclosure (and I'm violating my own policy of not getting delving into my personal life on this blog), my personal aesthetic has gone through a sort of renaissance these past few years. I'm seeing more movies and really discovering, not so much what my tastes are (which has actually changed very little), but I'm developing my own language and vocabulary to communicate those tastes more effectively. I'm so glad I embarked on the Big Pretentious Movie Summer last year. Even if I didn't finish the list, which I ultimately plan to do, it was such a leap forward in my appreciation of filmwatching for its own sake, completely divorced from awards and box office. I watched movies like <span style="font-style: italic;">Interiors</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Naked, Midnight Cowboy, Sal</span><i style="font-style: italic;">ò</i><span style="font-style: italic;"> or the 120 Days of Sodom, Days of Heaven, Breakfast at Tiffany's</span>, none of which I had seen before and now can't imagine what life was like before having seen them (all the while appreciating them on very different levels). And that being the case, I've learned that the Oscars really must be taken with a grain of salt. I'm not just talking about <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> unseating my favorite film of the year<span style="font-style: italic;">, The Social Network</span> in both Best Picture and Best Director, which I contended on this very blog was likely and very possible, respectively. It's a catch-all. Even when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences crowns one's favorite film or performance, they are still a just a group of people weighing in on things. Their opinion is not gospel. Never has been, never will be. And that's not a knock on them, because truth be told, no one's opinion is gospel. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span> remains, to me, the best film of 2010 as does <span style="font-style: italic;">Hunger</span> the best film of 2009 and <span style="font-style: italic;">Rachel Getting Married </span>of 2008. None of those films won Best Picture and two of the three weren't even nominated--a fact that diminishes none of the immense joy and cinematic discovery I've experienced on repeat viewings of each of these titles. And isn't that what movie watching is all about? As Nathaniel over at The Film Experience wisely states, "A great film is its own reward."The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410700671883829851.post-76741231716504575422011-02-19T18:05:00.003-05:002011-02-25T13:17:50.714-05:002010 Pretentious Film Awards - The WinnersHere is my list of winners for the 3rd Annual Pretentious Film Awards. Here's hoping 2011 is another great year for movies!<br /><br />*Denotes Winner<br />**Denotes Runner-Up<br />***Denotes Second Runner-Up<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Picture</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Black Swan<br />Blue Valentine**<br />Dogtooth***<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Social Network*</span><br />Winter's Bone<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Director</span><br /><br />Darren Aronofsky - <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span><br />Derek Cianfrance - <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine**</span><br />Yorgos Lanthimos - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dogtooth</span><br />David O. Russell - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter***</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Fincher - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Social Network</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Actor in a Leading Role</span><br /><br />Aaron Eckhart - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span><br />Jesse Eisenberg - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network**</span><br />James Franco - <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ryan Gosling - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Blue Valentine</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">*</span><br />Tahar Rahim - <span style="font-style: italic;">A Prophet***</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Actress in a Leading Role</span><br /><br />Nicole Kidman - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole***</span><br />Jennifer Lawrence - <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesley Manville - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Another Year</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">*</span><br />Tilda Swinton - <span style="font-style: italic;">I Am Love</span><br />Michelle Williams - <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine**</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Actor in a Supporting Role</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Christian Bale - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Fighter*</span><br />Andrew Garfield - <span style="font-style: italic;">Never Let Me Go**</span><br />John Hawkes - <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span><br />Mark Ruffalo - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span>***<br />Miles Teller - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Actress in a Supporting Role</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><br />Dale Dickey - <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span><br />Melissa Leo - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span>***<br />Mia Wasikowska - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kids Are All Right</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacki Weaver - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Animal Kingdom</span>*<br />Dianne Wiest - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span>**<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Original Screenplay</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Animal Kingdom</span> - <span class="Unicode">David Mich</span>ôd***<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span> - Mike Leigh**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span> - Keith Dorrington, Eric Johnson, Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Blue Valentine</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Derek Cianfrance*</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Toy Story 3</span> - Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Adapted Screenplay</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Never Let Me Go</span> - Alex Garland<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Rabbit Hole</span> - David Lindsay-Abaire**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span> - Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Social Network</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Aaron Sorkin</span>*<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span> - Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Editing</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />127 Hours</span></span> - Jon Harris<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Black Swan</span> - Andrew Weisbaum**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span> - Jim Helton and Ron Patane***<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Inception</span> - Lee Smith<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Social Network</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall</span>*<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Cinematography</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />127 Hours</span> - Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle**<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Black Swan</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Matthew Libatique*</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Enter the Void</span> - Benoît Debie<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span> - Jeff Cronenweth***<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span> - Roger Deakins<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Original Score</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Inception</span> - Hans Zimmer***<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Illusionist</span> - Sylvain Chomet<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The King's Speech</span> - Alexandre Desplat<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Never Let Me Go</span> - Rachel Portman**<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Social Network</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross</span>*<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Original Song</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />For Colored Girls</span> - "La Donna in Viola" (Performed by <span style="visibility: visible;" id="search">Andrea Jones-Sojola and Karen Slack)<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Illusionist</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - "Chanson Illusionist" (Performed by Sylvain Chomet)</span>*<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Never Let Me Go</span> - "Never Let Me Go" (Performed by Rachel Portman)**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span> - "Threshold" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span> - "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" (Performed by Sex Bob-Omb)***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Costume Design</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Black Swan</span> - Amy Westcott**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span> - Mark Bridges<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I Am Love</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Antonella Cannarozzi</span>*<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Inception</span> - Jeffrey Curland<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">True Grit</span> - Mary Zophres***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Achievement in Art Direction</span><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Black Swan</span> - Tora Peterson and David Stein**<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dogtooth</span> - Elli Papageorgakopoulou<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I Am Love</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Nadine Herrmann</span>*<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Inception</span> - Guy Hendrix Diaz, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> - Judy Farr and Eve Stewart***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Visual Effects</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Black Swan**<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inception</span>*<br />Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span>***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Makeup/Hair</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Swan</span>*<br />A Prophet**<br />Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span>***<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Sound Mixing</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />127 Hours**<br />The Fighter<br />The Illusionist<br />Inception***<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Social Network</span></span>*<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Sound Editing</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Swan</span>*<br />Inception<br />Toy Story 3**<br />Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">**<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Top Ten Films of 2010</span></span><span><br /><br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Valentine</span><br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">Dogtooth</span><br />4. <span style="font-style: italic;">Winter's Bone</span><br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter</span><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span><br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">Animal Kingdom</span><br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Illusionist</span><br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">Never Let Me Go</span><br /></span>The Pretentious Know it Allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279181033628364368noreply@blogger.com0