Paul Newman 1925-2008

Oldest Newman Movie I've seen: Hud
Newest Newman Movie I've Seen: Road to Perdition

Newman once said, "If my eyes ever turn brown, my career's shot to hell." You be the judge...
Rest in Peace.

Top Ten Favorite Modern Film Composers

10. Thomas Newman
Okay, even I'll admit that he's overrated sometimes. But he's often justifiably lauded. He's an eight-time Oscar nominee, though he's never won (I was surprised to find this out). He probably came closest to the win for his American Beauty score, which was lovely, but definitely not my favorite of his. I think that Newman's scoring works best when he underscores. Sample the scores from Todd Field's In the Bedroom and (even better) Little Children for some of Newman's best work. Field is just one director who has had their entire filmography scored by Newman. Sam Mendes went there for all three of his films and his upcoming fourth feature Revolutionary Road.

9. Jon Brion
His score for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind still gives me goosebumps. And his work in I Heart Huckabees, Boogie Nights and Magnolia are no slouches either.

8. Rolfe Kent
He is Alexander Payne's go to man for music. Listen closely next time you watch Sideways, Election or About Schmidt (which is his Kent's best work). That's some beautiful music, n'est pas? Oh, and if you watch "Dexter" that's Kent doing the theme at the beginning. Good stuff, I must say.

7. Alberto Iglesias
I love his work in The Constant Gardener, for which he is Academy Award nominated. But his real genius is in scoring just about every Almodovar film, which all have great scores. Particularly his Volver score, which is my personal favorite.

6. Mark Mothersbaugh
He lent his talent to The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, Thirteen in 2003, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004. And although I preferred David Byrne's scoring of the second season of "Big Love," I definitely love what Mothersbaugh did in the the first season. His music is rather lovely and strange.

5. Alexandre Desplat
His score for The Painted Veil was a thing of utter beauty, but I first took notice of him in 2005. And believe it or not, it was his score for The Upside of Anger that turned me into a fan. Check it out. I think it will pleasantly surprise.

4. Gustavo Santaolalla
While I don't feel it was at all necessary to reward him at the Oscars two years in a row (his score for Babel is rather derivative) he did create the simple and now iconic Brokeback Mountain score which is likely to live on as a classic. His Motorcycle Diaries score also impresses.

3. Philip Glass
Some felt that his score for The Hours was...a bit much, to say the least. He's very communicative, that's for sure. Unforgettable, definitely.

2. Howard Shore
Not for The Lord of the Rings, which was a fine score. But for The Departed, which was a departure for Shore, yet totally matched the tone and feel of the film. Astounding.

1. Mychael Danna
Okay, so perhaps I'm biased because he's Canadian. He's probably most famous for scoring parts of Little Miss Sunshine. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. His beautiful, often guitar-based scores are simply elegant. From Girl, Interrupted, to his clear standout, the haunting and graceful score for The Sweet Hereafter. Danna's one to listen for.

Random Thoughts

I'm trying to add a little more structure to the blog. I'll be starting up the "Can We Talk About..." series once again. Possibly Michael Shannon? I haven't decided yet. Also, since I've gotten myself one of those newfangled Netflix accounts, I've been able to catch up on movies that I missed the first time around. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I just saw Moulin Rouge! for the first time this week. I'll be posting a retrospective review of it sometime later this week, as well as other superlative works of the past that I happen to see.

I'll also be doing my Oscar predictions for Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director and Picture when I get a chance. And I will post a review of Happy Go-Lucky in the next few days.

Peace, Love and Pretension

Burn After Reading

written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
starring: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton
(This will be a shortened review since I saw this film some time ago and since it's already been spoken ad-nauseum)

After their heavy and meditative No Country for Old Men, which won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, the Coen brothers are at it again, this time foraying into comedy (which they do so well). I won't recount the film's storyline in too much detail because A.) I don't think that's the point of a movie review and B.) It's rather ridiculous. Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) a dismissed CIA operative is penning his memoirs as a means to make money, much to the dismay of his cold fish of a wife, Katherine (Tilda Swinton). In a series of unfortunate (and improbable) events, a disc containing several pages of the memoir lands in the incompetent hands of two fitness club employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand), who wish to use the secrets contained therein for their own financial gain. It's classic Coen brothers storytelling. A group of unwitting, unsuspecting people getting drawn into situations with dire consequences that they never seem to realize until it's way too late to turn back.

The film is well-written, but is that saying much? The Coen brothers have such a way with dialogue and characters. The film clearly wants you to laugh along with the ridiculously intricate nature of the tale, which is funny enough. About 3/4 of the way through the film, it starts to grow tiresome and lag somewhat, but the conclusion is enough to keep the average Coen brothers fan at least partially satiated.

All of the players here are in top form. Tilda Swinton plays ice queen once again like nobody's business. Swinton's Katherine is cheating on her husband with Harry (played by George Clooney) and doesn't even take off her pearls when she's making love. Frances McDormand seems to be able to elicit laughs with a mere facial expression and George Clooney is wonderfully bumbling and un-suave. The film also boasts great supporting talent from the likes of JK Simmons (Juno) and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor). The standouts of the film are clearly John Malkovich and Brad Pitt, probably in that order. They are both having such joyous fun with their roles. While they are both great, it seems that Pitt is getting all the press for his sharp comedic turn. I found his performance to be slightly more self-conscious than Malkovich, who found a sort of effortless, fluid humor that I found to be delightful.

There are a few more Coen brothers trademarks at work here. The "ho-hum" attitude towards death and the expectation that you chuckle along with them. I'm not sure how I feel about that, nor am I sure it's even a huge problem. I mean, our culture doesn't really have a problem with death the way people would like to think, but that's another issue entirely.

Grade: B

Emmy Predictions

People who know that I love the Oscars often assume that I will therefore love the Emmy's, which I don't get. Or the Grammy's, which I understand even less. But I digress. I certainly don't hate the Emmy's. It's just that I normally don't get as excited as I do about the Oscars. As often as I disagree about the deserving nature of the films nominated for Oscars, I agree even less that the television shows nominated for Emmy's are truly deserving (except under a few circumstances). Alas, here are my predictions for who will win big tonight.

*What I think will win
+What I think should win
**You never know...

Outstanding Comedy Series

30 Rock*+
Two And A Half Men
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office**

Conventional wisdom says that "30 Rock" takes this. True, they won last year, but the Emmy's aren't like the Golden Globes. They like to repeat themselves "30 Rock" is also my pick. I like "The Office" just fine, but it had a really off season and it feels like it's on its way out.
Should have been nominated: "Flight of the Conchords"

Outstanding Drama Series

Boston Legal**
Damages
Dexter+
House
Lost
Mad Men*

Okay, so "Mad Men" is the it show of the moment. And from what I've seen of it, it deserves the acclaim (I'm reinstating my blockbuster account soon and Mad Men Season 1 shall be at the top of my queue). I'm fine with a win for "Mad Men" but not so much that I can pretend it's superior to "Dexter." Though people seem to like "Boston Legal." That's one of those shows that always seems to get nominated for Emmy's, even though it supposedly sucks. Well, my friend's roommate made us sit through a couple of episodes of "Boston Legal" and I'm happy to confirm that it does in fact suck. Which means it might win, because the world is against me. And none of these shows are superior to...
Should have been nominated: "Big Love"

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"+
Steve Carrell - "The Office"*
Lee Pace - "Pushing Daisies"
Tony Shalhoub - "Monk"
Charlie Sheen - "Two and a Half Men"**

I will never understand the notion that "Two and a Half Men" is somehow a funny show. Seriously, it gets nominated in every possible category every year. What gives? This one should go to Alec Baldwin, who is superb on "30 Rock." But I have a feeling they'll tip their hat to Steve Carrell for his work on "The Office." He's lost out before and his star is rising. Plus, Alec Baldwin made all those comments about how "30 Rock" rules and "Scrubs" and "My Name is Earl" suck. That might make him seem unsympathetic and it's all very political.
Should have been nominated: Charlie Day for "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera - "Ugly Betty"**
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"*
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds"+

I love "30 Rock" and am a fan of all things Tina Fey. I'll even be happy for her if she wins tonight. She's very good on "30 Rock" but I can't pretend that what she does is superior to what Mary-Louise Parker does on "Weeds." Of course, America Ferrera could win for the overrated "Ugly Betty" like she did last year. They do like to repeat themselves. But for now, I say Fey takes it.
Should have been nominated: Marcia Cross for "Desperate Housewives"

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Gabriel Byrne - "In Treatment"
Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"*
John Hamm - "Mad Men"+
Hugh Laurie - "House"
James Spader - "Boston Legal"**

Michael C. Hall deserves it. John Hamm will probably get it, knock on wood. But James Spader won last year. And there's always Hugh Laurie to consider. A win for Spader or Laurie wouldn't surprise me, but I still say that Hamm gets it.
Should have been nominated: Bill Paxton for "Big Love"

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close - "Damages"+
Sally Field - "Brothers and Sisters"**
Mariska Hargitay - "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter - "Saving Grace"
Keira Sedgwick - "The Closer"*

I've seen enough of each of these shows, maybe with the exception of Holly Hunter's (I've got to check it out. She was so good in The Piano), to know that these are all fine performances. Even though I've only seen a couple episodes of "The Closer" I think Sedgwick deserves it, even over Sally Field, who I watch more often on "Brothers and Sisters" and who was last year's surprise winner. Conventional wisdom says that they won't let Field anywhere near the stage after her "inflammatory" speech last year. But if they let Kathy Griffin win two years in a row, then come on... All of these women are foreseeable winners, but I think it will ultimately go to Close.
Should have been nominated: Jeanne Tripplehorn for "Big Love"

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

I won't even bother listing the nominees because Paul Giamatti will win this handedly for "John Adams." That is all.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Ditto for Laura Liney.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

John Cryer - "Two and a Half Men"
Kevin Dillon - "The Entourage"
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"**
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"*
Rainn Wilson - "The Office"+

Can I just say that it's great to see two gay actors nominated for...Oh, wait. Sorry. Jeremy Piven is "straight." Where is my mind? There's not much to say about this category. Jeremy Piven will probably win. Rainn Wilson deserves it. But both Harris and Cryer have a real chance of upsetting. And Dillon is happy to be there.
Should have been nominated: John C. McGinley for "Scrubs"

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Kristin Chenoweth - "Pushing Daisies"**
Amy Poehler - "Saturday Night Live"*
Jean Smart - "Samantha Who?"
Holland Taylor - "Two and a Half Men"
Vanessa Williams - "Ugly Betty"+

I guess of these five nominees, Amy Poehler is my favorite. But honestly, I don't care about this category. Not when it doesn't include Jane Krakowski for "30 Rock" or Elizabeth Perkins for "Weeds". I predict Vanessa Williams to take it, but Kristin Chenoweth is supposedly just darling on "Pushing Daisies," so watch out.
Should have been nominated: Elizabeth Perkins for "Weeds" or Jane Krakowski for "30 Rock." Everything they both say is hilarious.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Ted Danson - "Damages"+
Michael Emerson - "Lost"
Zeljko Ivanek - "Damages"
William Shatner - "Boston Legal"**
John Slattery - "Mad Men"*

I don't really care about this category either, but what I've seen of "Mad Men," speaks well of John Slattery's performance. I think it will go to Ted Danson, but who knows? And of course Shatner's always a possibility.
Should have been nominated: Harry Dean Stanton for "Big Love" (Are we seeing a pattern yet?)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Candice Bergen - "Boston Legal"**
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers and Sisters"*
Sandra Oh - "Grey's Anatomy"
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment"
Chandra Wilson - "Grey's Anatomy"+

Everyone thinks Chandra Wilson should get it for "Grey's Anatomy." I have no problem with her winning. I have a problem with her character on that show, who is such a mammy archetype, it borders on offensive (especially since the showrunner is a BLACK. WOMAN.) I think Rachel Griffiths should get it for her searing work on "Brother's and Sisters," but I think it will go to Wilson.
Should have been nominated: Patricia Wettig for "Brothers and Sisters"

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

I'd bother listing the nominees, but I think that we're looking at a John Adams sweep. It's going to be Tom Wilkinson hands down.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Eileen Atkins - "Cranford"**
Laura Dern - "Recount"+
Ashley Jensen - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale"
Audra McDonald - "A Raisin in the Sun"*
Alfre Woodard - "Pictures of Hollis Woods"

I just love Audra McDonald, so I'd love to see her win here, even if the TV version of "A Raisin in the Sun" was vomit inducing. But Laura Dern will probably get it. This is the easiest way to reward "Recount."

Towelhead

Towelhead

written and directed by Alan Ball
Starring: Summer Bishil, Peter Macdissi, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello and Toni Collette

Nearly every aspect of Towelhead feels calculated and patently false. Much in the same way that there's something admirable about transgressive material that's making a large and salient point, there's something desperate and almost immature about transgression for its own sake. Films that try to shock, push buttons and appear provocative when it is clear that the writer-director (in this case, Alan Ball) has little or nothing insightful to say about the subject matter.

Towelhead, written and directed by Alan Ball, who won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for penning American Beauty, tells the story of Jasira, a thirteen-year-old girl with a white mother (Maria Bello) and a Lebanese father (Peter Macdissi). After Jasira allows her mother's boyfriend to help her shave her pubic hair, her mother flies into a rage, siding with the boyfriend, not her daughter, and sends Jasira to live in Texas with her dad.

Her father is a creation of peculiar and often flimsy characterization. He is a Christian, but is often assumed to be Muslim because he's from the Middle East. He is Americanized in some ways, but not so much in others (to the point of inconsistency). For instance, he slaps Jasira when she shows up to breakfast in a tank top, yet seems to take little to no offense to his girlfriend liberally applying makeup to Jasira's face.

In a lot of ways, the film is about Jasira's sexual awakening, as she babysits for the family next door, whose son calls her "Towelhead." There, she discovers the family's patriarch, Travis (played by Aaron Eckhart) and his pornographic magazines, which prompt her to have her first orgasm. This is all compounded and complicated by her forays into sex with Travis and with Thomas, an African-American boy her own age. Fine. I have said before that I have no problems with frank portrayals of female teenage sexual desire, something seriously lacking in American films. But so much here exists to shock and offend. Only to shock and offend. Is Alan Ball trying to turn stereotypes about Middle Eastern women on their head? Probably. But this film actually serves to reinforce a lot of those stereotypes. Oh, and Summer Bashil, the actress playing Jasira, happens to be of Mexican, Scottish and East-Indian descent in a nice bit of Sacheen Littlefeather-esque racism. Jasira, for all her sexual desire and curiosity is an incredibly passive character. Her sexual misadventures happen to her, but are not brought about because of her doing. Alan Ball writes her so that she is placed in a situation where she allows herself to be manually stimulated by Travis to the point that he breaks her hymen and ends up with her blood all over his hand. It's shocking, yes. But it's hardly more than that.

Alan Ball also tries desperately to play with preconceived notions of African-American characters. My friend and I were the only non-white people in a theater filled with a white people who laughed riotously and the film's forced, heavy-handed humor. At one point, I actually leaned over to him and said "This movie is so obviously written by a white person." Thomas, the aforementioned African-American character, is so polished, so charming, so well-spoken, and so model-minority that he could only be the creation of a writer clearly suffering from Liberal white guilt. And yet, with all that, Ball reinforces one of the greatest black stereotypes in his characterization of Thomas. He is essentially portrayed as an oversexed predator. One who grabs Jasira's boob without prompting as soon as his parents go upstairs, when Jasira is over at his house for dinner one night.

Of course, Jasira's father doesn't approve of their friendship and the film also attempts to address the issue of racism as well. It fails here as well. Alan Ball bites off way more than he can chew with this fill, trying to tackle so many issues that the whole thing all but collapses in on itself. Had Ball dedicated the film to just one of these topics and actually done some research and honest characterization, the film might have succeeded on some level.

What of the performances? Praise is being heaped onto Summer Bashil, who plays Jasira and was 18 at the time the movie was filmed. She's fine. She's serviceable in a role that's completely underwritten and doesn't call for her to do much. Toni Collette is interesting as one half a liberal white couple whose fascination with and need to protect Jasira borders on exoticism. But she too is not given much to do. My mother and my sister recently went to see Tyler Perry's "The Family that Preys" and they commented that Tyler Perry is not kind to women in his films. I replied that there is sociological data to suggest that closeted gay men are often inherently misogynistic, so that might account for it. But what accounts for Alan Ball, who's out and proud, writing such flimsy and often sexist female characterizations here and in his debut American Beauty? I enjoyed American Beauty, but I am able to love it in spite of its problems, most of which stem from the script. That's how misguided Towelhead is. It points out its own flaws, but also makes you realize all the ways in which American Beauty is also misguided. And that Sam Mendes truly deserves his Best Director trophy. His direction may have been the only thing that saved it.

Grade: C-

I Met Todd Field! (And Other Thoughts)

Yes, I met Todd Field. And A.O. Scott was there too, but this isn't about him. It was an amazing experience at one in a series of lectures put on by Emory University called "Artists and Critics." Todd Field recounted his experiences as a filmmaker and his insights into the industry with very little pretension. Even A.O. Scott, who I'm not a huge fan of, was not nearly as full of himself as I thought he would be. There was this nice little moment where A.O. Scott was singing Clint Eastwood's praises for about ten minutes straight. It was very fanboy-esque and I think I actually saw Todd Field roll his eyes once.

I still need to post reviews of Burn After Reading and Happy Go Lucky, both of which I had the pleasure of finally seeing last week. I also saw Towelhead on Friday, which I will also review. I have seen a lot of really bad movies this year. But for what it's trying to achieve, and the already anointed talent behind it, I don't think there has been a movie in 2008 that I have violently disliked as much as Towelhead. I can almost guarantee that it ends up on my worst movies of 2008 list.

More to come later...

Random Thoughts...More to Come

I will be posting more at length later. I've been busy filming the last few scenes of my movie, working on Grad school applications and working in general. I'll be posting my thoughts on Burn After Reading and Happy-Go-Lucky, both of which I saw this week. I'm still not sure how I feel about the former (I just saw it tonight and I have to let it marinate) but I'm pretty sure that Happy-Go-Lucky contains my favorite performance of the year thus far. I'll talk about it more in depth when I post my review.

Peace, Love and Pretension

Paul Newman

Just because....



Isn't it very sad to think that the world will soon be without him?

John McCain is silly

I know I said I would refrain from talking too much about the election. Well, deal with it. I'm allowed to change my mind, the same way Barack Obama and John McCain have been changing their minds on several issues as we draw closer to November 5th, but that's not the point of this post.

Today, I was watching John McCain talk to a group of "young voters." You know those people who are apparently going to play an instrumental role in every Presidential race, until election day roles around and it turns out...not so much. He was wearing a baseball cap with the word "Navy" printed on it. And I couldn't helped being filled with rage. Not because I hate the Navy, or even John McCain for that matter. But one article of clothing seems to perfectly encapsulate my issue with the guy. This desire he has to be liked. Not to say that Barack Obama doesn't also possess a borderline sad desire to be liked, but since Obama is actually likable (in the strictest definition of the word) it's not as noticeable. Every time I hear McCain talk about being in a POW camp, or how he's more experienced, or about how the surge is working, or starting out a sentence with the words "My friends..." I half expect to hear him talking about how he used to live in a van down by the river.

McCain needs to realize that people don't like him. And deal with it. His party doesn't even like him. Not really. They (at best) tolerate him. But they do respect him. Want proof? Sample the pack of lies they spouted on his behalf last week at the Republican National Convention. Mitt Romney talking about how we need to move away from a Liberal Washington D.C. Yeah, Mitt. The same liberal Washington DC that's been implementing pushy, militaristic politics for the past eight years? That's been ensuring that we have more pregnant, disease-ridden teenagers thanks to "ignorance-only " sex education? That liberal Washington DC? To quote Elizabeth Darko, Mitt Romney can "Go suck a fuck." (Since I A: Am digressing and B: Do not know how one would actually go about sucking a fuck, I'll get back to my main point).

I think John M cCain should relish the fact that he's unlikable. Look at Dick Cheney. Even Gargamel (pictured right in a photo taken at the the 2004 Republican National Convention) thinks Cheney is "kind of mean." And yet Cheney has managed to do just fine by one outsider's standards or another (let's face it, he's been our real President for the past eight years). McCain needs to stop referring to Americans as "My friends." He needs to stop trying to ingratiate himself with the American people. That's what he has Sarah Palin for no w, and frankly, in the two or so weeks she's entered the picture, she's been doing it a hell of a lot better than he ever could (God help us all). My point is, McCain should embrace his inner Dick Cheney and just have fun. If they bring up how he left his invalid wife and upgraded for a better model, he should just wag his head and say "Yeah, I did that. And I'd do it again. What else?" If they bring up how his current wife Cindy is pretty much a drug addict/thief, he should just hit them back with an attitude-filled "The bitch needed drugs and money, so she stole. It ain't rocket science. What else?" If they accuse him of picking Sarah Palin as his running mate because he didn't have the balls to pick Joe Liebermann, which kind of shows that he cares more about winning than what's right for the country, he should flip 'em off and say "Yeah, I did. I want to be President. A lot of people who want to be President would do (and have done) a lot worse things to get there, so don't hate on me just because I'm fly. What else?" He should be having FUN, man. After all, he may LITERALLY drop dead tomorrow.

Frozen River

Frozen River
written and directed by Courtney Hunt
starring Melissa Leo, Misty Upham and Michael O'Keefe

I left the screening of Frozen River asking myself if this film is too bleak. Maybe not, when one considers the weight of the subject matter. A poor single mother in upstate New York trying to keep herself and her two sons afloat, who turns to illegal immigrant smuggling in her desperation. Heavy. Truth be told, bleakness itself never ruined a film, at least not for me. Can anyone seriously argue against the incredibly bleak nature of The Sweet Hereafter (one of my favorite films) that (like Frozen River) sails over the Northern, snow-capped terrain exposing its desolation and hopelessness? Newcomer Courtney Hunt has created a downbeat human drama indeed.

Leo plays Ray, a woman living in a trailer with her two sons, aged fifteen and five. She can barely scrape together money for rent. Her husband is AWOL and has a serious gambling addiction that has afforded her family many opportunities for financial ruin. Her oldest son desperately wants to quit school so he can get a job and help the family. Ray lives day by day on the hope that she'll be made Assistant Manager at the dollar store she's been working at for the past two years and finally be able to afford a double-wide (did I mention bleak?) Ray is roped into the whole immigration smuggling racket quite by accident when she tracks down a Mohawk woman named Lila (a believable and natural Misty Upham), who happened upon Ray's car once her husband abandoned it. The two form a reluctant partnership as Lila shows Ray how simply having a car with a pop-open trunk can make her a lot of money.

The performances here are quite good. The actors steer very well around the big emotional turns. Melissa Leo reduces Ray to a sheer force of will to survive, never allowing herself to get too caught up or rundown by her emotional baggage (which is surely legion). Ray's been hurt before, and she'll be hurt again and she knows this. And so does Leo. As Lila, Misty Upham plays her cards very close to her chest. She is dishonest, but it is a desperate frantic dishonesty, not one of cold calculation. Upham plays Lila so that we always catch her in her lies. Consider a scene in which Lila is attempting to by a car with money she has saved. The dealer knows what she is up to and refuses to sell her a trunk. Watch Upham's eyes as Lila scrambles for excuse after excuse as to why she needs that car. Though they meet under contentious circumstances, perhaps the reason that Lila and Ray continue to be drawn to each other is not entirely about the large amounts of money they can make, but about a shared experience of desperation and attempt to regain some semblance of peace. Though it is ultimately about the money, and the film, in one of its few pieces of purely thought out characterization, never seeks to sentimentalize their bond or "Thelma and Louise" the two women. They speak little about personal matters when they're in the car together. In fact, an attempt by Lila to delve into the details of Ray's marital woes is met with a stern and stone-faced "fuck you."

Courtney Hunt's direction here is standard, logical, and ultimately impressive (and not just for a debut). Even more impressive is Reed Morano's cinematography, which captures the barren landscape of the American North without exploiting the obvious opportunities for wide shots of nothingness.

Ultimately, the aforementioned weaknesses are mainly content-based. The film ultimately says very little about the issue of immigrant smuggling, or the complexities of Native American/white American relations. One could make the argument that Hunt is attempting a more personal stories, free of easily digestible soapbox messages and platitudes. That's all well and good. The only problem with that is that in all of her attempts to humanize and engender sympathy for her characters (especially Ray), these characters do often feel archetypal (once again, especially Ray). The single-mother trying to make ends meet. Not to take anything away from Melissa Leo's performance, but because it's a character that's been explored countless times in cinema, it makes the film's ending lack the emotional one-two punch that Hunt is aiming for. I ultimately expected what I saw. This was still an intriguing debut from Hunt and I'm curious to see more. That being said, Frozen River suffers from a serious lack of focus, especially in its third act. The film is at least partially saved by Melissa Leo's smoldering star turn, which may well earn her an Oscar nomination for best actress if Sony Pictures Classic campaigns properly. But being fond of Leo's performance does not automatically install blinders on my face that make me oblivious to the film's other problems.

Grade: B-

Early Oscar Predictions--Best Actor

Continuing with my ongoing series of early Oscar predictions, we move on to Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

This category is packed to the brim with potential contenders. And yet, I can't imagine a list that doesn't include...

1. Sean Penn in Milk
This role positively screams Oscar-bait, but in a way that (for once) I mostly approve of. I hate biopics, but I feel like the story of openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk is one that is still relevant today. One that we can still take lessons and cues from. Penn is pretty much a lock for a nod as far as I'm concerned. Oscar loves to reward people playing real people. But Sean Penn is not really well liked, as last year's snubs for Into the Wild can attest. Too gay? It might be. It might prevent Penn from winning his second Oscar, even if he deserves it. Wouldn't it be easier to reward...

2. Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
He's playing Richard Nixon in a film based on an acclaimed play. And it's directed by Opie, who some people seem to think is a good filmmaker. Langella is an aging veteran with no nomination to speak of, even after moderate buzz for his performances in recent films like Good Night and Good Luck and Starting Out in the Evening. It seems like a safe bet on paper. But this may not translate well from stage to film (it happens sometimes). If that happens, it may seem underwhelming in the wake of other performances in films based on plays. Such as...


3. Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt
I don't know why more people aren't predicting Hoffman for a nomination. I understand that there's some grey area about how big this role is and whether it will be placed in supporting or lead. But after his throwaway nomination last year in supporting for Charlie Wilson's War, it feels like Hoffman can be nominated for just about anything. So what if he's playing a child molester? I don't understand this whole "Oscar doesn't like unlikable characters" logic that a lot of people seem to adopt, especially since it doesn't really hold up. Sample some of the roles that Oscar has rewarded in the last ten years. Aileen Wuornos, Idi Amin, Daniel Plainview, Anton Chigurh, Karen Crowder, Alonzo (Training Day), Velma Kelly, Jimmy Markum. These characters are all (in some way or another) murderers, by the way and represent samplings from all four acting categories. Just saying.

4. Richard Jenkins in The Visitor
This small indie opened to very good reviews (both for Jenkins's performance and the film itself). Will the minor buzz sustain until year's end? It might. It will certainly take an aggressive FYC campaign on the part of the studio.

5. Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This trailer is absolutely gorgeous. It's a thing of beauty and should be in a museum. And Fincher has been a force to be reckoned with for a long time (when will the AMPAS finally embrace him?) Pitt hasn't been invited back to the party since his nomination in the supporting category for 12 Monkeys (and that was a long time ago). Will they nominate him this year? The idea of Brad and Angelina both getting Oscar nominations seems like a media frenzy the likes of which the Academy can't pass up...How else do you explain Miley (sp.) Cyrus being a presenter last year?

Don't Count Out...

6. Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road
He has two roles this year. It would probably be smart to put him in the top five, right? Maybe. But Leo's been getting nominated pretty consistently since The Aviator. It's a little bit presumptuous to assume that he'll be nominated every two years, dont'cha think? He has the heavily publicized Titanic-reunion with Kate to build up some buzz. If anything, pairing the two together will show how much both have grown as actors, especially Leo who has improved his craft nearly tenfold. But a domestic drama? Directed by Sam Mendes? Could it feel too "been there, done that?"

7. Leonardo DiCaprio in House of Lies
Ridley Scott is a hack. That's why I put Revolutionary Road first. That is all.

8. Benicio del Toro in Che
This performance will have to be very well received for it to receive some attention. del Toro already has a statue and a subsequent nod, so it's not like they're itching to reward him. He is being directed by the Oscar-winning Soderbergh here and it is a biopic, so it warrants some attention.

9. Viggo Mortensen in The Road
The reception of this film will truly tell if cinema-watchers still have a boner for Cormac McCarthy following the success of No Country for Old Men. But I love me some Viggo and would love to see him back at the plate again after his nomination for Eastern Promises last year. And finally...

10. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Because Warner Bros. studios are riding high off this movie's acclaim, which has reached a ridiculous fevered pitch (I settled on a B+ for The Dark Knight, by the way). This may cause them to commit flagrant category fraud and campaign Ledger in lead since he does "dominate" the film. It's possible, but I doubt it because category fraud usually goes in the other direction (leads placed in supporting).

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is like a sumptuous buffet, decadent in more ways than one. The players are sexy beyond the telling of it (even Scarlett Johansson, whose appeal I definitely understand, even if I'm kind of immune to it), the cinematography is gorgeous, taking voracious bites out of Spain's scenery and the music is repetitive and sensuous. You wouldn't think that all of these elements would make for such a cerebral movie-going experience. A question that's going to be lingering in the mind of any attentive movie-goer is "How cerebral is too cerebral? Is this film too cerebral?" I don't think so, but I can definitely understand how people would go there.

Let me back up for a moment to the film's premise, which finds old college buddies Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) vacationing in Spain. The trip serves as an escape mechanism for both women. Cristina recently spent a good chunk of her time making a short film that she ultimately hated and is looking for new direction, while Vicky is engaged to Doug (the very underrated Chris Messina), a man she only has lukewarm feelings for. While on the trip, along comes the almost inhumanly suave Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who offers to take them to the Spanish island of Oviedo where they will make love, drink wine, etc. Vicky is reluctant for obvious reasons, but Cristina wants to go. It's ridiculous, yes. Yet only believable in these circumstances. Who else but Javier Bardem would a stranger have to look like to sweep two women off to a foreign island? Of course, Juan Antonio is still in love with his ex-wife, the fiery and passionate Maria Elena (a phenomenal Penelope Cruz). And you can guess what happens next...

Or maybe you won't. This film (at least for me) was not as much about plot and narrative structure as it was about watching these gorgeous people fall in and out of lust, climb in and out of bed with one another. Say what you will about Woody Allen (and people often do) but he always crafts incredibly interesting characters--especially female characters. I cannot think of another male writer/director who consistently creates interesting female characters. One of the film's weaknesses (?) is that it is weighed down by very ponderous narration, which at times feels intrusive. Narration is a tricky device, one that should be used carefully and precisely. Here, the narration is very akin to that in Little Children. You wonder if the film can stand without it, and you're almost certain that it can. Scarlett Johansson continues to occupy her position as Woody Allen's muse-du-jour. She was fine here. Much as she is just fine in most of her roles (I think she's incredibly overrated in general). Regarding relative newcomer Rebecca Hall, I'd have to see more before I can decide whether I'm passing. There was something grating and obnoxiously self-aware about this performance, and I can't decide if Hall is to blame, or the way the character is written, or some combination of the two. Finally, Penelope Cruz proves once again (after All About My Mother and Volver) that she truly shines when acting in her own language. But although many of her lines are spoken in Spanish, even those delivered in English carry the bite and sharpness of Maria Elena's insanity and passion. Consider a scene in which Maria Elena calls Cristina on the fact that she's been vacationing in Spain for some time, yet still speaks virtually no Spanish. She's intimidating, forceful. And, when she hears Cristina speaking in Chinese, she is very unimpressed, all of which Cruz plays beautifully.

Woody Allen has created another well-written comedy-drama, rife with witty, verbose dialogue and characters who like to live in their heads (well, most of them anyway). Will VCB go down in history as the most memorable Allen film? Probably not. But it's a nice addition to the pantheon anyway.

Grade: B+

Top Ten--Things I Wish

I wish...

10. ...Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi all the happiness in the world. They seem very good together. While I'm somewhat offended by the notion that it should take two lovely, high-profile celebs to convince this country that everyone is entitled to marriage rights and (by extension) love and happiness, the sentiment remains. A toast to them and to love, in all of its fetching, beautiful complexities.

9. ...That John McCain would stop pandering to Conservative Christians. "I will chase Osama bin Laden to the gates of Hell if I have to in order to bring him to justice." People who say that he's different than George W. Bush may be right. But when it comes to simple, reductive language like this, that positions righteous and evil extremes and is designed to impress and appease simpletons, they are two of the same.

8...That black people would be more wary of Barack Obama. Yes, he looks like you. But before everything else, the man is still a politician. A politician who managed to win the nomination of a major political party for President of the United States. Thus, he should be approached (at best) with cautious optimism.

7. ...That black people would be more wary of John McCain. It's not a done deal. McCain can still win. Obama doesn't have a double-digit lead. In order for McCain to lose, Obama needs to win every state that Kerry and Gore won, plus a few others. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's not a done deal. McCain may still win. Stop acting like we've made it to the mountaintop.

6...That black people would be more wary in general. And of the right things...

5. ...That Tyler Perry would come out of the closet. The man's films have camp value of epic proportions. I'm not a fan, but if he were honest with himself, he could totally redefine his fanbase, becoming a sort of black John Waters. Wouldn't that be (at the very least) fun to watch?

4. ...That Eddie Murphy would stay in the closet. Forever. Gay people already have crazy Tom Cruise and crazy/disgusting Larry Craig forever tarnishing the good name. Why have another lunatic bringing down the cause?

3. ...That there were more interesting black filmmakers. Spike Lee's great, but he's pretty much all we have to look up to. It's really disheartening trying to break into an industry where it seems like the road isn't paved for you simply because of the color of your skin.

2. ...That Jane Campion would make a comeback. I believe she's got another masterpiece in her. The Piano was so beautiful and we need more great women directors

1. ...That people were more considerate of others in general.

Early Oscar Predictions--Best Actress

If you haven't figured out by now, I have a weird obsession with the Oscars that borders on pathological. I'll be posting a few thoughts on the state of the race (as I see it) in all four of the acting categories, as well as directing and best picture. At this point, much of it is speculation and we won't really have some concrete answers until at least September. There are some I feel confident about already, but when it comes to the sport of predicting Oscars, you never know what will happen and everything is for sale. This is true before the nominations are announced right up until the winners are announced.

Best Actress

If this were my personal wishlist, it'd comprise of...nevermind. I have to forget about my personal tastes, and consider those of the big O. Because we rarely see eye-to-eye, especially in the Best Actress category. In the past ten years, when I think about my ballot versus who Oscar nominates, the most we've ever had was a 3/5 match. But alas, the past is the past. Looking forward to the rest of 2008, I have a very hard time foreseeing a list that doesn't include at least one (if not more) of the following (in this order)

1. Meryl Streep in Doubt
Conventional wisdom says that if you have Streep in a lead role (one that isn't in an adaptation of a stage musical comprised of ABBA music) that Oscar prognosticators should pay attention. Both this performance and the project in show a lot of promise. Adapted from John Patrick Shanley's (Oscar winner for penning the screenplay for Moonstruck, dontcha know) award-winning Broadway play, some are predicting that Doubt will not only bring Streep's nomination total to 15, but will bring the actress her third statue. If the film's good enough, fine. Love the Streep. But I'd kind of like to see Winslet win her first, before Meryl gets three. Especially if she's more deserving.

2. Angelina Jolie in The Changeling or The Exchange
I almost didn't include Jolie, but the fact remains that the buzz for this performance and this film are deafening at this point. And it's directed by Clint Eastwood, a man who has taken (wait for it) five performers to Oscar wins, and another two to nominations (three if you include himself). Plus, she's having a good personal year and who doesn't want to see her up on podiums, gushing happily about Brad and the kids (I mean, I personally don't, but there are a lot of people who eat up that sort of thing.) Plus, people seem to forget that beneath the media frenzy and the world treks and the huge harem that Angelina Jolie is ultimately a talented actress. More talented than she receives credit for. And she was on the cusp of a nomination last year for A Mighty Heart. All of this makes the possibility for a nod for Ms. Jolie very good.

3. Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road
Yeah, yeah. It's been years since American Beauty. Sam Mendes has lost the magic. Depending on who you talk to, he never had it. But it's Winslet as a troubled housewife (something she does very well) based on a book that's beloved in certain circles. She's also being directed by her hubby and it reunites her with Titanic cast-mates Leonardo DiCaprio and Kathy Bates. Hopefully the Titanic connection will help overcome the fact that adult dramas about marital strife are a little elevated and not exactly rife for mass public consumption. But Winslet, a five-time nominee already, will probably be sitting pretty with a sixth, regardless of whether the film itself goes all the way to the final five. Consider that back in 2006, it seemed that Little Children was the film that time forgot. Heavily hyped as Todd Field's follow-up to his taught, intelligent debut In the Bedroom, this film puttered. It got a paltry release, and even though the Globes nominated it for best picture, they didn't even show a clip for it like they did for the other nominees! Yet despite all this, Winslet's name never left people's lips as a lock for a nomination...she's that good (though, to be fair, all the nominees that year were locks and had been for several months leading into the ceremony). Though, like Little Children, I see few people being enthusiastic about this film to the point that they'll give Winslet the statue. Where's the gimmick? She's not ugly-ing herself up. She's not playing a famous, recently deceased person. She's playing an attractive fictional character, and if the incredible Julie Christie-tease of 2007 is any indication, the Academy is done with that sort of thing...for now.


4. Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria
Follow my insane logic here. They will nominate either Emily Blunt or they will nominate Keira Knightley for The Duchess, or they will nominate neither. They won't nominate both. There's usually only room for one uptight, corset-y period piece in best actress these days (and honestly, it's kind of a category the AMPAS has been shying away from, save Cate Blanchett's inexplicable throwaway nomination for Elizabeth: The Golden Age). I'm predicting Blunt because she's been on the radar as one to watch since My Summer of Love, and she's the type of rising star who is bound to get herself a nomination one day.


5. Dakota Fanning in The Secret Life of Bees
Okay. This is my total, out-of-left-field prediction, but hear me out. Fanning, like Blunt, is totally headed for a nomination one day and we all know it. The film is based on a kind of beloved (though somewhat facile and digestible) novel. The material is certainly there for the makings of the type of child performance the AMPAS usually nominates (when they do nominate children). Beyond that, I don't really have any other reason for this prediction (but those are pretty good reasons, right?) And to everyone who always predicts lineups at the beginning of the season full of already nominated (or winning) stars in big-bait roles, remember the Ellen Pages, the Keisha Castle Hughes's, the Catalina Sandino Morenos and the (God, I can barely type it) Helen Hunts (*shudder*). They aren't your usual Oscar-fare, yet they do get nominated...and sometimes they win.


Also in Contention:

6. Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
There are a lot of reasons why I didn't include Ms. Hathaway in the top five. Although things are kind of changing, the ratio of comedic performances to dramatic performances among Oscar nominees is still relatively low. Jonathan Demme may be an Oscar-winning director, but for every Silence of the Lambs, there are four or five Manchurian Candidates and The Truth About Charlies in his filmography. Translation: he doesn't have the best track record for getting actors nominated, both of late and in the grand scheme of thing. Why the title change? Dancing with Shiva was a great title! Finally, I really REALLY love Anne Hathaway and (in my twisted mind) I don't want to jinx her by putting her in the top five this prematurely. That being said, the trailer looks fantastic and the cast is a character-actor's dream (Anna Deavere Smith? I'm so there...) Plus, I'm really excited about the potential comeback of Debra Winger. Please return to us...

7. Sally Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky
Two potential comedic nods in one year (Hawkins and Hathaway)? It could happen. It happened last year (Laura Linney and Ellen Page). Sally Hawkins is enjoying some very good early buzz for her performance. Plus, director Mike Leigh has a fairly good track record for getting nominations for his leading ladies (Brenda Blethyn and Imelda Staunton). There are obvious obstacles in place. She has to overcome the lack of name recognition and it's a small film. But stranger things have happened. We'll have to see how the year progresses, but honestly, Hawkins feels like a very likely bet.

8. Melissa Leo in Frozen River
I think this can happen if Sony Pictures Classics runs a thorough and aggressive campaign. Melissa Leo has a lot of hurdles to overcome. Often times, there are small releases early to mid-year with perceived strong lead performances that garner mumblings of Oscar buzz. And then, by year's end, they've all but faded from consideration. Case in point, Keri Russell in Waitress (a performance I wouldn't have nominated in a film I didn't particularly enjoy, but it's the same idea). In 2006, Gretchen Mol's very respectable star turn in The Notorious Bettie Page went wildly unnoticed. This could very well happen to Leo if the studio doesn't play its cards right. The iron is pretty hot right now, with Ebert giving the performance and the film his seal of approval (I have a feeling it'll end up on his top ten list). But it's an uphill battle for a (mostly) unknown actress.

8. Nicole Kidman in Australia
A nomination for her wouldn't surprise me for obvious reasons. Baz Luhrmann took her to her first Oscar-nominated role. But Academy hasn't revisited Kidman since her win for The Hours back in 2002. After her egregious snub last year for Margot at the Wedding, it doesn't look like they're too eager to rekindle their love affair with her. Unless Australia really impresses in a big way (and I'm hoping that it does--love Luhrmann) Kidman is not a safe pony to bet on.

9. Kerry Washington in Lakeview Terrace
I don't know why I read the synopsis for this film and thought it could hold Oscar possibilities for Washington, one of my favorite actresses. The trailer is ridiculous and it seems to be the Samuel L. Jackson show anyway. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. But who knows...the film may be a huge breakthrough for her and bring her to her first nomination...I can dream, right?

10. Julianne Moore in Blindness
The new Fernando Meirelles film didn't get the best buzz when it opened at Cannes earlier this year. This may leave Julianne Moore's chances dead in the water, unless the film sees some kind of resurgence. Remember that Babel opened to fairly mixed reviews initially, but had its awards flame reignited pretty much because of the Golden Globes. Plus, who doesn't want to see Moore finally win an Oscar?