The Ghost Writer

After the first half hour to hour so of "The Ghost Writer," I wrote it off. I had already figured out what the film's major twist was, and I thought the film was going to be systematic. The beginning is the weakest portion of the film, I believe. A retelling of every synopsis I've read: Ewan McGregor plays a ghostwriter who apparently is renowned in his craft (though it's pretty hard to see how that could be). His agent Rick Ricardelli (Jon Bernthal) courts him into putting in time for Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), who needs his memoirs transcribed by someone new, as the "predecessor" (as McGregor likes to say so much in the film) washed up on a beach with high alcohol levels and his car left on a ferry in the film's boring yet "eventually disturbing" (as a writer in Sight and Sound noted about "Shutter Island") first shot (which is matched by a last shot that is more "powerful"). Another reason the beginning is a little poor is Timothy Hutton's line-stepping work as Sidney Kroll and the British jokes told by Jim Belushi in this scene.

And McGregor takes the job. This means having to read through the already transcribed memoirs of Lang (which he thinks are, as my friend said, "badly written"), jazzing them up a little bit (by adding questions "the people want to know," a huge cliche), sleeping in a horrible room at a nearby completely vacant motel, etc. He also gets a "window into the household" (like people I believe said of James McAvoy in "The Last Station") of a prime minister now deeply cooked on his handing over of terrorists for waterboarding. (The film makes obvious but closeted jabs at the Bush Administration, which are only made clear by the appearance of Condeleeza Rice and the mention of a "vice president," which is a direct hit on Dick Cheney. This whole "political satire" is definitely not my thing.)

As Ebert said in his review, it's engaging to see someone "get involved in something they shouldn't." Here, McGregor tries to figure out why Lang got into politics, as it would be at first simply a good opener for the book, but then because he thinks Lang is trying to keep his past burrowed away from the public. After he is forced into the ghost writer's room from before (with the obvious MacGuffin in place of all of his stuff still being there), he gets photographs and other things that further make things crazy. He also finds that it would be preposterous that the "other" ghostwriter's body went as far as it did, and that the only witness is now in a coma. That's all I'll say, but from about this point on, when McGregor goes from ghostwriter to "investigative reporter" (as he calls it), when he "gets involved in something he shouldn't," the film gets going. The ending and some of the scenes preceding are staggering.

I liked Brosnan in this film. I would think it could be called a maturation from the Bond films, as he plays more of a "complex character" (as Deborah Lipp would probably agree). I guess McGregor's work as a straight man/witty and naive ghostwriter is pretty good. Everyone likes to hate on him, but I think it connects the dots pretty well. Olivia Williams as Adam's wife Ruth is I guess decent. Her actions in this film are important to watch. And here everyone expects me to make a big comment about Roman Polanski. Well, you all liked "The Pianist" (which was made under the same conditions) too, didn't you? I think, as Ebert and others said, Polanski works the "thriller dynamics" pretty well, channeling perhaps the recent Woody Allen thrillers. With "The Ghost Writer," he doesn't reach the heights of "Match Point," as it takes him a bit long to really start the film, but he does some magic late in the game, to provoke and amaze the audience. B+

A Prophet (Un Prophéte)

"A Prophet" is a solid film by Jacques Audiard. I made the mistake of thinking, despite the comments about it being "unromantic," that it was going to be flashy (like how some viewed "The Beat That My Heart Skipped"), but that was only in a couple of scenes here. Mostly, we get the (as others have said) "barren grey prison landscape" where Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is. "The outside" is realistically brought into the film, as Malik takes his eventual "leaves." But early on, the screen is blotched with black as Malik (in sometimes first-person perspective) "is in the dark" (as people say and have said about Malik in this film, figuratively and literally).

As mentioned by my friend, information is sparse in "A Prophet," and, as said before, we hardly know what Malik did to get into prison. But apparently, "he needs protection." Like my friend said, he could have been coerced into it, but perhaps he does. He swears at a couple of guys trying to steal his shoes, and he ends up without them and beaten up. As said before, This protection I'm talking about comes from César Luciani (Neils Arestrup). My friend is under the impression that César "uses him," as he's a Muslim, to go kill some guy that seems threatening to rat him out, Reyeb (Hichem Yocoubi). He's supposed to accept his dealings of "hash" and his commands to have oral sex with him, and to just cut him down with (as Ebert mentioned) "a razorblade". As Ebert said, this is an "inexperienced bloody murder," and also as people like Ebert et al. said, "the scenes here are among the most "powerful" in the film", especially when he's "trying to fit the razor in his mouth."

After he does this, "he's confronted with guilt" (as people say) and as people have mentioned, "it's in the form of Reyeb." One of the (as my friend said) "interesting" facets of this film is that Malik's relationship with this "ghost" makes a statement about his guilt or, in other cases, insanity. But then, as Ebert says, "he rises to be something a little more to César" (his "eyes and ears" as porter of the prison), but not too much, not enough so that César is not above (as a friend mentioned) "stabbing him with a spoon" or commanding that Malik's leave is "his leave."

Malik does get friends (as before he had "no friends or enemies" anywhere), such as Ryad (Adel Bencherif), whose son becomes Malik's godson, and Jordi the Gypsy (Reda Kateb, who looks like Kevin Breznahan from "Adventureland" and "Superbad") who he smokes with and talks with. He "rises," as a critic and my friend said, like Michael Corleone, becoming a "master of managing business among the mob." By the end, he'd do something that he wouldn't think of doing before.

This film is, I guess, "engaging" (as the Playlist called it), as it does keep your eye on Malik. But as my friend said, I "drifted." The use of hip-hop, "Gobbledigook" by Sigur Ros, and "Corner of My Room" by Turner Cody in select scenes create those special, ""Goodfellas"-style zeitgeist moments"/"movie music moments" (to quote the Playlist) (ones that Armond White apparently hated), but there's not a lot of that. (Well, there are these seemingly random titles that occasionally introduce characters and title some sections of the film.) I would agree with my friend and the critics that detracted it who said that it got "too complex," as Anthony Lane said, "this stalled the film." I dunno, though. This is not a very memorable film, but I remember thinking it was at least pretty good all the way through, sometimes very good.

Rahim is good, but without the guidance of other critics I wouldn't have noticed his "flourishes" (as critics say). Arestrup, as Ebert said, is very good. As others said, these are the two "co-stars", and the others are minor players. I was disappointed by the ending, I won't lie. I wish it had been something a little better, but I guess at the end of a "prison saga," you needed to top it off.

This was probably the best of the nominees for Best Foreign Film, which I sort of expected. However, if you want my opinion, it's not the best film of the Cannes Official Selection. For now, that's still "Fish Tank," a film that had an "extreme effect" on me. When I saw it, I thought about it for days. Here, I might be tired or something, but I'm having trouble recalling "A Prophet" from yesterday. I think "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" is slightly more entertaining (due to the "kinetic camera" vs. "A Prophet"'s pretty normal camera), though, and even though the resolution is a little flawed, it really gives you more of an "experience." "A Prophet" definitely deserves props, however, for being (as people say) "powerful" when it is and (as said before) "painting this picture of Malik." B+

Update (September 30, 2010): A second viewing shows this film as better than the grade I originally gave it. Maybe now it's an A or an A-.

The Art of the Steal

Documentaries recently have been mostly about "fighting a power" or "bemoaning a current state of affairs." What I'm saying is the shift has been away from documentaries like "Murderball" and "Man on Wire," in which the subject is not something that "needs your help." "The Art of the Steal" I think definitely falls into step with "Food, Inc." and "The Cove," (as well as "We Live in Public") as a film that is really, really mad about something and wants you to be mad about it too. This would be the Barnes Collection's much-opposed transition from "suburban" Merion to Philadelphia. More money would be made off of it, and more people would get to see it.

But when one says "see," one doesn't necessarily mean "appreciate." This is what Albert C. Barnes was all about. He made money off of a cure for venereal disease and spent it on artworks that (I believe) at the time didn't cost anywhere near what they would now. He "amassed" "more Cezannes than the city of Paris," and large numbers of Renoir and Matisse, as well as Picasso. He was (as a friend said) "picky," and only bought a certain bunch. And that certain bunch as of late? Perhaps even billions of dollars.

He showcased it personally one time, in Philadelphia. When many were very critical of it, he decided never to allow it out of Merion again (only shown two days a week to the public and all the time only to students of the museum). But not everyone agreed with his sequestering. (This documentary itself is, as said before by maybe Owen Gleiberman, "less about the art and more about the steal.") And many have tried to get ahold of it and show it to everyone, not because they want people to enjoy it, but because they want to generate more revenue. "If Barnes wanted" (as one interviewee noted) "a quality experience" instead of "a mass experience," he was not being served well. (Also worth mentioning is how he wanted the collection to be “democratic” and how this could have been a result of, as my friend talked about, “his negative relationship” with the hypocritical Republican Philadelphia Inquirer head who wanted the collection for himself and who eventually wanted his own art collection to be treated as respectfully as Barnes had wanted his to be.)

The documentary itself is sort of one-note, with a lot of people getting angry and many shots of Barnes' will getting colored over with a black marker. It takes an anti-move-to-Philadelphia standpoint. Most of the interviewees have this same notion as well. There are two or three we see who have the other point of view, including one-time Barnes president Richard Glanton (who toured the art around the world) and one-time mayor Ed Rendell. Both are painted in an unattractive light by the others. Then again, Glanton did press "racial prejudice" charges against people who lived near to the Barnes (who were fed up about all of the visitors being brought in, as at one point the Barnes was made into a bigger experience when it was still in Merion) because they said in separate sentences "Glanton and his people" and "carpetbaggers."

On the one hand, the "Friends of Barnes" are right: the Barnes collection is Albert Barnes' and "he can do with it as he pleases." And his will does say that he wants it kept exactly where it is for all time. But then again, he does have a ton of amazing art that is being burrowed away and closed off from a lot of people. People could visit it on the two days given, but that's a sort of narrow window. Also, this guy assumes that no one will appreciate it for what it is, but then again, that's not necessarily true. He only gave the wide world one chance, and when they didn't like it, that was the end (not forever, however, as Glanton's tour proved).

Look at me, talking away about this subject I know nothing about. Good for director Don Argott to have done this. His documentary skills aren't perfect, though. This is a film very overstylized, with the footage shown through virtual TVs and other things. Also, we get filler footage of Philadelphia and also of the director not being granted access to certain things. "Beating on the establishment" hopefully makes the viewer not notice these things. “The Art of the Steal” has the potential to be quite good, but is too typical. I recommend one to see it on the basis of its “subject matter,” which is exactly how these documentaries are. A film like this makes one think about the art of the documentary being stolen (“activist filmmakers” being the Philadelphia of the equation) and turned into just an outlet for people mad about current affairs to sound off. Not that they can’t do that, but if this type of film is all that I have to look forward to for the rest of my filmgoing days, I’m a little depressed. B

Ajami

"Ajami" by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani starts seeming like some sort of (as critics would say) "promising," but soon becomes about so many different characters (as someone said about "A Prophet") that it doesn't help that it's in two different languages and that (as my friend said) "the switch between them is important." I have this problem sometimes where in a foreign film if too much is presented onscreen through dialogue and I'm in a theater at night and I have to read all of these subtitles to keep with the plot, I can't. Such a thing happened I believe with "Summer Hours," which I didn't really like anyways, but I think I missed "key plot information," (as they call it), and perhaps that ruined the film for me.

Someone on IMDB compared the film to "City of God" and "Gomorrah." Also has been brought up the idea of it being an "Arab-Israeli 'Crash'" (Ty Burr). It does center around a specific event, which in this case would be an exchange of crystal meth and money. Obviously, as with all such events, it must go wrong. And it does. The thing is, we don't see this event until over an hour in, and then we think there's going to be more to it. But the film's five-chapter structure introduces it at the end of chapter 2 and clutters around with a semi-related character before flashing back and showing the event again from "another perspective." I wish the third chapter had returned to the beginning, which was pretty interesting and everything seemed to stem out of.

What happens here is a neighbor is killed ("Gomorrah"-motorcycle style), mistaken for another because the real target sold the car he's working on to him. This has happened because the uncle of the target paralyzed a "beduoin wanting protection money" and now the "clan he belonged to" wants to get back by killing the whole family. There is frenzied moving around before (I believe) they settle back in the same place as before. The reason I thought this was going to be the substance of the movie was because it's told from a kid named Nasri (Fouad Habash). It does have some sort of "foreboding" cliche, but I dunno. Could be interesting?

Then (complicatedly, in ways I'm not sure I can quite explain) in Chapter 2, there is another major character, Malek (Ibrahim Frege), who's an illegal immigrant working at a restaurant. His mother's sick. (Parallel: Having to pay off the clan/having to pay for his mother's "bone marrow transplant.") He has to stay inside all the time because the police are always looking. He gets involved with a guy named Binj (which is a curious name for a guy that sells crystal meth) (director Scandar Copti), who he what he thinks is meth from him and brings with him and his friend Omar (who's Nasri's brother) (Shahir Kabaha) to the forementioned event. When he leaves Binj's house to go back to his restaurant is also another event, and a nice narrative device.

If this was all the plot did and aspired to do, I would be fine, and this would be a solid movie. But it goes off into the story of the cop Dando (Eran Naim), which doesn't interest me that much. It seemed like padding to get the film from like 95-100 minutes (where the film would be without Chapter 3) to 120. I think it would be fine to get rid of this "plot strand" (common language when speaking of the "Crash"/"Crossing Over"/"Amores Perros" ilk) but Copti doesn't. Also, I missed a lot of the "religious undertones" that Ebert et al. pointed out. Sure, I noticed when the language changed from Arabic to Hebrew and back again, but I missed probably a "dimension" that pushed the film to an Oscar nomination. If it hadn't had that, wouldn't we be where we (especially "The Carpetbagger") were with "Gomorrah" (a much better film, due to perhaps it's oft-mentioned"immediacy")?

Well, the film also has a lot that seems just thrown in there, such as a relationship between Omar and "the daughter of a restaurant owner who's also a criminal helper" that Nick Davis may call "cafeteria-style" and an ending that resembles "Oldboy" or "Europa" in its structure and seems like some idiotic way to finish up. This is definitely a first film, not quite deserving of the Camera d'Or special mention it got, though not being an abomination. It just needs something more interesting or engaging about it. Ebert said that "the plot specifics don't matter," but at least they should be more interesting. This is not a bad film, just too "cluttered" (as critics say) for my understanding. C+

We Live in Public

"We Live in Public" fits into the "subject matter transcending the style of the director, etc." category that's been the case with the documentaries I've seen this year. This film always has a music track going, displays information fast and furiously, and, as the phrase goes, "feels a little slight." Yet, as with "The Cove" and "Food, Inc," we have (as many have said) "a shocking subject." Josh Harris, touted as "the greatest internet pioneer you've never heard of," is (as my friend as I as well as Harris himself agree) "emotionally disturbed," having grown up watching "Gilligan's Island," and having a shaky relationship with his family. He grows up to be (as IMDB as well as the film state) "a dot com kid," and the head of Pseudo, which apparently invented the whole idea of chatting and watching a video at the same time. He also got into the whole idea of creating sexual chat-rooms. But this was the least of him.

After he totally destroyed his relations with the company (perhaps intentionally) by dressing up as a clown named Luvvy and "conducting business that way," he went off on an offshoot and decided to do something ridiculous and ultimately (as my friend said) "cruel." He made "a society in an underground bunker in New York City" called Quiet, where people had to commit and stay for a period of 30 days (or at least that's how long it lasted). He is quoted in the film as saying he will record "Stasi-type intelligence" and this is furthered by the fact that he has all of his "participants" questioned by an "interrogation artist." (There's an unbelievably "disturbing" (as has been much said about this film) image of a naked interrogativatee squirming on the ground.) No privacy aloud, whatsoever. The people seem to be so happy about this at first. They can shoot guns on camera, eat on camera, do crazy stuff on camera, even as many have said "have sex on camera." They claim it's "freeing." But, as they realize (and I think people such as Ebert have pointed out), it's most definitely not.

For Harris, this seems fun, as he's called "Oz," and indeed he gets to have godly powers over everyone. (No one knows who he is.) Yes, until he does the same thing to himself and realizes how bad it can be. He has a girlfriend who apparently willingly goes along with it, at least for the beginning. Then, it becomes somewhat like "The Allen and Craig Show," and both tire of it quickly. Their fights are documented on video. There is also the problem of having no relaxation whatsoever, but there we go. As my friend said, "Didn't he submit to this himself?"

This is a subject that only a member of Quiet would be able to direct, and thus Ondi Timoner fits the bill. That's probably the way she gets all of the footage that she does from the security cameras. She also gets in depth access to Harris, who, as Ebert remarked, surprised, "goes on to work on an apple farm," and thus to Ethiopia. But she's impersonal, as the film is. But as I said, the style I doubt, but the subject matter I don't. B

I have always loved "The Truman Show." But there's new perspective if Andrew Niccol (the screenwriter) derived the idea from Quiet. That movie is definitely very sanitized if that's the case. Thinking back, is "The Truman Show" better? Maybe. I dunno now. My thoughts are messy.

Oscars 2009 Picks and Predictions

Mimicking Entertainment Weekly's thing, here I go. I may not do the "detailed analysis" I did last year (Nick's Flick Picks is neglecting them entirely), but to leave the predictions completely... eh, non.

Best Picture:

The winner will be... Avatar

The winner should be... A Serious Man

The nominees, in order of preference:

A Serious Man

The Hurt Locker

Avatar

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

An Education

Up in the Air

The Blind Side

District 9

Up

Best Actor:

The winner will be... Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

The winner should be... Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Nominees in order of preference:

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Colin Firth, A Single Man

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Best Actress

The winner will be... Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia (one out-on-a-limb pick per year, people; I predicted her last year and it was unsuccessful, but maybe this time?)

The winner should be... Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Nominees in order of preference:

Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Gabby Sidibe, Precious

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Carey Mulligan, An Education (I'll give the praisers their due, this is a "Hepburn-esque," interesting performance. It's kind of cool that kind of thing got a nomination)

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (maybe this is a little low, but I agree with the people who said that it was kind of "annoying acting".)

Best Supporting Actor

The winner will be... Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

The winner should be... Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (is it a first that Cannes Best Actor and an Academy winning performance are one and the same?)

The nominees, in order of preference:

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Christopher Plummer, The Last Station

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Matt Damon, Invictus

Haven't seen: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Best Supporting Actress:

The winner will be... Mo'nique, Precious

The winner should be... Mo'nique, Precious (simply the best performance nominated this year)

Nominees, in order of preference:

Mo'nique, Precious

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

Haven't seen: Penelope Cruz, Nine

Best Director (just my luck I saw two of the directors in person in NYC)

The winner will be... Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker (I see a BP/BD split going on)

The winner should be... Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Nominees, in order of preference:

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

James Cameron, Avatar

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Lee Daniels, Precious

Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Best Original Screenplay

The winner will be... Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker

The winner should be... Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man

Nominees, in order of preference:
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Bob Peterson and Pete Doctor (w/Tom McCarthy), Up

Best Adapted Screenplay

The winner will be... Shelton Turner and Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

The winner should be... Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche, In the Loop (this will finally make amends with Joezeph Zukö)

Nominations in order of preference:

Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche, In the Loop

Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious

Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9 (the ideas in this movie are admittedly good, even though the movie never really started)

Nick Hornby, An Education

Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Best Animated Feature

The winner will be... Up

The winner should be... Fantastic Mr. Fox (it'd be nice to see Wes Anderson win an Academy Award, because this is probably the only time he's ever going to have the chance)

Nominees in order of preference:

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Up

Haven't seen:

Coraline

The Princess and the Frog

The Secret of Kells

Art Direction:

The winner will be... Avatar

The winners should be... either Avatar or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (which I haven't seen but looks good in terms of art direction)

Nominees, in order of preference:

I've only seen one of these movies, Avatar

The other nominees:

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

Sherlock Holmes

The Young Victoria

Best Cinematography

The winner will be... Avatar (but The Hurt Locker has a definite chance)

The winner should be... (as people like my friend said) The White Ribbon or The Hurt Locker (both of these movies achieved a look with two vastly different styles, as NFP commented)

Nominees, in order of preference:

The White Ribbon

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Avatar (I think it's a matter of separating Effects from Cinematography, like NFP sort of did last year; the camerawork in this movie was kind of regular)

Haven't seen: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Costume Design:

The winner will be... Nine (because of Colleen Atwood, and because they want to give this movie and Harvey Weinstein at least something)

The winner should be... Bright Star (amazing costumes, period)

The nominees, in order of preference:

Bright Star is the only one of these that I've seen

The other nominees:

Coco Before Chanel

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

The Young Victoria

Documentary Feature

The winner will be... The Cove

The winner should be... I've seen two, The Cove and Food, Inc., and while both were good, I wasn't as blown away as last year. Maybe Burma VJ will be good or something. Otherwise, these films both had their ups and downs, so I'd rank them about the same. NO PREFERENCE

The nominees:

Burma VJ

The Cove

Food, Inc.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsburg and the Pentagon Papers

Which Way Home

Documentary Short: No preference

The winner will be... China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

The nominees:

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardener

The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant

Music by Prudence

Rabbit á la Berlin

Film Editing:

The winner will be... Avatar

The winner should be... it's a little obvious and (as a friend said) "new-school", but The Hurt Locker

The nominees in order of preference:

The Hurt Locker

District 9 (I dunno, I guess it's pretty good)

Inglourious Basterds

Avatar

Precious

Foreign Language Film

The winner will be... A Prophet (France)

The winner should be... (I haven't seen it yet, but) A Prophet (France)

The nominees (since I've only seen The White Ribbon)

Ajami (Israel)

The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

A Prophet (France)

The Secret in His Eyes (Argentina)

The White Ribbon (Germany)

Makeup:

The winner will be... The Young Victoria

The winner should be... I saw like the first 5 minutes of Il Divo, and I think it had good makeup

The nominees (I've seen only one all the way through, Star Trek)

Il Divo

Star Trek

The Young Victoria

Music (Original Score):

The winner will be... Up

The winner should be... If you want to talk about integrality to the movie (like wpk914 on Itunes), then it should be a split between Fanastic Mr. Fox and Up. Most interesting to listen to: Sherlock Holmes.

The nominees, in order of preference:

Sherlock Holmes

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Up (I guess it's "pleasant," but it has that annoying Pixar feeling to it)

The Hurt Locker (I guess its interesting in some ways, and though someone said it's all "clangings," etc., it's still pretty good)

Avatar (so stereotypical, but sound)

Music, Original Song:

The winner will be... "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

The winner should be... "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

The nominees in order of preference:

"The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

"Down in New Orleans," The Princess and the Frog

"Almost There," The Princess and the Frog

"Loin de Paname," Paris 36

"Take it All," Nine (it's presence is kind of annoying)

Animated Short Films (no preference)

The winner will be... A Matter of Loaf and Death

The other nominees:

French Roast

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

The Lady and the Reaper

Logorama

Live Action Short Films (no preference)

The winner will be... Miracle Fish

The other nominees:

The Door

Instead of Abracadabra

Kavi

The New Tenants

Sound Editing (no real preference; I can't really remember that much from these movies):

The winner will be... Avatar

The other nominees:

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Up

Sound Mixing (same as above)

The winner will be... Avatar

The other nominees:

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Haven't seen (actually I saw half): Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

And finally,

Visual Effects

The winner (obviously) will be... Avatar

The winner should be... Avatar or possibly District 9

The nominees in order of preference:

Avatar

District 9

Star Trek (I berated these heavily in my review, so there you go).

Ha. Took a while, but here I am.

Films I'm Going to Pursue --- Part 2

Ripping off the Playlist and Nick's Flick Picks for a second straight day... I just want to show you want I want to see.

Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist

Aronofsky's new film, after 2008's outstanding "The Wrestler," released by Fox Searchlight. Apparently it's supposed to be a "melodrama." I'm excited to see if he's going to be consistent in his greatness.

Ajami (Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani)

Where I heard about it: Oscar coverage, Owen Gleiberman's positive review

One of the Best Foreign Film nominees that I know is coming around soon. Kino International here is giving it to us. It's a pretty small release, but I've seen posters at my local theater for it, so I estimate it coming in the next few weeks. Camera d'Or special mention, too.

The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella)

Where I heard about it: Oscar coverage

Another Best Foreign film nominee, supposed to "drop" sometime this year from Sony Pictures Classics (beast!). It's going to be at the Miami Film Festival on March 13, so probably after that. All I know is that I won't see it before the Oscars :(, but I will eventually. It has gotten an MPAA R rating for "a rape scene, violent images, some graphic nudity, and language." I think it will have a release similar to "The Baader Meinhof Complex." Good synopsis from IMDB: "A man wants to solve a murder committed 30 years ago."

Raging Sun, Raging Sky (Julián Hernández)

Where I heard about it: Chicago Film Festival Coverage, Nick's Flick Picks Top 100 of the Decade, Armond White

This is supposed to be really good, and it's gotten a TLA Releasing release. I'll try. This is another one of those Film Forum type of movies, about a "gay relationship" at "141 or 191 minutes."

Lourdes (Jessica Hausner)

Where I heard about it: Toronto Film Festival Coverage

Film Forum is playing this movie right now, LOL. I doubt I'll see it, but it got positive buzz from the festival and I'm sort of interested.

Ondine (Neil Jordan)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist

This was big time in the Playlist features I read. It looks pretty interesting. It got a PG-13 rating (for "some violence, sensuality, and brief strong language") so I know it's coming around and Magnolia is releasing it, so there you go.

Women Without Men (Shirin Neshat, Shoja Asari)

Where I heard about it: Toronto/Venice Coverage

Coming out via IndiePix in the US in 2010, this is some sort of female activist picture or something, but it won the Silver Lion at the 2009 Venice Festival. Some people loved it, some (like Olaf Moller) hated it, but I'm looking forward nonetheless.

Baaria (Giuseppe Tornatore)

Where I heard about it: Venice Coverage

Ölaf Moller apparently hated this one; "a poor man's 1900" to him. But I'm interested: Best Foreign Film nominee at the Golden Globes, 150 minutes, "spanning the history of Italy." It could be good, you never know. Summit is apparently putting it out. It had an appearance at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, like Dogtooth, so that bodes well.

Mother and Child (Rodrigo Garcia)

Where I heard about it: Toronto Film Festival coverage

A very negative paragraph was written about it in Film Comment, but I think Ebert liked it and it has a definite May 7, 2010 release date, so I think I'll probably check it out.

Clash (Pepe Dionko)

Where I heard about it: Venice Coverage

I'm breaking my rules: this is not going to have a release in the US anytime soon or anywhere. But, but, but... it sounds really good and Olaf Moller liked it, so there you go. Apparently it has only a couple of "takes" in it.

Area 51 (Oren Peli)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist/Screendaily

I chickened out on "Paranormal Activity," but this one will probably be really cool. "A group of teenagers stumble upon an area in the Nevada desert known for hosting an alien encounter." That's the IMDB synopsis as of now. Paramount has it.

The Fighter (David O. Russell)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist

Apparently is "going to get Oscar buzz." This sounds like the type of film that's going to come to me, so that's good. I'm definitely really interested. Paramount has it.

Biutiful (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist

Sure to be some sort of something in 2010. It's going to have a Focus Features release, booyah. I don't think I'll have to go after this one, either, since this is the director of "Babel."

My Neighbor, My Killer (Anne Aghion)

Where I heard about it: Chicago Film Festival Coverage (NFP)

A film about "forgiveness in Rwanda after the Genocide." Sounds very allegorical, and it should be around at some point, as Gacaca apparently is putting it out. Hopefully I can see this, because it no doubt will be a Best Documentary nominee at next year's Oscars.

Definitely more later.

Films I'm Going to Pursue (Films Going to Have a US Release in 2010) ---- Part 1

Here's a riff inspired by the Playlist (kind of stealing their idea) and Nick's Flick Picks alike. Here are the films I heard a lot about in 2009 at festivals that I didn't have access to OR movies that I have recently heard of and I am desperate to see nonetheless. I keep a sidebar on this topic, yes, but I thought you might like to hear my go a little deeper. Since this is all I talk about. :)

A Prophet (Jacques Audiard)

Where I heard about it: Cannes and Toronto coverage

After I saw this trailer at "Broken Embraces," I was totally smitten and definitely pulled in. I probably will see it in the next couple of weeks since I know it's in New York and will eventually make its rounds in my area. I think it will be too tempting to wait, however, so as soon as this film is released, I'm going to see it. I really liked "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (if anyone reads this, go rent it very soon).

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)

Where I heard about it: The Playlist

This is bound to be a classic masterpiece. Malick is going to do a great job with this idea. If it truly is from the "beginning of creation" to now, I'm going to weep in its beauty. I love reading Genesis, so there you go. Plus, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn will probably be good, too. This production shot is suggestive of greatness.

City of Life and Death (Lu Chuan)

Where I heard about it: Toronto Film Festival coverage, Grace Wang

This film finally has an MPAA rating (an R for "wartime violence and atrocities including sexual assault, and for some sexuality and brief nudity") and I am guessing that means a 2010 release. I've heard this is one of most disturbing films in a while, about the "Rape of Nanjing." Surprisingly, this is a release by National Geographic. That's pretty weird. I hope it's not that type of film. But I guess, as other people said, "i'll see my films any way I can."

Enter the Void (Gaspar Noe)

Where I heard about it : Cannes Film Festival Coverage

This movie's sure to have great "visuals" (compared to Kubrick) and with an IFC release, it will now be of access to the American people. This film is supposed to be as "graphic" as Noe's other films, so I might step back, but chances are I'll be seeing this one. What a poster.

Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos)

Where I heard about it: Toronto Film Festival Coverage

It won the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes, which intrigues me. I want to fill out my quota of that category (I've already seen "Precious," "Mother," and "Police, Adjective"). This will get an American release apparently from Kino, and it has a poster (an incredible one, at that). I've heard some people say this movie is incredibly dull but I think I just might try it out, as the production shots look mystifying and the plot synopsis is weird.

Looking For Eric (Ken Loach)

Where I heard about it: Cannes Film Festival Coverage

Ebert cited his disappointment in this film, but it's from Cannes Official Selection 2009, and it's coming to America on IFC, so I'll definitely check it out. I've heard some good buzz about it (such as here) and it's fantastical enough to give a whirl.

Vengeance (Johnnie To)

Where I heard about it: Cannes Film Festival Coverage

It has Johnny Hallyday in it (from the 6th best movie of the decade), and it's yet another Cannes Official Selection movie. IFC is quite the buyer, as they're releasing this one, too. This one did receive props from Ebert in his Cannes Feature. His dissection of some of the shots really intrigued me.

The Killer Inside Me (Michael Winterbottom)

Where I heard about it: Sundance Film Festival Coverage

I think I'll probably back out of this one, because people cited "gratuitous violence towards women," but it sounds intriguing and it will be accessible through IFC. Ever since "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," I've been into Casey Affleck. I'm just not sure if this movie will be watchable. I also saw some of the teaser, and it was pretty repulsive. But perhaps.

Valhalla Rising (Nicolas Winding Refn)

Where I heard about it: Toronto/Venice Film Festival Coverage

Olaf Moller, the very tough film critic who's Venice Film Festival coverage I read, thought this movie was the "best of the fest." IFC, again. I thought "Bronson" was terrible but I'm willing to give Refn a second chance because this film looks so interesting and so "primitive/gothic." This production shot (the first one I saw) sums it all up.

Lebanon (Samuel Maoz)

Where I heard about it: Toronto/Venice/New York Film Festival Coverage

Apparently a very "claustrophobic" film, I am looking forward to it and its second perspective in recent memory on the 1982 Lebanon War. It won the Golden Lion at Venice, which bodes very, very well. It has an MPAA rating (another R for "disturbing bloody war violence, language including sexual references, and some nudity so it seems set for release here, which is good. Let's give a hand to Sony Pictures Classics for doing this, woo-hoo.

Wild Grass (Alain Resnais)

Where I heard about it: Cannes/New York Coverage

The opening night film at NYFF and an Official Selection pic at Cannes, with a PG rating ("some thematic elements, language, and brief smoking") so that everyone can see it, the latest Resnais movie (a director who I've seen none of) will probably be good. Sony Pictures Classics are sending it out, so it's going to come around sometime soon (this is the type of movie that comes through my region).

Accident (Soi Cheang)

Where I heard about it: Toronto Film Festival Coverage

Apparently Palisades Tartan is putting this out in the US. I had the chance to see it (at Film Comment Selects, currently running) but I passed due to constraints. It still looks pretty interesting.

Spring Fever (Ye Lou)

Where I heard about it: Cannes Film Festival

Best Screenplay winner at Cannes, and being released by Strand (same company as Apichatpong Weerasethakul). Someone trumpeted "What a disappointment" on IMDB, but I'm still interested. Apparently it's "shot on non-intruding digital camera." This film will probably have like a one week release at Film Forum and fall away. I'll try to see it but I probably won't :(.

The Father of My Children (Mia Hansen-Løve)

Where I head about it: Cannes Film Festival

Once more: IFC. I know absolutely nothing about this movie except for the one line synopsis on IMDB: "A film producer struggles with suicidal despair." Still, it got a write-up from Ebert, so that's good. I'll check it out, maybe, but I'm not stimulated/hyped about it.

I'll be back with more at some point.

Shutter Island

It would be lying to say that Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" isn't affecting. But then again, to really praise this film would be, too. Here's a "mind-bending" (Peter Travers) film that sometimes doesn't have the control necessary, whether it be with the overdone music (that I think A.O. Scott disliked) or the writing (that my friends and I didn't like). It works in being involving (like Owen Gleiberman said), but, hen it "reveals its twist," I couldn't help but groan, as it seems that Dennis Lehane/Laeta Kalogridis had totally ripped off "Memento."

But to deny the film has any merits would be too harsh. I really thought that Leonardo DiCaprio had a grounded presence here, playing Teddy Daniels, who comes in to Shutter Island (along with his partner Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo in the same kind of role as always) to see what's what. May I applaud the idea of staying on Shutter Island throughout the film and only "seeing beyond it" in visions, etc. (like Ebert said of "Dogville") It's run by Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley, annoying and aggravating to his advantage), who believes in "respecting mental patients" like Benjamin Rush. The film starts as the two trying to track down Rachel Silondo, who apparently killed her children and did ghastly things with them (I'll come back to this later to discuss how disturbing this gets). But the plot does that unraveling thing and what we really find is Daniels wanting to shut down Shutter Island and simultaneously kill the murderer of his wife (Michelle Williams, who's really strange in this movie), an Andrew Laeddis. This film all kind of blends together as "the search for the truth" and everything else are all entangled.

In retrospect, this is (in a small respect) a brilliantly told film. For example, how the patient interrogation scenes are played is interesting. You'd need to see it twice to really understand the points of view of everyone throughout. How the film seems to delve into "Oldboy" surveillance is also intriguing. (I'll probably receive flak for noting this is a better film than Chan-Wook Park's. Also involved is the whole "loss of innocence" climax, where Daniels' wife tries to steer him away.) But "Shutter Island" is somewhat ruined by its willingness to mimic "Memento," which seemed horribly climaxed originally but I now see as really an appropriate conclusion. This movie couldn't really have gone anywhere else, yes, but the problem is that an idea isn't so great if you've seen it twice.

This film is problematically made, too. (On a side note: it has been ravaged for being overlong but I liked the length.) I really didn't like the beginning, when everything seemed over-simplified and (as a friend said) "operatic." The film is always flawed, sometimes minor, other times major. It never seems to know what do with a scene, plunging into melodramatic scoring when Daniels is interrogating George Noyce (Jackie Earle Haley). Plus, the whole "Liberation of Dachau" theme is way overplayed. It's sort of just "piled on," except for one amazing execution shot that, surprisingly, should go down as one of the best things that Scorsese has ever done. This is not a horrendous film. Parts stick out as being good. However, I'm not really sticking up for this movie. C+

Ten Worst Oscar Snubs - 2009

Before I do my Oscar coverage by category (or at least I think that's how it will go), here's a look at the Academy's biggest "sins of omission." Thanks to people on EW.com for reminding me about Mackie and Moon, as well as Ebert and (I think) Variety who wrote pieces on Moore and Swinton.

10. Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker (Best Supporting Actor)

9. Julianne Moore, A Single Man (Best Supporting Actress)

8. Paul Schneider, Bright Star (Best Supporting Actor)

7. The Road (Best Visual Effects/Art Direction)

6. Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man (Best Actor)

5. Moon (Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction and Best Score)

4. Souleymane Sy Savane, Goodbye Solo (Best Actor)

3. Sita Sings the Blues (Best Animated Film)

2. Tilda Swinton, Julia (Best Actress)

1. Tyson (Best Documentary)