tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11670802038387000232024-03-13T05:43:39.159-07:00Things I Know About The MoviesFor cinephiles. By cinephiles.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.comBlogger303125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-74506605362048326742014-03-02T15:41:00.002-08:002014-03-02T15:41:26.260-08:00Oscar Predictions 2014!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ZqrRHPCRCY/UxPBdsSZetI/AAAAAAAAAr8/LjlsfGC7_SE/s1600/Oscar+Picks!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ZqrRHPCRCY/UxPBdsSZetI/AAAAAAAAAr8/LjlsfGC7_SE/s1600/Oscar+Picks!.jpg" height="640" width="387" /></a></div>
<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-25506196061842858392013-11-09T06:28:00.004-08:002013-11-09T06:28:49.429-08:00Blue Is The Warmest Colour <div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zg5puyqRxmY/UjyzZriAnTI/AAAAAAACOWU/-fYkc3p1Dco/s1600/la_vie_dadele_ver3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zg5puyqRxmY/UjyzZriAnTI/AAAAAAACOWU/-fYkc3p1Dco/s400/la_vie_dadele_ver3.jpg" width="268" /></a>When a Steven Spielberg-led jury awarded the <a href="http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html">Cannes Film Festival's</a> Palme d'Or to <b><i>Blue Is The Warmest Colour</i></b> earlier this year, it served as yet another example of how meteoric a film's rise at Cannes can be. Not selected as an early favorite, the film had become a frontrunner by Festival's end, and the jury took the unprecedented extra step of awarding the Palme to both director Abdellatif Kechiche and stars Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. I've been particularly excited to see the film, and was particularly pleased at the idea of a film depicting a same-sex relationship getting such a positive response. Even as it becomes much more common, it's just not the kind of thing that happens often enough.<br />
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The film tells the story of Adele, a high school student, and Emma, a senior in college, as they meet, fall in love, and make an attempt at "happily ever after." It's a common enough story, but the way it's told is what sets it apart both positively and negatively. </div>
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It's hard to get around the fact that <b><i>Blue Is The Warmest Colour</i></b> is knocking at the door of a 3 hour running time, with all of the potential for positives and pitfalls that such length engenders. The film gets off to a strong start by focusing clearly on the beginning of 17-year-old Adele's exploration of same-sex attraction. There's a wonderfully effective scene in which she's forced to come to grips with the divide between her own feelings about a classmate and that classmate's feelings for her. I also really enjoyed the way that Adele and Emma first start circling each other. Emma's older and clearly has a much richer life experience, to say nothing of her sexual history. Despite that, she treats Adele with tenderness and affection without seeming to be predatory or self-serving. When they first kiss, it's Adele that initiates it, and it works beautifully. </div>
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Unfortunately, after a really nicely paced first hour or so that strikes a really nice tone, the film starts to veer off the rails with missed opportunities, poor stylistic choices, and some rather silly mistakes. After an extended period in which the particulars of their relationship aren't entirely up for public dissemination, the characters are suddenly depicted as being having been together for a year or two. It's a big jump with a lot of ramifications that aren't even touched. It seems strange that a film this long should have have what amounts to a missing section. </div>
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Then, once we arrive in domestic bliss and things start to go wrong, there's a level of hypocrisy that I found really annoying. I'll try to be vague. One character gets extremely angry at another for behavior that she herself had been part and parcel to at least once before and is probably guilty of at the same time . . . and it's not even mentioned once, even though it's the logical end to that or some other conversation. While this might be claimed that this is the kind of thing that real people actually do, I'd disagree that the average person wouldn't stand up for himself/herself as much as possible by fighting fire with fire. For the film to go to such lengths to ensure that this discrepancy isn't even mentioned seems to be a really silly mistake, and an unnecessary exploitation of the character who's made a martyr. </div>
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Additionally, one of the things that hinders <b><i>Blue Is The Warmest Colour</i></b> is the very thing that's supposed to set it apart. The sex scenes. While I've spoken out against the MPAA's unfair use of the NC-17 rating with regard to films like <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2010/11/thoughts-from-red-rug-blue-valentine_15.html">Blue Valentine</a></i></b>, this time the adult rating is entirely deserved. </div>
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I'm a strong proponent of the idea that almost any word or theme can be used appropriately given the right context. That said, the sex scenes in this one are pornographic. Simple as that. I find it very difficult to imagine that they were entirely simulated, given the graphic depiction of a number of different sex acts and how up close and personal the actors are. I'm not suggesting that pornography is indecent so much as that if I'd wanted porn, I'd have just watched porn. </div>
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For me, the purpose of a dramatic narrative isn't to imitate "real life" or try to titillate the senses for its own sake. I have no problem with a little titillation and some discomfort when I'm watching a film . . . if it works in context. While I want to have a bit of a character's life experience illuminated for me in a such a way that either helps me put my own thoughts into context or encourages me to explore new ideas, I do not like to be made to feel like I'm staring. </div>
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A few minutes into the major sex scene in <b><i>Blue Is The Warmest Colour</i></b>, I started to ask myself what purpose the filmmaker was trying to serve by showing me that amount of raw sex. Does he think that nobody knows how people have sex? Does he think that nobody understands how two women have sex? By the time that the film enters the second extended sex scene (not long after the first!), I rolled my eyes in despair.<br />
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It would have been far more effective to show the <i>characters</i> having sex without showing the <i>actors</i> having sex. Nothing would have been lost except for an unnecessarily high level of the "shock factor" that the film tries unsuccessfully to bank on, and it would have gained so much more from a more restrained approach. In contrast to Emma and Adele's first two sex scenes, there's a scene in which the two women have sex in Adele's house and try to keep quiet so that her parents don't realize that they're a couple. It's tender, caring, and so, so sweet. What makes this scene work isn't an overabundance of graphic sex. It's the loving interaction between Adele and Emma. This 3 minute love scene was infinitely more satisfying than either of the overlong sex scenes that preceded it.</div>
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<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/Blue-is-the-warmest-color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/Blue-is-the-warmest-color.jpg" width="320" /></a>Similarly, there's another silly use of sex that strikes entirely the wrong tone. Toward the end of the film, there's an almost unbelievable scene between the two women in which they nearly have sex in a (very!) public place. For a restaurant to have instantaneously emptied or suddenly been filled with deaf/blind patrons seemed utterly ridiculous and wasted some wonderfully tender dialogue from earlier in the scene. </div>
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Ultimately, while the film has two strong lead performances and some truly lovely photography from Sofian El Fani, I think that the blame for the film's missteps should lie at the feet of writer Ghalia Lacroix and writer/director Abdellatif Kechiche. Had this same story been tackled from a different angle thematically and stylistically, particularly with regard to the ridiculous sex scenes, I think that it would have been infinitely more successful. </div>
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It's not that Adele and Emma's story isn't a worthy one. It's just that the way it's told makes it difficult to focus on the truth of their relationship. When I'm sitting in the theater trying to communicate telepathically with the characters about extremely basic things that they ought to be thinking about, I think it's a sign that somebody didn't think things through as well as he/she might have. The French title, <b><i>The Life of Adele, Chapters 1 & 2</i></b>, implies that there's going to be a sequel, which it's safe to say I don't feel a lot of enthusiasm toward. Here's hoping that, if the story continues, it does so in a way that serves these two characters much better.</div>
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A big swing and an unfortunate miss.</div>
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<b>2 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
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Click on the titles below for my thoughts on the previous 3 Palme d'Or winners and click <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/search/label/Cannes%20Film%20Festival"><b>here</b></a> for more reviews of Cannes titles and Festival awards coverage.</div>
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<li><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2010/11/thoughts-from-red-rug-uncle-boonmee-who.html"><b><i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</i></b></a></li>
<li><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-of-life-looking-through-eyes-of.html"><b><i>The Tree of Life</i></b></a></li>
<li><b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2012/12/amour-losing-and-letting-go.html">Amour</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-38129796370415116312013-11-06T10:00:00.000-08:002013-11-06T10:50:01.346-08:00New Orleans Film Festival<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tennessee Williams once said that only San Francisco, New York, and New Orleans were American cities and that everywhere else was some variation of Cleveland. After checking New Orleans off the list, I'm inclined to believe him, though I hold off some strange kind of soft spot for Los Angeles, the megacity of my nearest acquaintance, despite my dislike for the place.</div>
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Where to begin?</div>
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Upon arrival in New Orleans, I found myself at a "bounce party," which would seem to have something to say about both the bounce house in the center of one room and the music blasting out on the dance floor. Seemingly possessed by the spirit of Miley Cyrus, the "twerk" was the dance move of choice, though I have to give greater props to both the tequila slushy and the <a href="http://datdognola.com/">Dat Dog</a> that I consumed relatively quickly. Let me tell you, that is one proper hot dog! As far as my own dance moves went, I've always found Will Smith's advice in <b><i>Hitch</i></b> about the step-touch-and-snap to be the single best way to go on any dance floor.</div>
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Now, onto the movies . . .</div>
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First and foremost, our purpose there was to promote the NOFF's two screenings of <b><i>Bible Quiz</i></b>, but we had plenty of time to catch a handful of screenings.</div>
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<b>Animated Shorts</b> - Whenever I attend a Festival, I try to make a point of going to the Animated Shorts program. For one, it's usually one of the most enjoyable screenings of the entire Festival ('cause who doesn't like to feel like they're 8 years old again?), and it tends to provide a really exciting look at the work of some wonderfully talented people who may not get the recognition that they deserve. We arrived a little late due to attending the filmmaker brunch/awards presentation, but get this . . . the brunch was held in Mardi Gras World amidst all the floats! So, while we missed a few films, I got a chance to see a float that's either the BatBoat or the BatPlane (I'm still not sure). I think I win.</div>
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My favorite animated shorts tend to have a tightly focused narrative, are a lot of fun, and don't overstay their welcome. To that end, I was a little surprised to find that a significant segment of the program was devoted to films that were extremely anticlimactic. From a programming standpoint, it seemed a bit odd that they'd all been placed back-to-back-to-back as opposed to being spread out to allow the audience some time to cleanse its palate. </div>
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Here are my four favorites from the program. As an added bonus, I was able to find almost all of them online for you, so click on the title to watch the film or see a trailer!</div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjGTx4Z09GM">Head Over Heels</a></i></b> - Easily my favorite film in the program. It's a lovely look about a man who lives on the floor and a woman who lives on the ceiling and the way that they rediscover how much they love each other. Claymation isn't normally my favorite form of animation, but this really worked for me. There's serious magic at work here, folks.</div>
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<b><i><a href="http://vimeo.com/67487897">Chicken Or The Egg</a></i></b> - Heartfelt hilarity. This one's about a pig who's addicted to eating eggs . . . until he falls in love with a beautiful hen. Let's just say that he's got some difficult adjustments to make. Directors Elaine Wu and Christine Kim never step wrong here, and I'm excited to see where this one's going.</div>
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<b><i><a href="http://vimeo.com/45684858">Shelved</a></i></b> - A great combination of live action and superimposed CGI. A bumbling duo of factory robots are taxed with getting a coworker's farewell card signed only to find that they're all being replaced . . . by humans! </div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><a href="http://vimeo.com/65686870">The Sunshine Egg</a></i></b> - 6 minutes of avian existentialism, introspection, and liberation.</li>
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<b>Feature Documentaries</b> - </div>
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<b><i><a href="http://thewholegrittycity.com/">The Whole Gritty City</a></i></b> - Programming this one was a no brainer for the NOFF, as it takes a look at New Orleans' rich tradition of connecting young people and marching bands. The film looks at the way that the marching bands from L.E. Rabouin High School, O. Perry Walker High School, and the Roots of Music provide a source of structure for the kids participating in the program. Each program is blessed with a charismatic band director, and the contrasting ways that each man chooses to operate his program provides for some of the film's most interesting bits. </div>
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However, while <b><i>The Whole Gritty City</i></b> has a lot of passion for its subject, the film's narrative isn't as focused as it should be to achieve maximum emotional impact. For example, there's a character that's introduced near the very end of the film only to be killed off after about 20 minutes. Had this character been a more consistent part of the film, his death could have been a true climax to the film, instead of the almost arbitrary way that it's almost tossed in to cap off the narrative. </div>
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While the film's compelling enough and has some really great sequences, (including a FANTASTIC rendition of "Stand By Me" by a gargantuan band), it doesn't really manage to be much more than just all right despite its aspirations for greatness. </div>
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<b>Feature Films</b> - </div>
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<li><i style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nebraska</b></i><span style="text-align: justify;"> - I was particularly excited to see that NOFF had the newest film from Alexander Payne, the writer/director of </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i>Sideways</i></b><span style="text-align: justify;">, </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Descendants</i></b><span style="text-align: justify;">, and </span><i style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">About Schmidt</i><span style="text-align: justify;">. As the film was completely sold out, we weren't sure if we'd be able to get in, but some time in the rush line, good luck, and our stunning good looks won the day for us.</span><br />
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Unfortunately, the film's a bit of a dud. Phedon Papamichael's black-and-white photography is lovely, but with the exception of Bruce Dern's solid performance, the whole thing has its tongue so firmly embedded in cheek that it's just about to be sticking out the other end. Essentially, if one was going to try to write a campy parody of life in small town Montana, this is exactly the kind of dialogue that would result. Now, if the performances were better, the material might have worked, but the actors play the jokey material in the most stereotypical way possible. There's a scene where Dern's son meets his father's high school sweetheart, and it's written and played EXACTLY the way that you'd expect from a writer trying to have a little fun at the expense of these small town folks. Unfortunately, while the second half rebounds from the lackluster start, too much of <b><i>Nebraska</i></b> feels tone-deaf instead of hitting home.</div>
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<b><i>A Will For The Woods</i></b> - this one was an emotional roller coaster like few films I've seen in recent years. Tackling "green burial," a topic I knew next to nothing about, through the eyes of Clark Wang, a man I'd never heard of, the filmmakers have a clear vision of exactly what they want to say and they're adept at painting a good picture of a vibrantly funny guy.</div>
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Where the film goes wrong (though I hesitate to use that word) is in its relentlessly sad final act. It's obvious from the outset that lymphoma will kill Clark, but his family and friends grieve in such a way as to make their sorrow almost tangible. I could literally hear the people around me breaking down, and eventually, I was one of them.</div>
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I certainly don't have anything against a filmmaker attempting to tackle subject matter that's not sunshine and rainbows, but the way that the film lingers on grief becomes, albeit unintentionally, almost morbid. They wash, anoint, and sing to the body and his widow sleeps next to the casket on an air mattress in the living room. </div>
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I'm certainly not saying that everyone's expression of grief is or should be the same. If you're doing what works for you, it's not my place to tell you that you should be doing something different. . . but given my recent past, this film was just too persistently sad for me to be able to recommend, despite the fact that it's very well-made.</div>
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Going to a Festival with a film's team instead of being there just to scout films was a really interesting experience. I was able to take in a lot of the city and was very lucky to have my good friends <a href="http://www.twitter.com/nicoleteeny">Nicole</a> and Katie there to share it with. I'm really grateful to have been invited to be a part of the <b><i>Bible Quiz</i></b> tour, and that the audience proved so responsive to the film!</div>
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Having the opportunity to eat beignets at Cafe Du Monde, drink Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's, and eat po' boys and muffelattas and watch the sunset over the Mississippi and watch a group of midnight drunks try desperately to find the beat to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and wander the streets of the French Quarter in search of a veggie po' boy and make sermons out of pop songs and find ourselves at a square dance on a Monday night . . . was fantastic! We also just might have been the people walking down the street (sober!) with the lyrics to Lorde's "Royals" pulled up on somebody's cell phone in order to serenade whoever might have been listening. </div>
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Yep, that was definitely us. </div>
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I'll be attending AFI Fest (my favorite fest!) next week and will be posting a wrap-up of the films I see when I get back, so keep a weather eye out for that! </div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-34934623687587763782013-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:002013-10-09T10:00:03.134-07:00A New Adventure!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Exciting news!</div>
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This weekend, I'll be heading off to the <a href="http://neworleansfilmsociety.org/pages/detail/31/film-festival">New Orleans Film Festival</a> to join the crew of <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-unlikely-lunches.html"><b>Bible Quiz</b></a> to support their screenings there. As you might recall, I first saw the film at <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/search/label/slamdance%20film%20festival"><b>Slamdance</b></a>, and had the chance to spend some time with them in the bitter cold. A few months later, I was lucky to be able to bring the film to the Festival I program for. It was the rare occasion where programming didn't just expand my rolodex so much as it saw me make new friends. </div>
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Imagine my surprise to get the invitation to come out to the Festival this weekend! I've never been to New Orleans before, and we're planning to do a fair bit of exploration (and eating, eating, eating) in addition to seeing as many films as possible. While I've been to my share of Festivals for my job, I'm particularly excited to be attending a Festival with a film's team, which is a first for me. I'm looking forward to pitching in however I can!</div>
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At this point, I'm not entirely sure if I'll be posting each day a la the <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-whole-shebang-2013.html"><b>Tales from Park City</b></a> or <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/search?q=smackdance"><b>SmackDance</b></a> columns, or if I'll tackle everything in a big wrap-up post when I get home next week. There will definitely be tons of pictures!</div>
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If you've been to New Orleans and have favorite places to visit, leave a comment and let me know!</div>
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Don't forget to like Bible Quiz on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/biblequizmovie"><b>Facebook</b></a> and follow both <a href="https://twitter.com/nicoleteeny"><b>Nicole</b></a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/biblequizmovie"><b>film</b></a> on Twitter!</div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-78350350970942055012013-10-06T11:52:00.000-07:002013-10-06T13:26:46.601-07:00Gravity <span style="text-align: justify;">At the end, I've embedded the </span><u style="text-align: justify;">fantastic</u><span style="text-align: justify;"> trailer.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3neS2ur91ng/UlGvIMw3PrI/AAAAAAAAAlc/o3dTc-jXt4o/s1600/Gravity+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3neS2ur91ng/UlGvIMw3PrI/AAAAAAAAAlc/o3dTc-jXt4o/s400/Gravity+poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s hard to believe that Alfonso
Cuaron hasn’t made a film since 2006’s <b><i>Children of Men</i></b>, easily one of the
young century’s best. Like many films that I write about here, I’ve had my eye
on <b><i>Gravity</i></b>
for years. Cuaron, one of contemporary cinema’s brightest stars, brings a
unique sensibility to each project, and his creative
collaboration/partnership/brotherhood with <span id="goog_585895939"></span><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/09/fotm-new-mexican-cinema-alejandro.html">Alejandro González Iñárritu</a><span id="goog_585895940"></span> and
Guillermo Del Toro is one of the single best things in the movies today. </div>
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Here’s the scoop: after a missile
takes down a Russian satellite and causes a storm of debris to hit an orbiting
American space shuttle, the surviving astronauts must find a way to survive.
I’ll avoid saying much more. You deserve to learn the rest for yourself. </div>
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The viewer’s immediately reminded
that Cuaron doesn’t do things like most “ordinary” filmmakers. From the film’s
first moment until one character’s climactic tumble out into space, there are
no cuts. None. Now, I recognize that the number of visual effects being used in
this particular shot make it a bit easier to wrap one’s head around than a
similar shot in a film like <b><i>Atonement</i></b>, but it’s something that’s
nearly unparalleled in the contemporary cinematic landscape. Furthermore, the
3D’s really well done, and enhances the experience considerably. As someone
who’s not usually a big fan of that particular gimmick, I would highly
recommend that you shell out the extra dough. Think of <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/12/cinematic-public-service-announcement.html">Avatar</a></i></b>’s “window” as
opposed to the atypical “Oh no! A rock! Flying at me!” that you get from a lot
of other 3D “experiences”.</div>
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<b><i>Gravity</i></b> is a survival
story, simple as that, and it’s a damned good one too. Above all, it’s a tour
de force for Cuaron’s masterful direction and Emanuel Lubezki’s peerless
photography. I’ve spoken before about Chivo’s stunning work with Terrence
Malick in both <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-of-life-looking-through-eyes-of.html">The Tree of Life</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/04/to-wonder.html">To The Wonder</a></i></b>, and it’s equally
astounding that he and Cuaron are able to work together so well. Essentially,
I’m wondering if he’s the best ace-in-the-hole around. </div>
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From a technical perspective, <b><i>Gravity</i></b>
is a masterpiece. The camera moves with remarkable grace through the expanses
of the earth’s atmosphere as well as some claustrophobic interiors that I won’t
say much about. More than anything, one is reminded of just how <u>big</u>
space is and how foreign it is to anything at all like life on earth. Having
grown up on <b><i>Star Wars</i></b>, <b><i>Star Trek</i></b>, impulse engines, warp drives, and automated
docking systems, it’s refreshing to see something that communicates to dazzling
effect just how difficult it is to take one object in space and get it anywhere
close to another object in space. When a character is sent tumbling through
space, it’s really scary, because you realize for the first time (unless you’re
smarter than I am) that in space there’s very little to slow you down. Additionally,
there’s a level of understatement with some of the film’s more unsettling shots
that I admired.<i> <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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I also particularly admired the
sound design. In space, one wouldn’t exactly hear something approaching
quickly, and there were a number of times where I cringed at the realization
that a character had no idea of what was coming at them hot and heavy. Steven
Price’s music is reminiscent of Jonny Greenwood’s recent film work, as well as
the scores of <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/12/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-2011-havent-we.html">Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross</a>, though Price relies a bit more
heavily on traditional scoring techniques. </div>
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With regard to narrative, the
film’s limited scope is one of the best things about <b><i>Gravity,</i></b> as well as the
one thing that holds it back. <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/02/best-films-of-2010.html">127 Hours</a></i></b> comes to mind, but where
that film used flashbacks to expound upon the story of a man trapped between a
rock and a hard place (yep, went there!), <b><i>Gravity</i></b> confines itself exclusively
to the narrative’s “present.” As such, while there’s a LOT of edge-of-your-seat
suspense, there are a few times where I just didn’t feel like the characters
had been developed to the point that I’d have liked to be able to fully
empathize with what they were dealing with. I’m not suggesting that there
aren’t some genuinely affecting moments. I’m thinking of two that really moved
me, one near the conclusion and the other involving an impromptu crank call of
sorts that ends in the loveliest way. I’d just have appreciated a little more
of an opportunity for emotional involvement. That said, I’m grateful that
Cuaron and his co-writer, Jonas Cuaron, decided to keep things in the moment
and avoided the ubiquitous use of the flashback, which I think a lot of other
filmmakers would have opted for very quickly. </div>
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<b><i>Gravity</i></b> is one of the
year’s best films. If you have recently complained at all about the
oft-lamented (perhaps overly so) deficit of original content in the movies
today, the creative audacity and sheer scope of Alfonso Cuaron’s new film will
do more than a little bit to restore your faith in where the movies are headed.
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<b>4 stars (out of 5)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-63599787065506973922013-08-12T10:15:00.000-07:002013-09-01T20:59:01.752-07:00Blue Jasmine<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
At the end, I've included the synopsis and embedded the trailer. </div>
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If you’re going to knock Woody Allen films, or at least
recent Woody Allen films, there’s the easy criticism that a certain
self-satisfaction exudes from some of the characters. They’ve been born into a
world of art galleries, yachts, ridiculously expensive bills from restaurants
named after French dudes, and they’re not exactly apologizing for it. This isn’t
to say that the films don’t have their share of people like you and me (unless
you’re one of those people who just loves <i>Louis’</i> or <i>Paul’s</i> or whatever), but
only that there seems to be clear delineation between their world and our
world, between <u>us</u> and <u>them</u>. </div>
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That’s something that sets <b><i>Blue Jasmine</i></b> apart in a way that
I hadn’t anticipated. It’s relentless in the way that it deconstructs the myth
of the spoiled trophy wife. This isn’t to say that the script is merciless, as
there’s a fair bit of compassion for the central character, but I have yet to
come up with an Allen film that’s been this focused in its attack on the vapid,
out-of-touch isolation of a privileged lifestyle gone wrong.</div>
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In many ways, I almost read <b><i>Blue Jasmine</i></b> as a response to
Allen’s critics, however unconscious and unintentional that might be. There’s
almost a marked attempt to use his weaknesses as strengths. In addition to the quasi-microscopic
take on privilege that I mentioned before, there’s another thing to contend with.</div>
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Cate Blanchett.</div>
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Her performance is one of the best I’ve seen her give. What’s
more, it’s not only one of the best in an Allen film in recent years, it’s one
of the best performances that’s ever graced one of his films. Woody’s penchant
for writing female characters that go on to win awards for their actors isn’t
exactly a secret, but these tend to be for showier roles that in many cases
play toward Woody’s penchant for characterization that feels mannered and
somewhat artificial. It’s not that the characters aren’t fabulously written and
performed well so much as they <i>feel</i>
fabulously written and the performances are trying hard to match that with
whatever level of histrionics might be needed. </div>
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That’s what really sets Blanchett’s performance apart. She’s
walking a razor’s edge between sanity and hysteria, trying desperately to stay
on the right side. Other Allen characters talk to themselves because they’re
nervous and neurotic and are trying to fill the audience in on things. Jasmine talks
to herself because she has to, because her world has been so drastically turned
upside down that she’s alone and adrift in a place where she has virtually no
frame of reference. It’s that delicate balancing act that elevates her work in <b><i>Blue
Jasmine</i></b>. It doesn’t come across as showmanship for its own sake so much
as the action of a desperate person who has no idea what to do. For example,
upon arriving in San Francisco, her sole “career decision” is to take a
computer class so that she can “study interior decorating online.” Hey, forward
momentum is good, but her affinity for announcing this to whoever asks her
anything about her future is so sad in a misguided sort of way. She has no idea
how silly she sounds. It breaks your heart a little bit. </div>
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Blue Jasmine also features strong work from Sally Hawkins
(one of my favorites) and Louis CK. Their flirtation had me saying “awww” over
and over again. Woody and Casting Directors Juliet Taylor & Patricia
DiCerto deserve kudos for casting someone like Hawkins in such a big role, who’s
yet to really break through in the United States. Here’s hoping that this role
changes that!</div>
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As Woody’s first true dramatic film since 2007’s <b><i>Cassandra’s
Dream</i></b>, <b><i>Blue Jasmine</i></b> succeeds best as a character study. As a whole, I
think that some of the performances still feel a bit mannered, which detracts
from the sense of realism that I think would have elevated it even further.
That said, it’s an engaging look at a truly interesting person and, what’s
more, you won’t be completely prepared for where it ends up. If it’s not a
great film, <b><i>Blue Jasmine</i></b> is still a very good film. This massive Allen fan will
take whatever he can get. </div>
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<b>4 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">"After everything in her life falls to pieces, including her marriage to wealthy businessman Hal (Alec Baldwin), elegant New York socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) moves into her sister Ginger’s (Sally Hawkins) modest apartment in San Francisco to try to pull herself back together again." (from the <a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/bluejasmine/">official site</a>)</span></span></div>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-69149131403419947702013-07-11T12:41:00.000-07:002013-07-11T12:58:56.730-07:00Pacific Rim - Immediate Reaction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Pacific Rim</i></b> is visually vibrant, wonderfully entertaining,
and surprisingly effective from a narrative standpoint. I’d had my reservations
about just how compelling a “monsters vs. robots” story would be. Fortunately,
the cast of lesser-known actors does (mostly) solid work making a larger than
life story seem realistic enough. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman, in particular,
are a lot of fun as the Jaeger program’s “research division.” It’s always nice
to see Rinko Kikuchi (of <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/09/fotm-new-mexican-cinema-alejandro.html">Babel</a></i></b> fame), even if her
performance is hindered a bit by not being able to utilize her native tongue.</div>
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I saw the film in 3D, but it’s not one that I think really
does much of anything special with the format. That said, the film’s got a
really diverse color palette, which is nice to see. So many times, futuristic
stories tend to lay on the drab grays pretty heavily. Additionally, this is one of the few films to effectively use the droning boom made far too popular by Hans Zimmer's score for <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2010/07/totems-trances.html">Inception</a></i></b>. </div>
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Look, I’m not one of the <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/09/and-it-is-said-that-princess-returned.html">Guillermo Del Toro</a> faithful,
convinced that he can do no wrong. In fact, the marvelous <b><i>Pan’s Labyrinth</i></b> aside, I’m
woefully understudied in his filmography. That said, this is a welcome sight in
the world of the summer blockbuster. It’s not a sequel, adaptation, or remake,
and the film (and the audience) is all the better for it.</div>
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In a nutshell, <b><i>Pacific Rim</i></b> is a rousing good time, filled with imagination to spare. When these robots start using the objects around them to attack the evil "Kaiju," it's a grand sight to behold. There are moments herein that
will make you clap your hands with joy and maybe even cheer a little. We all
need that, don’t we?<br />
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<b>4 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-80554315831824630492013-05-24T10:00:00.000-07:002013-10-22T12:20:58.126-07:00Before Midnight - Surviving "Happily Ever After"<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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This is filled with spoilers. If you haven’t seen the film
and read this anyway, you are not the smartest of people. </div>
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I’ve already told you about <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-dreams-come-true.html">my
experience</a> of seeing <b><i>Before Midnight</i></b> at Sundance. While I
had a lot to say about the film back then, I didn’t want to post it all back in
January given the fact that so few people had seen the film. Since only a small
number of people would be able to read and discuss with me, I thought it’d be
more fun to hold off until we could all commiserate together. This isn’t a
straightforward review so much as it’ll be a series of impressions and
thoughts.</div>
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Ethan Hawke’s Jesse and Julie Delpy’s Celine have come to
mean a great deal to me. When I first saw <b><i>Before Sunrise</i></b>, I was surprised by
how close I felt to these characters. They felt three-dimensional, and it’s
entirely due to the dialogue-heaviness of the script. You have a chance to hear
exactly what they think about so many things that you feel like you actually
know these people in some way, almost like they were friends of mine. I really
wanted to know what they might have thought about various things, and found it
fascinating to see the way that they changed over time.</div>
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In the 9 years between <b><i>Before Sunset</i></b> and <b><i>Before
Midnight</i></b>, I’d often wondered what had happened to Jesse and Celine. The
last time we saw them, they’d reconnected after 9 years (sensing a motif here?)
and the future of their relationship was in doubt, to say the least. That
ending! “Baby, you are gonna miss. That. Plane.” This time around, I made a concerted
effort to keep off of any internet forums or the like that would tell me the
setup for the new film. I didn’t want to know how Jesse and Celine found
themselves on the same patch of real estate and I’m so glad that I did it that
way, because the revelation was one of the best gifts I’ve received in years. </div>
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After an opening sequence in a Grecian airport between Jesse
and his visiting son (he’s so old now!), the camera follows him from behind as
he walks outside as he walks to the car . . . and there she is. I’ve often
described it since as feeling like a 13-year-old girl on the inside. The
thought that they’d found a way to live happily ever after was almost too
wonderful to imagine. “Oh, they lived happily ever after!!!” The rest of the
film pokes some holes in that theory, but the idea that the end of the second
film was not the end of their relationship is beautiful.</div>
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Throughout the film, there are a few little easter eggs
dropped about what their life has been like. He really did miss that plane, and
they blacked out the windows to have sex for days. After he got divorced, the
two of them ended up moving to New York for 2 years before moving to Paris so
that their twin daughters could be born there, which apparently almost killed
Celine. They have never married, even though she has told her kids that they
did.</div>
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It’s strange to see these characters in middle age. In some
ways, I don’t think that Jesse’s ever really changed. He’s still idealistic,
believing in true love and the idea of accepting a person exactly as he/she is
without trying to make significant changes. I feel as though Celine has changed
the most. She’s hit real life, and she’s hit it HARD. He has the luxury of
remaining committed to his ideals through his writing, but she’s in the
nitty-gritty reality of being a mother and wife (in everything but name). But
even that’s not entirely true. She works all day and he stays home to write.
It’s not like their relationship is founded in inequality as much as she thinks
it is. Still, there’s something there that I identify with that a lot. I know a
lot of people who like to deal with these abstract concepts at the exception of
reality. I often want to shake them til they rattle to get it across that they
only need to listen to what they’re saying to have some idea as to how little
what they’re talking about has any bearing on the life of a regular person.
Plus, thinking about these abstract concepts all the time doesn’t make one
exceptional in any way other than that the corresponding person is often
incredibly annoying.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The walk through to the hotel is the most reminiscent of the
previous films. The signature two shot of Jesse and Celine walking and talking
is one for the books. The amount of work that it must take for Hawke, Delpy and Richard Linklater to
not only write that much dialogue but figure out a way to make it feel like it’s
coming off the cuff is astounding. I like the way that their hands keep
flirting with each other like little sparrows. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The scene in the hotel room is one of the most distinctive
in the entire series because, for the first time, we really see Jesse and
Celine get into it and the gloves are OFF. In the previous two films, they’ve
just been so happy to be together that there’s not really any conflict and they
quickly find a way to overcome what little there conflict there is. Here,
they’ve been together for 9 years, and are trying to figure out what the future
holds. Much of the time, I felt like Jesse was getting a raw deal, as he only
wants to talk about the idea of moving to Chicago to be close to his son and Celine’s
convinced that he’s trying to destroy her happiness. I don’t think that’s
entirely fair, but it’s clear as time passes that she really does feel trapped
in their relationship and he doesn’t realize exactly what he’s doing (or NOT
doing). They went through a lot emotionally over the course of the first two
films, and it’s apparent that they’ve been through a lot in the time since.</div>
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In the last scene, he re-enacts their meet cute, and it’s
sweet to see him try to tell her yet again that he loves her completely and doesn’t
want to throw that away even after she’s told him that she doesn’t think that
she loves him anymore. Ironically, it’s only after he resigns himself to the
fact that maybe they’re through that she looks at him and asks “so what about
that time machine?” I think she knows deep down that he is her last, best hope
at being happy. As angry as he makes her, I don’t think there is anyone she
would rather be with. I don’t think that this is their last knockdown drag out
fight. Even with the most unequal of relationships, it can be surprising to see
the kind of almost desperate need that two people have for each other. I’m reminded
of Johan and Marianne in <b><i>Scenes From A Marriage</i></b>. Despite the terrible things that they say and do to each other, you know that they will never find a way to be two separate people. Fortunately, Jesse and Celine never take it quite that far.</div>
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Seeing these two caught up in real life is something kind of
strange. In the first two films, they’re either just meeting for the first time
or are reuniting after many years, whereas here, they’ve been together for
years and are trying to live out the peace. The reality is never as simple as
the fantasy seemed. The future's here and it hurts. Surviving “happily ever after” is not nearly as easy as
it might have seemed in the other movies. Even if it's only until the next fight, I'm really glad that the two of them
seemed to figure things out. The idea
of them splitting up is almost too terrible to think about, at least for long. Jesse
and Celine have traversed a lot of emotional territory over the course of the
18 years we’ve known them, but the love that they’ve built up is more important
than the little things that drive them crazy. It might be a cliché, but Emerson
was right. The things that unite us are stronger than that which drives us
apart.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Love is hard. Even if you’re lucky enough to find it, the
holding on can be the most difficult thing that you’ve ever had to do. People
don’t stay the same and the emotions that they feel often undergo a
transformation that, although it might seem glacial, can result in a change so
severe as to bring even the mighty to their knees. But you know what? If Jesse
and Celine with all their fighting and drama and joy and misery can find a way
to be happy, then maybe the rest of us can too. That's a comforting thought.</div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-65280809032613122922013-05-09T11:30:00.000-07:002013-05-10T10:38:07.833-07:00Podcasting: Iron Man 3<br />
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<br />
A little movie called <b><i>Iron Man 3</i></b> hit the big screen last weekend and promptly started making a LOT of money. I'm just sitting here quietly, waiting for my back-end points from the total gross in Zimbabwe to start to add up. I've got a lot riding on this one!<br />
<br />
I wasn't able to be a part of the main episode, but was lucky enough to be a part of a pretty terrific additional segment where we got into some spoilery territory (right after I introduced Aaron to <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/12/no-bull-no-chaser-just-best-films-of.html">Moulin Rouge!</a></i></b> for the first time!)<br />
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Don't forget to share/post/link/tweet or whatever it is you do with things you like. Enjoy!</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
This episode features: </div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Aaron Neuwirth of <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><b>The Code Is Zeek</b></a> and <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://whysoblu.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><b>Why So Blu?</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Abraham Moua of <b style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://walrusmoose.blogspot.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;">The Walrus Moose</a></b></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Brandon Peters of <b><a href="http://www.naptownnerd.blogspot.com/">Naptown Nerd</a></b></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Germain Lussier of <b><a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/author/germain-lussier/">SlashFilm</a></b></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://outnow.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2013-05-07T23_55_19-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Foutnow.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2013-05-07T23_55_19-07_00%3FautoPlay%3Dtrue%26facebook%3Dfalse%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D0%26rtmp%3D1%26width%3D580" width="580"></iframe>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-73970916920725017972013-04-14T11:03:00.001-07:002013-04-14T11:05:35.573-07:00To The Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Terrence Malick is the rare artist who knows exactly what he wants to say, and is able to take all of the time he needs to say it. Never one for being bound to someone else's ideas of what he should do, he's marched to the beat of his own drum almost from the get-go. Unfortunately for us, that means he's only released 6 feature films in 43 years.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, when word got out that his next film was releasing only 1 year after 2011's <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-of-life-looking-through-eyes-of.html"><b><i>The Tree of Life</i></b></a>, one of the most stunning films of recent years (and, in the eyes of this critic, the best of that year if not of the young century), we rejoiced.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>To The Wonder</i></b> tells the story of 4 people. A Midwesterner (Ben Affleck) and a Parisian (Olga Kurylenko) fall in love, and their relationship turns turbulent when they move back to the United States. When they decide to spend time apart, he begins a relationship with a local woman (Rachel McAdams). All the while, the local priest (Javier Bardem), tries to serve the community while dealing with a crisis of faith.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My expectations were high, particularly given the film's two spellbinding trailers (found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTAzcTZTY1g">here</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5e5D3e8k18&feature=youtu.be">here</a>). With his last two films, Malick's gotten to a point that his trailers would be Academy Award winning short films if they were released as such.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unfortunately, <b><i>To The Wonder</i></b> suffers from a lack of narrative cohesion. I think that a lot of it has to do with Malick's reliance on voiceover. I'm a big fan of the technique when it's incorporated well, but it's used to excess here. There's <i>very</i> little actual dialogue present, and that hurts the film. When Affleck and Kurylenko are arguing, I'd really like to hear what they're arguing about instead of listening to ambient music and her voice speaking softly about how much he completes her.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's frustrating, because you get to a point where you just want the characters to stop <i>talking about</i> what's happening and start <i>telling</i> you what's happening. I found myself asking a few fundamental questions that additional dialogue would have aided immensely. Why do these women fall for Affleck's character? He's moody, not terribly supportive, and even abusive. Why would anyone treat Kurylenko's character badly? She's vivacious, sweet, and so wholly devoted to him that it boggles the mind that he wouldn't move heaven and earth to keep her near. Instead of expository dialogue, what we get is whole lot of brooding, glowering, staring, and slow turns around one another like some kind of extremely subdued flamenco.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are certain aspects of the film that are first-rate. The photography is fantastic. If they continue their collaboration, Malick and Emmanuel Lubezki might go down as one of the all-time great director/cinematographer combos. There are individual shots here that will take one's proverbial breath away. In particular, there's one particular shot of dancing light reflected off of a chandelier that literally made me sit up and stare at the screen in wonderment.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The performances by Kurylenko and McAdams deserve praise, particularly given how thin the plot seems to be. In particular, Kurylenko's performance is extremely solid. In the absence of dialogue, her face communicates a wealth of emotion. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I also really liked Bardem's character. In a time when Catholic priests certainly haven't been regarded in the most positive light, his character is a fundamentally good man who cares deeply about serving his community. While I liked the bits about his crisis of belief, I found myself surprised at how heavily the film comes to communicate a heavily Christian message toward the end. From what little I know of him, I believe that Malick is a Christian himself, but I found such a pointed message to be a bit of a strange choice, particularly given how universal the spiritual themes were in <b><i>The Tree of Life</i></b>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Additionally, there are individual sequences that highlight Malick's abundant gifts as a filmmaker. In particular, the film's closing sequence is beautiful. It involves a woman walking, walking, walking before finally turning to see something. At that point, I felt as though I were in a place that I knew. I only wish that the rest of the film had seen that kind of cohesion. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Malick's come to a place where he's not terribly interested in conventional notions of plot and story structure. I understand (and applaud!) that. The problem arises when he doesn't leave enough bread crumbs for the viewer to be able to put the pieces together in any kind of a meaningful way. Here, as in <i><b>The Tree of Life</b></i>, Malick employs a kind of omnipotent perspective. While it mostly seems to move forward in one fairly consistent timeline, <b><i>To The Wonder</i></b> does skip around in a way that confuses things, particularly toward the end. In the face of many seemingly needless contradictions, my friend and I were abundantly confused about what the state of Affleck and Kurylenko's relationship was when the film ended. </div>
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I certainly don't regret seeing the film, but while a film from Terrence Malick is always worth the effort, <b><i>To The Wonder</i></b> seems to me to be a big missed opportunity. That said, I look forward to further reading and discussion in the hope I'll be able to find further illumination.</div>
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<b>2 1/2 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-46735620338746748112013-04-05T08:52:00.001-07:002013-07-12T16:02:04.298-07:00Roger Ebert (1943-2013)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/230/000024158/ebert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nndb.com/people/230/000024158/ebert.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you encompass your feelings about someone who meant
so much to you? I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’ve got to try. Roger Ebert
was the only film critic I ever really loved. I’ve got a bunch that I respect,
still more that I enjoy reading/listening to, but Roger was the only one that I
loved. To read his work was to drink deeply at the well with someone who knew a
lot about what he was talking about and had the grace to want to share it with
you in a way that you could understand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I knew that I loved movies from a young age, and was fairly
excited to learn that I could turn that love into a Bachelor’s Degree. I took a
strange path to that degree, caused in some ways by my own timidity coupled
with some stubbornness and a desire to avoid a heavy workload. There is some
debate about exactly what the word “heavy” means in this context. Anyhow, I
found a way to graduate while avoiding the classes that would force me to watch
a ton of movies every week, having seen fellow students struggle to keep up and
not wanting to be pushed into watching films that I didn’t want to. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d been a fan of “Siskel and Ebert” and later “Ebert and
Roeper,” and had read Roger’s work for years, but something changed around the
time I graduated from college. In reading more of his work, I wanted to start
watching the movies that he was talking about. He didn’t just talk about movies
from the last year or two and he didn’t just talk about American films. He
talked about all kinds of films from all over the world and, if he loved the
movie he was talking about, he passed that enthusiasm along. He was looking at
films in a larger context than anyone else I was familiar with at the time. It
wasn’t important what language was used, how much money was made, or how famous
the filmmakers were. It only mattered if the film was good or not, and if that
film had something of value to say about the human experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, armed with Roger’s <a href="http://rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=REVIEWS08"><b>Great Movies</b></a> list, a Netflix
account, and an open mind, I started making my way through the films that he thought were
important. It’s safe to say that I might not have encountered Kieslowski,
Antonioni, Godard, Herzog, Bunuel, Truffaut, the Dardennes, or Ozu if not for
Roger. It’s possible that I might have found them through some other avenue,
but I wouldn’t have experienced them in the same way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Roger had become my teacher. Many is the time I’ve watched a
film from his list, found myself either bewildered or unconvinced, and turned
to his writing to provide illumination. I will not say that my mind has been
changed each time, but I almost always felt that I understood the film better
after reading what he had to say. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think his real gift as a critic came from the way that he
thought about characters. In his mind, they were supposed to be real people,
and that formed a large part of the foundation for his appreciation or aversion
to a particular film. He would find ways to contextualize a character’s actions
in such a way as to make you realize not only what was happening but also the
magnitude of something that might have slipped right past you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He fought against cancer for eleven years. He was a lucky
man to have been able to hold it off for so long. If he was great before that,
he became something different altogether after the surgeries that robbed him of
his ability to speak. Left with no other recourse, he wrote and wrote and
wrote, and it wasn’t only about the movies anymore. His <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/"><b>blog</b></a> was a thing of
beauty, a mind in full flight, unfettered by limitation and filled to the brim.
The first time I ever got to go to a Steak N Shake (years ago around 1 AM
somewhere in Kentucky), I only had any idea of its existence because of the many
times that Roger had gone into depth of his love for the place. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I never met him, but had the chance to speak with him once a
few years ago through the web. He’d written a blog entry about Bergman (I
think), I commented, and Roger responded. I’d read his blog since the
beginning, but this was the first time that he’d ever responded to one of my
comments. It meant a lot. Roger read and vetted every single comment on his
blog, but only responded to a few. That one of mine got a response is something
that I’ll always treasure. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a film critic, I don’t think that you can do any better
than Roger. More than that though, I think that he was a thoroughly decent
person, and my heart goes out to his wife and family tonight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Death is never easy, but part of what makes this so strange was the tone of last blog post, "<b><a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html">A Leave of Presence</a>.</b>" Even as talked about the recurrence of cancer in his body, he seemed to be so full of life and, more than anything, hope for the future. I had no idea that he was so close to the end. Maybe he didn't either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know that he didn’t fear death, and I think that that must
have been a great comfort. There is a certain kind of tranquility that comes
from a man who knows that he has done enough in life to be satisfied. There are
many things about Roger’s work that I admire and hope to be able to emulate in
my own way, but I think that’s the quality of his that I most admire, along with his fundamental decency as a human being. I hope that, when I face the end, I can look
back as he did, know that I have done what I wanted to do, and be thankful for
all that I have been given.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Roger taught me a lot. I am grateful for that. I miss
him now, and I will miss him always.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-----</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">"‘Kindness’
covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that
if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to
make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier,
that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make
ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to
the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our
circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived
long enough to find it out."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">From <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/05/go_gently_into_that_good_night.html"><b>Go Gentle Into That Good Night</b></a>, posted on 5/2/2009.</span></span></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-30048320976613020532013-02-24T10:24:00.000-08:002013-02-24T10:26:48.395-08:00Oscar Night 2013 - This Might Get Bumpy<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">This year's Oscar telecast will be met by a lot of uncertainty. Traditionally, the race solidifies into a pretty straightforward running order by this point, with eventual winners and also-rans clearly labeled. There are a plethora of categories this time around that are shrouded in mystery, and while I like my predictions/chances, I wouldn't be surprised if a handful of them turned out to be inaccurate. The writing categories, in particular, are particularly tough to predict . . . not to mention the strangest directorial race we've seen in years!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">For my money, Emmanuelle Riva and Daniel Day-Lewis are the two titans this year that deserve the lion's share of the spoils. I'd also like to give some love to </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Quvenzhané </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Wallis. Her performance is the stuff that legends are made of. I work with kids, and, believe you me, most six year olds just aren't capable of stuff like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I'll be interested to see what Seth MacFarlane does as host. While almost anything is better than the <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-academy-award-wrap-up.html">Franco/Hathaway debacle</a>, I like my <b><i>Family Guy</i></b> in bits here and there and have a tough time sitting through an entire episode, and I hope that he doesn't take things too far in an attempt to be "edgy." </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre;"> </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 21px;">Best Picture</span></b></strong></div>
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<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2012/12/amour-losing-and-letting-go.html">Amour</a></b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Argo</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Beasts of the Southern Wild</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Django Unchained</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Les Miserables</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Life of Pi</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2012/11/lincoln.html">Lincoln</a></b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Silver Linings Playbook</b></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty.html">Zero Dark Thirty</a></b></li>
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<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Predicted winner</u><b>:</b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Argo</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Amour</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possible upsets<b>:</b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Silver Linings Playbook</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><b></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Analysis: </b>The momentum that <b><i>Argo</i></b>'s picked up in recent months has been staggering. While an early favorite for an Oscar nomination out of the gate, this was one that I thought wouldn't really have the chops to compete against the likes of films like <b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b>, <b><i>Les Miserables</i></b>, and <i style="font-weight: bold;">Silver Linings Playbook</i>. After picking up wins at the Golden Globes, Director's Guild, Producer's Guild, and BAFTAs, thinking that anything else is going to win at this juncture is pretty foolish. That said, if the Academy's feeling sentimental, I could see them pull a <b><i>Saving Private Ryan</i></b> and give the prize to <b><i>Silver Linings Playbook</i></b>. The difference, of course, is that <b><i>Shakespeare in Love</i></b> deserved that one.</span></div>
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<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>"Amour" - </b>Michael Haneke</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>"Beasts of the Southern Wild" </b>- Benh Zeitlin</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>"Life of Pi" - </b>Ang Lee</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>"Lincoln" - </b>Steven Spielberg</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>"Silver Linings Playbook" - </b>David O. Russell</li>
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<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Michael Haneke</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possible upsets:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Steven Spielberg, Michael Haneke, David O. Russell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Analysis: </b>Predicting this category's made more difficult than it ought to be by the absence of one man than it is by the actual presence of any of the nominees. Most of the circuit has given Ben Affleck the top directorial prize, despite his lack of a corresponding Oscar nomination. That really throws a monkey wrench in the proceedings, because it wouldn't ordinarily make a lot of sense to pick against Steven Spielberg, particularly when his film's got a league-leading 12 nominations. However, Affleck's DGA win really hurts the two frontrunners, Spielberg and Ang Lee more than anyone else. Personally, I like the scenario in which they split enough of the vote to allow Michael Haneke through, even though I think that's unlikely. Ultimately though, I think the DGA thing hurts Spielberg more than it hurts Lee, and I think he'll be pick up Oscar #2.</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><strong style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Bradley Cooper</strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">in "Silver Linings Playbook"</span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><strong style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Daniel </strong><strong style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Day-Lewis</strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">in "Lincoln"</span></li>
<li><strong style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Hugh Jackman</strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">in "Les</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"> Miserables"</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Joaquin Phoenix </strong><span style="line-height: 16px;">in "The Master"</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Denzel Washington</strong><span style="line-height: 16px;"> in "Flight"</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /><span class="apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="line-height: 16px;"><u>Predicted winner</u>:</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b> </b>Daniel Day-Lewis</span></span></li>
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<span class="apple-style-span">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> Daniel Day-Lewis</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Possible upsets: Hugh Jackman,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> Denzel Washington (with the <i>slightest</i> of outside chances)</span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b style="line-height: 18px;">Analysis: </b><span style="line-height: 18px;">It seems like every time Daniel Day-Lewis is up for Oscar, I'm sitting here telling you that he's going to win, and nobody else has a chance. Not much else different this year. I think that, if anyone's really going to threaten, it's Jackman with a tiny hint of a threat from Denzel Washington. That said, if Day-Lewis <i>doesn't</i> win the prize, something's deeply wrong here. His work in Lincoln was staggering in the epic simplicity of its scope and the deeply heartfelt rendering of the character. This one is (and should be) his to lose.</span></span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span"><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 21px;">Actress in a Leading Role</span></b></strong></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Jessica Chastain</strong> in "Zero Dark Thirty"</li>
<li style="line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Jennifer Lawrence</strong> in "Silver Linings Playbook"</li>
<li style="line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Emmanuelle Riva</strong> in "Amour"</li>
<li style="line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Quvenzhané Wallis</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></strong>in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"</li>
<li style="line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Naomi Watts </strong>in "The Impossible"</li>
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<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0.8em; margin-right: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Predicted winner</u>:</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>Jennifer Lawrence</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Emmanuelle Riva</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possible upsets:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Emmanuelle Riva, Jessica Chastain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: medium;">Analysis: </b>This was seen originally to be a Lawrence/Chastain race, but<b style="font-size: medium;"> </b>Jennifer Lawrence has been picking up the majority of awards on the circuit to this point, and I really think that she's going to go all the way tonight. Now, she's a fine actress, and I liked her work in <b style="font-size: medium;"><i>Silver Linings Playbook</i></b>, but I think that the standout performance in that film was easily Bradley Cooper's. Personally, I think this award should go to either Emmanuelle Riva or </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Quvenzhané </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Wallis. Riva's work is devastatingly nuanced in a piece that hurts, and was one of the single best bits of acting I've ever seen. To give the prize to Jennifer Lawrence tonight is a big mistake. That's not taking something away from Lawrence. She's a fine actress and has a long, successful career ahead of her. Riva is probably nearing the end of her career (if this isn't her final performance), and gave one of the performances of the young century. In 5 years, I think it's clear which performance will still resonate. Both actresses are playing good tunes, it's just that Riva's playing a symphony. That said, it is her birthday tonight, so the Academy might just lean her way.</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Alan Arkin </strong>in "Argo"</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Robert De Niro </strong>in "Silver Linings Playbook"</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Philip Seymour Hoffman</strong> in "The Master"</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Tommy Lee Jones</strong> in "Lincoln"</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Christoph Waltz</strong> in "Django Unchained"</li>
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<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0.8em; margin-right: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Predicted winner</u>:</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Robert De Niro</span></span></div>
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<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0.8em; margin-right: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.4pt; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-left: 0.05in; margin-right: 0.3in; margin-top: 9.6pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Tommy Lee Jones</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possible upsets:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Analysis: </b>This one is one of the single toughest categories to predict. My personal favorite, Tommy Lee Jones, has a good chance, but I don't think he'll be able to overcome the fact that Robert De Niro actually found a project that he liked enough to actually <i>try</i> to give a good performance. I'm also not ruling out Christoph Waltz. I'm really glad that he was the sole actor recognized for work in <b><i>Django Unchained</i></b>. A lot of people thought that DiCaprio would be the main contender from that thoroughly distasteful exercise in sadism, but I think that the Academy made the right choice. </span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></strong></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">Actress in a Supporting Role</span></strong></div>
</li>
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<ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Amy Adams </b>in "The Master"</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Sally Field</strong> in "Lincoln"</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Anne Hathaway</strong> in "Les Miserables"</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Helen Hunt </strong>in "The Sessions"</li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><strong style="font-style: inherit;">Jacki Weaver</strong> in "Silver Linings Playbook"</li>
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<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0.8em; margin-right: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Predicted winner</u>:</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 13.4pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Anne Hathaway</span></span></div>
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<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0.8em; margin-right: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.4pt; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-left: 0.05in; margin-right: 0.3in; margin-top: 9.6pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I was voting:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16px;">Anne Hathaway</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possible upsets:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> None.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Analysis: </b>I think this one's a done deal, folks, and it's well deserved. Her performance is fantastic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Here's the rest . . .</span></div>
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<ul style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Animated Feature Film</b>: Wreck-it-Ralph</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Art Direction</b>: Anna Karenina</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Cinematography</b>: Life of Pi</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Costume Design</b>: Anna Karenina</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Documentary (Feature)</b>: Searching for Sugar Man (I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to The Invisible War, for which my friend Doug Blush was an editor. They just won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary last night!</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Documentary (Short Subject)</b>: Open Heart</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Film Editing</b>:</span> <span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Argo</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Foreign Language Film</b>: Amour</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Makeup</b>: Les Miserables</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Music (Original Score)</b>: Life of Pi</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Music (Original Song)</b>: Skyfall</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Short Film (Animated)</b>: </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Paperman</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Short Film (Live Action)</b>: </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Asad</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Sound Editing</b>: Zero Dark Thirty</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Sound Mixing</b>: Les Miserables</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Visual Effects</b>: Life of Pi</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Writing (Adapted Screenplay)</b>: Silver Linings Playbook (but keep an eye on Argo)</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Writing (Original Screenplay)</b>: Amour (but keep an eye on Django Unchained. Amour is a long shot, but I have a feeling)</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Above all though, I'm just happy that it's Oscar night. This is one of my favorite events of my year, and there are a lot of memories that go along with the territory. Mostly tonight, I'll be thinking of my mother, who was the one who used to turn the TV on every year even when we were too little to understand exactly what was going on. Love always.</span></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-4985394622723513282013-01-30T18:09:00.000-08:002013-01-30T18:09:37.758-08:00Podcasting: Zero Dark Thirty<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HpUvrWYgTjo/UQnQkxK8NvI/AAAAAAAAAjA/GfPMvjBwKZY/s1600/Zero+Dark+Thirty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HpUvrWYgTjo/UQnQkxK8NvI/AAAAAAAAAjA/GfPMvjBwKZY/s1600/Zero+Dark+Thirty.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good news! I thought that I was going to miss out on </span><b style="color: #4d469c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/outnowpodcast?fref=ts" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;">Out Now With Aaron and Abe</a>'s </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">discussion of <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty.html"><b>Zero Dark Thirty</b></a> due to Sundance, but good fortune was on my side! I'm very glad to have been able to be a part of this one. The shownotes, in particular, are a veritable treasure trove of interesting bits of information. Make sure you take the time to check them out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking <a href="http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-89-zero-dark-thirty">HERE</a> to go to the episode's official page or by clicking the big ol' play button below. This discussion had a particularly good vibe. We were not only able to go into detail on the film, but also took the time to talk about <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-whole-shebang-2013.html"><b>Sundance/Slamdance</b></a> as well as the upcoming <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/search/label/oscars"><b>Academy Awards</b></a>.</span></div>
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Don't forget to share/post/link/tweet or whatever it is you do with things you like. Enjoy!</div>
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This episode features: </div>
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<ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Aaron Neuwirth of <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><b>The Code Is Zeek</b></a> and <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://whysoblu.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><b>Why So Blu?</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Abraham Moua of <b style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://walrusmoose.blogspot.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;">The Walrus Moose</a></b></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Jose Cordova of <a href="http://www.thethoughtfulslacker.blogspot.com/"><b>The Thoughtful Slacker</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Mark Johnson of <a href="http://www.awardscircuit.com/"><b>The Awards Circuit</b></a></li>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-54066405478423496772013-01-28T21:07:00.001-08:002013-01-28T21:07:38.545-08:00Tales from Park City - The Whole Shebang (2013)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now that I've had several days to recuperate/thaw, I thought it'd be useful to archive <b>Tales from Park City</b> in a single post. To that end, you'll find a link to each piece below.</div>
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Tales From Park City - 2013</div>
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<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-opening-day.html">Opening Day</a></b></div>
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</b></li>
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<b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-unlikely-lunches.html">Unlikely Lunches, Jilted Lovers, and Broken Hearts</a></b></div>
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<br /></div>
</b></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-anger-and.html">Anger and Alternate Reality</a></b></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</b></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-i-drank-his.html">I Drank His Milkshake</a></b></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;">
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</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-dreams-come-true.html">Dreams Come True At The End</a></b></li>
</ul>
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If you're so inclined, you can find the full archive of last year's SmackDance column <a href="http://www.moviesmackdown.com/category/smackdance"><b>here</b></a>.</div>
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----</div>
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Whenever I go to a festival, I take my notebook. There are just too many films to keep track of to trust my memory to keep everything straight. This year alone, I saw 13 feature-length and 30 short films. Unfortunately, I realized too late that I'd left my favorite notebook at home, so I had to pick up another one upon arrival. </div>
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Despite not having my battle-tested notebook on hand, perhaps the single thing that's most special to me about this year's trip is that I was able to take notes all week with my mother's pen. It means more than words can express, and I am thinking of her tonight.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rMTQuMMCrqQ/UQdWwbZ0YKI/AAAAAAAAAiw/REuf_pKLSwc/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rMTQuMMCrqQ/UQdWwbZ0YKI/AAAAAAAAAiw/REuf_pKLSwc/s320/photo+(7).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-24588264452338782322013-01-23T22:49:00.001-08:002013-01-23T23:02:18.165-08:00Tales From Park City - Dreams Come True At The End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mNQq4DYzQKU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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The last day! </div>
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My morning started off far too early. In anticipation of my pre-7 AM alarm, I tried to get some sleep by going to bed early, but things are tough when you're bunking with someone on a different schedule. Plus, I never really slept that great the whole time I was in Utah. Whatever. On the last day, I decided to treat myself and go off the beaten path a little bit so I figured that a little extra work was worth it. </div>
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Whenever I go to Park City, there's typically one or two movies that I have to see for <b>me</b>. There are tons that I need to see for my job and I'm fully aware that I'm there to work first and foremost, even if that job involves watching movies all day. (poor guy!) Last year, the "me" movie was <b><i><a href="http://www.moviesmackdown.com/2012/01/on-graffiti-mental-athleticism-comic-books-and-the-french.html">2 Days In New York</a></i></b>, and this year, it was <b><i>Before Midnight</i></b>. </div>
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What's ironic is that I had the opportunity to meet Julie Delpy through my job last year and heard a journalist ask her if there were any plans to make a third film with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke. She kept quiet about it and said that it might happen . . . but all the while she knew that they had a script and were leaving to shoot it in a month!</div>
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Anyhow, I didn't have a ticket for the film. To rushline a film at Sundance, you're supposed to be there about 2 hours early. Fortunately for me, as it was the first screening of the day, I was only required to be there 1 hour in advance. As the film was scheduled to start at 8:30 AM, I was supremely grateful for this. At each venue, they post a sign with the average number of rushline people who got into screenings at the venue the year before. At the MARC, that number was 50, (not terribly encouraging) and thanks to a misleading bus driver, I ended up with #95 (again, not very encouraging) Fortunately for me, a kind woman who was somehow able to buy a ticket, flipped my number around by giving me her spot at #59. </div>
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Boom!</div>
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Now to the film . . . <i><b> </b>(no spoilers per se, but don't read on if you don't want to know the basic premise, which I think is a kind of spoiler in the world of this series.)</i></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yT1U-NBSqS8/UQDaLtjUQFI/AAAAAAAAAig/UgMMNIPoGYA/s1600/578413_224544637671956_1362370150_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yT1U-NBSqS8/UQDaLtjUQFI/AAAAAAAAAig/UgMMNIPoGYA/s400/578413_224544637671956_1362370150_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Before Midnight</i></b>: I have loved this series since I was in my late teens. Jesse and Celine feel like friends of mine, and that's not exaggeration on my part. The films are so so well-written and the performances are wonderfully authentic that you feel like you know these people. In this one, we find the two together for nine years following the events of <b><i>Before Sunset</i></b>. In many ways, <b><i>Before Midnight</i></b> is about what "happily ever after" is really like. It's a very different kind of story than the previous two. With those, the characters still have rose-colored glasses on with regard to each other. But here? Here, they've been together for years and years, and the gloves come off. If the first two were about the fight to get together, this one is about the fight to stay together. Not surprisingly, the writing's great and the performances are strong. That said, I do wish that I'd watched the other two again before watching this one, as it'd been a while, and I think that, to have the maximum effect, a 1-2-3 approach would work best. These films are growers, and while I don't think that <b><i>Before Midnight</i></b> is the best individual entry in the series, the impact that they have as a trio is undeniable.</div>
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Look, there's a lot that I could say about the film, but I'm going to collect as much as I can and post it once the film's come out for people to see for themselves. I want to talk about individual details and plot-points, but there's no reason to put that up when only a few people around the world have seen the film. Stay tuned, ok?</div>
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While I was disappointed to have to come home before the end of the Festival, I'm really glad to have been a part of the experience at all. It's an amazing thing to be a part of a town filled with so much energy all focused in one direction. I said this last year, and I'll say it again. It restores your faith a little bit to see people lying on the ground in front of the screen instead of missing the movie and people who'd rather get in line before 8 AM than risk missing a movie. This is my tribe, and I'm proud to be part of it.</div>
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Over and out,</div>
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-Adam</div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-20643580385975125122013-01-22T10:16:00.002-08:002013-01-22T15:05:37.474-08:00Tales From Park City - I Drank His Milkshake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KP17Js4PkoY/UP7Ygi50bDI/AAAAAAAAAiA/ozZqI0bFnFI/s1600/photo+(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KP17Js4PkoY/UP7Ygi50bDI/AAAAAAAAAiA/ozZqI0bFnFI/s320/photo+(6).JPG" width="240" /></a>Apologies for the late post. I needed to hit the hay early on Sunday night, and was busy yesterday tying up loose ends and getting ready to fly back. Monday's column will be up later today/tonight.</div>
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Sunday’s films at Slamdance: </div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Animation Showcase: As a medium, animation allows the
filmmaker to create content without any connection to the physical world. It’s
the rare place where the artist can literally create anything that he/she
wants, regardless of how crazy it might sound. I found a few gems in this
program, but on the whole, there were a lot of abstract pieces. I tend to fall
a bit more on the narrative side of things with regard to form. That’s a
personal preference of mine, and not a reflection on any of the filmmakers who,
to a person, are all very talented artists. Here are a few that I really liked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<i style="font-weight: bold;">An Elegy for Eden</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – I’m not entirely sure what the proper term
is for the technique director Jason Gay McLagan used to create this one, but
it’s lovely. It’s ironic too, because I thought that the film was a strange
take on the Eden myth, but it’s apparently meant to represent the breakdown of
personality in the digital age.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<i style="font-weight: bold;">Gum</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
– hilarity. This is probably the best in the punch if you’re going pound for
pound. There’s really just not any fat.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Home</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
– A sweetly raunchy (or is “accurate” a better term?) look at what makes a
house a home.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I
Am Tom Moody</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – probably my favorite in the bunch. Tom Moody is about to
play his first concert, but has to have a quick conversation with someone who
doesn’t want him to. I guess I’m a sucker for pieces about self-actualization,
particularly when they feel true to life and avoid the corny factor.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Noodle
Fish</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – beautifully animated in what appears to be a sandbox. A story
about a little fish who decides that he would like to see the world outside the
water. He also encounters some aquatic philosophers, which was terrific.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cargocollective.com/NetaCohen">Tap to Retry</a></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – this made me laugh. A series of quick vignettes (though I
think that vignettes is a poor term to use for a description) related to the
emotional impermeability of the modern world.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span></span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Triangle</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
– wonderfully inventive piece more than a little inspired by the “Pink
Elephants on Parade” sequence in Dumbo.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://betweenusmovie.com/">Between Us</a></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – anytime one of the Festival’s founders makes a
film (and it’s actually programmed by the team!), they do what’s called a
Founder’s Screening. You might recall last year’s </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.moviesmackdown.com/2012/01/on-early-mornings-at-the-end.html">Wild In The Streets</a></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">? This
time around, it’s Dan Mirvish. I was supposed to see another film, but after it
sold out, I decided to watch Between Us instead of waiting in the rush line for
something that wasn’t a sure thing. Plus, I didn’t want to sit on the floor,
which people are wont to do at Slamdance if seats are no longer available. Mind
you, I think it’s awesome when people do that. I just don’t want to do it
myself. Also, Dan promised milkshakes to those who came to the screening.
Honestly. I scored a vanilla shake that was pretty good too. Props to editor Dean Gonzalez for going to the trouble to make them at all. Based on a play by Joe Hortua, </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Between Us</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is
about the alternately ascending/descending relational trajectories of two
different couples. One (Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs) seems like the better
adjusted of the two at first, while the other (Melissa George and David
Harbour) . . . not so much. Let’s just say that things get kinda out of hand at
a reunion. Make that two reunions. The best thing about the film is the way
that the two reunions (with two years between them) are intercut in such a way
as to illuminate certain parallels and show just how much these people have
changed over time. It’s a nice movie, but nothing to really write home about.
The performances don’t really hit as hard as they might have been intended to,
and I think that the writing could have stood a little more punch to make
things a bit tougher. That said, I liked the film’s black sense of humor.</span></div>
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</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.besucher-film.de/">Visitors (Die Besucher)</a></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – with a big tip of the cap to </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2013/01/tales-from-park-city-unlikely-lunches.html">BigWords</a></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, this is the best film I’ve seen at Slamdance 2013. It’s a wonderfully
mature look at family dynamics, the way they change over time, and the nature
of child/parent interdependence in modern society. Jakob, in his late 50’s, goes
to visit his three adult children in Berlin for the first time in years, but
doesn’t tell his wife, Hanna. Let’s just say that they’re not on the best of
terms, and the family has to deal with a lot of stuff that they’ve been
sweeping under the rug. Part of what makes the film so interesting is the way
that it explores the way that kids these days are having to rely financially on
their parents much, much longer they used to, and the subsequent tension,
resentment, confusion that can come as a result. There’s a particularly lovely
scene in which one character makes one of the most heartfelt speeches I’ve heard
in a film in a long time. I’d say more, but that would give away too much. The performances are terrific, the writing is
terrific, and I was really surprised to learn that </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Visitors</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is
director/co-writer Constanze Knoche’s first feature film. This is one to look
out for.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the close of the night, I ended up at the <b><i>Between
Us</i></b> party for a little while before heading back to the condo to try and
catch some sleep before heading out early in the morning. <b><i>Before Midnight</i></b> was
set to roll at 8:30 AM, and I needed to be there an hour early to get in the
rushline. I’ll let you guess as to when this pillow hawk needed to get up to make
that happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">More later,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Adam</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">P.S. And here’s Rand’s Dave Grohl story in his own words . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-------</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Scene: VIP lounge pre Chef-Dance dinner/concert</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave Grohl of Foo
Fighters wonders behind the small bar to hand out beers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave: Do you want a
drink?</span></span></div>
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</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Me: I couldn't go
back to my normal life on Orange County if I refused a drink from Dave Grohl...
But you have to do a shot with us!</span></span></div>
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</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave: Only if it's
whiskey.</span></span></div>
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</span>
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Me: (trying not to look elated) Perfect!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"></span></span>
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="textexposedshow" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span>
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="textexposedshow" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="textexposedshow" style="font-family: inherit;">Dave pours 3 shots. My boss, friend and I take a
shot of Crown Royale.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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</span>
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<br />
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="textexposedshow" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The end.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span></span></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-90783967143767621502013-01-20T09:51:00.002-08:002013-01-20T09:51:55.229-08:00Tales From Park City - Anger and Alternate Reality<br />
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The week is already starting to catch up with me. It’s
probably a bit too early to admit this, but it behooves a writer to be honest. </div>
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The streets of Park City were the more crowded on Saturday than
they have been all week. It’s understandable, given the arrival of first full
day of weekend screenings and the coming of audience members enjoying their day
off. It does make for a challenging time getting around, not only with foot
traffic but also with the free shuttles.</div>
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That’s one of the single best things about Sundance. Not
only is it easy to find out where you need to go, but there’s very little need
to rent a car of any kind, provided you can just <i>get</i> to Park City in the first place. In fact, you’re actually
discouraged from renting a car by the Festival itself. My friend, however, had
to transport some stuff up here, and wasn’t so lucky. When he told me that he
was driving up to Main Street to make a delivery, “good luck” were the only words
I could think of to offer him. Fortunately, he found a great parking place.
After driving around for 30 minutes.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rrO2vNizSM/UPwuCDKwgNI/AAAAAAAAAhw/vx1R3wfJLBM/s1600/photo+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rrO2vNizSM/UPwuCDKwgNI/AAAAAAAAAhw/vx1R3wfJLBM/s320/photo+(5).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ok, onto today’s screenings at Slamdance: </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://slamdance.bside.com/2013/films/whereiam0_slamdance2013_slamdance2013">Where I Am</a></i></b>: another strong Slamdance documentary. The film
tells the story of Robert Drake, an American writer, who was brutally attacked
while living abroad in Ireland. The real tragedy is that the only reason he was
attacked was because he is gay. While the film runs a little longer than it
needs to and begins to repeat itself toward the end, it’s an emotional piece
that does a good job of exploring the complex feelings that Robert and those
around him have about the attack. I was struck by the idea of a man who has to
depend on other people for just about everything being able to so readily
forgive his attackers, even though they’d gotten off extremely easy and “justice”
wasn’t done. He’s a remarkable man, and it was a pleasure to see him at the
screening with his long-time assistant, Butch.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><a href="http://thebitterbuddha.com/">The Bitter Buddha</a></i></b>: one of the funniest things I’ve seen this
year. <b><i>The Bitter Buddha</i></b> takes a look at the career of comedian Eddie
Pepitone. He’s one of those long-suffering guys that other comedians swear by,
but just hasn’t had the big break that he deserves. A big part of what makes
him so likable is he’s incredibly open about his anger and insecurity. There’s
a more than ample supply of both. There’s a ton of interviews with other
comics, most notably Patton Oswalt. The film goes to video-on-demand in
February, and you’d do well to catch it. Here’s a link to Eddie’s <b><a href="https://twitter.com/eddiepepitone">Twitter
page</a></b>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.theinstitutemovie.com/tag/slamdance/">The Institute</a></i></b>: this is one of the single best things I’ve
seen at the Festival so far this year. <b><i>The Institute</i></b> documents an “alternate
reality game” that lasted for 3 years and had, at one time or another, over
10,000 participants in and around San Francisco. Jeff Hull, the game’s
mastermind, created a convoluted narrative about rival organizations fighting
over who was going to control the future of human happiness. Director Spencer
McCall was initially hired by Mr. Hull to shoot footage that would become part
of the gameplay, and after ending up with over 1000 hours of footage, decided
to move forward with the film. It’s fascinating stuff, particularly as you
begin to wonder if what you’re watching is even a documentary at all. At
certain junctures, it seems impossible that some of these people could be
serious about what they’re saying with a straight face. What makes the film
really shine is that it’s able to create within the mind of the viewer the same
effect that I’d imagine it had on the participants. On some level, you’re not
only wondering how people could take this stuff seriously, you’re also wanting
for this to be true on some level because it’s been so skillfully put together.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDEQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DD0NlNNhaf3E&ei=ICr8UILhFdKzqAGYhIHgDg&usg=AFQjCNGu3zwBBAtuOcmVRvOebP3Gdlo8sg&sig2=nwEbbGz-Eo8zsCTgiZ7EFA"><b><i>The Brotherhood of the Traveling Rants</i></b></a>: Meh. This is the “official
documentary” of Canadian comedian Gavin McInnes’ tour in promotion of his book.
I’m not going to deny that he’s funny, but only sporadically. There’s also just
far too much material that’s clearly been staged for the camera. His best
friend comes along for the ride, and there are certain bits where they’re
clearly riffing off of each other, and that’s fun to watch, but then later
there are just far too many attempts at emotional authenticity that are being
attempted by guys who aren’t the greatest actors. Additionally, the film’s
introduction makes it seem like Gavin’s setting out to make a film about
whether or not comedy is a learned behavior or instinctive ability, but this is
quickly abandoned to document the tour. I wish that the film had either stuck
with the framing device, or just allowed the camera to roll when the guys were
out doing their thing. The latter would have been a lot more fun. There’s
enough history between these two to make this thing a lot more fun than it ends
up being.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
No parties for me at the end of the night. I got out of my
last film at 11:30 PM so my party connections were already kinda shut down. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’ve got 3 screenings on the docket for today, but am hoping
to catch a bit of the 49er game. My buddy’s a HUGE fan and has been making new
friends all over town with his authentic (and pretty stylish) Niner gear. I
want to watch him watch the game more than anything. Also, he’s got a GREAT
Dave Grohl story that I’m going to try and get on camera so I can share it with
you tomorrow.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Tomorrow’s the big one for me. I’m going to rushline a
screening of <b><i><a href="http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/13120/before_midnight">Before Midnight</a></i></b> at 8:30 AM, which means that I’ll have to be
there around 7 AM. Which means I’ll have to get up at . . . ug. On top of all that, I fly out tomorrow
night and have to move house tomorrow morning. Should be fun. Those films mean
a lot to me, and I’m really hoping for another stellar entry in the series.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
OK, off to a busy day. </div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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More later,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-Adam</div>
<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-30044959975119709692013-01-19T00:09:00.002-08:002013-01-19T08:03:27.243-08:00Tales from Park City - Unlikely Lunches, Jilted Lovers, and Broken Hearts<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, there's this place, and I'm surprised to say that I'm a fan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've never been to Park City except for during the Festivals, but I'd imagine that Main Street would look very different at any other time of year. There's a plethora of vendors setting up pop-up stores, companies using retail space for lounges, heck, even pop-up nightclubs. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And perhaps the best deal in town is Morning Star's veggie burger bar. Free veggie burger! Free chips! Free beverage! Tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, after going on Thursday before the place was very well known . . . the tables have turned, and now EVERYBODY wants one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can grab another before I have to head home.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On to today's films at Slamdance:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><a href="http://biblequizmovie.com/">Bible Quiz</a></i></b>: a documentary about the lives of a few kids from Tacoma Life Center in Washington that are heavily involved in competitive Bible memorization. This was one that was particularly interesting for me, having formerly been an active Christian for most of my life. Director Nicole Teeny manages to bring a perspective that's at once honest about what might seem to be very odd about these people's beliefs while remaining very respectful of a group of entirely sincere people. That's important. One of the main subjects, Mikayla, has a real star quality to her. She's alternately hilarious and wonderfully honest about her life and the people in it.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/eilhardtproductions">The Court of Shards</a></i></b>: this one missed the mark. A German film about a group of people with varying degrees of physical and/or neurological problems that do . . . stuff. I found the whole thing pretty confusing. From what I can tell, Nora (Caroline Fricke) seems to have epilepsy, along with a host of other emotional problems, and lives with Isabel (Silvia Giehle), a paraplegic. It's tricky. One of the first credits on screen was "lip-synched" by, and that's an unfortunate thing. For the duration of the film, the dialogue seems to be entirely looped, and it's BAD looping at that. There are a multitude of cut-away shots, voice-overs, shots with other objects obscuring mouths, you name it. Anything to keep folks from seeing how out-of-sync it was.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><a href="http://www.bigwordsthemovie.com/">Big Words</a></i></b>: this won the day for me. It's got a wonderfully warm vitality to it that really didn't come through the synopsis that I'd seen when I was selecting my schedule. The narrative is set on the night of Barack Obama's first election, and involves three guys who used to be a part of a hip-hop group before life took them in different directions. Naturally, their day brings them together unexpectedly, but there's so much fun in the lead up to the inevitable meeting. Strong performances and a wonderful script from writer/director Neil Drumming.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Fynbos</i></b>: a tricky one. It's a bit slow at first, but gets under your skin. The film definitely tips its cap to <b><i>L'Avventura</i></b> in its examination of what happens when a woman goes missing under very strange circumstances. Richard (Warrick Grier) is trying to sell his home in South Africa to keep himself afloat financially, but something is very wrong with Meryl (Jessica Haines), his wife. It's hard to figure out what's going on in that head of hers. I did find myself wishing that the filmmakers would have done more to keep things in focus, as characters often are out of focus before walking to their mark. I'm not sure what the technical term is, but I'm sure you understand. It's certainly a film that I admire, even if I'm not sure exactly how to pin it down.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The night ended at the Slamdance Opening Night Party, which was a lot of fun. Parties like that are really one of the best parts of my job, and I'm not talking about the free drinks. I really enjoy having the opportunity to talk to filmmakers/journalists/distributors, particularly at a festival like Slamdance. These people are incredibly passionate about what they do and it comes through in spades. Right before I left, I struck up the best conversation with a filmmaker with whom I had a lot in common. I think that's the biggest blessing of an environment like this. Sure, I was there for a practical purpose for my job, but I just made a new friend. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
More later,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-Adam</div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-67184522871454858642013-01-17T21:12:00.001-08:002013-01-17T21:17:17.391-08:00Tales from Park City - Opening Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxyETeaBDwEN-rWHsT-9Qk6Q6AAh0Ogbrfyo6oUIq5cw06EbTjjeUCCR5b-8c5AlaQFnfPvaMp6xo66zP4aXw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks to my good friend Efo, I was able to temporarily acquire a camera for a little video blogging action! I'm hoping to put it to good use over the next few days and provide a fun little sideshow to the column.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The wireless at my condo is <i>super</i>-sketchy. So I'm going to do my best to post daily, but if I miss a day, I know you'll forgive me. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
More later,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-Adam</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For more, don't forget . . . </div>
<br />
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</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Twitter – <a href="http://www.twitter.com/iltwinanarchist">iltwinanarchist</a></b></li>
</ul>
<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-39115369131362558512013-01-15T08:46:00.000-08:002013-01-15T10:38:18.912-08:00Zero Dark Thirty<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IrC2zvDjJqc/UPUFeGTlZmI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/YZNqJreLXbQ/s1600/Zero+Dark+Thirty+-+Reflection.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IrC2zvDjJqc/UPUFeGTlZmI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/YZNqJreLXbQ/s400/Zero+Dark+Thirty+-+Reflection.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’m surprised by the society I live in more often than I’d
like. Having gotten to the theater earlier than usual this time around, I had a
chance to catch the “preshow.” There was an advertisement for a TV movie about
the case to convict Casey Anthony, and I found myself amazed at our culture’s
desire, perhaps <i>need </i>even, to
regurgitate current events so quickly. Despite that, there I was, buying a
ticket for a movie about an event that, for all intents and purposes, just
happened. Having really enjoyed <b><i>The Hurt Locker</i></b> (despite being a
little bit bitter about its <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2010/03/well-it-happened-that.html"><b>Oscar win</b></a> at the expense of <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2009/12/cinematic-public-service-announcement.html">Avatar</a></i></b>!), I was willing
to give Kathryn Bigelow the benefit of the doubt with <b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b>,
particularly given that she was working with the government to do everything
that she could to get the story “right.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Where <b><i>The Hurt Locker</i></b> really shines is in how
tightly focused it is. Rather than bogging down on the justifications or lack
thereof for the Iraqi conflict like so many other films of the past decade do,
it manages to avoid the political in order to stay focused on the personal.
It’s much more about Renner’s William and his addiction to a certain kind of
lifestyle, and just how strange that lifestyle is. By that comparison, <b><i>Zero
Dark Thirty</i></b> is, by necessity given its subject, unavoidably a child of
its environment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, I think
that it’s not quite as strong as it might have been. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Essentially, the first half of <b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b> is a
procedural, and whenever I think of procedurals, <b><i>All The President’s Men</i></b>
comes to mind as the gold standard. That film does an incredible job of keeping
the audience grounded in the facts (and there are a LOT of facts) without ever
losing its dramatic impetus. Whenever I watch the film, I’m always impressed by
how well the writers explain everything to the audience. If some of it goes
over their heads at first, that’s understandable, but it’s all there. That’s
often one of the hardest things about films dealing with historic events.
You’ve got to stay grounded in the facts and you’ve also got to keep things
interesting. If we’re going to use that standard, <b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b> doesn’t
quite measure up. There’s a lot that goes on that doesn’t all connect quite as
organically as it could have. There are times when another Arabic name I’m not
familiar with is uttered, and I find myself saying “who’s that again?” Still
though, it’s not as bad as watching a <b><i>Lord of the Rings</i></b> movie. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b> is very much a film of two halves. The first
half is the aforementioned procedural where they tackle the logistics of the
manhunt. It’s solid, and manages to pull the rug out right when you’re starting
to get settled. There’s one moment where something BIG happens unexpectedly,
and it was one of the biggest surprises I’ve experienced in a movie theater in
a long, long time. I was expecting a similar event that happened later, having
seen the event in the trailer and being relatively good at those matching card
games when I was a kid, but the earlier one comes without warning. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The last hour or so feels very different from what’s come
before, as the focus shifts entirely to the manhunt to kill Bin Laden.
Fortunately, it’s not an inorganic shift. If the film’s accurate, then the
administration took a huge risk in going in, because the evidence really is
incredibly sparse. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Essentially, there’s this guy. He takes messages to Bin
Laden. He lives in this house, and we can tell that there are a lot of women
and children inside the house. We can tell all of this from surveillance video
that’s really, helpful. There’s an extra woman inside the house. There
shouldn’t be an extra woman inside the house. The guy who must be her husband
NEVER COMES OUT OF THE HOUSE, so he’s probably Bin Laden. It’s striking that <b><i>Zero
Dark Thirty</i></b> billed as being about the “largest manhunt in history” and,
in spite of all of our society’s technological advances, they go into battle on
a hunch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the movie, other folks are a bit unsure about whether or
not the guy is Bin Laden, most leaning toward “probably.” On the other hand,
Jessica Chastain’s Maya is completely convinced. I don’t know entirely why. She
would certainly <i>like</i> for it to be
true, but that doesn’t mean that it is. That’s one thing that I would have
liked more of in the script: motivational factors for Maya. I don’t know
exactly why she did her job, aside from the fact that she cared a LOT about
doing it. It almost seemed to be a means to an end, as opposed to a reason to
fully develop the character in a three-dimensional way. As much as I have
lamented scenes where a filmmaker has the obligatory “so this happened to me
when I was a child, and that’s why I’ll never get married” scene, this is one
case where it would have been a welcome addition. Toward the end, I figured
that she was doing it (at least partially) for reasons of vengeance, but it’s
still a bit murky. She’s purported to be a “killer” and yet she tells someone
late in the film that she hasn’t actually done anything special for the CIA
except for look for Bin Laden. It seems strange to me that she would be made a
major part of a team in a field that intense, much less part of the unit trying
to track down Bin Laden, on such a scant record. Chastain herself is solid, but
the lack of information about her character’s motivation make it a little bit
harder than it should be to empathize with her.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/zero-dark-thirty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/zero-dark-thirty1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Back to the second
half . . . the raid itself is easily the most exciting part of the film, even
if there are a few logical inconsistencies. I didn’t know that one of the
helicopters actually crashed! That’s not something that I had expected, and it
certainly provides for a fly in the ointment. There are a few other bits that
come across as a bit strange, particularly when the soldiers’ natural human
instincts come to bear on some innocents that have just witnessed them kill
some people they loved dearly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’d wondered how much of the raid would actually be
depicted. A few of us had thought that perhaps the team would show the team
going in, and then the team coming out. Nope. There’s a fair amount of detail
in the way they go in, what happens inside, and how they leave. It’s exciting
stuff. I had no idea that the compound was so large. On that front, I think
that Bigelow and Boal could have made things a bit more clear. It’s insinuated
that there are only 2 choppers, but then there are clearly more than that, as
soldiers that seem to be stranded are back at base later, and an endless
numbers of doors are blown off by an ever-increasing group of soldiers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b> has quickly become one of the most
controversial films of the last year, perhaps even last several years, and I’m not
quite sure why that is. A lot of folks seem to think that the film supports the
use of torture as an acceptable interrogation tactic. Personally, I don’t
really think that the film is advocating a course of action so much as it’s
depicting actual events. In the case of these operatives, it’s apparent that
they’re willing to do just about anything for their cause, and Chastain’s
transformation is quick and complete. Even though she’s not comfortable with it
at first, she’s more than willing to keep things moving if it means that she
gets more information and shifts from uneasy observer to willing participant
very quickly. Even as they realize that the rest of the world won’t like it, these
people see this course of action as completely necessary. Fortunately, the film
doesn’t shy away from explicitly depicting the horrible things that many
American operatives did to those in their charge. At first, I thought that the
filmmakers weren’t going to actually show anybody being waterboarded, as the
start of the process is seen in a long shot with soldiers blocking the
audience’s view of what’s happening. Fortunately, they get up close and
personal with the nasty business, which I think is necessary, given the
horrible price that these poor guys had to pay.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s a tough sequence to watch too, because your feelings as
a moviegoer bump up against your feelings as a human being. It’s only natural
to want the protagonists of whatever film you’re watching to succeed, or, in
this case, to get the information that they need. Given the nature of the
process they’re using, at first I was surprised to find myself on their “side.”
That changed, partially because of how explicit the scene is. You see a poor
man screaming and struggling when he knows that he’s going to be waterboarded.
You see his face, completely drenched, spitting water up in the desperate
struggle to breathe. You see him fighting to keep from being put in a box. The
POV shot that’s used when he’s shut in is perfect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I think it’s pivotal to realize that Bigelow and Boal are
not shying away from the horror of what happened. If they were trying to
advocate the use of torture, it wouldn’t have been hard to frame the scene in
such a way that might make it easier on the eyes. It’s because of how explicit
it is that you realize the terrible price that comes from stripping away
another person’s human dignity so completely that you’re walking around with
that person on a leash. And this is AFTER he’s been just been released from the
restraints that kept him on his feet all night long with his arms outstretched.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s also important that the prisoner starts shouting random
days of the week as he’s screaming in an attempt to stay out of the box. How
reliable is information given in these circumstances? Khalid Sheik Mohammed was
waterboarded 183 times. It’s been determined since that a victim is willing to
say just about anything just to get people to stop hurting him. The only time
that I think that the film solidifies any kind of pro-torture stance is in a
meeting that the National Security Advisor has with the task force’s leader. After
the leader is asked if they can get any proof that Bin Laden is actually in the
house in question, he responds, “by asking who? The detainee program’s shut
down.” That’s the only occasion in the film where I felt that the use of
torture was being supported in any other world except the crazy one that these operatives
live in.<br />
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<a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWaTXxm4tS_-7sIWApR5jc7nosdfxC9j1V8Fu6d0ZYBpPjZr_pZwT6sorRLQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWaTXxm4tS_-7sIWApR5jc7nosdfxC9j1V8Fu6d0ZYBpPjZr_pZwT6sorRLQ" width="400" /></a></div>
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In <b><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></b>, I was surprised to be reminded of an age-old question. “What hath god wrought?” Perhaps that’s the real debate that should
be had here. There is something wrong with a group of people doing terrible things
in the name of their god and another group of people responding by saying that
their god has told them what they must do in retaliation. We’re not talking
about that part anymore, are we?</div>
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<a href="http://s984.beta.photobucket.com/user/hobster70/media/Stars/starrating-4stars.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae328/hobster70/Stars/starrating-4stars.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>4 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-39562285512209077282013-01-01T20:49:00.000-08:002013-01-01T20:54:18.116-08:001/1/2013<div style="text-align: justify;">
Happy New Year. </div>
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I'm particularly glad to have escaped 2012. It's funny. The most obvious sentiment to express is one that 2013 will have great things in store, but that seems too obvious. As arbitrary as a flipping of the calendar is, I suppose that I'll take any inspiration I can get to re-focus on goals both personal and professional. </div>
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There's no rest for the weary, 'cause 2013's starting with a bang! That's right, I'm headed back to Park City! I've got a badge for the Slamdance Film Festival and will mostly covering their lineup, though I'm working on a few angles that might get me into a Sundance screening or two. I'll be there from the start of the Festival(s) until Monday (1/21). I had a great experience <a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/search?q=smackdance"><b>last year</b></a>, and had been very disappointed at the (all-too-real) prospect of not being able to make the trip this year. Fortunately, things worked out at the eleventh hour. Needless to say, I'm very excited! We'll see how many films I can squeeze into a short period of time, though I've got to say that I'm particularly excited to have the chance to see friends of mine from around the country. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Each year tends to move me in different directions than I'd intended, and I'm sure that this one will be no exception. I've got a few ideas as to where I'd like to take the site over the next 12 months. In particular, I've been struck by how little the site reflects my love of certain films and filmmakers. While my focus has been on reviewing contemporary films, I'd like to change that a bit and take the time to share a bit more of what I'm most passionate about. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Thank you so much for your support of <b>Things I Know About The Movies</b> in 2012. That anyone would take the time to read something I've written is something I do not take for granted, particularly given how saturated the web is with film content. As always, I welcome your comments, and would love to hear from you if there's something in particular you'd like to see on the site. </div>
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Here's to you. </div>
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<br /></div>
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-Adam</div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-70869825392761386882012-12-26T09:30:00.000-08:002013-08-21T12:03:56.045-07:00Amour - The Losing and the Letting Go<br />
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<a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sometimes, if you’re lucky, a film comes along that tells a
part of your story. When that happens, it means a lot. Sometimes, in one’s own
quiet expressions of grief, it’s profoundly moving to know that someone somewhere
understands where your journey has led, and that you are not alone in
your suffering. <b><i>Amour</i></b> is that kind of film.</div>
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Michael Haneke has made a living out of cinematic trickery
and deceit for so long that it’s shocking to see him actually try to tell the
“truth,” or at least his version of it. For a filmmaker who’s spent years
imposing his will on audiences by routinely confounding everything they thought they'd learned, <b><i>Amour</i></b> is a surprisingly heartfelt
piece. </div>
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<br /></div>
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As a story of the breakdown of a body after a life-altering
moment, the film gets the details right. The blank stare, the withering hand,
the agonizing attempts to walk, the way that lips are held, the helplessness
felt by the loved ones of the sufferer, the way that a person is lifted and
manipulated so that they can perform basic functions, the crying out, the
repetitive attention to specific details, the way that the caretaker’s body
begins to feel the strain of having to repeatedly exert itself in heretofore
unusual ways, they’re all here. More importantly, they’re all handled with a
delicate touch that shows a great deal of respect to the reality of situations
like this.</div>
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Emmanuelle Riva’s performance is one of the best that I’ve
seen thus far this year. If there is no respect from the American Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . . . it will be a further sign of their
irrelevance. Her performance doesn’t rely on histrionics or huge moments of
expressed emotion. It’s in the little details that she finds a way to bring Anne
to life. Her performance is a triumph by any standard, and one of the finest in
recent memory. </div>
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Trintignant’s performance is good too, but it’s certainly
not the equal of Riva’s. They're blessed with a wonderful chemistry. It's not difficult to believe that they've shared a lifetime's memories. There’s a moment when he’s trying to get her to drink
water, and she doesn’t want to have any. He forces it into her mouth, and after
she spits it back at him, he slaps her. Part of me wishes that that sequence
was not in the film, but another part of me understands the kind of frustration
that could lead a person to do something like that. There’s a unique
pain/frustration that comes from trying to feed someone who does not want to
eat. You know that, if they don’t eat, they’ll die, but, at the end of the day,
there’s only so much that you can do. The human will is stronger than you
realize. After the slap, she swallows. It might be one of the most
heartbreaking things I’ve seen on a screen in a long time. She does it in such
a defeated way, and it’s painful to see.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Isabelle Huppert, one of my favorite actors, does
fine work as their daughter. She means well and wants to help, but just can’t
understand. It’s hard to blame her. When she tells her father that he can’t
keep doing this, he’s right to ask her the question he does. It’s so simple.
“What should I do different? This is what I do when I wake up. This is what
happens next. This is what happens after that. This is the exact structure of
my day. This is what I have to face every single minute of every single day.
What should I do differently?” It’s a scene that involves two people doing what
they have to do, even though their ideas are at odds. She has to tell him what
she does, and he has to respond as he does. </div>
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I know what she means about her father not continuing to
face the day-to-day struggle, but he made a promise to his wife that she’d not have to face any
more hospital visits. He makes this promise even with the realization that more medical care will probably be a very necessary part of their lives. Even though a hospital can provide ten times better care than he can, he gives freely, even to his own hurt.<br />
<br />
The love between Georges and Anne is special, born of
time and common experience. The promise I mentioned is indicative of that. He
gets to a point where caring for her himself is almost unbearably hard, but he
promised. Simple as that. There are certain things that we owe to our loved
ones that no amount of time or hardship can separate us from.</div>
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I also really liked the way that he deals with the
incompetent nurse. “I hope that you have the misfortune to be treated exactly
the way that you treat your patients when you are helpless.” It’s one of the
most satisfying moments in the film. Prior to that, it was easy to see that
this nurse wasn’t any good at her job and was causing more harm than good to
the one person that she was supposed to be caring for. I just wasn’t sure if
this fact was supposed to be self-evident to all. I don’t think that being
gentle is difficult, particularly as I get older. There’s a strange way that
certain people feel the need to belittle those that are different from their
own experience. I don’t really understand it. If what my own life has taught me
is to be believed, the people who matter most are rarely the people who get the
best press. The quiet person who stands in the corner might be the best friend
you have.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.sonyclassics.com/amour/images/gallery/10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Haneke is still not entirely comfortable with the idea of a
completely straightforward narrative, which might not be fair to him, as
finding something you think you’re good at and sticking with it isn’t
necessarily a form of weakness. However, his framing device is a gentler one
than usual, and isn’t as reliant on him imposing his will upon the audience.
Typically, a Haneke film ends with or is generously sprinkled with instances of
his reminding the viewer that there’s someone pulling the strings and that that
person doesn’t answer to anyone. Fortunately, here, it’s a bit more effective.
I think that the ending most resembles <b><i>Cache</i></b>, but where that film was
frustrating in its arbitrarily elusive turning of the screw, <b><i>Amour</i></b>’s
ending holds up. It’s a quiet secret that’s spotted, unsurprisingly, in the
details.</div>
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To say that I feel a sense of gratitude to Haneke, Riva,
Trintignant, and Huppert would be an understatement. I’ve been looking forward
to this film for years. I just didn’t know how much my own life would change in
that period of time, or how closely my experience would be reflected in the
narrative. Given how easily certain filmmakers/actors might have treated
material like this in leaning toward melodrama at worst or sentimentality at
best, it’s a blessing to see such restraint at work. Ultimately, the lack of
sentimentality in <b><i>Amour</i></b> does the best service to the emotional integrity of the piece. In trying to avoid the creation of a disingenuously emotional
experience, Haneke and his actors have found a way to express the most sacred of
emotions with respect, conviction, and sincerity. </div>
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One of the very best films of the year.<br />
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<a href="http://s984.beta.photobucket.com/user/hobster70/media/Stars/starrating-4andahalfstars.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae328/hobster70/Stars/starrating-4andahalfstars.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b></b></div>
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</div>
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<b><b>4 1/2 stars (out of 5)</b></b></div>
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---</div>
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<b><i>Amour</i></b> was the recipient of the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes
Film Festival, as well as a host of other prizes. I think this is looking like
a sure thing for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, and would not be
surprised to see it pick up additional nominations, including Best Picture. </div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-85119942266112394562012-12-23T11:33:00.000-08:002012-12-23T11:33:59.975-08:00Podcasting: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey<br />
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<a href="http://www.dezineguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-Wallpaper-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://www.dezineguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-Wallpaper-03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;">Had enough of a Hobbit fix yet??? If the answ</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;">er's no, then you'll enjoy this one. The good gentlemen of </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/outnowpodcast?fref=ts">Out Now With Aaron and Abe</a> </b>were kind enough<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;"> enough to invite me to be a part of their discussion/breakdown of </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-hobbit-unexpected-journey-or-peter.html"><span style="color: #4d469c;">T</span>he Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</a></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;">. </span></span><br />
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<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking <a href="http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-85-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey">HERE</a> to go to the episode's official page or by clicking the big ol' play button below. I've been on a lot of Out Now episodes this last year, but I felt that this turned out to be a particularly interesting discussion. </span></div>
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Don't forget to share/post/link/tweet or whatever it is you do with things you like. Enjoy!</div>
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<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">This episode features: </span></div>
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<ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Aaron Neuwirth of <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/" style="color: #4d469c;"><b>The Code Is Zeek</b></a> and <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://whysoblu.com/" style="color: #4d469c;"><b>Why So Blu?</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Abraham Moua of <a href="http://walrusmoose.blogspot.com/"><b>The Walrus Moose</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Alex Billington of <a href="http://www.firstshowing.net/"><b>First Showing</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Mark Hobin of <b><a href="http://fastfilmreviews.wordpress.com/">Fast Film Reviews</a></b></li>
</ul>
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<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://outnow.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2012-12-18T22_45_47-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Foutnow.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2012-12-18T22_45_47-08_00%3FautoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D0%26width%3D620" width="620"></iframe></span></span></div>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-44953773359597396772012-12-16T13:50:00.004-08:002013-06-04T13:45:42.721-07:00The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - (or Peter Jackson's "Run Bilbo Run")<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.nerdsraging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-The-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.nerdsraging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-The-poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now that all of the hullabaloo around the making of the film has finally been (mostly?) resolved, it's refreshing to be able to sit down and actually discuss <b><i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i></b> on its own terms.</div>
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I'll just tell you up front that I'm no Tolkienhead. Ironically enough, the only book of his that I've read, albeit rather haphazardly, is <b><i>The Hobbit</i></b>. There were a few abortive attempts to read <b><i>The Lord of the Rings</i></b> when I was younger, but I didn't get far. That always struck me as strange, considering a childhood heavily steeped in Greek mythology, Norse mythology, L. Frank Baum's <b><i>Oz</i></b> books, C.S. Lewis' <b><i>Chronicles of Narnia</i></b>, and Brian Jacques' <b><i>Tales of Redwall</i></b>. You'd think that Tolkien would have been a natural addition to that, but, for whatever reason, I never got that far past Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday party.</div>
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That said, I love Peter Jackson's original trilogy of films, which strike me as one of the bravest and most successful of cinematic achievements. <b><i>The Return of the King</i></b>, in particular, is a film that I consider one of the finest of our young century. With regard to bravery, it was almost unheard of at the time to shoot an entire trilogy's worth of footage (particularly THAT trilogy) simultaneously, and then schedule back-to-back-to-back December releases. Can you imagine the hell that Peter Jackson might have endured if <b><i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i></b> had flopped? It's safe to assume that he might never have directed again, at least not anything not airing on Lifetime.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> is a solid adventure story, with swords, sorcery, and a few tiny glimpses at a dragon. In short, it's good, but not great. What you're going to get out of it will depend a great deal on the expectations that you had when you walk into the theater, but even that's a bit murky and not nearly as cut and dry as you'd think. One man I saw the film with absolutely loved it but acknowledged that he loved the material so much that it'd be difficult for him <i>not</i> to like the movie, while another was such a big fan of the novel that he left the theater with a heavy, heavy heart. On the other hand, the rest of us and our varying degrees of fandom liked the movie well enough but had to acknowledge a few flaws.</div>
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First, the good. . .</div>
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<a href="http://www.movie-design.net/wp-content/uploads/1_watch_the_hobbit_an_unexpected_journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://www.movie-design.net/wp-content/uploads/1_watch_the_hobbit_an_unexpected_journey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It felt so good to have the chance to visit Middle-Earth again. I think that anyone who fell in love with <b><i>The Lord of the Rings</i></b> feels exactly the same way. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think that that trilogy is this generation's <i style="font-weight: bold;">Star Wars</i> with the kind of collective thrall they cast over people the world over. The cast of characters is uniformly strong, with Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo Baggins deserving particular note. He plays Bilbo as a very pragmatic kind of person, which I think is a lot easier to identify with than the eternally earnest angst that Elijah Woods brought to Frodo. There's a wonderful bit where another character tells Bilbo that he had doubted him from the start, and Bilbo says, "well, that's quite all right, I would have doubted me too." Another standout new character is Radagast the Brown, an absent-minded wizard that reminded me delightfully of a friend of mine. He's got the most wonderful way of getting around too, and I wouldn't dream of spoiling it for you. I'd anticipated the sheer number of dwarves being a bit difficult to keep track of, but am pleased to report that the script finds a happy balance between giving each character enough to do while refraining from beating the audience over the head with names, names, and more names.</div>
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I don't think that you'll be surprised to learn that perhaps the film's real standout is Andy Serkis' Gollum. He manages to seem even creepier this time around, with eyes that glow in a way that they never did in the original trilogy. The game of riddles that he plays with Bilbo is one of the film's finest sequences, and I'll be curious to see if he reappears in any of the other films in the series. I don't think that he's featured anywhere else in the novel, but I feel confident that Peter Jackson will find a way to work him back into the narrative.</div>
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Now, the not so good . . .</div>
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I think that the issue arises from a somewhat schizophrenic tonal approach. From what I understand, the source material is a lot more whimsical than the somber events of the <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lord of the Rings</i>, and while that sense of whimsy comes through at times (albeit somewhat strangely), Jackson seems committed to tying <b><i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i></b> to the earlier trilogy of films. That might not be an entirely good thing.</div>
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Trying to tell the beginning of the story after the fact isn't entirely unheard of, as George Lucas tried to do something similar with the <b><i>Star Wars</i></b> prequels. Although, to be fair, that case was a bit different, as <b><i>Star Wars</i></b> is an original work, rather than an adaptation, and the decision to start in the middle wasn't readily apparent. That said, Peter Jackson's conundrum is a bit different here. He's got to try and find the middle ground of appealing to fans of the book as well as fans of the films who might not have any knowledge of this part of the story.</div>
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One area in which the two different tonal approaches conflict is apparent right off the bat. The stakes just aren't as high this time around, so when characters solemnly parade around (particularly in the Rivendell sequence) it comes across as self-serious and somewhat exaggerated. The first time around, it was the fate of the whole world at stake, so please, Mr. Gandalf, take all the time you need! Additionally, there are bits that were clearly thrown in for fans of the original series, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, when you look at the way they're handled, it can seem a bit strange. For example, when Galadriel first appears, it's almost as though PJ is going for a near-biblical moment. Now, don't get me wrong, she's one of my favorite characters in Tolkien's universe, but it just seemed a bit silly in the way it was handled this time around, particularly with regard to the way that she's introduced in the earlier trilogy.</div>
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PJ's decision to shoot the film in 48 frames-per-second has gotten a lot of buzz, and it was interesting to finally have the chance to see it for myself. I'm notoriously opposed to high-frame rate forms of exhibition with regard to home media, as the "enhanced" experience seems, to these eyes, to remove all semblance of grace from the cinema in its reduction of even the slowest pan to a herky-jerky form of visual stuttering. I had the opportunity to see <b><i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i></b> in "high frame rate 3D," and the experience was interesting, though not as groundbreaking as it might have been intended to be by any stretch. The combination of the style of 3D glasses we used and our excellent seats (square in the center) did a fine job of removing peripheral vision in such a way as to eliminate the blurriness that sometimes pops up elsewhere. The extra frame rate was readily apparent early on, but I found that I soon adapted to it. I hadn't expected that to happen, but after a certain point, I only noticed the extra frame rate when I consciously thought of it.</div>
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That said, it doesn't really make that positive of a contribution to the entire experience. During the film's introductory segment, the high frame rate renders the action sequences nearly incomprehensible from a visual standpoint, and I'm told it was that much worse in standard 3D. While the 3D was much more vivid than any other film I've seen in that format, the enhanced image actually seems to make the "extra dimension" that much less noticeable. Once the film got going, I tended to forget that it was even in 3D at all, unless some kind of flying object did the stereotypical "pop out" or my nose started to rebel from having two sets of glasses double-parked on it.</div>
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Additionally, the visual effects don't seem as strong this time around. I'm not sure if that's due to the higher frame rate, but there are multiple characters that look rather fake. The film's primary antagonist (who's apparently a completely original character), in particular, has that stereotypical "CG" look to him.</div>
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Another point of curiosity stems from the decision to make <b><i>The Hobbit</i></b> a trilogy, instead of telling the story in two parts. To me, it seems like a blatant cash grab by a team that knows that their audience will see anything that they do with any kind of Tolkien stamp on it. Personally, I think that the trilogy was born from the realization that the Extended Editions of the previous trilogy were such a success that they could easily release the new films in their extended forms, shoot a little more footage, and voila! Three films! I'm sure that they've rationalized it in their own minds, and there's probably no small nostalgic influence on this decision. After all, what other stories can they set in Middle-Earth once they've finished here? I already feel a bit dubious about the decision to populate the third film with content from <b><i>The Simarillion</i></b>, appendices, and <b><i>Unfinished Tales</i></b>. </div>
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Ultimately, where <b><i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i></b> falls short for me is in not being a true part of <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Lord of the Rings</i>, but that's not the fault of the material. After having the bar set so high with the original trilogy, I wish that Peter Jackson had taken a stronger stance in either making a film that was more faithful to Tolkien's source material or making a direct extension to his own past work.</div>
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On its own, it's a solid adventure film, but seen as part of a larger whole, things tend to get a bit murky. That said, my reservations don't exactly have teeth. I'll be there opening weekend for each of <b><i>The Desolation of Smaug</i></b> and <b><i>There and Back Again</i></b>.<br />
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I'm not fooling anybody.</div>
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<b>3 1/2 stars (out of 5)</b></div>
Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1167080203838700023.post-84281346461797092102012-11-21T16:43:00.002-08:002012-12-26T10:34:17.047-08:00Podcasting: Lincoln<br />
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As happens from time to time, I was fortunate enough to be included on this week's discussion/breakdown of <b><i><a href="http://everythingyoualwayswantedtoknow.blogspot.com/2012/11/lincoln.html">Lincoln</a></i></b> on <b style="color: #4d469c;"><a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="https://www.facebook.com/outnowpodcast" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: initial;">Out Now With Aaron and Abe</a></b>. After our review of the film, the conversation moved to post-2000 Spielberg films, and let's just say that I was a bit surprised to realize exactly how much I love that period of his work.<br />
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You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking <a href="http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-82-lincoln">HERE</a> to go to the episode's official page or by clicking the big ol' play button below.<br />
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Don't forget to share/post/link/tweet or whatever it is you do with things you like. Enjoy!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">This episode features: </span></div>
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<ul style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Aaron Neuwirth of <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/" style="color: #4d469c;"><b>The Code Is Zeek</b></a> and <a data-bitly-type="bitly_hover_card" href="http://whysoblu.com/" style="color: #4d469c;"><b>Why So Blu?</b></a></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Mark Hobin of <b><a href="http://fastfilmreviews.wordpress.com/">Fast Film Reviews</a></b></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Alan Aguilera of <b><a href="http://thevhsdiaries.wordpress.com/">The VHS Diaries</a></b></li>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082737604796435170noreply@blogger.com0