Mini Reviews and Awards Commentary
January 16th 2010 22:39
Two mini-reviews and Awards Season commentary
Bad Leutientant: Port of Call New Orleans (Hertzog, 2009)
written January 16, 2010
There is only one word that best describes Werner Hertzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and that word is not in the least bit scholarly. It is, in fact, cracktastic. Hertzog’s film, from the title to the hallucinations within to the performances is quite the ride. A thoroughly entertaining cracked-out ride. Nicholas Cage returns to form in a great, crazy performance. He reminds us that he’s still an actor, rather than an A-list star that has sold out. Cage has always done crazy better than most people but it more recent years we’ve been laughing at him rather than with him. Cage’s performance as a good cop whose life abruptly takes a turn into sex, drugs, and corruption is incredibly layered and palpable. His chemistry with Eva Mendes (who is actually incredibly good in this fim!) is surprisingly effective and there relationship is, well, tender. Let me add: he’s a drugged-out corrupt Lieutenant and she’s a drugged-out prostitute and yet, these two really care about each other and not in that dark ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ way either. Numerous familiar faces pop up in the film and it was exciting wondering who will turn up next. Val Kilmer plays Cage’s equally, if not more, corrupt partner and it’s a pleasure to see him return to top form. This film is crazy, unpredictable, and one of the most entertaining film viewing experiences you will have. See it as soon as possible and you will not be sorry. You may be shaking your head in bewilderment, but you’ll be clapping your hands and smiling at the same time.
*****************
From this thoroughly entertaining experience portrayed we turn to a film that is anything but:
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Daniels, 2009)
written January 16, 2010
Precious is a harrowing look at the life of a 16 year old African-American girl in 1987’s Harlem. Clarice ‘Precious’ Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) wants to be famous. She wants to be on magazine covers and in music videos. When she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees (literally) a skinny, blond Caucasian girl staring back. The reality is she’s obese, illiterate, and pregnant with her second child as a result of rape from her father. Precious is abused but physically and verbally by her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique). Mo’Nique’s performance is a tour de force. She’s frightening, monstrous and underneath it all, fragile. She’s been labeled a ‘villain’ but that is far too easy of a description. In a year that has provided us with numerous incredibly layered performances, Mo’Nique’s is no different. She has taken nearly every precursor award and you can bet she will receive not only an Oscar nomination but a well-deserved win. Equally deserving of praise is the wondrous performance by Sidibe who captivates even when her character can hardly string together two works. Her performance is effective without being in your face or preachy. In fact, the majority of the film is that way. Director Lee Daniels (for the most part) allows the events to unfold without lecturing the audience. There are a few scenes that feel a bit heavy handed and awkward (especially a scene that mixes Precious’ fantasy world into her every day life) but for the most part, Daniels directing was solid. Still, this is a film that relies far more on the performances rather than the directing. Every person in the cast is spot on from Paula Patton’s illuminating teacher with the heart of gold (and wow, is she stunning. Definitely an actress to look out for) to Mariah Carey’s turn as the tough yet caring social worker. Precious is not a fun film. It’s hard to consider it a ‘favorite’. Nevertheless, it does what it sets out to do; moving and brilliantly acted it is certainly one of the year’s best.
******************
Awards Round-Up
Last time I wrote about the Awards Season, it was before the majority of the Guild Awards/Nominations were announced.
In the last week or so, here’s what happened.
My Directors Guild predictions, were pitful with 3 out of 5. Surprisingly, the Directors Guild decided not to go with Eastwood, one of their mainstays. Instead, they did this:
Katherine Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Lee Daniels – Precious
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
What this means for the Oscars is anyone’s guess. Does this mean Daniels is definitely in and Eastwood is out? Will neither of them get in and instead they’ll throw in a dark horse from a foreign film like they’ve done on multiple occasions previously? Usually, the Directors Guild nominations don’t fully match up with the Oscars. We’ll find out on February 2nd (my Oscar predictions will not be made for quite some time still).
In terms of the Writers Guild nominations, I fared slightly better. My predictions were:
Original Screenplay:
The Hurt Locker
(500) Days of Summer
A Serious Man
The Messenger
Avatar
Adapted Screenplay
Up in the Air
Crazy Heart
Julie and Julia
Invictus
Precious
The Actual nominations were as follows:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight
Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox
The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.
The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment
A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight
Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex
Prud’homme; Sony Pictures
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate
Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures
Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures
Remember, there were numerous disqualifications amongst the WGA eligibility list.
Thus, unlike some other Oscar bloggers whom shall remain nameless, I’m not willing to infer that just because Cameron got a WGA nod that he’ll get an Oscar nom. Have we suddenly forgotten about all the films that were disqualified in this category?
The ACE Edie nominations were also announced. These are the Editing awards. They played out as follows:
Drama
Avatar-Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
The Hurt Locker-Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
Up in the Air-Dana Glauberman
District 9-Julian Clarke
Star Trek-Maryann Brandon & Mary Jo Markey
Comedy:
The Hangover-Debra Neil-Fisher
Julie & Julia-Richard Marks
It’s Complicated-Joe Hutshing, David Moritz
A Serious Man-Roderick Jaynes (Joel and Ethan Coen)
500 Days of Summer-Alan Edward Bell
Animated:
Coraline-Christopher Murrie & Ronald Sanders
Fantastic Mr. Fox-Andrew Weisblum
UP-Kevin Nolting
Documentary:
The Cove-Geoffrey Richman
Food, Inc.-Kim Roberts
This Is It-Don Brochu
I would have added in A Single Man and Broken Embraces
The ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) nominations were also announced:
Barry Ackroyd, BSC for The Hurt Locker
Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS for Nine
Christian Berger, AAC for The White Ribbon
Mauro Fiore, ASC for Avatar
Robert Richardson, ASC for Inglorious Basterds
Again, A Single Man and Broken Embraces were completely robbed.
The Broadcast Film Critics Awards were televised last night and boy were they painful. Talk about completely selling out. And when did they start calling it the Critics Choice Movie Awards. I don’t remember that ever being the title. Anyway, the BFCA’s are usually a good precursor for the Oscars, at least in terms of the Best Picture winner. And thankfully they went for The Hurt Locker. Katherine Bigelow received her Best Director win for The Hurt Locker and it's hard to believe anyone can touch her at this point. Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart which was unfortunate since Colin Firth is unreal. Yes, I still haven’t seen Jeff Bridges performance but I really can’t picture anything topping Firth’s. A cop-out came in the form of Best Actress in which it was a tie between Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia and Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side. And really, if there had to be a tie why did Bullock have to be the other winner when Mulligan and Sidibe were phenomenal? Avatar took all the tech categories and Action Film, Up took Best Animated Feature, and The Hangover took Best Comedy. Our only acting category locks, Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique, both picked up wins for their Supporting Actor and Actress performances, respectively.
Tomorrow are the Golden Globe Awards. I’ve yet to make my nominations but when I do, I’ll post them here.
Bad Leutientant: Port of Call New Orleans (Hertzog, 2009)
written January 16, 2010
There is only one word that best describes Werner Hertzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and that word is not in the least bit scholarly. It is, in fact, cracktastic. Hertzog’s film, from the title to the hallucinations within to the performances is quite the ride. A thoroughly entertaining cracked-out ride. Nicholas Cage returns to form in a great, crazy performance. He reminds us that he’s still an actor, rather than an A-list star that has sold out. Cage has always done crazy better than most people but it more recent years we’ve been laughing at him rather than with him. Cage’s performance as a good cop whose life abruptly takes a turn into sex, drugs, and corruption is incredibly layered and palpable. His chemistry with Eva Mendes (who is actually incredibly good in this fim!) is surprisingly effective and there relationship is, well, tender. Let me add: he’s a drugged-out corrupt Lieutenant and she’s a drugged-out prostitute and yet, these two really care about each other and not in that dark ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ way either. Numerous familiar faces pop up in the film and it was exciting wondering who will turn up next. Val Kilmer plays Cage’s equally, if not more, corrupt partner and it’s a pleasure to see him return to top form. This film is crazy, unpredictable, and one of the most entertaining film viewing experiences you will have. See it as soon as possible and you will not be sorry. You may be shaking your head in bewilderment, but you’ll be clapping your hands and smiling at the same time.
*****************
From this thoroughly entertaining experience portrayed we turn to a film that is anything but:
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Daniels, 2009)
written January 16, 2010
Precious is a harrowing look at the life of a 16 year old African-American girl in 1987’s Harlem. Clarice ‘Precious’ Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) wants to be famous. She wants to be on magazine covers and in music videos. When she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees (literally) a skinny, blond Caucasian girl staring back. The reality is she’s obese, illiterate, and pregnant with her second child as a result of rape from her father. Precious is abused but physically and verbally by her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique). Mo’Nique’s performance is a tour de force. She’s frightening, monstrous and underneath it all, fragile. She’s been labeled a ‘villain’ but that is far too easy of a description. In a year that has provided us with numerous incredibly layered performances, Mo’Nique’s is no different. She has taken nearly every precursor award and you can bet she will receive not only an Oscar nomination but a well-deserved win. Equally deserving of praise is the wondrous performance by Sidibe who captivates even when her character can hardly string together two works. Her performance is effective without being in your face or preachy. In fact, the majority of the film is that way. Director Lee Daniels (for the most part) allows the events to unfold without lecturing the audience. There are a few scenes that feel a bit heavy handed and awkward (especially a scene that mixes Precious’ fantasy world into her every day life) but for the most part, Daniels directing was solid. Still, this is a film that relies far more on the performances rather than the directing. Every person in the cast is spot on from Paula Patton’s illuminating teacher with the heart of gold (and wow, is she stunning. Definitely an actress to look out for) to Mariah Carey’s turn as the tough yet caring social worker. Precious is not a fun film. It’s hard to consider it a ‘favorite’. Nevertheless, it does what it sets out to do; moving and brilliantly acted it is certainly one of the year’s best.
******************
Awards Round-Up
Last time I wrote about the Awards Season, it was before the majority of the Guild Awards/Nominations were announced.
In the last week or so, here’s what happened.
My Directors Guild predictions, were pitful with 3 out of 5. Surprisingly, the Directors Guild decided not to go with Eastwood, one of their mainstays. Instead, they did this:
Katherine Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Lee Daniels – Precious
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
What this means for the Oscars is anyone’s guess. Does this mean Daniels is definitely in and Eastwood is out? Will neither of them get in and instead they’ll throw in a dark horse from a foreign film like they’ve done on multiple occasions previously? Usually, the Directors Guild nominations don’t fully match up with the Oscars. We’ll find out on February 2nd (my Oscar predictions will not be made for quite some time still).
In terms of the Writers Guild nominations, I fared slightly better. My predictions were:
Original Screenplay:
The Hurt Locker
(500) Days of Summer
A Serious Man
The Messenger
Avatar
Adapted Screenplay
Up in the Air
Crazy Heart
Julie and Julia
Invictus
Precious
The Actual nominations were as follows:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight
Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox
The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.
The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment
A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight
Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex
Prud’homme; Sony Pictures
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate
Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures
Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures
Remember, there were numerous disqualifications amongst the WGA eligibility list.
Thus, unlike some other Oscar bloggers whom shall remain nameless, I’m not willing to infer that just because Cameron got a WGA nod that he’ll get an Oscar nom. Have we suddenly forgotten about all the films that were disqualified in this category?
The ACE Edie nominations were also announced. These are the Editing awards. They played out as follows:
Drama
Avatar-Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
The Hurt Locker-Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
Up in the Air-Dana Glauberman
District 9-Julian Clarke
Star Trek-Maryann Brandon & Mary Jo Markey
Comedy:
The Hangover-Debra Neil-Fisher
Julie & Julia-Richard Marks
It’s Complicated-Joe Hutshing, David Moritz
A Serious Man-Roderick Jaynes (Joel and Ethan Coen)
500 Days of Summer-Alan Edward Bell
Animated:
Coraline-Christopher Murrie & Ronald Sanders
Fantastic Mr. Fox-Andrew Weisblum
UP-Kevin Nolting
Documentary:
The Cove-Geoffrey Richman
Food, Inc.-Kim Roberts
This Is It-Don Brochu
I would have added in A Single Man and Broken Embraces
The ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) nominations were also announced:
Barry Ackroyd, BSC for The Hurt Locker
Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS for Nine
Christian Berger, AAC for The White Ribbon
Mauro Fiore, ASC for Avatar
Robert Richardson, ASC for Inglorious Basterds
Again, A Single Man and Broken Embraces were completely robbed.
The Broadcast Film Critics Awards were televised last night and boy were they painful. Talk about completely selling out. And when did they start calling it the Critics Choice Movie Awards. I don’t remember that ever being the title. Anyway, the BFCA’s are usually a good precursor for the Oscars, at least in terms of the Best Picture winner. And thankfully they went for The Hurt Locker. Katherine Bigelow received her Best Director win for The Hurt Locker and it's hard to believe anyone can touch her at this point. Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart which was unfortunate since Colin Firth is unreal. Yes, I still haven’t seen Jeff Bridges performance but I really can’t picture anything topping Firth’s. A cop-out came in the form of Best Actress in which it was a tie between Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia and Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side. And really, if there had to be a tie why did Bullock have to be the other winner when Mulligan and Sidibe were phenomenal? Avatar took all the tech categories and Action Film, Up took Best Animated Feature, and The Hangover took Best Comedy. Our only acting category locks, Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique, both picked up wins for their Supporting Actor and Actress performances, respectively.
Tomorrow are the Golden Globe Awards. I’ve yet to make my nominations but when I do, I’ll post them here.
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