East and west meet-up: Awards were announced this week for both The Los Angles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle, and there are some distinct favorites emerging ... at least with the critic crowd!
The Big News: The LAFCA awarded its Best Picture award to an animated feature, for the first time in its 33-year history! The charming and thought-provoking Wall-E won the title. Can you see an Oscar in the works? I doubt it. But it’s still an utterly amazing win. The LAFCA gave its Best Actor award to Sean Penn forMilk, Best Actress to Sally Hawkins of the delightful Happy-Go-Lucky, and Best Director went to Slumdog Millionaire’sDanny Boyle. Visit the LAFCA web site here.
The New York Film Critics Circle awarded their highest film prize to Milk, but Wall-E took home the Best Animated Film prize. As did the LAFCA, the NYFCC gave its Best Actor award to Sean Penn, and Best Actress to Sally Hawkins. Mike Leigh won the NYFCC’s Best Director award for Happy-Go-Lucky. Visit the NYFCC web site here.
The last word on year-end favorites and awards: Roger Ebert has announced his favorite films of 2008, in case you need to know what to catch up on. I love his “screw’em, there are too many good ones to do a Top 10” attitude. Go, Roger. (My only complaint about this time of year: All the powerhouse films come out now, and sometimes they don't all make it here in time for the Academy Awards [or they play for one week and are gone]. It's a surprisingly short time between December and Oscar night when you have to work hard to see everything in time for Oscar martinis!)
We’re happy to note that not only did the truly award-worthy and excellent Wall-e make it to Roger's faves list, but so did Iron Manand Werner Herzog’sEncounters at the Edge of the World.
For the nominees announced this morning, you can go right to the Golden Globes web site, or take a peek here at some of the main nominees... Right off, I wonder: no Milk or Wrestler for Best Picture (although Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke both have nominations)? Revolutionary Road and The Reader both look good, like two-hanky dramas (which, come to think of it, might not be what I’m most in the mood for these days), and I’m looking forward to Slumdog Millionaire, love Danny Boyle’s work. But... Benjamin Button? Look, like any sane female, I love Brad Pitt (and his work), but that movie hasn’t really been at the top of my must-see list. Hmmm.
BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA (These directors were all nominated as well for Best Director): The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Frost/Nixon (2008) The Reader (2008) Revolutionary Road (2008) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY Burn After Reading (2008) Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) In Bruges (2008) (Editorial Note: husband D and I loved this film!) Mamma Mia! (2008) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR (DRAMA): Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road (2008) Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008) Sean Penn for Milk (2008) Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS (DRAMA): Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008) Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008) Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008) Kristin Scott Thomas for Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008) Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road (2008)
BEST ANIMATED FILM - No surprises here!: Bolt (2008) Kung Fu Panda (2008) WALL·E (2008)
If you're like me, you probably hadn't heard of 1996's Alaska until you stumbled on it ... er, somewhere. There were no big names attached when it came out (doh! Except for one: Charlton Heston plays a, um ... well, a gun-totin’, kid-hatin’ poacher!), and I don't remember seeing any sort of promotion or marketing for it. I'm not sure why, as it's a fine piece of entertainment.
K and I watched this recently and it ran longer than I’d planned for; I so wanted to stop the film and get him to bed (it was a school night, and we do keep to our rules around here!), but just couldn’t. Alaska is a real cliffhanger (oooh, I wrote that before I realized the word works literally! No spoilers from me, though. My lips are sealed.).
The gist is this: Family of four living in Chicago becomes family of three when mom meets an early death (this is not dwelled upon, and happens before we join the story). Dad ("Battlestar Galactica"’s Dirk Benedict) decides to leave the rat race and move to Alaska, where he transforms from jet airliner pilot to small bi-plane pilot. He’s accompanied by his unhappy teenage son (Vincent Kartheiser, who went on to TV’s “Angel” and “Madmen”), who hates Alaska and misses the city, and an adventurous tweener daughter (Thora Birch, of Ghost World and American Beauty), who takes to their new life with gusto. Dad’s plane crashes in a storm. Rescue attempts falter, and who traipses off to the rescue? Why, the kids of course!
I think I grabbed K at least three times during the movie, accidentally digging my nails into him as I gasped in fear. I’m a sucker for wild canoe rides in raging waters, sneaky meanie-puss poachers and treacherous hikes on icy mountainsides. This movie has it all, plus (I’m saying it again) truly breathtaking photography... oh, and a really cute orphaned polar bear cub. The special effects and editing are spectacular; really, every white-knuckled scene is so realistic that you’re pulled right in.
Lots of fun. Nothing offensive. Great role for Birch as a strong, fearless girl who leads the way and keeps her head. Nice messaging about courage and inner strength. There are some scary moments for younger kids, and the bad guys who pose a nasty threat might give them pause... I’d say just show it early enough that they follow it up with some other images in their heads before trotting off to bed. Just to be safe.
I recently came across a short article about a family-friendly documentary making the rounds calledMoving Midway. I looked it up on First Run Features, which is a good source for info on docs (linked in my right side column), and it sounds fascinating. Here is the blurb from the filmmaker or distributor:
Godfrey Cheshire's richly observed film about his family's Southern plantation - and the colossal feat of moving it to escape urban sprawl - is a thoughtful and witty look at the lingering remnants and still-powerful mythology of plantation culture and the antebellum South. An award-winning film critic turned filmmaker, Cheshire uses the relocation of his family's North Carolina plantation house to embark on a surprising and multi-layered journey. While observing the elaborate, arcane preparations for moving a centuries-old house over fields and a rock quarry, unexpected human drama - from both the living and the dead - emerges. And a chance encounter leads Cheshire and his cousins to discover a previously unknown African American branch of the family (who have their own take on Midway and its legacy).
Through the use of movies and music, and by turning the camera on himself and his family, Cheshire examines the Southern plantation in American history and culture, and how the racial legacy from the past continues into the present.
It appears to be in limited release now, but a few dates are on the First Run Features site. Watch for it in your nearest venue for independent films (and then when it doesn't come, put it on your rental list!)!
Random Act of Self Indulgence .02: Year-End Awards News
If you don't follow film as closely as you used to (kids keep a person busy, don’t they?!), here's a movie to watch for (I'm dying over here!), especially if you were ever a Mickey Rourke fan. Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, starring one bloodied and beaten (literally and figuratively) Mickey Rourke in what's being widely heralded as a mind blowing comeback. Critics are openly admitting to girlish weeping in dark theaters, and an Oscar for Rourke seems more than possible. (Opening Dec. 19th.)
" ... Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances."
I'm also ridiculously excited to see Frost/Nixon. I felt like such a dork in a theater recently when the trailer came on, catching me by surprise (I hadn't heard anything about it at that point), and I got all giddy and excited... over the (impeached President) Richard Nixon/David Frost interviews?! You'd think Brad Pitt was in it. But I'm a bit of a sucker for politics sometimes. As a secretly dorky teen, I spent a summer in front of the TV watching the Watergate proceedings unfold. I think my husband may be one of the few who did the same (as I found out years later, of course). I guess that's why we found each other.
Here's a round-up of year-end award news, culled mostly from the helpful Awards Daily web site (linked in my right column): (I'll update with Golden Globe nominations on Thursday.)
- Italian mob movie Gomorra was a BIG winner at the European Film Awards on December 6.
1964's Zulu stands up today as one of the finest wartime stories told on film.
It chronicles the true story of the British Army's historic 1879 stand at Rorke's Drift in South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War. At a remote hospital/supply station 140 soldiers discover that they will soon be descended upon by 4000 Zulu warriors. 1,500 British soldiers had recently been massacred by Zulu forces at a nearby station, so the idea of a brigade charging to the rescue did not seem likely.
While it's a colorful spectacle set in an exotic locale -- always irresistible -- it's also an epic story of men finding what they are made of ... of reaching deep down and finding strength they didn't know they had; it's about discipline, heroism, cowardism and conflict. The film keens with suspense as the Zulu march closer and two young lieutenants fight each other to map out a winning battle plan.
Rather than building a war movie on sheer blood and guts, British director Cy Endfield built it on tension, good storytelling and realistic characters. Of course, the film has a level of violence (it's war!), but it lacks the kind of graphic gore you see so much today in both film and video games. It's also surprisingly lacking in the harsh language department.... you pretty much expect guys in the trenches to cuss! Maybe it was a British thing. These soldiers are, for the most part, darn gentlemanly as they fight for their lives.
Without being a spoiler, I'll just say the ending is one of the more distinct war-story endings seen in film. Zulu is a must-see classic. It stars a young Michael Caine (his first starring role), has brief narration by Richard Burton, and won a British Film Award for Best Art Direction.
(Parental Duty Note: there is an early scene of a Zulu wedding taking place, and bare-chested women are naturally part of the landscape.)
- Because the Zulus who were playing the extras in the film had never seen a movie, one of the actors, Stanley Baker, held an outdoor screening of a Gene Autry movie for them so they would have an idea of what movies were all about.
- Because of the apartheid laws in South Africa at the time, none of the actors who portrayed the Zulu warriors were allowed to attend the premiere of the movie.
- Because of those same apartheid laws, the Zulu extras could not be paid equivalent rates to their white counterparts. To get around this, director Endfield gifted all of the animals bought for this film (particularly cows) to the tribes - a gift far more valuable to them than the money that had been denied them.
If you’re a fan of David Attenborough or, say, the "Planet Earth" series, this one is for you. (Warning: Creationists, this one is not for you.)
Genesis: Where Are We Coming From? not only answers its own question, with striking grace and elegance, but also addresses the question of our final destination.The mysterious origins (and end) of life are addressed by African griot, or storyteller, Sotigui Kouyaté, and French filmmakers/writers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou. From the big bang and the universe’s birth, to the primordial pool and our return to the earth in the end, the cycle of life is told with folkloric vision by our griot, and illustrated by the filmmakers with profoundly vibrant images.
(Note: I’ve read that the griot’s story was written by the filmmakers; which makes it their story, not his. If true, this may explain his use of the word “atom” and a few other concepts that I thought didn’t ring true to an African storyteller. In the long run, the narration is a bit of a downside, as its poetic ruminations will be lost on children, and in the beginning it slows things down.)
The film opens with a classic microscopic view of dancing, squirming spermatozoa, moving about their business to the chaotic and joyful sounds of children on a playground. It’s a charming few seconds, effective in its simplicity and creative expression, and sets the tone for the film.
From the abstract and beautiful shots of lava, moving water and plant life, to the positively ballet-like images of a seahorse mating dance, there is much here to take your breath away. We laughed out loud at legless mudskippers falling out of their mud-cone houses, and slapping each other with affection (one surmises), at a snake devouring an egg 20 times the size of its head, and at pholcid spiders vibrating in their webs. Genesis is a true feast for the eyes.
As I said, the beginning of the film (the first ten minutes or so) may be rather slow for children. Depending on your kids -- their age, patience, and ability to grapple with foggy, philosophical concepts -- you might want to have the fast forward button handy to keep them engaged. You’ll also politely ignore the distracting, dubbed English narration; I’m sure it was done to avoid subtitles interfering with the images on screen.
Genesis moves from the beginnings of life to the re-creation of life -- before getting to our final destination -- and the images of creatures “in love,” as Kouyaté puts it, are quite innocent and charming. (There’s nothing as unsightly or as awkward as rhinos mating here.) You may wonder, “Gee, are those toads actually.... in flagrante... as they move around, from land to water to land, or is it an affectionate piggy back ride?” (You can choose which explanation suits your kids.) After love and marriage, of course comes death, and this film, in my opinion, treats the end-of-life concept with a simple, matter-of-fact tone. In one sequence, a ripe, glowing, orange peach lying in grass is shown, in time-lapse photography, returning to the earth (ok, decomposing), and it offers up several opportunities for discussion. (Notice the grass suddenly shooting to new heights as the peach fertilizes the soil, for example.) It’s an evocative sequence. The storyteller eventually portends doom, claiming, “In the end, life is cannibalistic. Life devours life...” And here, of course, is where we must see nature at its most beastly: creature on creature violence. Compared to a great deal of science and nature film, the images here are not as harsh as they could be; there are no lions gorging on juicy, baby gazelles. Here we get a terrifying ugly anglerfish (this one looks amazingly pretty in comparison), smugly devouring innocent shrimp in the blink of an eye, big toads eating little toads. It’s all lightening fast, and painless (well, from where we sit!).
If you watch Genesis, use the biggest screen in your house. Don’t even attempt this on a laptop; you’ll be robbing yourselves of the real thrill of it all.
Genesis won the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal Film Festival in 2004. The directors' other film of note, and one I also recommend, Microcosmos, took the Technical Grand Prize at Cannes (1996), and won Cesar Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Film (1997). Trailers for both below, though I could only find the French language trailer for Microcosmos.
Good news Mac users! Now you can watch movies (some new releases) & TV episodes (including current season) instantly on your Mac. Watch as much as you want, as often as you want.
Unfortunately, my clicking on the links in the email takes me to the page saying that because I'm not on a PC, I can't watch instantly. I have no idea why. I logged out of NF and logged back in. D says he can get in on his Mac; we're both using MacBook Pros.
Maybe they're still working on it... maybe i'm an OS behind ... maybe we'll get it figured out. But it's very good news, and I have faith!
You may know this book by Lena Anderson and Christina Bjork (I didn’t), but if not, it’s a charming story of a young girl who is enamored of Claude Monet’s garden paintings after learning about them from her elderly neighbor, Mr. Bloom, and his picture books. It’s a short animated movie, only about 30 minutes, and it’s a gentle and sweet story that could well serve as an introduction to art for younger kids. Watching Linnea make the connection between what she sees first in books, and then the museum, and then in real life, visiting the artist’s garden and home, keeps the idea simple and easy to grasp.
The animation is beautiful, with a magical weaving of Monet paintings and old photographs into the lovely art by Anderson, and the quiet tone and easy pace reminds me of the feel of "Little Bear" cartoons, which always seemed so soothing and calming. K is too old for this now, but I would imagine that even as a super-wired little boy, he would have been captivated and enjoyed the story.
If you’re lucky enough to be planning a trip to Paris in the future, with kids, this is also a wonderful way to introduce them to the world’s most divine city. The depiction of Linnea’s and Mr. Bloom’s hotel in Paris, with its creaky old staircase and the rooms’ tall windows, opening out onto a tiny balcony, makes clear the difference between, say, a Disneyland hotel and a two-hundred year old building on a cobblestone street in Paris.
This little film might have you calling a travel agent the minute it’s over. Who needs a college fund, anyway? There’s always the Lotto.
Before I get back to film reviewing, I need to help you decide on that gaming system you’re contemplating for Christmas.
I do this with the disclaimer that I know nothing about gaming. Or the systems. Or the games. Or, uh, gaming.
This is what I do know: if you use Netflix you can instantly stream movies to your PC. But not a Mac. Uh-uh. No Macs. Dumb. (UPDATE: You can now stream to your Mac! However, we've not had the best quality doing this, so try at your own risk. I'll write another post on this later.) Then you can view on your PC, but not your television, unless you're computer savvy and figured out how to transfer the movie to your TV from your computer ... Sounded clunky and confusing to me.
For direct-to-your-television Netflix service, cutting out the computer altogether, you can buy a box that will allow you to stream instantly from Netflix. It’s called the Roku, and gets high marks from Wired Magazine, and runs about $100.
But two things to consider: one, if you’ve got a television, a DVD player, a gaming system, speakers, or any other gear near your tv, it’s getting a bit crowded there in your “entertainment console” area, doncha think? You’re going to add another box? Hmm. And two, well, the Roku runs a hundred bucks. We don’t have that right now, between Christmas and heating oil bills and decent wine (we have priorities). So, we’ve been in limbo for a while on this point.
We’ve had an Xbox 360 for a year (it’s all Greek to me, except for the new addition of "Ms. Pacman" that was offered as part of the cool upgrade I’m about to fill you in on), and a week or two ago we got an email (as registered users) telling us about an upgrade that had just happened -- we didn’t do a thing; it was like magic. Not only were new games available, but some new features arrived with it, and the only one that wasn’t Greek to me was the “Stream movies instantly from Netflix” feature. I just about spit out my Trio Vitners 2006 Zinfandel!
On Thanksgiving night, we found ourselves without a family friendly movie in the house, and our one decent video store (a very good store, actually, though not exactly in our own town) was closed. So we got this thing set up in about five minutes, and we were off to the races. It worked like a charm. (Note: You need only a Netflix account, and an Xbox Live Goldmembership. There is no extra charge per movie as long as you have a Netflix account.)
(We watched Forbidden Planet, from 1956, and I can’t say I recommend it. It’s a bit too chatty for most kids, and there was a theme running throughout about a chaste young woman who’d never seen such robust [and female deprived] young men as those who landed on her planet. There was also a drunk crewman who got himself into a bit of a pickle more than once. You can pass, although K and D gave it a thumbs up.)
One caveat: When you keep a list of films in Netflix, you’ll see some titles marked “play” in your queue, meaning they are available for instant play, or streaming. These show up as your “instant queue” on the TV screen when choosing a movie, using your Xbox controller (your eight-year-old will have to show you how to do this). So there is your family queue, “instant play” wise, for all the family to see. Your list is presented with cover art, not titles. Cover art. All of them. So, let’s say you have a penchant, for ... oh, movies of the Saw variety... or perhaps midnight movies like Killer Nuns, or Lady in a Cage ... and those are available for instant viewing. Your kids will get an eyeful. And probably say, “What is that?” To which you can quickly reply, “Oh those aren’t OURS...” until you figure out how to keep track of those separately.
You can thank me later.
Another slight drawback is that there aren't a ton of films offered for Xbox streaming at this point, but that's sure to change. There was also an apparent licensing conflict with Sony films in particular, which resulted in many Netflix "instant watch" films not being available for Xbox streaming (a different licensing issue). According to a recent CNET report, some of those films have returned and the issue is being resolved.
I can't say with any certainty if this feature will be available with the PlayStation. I tried to find something solid on it, but failed. If you know, please let us know! And if "HD" is something that gets you all giddy, this new feature also streams in HD.
So, if you are contemplating a gaming system this year, and leaning towards the Xbox 360 (of course, the Wii is probably the one I SHOULD recommend, as it would get us all off the couch!), we say go for it.
Plus you can impress your kids with your serious "Ms. Pacman" skillz. "Call of Duty" ain't no thang.
UPDATE: Here's a good article from a tech site called All Things Digital regarding your current options for Netflix streaming.
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