Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - Directed by Mat Whitecross, Written by Paul Viragh
The problem with good music biopics is they are hard to see on the big screen. I must admit, I still haven’t caught The Runaways yet. This one really intrigues me because, not only are most of the cast and crew unknown, but Ian Drury and The Blockheads aren’t exactly on everyone’s iTunes Genius bar. For those of you too lazy to click a link, Ian Drury, despite having polio most of his life, rose to become an icon of British punk-rock in the 1970’s. Whitecross has done mainly documentaries to date. But the coolest thing about this film? The dude who plays Drury (Serkis) is the same dude who played Gollum in LOTR. Odd.
Andy Serkis, Olivia Williams, Ray Winstone, Noel Clarke, Naomie Harris
May 5

The Trotsky - Written and Directed by Jacob Tierney
Unless you actually watched his 2003 Dickens adaptation Twist, you have no idea who Jacob Tierney is. But we all know who Jay Baruchel is (She’s Out of my League, Real Time, Undeclared), and I for one think it’ll be awesome to see him playing a teenager who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. Even in high school, Jay’s character seeks to mirror the Russian revolutionary’s life, including exile, marriage, and ultimately his assassination. Might end up being esoterically Red, but we’ll see.
Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Colm Feore
May 5

Happiness Runs - Written and Directed by Adam Sherman
Based on true events from the ‘70’s, this is Sherman’s (producer, Wristcutters: A Love Story) first big feature about a generation of children lost to the hedonism of utopian hippie communes. Forced polygamy, promiscuity, and drug use are amplified by a cinematography that apparently seeks to portray these communes as cultish. May be a bit over the top, but it’s all the proof I need that hippies are, in fact, ruining society.
Mark L. Young, Hanna Hall, Rutger Hauer, Andie MacDowell, Jesse Plemons
May 7

Iron Man 2 - Directed by Jon Favreau, Written by Justin Theroux
I usually don’t cover the big movies unless there’s a good reason. And I think there is here. With the collapse (reboot) of the Spider-man franchise, and the skepticism surrounding Thor and Green Lantern, a lot is riding on Iron Man 2 if Marvel has any hope of keeping fans interested enough to wait for The Avengers. Favreau killed it with Iron Man and, though the previews appear to showcase his original style, the studio may have tried to cram more side plots and characters into in than a two-dollar whore (or Spider-man 3, whichever). Guess there’s only one way to find out.
Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle
May 7

Mother and Child - Written and Directed by Rodrigo Garcia
There is a fine line between making a specific film that everyone can appreciate and sympathize with, and making a categorically ethnocentric film that will alienate anyone who can’t relate to the story. Rodrigo Garcia did a great job directing In Treatment, which shows me he can handle intimate settings and complex character interaction. However, this story about three women and their experiences with the adoption process will require much more exposition in a two hour block. I hope he can pull it off.
Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Carla Gallo
May 7

Multiple Sarcasms - Written and Directed by Brooks Branch
Timothy Hutton has had a strange career. He won an Oscar in 1981 for his role in Ordinary People. After that, I didn’t see him in anything good until City of Industry and Playing God, both in ‘97. Then nothing again, until 2008’s Lymelife, after which he burned through The Killing Room, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Serious Moonlight, and The Ghost Writer. His recent comeback gives me hope for this character-driven drama about an unhappy man who quits his job to write a play about his life and the people in it.
Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany, Mira Sorvino, Stockard Channing, Mario Van Peebles, India Ennenga
May 7

The Living Wake - Directed by Sol Tryon, Written by Peter Kline and Mike O’Connell
Jesse Eisenberg has been a busy mofo the last couple years. Keeping up with his awkward second banana routine, he plays an aspiring poet and writer enlisted by his friend K. Binew to chronicle Binew’s last day on earth. Binew spends the day inviting everyone he meets to his “living wake”, where he plans to perform one more live act before dropping dead. The story doesn’t strike me as original, But Eisenberg is growing on me, and anything Jim Gaffigan is in is usually worth a laugh or three. Hot Pocket!!!!
Jesse Eisenberg, Mike O’Connell, Jim Gaffigan
May 14

Perrier’s Bounty - Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, Written by Mark O’Rowe
I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while now. I almost stayed in Ireland an extra week just so I could see it over there first. Fitzgibbon and O’Rowe haven’t done much outside of Intermission, which wasn’t anything really special as far as Irish film goes. However, this one looks like it could be the Lock Stock of Irish cinema, which tends to flounder if it doesn’t have anti-British sentiment or the IRA to fall back on. Great cast, simple story, I still can’t wait.
Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent
May 14

Holy Rollers - Directed by Kevin Asch, Written by Antonio Macia
Jews selling ecstasy to Israelis? How does that not sound like an awesome movie? Based on a true story, Jesse Eisenberg plays a young Hasidic man who gets mixed up with drug dealers in Brooklyn. Featuring a rookie writer and director, and a young, largely unknown cast, but c’mon … yarmulkes!
Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor, Q-Tip
May 21

John Rabe - Written and Directed by Florian Gallenberger
Hurray Germans! Apparently, Schindler wasn’t the only one with a list. In this historical drama, John Rabe is a German businessman who stays in Nanking during the 1937 Japanese invasion and subsequent massacre of the Chinese in order to save as many people as he can. Looks like it could be a solid foreign flick. My only question: Does Steve Buscemi really think he can hide in obscure stuff? I can spot those eyes a mile away.
Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Bruhl, Steve Buscemi
May 21

Solitary Man - Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, Written by Brian Koppelman
Yes, we’ve seen the story of an old guy sleeping with young women and trying to remember the “good ol’ days”. And yes, Susan Sarandon and Michael Douglas are still on quests to get some lo-fi street cred. But Koppelman and Levien directed Knockaround Guys (surprisingly good), and between them they’ve written Rounders, Runaway Jury, and The Girlfriend Experience. This one seems worth a look.
Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Mary-Louise Parker, Jesse Eisenberg, Olivia Thirlby, Danny DeVito
May 21

Survival of the Dead - Written and Directed by George A. Romero
I’m not sure that any other director can lay claim to the kind of cult following Romero has enjoyed just from one film franchise. Keeping a dismembered hand on the wheel, Romero has managed to keep his vision out of the reach of studios and direct every film from Night of the Living Dead in 1968 to this one. And even though the last installment (Diary of the Dead) was a godawful handheld nightmare right up there with Cloverfield and Quarantine, Romero - like his hoard of undead - cannot be stopped. I’m also very, very happy this one isn’t in 3-D. I almost spent $12 to watch it early…just now.
Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe
May 28

Micmacs - Written and Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
This film has been getting a lot of good feedback from festivals all over the place. Jeunet has done a handful of good French films, and one subpar American film (Alien: Resurrection), but I do love the bandwagon. It’s about a store clerk who is shot in the head with a stray bullet, and years later gets a rag-tag bunch of quirky characters to go after two large ammunition companies. Damn surrender monkeys. Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie, Jean-Pierre Marielle
May 28

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Agora - Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, Written by Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil
This one’s been sitting on my computer (along with Abre los ojos) for quite some time. Amenabar has done really well on his native soil, but his only other “American” film was The Others, which I still think was a funny, funny joke. Rachel Weisz is always good in ancient world period pieces, and this one looks much more politically and philosophically driven, instead of the typical Gladiator-wannabes. I should probably get on this one.
Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac
May 21 (Limited)

Black Death - Directed by Christopher Smith, Written by Dario Poloni
Christopher Smith is a strange little British man. The three films he has under his belt include Creep, a cut-and-dry thriller, Severance, a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy, and Triangle, a mind-fuck with no KY. Now it appears he’s upping the anti again with this horror-mystery about a village bringing people back to life during the first black plague outbreak. I’m game.
Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Kimberley Nixon, Eddie Redmayne
May 28 (UK)

Acts of Violence - Written and Directed by Il Kim
Revenge tales are always fun, whether the film is actually good or not. Watching your average joe go from distraught victim to harbinger of doom doesn’t usually need a great writer to pull it off. Which is good, considering this is Kim’s first attempt at…anything. He also stars as Flyn, a man who seeks vengeance on the men who raped his wife. But instead of a simple payback story, Flyn continues to rip people apart, keeping his violent secrets from his wife (Sobieski) and telling only his priest (Perlman). Can’t find more release info beyond “May 2010”, so look for it on DVD, or at the tiny cinema around the corner.
Il Kim, Leelee Sobieski, Ron Perlman
May-ish

The Human Centipede (First Sequence) - Written and Directed by Tom Six
I really don’t know how to feel about this one. It looks like it could be good for a few Hostile moments, and the tagline is “100% medically accurate”. However, the image of three people sewn together, ass to mouth, on their hands and knees, can’t be serious, can it? I guess it’s serious enough that IFC snatched this one up, and Tom Six is already working on the sequel, due out in 2011.
Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura
May-ish

Film Adaptation:

Also by Bret Easton Ellis:

American Psycho
The Rules of Attraction
The Informers
Glamorama
Lunar Park
Imperial Bedrooms

Suggested Readings:

Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon

Alright people, it’s awards season again. Time to roll out the red carpet, dish about celebrities, and gossip about who’s wearing what and going with who, right? Wait, who said “right”? Get the fuck out of here, Hugh Jackman, no one wants to hear you sing!

This is sexy gypsy. Which means we’ve all spent the last few months hyping up Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker, and now it’s time to judge the nominees, talk shit about the winners, and make sure Kanye’s good and liquored up, just in case.

Last year’s Academy Awards were probably the best since 2006, with a lot of good films, and plenty of solid wins. Last year was also the first time we actually paid attention to the Golden Globes, and they appeared to be a good indicator of Oscars to come. This year, however, we have many mixed feelings; we’re confused, worried, and a little sleepy. Here’s why:

THE GOOD:

Best Actor in a Drama: After a lot of great roles, and some near misses, Jeff Bridges is finally getting some love for his role in Crazy Heart, taking the Globe for Best Actor in a Drama. Granted, he was up against Morgan “Like a Twinky” Freeman, and Tobey Maguire (who played his role in Brothers like Adam Sandler’s Waterboy), but it’s good to see him win.

Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical: It comes as no surprise that Meryl Streep is adding more trophies to the case. Despite an obviously lopsided script, Streep stole the show and became Julia Child, earning a Best Actress Globe. For anyone who says “she has enough awards”, that’s like saying Brett Favre has enough records. When you’re that good, it’s gonna happen one way or another.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Musical: Saying you didn’t like Precious is the same as telling the liberal guilt-ridden among us that you hate puppies. Well we didn’t like Precious. (but we do love puppies!) First of all, the actual title is: “Precious: Based on a Novel by Sapphire”, which is just fucking stupid. Second, instead of an honest “look at life on these streets” film, they made a “look how sad and stereotypical and fucked up this poor black girl’s life is” film. Despite that, Mo’nique managed to de-board Soul Plane, and give an emotional performance with a despicable character, giving her a well-deserved Supporting Actress award.

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama: Probably the best choice this year was Christoph Waltz for his creepy-yet-articulate Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds. Considering the competition (Stanley Tucci, Christopher Plummer, Woody Harrelson, Matt Damon), his Best Supporting Actor award gave us hope that the HFPA isn’t totally blind.

Best Screenplay: And finally, Jason Reitman brought home a Globe for his original screenplay for Up in the AIr. He was a little pissed that he lost best picture, but expect to see him at the Academy Awards as well.

THE BAD:

One word: Avatar. Avatar is an amazing achievement in CGI and motion capture technology, and the 3-D factor didn’t hurt. It is possibly one of Cameron’s best films, technically speaking. But winning Golden Globes for Best Picture and Best Director is kinda ridiculous. The story was borrowed, the score was unoriginal, and even though acting and directing were on point, what made this film was the budget, pure and simple. With The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Up in the Air in the same category, this was just a poor choice.

THE QUESTIONABLE:

Best Actress in a Drama: We haven’t seen The Blind Side yet, but it’s hard to believe Sandra Bullock could legitimately beat out Helen Mirren or Emily Blunt. However, it’s not the craziest win in recent years, for example—Jennifer Hudson. And both the HFPA and the Academy have been known to make…ahem…political choices. We just hope this isn’t one of those years.

Best Comedy or Musical: The Hangover is hands down the funniest movie since Anchorman. The sheer entertainment value and Vegas-style buffet of hilarious one-liners are obvious. As a film, though, we’re not sure it really stacks up against the writing of (500) Days of Summer, the acting talent in It’s Complicated, or the direction of Julie and Julia.

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical: We can’t decide if Robert Downey Jr. picks bad projects to be great in, or if someone just needs to throw him a freaking bone, but his Best Actor nomination for Sherlock Holmes, immediately following one for Tropic Thunder, is kinda depressing. If Daniel Day-Lewis saw Sherlock Holmes on the street, he’d call him a Bastard in a Basket and throw him down a drill shaft. And with Matt Damon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the same category, this win warrants a pause.

Best Animated Feature: It’s difficult sometimes to rate animated features. Probably because 90% of them are so damned delightful. All of the nominees this year were solid films. But the serious, sometimes depressing tone of Up, pitted against the whimsical jello house that is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Wes Anderson’s first good film EVER (Fantastic Mr. Fox) is a tough call, and we’re not convinced the Globes made the right one.

Television Globes for the year were uninspired, and we really didn’t care; but for anyone dying to know, here’s some highlights:

Tru Blood was neglected…again. Californication was neglected…again. Michael C. Hall (Dexter) beat cancer, then he beat Hugh Laurie (House) for Best Actor in a Drama. Yes, Glee won best comedy/musical, so you can sing your fucking little heart out. Tina Fey (30 Rock) lost to a schizophrenic Toni Colette (United States of Tara). When they announced Alec Baldwin’s (30 Rock) win for Best Actor in a comedy, they found him in the bathroom doing blow off a groupie’s ass with David Duchovny (Californication). Not really, but wouldn’t that be the best damn crossover episode ever??

All in all, we can’t be too mad at the Golden Globes this year; there were very few horrible choices. We’re still not as excited as last year, though. Maybe it’s because our man-crush Danny Boyle got so many awards last time, but with all the questionable wins so far this could end up being a “What The Fuck?” year at the Oscars . And with 10 nominees in the major categories coming our way next month, we are less than pleased about it.

People who could’ve directed The Soloist better than Joe Wright:

Ron Howard

Any 2^nd year NYU film student

A French tourist with a camcorder

A retarded monkey

The Soloist is the story of Steve Lopez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times who is struggling for new material.  After a rough bicycling accident, he runs across a homeless man playing a violin with only two strings.  After some digging, he discovers that this mentally ill vagabond is Nathaniel Ayers, an amazingly talented Julliard dropout.  Lopez begins writing about the down-and-out musician, and the two strike up an unusual friendship.  This is actually a true story, and is based on the book by Steve Lopez.

The story itself is wonderful.  The characters are well developed, the dialogue is entertaining and emotional, and the musical aspect is at times moving.  The Soloist would have made a great documentary, but this film version was, on almost every level, ill conceived.  Susannah Grant (screenwriter) was an interesting choice, as her previous credits include Catch and Release, Erin Brockovich, and Ever After.  She is the epitome of a chick flick writer, and The Soloist is not a chick flick.  This is probably why Lopez’s relationship with his ex-wife and son are mentioned numerous times, but never flushed out or discussed in detail, which actually detracts from the audience’s emotional attachment to Robert Downey Jr.

Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) is just a pretentious, unimaginative director who always wants to cram every item on his Oscar checklist into his films.  This one is no different.  His long, slow moving camera shots panning the city, moving with characters in and out of rooms, doesn’t fit with this kind of story (I wasn’t a fan of it in Atonement either, but whatever).  This story is about people, about personal demons and inner talent.  We need intimate, we need direct, we need to feel for these people.  What we do not need is a laser light show of colors while listening to a symphony, or grainy homemade footage of interviews and rehearsals.

There are also many flashbacks in the film to when Nathaniel Ayers was growing up.  But we are never told they are flashbacks, we have to figure that out for ourselves, and there really aren’t very many overt clues to this.  No year flashes up on screen, no location, they aren’t even transitioned by a specific sound or shot.  As Ayers gets older, the flashbacks get more confusing.

This isn’t just Joe Wright, either.  Even with only three films under his belt, he has already amassed a group of haughty socialites willing to do his arrogant bidding.  Composer Dario Marianelli, Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, Editor Paul Tothill, and Production Designer Sarah Greenwood have all collaborated with Wright on all three of his films, none of them having a particularly impressive or extensive resume overall.  It’s like Wright put out an ad for filmmakers whose only goal in cinema was to win an Academy Award, not to actually make films.

Though it was slightly hampered by misguided directing and an erratic screenplay, the acting in The Soloist is very well done.  Robert Downey Jr. has had better roles, but he fit the character very well, from his clothes to his attitude.  Jamie Foxx has played musicians before and, though he’s not the best one himself, does it well.  This role was especially difficult because of Ayers’ schizophrenia.  Foxx pulled it off  though.  Maybe not Golden Globe caliber, but it was solid.  And, as always, Catherine Keener was a great addition to the cast as Lopez’s boss and ex-wife.  She supplies some comic relief and emotional support in some of Downey’s best scenes.  However, as I said, this relationship is not expanded on as much as it should have been.

Even knowing who directed this film, I had been looking forward to it since the first preview I saw.  When it kept getting pushed back, my expectations grew slightly.  That may account for how disappointed I was, but the three people with me didn’t feel any differently: This film is nowhere near as good as it could have been.

Final Grade: C-

Yeah, I know, you can’t hear that title without singing Tenacious D’s catchy song. It’s all I heard in my head for the week I was reading this book, though I tried not to let it detract from the story.

As with most of his novels, Michael Chabon’s story in Wonder Boys is immediately personal and broad. The protagonist, Grady Tripp, is a college English professor in Pittsburgh who is experiencing writer’s block (7 years of it, to be exact) on his latest novel, entitled Wonder Boys. Grady’s fourth marriage is falling apart, primarily due to his affair with the Sarah Gaskell, the married Chancellor of the college. His editor, Terry Crabtree, is visiting for the week, attempting to read Grady’s “almost completed” novel. James Leer, a strange student of Grady’s, is attempting to find approval and answers after finishing his first as-yet-unpublished novel. Throw in prescription pills, transvestites, theft, dog murder, Marilyn Monroe, and a ton of weed, and you have a fun, heartfelt novel about dealing with life, defining yourself, and learning your lessons.

Written from the perspective of Grady (first person), the story almost forces you to sympathize with him. He goes through so much in a short time, but most of it is his fault. It’s not easy to write a character that doesn’t learn from most of his mistakes, and still earns the encouragement and fondness of the reader. But Chabon does this very well. The characters are all very different on the surface, but very similar when their layers are pealed away. They are all looking for an escape. Crabtree’s drugs and questionable sexual practices, Grady’s weed and affairs, even James Leer’s compulsive lying, suicidal tendencies, and sexual ambiguousness are all ways to get out of a rut that we all find ourselves in without knowing how we got there.

Chabon’s prose is consistent with most of his other works: Sometimes dry, sometimes engaging, but generally even-flowing and readable. I usually have few complaints, but there were parts of this one that didn’t feel right to me. There were many places in the novel where the dialogue and prose didn’t match up quite right. It’s like Chabon was trying really hard to maintain an intellectual, vocabulary-laden narrative, but every now and then he’d lapse into a simpler form of writing that didn’t have any relevance to the story or character. His dialogue is generally good, but not his strong point. A lot of it comes across as too breezy, too casual, to the point of contrived and awkward.

There are also several places in the story where the author spends ten pages rambling about something that isn’t necessarily related to the narrative or the plotline. For example, when Grady, recovering from a dog bite, a joint, and a filing Seder, sneaks a peek at James Leer’s novel, it seems like a random bird walk that – for me personally – detracted from and bogged down that part of the story.

Wonder Boys is not Michael Chabon’s best work, but I like him overall. I think his style is well-developed and intelligent, with more direction than Dave Eggers, and bigger words than Chuck Klosterman. If you’re a fan, I’d definitely recommend it. If you haven’t read any Chabon yet, I’d start with The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

Final Grade: B-

Film Adaptation:

Also by Michael Chabon:

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

A Model World and Other Stories

Werewolves in Their Youth

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Summerland

The Final Solution: A Story of Detection

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure

My apologies for slacking on this the last two months, we’ve had our hands full.  April’s looking interesting, but this is filler season between the Oscars and summer blockbuster season, so we’ll see.

Give ‘em Hell, Malone – Directed by Russell Mulcahy, Written by Mark Hosack
Before Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Russell Mulcahy hasn’t made a big movie since 1994 (yeah, The Shadow wasn’t good…but it was big…kind of). However, this homage to private investigator film noir looks violent as hell, and entertaining.
Thomas Jane, Doug Hutchison, Ving Rhames, Leland Orser
April 1

The Escapist – Directed by Rupert Wyatt, Written by Rupert Wyatt and Daniel Hardy
This IFC picture debuted at Sundance last year, and has a limited release next month. Brian Cox is in prison, learns his daughter is terminally ill, and plots a daring escape attempt to make things right before she dies. IFC generally has strong writing, weak direction, and average acting, but I’ll always give them a shot. And if you can’t find it in theaters, I’m sure it’s already on Comcast OnDemand.
Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes
April 3

Fast and Furious – Directed by Justin Lin, Written by Chris Morgan
So the original cast is back, and so is the Charger that made me cream my pants in 2001. The preview looks promising after two horrible sequels. However, both the director and writer have only been a part of Tokyo Drift, the most pointless one in the series. This is a studio film, and I’m really hoping they keep the cars flashy, the women naked, and the story simple.
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
April 3

Gigantic – Directed by Matt Aselton, Written by Matt Aselton and Adam Nagata
Newbie writer and director, but a solid cast. Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine) heads this strange story about a mattress salesman’s plan to adopt a Chinese baby. Goodman looks hilarious, but there’s substance to it. I’m intrigued.
Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Jane Alexander, Ed Asner
April 3

Lymelife – Directed by Derick Martini, Written by Derick and Steven Martini
I’m not sure how virgin director Derick Martini got Martin Scorcese to executive produce this, but if Marty signed off on it, it’s fine with me. The cast is interesting if not solid, with an Imaginary Heroes kind of feel to it. Not a big Jill Hennessy fan, but Rory Culkin seems to know what he’s doing already (at least he’s staying away from Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).
Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts
April 8

Observe and Report – Written and Directed by Jody Hill
It could very well be Paul Blart II, but Rogen’s random humor coupled with Faris’ offbeat ridiculousness could turn the rent-a-cop genre legitimate…yeah, not so much.
Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Pena, Ray Liotta
April 10

American Violet – Directed by Tim Disney, Written by Bill Haney
Based on a true story, newcomer Nicole Beharie plays a single mom living in Texas around the 2000 elections. Her apartment complex is raided by police task forces, and she is jailed on dubious drug-trafficking charges. She then attempts to flip it on the system. The plot screams Lifetime film, but the preview screams Oscar oversight.
Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe, Charles Dutton, Tim Blake Nelson, Xzibit
April 17

Crank: High Voltage – Written and Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
The tagline says it all: “He was dead…then he got better.” Are you fucking serious? The first movie, although possibly entertaining (Amy Smart getting pounded in the middle of China town was pretty sweet), was freaking retarded. And now, after falling out of a helicopter to certain death, Jason Statham is brought back to life, but he still has to keep moving. Did he learn nothing from the Transporter movies? This film is insulting to America, but saddening to me, because America is actually gonna go see this, count on it.
Jason Statham, Amy Smart
April 17

Sleep Dealer – Directed by Alex Rivera, Written by Alex Rivera and David Riker
In the future, America is a militarized state, and our borders are closed. However, we still rely on foreign workers through a network of virtual labor and digital communication. Three young people in Mexico, fed up with the lack of personal contact, attempt to break down the borders of society. Looks pretty flashy for coming out of Mexico, no big names, but the premise is interesting.
Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas, Luis Fernando Pena
April 17

State of Play – Directed by Kevin Macdonald, Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy
Mixed feelings. Kevin Macdonald directed The Last King of Scotland, which I really liked. Tony Gilroy, even though he only wrote this one, directed Michael Clayton, which I fucking hated. But with the exception of Ben Affleck, this is like an Oscar Allstar team, and the whole “government cover-up of a politician’s indiscretions” never seems to get old. That, and I would love to see Gladiator beat the shit out of Gigli.
Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis
April 17

The Informers – Directed by Gregor Jordan, Written by Bret Easton Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki
Gregor Jordan hasn’t really done anything of note yet, but Ellis wrote the novels American Psycho and Rules of Attraction, both great stories and cult classic films. The Informers is another 1980’s period piece about the intersecting lives of L.A.’s elite and down-and-out. Welcome back, Mickey, we missed you.
Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Jon Foster, Amber Heard, Rhys Ifans, Brad Renfro
April 24

Mutant Chronicles – Directed by Simon Hunter, Written by Philip Eisner
This has nothing to do with the X-men, just so we’re clear. Yes, there is a mutant army threatening life as we know it. Themes of totalitarian religious states and mankind’s struggle to survive overplay Ron Perlman’s weak Celtic accent, and Thomas Jane is a badass.
Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki, Pras, John Malkovich, Sean Pertwee
April 24

Powder Blue – Written and Directed by Timothy Linh Bui
This film got a lot of hype on the internet when it was rumored that Jessica Biel, who plays a stripper, will finally be getting naked (stupid WB and 7th Heaven). However, after all the hoopla, it may not get a wide theatrical release, if it sees the box office at all. I’m hoping this isn’t another “Nothing but the Truth”, we’ll see.
Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Patrick Swayze, Jessica Biel, Lisa Kudrow, Kris Kristofferson
April 24

The Soloist – Directed by Joe Wright, Written by Susannah Grant
Just because I am including this film again, it will be pushed back to August, because Christopher McQuarrie is out to get me (don’t ask). Oscar nominee Joe Wright’s rigid, Oscar-cock-sucking style may have relaxed with this true story of a musical genius living on the streets. I just really want Downey to win an Oscar.
Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Stephen Root
April 24

First and foremost, we would like to thank all of you who supported us on Sunday and followed the live blog. It was a big day for Sexy Gypsy, and it really set the bar high.

Unfortunately, the Academy set the bar pretty low for hosting this year. Hugh Jackman, while slightly entertaining and charismatic at first, bored us to death with the constant musical numbers. This is the Oscars, dammit, we didn’t watch the Grammies for a reason. Also, the new format for actor awards runs a little long for our taste. Do we really need past winners standing up there talking one by one about the nominees for this year? We know Heath Ledger was an amazing Joker, do we really need Kevin Kline to tell us again? And if Cuba Gooding Jr. wants to be on stage at the red carpets, maybe he should be in a movie that doesn’t suck ass.

So despite some random last minute decisions, Sexy Gypsy did pretty well in predicting the Oscars this year. Our preview was right on the money for the big categories, even if our ballots weren’t. Unlike past years, there were no really big upsets. So let’s recap:

Best Picture: We all knew that Slumdog Millionaire was going to sweep the awards again. Milk was an amazing contender, but couldn’t stand up to the sheer brilliance in editing, direction, sound, and writing that Slumdog brought. Well deserved.

Best Director: David Fincher and Ron Howard have done better work. Stephen Daldry’s presence, not only in this category, but also in every other category The Reader was nominated, was a ridiculous, unwarranted usurping of Sam Mendes’ rightful seat with Revolutionary Road. Van Sant gave him a good run for the money, but Danny Boyle couldn’t be ignored any longer. Well deserved.

Best Actor: Minus Brad Pitt, this category was stacked. Jenkins, Langella, Penn, and Rourke all gave amazing performances. But it really came down to the latter two, and even though Prop 8 could’ve pushed Penn to the win, he was fantastic, and at least Rourke is again on the radar. Questionable, but well deserved.

Best Actress: Anne Hathaway hasn’t been as typecast as most people believe. Her role in Havoc was enough for us to take her seriously. Unfortunately, she was up against two major actresses (not counting Melissa Leo or Angelina Jolie). However, Streep has had her Oscar recognition, and Winslet was due after so many dead end nominations. Well deserved, wrong film (should have been Revolutionary Road).

Best Supporting Actor: If you read our preview, you know our conspiracy theories in this category. But there was only ever a slight doubt in anyone’s mind that Ledger would walk with this one. His “eclectic” career aside, this was not only his best performance, but one of the best of all time. Hey Downey, why so serious? Well deserved.

Best Supporting Actress: This category wasn’t really stellar, but everyone did a good job in their roles. Amy Adams, however, was definitely a head above the rest, in emotion and in screen time. Predicting this one was disappointing, because we knew Cruz would take it for being involved in an otherwise-not-nominated Woody Allen film. Undeserved.

Other categories of interest

Foreign Language: Waltz with Bashir should’ve taken this, and most people thought it would. Always gotta be on the lookout for the underdog.

Shorts: It is surprising that On the Line or Manon on the Asphalt didn’t take it, considering they were more the Academy’s usual taste, but Toyland was interesting and well edited, and the only WWII film even nominated this year. Also surprising, but definitely exciting, was the Academy’s decision to look past Pixar’s usual animated brilliance and give the Oscar to La Maison en Petits Cubes, the emotional Japanese film with a French name.

Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire was an amazing adaptation, as shown by its eight wins this year. However, we still believe that, with any other director, the script would have fallen short. Doubt, though sub par in acting and directing, was an amazingly well written film, full of amazing dialogue. Milk was the obvious choice for Original Screenplay. It built and developed all the characters for the actors to round out, and there wasn’t a weak link in the bunch.

Another surprise was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All three of this film’s awards (Visual Effects, Art Direction, and Makeup) beat out The Dark Knight, which was a thousand times better in all of them. This is either an apology to Fincher for ignoring Zodiac, or an apology to Brad Pitt that he will never, ever, ever be Batman. Robin, maybe, but not The Dark Knight.

Overall, a good year for movies, and a solid Academy Awards ceremony. We will of course be starting this all over again next November, but for now we return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for the support.

-Sexy Gypsy

Best Picture

Of the five films in this category, only two really have a shot. Frost/Nixon was a great stage adaptation with amazing performances and, while solid, was ultimately compromised by Ron Howard’s lack of technical abilities. The Reader was boring, poorly constructed, and probably the most overrated film in the last 20 years. And Benjamin Button was average at best.

That leaves us with Milk and Slumdog Millionaire. And it’s close.

Milk was perfectly casted, acted and edited. Thankfully, Gus van Sant showed enough restraint not to fuck it up with his usual annoyingly pseudo-artistic direction. Add to that the best performance of Sean Penn’s career and you have a serious contender for Best Picture.

But, unfortunately for Gus van Sant and Milk, 2009 is the year of Slumdog. With great music, flawless direction and screenplay, Slumdog Millionaire has finally brought Danny Boyle to the forefront of cinema. He’s a versatile director who can excel in any genre, and Slumdog’s complex, non-linear story line really allowed him to showcase his skills. The result was a beautifully executed film whose broad appeal, blending of cultures, and surprising rise to recognition puts it over the top.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Slumdog Millionaire

WHO WILL WIN: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor

Why is Brad Pitt in this category? He gave a much better, rounder performance in A River Runs Through It and is the weak link in this category with his one-note portrayal of Benjamin Button. Richard Jenkins is finally getting the love he deserves, after years of being “that guy”—you recognize him, know he’s in things, but you don’t know his name or why you seem to remember him (if you still don’t know who he is, he’s the dead father in Six Feet Under). Unfortunately, his well-developed performance will be eclipsed by the big three: Mickey Rourke, Frank Langella, and Sean Penn. This will ultimately be decided by politics: the resurrection of Mickey Rourke, the Nixon scandal, or the gay character post-prop 8.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Mickey Rourke WHO WILL WIN: Sean Penn, because the Academy loves him.

Best Actress

First off, the Academy needs to decide what constitutes a leading role, because Kate Winslet should have been up for Revolutionary Road, not The Reader, both for technical and performance-quality reasons. She’ll probably win, but only because Stephen Daldry is a marketing whore and has been politicking for The Reader like he was Blagojevich selling a Senate seat.

Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie both had great roles, but it was more the writing than they acting that made their characters special. While Angelina Jolie will get a nomination for anything in which she’s not half naked shooting at people, Streep didn’t bring the expected veteran-actress energy to an already well written character—and it fell short.

Melissa Leo in Frozen River was an interesting choice. A small, low-budget, independent film shot in 24 days spawns a Best Actress nomination? But it’s a well-crafted story—solid throughout. As for Melissa Leo’s performance, as good a job as she did, she’s not beating out Streep, let alone Winslet.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, deserves credit for nailing her part as a fresh-out-of-rehab junkie—a role often cliched, parodied, and overplayed. Sadly, no one saw Rachel Getting Married. It’s not a great film but Hathaway more than makes up for it (Plus, Tunde from TV on The Radio plays her brother-in-law-to-be!)

WHO SHOULD WIN: Anne Hathaway WHO WILL WIN: Kate Winslet

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey, Jr. is an amazing actor and definitely deserves some fucking recognition. But Tropic Thunder? Really?? It’s picks like this that make people clown the Oscar. Everyone else was solid, but Josh Brolin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Michael Shannon picked a shitty year to be nominated.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was miscast in the role of Father Flynn, and he did the best he could. Still, his subpar performance paled in comparison to most of his other work. Josh Brolin, though slightly outshone by the rest of the supporting cast, was impressive in Milk. He just seems to have bad luck—going against Daniel Day-Lewis last year, and now Heath Ledger. Michael Shannon had three great scenes, and blew me away in Revolutionary Road. He was the most interesting character in a Sam Mendes movie, which in itself says a lot, and he had a huge impact in his 120 seconds of screen time.

Yet as good as they were, Brolin and Shannon especially, no one is beating Heath Ledger. A solid, completely immersive portrayal of a psychotic clown in a movie that destroyed box offices everywhere? He deserves the award no matter what, and it only helps that he’s dead.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Heath Ledger (but only because he’s dead) WHO WILL WIN: Heath Ledger (but only because he’s dead)

Best Supporting Actress

How long do you have to be in a film to fulfill the “supporting” criteria? Viola Davis, though very emotional, had one scene in Doubt. However, she was just as memorable as Michael Shannon in her limited screen time. Penelope Cruz didn’t have a much bigger role, and she’s only here because she played a cup full of crazy in a Woody Allen movie, and her crazy wasn’t as good as crazies in the past (Wilkinson in Michael Clayton). But Amy Adams is a head above the rest in this category, and hopefully that’s enough.

Taraji Henson is here just because the Academy loved Benjamin Button, but it wasn’t a great film and she wasn’t all that good in it. Outside of Cruz, she’s the weakest nominee in this category. It was like she played the great-great-grandmother of her character in Hustle and Flow.

Marisa Tomei is the dark horse here. She gave an incredible performance in The Wrestler and she’s still ridiculously hot.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams WHO WILL WIN: Penelope Cruz

Best Director

If you’ve ever read sexy gypsy, you already know our pick for Best Director. Motherfucking Danny Boyle.

Stephen Daldry is now on my shit list for The Reader—even more so for plugging the fuck out of an inferior movie and tricking everyone into thinking it was great. Who the fuck does he think he is, M. Night Shyamalan?

David Fincher is a great director with some amazing movies under his belt, but the travesty of Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not one of them. The sequence with Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt was the only time you really saw Fincher’s influence, and it was the best part of the film.

Ron Howard is still Hollywood’s golden boy, so it’s not surprising he was nominated for Frost/Nixon. Aside from persistent anachronisms and mishandling of time, Howard preserved the spirit of the stage play and the camera work was excellent.

Gus van Sant finally decided to humble himself and make a solid, consistent film, and is really the only one who could challenge Boyle. The Academy loves him, and could look to make up for robbing him of Best Director in 1997, plus some Prop 8 guilt could come into play. This is definitely a category to watch.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Danny Boyle (with an honorable mention and apology to Sam Mendes) WHO WILL WIN: Danny Boyle

Conspiracies

• Who did Sam Mendes piss off? He is a great filmmakers and Revolutionary Road, though disturbingly depressing, was an amazing film. Camera work, editing, score, acting, screenplay—all great. Yet the Academy left him out of the running and even changed the nomination for Kate Winslet, calling her performance in The Reader a lead—a role which the HFPA considered a supporting a few months ago. I think he’s in the doghouse for some reason, and Michael Shannon’s nomination is an apology. I suspect that, though Ledger has it locked, they might upset everything and give it to Shannon, just to show there’s no hard feelings.
• Amy Adams deserves to win best supporting, but everything in Hollywood is political (which could also explain Winslet’s bump to lead role after Daldry’s whoring). My guess is that Cruz could walk with this one because the Academy loves Woody Allen and they’re sorry he made a dumb movie they can’t nominate for anything else.
• Again making up for its past mistakes, the Academy has shown major love to Benjamin Button. They want so badly to let Pitt have one, but Babel just wasn’t that good. And Zodiac, Fincher’s first Academy-worthy film, just came out too early for Oscar consideration.
• 4.) Robert Downey, Jr. has been in some great movies, always does his roles beautifully, and the Academy thinks he’s due for something. But since Charlie Bartlett got impatient and fucked off what could have been a serious, profound ending, he couldn’t get anything for that. And Iron Man was entertaining, but no actor will ever get an Oscar for playing a superhero. Downey’s next film is The Soloist with Jamie Foxx, directed by Joe Wright. It would have been a contender for the Oscars but was pulled from its November release date and slated for early March, 2009. So now it comes down to Tropic Thunder.

So now that we’ve all had a chance to absorb the Oscar nominations, it’s time to start placing bets. We already mentioned that, in the last three years, every Oscar winner for Best Actor and Actress also won the Golden Globe. This year, however, the nominations aren’t even the same. Kate Winslet won Best Actress for Revolutionary Road, but the Academy decided to nominate her for The Reader. Not surprising, but still unfortunate, is the lack of nominations for Sam Mendes and Revolutionary Road. Michael Shannon is the only one who got a nod, with a Best Supporting Actor nomination. We’re still unclear as to why Mendes is absent on the ballot this year, especially when The Reader is up for Best Picture, and Stephen Daldry is up for Best Director (boring movie, and he’s a rookie).

Heath Ledger has a little more competition in this race for Best Supporting Actor, but we’re hoping he gets what’s due him after arguably the best performance of 2008. And kudos must be given to the Academy for calling our bluff in this category. Robert Downey Jr. is up for Best Supporting for Tropic Thunder; we’re still going to complain, but Downey really deserves an award after being overlooked for so long, so the razor blades we promised will not be forthcoming.

On a lighter note, Danny Boyle carried over all of his Golden Globe nominations, and he’s all over the Oscars. With any luck, the Academy will think outside its microscopic box and give credit to the underdog instead of going with the predictable choice (Ron Howard). The only movie to really rival Slumdog Millionaire this year was Milk. Gus van Sant deserves the nomination, maybe the win. The editing wasn’t as complex as Slumdog, but it was still good. And Sean Penn is definitely giving Mickey Rourke a run for his money as Best Actor.

The Supporting categories are also a bit strange, in that several of the nominees had very little screen time in the film. Viola Davis has like two scenes in Doubt. Penelope Cruz wasn’t really in Vicky Cristina Barcelona until the very end. Taraji P. Henson had a slightly bigger role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but it was three hours long, and you didn’t see her that much. Even Michael Shannon only had three scenes in Revolutionary Road. Not that this is a first for the Academy (Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton, Ruby Dee for American Gangster), we’re just not sure how you justify giving an Oscar to someone who wasn’t really in the movie.

This year will not be the clash of the titans that last year was, but there are a lot of interesting choices, some standard nominations, and some unexplainable absences. It’s really anyone’s guess, but here at Sexy Gypsy, we’re smarter than everyone else, including the Academy, so be on the lookout for our official Oscar ballot choices next week.