Review: "Fantastic Mr. Fox" Actually Not Fantastic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action, smoking and slang humor
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WRITERS: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (based upon the novel by Roald Dahl)
PRODUCERS: Allison Abbate, Wes Anderson , Jeremy Dawson, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tristan Oliver
EDITOR: Andrew Weisblum (supervising editor)
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: (voices) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guinness Brian Cox, and Adrien Brody

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop-motion animation film from director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums). The film is based on a children’s book of the same title by author Roald Dahl first published in 1970. It is the story of a human-like fox who outwits his human neighbors and steals their livestock and food right from under their noses.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a thief. To feed his family, he steals livestock from three wealthy local farmers, and during one such mission, he is joined by his wife, Mrs. Felicity Fox (Meryl Streep). However, the couple is ensnared in a cage, but escape after Felicity reveals that she is pregnant. Years later, the couple is living an idyllic home life with their sullen son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and Mr. Fox’s visiting young nephew, the soft-spoken and talented Kristopherson Silverfox (Eric Chase Anderson).

After 12 years of domesticity, Mr. Fox feels his wild animal instincts coming to the fore, and this bucolic existence starts to bore him. With the help of his pal, an unassuming opossum named Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), Mr. Fox soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky and highly successful thief stealing chickens, turkeys, and apple cider from the wealthy farmers, Franklin Bean (Michael Gambon), Walter Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), and Nathan Bunce (Hugo Guinness). Doing this endangers not only his beloved family, but also the whole animal community, when Bean leads a vicious, total war campaign to capture Mr. Fox. Trapped underground and without enough food to go around, will the animals band together or will they turn Mr. Fox over to the farmers?

Fantastic Mr. Fox is what happens when quirky drowns whimsical. Instead of a fanciful animal fable, what Wes Anderson gives us with this stop-motion animated film is weird and peculiar. It is sometimes entertaining, even delightful, but still weird and peculiar. The script by Anderson and Noah Baumbach tries to impart wisdom, but much of it is lost in the idiosyncratic visual vibe of this film.

There are some good voice performances, especially Wallace Wolodarsky as Kylie. Because their performances, Jason Schwartzman as Ash and Eric Chase Anderson as Kristopherson end up being the best pairing in the film – the most interesting team.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a sometimes fun ride, although much of it seems awkward. The strange textures of the animation are a mixed bag. Fantastic Mr. Fox looks like a Tim Burton stop-motion animation picture done with tattered puppets and shabby sets. Ultimately, I find myself sitting on the fence about this film because it entertains and perplexes in equal measure.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat) and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Wes Anderson)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Animated Film” (Wes Anderson) and “Best Music” (Alexandre Desplat)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

Thursday, May 20, 2010

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Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking
DIRECTOR: Terry Gilliam
WRITERS: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
PRODUCERS: Amy Gilliam, Terry Gilliam, Samuel Hadida, and William Vince
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Nicola Pecorini
EDITOR: Mick Audsley
Academy Awards nominee

FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ART

Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell

In late January 2008, Terry Gilliam’s film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, although still in production, was thrust into the spotlight when one of its headliners died. When he died on January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger had only completed half his work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, performing the role of Tony. After filming resumed, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell assumed the role of Tony. Each actor portrays a different incarnation of Tony, who physically transforms whenever he travels into a dream world.

Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is the leader of a traveling theatre troupe, which includes his sarcastic and cynical sidekick and confidant, Percy (Verne Troyer), a versatile young player and sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and Parnassus’ daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole). Parnassus has the gift of inspiring the imaginations of others, and his stage show is called, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. During the show, Parnassus offers audience members (what few there are) the chance to transcend their mundane reality. They do so by passing through a magical stage mirror that transports them into their imaginations (a kind of dream world), where they are offered two choices, and choosing one or the other determines their fate.

In reality, Parnassus is an immortal, and both his long life and magic came at a steep price. Over the years, he has made various deals with the devil, known as Mr. Nick (Tom Waits). Now, Mr. Nick has come to claim his ultimate prize, Valentina on her upcoming 16th birthday. Meanwhile, oblivious of her fate, Valentina adopts Tony (Heath Ledger), a charming outsider she rescues from dire circumstances, into the troupe. Tony joins the troupe as a barker and sets about to improve the troupe’s fortune. In order to save his daughter, Parnassus makes one final bet with Mr. Nick, and while the rest of the troupe tries to beat the devil, Tony’s motivations for helping come to light.

There is something inimitably romantic about a ragtag troupe of performers traveling about the land, performing on and living in their stage. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus captures the ramshackle romanticism of such a “wagon show,” and the performers, with their whimsical ways and odd charms, are winning, for some reason unknown to me. The narrative, however, is messy. Sometimes, the story comes across as a listless but thoughtful collection of scenes from a college art project. Other times, the film sparkles and brims with inventive imagery that is mesmerizing, especially when the characters jump through the stage mirror. This kind of visual ingenuity is what one can usually expect of a Terry Gilliam film/mind trip, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus recalls Gilliam’s work as an animator and artist. Some of it reminded me of Gilliam’s short animations for Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The performances are quite good. Christopher Plummer is brilliant as the tormented Parnassus, and Tom Waits practically matches him in one of my favorite renditions of the devil, Mr. Nick. I would be remiss in not commenting on Heath Ledger’s performance. Although this isn’t close to being his best work, especially since he never got to finish the role, Ledger is quite good as Tony, and the film is certainly livelier when he is onscreen. As for Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, it is obvious why they are movie stars. They’re all good actors, and they give good performances here. The camera loves their stunningly handsome facial features, especially the magical Depp.

Thematically, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is about stories and the importance of imagination. In the film, characters must choose between their imaginations and their desires, presented as a dream, but they must be able to distinguish between a dream of imagination and a dream of desire. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is not perfect, but I was sad to see this colorful, visually overloaded movie end. That is a feeling I suspect many others also will have.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (David Warren-art director, Anastasia Masaro-art director, and Caroline Smith-set decorator) and “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Monique Prudhomme)


2010 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Make Up & Hair” (Sarah Monzani) and “Best Production Design” (David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, and Caroline Smith)

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Review: Sandra Bullock Shines in Winning "The Blind Side"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Blind Side (2009)
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references
DIRECTOR: John Lee Hancock
WRITER: John Lee Hancock (based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis)
PRODUCERS: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, and Gil Netter
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Alar Kivilo (director of photography)
EDITOR: Mark Livolsi
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/SPORTS

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, and Kathy Bates

Michael Oher is a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL), and he was also a college All-American at Ole Miss. Oher spent much of his youth living in foster homes or being homeless. During his high school years, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and a son at Oher’s school, took Oher into their home and eventually adopted him. Oher’s story became a book by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which was adapted into the 2009 Best Picture nominee, The Blind Side. This film will likely be remembered as the movie for which Sandra Bullock won her “Best Actress” Oscar.

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is a homeless African-American youngster who has lived with different foster families. The father of one of his friends gets Oher enrolled in an exclusive Christian school. There, Michael, called “Big Mike,” befriends a younger boy named Sean Tuohy, Jr. or SJ (Jae Head). SJ’s mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), a fiery interior designer, takes notice of Michael with her son. After a pre-holiday Thanksgiving school event, Leigh Anne sees Michael walking in the rain and offers to let him spend the night at her home. That leads to Michael spending Thanksgiving with Leigh Anne, her husband, Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw), her daughter, Collins (Lily Collins), and SJ.

Michael begins to thrive in his new environment with the Tuohys, and his presence leads the Tuohys to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. However, this new life offers a new set of challenges for Michael. Leigh Anne also decides to make her and Sean Michael’s legal guardians, but that means delving into Michael’s troubled past. Suddenly Leigh Anne, her family, and their latest addition, Michael, find road blocks on the way to their happy ending.

I imagine that most viewers will feel very good after watching The Blind Side. This movie is the real deal because it is more than just another heartwarming story about Black people and White people coming together. Writer/director John Lee Hancock makes The Blind Side different from most inspirational sports drama by actually not contriving phony explanations for why the characters make the peculiar and surprising choices they do in relating to other people. He simply dazzles us with the Tuohys’ stunning generosity and the spirit of Christianity displayed by many of the characters. We don’t have to ask why they do it, but accept on faith that they are doing it for the right reasons.

As the spitfire Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sandra Bullock is certainly deserving of her Academy Award. Bullock not only embodies the fierce stubbornness of a modern Southern woman; she also personifies the inscrutable nature of humans. Sandra allows us to see Leigh Anne’s care and concern for Michael’s well-being and future, as well as her don’t-stand-in-my-way attitude, but shuts us out of what really goes on in Leigh Anne’s head. In reality, neither Bullock nor the audience knows why the real or fictional Leigh Anne does what she does, but in this movie that is not important. We’re supposed to be blind sided by people’s actions, especially Leigh Anne’s, because we don’t see them coming, as Leigh Anne is blind sided by her own feelings for Michael.

While much is made of Bullock’s performance (and rightfully so), Quinton Aaron gives a calm, but powerful performance as Michael Oher. In his quiet way, Aaron actually makes “Big Mike” that much more interesting, attracting the viewer to the character. Every time Aaron is on screen, he has the viewer trying to dig into Oher. As SJ, young Jae Head is a lovable scene-stealer, and the young actor makes SJ solidly the third most interesting character after Leigh Anne and Michael Oher. Consider him the adorable extra in The Blind Side, one of the great sports movies and fine family drama.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Sandra Bullock); 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, and Broderick Johnson)

2010 Golden Globe: 1 win for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Sandra Bullock)

2010 Black Reel Awards: 4 nominations: “Black Reel Best Actor” (Quinton Aaron), “Best Breakthrough Performance” (Quinton Aaron), “Best Film,” and “Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted” (John Lee Hancock)

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Review: "WATCHMEN" Movie is Too Big to Fail, But Fails Anyway

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Watchmen (2009)
Running time: 162 minutes (2 hours, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder
WRITERS: David Hayter and Alex Tse (based upon the comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons)
PRODUCERS: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, and Deborah Snyder
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Fong (director of photography)
EDITOR: William Hoy

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI
/ACTION/DRAMA/FANTASY/MYSTERY

Starring: Malin Ackerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie, Laura Mennell, and William Taylor

Watchmen was a 12-issue limited comic book series written by Alan Moore (V for Vendetta) and drawn by Dave Gibbons. Published over 1986 and 1987, DC Comics eventually collected the series into a single volume trade paperback. Afterwards, Watchmen came to be known as a “graphic novel,” eventually being included in TIME magazine’s 2005 list, “ALL TIME 100 Greatest Novels.”

Various Hollywood figures had been plotting since 1986, the year of the comic book’s release, to turn Watchmen into a film. People previously involved with this project include such names as Joel Silver, Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, and Paul Greengrass. After numerous starts and stops, Watchmen, the movie, finally debuted in March 2009 and amounted to a large, expensive fart. Warner Bros. Pictures called the film’s director, Zack Snyder (300), a visionary, which must be Hollywood parlance for hack.

Watchmen is set in 1985 in an alternate version of the United States. The “Doomsday Clock,” which charts American’s tension with the Soviet Union, is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. Tensions between the two superpowers has escalated to the point that they are on the brink nuclear war. Costumed superheroes are also part of this alternate world. In fact, because of a superhero named Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the U.S. won the Vietnam War. This allowed Richard Nixon (Robert Wisden) to repeal term limits laws and win a third term as President of the United States. By the 1980s, however, the outpouring of anti-vigilante sentiment caused Congress to outlaw superheroes.

The most famous superheroes are the Watchmen. When one of them, the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), is murdered, a colleague, the masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), sets out to uncover what he believes is a plot by an unknown “mask killer” to kill former superheroes. What Rorschach uncovers is a wide-ranging conspiracy linked to the other Watchmen: Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), the smartest man in the world who is also self-made super rich; the godlike Dr. Manhattan; his girlfriend, the ass-kicking Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Malin Ackerman); and Daniel Dreiberg, the Batman-like Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson). It is a conspiracy that could destroy or save the world.

Watchmen is mostly a failure as a drama because it lacks emotional resonance. Except for a few moments of the film – the relationship between Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Jupiter and Laurie’s relationship with her mother Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), among them – Watchmen is flat. The characters come across as if they were lead figures being slide across a board game. They are poorly developed and bloated rather than lively.

As an action film, Watchmen lacks the high energy of an action flick because the few action scenes that this movie has feel as if they were dropped in to punch up this contrived screen story. However, such scenes as Nite Owl and Silk Spectre’s rescue at the burning tenement and their mission to free Rorschach from prison are quite good.

Watchmen pretends to have something to say about the human condition, the state of the world, the manifestation of the superhuman in society, the threat of annihilation, etc., but the film lacks any sociological context. In spite of its references to real world events, the film feels empty, as if its references are more about image than substance. Characters meant to have significance – such as Watchmen’s version of Richard Nixon (played by an actor wearing a ridiculous prosthetic nose) and Henry Kissinger – are just stick figures and caricatures occupying the screen until the main Watchmen characters come back. The filmmakers use songs and famous recordings by Nat King Cole, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, to convey the appropriate socio-political themes and messages, because the script is too retarded to do that.

Watchmen feels empty. It is like a giant art or creative project that is impressive because of the materials and technical expertise used to make it, but is ultimately devoid of meaning or substance. It is confounding in its emptiness and shallowness and is actually the opposite of cerebral. When it tries to be compelling – especially during the big reveal in the final act – it is laughable. Where Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons original comic book was daring, Watchmen the film is often boring and sadly, disappointingly staged and stuffy. The great original is now an embalmed big budget Hollywood misfire. The few moments of genuine goodness that Watchmen has are not worth watching a movie that is almost three hours long.

3 of 10

C-

Friday, April 23, 2010

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Review: "Ninja Assassin" is Strictly for My N.I.N.J.A.S.

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ninja Assassin (2009)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language
DIRECTOR: James McTeigue
WRITERS: Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski; from a story by Matthew Sand
PRODUCERS: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, and Larry Wachowski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
EDITORS: Gian Ganziano and Joseph Jett Sally

ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Shô Kosugi, Rick Yune, Joon Lee, Anna Sawai, Yoon Sungwoong, Kylie Liya Goldstein, Sung Kang, and Randall Duk Kim

It’s not Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, nor is it a Bruce Lee movie. However, if you want to see a ninja movie in which the clichés and bodies pile up in a mass of gore and severed limbs and heads, then, Ninja Assassin is just for you (and me).

Ninja Assassin focuses on an outcast ninja named Raizo (Rain). An orphan, he was taken from the streets as a child and brought into a ninja clan. There, Lord Ozunu (Shô Kosugi) gave him the name “Raizo” and transformed him into a trained killer in the service of the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. After a terrible incident, Raizo leaves the Clan and vanishes. Now, living in Berlin, he waits for his former brethren to come for him, and he prepares to exact his revenge.

Meanwhile, also in Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an ancient network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. In spite of the discouragement she initially receives from her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind these murders, which leads her to the Ozunu Clan. Mika’s investigation, however, makes her a target of the clan, which sends a team of killers, led by Raizo’s rival, the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence Mika. Although he saves Mika from the first attack, Raizo knows that the Ozunu will not rest until both Mika and he are eliminated. Now, Raizo and Mika begin a deadly game of cat and mouse in hopes of finally bringing down the elusive Lord Ozunu and his ninja assassins.

There are things that Ninja Assassin does well and a number of things it doesn’t do that well. The acting is average to mediocre, defined mostly by clunky dialogue, although Naomie Harris (best know for her roles in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies and also, 28 Days Later) is fair. The Asian cast is pretty good. Rain, a South Korean pop star, as Raizo is charismatic, and Shô Kosugi as Ozunu is dynamite.

The fight scenes are superb; they’ll be magic candy to the ninja-lovin’ kid in you. Too many of them are stage in darkened settings, however. Much of the drama is horridly written; the exceptions are the flashbacks about Raizo’s time training with the Ozunu Clan, which are actually quite good. That aside, what fans want are cool fight scenes, and Ninja Assassin gives us a fight scene just about every five minutes. The hacking and slashing; the severed heads, limbs, and torsos; and the blood sprays will make some viewers wince. I did, but I’ll take many brutal fight scenes in my ninja movie, especially when the alternative is poorly done character drama.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, April 17, 2010

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Review: Miyazaki's "Ponyo" is Simply Magical

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ponyo (2009)
Gake no ue no Ponyo (2008) – COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki
PRODUCERS: Toshio Suzuki, Steve Alpert, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Atsushi Okui (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Seyama

ANIMATION/FANTASY

Starring: Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, and Carlos Alazraqui

It is a shame that moviegoers have largely turned away from hand-drawn animation (2D animation), but devour computer-animated or 3D animation. Pixar’s 3D feature-length animated films are extremely well written, and DreamWorks is usually pushing the technology of 3D with their films. Still, it is hard to believe that Walt Disney’s The Princess and the Frog cannot out gross something like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Bee Movie.

American 2D feature-length animation is largely relegated to straight-to-video releases and television, and much of that is actually produced outside the U.S. The malaise at the box office for American 2D animated films means even more trouble for high-quality, 2D animated features from other countries. This is a shame because that means so many people will miss the chance to see a hand-drawn animated, instant-classic from Hayao Miyazaki on a big screen. Miyazaki is arguably one of the world’s greatest living movie directors – live action or animation. He won an Oscar for his animated film, Spirited Away, but his other films are also highly acclaimed. Last year, Miyazaki’s most recent animated film, Ponyo, arrived in the U.S.

Ponyo centers on a fish-girl, named “Brunhilde,” who lives in an aquarium in her father, Fujimoto’s (Liam Neeson) underwater castle. During a trip in which her father takes her and her numerous siblings on an outing in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde decides to see more of the world and swims away, only to end up stranded. On the shore of a small fishing town, a boy named Sōsuke (Frankie Jonas) rescues Brunhilde and names her Ponyo (Noah Cyrus).

In spite of her father and his “wave spirits” efforts to stop her, Ponyo grows legs and turns into a human. To become human, however, Ponyo unleashes huge amounts of her father’s magic. When released into the ocean, this magic causes an imbalance in the world, resulting in a huge storm and later massive flooding. Now, only Sōsuke can save the world, but does he know how?

A full-length animated feature can require its animation staff to draw over 100,000 separate images. Yet when you watch a Miyazaki film, you may doubt that humans rather than super computers produced it, and Ponyo is example of the magic Miyazaki can create through 2D animation. Such scenes as the ocean storms with its seething waves, swelling surfs, and those odd-looking wave spirits are breathtaking in their ability to depict the might and power of the ocean. The night scenes that depict the storms hammering the coast along the small fishing village in which this film is set are simply terrifying. I felt the kind of fear I usually only feel when watching night scenes in horror movies.

To look at Ponyo, one might think the design of the characters and setting look rather simply, like the art and illustrations one might produce for a daily comic strip. That simplicity in design, however, belies the magic that happens when the drawings are connected to form a “moving picture.” The color, the movement, the visual effects, and the sound come together at the behest of the maestro Hayao Miyazaki, and cinematic magic is a real thing. From the majesty of Ponyo’s mother, Granmamare (Cate Blanchett), to the simple enchantment of a low tide full of prehistoric fish, Ponyo is poetic and has the magic to charm adults and children. I will not stop using the word “magic” to describe Miyazaki’s work, and when you see one of his films, you will see why.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, April 15, 2010

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Review: An Education

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


An Education (2009)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running minutes: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking
DIRECTOR: Lone Scherfig
WRITER: Nick Hornby (from the memoir by Lynn Barber)
PRODUCERS: Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John de Borman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Barney Pilling
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Matthew Beard, and Emma Thompson

An Education is, at the very least, an exceptional coming-of-age film because it is exceptionally well-directed and well-written, and the actors give high-quality performances. However, it is Carey Mulligan’s star-making turn that anchors An Education.

Set in England in 1961, An Education focuses on Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan), a bright schoolgirl who is focused on taking and passing the A-levels, the exams that could help her get into Oxford. She meets David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard), a charming, older Jewish man, and the two begin a relationship that steadily leads to romance. David even manages to charm Jenny’s protective parents, Jack played by Alfred Molina, giving his usually fine performance, and Marjorie (Cara Seymour).

David introduces Jenny to his fast lifestyle and to his friends, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Danny’s girlfriend, Helen (Rosamund Pike, who is so radiantly beautiful that she steals practically every scene in which she appears). Jenny becomes torn between studying for a place at Oxford and enjoying the more exciting and fun alternative lifestyle that David offers, but then, she must also confront the darker side of David’s freewheeling lifestyle.

In creating Jenny Mellor, Carey Mulligan fashioned the kind of female character that carries a drama all the way to victory. Mulligan convincingly gives Jenny that cheeky arrogance which makes high school age teens believe they know how to live a much better life than any adult they know has ever lived. Jenny is a clever girl, and Mulligan makes sure her smarts shine through every time. This is a rich, multi-layered performance that absorbs everything that An Education is trying to convey to its audience and makes it crystal clear.

Mulligan’s wonderful turn almost eclipses the exceedingly fine performance by the underrated Peter Sarsgaard as David. Sarsgaard deftly keeps David’s secrets close to him, making David act as the perfect foil for Jenny’s haughty smarts, but Sarsgaard also gives David an edge that is somehow too sweet to resist. Sarsgaard’s wonderful contribution and Mulligan’s terrific performance make An Education a coming-of-age story that will work its magic through the ages.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Carey Mulligan), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Nick Hornby)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Leading Actress” (Carey Mulligan); 7 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Odile Dicks-Mireaux), “Best Director” (Lone Scherfig), “Best Film” (Amanda Posey and Finola Dwyer), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Nick Hornby), “Best Supporting Actor” (Alfred Molina), and “Outstanding British Film” (Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer, Lone Scherfig, and Nick Hornby)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Carey Mulligan)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Review: "Zombieland" is Like No Other

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

 

Zombieland (2009)

 

Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)

MPAA – R for horror violence/gore and language

DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer

WRITERS: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

PRODUCER: Gavin Polone

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Bonvillain (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Alan Baumgarten

 

HORROR/COMEDY

 

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, and Bill Murray

 

It is common wisdom that horror comedies do not do well at the box office, but last year’s late summer horror comedy, Zombieland, was a hit. Things seemed to come together for this peculiar zombie flick that mixes the zombie apocalypse genre both with gleeful destruction and with silver-tongued clowning.

 

The United States of America is no more. The world is no more. All there is left is Zombieland. Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg) is an easily spooked guy and, in general, a big wuss, but he has managed to stay alive using his book of rules. He joins forces with a wild man named Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a gun-toting, zombie-slaying badass whose primary goal is to find the last Twinkie on earth. Together, they fight for survival in a world virtually taken over by freakish zombies.

 

Columbus and Tallahassee eventually meet two others survivors, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have a unique way surviving the zombie mayhem. These young ladies are traveling west to a supposedly-safe, abandoned amusement park, Pacific Playland. As they join forces, these four people will have to determine which is worse: trusting each other or succumbing to the undead hordes.

 

Zombieland does work as a zombie movie simply because the zombies are convincingly dangerous and frightful. The film even has that air of doom, desperation, and forlorn resignation that permeates most zombie movies. Although it is clearly a descendant George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, while also borrowing the fast zombies from 28 Days Later, Zombieland is most closely aligned with the 2004 zombie horror comedy, Shaun of the Dead.

 

As a comedy, Zombieland is not particularly sarcastic, snarky, or even edgy. It is, however, witty and has a wry sense of humor. The film feels so strange because the humor is absolutely at odds with the terror of the zombie death lurking around every corner. The comedy seems most dry and droll when the cast is killing zombies, and there is nothing like deadpan humor in the face of bile- and blood-drooling monsters.

 

The performances are good, with Jesse Eisenberg pitch perfect as the hapless, virginal everyman, Columbus. Woody Harrelson is brilliant, and the proof of his exceptional talents is that he brings the same skill and dedication to this zombie movie that he does to his more serious (if you will) dramatic work. Director Ruben Fleischer, a veteran of late-night television and reality shows (Rob & Big, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”), creates the right tone for practically every scene, seeming to know when the movie should be comic, gross, scary, poignant, or just odd. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have created a concept, story, and characters that give the impression of being brand spanking new, while managing to make their influences practically not obvious.

 

Zombieland is a fine zombie movie. It is a distinctive horror comedy with inimitable style. I don’t know why it works, but I love this strange new film feast made from old genre ingredients.

 

7 of 10

A-

 

Saturday, March 27, 2010 

 

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Review: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Revels in Character Drama

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Running time: 153 minutes (2 hours, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Steve Kloves (based upon the novel by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bruno Delbonnel (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Elarica Gallacher, and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin

The sixth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, finds the dark lord, Voldemort increasing his attacks on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. As he begins his sixth year, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) believes that Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was, so he searches the school for hidden enemies. Harry focuses his investigation on his rival, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), who does seem to be creeping around the castle a lot. Meanwhile, in the halls of Hogwarts, love is in the air

However, Hogwarts’ headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), is more focused on preparing Harry for the coming final battle with Voldemort that he knows is fast approaching. Together, Dumbledore and Harry work to discover the truth behind Voldemort’s powers. Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), a well-connected wizard who previously taught at Hogwarts, as the new potions instructor. Slughorn holds information that could be crucial in the battle with Voldemort, because Slughorn was a mentor to 11-year-old Tom Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin), the student who would become the dark lord.

Meanwhile, some of the students are feeling the rage of teenage hormones. Harry finds himself increasingly drawn to Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), the sister of his best friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), but another student, Dean Thomas (Alfie Enoch), is also vying for Ginny’s attention. The spunky Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) has marked Ron for amorous conquest, which makes Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), who has strong feelings for Ron, simmer with jealousy (although Hermione is determined not to show her feelings). Remaining aloof from the romance, Draco looks to make his own dark mark, one that may lead to tragedy.

The way it begins, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince looks like it is going to be a long slog through a muddled movie full of mumbling characters and awkward scenes, but the film turns out to be a delight. At times, this movie seems entirely divorced from the magical reality created by J.K. Rowling, author the Harry Potter series of books from which this film series is adapted (as if you didn’t know…). However, the focus of Half-Blood Prince is on character drama. This is the first time in the series that the story really stops to consider the costs (personal and professional) of the state of civil war in the wizarding world.

Playing Draco Malfoy, actor Tom Felton portrays the costs of that war and the toll it a takes on the youth of the wizarding role, in his best performance to date. Michael Gambon, playing Dumbledore as a fierce Christ-like warrior marching inevitably towards his doom, also turns in a good performance. The always-good Jim Broadbent balances the bon vivant façade behind which Horace Slughorn hides his guilt with a sense of quiet desperation.

The rest of the cast, especially the star trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are more earnest than good, but they sell their parts well. They’re also the best they’ve been at depicting the puppy love at which they’ve only teased in the earlier films. Somehow, this story of love and war comes together, until, by the end, you wish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince wouldn’t end.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Bruno Delbonnel)


2010 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, and Nicolas Aithadi)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

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Review: "Coraline" a Deeply Flawed Jewel

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Coraline (2009)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language, and suggestive humor
DIRECTOR: Henry Selick
WRITERS: Henry Selick (based upon the book by Neil Gaiman)
PRODUCERS: Claire Jennings, Mary Sandell, Bill Mechanic, and Henry Selick
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Pete Kozachik (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Christopher Murrie and Ronald Sanders
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey, Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, Harry Selick, Marina Budovsky, and Carolyn Crawford

I am a fan of stop-motion animation films, so I was excited to hear that Henry Selick, the director of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas, was making a stop-motion version of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel, Coraline. At one 1 hour and 40 minutes, director Henry Selick’s Coraline is the longest stop-motion animated feature in movie history, and it certainly seems even longer. More often than not, watching Coraline feels like a dreary chore instead of an eerie delight.

Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is a curious and adventurous 11-year-old girl who is also feisty beyond her years. Coraline and her parents, Mel and Charles Jones (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have just relocated from Michigan to Oregon. Coraline misses her friends, and her parents are too distracted by their work as writers to entertain her. Coraline tries to find some excitement in her new environment, the Pink Palace, a boarding house on top of a hill. Her neighbors include the eccentric British actresses, Miss April Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Miriam Forcible (Dawn French), and an even more eccentric Russian acrobat, Mr. Sergie Alexander Bobinsky (Ian McShane). The only local close to her age is an annoying boy named Wyborne “Wybie” Lovat (Robert Bailey, Jr.) and his equally annoying semi-pet, The Cat (Keith David).

Coraline seriously doubts that her new home can provide anything to interest her – that is until she uncovers a small, secret door in the house. She crawls through the door and into an eerie passageway, which takes her to an alternate version of her life and existence. On the surface, this parallel reality, called Other World, is similar to her real life, but it is much better. The adults are cool, especially Other Mother (Teri Hatcher), a version of Coraline’s mother who pays more attention to Coraline and actually cooks delicious meals and tasty sweets. Coraline thinks that she could stay there forever, but when Other Mother starts to make shocking demands, Coraline wants no part of this off-kilter world. With the help of the mysterious Cat, Coraline makes a bid for freedom, but it will take all her bravery, grit, and ingenuity to save her real family and get back home.

Coraline is the first 3D stop-motion animated film, and for the most part, its ideal audience would be people who admire the art of stop-motion animation. Like Selick’s collaboration with Tim Burton (The Nightmare before Christmas), Coraline is darkly inventive, but not as snappy and clever. In fact, the first half of this film is practically a disaster. The plodding narrative and flat voice performances suggest that Coraline was a short film disastrously stretched to a feature-length film. Even the animation is listless. It is more jerky-motion than stop-motion animation.

It is not until the Other Mother (also known as Beldam) shows her true nature that Coraline’s eerie nature really comes to life. This film has a creepiness that is so unsettling (perhaps because it deals with child abduction), but even then, this story, with its Venus flytrap and spider web allusions, can only limp through a somewhat exciting resolution and last act.

Coraline has the makings of being an exciting cross between the classic fairy tale and a spooky horror story with a contemporary sensibility, but it mostly fails to reach its potential. The only really good characters are Coraline, Other Mother, and the Cat, and the others are feeble, which could be a result of Selick’s surprisingly anemic screenplay. This movie even manages to waste Keith David’s exceptional talents as a voice actor. I admire what the filmmakers tried to do more than I actually like this film. I cannot quite embrace this clunky, clumsy riff on Alice in Wonderland. Still, I can’t dismiss Coraline, because I am one of those people smitten with the art of stop-motion animation.

5 of 10
C+

Saturday, March 13, 2010

NOTES:

2010 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Henry Selick)
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Henry Selick)
2010 Golden Globe: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”
2010 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Voice Performance” (Keith David)

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine a Solid Superhero Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Gavin Hood
WRITERS: David Benioff and Skip Woods
PRODUCERS: Hugh Jackman, John Palermo, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Ralph Winter
CINEMATOGRAHER: Donald A. McAlpine (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill

SUPERHERO

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, and Ryan Reynolds

The fourth film in the X-Men franchise is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a film that delves into the history of Wolverine, the Canadian-born mutant with the super healing factor and those awesome metal (adamantium) claws. As he did in the X-Men trilogy, Hugh Jackman portrays Logan a.k.a. Wolverine.

Telling the story of Wolverine’s violent and romantic past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens in 1845 in the wilds of Canada. A boy named James experiences the activation of his mutant powers and ends up on the run with his older half-brother. James (Hugh Jackman) and his brother, Victor Creed (Live Schreiber), spend the next century as soldiers in the American army, fighting in the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War.

Eventually imprisoned, the brothers enter the custody of Major William Stryker (Danny Huston), who offers them a membership in Team X. This is a military black operations unit comprised of mutants, including the mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and a teleporter named John Wraith (will.i.am). James eventually leaves Team X and moves back to Canada, where he assumes the identity, Logan. He and his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), live in peace until Stryker and Victor, separately, find them. Two things happen. Logan is suddenly plunged into a diabolical conspiracy to create the ultimate mutant weapon, and Wolverine is born.

In terms of quality, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is almost, but not quite as good as the original X-Men film (2000), and it is better than X-Men: The Last Stand. X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s character drama – relationships, personal history, conflicts – is not as good as in the first X-Men film, and some of it, such as the origin story at the beginning of this movie, is awkward and poorly done. Some of it, like Wolverine’s brief time with an elderly couple is very good and should have had more screen time or at least replaced some of this film’s other “quiet,” character moments.

The actions scenes are… well, let me just come out and say that I thought they were kick ass. They are by no means perfect, and some of the CGI is a little too obvious. However, the action scenes and fights were so good that they made everything about this film which seemed mediocre leave my mind. The action made me ready for a sequel.

One thing that did surprise me about this film was the acting. It’s good across the board – from the top line stars (Jackman, Schreiber) to the smaller players (Dominic Monaghan as Chris Bradley). Jackman is a good actor, and his performances going back to the original X-Men film are what turned a wildly popular comic book character named Wolverine into a bankable action movie character.

It seems as if it is easy to forget how good an actor Liev Schreiber is, but he reminds us with his Victor Creed. In Schreiber’s hands, Creed is deliciously evil, a rare superb performance as a villain in a superhero movie, and Schreiber will make you miss him every time Creed leaves the story.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine takes the generic explosions, motorcycle stunts, and screaming blood feuds of the action movie and makes them cool and compelling the way a summer popcorn movie should make them. It may have its problems, but what X-Men Origins: Wolverine does, it does well enough to earn our attention.

6 of 10
B

Friday, March 12, 2010

Complete List of 2010 Oscar Winners

OK, for those of you who don't want to comb through the individual posts of my semi-live blogging to see who one, here is a complete winners list from last night's 82nd annual Academy Awards:

List of winners at the 82nd annual Academy Awards:

- Motion Picture: "The Hurt Locker."

- Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart."

- Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side."

- Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

- Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

- Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker."

- Foreign Film: "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina.

- Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

- Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker."

- Animated Feature Film: "Up."

- Art Direction: "Avatar."

- Cinematography: "Avatar."

- Sound Mixing: "The Hurt Locker."

- Sound Editing: "The Hurt Locker."

- Original Score: "Up," Michael Giacchino.

- Original Song: "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

- Costume: "The Young Victoria."

- Documentary Feature: "The Cove."

- Documentary (short subject): "Music by Prudence."

- Film Editing: "The Hurt Locker."

- Makeup: "Star Trek."

- Animated Short Film: "Logorama."

- Live Action Short Film: "The New Tenants."

- Visual Effects: "Avatar."

Countdown to Oscar 2010: The Independent Spirit Awards 2009

The Independent Spirit Awards or Film Independent’s Spirit Awards were founded in 1984 and are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. The Independent Spirit Awards 2009 announced its nominees in December 2009. The winners were announced on March 5, 2010.


Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire won five Independent Spirit Awards: best picture, director, screenplay, actress, and supporting actress. That is one short of the record of six held by Fargo, Sideways, and Stand and Deliver.

Winners (in bold) and nominees:

Best Film (Best Feature)
Precious

(500) Days of Summer
Amreeka
The Last Station
Without Name (Sin nombre)

Best Director
Lee Daniels – Precious

Ethan and Joel Coen – A Serious Man
Cary Joji Fukunaga – Without Name (Sin nombre)
James Gray – Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman – The Last Station

Best Actor (Best Male Lead)
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Colin Firth – A Single Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days of Summer
Souleymane Sy Savane – Goodbye Solo
Adam Scott – The Vicious Kind

Best Actress (Best Female Lead)
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

Maria Bello – Downloading Nancy
Nisreen Faour – Amreeka
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Gwyneth Paltrow – Two Lovers

Best Supporting Actor (Best Supporting Male)
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger

Jemaine Clement – Gentlemen Broncos
Christian McKay – Me and Orson Welles
Ray McKinnon – That Evening Sun
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station

Best Supporting Actress (Best Supporting Female)
Mo'Nique – Precious

Dina Korzun – Cold Souls
Samantha Morton – The Messenger
Natalie Press – Fifty Dead Men Walking
Mia Wasikowska – That Evening Sun

Best Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer – Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Adventureland – Greg Mottola
The Last Station – Michael Hoffman
The Messenger – Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
The Vicious Kind – Lee Toland Krieger

Best First Screenplay
Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher

Amreeka – Cherien Dabis
Cold Souls – Sophie Barthes
Crazy Heart – Scott Cooper
A Single Man – Tom Ford and David Scearce

Best First Feature
Crazy Heart

Easier with Practice
The Messenger
Paranormal Activity
A Single Man

Best Cinematography
A Serious Man – Roger Deakins

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Peter Zeitlinger
Cold Souls – Andrij Parekh
Treeless Mountain – Anne Misawa
Without Name (Sin nombre) – Adriano Goldman

Best Foreign Film
An Education – Lone Scherfig • France/UK

A Prophet (Un prophète) – Jacques Audiard • France
Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick) – Jan Troell • Sweden
Mother (Madeo) – Bong Joon-ho • South Korea
The Maid (La nana) – Sebastián Silva • Chile

Best Documentary
Anvil! The Story of Anvil – Sacha Gervasi

Food, Inc. – Robert Kenner
More Than a Game – Kristopher Belman
October Country – Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
Which Way Home – Rebecca Cammisa

John Cassavetes Award
Humpday

Big Fan
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge

Truer Than Fiction Award
45365 – Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo – Jessica Oreck
El general – Natalia Almada

Someone to Watch Award
Kyle Patrick Alvarez for Easier with Practice

Asiel Norton for Redland
Tariq Tapa for Zero Bridge

Producers Award
Karin Chien for Santa Mesa and The Exploding Girl

Larry Fessenden for I Sell the Dead and The House of the Devil
Dia Sokol for Beeswax and Nights and Weekends

Robert Altman Award
Director and cast of “A Serious Man”

Countdown to Oscar 2010: The Broadcast Film Critics Associations Awards 2009

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) claims to be the largest film critics’ organization in the United States and Canada. The BFCA represents television, radio and online critics, and currently has 235 members. Since 1995, they’ve presented the “Critics’ Choice Awards.” The awards are bestowed annually to honor the finest in cinematic achievement.


For the 15th edition of the Critics' Choice Awards, members selected nominees in each of 25 categories. Eligible films were released in 2009. The accounting firm of Gregory A. Mogab tallied the written ballots. The group claims that, historically, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

15th Annual Critics' Choice Awards Winners and Nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Winner: The Hurt Locker

Nominees:
• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart

Nominees:
• Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
• George Clooney - Up In The Air
• Colin Firth - A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman - Invictus
• Viggo Mortensen - The Road
• Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: TIE:
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia, and Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side

Nominees:
• Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
• Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
• Carey Mulligan - An Education
• Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones
• Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
• Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Nominees:
• Matt Damon - Invictus
• Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
• Christian McKay - Me And Orson Welles
• Alfred Molina - An Education
• Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Mo'Nique - Precious

Nominees:
• Marion Cotillard - Nine
• Vera Farmiga - Up In The Air
• Anna Kendrick - Up In The Air
• Mo’Nique - Precious
• Julianne Moore - A Single Man
• Samantha Morton - The Messenger

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Winner: Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones

Nominees:
• Jae Head - The Blind Side
• Bailee Madison - Brothers
• Max Records - Where The Wild Things Are
• Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones
• Kodi Smit-McPhee - The Road

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Winner: Inglorious Basterds

Nominees:
• Inglourious Basterds
• Nine
• Precious
• Star Trek
• Up In The Air

BEST DIRECTING
Winner: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker

Nominees:
• Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron - Avatar
• Lee Daniels - Precious
• Clint Eastwood - Invictus
• Jason Reitman - Up In The Air
• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Nominees:
• Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - A Serious Man
• Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - (500) Days Of Summer
• Bob Peterson, Peter Docter - Up
• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up In The Air

Nominees:
• Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach - Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - District 9
• Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious
• Tom Ford, David Scearce - A Single Man
• Nick Hornby - An Education
• Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up In The Air

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• The Hurt Locker
• Nine
• Avatar
• The Lovely Bones
• Inglourious Basterds

BEST ART DIRECTION
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• A Single Man
• Avatar
• Nine
• The Lovely Bones
• Inglourious Basterds

BEST EDITING
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• Up In The Air
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Hurt Locker
• Avatar
• Nine

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: The Young Victoria

Nominees:
• Nine
• Bright Star
• The Young Victoria
• Inglourious Basterds
• Where The Wild Things Are

BEST MAKEUP
Winner: District 9

Nominees:
• Avatar
• District 9
• Nine
• The Road
• Star Trek

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• Avatar
• District 9
• The Lovely Bones
• Star Trek
• 2012

BEST SOUND
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Nine
• Star Trek

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: Up

Nominees:
• Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Princess And The Frog
• Up

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Avatar

Nominees:
• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek

BEST COMEDY
Winner: The Hangover

Nominees:
• (500) Days Of Summer
• The Hangover
• It’s Complicated
• The Proposal
• Zombieland

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Winner: Grey Gardens

Nominees:
• Gifted Hands
• Grey Gardens
• Into The Storm
• Taking Chance

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: Broken Embraces

Nominees:
• Broken Embraces
• Coco Before Chanel
• Red Cliff
• Sin Nombre
• The White Ribbon

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: The Cove

Nominees:
• Anvil
• Capitalism: A Love Story
• The Cove
• Food, Inc.
• Michael Jackson’s This Is It

BEST SONG
Winner: "The Weary Kind" - Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett - Crazy Heart

Nominees:
• "All Is Love" - Karen O, Nick Zinner - Where The Wild Things Are
• "Almost There" - Randy Newman - The Princess And The Frog
• "Cinema Italiano" - Maury Yeston - Nine
• "(I Want To) Come Home" - Paul McCartney - Everybody’s Fine
• "The Weary Kind" - Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett - Crazy Heart

BEST SCORE
Winner: Michael Giacchino - Up

Nominees:
• Michael Giacchino - Up
• Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
• Randy Newman - The Princess and the Frog
• Karen O, Carter Burwell - Where The Wild Things Are
• Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes

Joel Siegel Award: Kevin Bacon

Countdown to Oscar 2010: The 35th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

The 35th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2009 and were announced December 14, 2009

Winners:
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart as Bad Blake
Runner-up: Colin Firth - A Single Man as George

Best Actress: Yolande Moreau – Séraphine as Séraphine Louis
Runner-up: Carey Mulligan - An Education as Jenny

Best Animated Film: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Runner-up: Up

Best Cinematography: The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band) – Christian Berger
Runner-up: The Hurt Locker – Barry Ackroyd

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Runner-up: Michael Haneke – The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band)

Best Documentary Film (tie): The Beaches of Agnès (Les plages d'Agnès) and The Cove

Best Film: The Hurt Locker
Runner-up: Up in the Air

Best Foreign Language Film: Summer Hours (L'heure d'été) • France
Runner-up: The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band) • Germany

Best Production Design: District 9 – Philip Ivey
Runner-up: Avatar – Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg

Best Screenplay: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Runner-up: In the Loop – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds as Hans Landa
Runner-up: Peter Capaldi – In the Loop as Malcolm Tucker

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique – Precious as Mary Lee Johnston
Runner-up: Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air as Natalie Keener

New Generation: NEILL BLOMKAMP "DISTRICT 9"

Career Achievement: JEAN-PAUL BELMONDO

The Douglas Edwards Experimental/Independent Film/Video Award: Anders Edstrom and C.W. Winter, "The Anchorage"

Special Citations: IN HONOR OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FRENCH NEW WAVE