Fave five films

 

With apologies to whatever cell phone company uses this tagline, we're embarking on a series of Fave Fives as a capper to a year spent in many darkened movie theaters and screening rooms in and around L.A. (Is the ArcLight really that great? Well, yeah, but if you complain loudly about the popcorn on the floor and the bad sound, the AMC might give you a freebie. So, there's always that).

Just know that we're speaking from a fan perspective here, not a professional full-time critic's, so don't look for "Synecdoche, New York," though we've loved Charlie Kaufman's writing for years (doesn't mean he should direct, right?).

The bar here is: Did we love it? Did we enjoy it? Did it move us, stick with us, affect us in some way? It's not about the cultural significance, though a few of these movies definitely have that base covered, or about their Oscar or major awards potential, though some have that in spades.

We did take into account the element of surprise, which was at work in our reactions to all these films. And by that we mean, we were surprised by how much we loved them, given in some cases the advance hype and the great weight sitting on their cinematic shoulders.

We'll be back with more Fave Fives in other categories, but we'll start with best films. Here goes (in alphabetical order):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

In Bruges

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL-E

Almost listed: "Tropic Thunder," "The Visitor," "Kung Fu Panda," "Tell No One" and "Man on Wire," but anybody can do a top 10. We're mercenary here, people!

Come on back for more, which will include but not be limited to best performances and most depressing.

Blase about Oscar

 

New York Times film critic A.O. Scott has the movie equivalent of brussels sprouts littered all over his desk, while his colleague and much-afeared movie killer Manohla Dargis doesn't give a fig about what the Hollywood studios are pushing for best picture.

At least the Carpetbagger cares about the Oscars, though he says that real news during this season -- meaning, authentic bits of vital and/or important information -- is akin to "teeny tiny little balls of lint." 

It's funny because it's true!

Watch the video here.

Oscar's foreign rules

 

Been wondering why "The Class" instead of, say, "A Christmas Tale" or "I've Loved You So Long," is in the running for a foreign-language Oscar? Well, friends, then you have entirely too much time on your hands.

Luckily, in this case, so does THR's Steven Zeitchik, who digs into the Academy handbook in the foreign film race and comes up with some answers for idle inquiring minds.

Rules, rules, rules, that's what it all comes down to, and each country is allowed to submit only one film. Hence, France had to decide between those aforementioned flicks, and it picked the Palme d'Or winner from Cannes over the dysfunctional-family-on-holiday story and the Kristin Scott Thomas just-sprung-from-prison tale.

Once the countries decide which films they're tossing into the ring -- and this year there were 67 entries, a new record -- committees within committees and subsets of other committees go through the weeding process to get to the short list of nine Oscar contenders expected to be announced next month. There's an ongoing attempt to right the wrongs of the past and blunt a steady stream of criticism because controversial films have been overlooked, as were some that just weren't foreign enough (too much English!). 

Go here for some idea on how the sausage is made, and to get a vague idea if Germany's "The Baader Meinhof Complex" has a chance against Sweden's Golden Globe nominee "Everlasting Moments" or Israel's genre-bending "Waltz With Bashir" (pictured).

And for helpful descriptions of each country's official entry, go here.

Meanwhile, "The Class," which is showing in Los Angeles now during its one-week Oscar qualifying run, just racked up four nominations from France's version of the Golden Globes. More on those nods here.

Andy Dick invades 'View'

The always combustible Andy Dick and his new alcohol-detecting accessory hit "The View" this morning and gave the Emmy-winning show's censors a little pre-holiday workout. Who let this guy out during daytime TV?

In case you missed, here's the clip. And while we're providing you with a steady stream of time wasting ideas this week, let us assure you, this isn't one of them. It's required watching, people, if not for its semi-musical story telling and couple of truly funny zingers, then for the pained expression on Joy Behar's face throughout.

'Frost/Nixon' sweeps Vegas

Between bouts of being shoppertunistic -- that means taking advantage of insolvent retailers to snap up cut-rate gifts for friends and loved ones -- we're still keeping track of movie critics from near and far who keep doling out their annual kudos.

Today's offering includes Houston and Las Vegas and finally there's a little divergence in the findings. Not much, but a tad. Houston reviewers gave "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" its top award, but skipped David Fincher (that movie directed itself?) and picked Danny Boyle as best director for "Slumdog Millionaire." They chose no actors from those films, instead giving awards to Sean Penn for "Milk" and Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married."

Vegas critics loved "Frost/Nixon" enough to vote the ticket, so to speak, giving it best film, best actor (Frank Langella), best director (Ron Howard), along with screenplay (Peter Morgan) and film editing. They singled out Marisa Tomei from "The Wrestler," and continued the Heath Ledger romp. Full list here.

In other bits today...

File this under "great holiday week time waster." Awards Daily has an extensive display of "For Your Consideration" ads, with everything from the seared-into-our-brains Frank Langella-as-disgraced-president profile from "Frost/Nixon" to campaigns that are an outright waste of money (take a guess!). At any rate, there's some nice artwork there.

How gay is Oscar?

Just how gay are the Oscars in general, and how gay will they be in February?

Specifically, can "Milk" actually win or, like "Brokeback Mountain," will it be shut out because too many Academy voters are just too uncomfortable with its we're-here-we're-queer-get-used-to-it story?

The telecast itself, on the other hand, may be a different matter, with openly gay producer Bill Condon promising a party atmosphere with song-and-dancey Hugh Jackman as host. Gay, as in happy? Jackman showing some skin? That would be a little something for the ladies and the boys.

The degree of fey on display was the subject of a chat between Village Voice critic Michael Musto and Gold Derby's Tom O'Neil, who both believe that "Milk" doesn't stand a chance as best picture. (Both think that prize is going to "Slumdog Millionaire," though we beg to differ. We're going with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" because it's just that kind of movie and, turns out, it's just that good. Plus, it contains no child torture, and we're calling that a major leg up).

Watch the breezy (blousy?) discussion of Hollywood's homophobia here.

  

 

'WALL-E' melts critics' hearts

All those critics in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles can't be wrong about "WALL-E." Or can they?

Looking back on the week that was, we see that reviewer groups in those cities all showered love, attention and kudos on "WALL-E," the Disney/Pixar morality tale that's not just for the kiddies. They all catapulted it out of the animated category and voted it best picture against stiff competition from the likes of "Milk," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Dark Knight."

Chicago critics, in fact, named it best picture and best animated movie, along with rewarding its original screenplay and score.

This should make a number of Gold Rush readers happy, including Caroline, who's pretty darn impassioned about the whole thing:

"'WALL-E' is no animated movie, it's a romance made by animation. Saying that 'WALL-E' is an animated movie is discriminating. If it doesn't show up in the Best Picture category, I will never watch the Oscars again. Mark my words."

Whoa now -- there are plenty of good reasons to stop watching that show. (Just kidding. Let's give Hugh a chance!)

Gold Derby took a straw poll and found that those of us who watch the Oscars for a living -- some call us pundits, others call us names not nearly as printable as that -- come down on both sides of the argument. Is "WALL-E" a best picture contender, will it levitate like EVE to the top of the entire movie pile, or stay in the cartoon realm and duke it out with two other films for that best-of title?

First of all, we see no animation ghetto. An animated picture nod is nothing to sniff at and having that separate category, as has been the case since the early oughts, allows voters to spread the wealth. But that's just us, and, we might add, some other awards ninnies.

There are plenty of so-called Oscarologists who disagree, though, saying the best picture derby isn't strong enough this year to have five shoo-ins and the affection that fans feel for "WALL-E" could carry it into the top category.

Find a number of our comments and "rationale" here.

And as usual, feel free to pipe in. It's Friday afternoon before the holiday break and you know you're not really working anyway. Get to commenting!

A woman's touch on 'Australia'

Are there certain films -- broad, sweeping epics or Westerns or historical dramas -- that are just too John Ford, too masculine, too big for women to shoot?

Baz Luhrmann doesn't think so. And though he wasn't specifically trying to assemble a female behind-the-camera team to shepherd his hybrid romance/comedy/country coming-of-age tale "Australia," he did just that in hiring Dody Dorn as his film editor and Many Walker as the director of photography. (Add producer Catherine Knapman and there's another strong female voice in the mix).

Dorn, a past Oscar nominee for "Memento," and Walker, an indie veteran who just picked up best cinematographer awards from the St. Louis Film Critics and the International Press Academy, joined longtime Luhrmann collaborator/production designer/costumer (and wife) Catherine Martin to make up a rare female triumvirate of technical prowess on a $130 million studio film.

If Walker makes it to the Oscar pool, she'll be the first woman to have ever done so. Martin (pictured at top) is already a double Oscar winner for "Moulin Rouge."

In hiring Dorn and Walker (pictured, right), Luhrmann said he was looking for a couple of professionals who were mentally, physically and spiritually strong. They would, he said, have to be by his side for a genre-bending epic that would likely be derided by critics and would be no picnic to shoot (102-degree heat, rainstorms, alternate endings!).

"Of course a man could do the job, but for whatever reason, I felt like I needed an editor and a DP who would believe in this movie like it was their child," Luhrmann said this week during a stint in Los Angeles where he promoted his colleagues and defended "Australia" against a fairly steady stream of criticism (some of that directed at the $38 million boxoffice take so far).

"I realized at some point that I was way outnumbered in the true creative control of this movie," he said. "They are not the kind to say, 'Yes, Baz, whatever you want, Baz.' They are of their own opinions, and they're unimpeachable."

Dorn and Walked said they've never thought much about the glass ceiling or, as Luhrmann puts it, the "bloke's club" in filmmaking.

"I wonder why there aren't many other female DPs, but that doesn't usually happen until someone reminds me about it," Walker said. (Luhrmann said Walker showed her mettle during filming as members of the tough Australian crew "dropped like flies" under some of the harsher conditions, while Walker continued to lead the troops and fix her lipstick at the same time).

The high-profile girl power wasn't lost on the movie's star, Nicole Kidman, who pointed it out on set with a sense of pride, though "Australia" wasn't just about "sisters doing it for themselves," Martin said. "There were no charity missions here. It wasn't like, 'Hey there aren't enough women in the industry, let's hire some.'"

It'll probably be an unwitting theme during Oscar campaigning, where "Australia" will be competing with the formidable likes of "The Dark Knight," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Slumdog Millionaire."

"At the time, we didn't even think about how rare it was, but it's sinking in now," said Dorn. "We just know that Baz never cut us any slack, as it should be."

Luhrmann, who said this week that he plans to move quickly on his next project, a reworking of "The Great Gatsby," summed up his co-workers succinctly:

"Those chicks were awesome."

No doubts for SAG

We were having doubts. Not about the intense is-he-or-isn't-he-a-pedophile-priest drama, "Doubt," based on the award-winning Broadway play. There's no equivocating there -- it's searingly good.

We were starting to doubt our faith in the drama being able to go the Oscar distance.

Not its performances, which have been and continue to be strong contenders, but the film as a potential best picture candidate. We very nearly dumped it off our Oscar predictions, which would've made our five picks look like this (not in any particular order): "Slumdog Millionaire," "Frost/Nixon," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Dark Knight" and "Milk."

But today, thanks to the Screen Actors Guild nods, we're standing our ground. Sorry, "Frost/Nixon."

"Doubt" snagged five nominations this morning, including the top prize for the ensemble cast, which isn't really the same thing as the Oscar best picture, but it's close enough for us. It's an indication of support for the John Patrick Shanley film that we think will carry through the season.

So much for award noms validating your resident Gold Rusher. Plenty of places that didn't happen with SAG's choices, including what we consider to be the biggest mistake of the day: Leonardo DiCaprio is not among the best actor nominees for "Revolutionary Road," nor is Michael Shannon for an unforgettable turn in Richard Yates book-based drama. No Sally Hawkins for "Happy-Go-Lucky" and no Rosemarie DeWitt for "Rachel Getting Married." Boo!

Did Clint Eastwood belong on the list for "Gran Torino?" Does Angelina Jolie's inclusion for "Changeling" presage Oscar? No and unlikely. Is "The Dark Knight" still alive? Possibly.

Thrilled about? The Richard Jenkins best actor nod for "The Visitor," and supporting nominations for "Slumdog's" Dev Patel and "Tropic Thunder's" Robert Downey Jr. (Presumptive front-runner, the late Heath Ledger, is there, too).

The announcements have launched fevered chatter all over the Internets today. To wit:

Carpetbagger wonders why there was no love for Josh Brolin's uncanny Bush impression in "W." and Cate Blanchett in "Benjamin Button," and Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere unleashes, as he's wont to do, on xenophobia (where's Kristin Scott Thomas?) and celebrity butt-kissing (Brad Pitt? Really?)

 

 

 

'The Wrestler' busts out

Darren Aronofsky didn't set out to make an homage to professional wrestling in all its choreographed, performance-art-that-can-maim-you glory. But that's what happened, the filmmaker said Tuesday night at the premiere of "The Wrestler," a drama that looks likely to score star Mickey Rourke an Oscar nomination.

"My main goal was to do something all about acting," Aronofsky said.

And, he said, something that was close enough to reality that it didn't make the muscle-bound grapplers in the audience want to kick his arse.

For the record, one of the sport's legendary figures, Rowdy Roddy Piper, has already endorsed the film and repeated the praise -- it's well researched, it's a true representation of the hard-knock life -- to your resident Gold Rusher at the post-screening cocktail party. And then he clothes-lined us for slowing down the buffet line. Just kidding.

There was a solid wrasslin' contingent at the event, with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, Rick "The Nature Boy" Flair, and Diamond Dallas Page flinching a lot less than the rest of us while Rourke's character was barb-wired, staple-gunned and beaten bloody in the bleak New Jersey-set movie. They're used to the these occupational hazards, after all. The emotional gutting that Randy "The Ram" Robinson took might've hit them just as hard. Tough to say because, well, they're tough guys.

Luminaries of the non-beat-down variety were there, too, like Oliver Stone, Aronofsky's wife Rachel Weisz, 50 Cent and everybody's favorite porn king, Ron Jeremy. (Don't think we didn't start a conversation. More on that later).

After winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, "The Wrestler" has been on a roll with U.S. critics groups and best-of lists. Rourke, playing a wrestler 20 years past his prime, has a Golden Globe nod under his belt already, as does co-star and past Oscar winner Marisa Tomei for her stripper who could've fallen for the big lug. Both have Oscar potential.

That has to be music to the ears of Fox Searchlight honcho Peter Rice, who called it the quintessential American indie film that the corporate purse-strings-holders gave him the go-ahead to buy and distribute during an inhospitable climate for such fare.

The New York Times review is one of the most astute we've read on "The Wrestler," pointing out its flaws but coming to the conclusion that "like its hero, the movie has a blunt, exuberant honesty, pulling off even its false moves with conviction and flair." Couldn't agree more. It's a must-see.