Cinecast Episode 36 [80:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

These are the show notes for Cinecast Episode #36.
You can download or subscribe to the show HERE

Kurt and Andrew’s Oscar Picks and results

Complete Oscar Recap article - by Andrew

Nice article with thoughts from Infernal Affairs’ (original Departed) director Alan Mak Siu-Fai and his thoughts on The Departed winning an Oscar. - ***SPOILER WARNING*** This article DOES give away the ending to both The Departed and Infernal Affairs. Thanks to Richard from Filmstalker for the heads up.

Andrew’s Article on why COMEDY IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE ACADEMY

PT Anderson’s HARD EIGHT - at IMDb.com. Apparently renamed now, to “Sydney”

Multi-Oscar winner, Gustavo Santaolalla at IMDb.com

Both Andrew and Kurt agree; the 5 films that SHOULD be up for best picture are:
Babel
Children of Men
Little Children
The Queen
United 93

Should’ve been up for best foreign language film:
Prague - Twitch review here

Films opening Friday that we care about:

BLACK SNAKE MOAN
( I can’t believe we forgot to mention this in the show!!):

ZODIAC:

Comments or questions?
feedback@moviepatron.com
drewbacca@moviepatron.com (Andrew)
kurt@moviepatron.com
- - Kurt’s BLOG

“Look what I stole!”

     Well, not exactly. After snubbing three of the best films of 2006 of a nomination, The Academy goes with a remake of an already really great movie from three years ago as the best picture of the year. Once best editing and screenplay went to The Departed, we all pretty much knew instantly that it was all over. Then, after losing 5 times in previous years, Scorsese gets his first Oscar for directing (that should’ve gone to Greengrass) and it became a sure thing that his film would be a slam dunk to win best picture and receive the largest ovation of the evening. At least Marty remembered to thank the original film makers (not by name) for allowing him to copy their film and receive all the accolades. All of this of course after the academy presenters incorrectly labelled them as JAPANESE! Tools.

     As far as the acting categories went, no one was surprised to see Mirren and Whitaker take home the win. If you didn’t mark both of those two stars on your ballot tonight (ahem… Kurt), you weren’t paying attention. These were the two most absolute locks in the history of The Oscars; and deservedly so.

     Speaking of slam-dunks, I swear I saw Guillermo Del Toro stand up and begin to walk towards the stage only to realize about 20 seconds later that Pan’s Labyrinth was not the title he heard announced as best foreign language film. It was like Zoolander all over again. My jaw hit the floor as this major upset took me completely by surprise. Let’s see, Pan’s won for art direction, cinematography, make-up and was nominated in two other categories, but miraculously, a film that was not nominated for anything else and very few people have even heard of, The Lives of Others (which is playing in theaters now, by the way), takes home the award. Forget the fact that Pan’s is one of the most critically hailed films of the year (foreign or domestic). Since I have not seen Lives yet, I refrain from making too harsh of a judgement; but I think it’s safe to say that most everyone was shocked.

     Now to answer the title of this post more specifically, let’s just go over a couple of categories point by point before discussing the ceremony as a whole, shall we?
1- Happy Feet wins best animated movie. This is so many shades of wrong I don’t even know where to begin. Oh wait, it’s about global warming, so it must be better than the other two films that were much more entertaining, better looking and far more technically aware and superior in almost every way.
2- Speaking of global warming, we all knew that Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth would win for best doc. feature, but I don’t think anyone predicted it would win Melissa Etheridge an Oscar for best song did they? I’m sorry, but this is atrociously incorrect. When this three chord song was announced as the winner right after Hudson and Beyonce’s spectacular performances of three, count ‘em three, glitteringly, electrifying songs from Dreamgirls, projectile vomiting did occur; and I must apologize to my hosts for the permanent stains on their leather sofa. Next year remind me to bring a barf bag.

MORE THOUGHTS NOT RELATED TO THE NOMINEES…
     Maybe the biggest talk this year was not of the films themselves, but about who the host of the awards would be. I myself was hoping that Jon Stewart would’ve gotten a second chance as he really seemed to warm up after the first half of last year’s show. But The Academy decided to go another route this year and choose Ellen DeGeneres as their host. It seems to me that Ellen is really a love her or hate her personality. Personally I think she’s alright and I enjoyed her interactive banter with the stars. Giving Scorsese a script was pretty funny and telling Spielberg he didn’t take the picture of her and Eastwood very well was gold. But these charades started to wear thin after a while and I felt like her ideas were less and less funny as the night wore on. The vacuum cleaner bit was not very funny at all. I think I’ll be surprised if we see her asked back again next year; though I wouldn’t be opposed to it.

     If you’re looking for commentary on how the stars were dressed and how beautiful their gowns were, etc, you’re on the wrong movie site. But I think it must be said that Ms. Penelope Cruz looked extremely fine; even if she did kill two pink sheep dogs to wrap around her legs. Still, I think Helen Mirren was dressed classically and conservatively and in relation to her age, she was the finest looking woman at the Kodak theater tonight.

     To get this article moving a bit faster, I’ll just make several, specific points quickly and easily that you may’ve or may not have missed…
1- The Oscar ceremony is long enough. Let’s cut out the overly long montages and tributes. There were several this year: recognizing writers, foreign films of the past 50 years, Ennio Morricone’s films that he’s scored (followed by maybe the longest speech of the night in Italian that I fell asleep during), movies about Americana and the tribute to the deaths in Hollywood over the past year. This last tribute is the only montage they should have. End of discussion.
2- Jack Nicholson has shaved his head. I actually could get used to it.
3- As I’ve screamed about for years (click HERE for article), John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell and Jack Black make a hilarious plea to the Academy to start recognizing comedy. Ferrell’s bit about a man with no arms and no legs teaching gang bangers Hamlet was beautiful.
4- Two interesting things happened when nominees were announced this year. First, with screenplays, the presenter actually read a few lines of the actual script; describing the locale and the actions of the actors before we hear the actual words from the actors. Very nice touch I thought. Second, with the costumes, instead of showing sketches and drawings, there were actual models on the stage (that looked very much like the actors in the film) showing off the garments. This was a delightful surprise that I feel should continue.
5- Hudson and Arkin were the sole, two criers of the evening.
6- Get rid of performing the songs (except the ones I approve); they take too long and usually suck anyway as they are far better within the context of the film.
7- Animated short films: I didn’t see any of them and either did you. So why bother?

     Finally, I’d say that the award ceremony was a bag of mixed emotions for me. Already disappointed that some of the best films of ‘06 were not nominated (Little Children, United 93, Children of Men) I became more disgusted when the foreign langauge and best picture winners were announced. Not to mention one of my favorite films of the year, Babel, goes home with nothing but best score. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to see Arkin take home a statue as well as Little Miss Sunshine winning best screenplay.

To sum everything up…
Out of 22 categories (not including doc. short or animated short), the number that the Oscars
got right = 8
got wrong = 14

Because I’m Andrew James and I said so.

Listen Monday night to a very special podcast (#36) covering everything Oscar. I know Kurt is pissed about at least one thing and so am I!

Boy Was I wrong (see below). Lots of surprises at this years Academy Awards. A Remake won best picture.
Lose the Songs in the Broadcast, it crashes the show.
Ellen was OK, but not memorable.

Andrew is no doubt rushing home with lots of opinions and ideas for Tomorrows podcast.

Results are below:
Kurt’s Original Picks
Andrew’s Original Picks

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: The Departed (2006) - Graham King
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was WRONG

Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Martin Scorsese for The Departed (2006)
Kurt was RIGHT
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was WRONG

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006)
Kurt (and everyone else!) was RIGHT
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT

Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: The Departed (2006) - Thelma Schoonmaker
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was WRONG

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - Melissa Etheridge(”I Need To Wake Up”)
Kurt doesn’t CARE
Andrew THREW UP
Academy was WRONG

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Michael Arndt
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Babel (2006) - Gustavo Santaolalla
Kurt forgot to guess on this one
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT - could’ve gone to Glass and Notes on a Scandal though too.

Best Documentary, Features
Winner: An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - Davis Guggenheim
Kurt was RIGHT
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was…

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006) - Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon
Kurt didn’t see them, any of ‘em
Andrew either

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006)
Kurt was RIGHT
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was WRONG

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)(Germany)
Kurt was WRONG (and is pissed, about Pan’s loss)
Andrew was WRONG (and pissed)
Academy was WRONG

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) - John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Allen Hall
Kurt didn’t bother to guess
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Guillermo Navarro
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was RIGHT

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: Marie Antoinette (2006) - Milena Canonero
Kurt was SURPRISED, this one should have won, but I guessed with the more safe choice and was WRONG
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was PROBABLY RIGHT (how should I know? I’m not gay.)

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: The Departed (2006) - William Monahan
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew was RIGHT
Academy was WRONG

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: Happy Feet (2006) - George Miller
Kurt was WRONG (but Happy Feet was better than Cars)
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was WAY WRONG

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Kurt was WRONG (but loves Arkin!)
Andrew was WRONG (but happy)
Academy was RIGHT (recognizes comedy! A miracle!)

Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: Dreamgirls (2006) - Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Willie D. Burton
Kurt didn’t CARE
Andrew has NO IDEA
Academy is RIGHT(?)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
Kurt was WRONG
Andrew has NO IDEA
Academy is RIGHT(?)

Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: West Bank Story (2005) - Ari SandelK
Kurt didn’t see any of ‘em
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was WRONG

Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: The Danish Poet (2006) - Torill Kove
Kurt didn’t see any of ‘em (go Canada!)
Andrew ” ” ” ” ” ” (chanting: USA…USA….USA…)
Academy… whatever

Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - David Martí, Montse Ribé
Kurt did guess, but is not surprised
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was ADEQUATE (might’ve gone to Apocalypto to be more accurate)

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Revuelta
Kurt was RIGHT
Andrew was WRONG
Academy was RIGHT

     While the world’s excitement reaches climax about the recognition of the best in film achievement over the past year at tonight’s Oscar award ceremony, the Golden Rasberries (Razzies) winner go largely unnoticed. But not around here. The winners (or losers depending on your perspective) were announced today for unachievement in film. Thankfully, I have not seen many of these as I try to avoid “bad” pictures, although sometimes it is unavoidable.

Razzie Winners are highlighted in RED…

Worst Picture:
Basic Instinct 2 (a.k.a. Basically, It Stinks, Too)
Bloodrayne
Lady In The Water
Little Man
Wicker Man

Worst Actor:
Tim Allen - The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, The Shaggy Dog and Zoom
Nicolas Cage - Wicker Man
Larry, The Cable Guy (Dan Whitney) - Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Rob Schneider - The Benchwarmers and Little Man
Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans - Little Man

Worst Actress:
Hilary Duff & Haylie Duff - Material Girls
Lindsay Lohan - Just My Luck
Kristanna Loken - Bloodrayne
Jessica Simpson - Employee Of The Month
Sharon Stone - Basically It Stinks, Too

Worst Supporting Actor:
Danny DeVito - Deck The Halls
Ben Kingsley - Bloodrayne
M. Night Shyamalan - Lady In The Water
Martin Short - Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
David Thewlis - Basically, It Stinks, Too! and The Omen

Worst Supporting Actress:
Kate Bosworth - Superman Returns
Kristin Chenoweth - Deck The Halls, Pink Panther and RV
Carmen Electra - Date Movie and Scary Movie 4
Jenny McCarthy - John Tucker Must Die
Michelle Rodriguez - Bloodrayne

Worst Screen Couple:
Tim Allen & Martin Short - Santa Clause 3
Nicolas Cage & His Bear Suit - Wicker Man
Hilary & Haylie Duff - Material Girls
Sharon Stone’s Lop-Sided Breasts - Basically, It Stinks, Too
Shawn Wayans & EITHER Kerry Washington OR Marlon Wayans - Little Man

Worst Remake or Rip-off:
Little Man (Rip-off of the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon “Baby Buggy Bunny”)
Pink Panther
Poseidon
The Shaggy Dog Story
Wicker Man

Worst Prequel or Sequel:
Basic Instinct 2 (a.k.a. Basically, It Stinks, Too)
Big Momma’s House 2
Garfield 2: A Tail Of Two Kitties
Santa Clause 3
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Worst Director:
Uwe Boll - Bloodrayne
Michael Caton-Jones - Basic Instinct 2
Ron Howard - The Da Vinci Code
M. Night Shyamalan - Lady In The Water
Keenan Ivory Wayans - Little Man

Worst Screenplay:
Basically, It Stinks, Too
(Screenplay by Leora Barish & Henry Bean)
Bloodrayne
(Screenplay by Guinevere Turner, Based on the Video Game)
Lady In The Water
(Written by M. Night Shyamalan)
Little Man
(Written by Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans)
Wicker Man
(Screenplay Adapted by Neil LaBute from a Screenplay by Anthony Schaffer)

Worst Excuse for Family Entertainment:
Deck The Halls
Garfield 2: A Tail Of Two Kitties
RV
Santa Clause 3
The Shaggy Dog

Awards Per Picture:

Basically, It Stinks, Too — 4 “Wins”:
Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Sequel, Worst Screenplay

Little Man — 3 “Wins”:
Worst Actor, Worst Screen Couple and Worst Remake/Rip-Off

Lady in the Water — 2 “Wins”:
Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Director

In the past I’ve been OK at predicting the major awards (about an 80% average, which I understand is pretty high), but the past year and this year have been extra hard to predict. The academy has been getting less predictable in their nominations and fewer prestige films are being made in favor of comic book films and blockbusters ranging from things like National Treasure to The Da Vinci code (heh - yes those are from 2005; and yes that is limited range). Everyone knows the teen comedies and Horror remakes are where the real money is made ($10M movie, $15M marketing - $45M box office).

Anyway, here is my stab at predicting the major awards. Guessing ‘original make-up effects is purely a hail-Mary guess, so I just do not bother. My picks (***) are based on what I think will happen, not my favorites. Other than Pan’s Labyrinth and Little Children, I don’t have much ‘rooting interesting’ in most of categories. I’ll say this though, the BEST DIRECTION in a motion picture is certainly Alfonso Cuaron for Children of Men, and he was not even nominated.

BEST PICTURE
***BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

BEST DIRECTING
Alejandro González Iñárritu, BABEL
***Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN
Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley – LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou – BLOOD DIAMOND
***Eddie Murphy – DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg – THE DEPARTED

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
***Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
***Peter O’Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whittaker - LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

BEST ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz – VOLVER
Judi Dench – NOTES ON A SCANDAL
***Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep – THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet – LITTLE CHILDREN

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
***CARS
HAPPY FEET
MONSTER HOUSE

BEST ART DIRECTION
DREAMGIRLS
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
***PAN’S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
THE PRESTIGE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE BLACK DAHLIA
***CHILDREN OF MEN
THE ILLUSIONIST
PAN’S LABYRINTH
THE PRESTIGE

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
***DREAMGIRLS
MARIE ANTOINETTE
THE QUEEN

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
***AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
JESUS CAMP
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY

BEST FILM EDITING
***BABEL
BLOOD DIAMOND
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
UNITED 93

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AFTER THE WEDDING
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
***PAN’S LABYRINTH
WATER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
***LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
***BABEL
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
PAN’S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

 Cinecast Episode 35 [42:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

These are the show notes for Cinecast Episode #35.
You can download or subscribe to the show HERE

Oscar Nominated Live-action short films:
TITLE and Andrew’s Rating…
West Bank Story (3/5)
The Saviour (1.5/5)
Binta and the Great Idea (4.5/5)
Helmer & Son (2/5)
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many) (2/5)

Binta and the Great Idea from Africa should win the Oscar hands down.

Kurt’s review of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window

Remakes:
Wikipedia Article with a huge list of remakes

Video:
Google video of Jetée, La - the original to Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys

Original Bottle Rocket

Internal Links:
Movie Patron Reader’s Choice Awards HERE
MoviePatron MySpace profile

Comments or questions?
feedback@moviepatron.com
drewbacca@moviepatron.com (Andrew)
kurt@moviepatron.com
- - Kurt’s BLOG

The subject of Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window came up in last weeks Cinecast, and I’m pretty sure it will come up in this weeks (slightly late) episode. Below is a small review or screening notes on the film.

How many films feature a conversation in a restaurant, in a hotel lobby, a night club of two people flirting by painting fictional back-stories onto others observed in a single context? It is sexy and cool to be detached; observing and casually passing judgment on the world around you. Be it with wit or be it with sarcasm.

Rear Window, from its first tracking shot around a large courtyard in Manhattan invites you to spy on the lives of those in the courtyard as you spy on Jimmy Stewart spying. It is really the perfect film about watching movies. What is a film other than a voyeuristic trip into other people’s private lives? Of course it being an Alfred Hitchcock film there is a murder to be witnessed, solved, and broken-down into little pieces for evaluation and sorting. And there is Grace Kelly before she became the Princes of Monaco doing a wonderful fusion of Holly Golightly (before that character existed) and Nancy Drew. A slew of other supporting characters go about their lives about the courtyard neighborhood and a few others come in and out of L. B. Jefferies’ (Stewart) apartment to get caught up in the show.

It is a testament to any piece of entertainment that can sustain not only interest, but emotion, a wee bit of philosophizing (’Rear Window Ethics’) and most importantly, thrill, when the film takes in a single tiny apartment. The fact that the entire film is shot from the point of view of only one location and so engrossing is Alfred Hitchcock at the peak of his abilities. A scene where a character looks directly into the camera for the first time is enough to make the little hairs rise on the back of your neck. There is also no musical score (modern films seem to rely heavily on the score telling you how to feel at nearly all times). Rear Window relies on ambient sound; either a neighbor playing their piano or turntable has to suffice. When Hitchcock is referred to as the ‘master of suspense’, Rear Window is the essence of that statement.

There is something about films that have a single location and just observe their characters react and behave in that place (most recently Deepa Mehta’s Water, but also Kevin Smith’s Clerks. , Vincenzo Natali’s Cube, and Joe Dante’s The ‘burbs. In fact, Dante was definitely operating in the spirit of gentle parody and homage with that 1989 comedy which brilliantly cast the modern equivalent of Jimmy Stewart in the lead of that underrated film, Tom Hanks. That is film is a big favorite of mine, and the right way to do a remake, switch genres and play with conventions, but I digress.

Rear Window has been remade more than once and has been referenced in more facets of popular culture that I care to mention (OK, a few recent ones as diverse as horror (The Ring), animated TV (The Simpsons) and coming of age drama/satire (Ghost World)).

What is probably the wrong reason for revisiting Rear Window again, but there is a crass, over-wrought looking knock-off aimed at teenagers coming out very soon called Disturbia. The trailer got me angry just watching and I started lamenting the death of studio cinema seeing how Rear Window was the entertainment of its day, and we get this today! (After calming down, I fully acknowledge that it is a false sentiment (a snap reaction in fact) in a year (2006) that had Children of Men , The Queen and The Fountain as studio pictures).

Nonetheless, Hitchcock’s film has held up well, very well. The acting, characters and situations do not have that ‘old movie’ feel to them, these feel like real people. The sound-stage set is a bit on the artificial looking side, but it does not detract from the film, rather gives it a timeless feel, much like the Technicolor process.

These are brand new trailers that were just released today

 Cinecast Episode 34 [67:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

These are the show notes for Cinecast Episode #34.
You can download or subscribe to the show HERE

Should The Departed be considered for best picture?
Andrew’s article

The Five Films Up for Best Picture:
The Queen
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine

February is a CRAZY month for DVD Releases (with IMDb links):
2/13
The Departed - MP review
Marie Antoinette - MP review
Half Nelson - MP review
Infernal Affairs Trilogy Box Set
Quinceanera
Infamous
School for Scoundrels
13 Tzameti - trailers: Apple, YouTube
F*ck
The U.S. vs John Lennon - MP review

2/20
The Prestige - MP review
Babel - MP review
For Your Consideration - MP review
Man of the Year
Flushed Away
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Shut Up & Sing

2/27
Stranger than Fiction - MP review
Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny
Tideland - Kurt’s Review
Alexander (Director’s Cut) - SHIT movie, don’t watch it.
The Heart of the Game

Kurt’s 80s Nostalgia “Creepy” DVD releases:
Gymkata
Night of the Comet - CLICK HERE for a picture of the chick I’m talking about.
Monster Squad
Night of the Creeps

Water:
IMDb page
Available on DVD

Lives of Others Poster:

Trailer picks of the week:
- Disturbia - - thanks to Ross and MovieWorld for the heads up

Quicktime version

- Hot Fuzz -
Small
Large
X-Large

Homework Assignment:
Rent Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW now:
Blockbuster.com
Netflix

Comments or questions?
feedback@moviepatron.com
drewbacca@moviepatron.com (Andrew)
kurt@moviepatron.com

     An interesting question has come up recently between myself and some on and off-line friends. By now most of you know that Oscar contender, The Departed, is a remake of the 2002 film, Infernal Affairs. Because The Departed is a remake, should it win best picture? I’ll just make a bold statement right now and say that in this particular case, the answer is no. In fact, I’m not sure it should even be considered for best picture. Examine…

     First of all, what does a best picture constitute? I would think that it should show an exemplary culmination of all aspects of film making. In other words, it should be outstanding in every part that encompasses the making of a film; such as directing, acting, screenplay writing, editing, and entertainment value to name a few. Different weights can be afforded to different attributes depending on the genre of the film as well. The Departed certainly qualifies as fantastic in all of these departments. But one other aspect of a film should be taken into account; and that is originality.

     Several remakes of films in past years have been nominated in the best picture category. The last one to win was 1955’s Marty; which was actually a spin-off from a TV show. Other winning films include:

1959 Ben-Hur
1968 Oliver!
1964 My Fair Lady
2003 Chicago

     I also found even more films that were nominated but did not get the win. Like 2001’s Moulin Rouge and 1978’s Heaven Can Wait to name a few.

     Now I am only discussing the best picture category. Many, MANY other films that are remakes have been nominated in several categories over the years. In fact, I can think about 5 or 6 from last year alone that were up for various awards. This would be different. A remake can be nominated for best visual effects or editing because that really has nothing to do with the original. But when you just take someone else’s movie and basically copy it, should it even be considered for the best film of the year award?

     I must say that The Departed is a fantastic movie. I loved the hell out of it and even have it at #9 on my top 10 favorite films of the year list. But this isn’t to say I think it is the best or should even be considered for the top honor. If it were, shouldn’t Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong (directors and writers of Infernal Affairs) be recognized as equally as Martin Scorsese? I mean they were the ones who came up with the whole idea and storyline right? Scorsese et al. just took that and changed a few words and some actors and voila! The best picture of the year?

     Now, I might change my mind on this if a film is crap and it is remade to be something wonderful. Take Ishtar for example. Completely panned by critics and generally regarded as one of the worst films of all time. If Scorsese had taken that film and made it into something fantastic, I might be willing to cut him some slack. But he didn’t. He took an already great movie and made it into another great movie. I guess my sarcastic reaction would be, “big deal.”

     I’m interested to hear others’ thoughts on this. Some might argue, who cares? A good movie is a good movie right? Well yes, but why should Scorsese get all the accolades when he didn’t even write it or really have any hand in making it what it is. He just copied an already great movie: almost scene for scene I might add. This isn’t Gus Van Sant’s, 1998 version of a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, but it’s not much different.

     Originality is a must when it comes to voting for the best film of the year. I may be in the minority, but I know for a fact I’m not alone on this. Now the only question is, are the Academy voters of the same mind; or more importantly, do they care? This could be Scorsese’s sympathy year. Let’s hope not.

     British Academy of Film and Television Arts has chosen its winners. Notice best director and editing. My pick precisely for both of those awards. Should be up for best picture as well. At least someone has a bit of sense over at 195 Piccadilly.

     Here are the nominees in film, with wnners in MoviePatron Blue…

FILM
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
CASINO ROYALE
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
ANDREA ARNOLD (Director) - Red Road
JULIAN GILBEY (Director) - Rollin’ with the Nines
CHRISTINE LANGAN (Producer) - Pierrepoint
GARY TARN (Director) - Black Sun
PAUL ANDREW WILLIAMS (Director) - London to Brighton

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction
BABEL
THE DEPARTED LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BABEL
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
PAN’S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CASINO ROYALE
THE DEPARTED
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
APOCALYPTO
BLACK BOOK (ZWARTBOEK)
PAN’S LABYRINTH
RANG DE BASANTI (PAINT IT YELLOW)
VOLVER

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
CARS
FLUSHED AWAY
HAPPY FEET

ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE
DANIEL CRAIG - Casino Royale
LEONARDO DICAPRIO - The Departed
RICHARD GRIFFITHS - The History Boys
PETER O’TOOLE - Venus
FOREST WHITAKER - The Last King of Scotland

ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE
PENÉLOPE CRUZ - Volver
JUDI DENCH - Notes on a Scandal
HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
MERYL STREEP - The Devil Wears Prada
KATE WINSLET - Little Children

ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE
ALAN ARKIN - Little Miss Sunshine
JAMES MCAVOY - The Last King of Scotland
JACK NICHOLSON - The Departed
LESLIE PHILLIPS - Venus
MICHAEL SHEEN - The Queen

ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE
EMILY BLUNT - The Devil Wears Prada
ABIGAIL BRESLIN - Little Miss Sunshine
TONI COLLETTE - Little Miss Sunshine
FRANCES DE LA TOUR - The History Boys
JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music
BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
CASINO ROYALE - David Arnold
DREAMGIRLS - Henry Krieger
HAPPY FEET - John Powell
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BABEL - Rodrigo Prieto
CASINO ROYALE - Phil Meheux
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
PAN’S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
UNITED 93 - Barry Ackroyd

EDITING
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione/Douglas Crise
CASINO ROYALE - Stuart Baird
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
THE QUEEN - Lucia Zucchetti
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas/Christopher Rouse/Richard Pearson

PRODUCTION DESIGN
CASINO ROYALE
CHILDREN OF MEN
MARIE ANTOINETTE
PAN’S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

COSTUME DESIGN
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
MARIE ANTOINETTE
PAN’S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
THE QUEEN

SOUND
BABEL
CASINO ROYALE
PAN’S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
UNITED 93

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
CASINO ROYALE
CHILDREN OF MEN
PAN’S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
SUPERMAN RETURNS

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Nicki Ledermann/Angel De Angelis
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Jean-Luc Russier/Desideria Corridoni
PAN’S LABYRINTH - José Quetglas/Blanca Sànchez
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST - Ve Neill/Martin Samuel
THE QUEEN - Daniel Phillips

SHORT ANIMATION FILM
DREAMS AND DESIRES - FAMILY TIES
GUY 101
PETER AND THE WOLF

SHORT FILM
CARE
CUBS
DO NOT ERASE
HIKIKOMORI
KISSING, TICKLING AND BEING BORED

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
EMILY BLUNT
EVA GREEN
NAOMIE HARRIS
CILLIAN MURPHY
BEN WHISHAW

 Cinecast Episode 33 [67:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Movie Patron Reviews by Year:
see the archive here

The Queen
Andrew’s review

Jaman Movie Download Service:


Click on above image for the website info and software download.

Indiana Jones 4 News:
Official News Brief

DVD Pick of the Week:
Hollywoodland

Jesus Camp:
Kurt’s Review
Quicktime Trailer HERE

     UPDATE: From IMDb.com and Paramount pictures, it is official:

     Paramount on Tuesday confirmed that it will release the next Indiana Jones installment on Thursday, May 22, 2008. The studio also said that it plans a simultaneous worldwide release of the as-yet-untitled film, which will be produced by Lucasfilm Ltd., directed by Steven Spielberg, and star Harrison Ford. Frank Marshall will receive the top producer’s credit, while George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy will serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by David Koepp. The studio had previously announced that production will begin in June.

     …END UPDATE

     According to the numbers website, Box Office Mojo, Indiana Jones 4 has a scheduled release date of May 22, 2008. This can’t be correct. For a majorly huge project like this that hasn’t even started shooting yet, much less secured the actors yet, how can this be finished and ready to open in 15 months? But then again, what do I know?

     I’m kind of with other movie dudes out there who think this is total Bollocks. Spielberg and Lucas have claimed they have a script, then they don’t. Then they do, then they don’t. Ford himself threatened to pull out just the other day. Rumor of Connery being in or out has floated around and general chaos has surrounded this whole project for the last 4 years. So take this news with a grain of salt.

Thanks to Cinecast co-host, Kurt, for the heads-up.

     My most anticipated film of 2007, Grindhouse, just keeps getting more and more exciting. Yahoo! has just released an interview with Tarantino and Rodriguez along with some never before seen footage of Grindhouse.

     I don’t have speakers at work, so I’ll have to listen to what they’re saying when I get home. But man, I can’t WAIT for this flick. It truly looks fun as hell.



SEE THE INTERVIEW AND NEW FOOTAGE HERE
or
CHECK OUT THE TEASER TRAILER HERE IN WMV OR QUICKTIME

 _

     It seems I’m not the only one who agrees that United 93 is by far the best film of the year; best directed and edited as well. The Evening Standard British Film Awards announced their winners yesterday. I can’t find the full list of nominees anywhere online. In fact, not knowing how these awards work, maybe there are no nominees. Maybe it’s just simply tally votes and see who wins. At any rate, here are the winners…

Best Film - United 93

Best Actor - Daniel Craig (Casino Royale)

Best Actress - Dame Judi Dench (Notes On A Scandal)

The Peter Sellers Award for Comedy - Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan)

Best Screenplay - Peter Morgan (The Queen/The Last King of Scotland)

Technical Achievement - Anthony Dod Mantle (cinematographer, The Last King of Scotland/Brothers of the Head)

Most Promising Newcomer - Paul Andrew Williams (director, London To Brighton)

The Alexander Walker Special Award - Stephen Frears

Only two more weeks til the Oscars

     Arguably the worst film maker of our generation, Uwe Boll has created another monstrocity of a film. This is after kicking the crap out of film critics, literally beating them in a boxing ring, who panned his films (including an open challenge from our friend Todd, from Twitchfilm). Now, almost a year later, Boll strikes again with “Postal.” See the trailer below while it’s still available and decide for yourself…

     All I can say is A) it looks horrible and B) it’s looks to be pretty politically incorrect (which I am all for).

Have a nice day.

     This made me laugh. “[Hollywood’s] garrish gold-plated reacharound they call the Oscars.” Good stuff. Tell us more Stephen…

     The first one was good, the second was minor fun. The third is justa pathetic excuse at capitalizing on a name. Mike Myers, please move on. Still, here’s the trailer at the official site…

http://www.shrekthethird.com/flash/index.html
Once at the site, click on “see the new trailer” at the top right of the screen.

     Check THIS out. Look at the trailers and tell me what you think. Great sense of style and looks to be a unique and exciting action film.

     Toronto After Dark Film Festival was one of the most enjoyable film experiences of my life. Of all 13 films I saw, 4 of them entered my top 30 of the year, 2 in my top ten and most likely, when I update my top 100 of all time, one will make it on the list. That’s not an easy task. Not to mention all the great people I got to meet and new friends I made.

     The news has been released of the new dates for the 07 Festival. The dates are October 19-25th at the same location; the historic Bloor Cinema. So mark your calendars now.

     So suffice it to say I WILL be heading back for another dose of Fantasy/Horror that’s actually GOOD fantasy/horror. I mean seriously, if you have the means, get to Toronto in late October for this fabulous festival. It’s sure to be even better this year, with even more films. It’s also relatively inexpensive and more laid back than TIFF.

     You can see all the film’s trailers, description and my reviews of them all HERE