The Croods

April 8, 2013

I honestly did not want to watch "The Croods." The ugly title and the crude way the characters were drawn did not really appeal to me. I kept trying to defer it when my kids were asking to watch it. Well, at the mall yesterday on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing specific to do, there was no more excuse or escape for this dad to delay the inevitable.

"The Croods" was about the last Neanderthal caveman family on Earth who were forced to get out of the cave that had kept them safe all these years when the mountains around them began to crumble down. With the help of a young inventive caveman named Guy, they follow the sun and venture into the big wide unknown, seeking to escape the destruction of the world they knew. On this journey, the Crood patriarch Grug faces his biggest dilemma as a father when his established way of keeping his family together and safe is challenged by his rebellious teenage daughter Eep, the "modern" ideas of Guy, as well as the shifting continental land masses.

It took time for me to get into the groove of the story. The superhuman abilities of the Croods as well as the incredibly strange flora and fauna around them were simply too unbelievable and weird. Once I got that initial resistance out of the way, I not only had a very good time laughing at their hilarious antics, I was also very personally touched by the situation experienced by Grug as head of his family, now facing the ultimate threat for their very existence, dealing with new untested concepts about fatherhood.  This film is very entertaining and heart-warming at the same time.

The technical excellence of this film is unquestionable. OK, I did not really like how the Croods looked, but hey they ARE cavemen anyhow. Why the baby daughter Sandy looks and acts so horribly, I wouldn't know.  However the artwork and cinematography of the world around them was breathtaking. The visual effects, grand or minute, dealing with rock, or water, or dust, or tar were so realistic. The voice work by Nicolas Cage for Grug is so good, gruff but so sincere. Emma Stone as  Eep, Ryan Reynolds as Guy and Ms. Cloris Leachman as the cranky grandmother also turn in remarkable vocal work. 

Like several Dreamworks animated films before this one, namely "Shrek", "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Megamind", I was initially turned off by the non-traditional, OK non-Disney, look of the artwork. But after hearing much positive word of mouth, I gave them a chance and watched them. Of course, I appreciate them as the excellent films that they are. I now add "The Croods" to that list. I should really learn my lesson and stop judging them by the way they look in the trailer.  

The Host

April 4, 2013

Caught between two big box-office hits over the weekend (local "It Takes a Man and a Woman" and Hollywood "GI Joe Retaliation") not too much was heard about this film in both print nor online media. That made me even more curious to catch it.  I have not read the book. But I have to admit, it was the author's name that intrigued me to watch this movie. Stephenie Mayer, of course, is very famous for her Twilight books, the writing of which I am not exactly a fan. But I am curious about what other stories she is capable to telling us, so I felt I had to check out "The Host."

"The Host" is a sci-fi movie set in a future when the Earth was in its most perfect state, but alas, it was because an alien race had possessed the bodies of nearly everyone on the planet. As in other alien invasion films, there is still that small pocket of human resistance fighting the situation. The story begins when one of the key members of this human resistance force, Melanie Strider, was severely injured in a chase with the alien seekers. Her mutilated body was  healed and given an alien being who called herself "Wanderer." However, Melanie's mind remains alive, and continues to rebel against her alien parasite, who turned out to be of a rather kind and compliant nature. Melanie's family and friends felt drawn to her, calling her "Wanda", yet were at a loss whether to trust this new Melanie or not, as the alien seekers close in on their secret lair in the American outbacks.

The sci-fi aspects were generally well-presented with cool computer graphical effects. It was just too bad there was too little background told about the alien race itself and where they came from and why. The shiny futuristic sets and props, as well as the breathtaking desert setting, were enhanced by the vibrant cinematography. The action scenes were only few but well-executed. Being written by Meyer, romance scenes were aplenty and could really be cheesy and corny many times, especially those that pertain to kissing and slapping. I literally groaned in those painful scenes.

The  talented lead actress Saoirse Ronan was impressive, as she makes the incredible conflict of two beings living and arguing inside a single body actually believable.  She has certainly matured and improved a lot from her Oscar-nominated debut role in "Atonement."  The much-missed William Hurt was likewise remarkable in the role of her benevolent Uncle Jed .  The child (Chandler Canterbury) playing Melanie's kid brother Jamie was very good. Their tender scene in the cave of coal worms was very touching. It was also good to see "Titanic" mom Frances Fisher again, this time as a gritty frontierswoman.  The two new young actors who played her rival boyfriends Jared and Ian (Max Irons and Jake Abel) were not known to me, but obviously cast to be the new "Edward" and "Jacob" fighting for Melanie's/Wanda's love. 

Overall, this was quite an entertaining absorbing film, which is unusual for me to say since I do not really like love story movies. I did not expect to like it, but I did.  Above the shallow romance theme, there was a nobler theme in there of humanity and harmony that pervades above all.  And yes, Stephenie Mayer does have a much better story here than she did in the four books of the Twilight Saga.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

March 31, 2013

Honestly I do not remember at all if I had seen the first G.I. Joe film (Rise of the Cobra) at all back in 2009. I think I did but I was not sure, even as I lined up on opening day in theaters with my family today. Even my kids don't recall anything about the first film if we did watch it at all.

In this film, the story was exciting at the onset as the US President (Jonathan Pryce) was replaced by a lookalike who was technically-transformed Cobra operative Zartan (also Pryce, over Arnold Vosloo). This fake President wastes no time to come up with a trumped-up charge and to launch an air attack to decimate the entire GI Joe camp, surprisingly also killing a major Joe from the first movie, all that in the first 10 minutes!

Of course, three Joes, namely Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrienne Palicki) and Flint (DJ Cotrona), survive the sneak attack to save the day for the good guys. On the other side of the world in Tokyo, two more Joes (Snake Eyes and Jinx) join forces, bringing with them a "reformed" (?) Cobra seeking to avenge the death of his master. Together with the original GI Joe, General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis), they fight against the Cobra Commander who seeks world domination (what else?)

As expected the action sequences were very well-executed. The most breathtaking would be a flying and swinging fight among ninjas on snowy rocky cliff sides. All the sword, gun and fist fights were all so well choreographed and shot. A remarkable Cobra minion is Firefly (Ray Stevenson) with this little mechanical flying bugs, which turn out to be highly explosive bombs. Getting the world leaders of countries with nuclear capability together to blackmail them into doing Cobra's will was a cool idea. However, even when London was seen to be totally destroyed, the reaction to that tragedy seemed to be so inexplicably understated. 

Overall it was a good fun way to spend two hours of a lazy Saturday afternoon with the family. However, by the time the next sequel comes along, I don't think I will remember much about this sequel at all, but that remains to be seen.

Two Holy Week Classics Reviewed

March 30, 2013

The Ten Commandments

I think I have not seen this film since "The Ten Commandments" was the only movie being shown in theaters during Holy Week.  Despite the length of four hours, the only thing I really remember about it was the Red Sea scene, and maybe that is more because of the poster than the film.  This Maundy Thursday, I decided to revisit this grand classic film, the last film of renowned director Cecil B DeMille.

While I was watching, I recognized several scenes by bits and pieces only, especially in the first half before the intermission.  The scenes in the second half were more memorable.  This whole matter about the Egyptian princess Nefretiri (whom I am not really clear what the nature of her close relationship is to the Pharaoh Sethi was) played by a very campy Anne Baxter, I do not remember AT ALL.  Maybe I was still too young back then to understand the flowery-worded melodrama involving her double-dealing character, and how she affected the relationship of Moses (an outstanding Charlton Heston) and Rameses (a believable Yul Brynner).  I was touched by the sympathetic treatment the production had for Pharaoh Sethi (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) and his sister Bithiah (Nina Foch).  The scene of Moses meeting his mother Yochabel (Martha Scott) was very moving.  The overseers Dathan (Edward G. Robinson) and Baka (Vincent Price), were contemptible with their hammy villainy.

But you can really see why this biblical epic was an instant classic back then, and up to now.  The "cast of thousands" it boasts of in the poster is literally true (no computer-generated crowds back then.  The sets and costumes were incredibly grand and colorful.  The Oscar Award-winning visual effects (parting of the Red Sea, turning water into blood, etc...) were impressive considering that this was made back in 1956!  While I am sure these effects would have been done differently with the advanced technology now, the last plague which simply depicted the Angel of Death like a green mist creeping on the floor can still elicit fear in the audience.  OK, the burning bush scene could be done much better now, but the memory of seeing Moses' physical transformation when he came down from Mt. Sinai with that incredible brush-up hairstyle change could not be replicated.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I held off watching Jesus Christ Superstar for the longest time.  I could not understand how Jesus and the apostles could be portrayed as hippies, which I thought was disrespectful and irreverent.  I tried many times to start watching the film but found it difficult to get through those radical opening sequences featuring Judas.  However, when I finally did get through that first song number, I found myself quite engrossed in the way the story of Christ's Passion was told and enacted in rock songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.  Yes, the sets and props were strangely anachronistic (like t-shirts, postcard racks and machine guns), but I guess those things symbolize the timelessness of the story's message.  Watched this again yesterday Good Friday, with my 13-year old daughter, who seemed to have appreciated the film and its music as well.

The song "Gethsemane" was so vital, it is just breathtaking to hear.  The lyrics got the conflict within Jesus at that contemplative moment in the Garden.  This song is Ted Neeley's high point in the whole film as Jesus Christ.  Another song that moves me is the LSS-inducing  "Could We Start Again Please?"  With a melody so simple and lyrics so bare, the emotional punch of this song is astounding.  It moved me to tears, honestly, when I hear Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) and Philip Toubus (Simon Peter) sing those earnest words which echo our own sentiments with our own faults:

"I've been living to see you
Dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this
This was unexpected, what do I do now?
Could we start again please?

I think you've made your point now
You've even gone a bit too far to get the message home
Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt
So could we start again please?"

The Judas character plays a co-equal role in this interpretation and Carl Anderson so passionately portrays him.  We see and hear a lot from him that was why this play was controversial back in the day.  The words he sings vivify the conflicts within this disturbed man.  Magdalene's love song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" takes on a different meaning when Judas sang it before his climactic suicide song.  Talking about hanging, that scene was so chillingly and realistically shot.

Special mentions would be the odd but welcome comedy respite provided by Josh Mostel as King Herod, and the unusual contrast of the deep voice of Bob Bingham vis a vis the falsetto voice of Kurt Yagjihan, as the high priests Caiaphas and Annas.  The 39 Lashes scene with Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate was also very painfully memorable.

Dead Man Down

March 15, 2013

I did not know what to expect when I went in to see this film. With the title, I initially thought it would just be some sort of generic action movie. However, far from that, "Dead Man Down" turned out to be a very good character drama. In fact, the dramatic scenes were better than the action scenes.  I should have expected this focus on character development especially with a European director making his Hollywood debut, Niels Arden Oplev, who megged the original Swedish "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

The story is about Victor (Colin Farrell), a member of a crime syndicate led by the dapper Alphonse (Terrence Howard).  The members of this gang are being killed one by one by an unknown rival. Meanwhile, Victor meets and hooks up with Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), a mysterious French woman with a scarred face who lives in the apartment across his own. As the movie progresses, we will witness the unfolding of an intricate plot of ulterior motives, blackmail and secret plans of revenge that tie the characters together, drawing them to a violent climax.

The relationship between Victor and Beatrice is what gives this movie that unique edge over the usual crime drama. Colin Farrell really gave an intense portrayal of a basically good man forced into a life of crime, haunted by a violent recent past event that destroyed his life. He was very good, never seen him tackle a role so passionately as this in his recent films. Noomi Rapace has that distinctive face that immediately suggests a wounded psyche. As she did in her breakout role as Lisbeth Salander in Oplev's "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo," she was able to project the torments suffered by a fragile victim of a disfiguring incident. Together, the two of them were able to let the chemistry build between them so gradually and believably, making us want to root them on.

The supporting characters were also very good. Dominic Cooper plays Darcy, Victor's friend in the gang, who was hot on moving up the crime organization. F. Murray Abraham, wow! I have not seen him for such a long time, maybe since his Best Actor Oscar-winning portrayal in "Amadeus". He was notable as Gregor, Victor's adviser in his plans. And French actress Isabelle Huppert, perhaps too young to realistically play Noomi Rapace's mother Valentine, yet she was very touching in her portrayal of this gentle character.

The action sequences were not that bad, mind you, but there was nothing really that original or memorable, except maybe one that involved a hanging, and another that involved rats. The climactic final action sequence, for example, seemed to be coming straight out of "The Expendables" with its over-the-top fiery explosions and gunfire. However, I enjoyed this more as the dramatic film than as the action film. It is just too bad performances in action movies do not really get noticed, but the acting of the lead cast here was more than up a notch from most other action-oriented movies.

A Film About Piaf vs. A Play About Piaf

March 14, 2013

Edith Piaf is an iconic chanteuse in France.  I have to confess that I do not know anything about her except for her similarly iconic song, "La Vie en Rose."  Last week I was fortunate to have been given the chance to witness an amazingly gritty stage play entitled "Piaf" by Atlantis Productions, which introduced me to the tormented musical genius behind the iconic persona and song.  You can read my full review of this must-see piece of serious theater HERE.  This 1978 play written by Pam Gems revealed a most dramatic and tragic character in Ms. Piaf.

Of course there is this 2007 biographical film about Ms. Piaf, entitled "La Mome".  This was later called "La Vie en Rose", perhaps to use the more popular song title to whet audiences' interest and familiarity.  I have long heard about this film, but have not seen yet for some reason.  Its main claim to fame was that it had won the Oscar Best Actress prize for then unknown lead actress Marion Cotillard for her total embodiment of the central character.  After seeing the play "Piaf", I now felt compelled to finally watch this movie "La Vie en Rose" and compare notes.


Aside from a short flashback style introductory scene, the play generally employed a straightforward telling of Piaf's life in chronological order.  Thankfully for that, when watching the movie I was able to get the flow of the whole story despite the distracting technique employed by the film director Olivier Dahan of telling her story non-linearly, in erratic flashbacks and fast forwards. Some of the flashbacks would inexplicably merge into main story which may confuse a lot of viewers who have no knowledge of Piaf's life story. If you knew how the story goes in the first place though, his story telling style choices may actually come across as artistic. 

Unlike the play, this movie tells a lot about Edith's sad and eventful childhood. This part of her life would include interesting stories about her being raised in a brothel, living in a circus, going blind and being miraculously healed by her patroness Therese of the Child Jesus. These details of course were perhaps beyond the scope of the play, but they were similarly interesting to know. The play though spent significant time to tell about Piaf's activities during World War II, as well as about her second and last husband, Theo Sarapo. On the other hand, the film totally skipped these two important episodes of Piaf's life.  The latter was only mentioned in passing by Piaf on her deathbed in the film

But both in the movie and play, the music of Piaf is front and center. In the film, the incandescent Ms. Marion Cotillard perfected the peculiar stance, facial expressions and hand gestures of Piaf. However, she only lip-synched to the original recordings or recordings done by a sound-alike. The stage Piaf (the glorious Ms. Pinky Amador) though had to sing LIVE with bravura with every performance. The final song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" was a truly a spectacular showstopper in both film and play as sung in French. However the film fortunately had English subtitles to tell me what the song really meant, and I saw how much meaning the song had to Piaf's life as whole at that point.

The checkered life of Madame Edith Piaf is truly a dream role for any actress to tackle. With the film and the play, I witnessed both lead actresses transform into Piaf. Lucky for Cotillard that she just needed to do this once right to be printed on film, the actress in the play had the additional challenge and difficulty to do repeated performances of this very physically and vocally draining role. In any case, both this biopic and the play will have you interested to listen more to the music of Piaf. Fortunately for us in the age of Youtube, we can also check out video recordings of the real Piaf in action, and we will marvel more about how these talented actresses had portrayed her so convincingly.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

February 7, 2013

Confession: I have never seen a single real Cirque du Soleil show live. I have seen approximations of what it must be though, like the "Kaos" show at the Resorts World in Manila. While some stunts can be really breathtaking, I feel I cannot sit through an entire performance awake with its hypnotic instrumental soundtracks. I do not really like mimes and clowns as well because I find them and their facial make-up creepy.  

Anyway, I was curious to see what this movie was all about. Maybe because it carries the CdS name, yet it was a feature film. I thought there would be a real fleshed-out story interspersed with CdS numbers. Well, now that I have seen it, there was actually a skeleton of a love story between a girl and an Aerialist, with a collection of various best numbers from several CdS shows that the two encounter in the fantasy world under the circus ring, serving to move the movie along. This is basically a silent film, no dialogues nor narrations, just a rich musical soundtrack.

Frankly I only liked the main protagonists and their story, the girl and the Aerialist she is fascinated with. So when they were not on screen, I felt bored. Lucky there were several numbers from the Beatles "Love" show to keep me awake -- because of the Beatles songs though, mind you, not really the performances. The best number for me was the one at the end when the girl and her Aerialist reunite and perform their daring and graceful pas de deux in the air. That special beautiful moment alone was already worth the price of admission.

However, you can really see and appreciate the amount of acrobatic talent, bravery and production expense in each CdS show. This film is really for fans of CdS who want to watch all the currently running CdS shows but cannot. Aside from "Love", this film incorporates numbers from "O", "Ka", "Mysterie", "Zumanity" and others. For people who are curious about CdS but could not afford their expensive tickets, then this would be a good introduction.

******
"Worlds Away" is now showing exclusively in Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.

No Way to Treat a Lady: Film vs. Stage Versions

March 6, 2013

I just saw the musical theater production of "No Way to Treat a Lady" last week staged by Repertory Philippines (which I reviewed HERE).  This musical version, with music, book and lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen, debuted off-Broadway in 1987.  When I found out that there was actually a 1968 film of the same title that covered the same story, I wanted to see and compare the interpretations of both the film and theater versions. Both movie and play were based on a well-reviewed 1968 novel by William Goldman (who also wrote "The Princess Bride").

The story was basically the same, of course. There was a failed actor named Kit Gill who had an oppressive relationship with his Broadway diva mother. Upon her death, his twisted mind turned to killing senior women who reminded him of his mother, wearing various disguises to gain their trust before strangling them to death. Hot in pursuit was a NYC detective Morris Brummell, who was still tied to his overbearing mother's apron strings. There is a side plot of Morris meeting and falling in love with pretty art museum hostess. 

The theater version, being a musical, had a heftier amount of lighthearted comedy. I wonder what exactly inspired Douglas Cohen to write this musical version of an atypical subject matter for a musical.  This film was definitely a more serious telling, with its comedy so much darker in tone. I found it interesting that the play similarly echoed a lot of situations and lines from the film, especially those that involved the female characters. However, overall, I felt the play actually told the story much better. The ending of the movie felt very contrived, hurried and relied too much on coincidence, unlike the play when the resolution was a lot more logical.

Unlike the stage Kit Gill, Rod Steiger was very sinister as the killer. He was excellent in his various disguises, especially the plumber and wig-maker. Mr. Steiger is really old school hammy in his intense acting style, really over the top, which was actually good in this particular role.  The stage Kit Gill (portrayed by Audie Gemora) was more sadly tragic in the sense that his sick attachment to her mother's memory was highlighted from the beginning. You will still feel sympathetic to this character in the play.   In the movie, the influence of the dead mother was only revealed towards the end, almost only as an incidental mention.

George Segal does well as the mama's boy Jewish cop. He played it quite laid back, in sharp contrast with Steiger. On stage, Joel Trinidad also followed the same laid back approach to the character.  The stereotypical annoying Jewish mom was played with glee by Eileen Heckart.  There was basically similar interpretation by the stage Flora Brummell, Ms. Sheila Francisco, since this character is essentially a cliche.  Mo's love interest in the film was named Kate Palmer (played by 60s beauty Lee Remick), while in the play the name was Sarah Stone (played by Carla Guevara-Laforteza). The scene where mom and girlfriend meet was a delightful moment in both the film and the stage musical.

One excellent feature, a conceit really, of the musical version (but not the film) was that all the victims of the killer were all played by the one actress who also played Kit's mother (Pinky Marquez)! This of course brings to fore that these victims reminded Kit of his domineering mother, the central psychotic motive of the serial murders.  

Now I want to read the book! The reviews say it is better than the book (as usual).

By the way, as a bonus, this film version also features a young David Doyle (of the "Charlie's Angels" TV series) playing a cop! It was good to see him here.

The 85th Oscar Show Aftermath

February 25, 2013

Hilarious opening sequence by new Oscar emcee Seth McFarlane, expectedly it is irreverent, reflecting Seth's brand of comedy on the TV animated series, "Family Guy". He goes through the nominated films one by one.  The funniest one I recall was that when he remarked how Daniel Day Lewis was so in character as Lincoln, did he want to save Don Cheadle when he meets him?  Haha!

Seth's monologue was interrupted by a video message from Capt. James T. Kirk (an ever-hammy William Shatner) telling Seth to stop because he is going to receive dismal  reviews for his emceeing. 

Kirk shows a video with Seth singing about seeing actresses breasts in various films which was really something else! It may be the most irreverent song sung in the Oscars since the South Park song.  I found it quite funny, but I realize it is quite disrespectful to the women named in the song.  Here is a video of that controversial song.  Watch at your own risk:



He makes up for that with a dance number featuring  Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron, while Seth sang "The Way You Look Tonight".  We know Channing can dance but I never saw Charlize dance that way before, and they did very well indeed. 

Shatner then tells him the reviews are still bad and shows him another video where Seth spoofed the air crash scene of "Flight" using sock puppets..  He made up for that by having Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe sing "High Hopes".  Again, I have never seen those two guys sing before.  This was followed by a clip showing Seth seduce Sally Field!  He makes up for that last clip by singing "Be Our Guest".  I thought that was one number too long.

The first award is Best Supporting Actor, presented by last year's Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer from "The Help"/  All the nominees this year are already previous Oscar winners.  The Oscar goes to Christoph Waltz of "Django Unchained"! Wow, I didn't expect that one.  I was expecting and wanted Robert de Niro of "Silver Linings Playbook" to win it.

The next presenters were Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy. They had such a dreadful dead-air conversation about I do not know exactly what.  The Best Animated Short is "Paperman" by Disney which is the favorite.  But I liked the artistry of "Adam and Dog" better.  I even thought "The Longest Daycare" starring Maggie Simpson had a chance, being the first Simpsons film ever nominated for an Oscar.  The Best Animated Feature Film is "Brave." Didn't like that one, I thought "Wreck-It Ralph" will win. But my heart thought "ParaNorman" should win.

Noted that they do not say "Academy Award winner" when they introduced Reese Witherspoon. Merely calling her a n "Oscar winning actress" does not resonate too well.  She presented clips of the first three films nominated for Best Picture:  "Les Miserables", "Life of Pi" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

Avengers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson) unite on the Oscar stage to present Cinematography! Of those five, everyone had been an Oscar nominee except for Evans.  The winner is "Life of Pi". Very deserving with all the vivid scenes at sea in that film. But I would have wanted to see lush "Skyfall" to win that one.  The Visual Effects Oscar of course goes to "Life of Pi". The realistic visual effect that is Richard Parker is the life of that film.  The orchestra music which told the winner to wind up his speech was "Jaws"!

Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston present award for Costume Design. He jokes about having to wax, and Jen says "welcome to the club".  The winner is "Anna Karenina", as is well-deserved!  For Make-up and Hairstyling (the latter newly added to the name of the category), the winner is "Les Miserables"! Another deserving winner!

Halle Berry presents a "Fifty Years of Bond" tribute.  The montage is quite a memory rush.  It was too bad that they were not able to invite even one single Bond actor to grace the affair.  The presence of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig would have been perfect.  Dame Shirley Bassey on the Oscar stage now to sing "Goldfinger". She belted that song as fiercely and strongly as ever!

Jamie Foxx and Kerri Washington present Best Short Film Live Action. Oscar goes to "Curfew". Did not see any of the nominees, but I just found out they were on oscar.com all this time!  I should check it out.  This was followed by the presentation of the Oscar for Best Documentary Short to "Inocente".  Haven't seen that as well.

Great to hear the theme of "Schindler's List" again as Liam Neeson comes out to introduce the next three Best Pic nominees, "Argo", "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty".  Seth commented afterwards that ZDT celebrates "women's innate ability to never ever let things go." Funny one, Seth.

Ben Affleck presents Documentary Feature. Winner is "Searching for Sugar Man." I have seen this and I think this is well deserved. I will write out my review of that film soon. Would have wished that the subject of that documentary, the singer Rodriguez, was there himself.

Seth compares this Oscar Sunday to church, only with more people praying.  Haha!  Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain come out to present Best Foreign Language Film to the haunting theme of "Cinema Paradiso"! Of course, "Amour" wins as expected for Austria. But I did not really think this was the best of the five nominees. Director Michael Haneke receives the award for his film.

John Travolta presents the cast of Les Miserables to sing!!! This is it -- my most awaited part of the show!  First though, Catherine Zeta Jones sings "All that Jazz" with an impressive live (?) performance.  Then, Jennifer Hudson now to sing her Dreamgirls number "And I Am Telling You." Of course she blows it up from the first note!  Finally, the cast of the Les Mis movie sings live the anthem "One More Day".  Hugh Jackman and Eddie Redmayne can really hit those high notes.  I believe those few wonky bass notes at the end may have come from Russell Crowe.  Haha!  But overall, it was a fantastic song number.  Here is the video:



Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana present the technical awards.  It used to be just a female presenter before.

Mark Wahlberg and and his animated teddy bear co-star Ted (voiced by emcee Seth McFarlane) are presenting together. Will this be another Rob Lowe - Snow White fiasco?  A bit naughty, but not an outright disaster at all.  The Sound Mixing winner is "Les Miserables"! I thought this one was deserving because it must have been a challenge to mis the live singing the cast had to do.  Incredibly, the Sound Editing award ended in A TIE! "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall" share the honor, and both are deserving, as with the other nominees frankly.

McFarlane has a joke about the missing Von Trapp family at the end of "Sound of Music" in order to introduce the next presenter, Christopher Plummer. That was funny. Plummer made a nice note that all these Best Supporting Actress nominees started in their teens.  I actually remember Helen Hunt as a teen in the old Swiss Family Robinson TV series!  Of course, Anne Hathway wins this one. We knew it since that first video of "I Dreamed a Dream" came out even before the movie did.  I am sure her wistful "It came true..." at the beginning of her speech annoyed some people, haha!

Sandra Bullock to present award to Film Editors. I thought this should go to "Argo" for that final sequence at the Teheran Airport alone. And it did!

Jennifer Lawrence introduces Adele to sing "Skyfall". Adele had all her brassy pipes going, but the number was not too impressive for me despite the big choir backing her up.

Nicole Kidman out to introduce the last three Best Pic nominees:  "Silver Linings Playbook," "Django Unchained" and "Amour".

Daniel Radcliffe and a limping Kristen Stewart come out to present the newly named Production Design category (previously known as Art Direction).  I thought the award will go to the very elegant "Anna Karenina".  However, I consider it an upset that the Oscar went to considerably more stuffy set of "Lincoln"! Did not expect that at all.

Selma Hayek presents the Honorary Oscars. One was to a documentarian.  The other went to a stunt man.  The only recognizable name for me was Jeffrey Katzenberg who won the Jean Herscholt award.

Academy Award winner George Clooney presents the In Memoriam segment. Ernest Borgnine. Jack Klugman. Celeste Holm. Michael Clarke Duncan. Charles Durning. Tony Scott. Hal David. Nora Ephron. Ray Bradbury. Richard Zanuck. Marvin Hamlisch.  After this last name, Barbra Streisand pays tribute to Hamlisch by singing "The Way We Were"!

The "Chicago" cast (Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah, Catherine Zeta Jones and Richard Gere) reunites to present the music awards. "Life of Pi" wins for Best Original Score. Deserving.  The Original Song nominees were named.  Norah Jones sings the last nominee live. Very boring song.  Best Original Song is inevitably given to "Skyfall".

Dustin Hoffman and Charleze Theron to present the writing awards.  Adapted Screenplay goes to "Argo". I did so want "Silver Linings" to win this one.  Quentin Tarantino wins Original Screenplay for "Django Unchained" as predicted widely. Great. He is right to say that this is the writers year! All nominees were all too good.

Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda come out to present the award for Best Director.  OMG, the winner is Ang Lee!!!! After Ben Affleck was snubbed, people thought Steven Spielberg will win his third Oscar.  But that was not to be.  I am not unhappy that Ang Lee won.

Jean Dujardin presents the Best Actress award.  Jennifer Lawrence wins it! Yeah! A standing ovation! She trips on her way up the stage!!!

JLaw Trips and Falls on the way to her Oscar

(Photo Credit:  cnn.com)

Seth said, "Our next presenter needs no introduction..." then he just  leaves the stage, and Meryl Streep comes out, to present Best Actor.  The film clip they show for Denzel Washington was one big spoiler for those who have not watched the film!  Daniel Day Lewis wins his THIRD Best Actor Oscar!  He was funny when he quipped that he was up to portray Margaret Thatcher, and that Meryl Streep was Steven Spielberg's first choice for "Lincoln"!  LOL, DDL.

The Four Oscar-Winning Actors Pose Together

(Photo credit: The Oscars FB Page)

Jack Nicholson onstage looking drunk as only he could.  Haha!  Then surprisingly, Michelle Obama and her bangs spoke from the White House by live feed.  They will present Best Picture.  And the Oscar goes to ARGO!  Producer Grant Heslov stood between his co-producers George Clooney and Ben Affleck, and announced "Three sexiest producers alive!" LOL!  Ben Affleck then took the mike to deliver an impassioned thank you speech for his victory.  "Argo" is the first Best Picture without a Best Director nomination since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1989.

The producers of "Argo":  "Three sexiest producers alive!"  LOL!

(Photo credit: The Oscars FB Page)

And just when you thought the show is over, Seth sings one last song dedicated to "losers" with first-time red carpet host Kristen Chenowith. A bit anti-climactic but they ended on one big last note!

Anna Karenina (2012)

February 25, 2013

"Anna Karenina" is a classic in Russian literature by Leo Tolstoi. I only know the basic story about a married Russian aristocrat and her passionate and ill-fated affair with a younger count. I generally do not like stories that deal with adultery. But this one is based on a famous novel which I have not yet read, and this film had multiple Oscar nominations, so I wanted to see how this film directed by Joe Wright will tell the story.

This version of "Anna Karenina" is a beautifully-filmed, technically- polished production. All the technical aspects are practically perfect! The cinematography was breath-taking. The editing was exciting. The production design was impeccable. The music was effectively moving. Joe Wright's idea of setting the story to unfold on a stage was artistic, imaginative and inspired. 

I believe what held this film from being the best it could be was the cast. I know Keira Knightley is a Joe Wright favorite. She had been in his two most famous films, "Pride and Prejudice" (2005) and "Atonement" (2007), both of which had Keira perfectly casted. As Anna, there seemed to be a problem in conveying the motivation for sacrificing her ideal marriage to Karenin (Jude Law in an understated role). 

I think the main problem is the lack of chemistry between Keira and Aaron Taylor-Johnson who played her illicit lover Count Vronsky. If not for that perfectly shot dance scene in the ballroom where Anna and the Count gave in to their lust, the rest of the film will make you wonder what the fuss about the Count was all about. Taylor-Johnson's Vronsky looked pretty, pale, sulky and weak, not the dominating alpha male which would sweep the sophisticated Anna off her feet.

Well, this movie did make me want to seek out the other film versions of the novel for comparison. It also made me want to read the source novel itself to see how such a mundane story of unfaithfulness be as timeless as this one had been. This movie, while beautiful to look at, failed to make me see why.

How I Rank the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film Nominees

February 23, 2013

The Oscar Awards ceremony had been a personal holiday for me for the past years.  I confess that I do not go to work just to watch it live.  In this Internet age, you really need to watch live if you want the suspense of watching any competition event anymore since spoilers come out as it happens.

I have already ranked the Best Picture nominees HERE.

I have already ranked the Best Animated Feature nominees HERE.

I have already ranked the Best Animated Short Film nominees HERE.

So in this post I will rank how I thought the nominees for Best Foreign Language Films stack up.  All the nominees this year are excellent, so I fully recommend that you watch them all if you can.  A couple are a bit difficult to watch because of their sensitive themes and scenes.  This ranking is based on my own enjoyment of each film, and not how I think the Academy will award the winner.

1.  A ROYAL AFFAIR (Denmark)  8/10  CLICK TO READ MY FULL REVIEW

This film is a lavish historical costume drama about how important political reforms were instituted in Denmark as a result of an illicit affair between the Queen and the court physician.  I enjoy movies of this type, especially the history aspect.  The story here was told very well and clearly, holding my interest despite my unfamiliarity with Danish history and the very small screen of the airplane where I watched this.

2.  NO (Chile):  7/10  CLICK TO READ MY FULL REVIEW

This film starring international star Gael Garcia Bernal tells us about the ad campaigns for the 1988 referendum held in Chile, asking the voting public whether they would like to further extend the mandate of President Augusto Pinochet.  This film plays almost like a real documentary film as its scenes were shot in a grainy style as would be expected from news footage from the 80s.  If you do not know if YES or NO would win, there is real suspense.





3.  WAR WITCH (Canada)  7/10  CLICK TO READ MY FULL REVIEW

This is a gritty dirty realistic drama set in sub-Saharan Africa in the midst of a bloody civil war.  We follow two traumatic years in the life of 12-year old Komona as she is forced to grow up in a most violently hellish way.  Of all the films, this was the most difficult to watch because of the graphic violence.  But one cannot deny the excellence of the film in general and especially the compelling bold performance of child actress Rachel Mwanza as Komona.




4.  KON TIKI (Norway)  7/10  CLICK TO READ MY FULL REVIEW

This is a good old-fashioned adventure film based on the published memoirs of Norse adventurer Thor Heyerdahl as he sailed from Peru to Polynesia on a raft made from ancient materials, as he thought aboriginal explorers did before.  I thought the scenes were shot with great cinematography.  However, the obvious lack of dramatic tension makes everything almost too perfect to be believed, but it was certainly not boring.

5.  AMOUR (Austria):  6/10  CLICK TO READ MY FULL REVIEW

This film is among the nominees of Best Picture AND Best Director this year!  The lead actress, 86-year old Emmanuelle Riva, is also nominated for Best Actress.  It almost goes without saying that "Amour" by Michael Haneke is the favored film to win the big prize.  The first two-thirds of the movie was an excellent poignant portrayal of how a debilitating stroke devastates the lives of an elderly couple (portrayed with perfection by Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant).  However, the radical climax is not to my liking, thus negatively affecting my overall ranking.