The Red Carpet

Last night's Oscars might've been deadly dull in the first two hours, only hitting their stride in the last, but they did have a certain welcome glamour not seen in previous editions.

I think its due to the transition from the older generation of Hollywood luminaries of Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor to the younger generation of Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman, finally coming into its own.

It's not surprising that the dresses seen on the Red Carpet this year reminded one of the 1950s more than any other era, one captivating in its silky elegance, with its Marilyn Monroe off-the-shoulder dresses, chignons and beauty marks.

Perhaps the only intrusion into this reverie were some of the tattoos to be seen on the various body parts...not of the men, but of the women who otherwise bedazzled the eye.

Ah well. It can't be 1950 forever.

THE ACADEMY AWARDS 2008-2009

THE QUEEN - Kate Winslet



THE KING - Hugh Jackman



ANNE HATHAWAY

Bad taste in men, terrific taste in clothes.



ANGELINA JOLIE

Actually, she was a bit of a let down. The dress was too simple and the hair looked like something I do when I'm in a hurry to go out, but don't want to look too ratty. And the tats...



EVAN RACHEL WOOD

...ruin even the most delicate of complexions and dress fabric.



AMY ADAMS

Flawless. Impeccable. My favourite ensemble of the night.



AMANDA SEYFRIED

I'm not exactly too up on Miss Seyfried's contributions to the silver screen, but I must say that despite knowing the fashionista critics will not like her dress, I adore it. And my, but doesn't she look like Bette Davis facially though?



JAMES FRANCO

Does he even try? Newfangled "tux". Didn't go to the barbershop for a haircut. Needs teeth whiteners. Catastrophic. How anyone can find him handsome, is beyond me.



NOT A JUDITH LIEBER CLUTCH



NATALIE PORTMAN

She somehow achieves a great look, despite wearing that particular shade of pink that very small women should stay away from. It is her natural beauty which allows it to succeed.



MILEY CYRUS

She's young, and she tried her best to look good (she does) but she needs to learn about good posture. Hannah Montana looks like she's on the holler with two babies on her hips.



MICKEY ROURKE

You might think, "Oh no, Vic is going to skewer Rourke for looking like a schlepp" but I'm actually not. He doesn't look like he rolled out of bed at all. He's just unconventional. I liked it.



MARION COTILLARD

From the side, gorgeous. From the front, the dress looks too shiny and unfortunately makes her look twice her size. Considering she was so nervous in her (touching) presentation, I'll give her a break by saying excellent effort.



QUEEN LATIFAH

Wonderful. Sleek hair and a flattering floor-length dress which shows you that big-boned gals can look good if they know what flatters them.



SOPHIA LOREN

You wish you looked so good at 75.



SARAH JESSICA PARKER

She achieves what she is expected to by her legion of fans. Tastefully sophisticated. I'm just not sure she looks happy.

(She also is beginning to resemble Bette Midler!)



SETH ROGEN

Proving for the millionth time that any man, no matter what kind of a schlubb he is, is improved significantly by such classic attire. I even like Seth's glasses.



BEYONCÉ

Will you tell Daryl Hannah her flippers are missing, or will I?



PHILIPPE PETIT

Give the guy a break. He walked in between the Twin Towers. Mindboggling.



PENELOPE CRUZ

Penelope, it's not your quinces party. This is the Oscars. Come on now.



TINA FEY

Such old world glamour she has. And it's when she puts her hair up that you realise just how much she DOESN'T look like Sarah Palin.



TILDA SWINTON

I'm not sure if it's the haircut, but Tilda looks like my great-uncle Ballard in that frock.



TARAJI HENSON

My third favourite look of the night, after Kate and Amy. Simplicity is best when you have such a naturally radiant face.



THE CAST OF SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

How India must be proud. A credit to dignity everywhere.




ADDED: Close-up of those strange pins Mickey Rourke was wearing with his suit. I was half wanting to inquire if those were MIA pins or what-have-you.

But no. They're lockets containing a photo of his late chihuahua, Loki. Did I tell you that Mickey Rourke is practically my neighbour in South Beach?



The irrepressible walker-of-wires, Philippe Petit, accomplishes something no one is said to have done before. Balancing the Oscar statuette on his chin.

Wow.

Oscars Night

BUMPED: Please scroll down and check the comments section for Oscar 2009 Night Live-Chatting.

Regrettably, Twitter is out, but I will be here and possibly over at Althouse to live comment.

I am extremely annoyed that the Oscar winners have possibly been leaked, since usually I would tell you my predictions beforehand. But the winds seem to have been cut out of my sails, rather, now.

Here is the leaked letter, showing the winners. It's been debunked, of course, but I don't know. The picks look precisely what the Academy would honour.



For a person like me, who so disliked "Slumdog Millionaire" for reasons I have stated innumerable times, it's a disaster if true. Also the fact that "Waltz with Bashir" is not leaked as having won Foreign Picture leaves me cold.

On the other hand, I was fairly sure Kate Winslet would have won for Best Actress, with Amy Adams almost definitely getting the Best Supporting Actress award.

The latter is not because she was so amazing (Adams was good, but her colleague Viola Davis is more deserving), but because she fits the bill perfectly for actresses often honoured by that statuette -- good character actresses, who have an impressive body of work behind them or who give a standout one-time performance, aka the Marisa Tomei Nomination (she already surprised once; I doubt she would repeat) The only other one which qualifies for the body of work is Penelope Cruz, mostly in the Spanish language, and she was going to be my surprise pick.

Mickey Rourke for Best Actor, I can see.

Jenkins is the token "Just Happy to be Nominated" actor, Langella is more suited to the Best Supporting Actor category, whereas Penn has already won it. That leaves Pitt or Rourke, and there is no way Brad Pitt should get anywhere near an actual Oscar win. He's not quite as bad an actor as Tom Cruise, but it's close. Heath Ledger, may God rest him, is a lock for Best Supporting Actor, and we have known that since The Dark Knight debuted.

Instapundit wondered if anyone watches the Oscars anymore. Hardcore fans like me do, but each year has seen an utter decline in viewership.

It's because Hollywood doesn't honour mainstream films as much anymore. Indies are fantastic for people like me, but most could care less about a film like Frozen River. Now, Iron Man even my father would know about. It was a decent film, which furthermore was a box office hit, but it wasn't judged to be worthy of inclusion.

If these popular, worthy films are left out, the Oscars then become a night for insiders to preen, almost as if they didn't need an interested audience. That's why Oscars night have lost their appeal. We are completely superfluous to the process.

I rather suspect this year will be different though. Maybe it's Brangelina being dually nominated, with the casual tabloid turners tuning in. Or maybe it's the fact that I suspect this year people want glamour and fun when our national edifice is so stressed.

It's like Halloween 2008.

I have never seen a livelier Halloween than last year's. Sunday night will turn out a different class of witch, warlock and broomstick all together.

OSCARS 2008-9 NIGHT LIVE-BLOGGING

8:26 PM: The first mention of the night of Louis Prima. I'm sure it won't be the last.

8:29: Amy Adams (Doubt) and her necklace arrive at the Oscars on February 22nd. That's a Harry Winston necklace or my name isn't Ethel McGillicuddy.



8:30: Commenter Laurie has a new crush -- Aussie actor, Hugh Jackman (which has always sounded rather sophmoric to me, like Hugh Arse). He's our host for the evening and personally I couldn't be happier. He seems just the right type of antidote to the Billy Crystal/Whoopi Goldberg/Jon Stewart wisecracks.

Good Lord, he's launched into song. Somewhere up there, near the hanging icicles above the stage, an angel called Ethel Merman is smiling.

8:34: First reference to pubic hair at the Oscars since that streaker interrupted David Niven...

8:35: After a sweet musical number and a quick shower (by me, not Jackman/Hathaway!) we have the first three ex-Best Supporting Actresses up on stage, including last year's winner, Tilda Swinton. Unusually, it is usually one presenter of the opposite sex, who turn up, so this is a change.

8:47: PENELOPE CRUZ! My surprise pick to win this year. And now we have absolute knowledge that the leaked list was totally fake. Starless knew it all along.

Incidentally, is the broadcast rather strange? It looks unusually delayed and therefore static.

8:57: The ex-Mormon screenwriter for MILK wins for Best Original Screenplay, and he's giving a sentimental acceptance speech about living his sexual lifestyle and encouraging kids out there who are in that position, to have hope.

9:00: Simon Beaufroy wins for Best Adapted Screenplay (Slumdog Millionaire). Something strange happened just before. When Langella/Nixon said he orders cheeseburgers, in the excerpted screenplay, something inside me clicked. So I'm off for a moment to grab a burger! I'll be back for the major Awards later.

9:07: WALL-E wins! Of course. That and Ledger winning are the biggest locks this year.

9:28: I asked the restaurant attendant who brought the burger to my car, "are you watching the Oscars inside?". "They are, but I am not. From what I hear, it's really bad." "Heh, yeah, you're not missing much." "I don't even know who is nominated, other than Brad and Angelina."

Says it all, really.

9:29: Digital Animation being honoured, but already there was a reference to Jerry Lewis -- who is finally getting his honourary statuette today.

9:43: James Franco: "Who do you think is the better actor: Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama?"

Sarah Palin, of course.

9:58: I'm not sure if the musical is back, but I sure know the Oscars would be back if they had more Jackman/Beyoncé musical numbers. That was perfect.

10:04: Best Supporting Actor coming up and Laurie has an apposite remark about one of the presenters.

"Lord! I thought Joel Grey was dead!"

10:08: Well done, Heath! You stripped the Joker bare, and what we got was the Ur-Joker -- reinventing the comic book heavy for all time.

Rest In Peace, boyo.

10:15: Philippe Petit, the man who walked between the Twin Towers, got up there and reminded us why the movies work -- magic.

If only others would be more whimsical, and not nearly as too-cool-for-all-of-you, we would have an inkling of what Hollywood used to be like.

10:20: Does Brad Pitt have this Clark Gable look happening? There was a quick shot of him as Benjamin Button's awardees were up on the podium for Visual Effects.

10:30: In an absolutely touching moment, Oom the Sound got a dedicatory Oscar.

10:42: They say (who? sorry a little Wikifying there) Jerry Lewis is a singularly unpleasant person, and has been for years. Nevertheless, he is an American institution, and his good work for his extreme dedication every Labour Day during his telethon should be rewarded. And he is.

Ooh, shot of Sophia Loren. I had no idea she was there, God bless her.

11:21: Danny Boyle is accepting in the spirit of Tigger from Winnie The Pooh. That sums up this quixotic night perfectly.

As for the new format, with the Director award going before the Big Actor/Actress ones, what can I say -- do not like.

11:33: Kate Winslet's dad just whistled, and we have an iconic Oscars moment right now.

I do not like the format change, but I admit that having the 5 legendary actresses presenting each individual nomination for each actress made it perfect. They are five Oscars incarnate.

11:39: Robert DeNiro: Talking about Penn who "advises world leaders", oh God. That includes Saddam Hussein. Jesus Christ.

Peggy commented:

I noticed that Marion had the envelope...and Kate won...does this mean that Frank Langella will win? Michael Douglas has the envelope?

Let's see!

11:44: You Commie, homo-loving sons of guns says Penn on accepting his Oscar, besting Mickey Rourke in the category.

I'm bereft, but not because Penn didn't deserve it. It's just that he's won before...incidentally, TIBORE totally called it before.

Okay... I have this funny feeling that Sean Penn's going to upset Mickey Rourke for Best Actor.

Hate to say it, but that's the vibe I'm getting.

The Fake List is well and truly fake.

11:55: Finally, Slumdog Millionaire wins for BEST PICTURE, and all is all right in the world again.

I have to say that ultimately, I thought this tidy Oscars was an unusual mixture of graciousness and grappling awkwardness. I do not think it does anything for a generation which is each time further removed from the Old Hollywood Glamour of actors whose names they do not even know anymore.

It's very little wonder then, that the Oscars are still waited with baited breath abroad, but most people have long since turned in for the night?

Not Sundries commenters though. And here I would like to add a very humble thanks to all who turned this thread into a monumental success.

I couldn't have reached 200 plus comments without you all. Thank you SO MUCH for honouring this blog with your presence.

Carry on, guys!

ADDED INFO: My Twitter page. When Peggy Gero DaValt joined, I found a little Dutch courage by pouring a G and T, and joined too. All of that is true, except the Gin and Tonic.

I Am King Of The Matrix

What would happen if you combined two of the most iconic movie moments of the 1990s, in the form of Titanic and The Matrix?

This.

Scheduling Conflict

As you know, I never miss a Brazilian carnival nor do I miss the Oscars. Unfortunately, this Sunday I will have to miss largely one or the other. It's first day of the famous Samba Schools Grupo A in the Sambodromo float parade, as well as Oscar Night!

I am actually interested in this year's Oscars, too, as I believe 2008 was especially a good year in film. But who can resist the pull of the heady sensual Rio carnival?

Share your opinions about which one I should watch live. As I have a DVD-R (not a DVR), it's very much an either/or situation, I'm afraid.

In other words, do my readers want more of this?



Or this?

Jonathan Ross' Bafta Lispth

I had forgotten just how annoying Jonathan Ross' lisp was, after emigrating from the UK.

I am currently watching the Baftas, which were handed out just a few hours ago -- where he as host gave a little shoutout to Kate Winslet in the audience, not just teasing her about her two nominated films, and I quote:

"The Weader and Wevolutionawy Woad"

...but about her melodramatic weepiness at the Golden Globes.

"As long as you do it in a crisp 30 seconds, we're not going to complain. And just in case emotion does get the better of you -- and I think you know who I am talking about...KATE.

Camera pans to Winslet trying to fake-laugh her way through the joke.



And yes that is Robert Downey Jr. showing his gum to the world through parted lips. You stay classy, Robert.

However, Team Brangelina looked less amused. Brad Pitt has the face of a guy of our generation being stuck in a Joey Heatherton roast during the Buddy Hackett segment.



I'll be back with more thoughts after I finish watching it on the DVD-R. By way of spoiler, though, let's just say that Slumdogging is all the rage at the moment. Blech.

Related

The 2008 Oscars Nominations

The Darkest Knight

Christian Bale's rant is now up there with the Yeaaahhhhhh! of Howard Dean, in terms of remixes, and funny edits.

"Oh goooooood! For youuuu! And how was it?"



(His Welshie accent has definitely become Americanised. He'll be in Catherine Zeta-Jones territory in a moment)

The 2008 Oscars Nominations

Please consider this a place-holder post for Oscars nominations talk. Having welched on my promise to write that Christmas Movie Guide for you, I will be taking this post more seriously.

Meanwhile, please consider my own predictions for the nominations to follow. Remember, this is not my choice for each category, given a personal preference. Just what I think the Academy will honour today.

EDIT NOON EST: Yikes, after staying up until the wee hours, I fell asleep shortly before the announcements! I have updated the post below, with the actual nominees, with my earlier picks being striked out.

But let me say that CANNOT BELIEVE The Dark Knight and Gran Torino didn't get nods. The Dark Knight was the best American fim of 2008, for chrissakes! Just further proof that Hollywood is extraordinarily out of touch with the rest of America and even critical acclaim. Apparently, a story about a paedolphile female Nazi was judged to have been worthier than a film which turned a whole genre on its head. Ugh. And no Sally Hawkins!?

I am so upset, I can barely write.

BEST PICTURE

Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Reader
Milk
Frost-Nixon

The Dark Knight

BEST ACTOR

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button)

Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)

BEST ACTRESS

Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

Kristin Scott Thomas (I Have Loved You A Long Time)
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
1/2 correct: Kate Winslet Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

Leonardo Di Caprio (Revolutionary Road)
Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Taraji P. Henson (Benjamin Button)
Amy Adams (Doubt)

Kate Winslet (The Reader)

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
David Fincher (Benjamin Button)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)

FOREIGN FILM

Waltz With Bashir (Israel, Folman)
Revanche (Austria, Spielmann)
The Class (France, Cantet)
Departures (Japan, Takita)
The Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany, Edel)

3 Monkeys (Turkey, Ceylan)

COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES

Incidentally, it's a travesty that Gomorra, from Italy, didn't make the shortlist of 9 foreign films. That is one of the best movies of the past year, full stop.

Having said that, maybe this is a good moment to give you one of those Americanised Top 10 Movies lists.

THE BEST MOVIES OF 2008

1. The Dark Knight
2. Happy-Go-Lucky
3. Gomorra
4. Wall-E (esp. the first-half)
5. Waltz with Bashir
6. Wendy And Lucy
7. Silent Light
8. Man On Wire
9. The Edge of Heaven
10. Revolutionary Road

REVISED: You know what? I took out Slumdog Millionaire: ultimately, I think it is worthy obviously, but it leaves me utterly cold. I also took out Boy In the Striped Pyjamas, because it was more manipulative than perhaps I am willing to admit.

I didn't include marvels like the Romanian 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 Days or Russia's Aleksandra, not because I didn't rate them, but because I feel they belong in last year's crop. In fact, I loved both these films very much. I also didn't include films such as "Rachel Getting Married" or France's "Flight Of The Red Balloon", despite them being high on many lists. I didn't care for either film. Ditto for "Taxi to the Darkside" or the Che series, yuck.

Alas, I haven't been able to watch a film Peggy Gero DaValt recommended, "Synecdoche, New York". The same is true with Cantet's "The Class".

Here are professional critics' Top 10 lists (in Roger Ebert's case, Top 20). I would say I have seen a good 60% of those listed.

But I will skin anyone alive if they put The Visitor as one of the best films of 2008, however good were the performances by Richard Jenkins and his Palestinian actress counterpart, Hiam Abbass.

Sundance Opens And Obama Is Front And Centre

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off January 15, fortuitously for the host town, suffering from the recession.

You know that the film makers invited would not let Barack Obama's election pass uncelebrated by them, and so it is. Like a benevolent, but anticipated Big Brother, he's everywhere in Park City, Utah.

Walküre

My God, Tom Cruise should quit Hollywood, and always act speaking in German. He sounds as if he's actually a good actor in this clip. That's some kind of dubbing, man.

Valkyrie looks amazing in this trailer. The reality was a hodge-podge of good scenes, with a middling range of others.



(Remember when watching this film was the only impediment I stated to Sundries readers, that prevented me from writing up that Movie Guide? Meh, I'm bad)

Bareback Mountain

I was passing along a side street when I chanced on this tourism agency which I think caters to a certain type of clientele. They not only offer the "Gertrude Stein Tour to France", but also the "Brokeback Mountain Experience".

Tent included.



Incidentally, you know the last actor to win the supporting Oscar posthumously? It was Australian Peter Finch for that iconic performance in "Network" -- "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not taking it anymore!".

I think he'll be joined in the ranks of the Oscar-possessors by his fellow Aussie up in heaven, Heath Ledger.

Shhhh

We've all been there.

Watching a movie, when suddenly you realise the couple in front of you, or the kids in back of you, or the group of teenies to the side of you...will be talking throughout the whooooole daaamn film. Worst yet, if you tell them to be quiet, you are instantly the bad guy, and you know, you just don't want to be the bad guy.

It's not wrong to want a relatively quiet movie-going experience.

Yet, frankly, I like overhearing comments throughout the film. It's one of the reasons I delight in actually frequenting cinemahouses. If I wanted to be alone, with no one interrupting the flick, I'd stay at home.

But guess what? I've been the bad guy.

If it's an 8 PM movie, in a sold-out adult environment, and there are people talking at the top of their lungs, I will either shush them from my seat, or actually go up to them and politely ask them to hush now. If it's a matinée at a kiddie flick, I take my lumps.

The one thing I wouldn't do, however, is to take my Saturday Night Special and shoot them in the arm for talkin' over Brad Pitt.

Which is precisely what this mook did. Meet James Joseph Cialella Jr, 29, of Philly. He shot a man in the arm in a crowded Christmas Day showing of "Benjamin Button". IN FRONT OF THE MAN'S FAMILY.



I'll let that sink in for a bit.

Whilst I do, let me say that this is one of those American horror stories that makes every headline in all the foreign newspapers as proof-positive that (a) Americans are nuts (b) Americans are nuts with guns (c) America should immediately ban firearms of any kind, and then tulips and candy apples will rain forth from the sky.

We all know this is an one-in-a-million story, but it's as naught to actually tell foreigners that, because to them every similar incident is just another Columbine or Virginia Tech. Nuance, you see, is for cannibals in Papua New Guinea. Americans should be judged and judged HARD.

Now let's get back to the mook. This is the story. On Christmas DAY, mind you.

Police were called to the Riverview Theatre in the 1400 block of Columbus Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. where the gunshot victim, a Philadelphia man who was not identified, told police a man sitting near him told his family to be quiet and threw popcorn at his son.

After exchanging words, Vanore said Cialella allegedly got out of his seat to confront the family when the father got up to protect them. That's when the victim was shot once in the left arm, sending others in the theatre running to safety.

Cialella then sat down to watch the movie. Police arrived a short time later and arrested Cialella and confiscated his weapon, Vanore said.

This blows my mind.

He sat back down and continued watching the movie 'cause it ain't no thing? I guess he thought once he had taken care of bidness, and shot the guy, he would have peace and quiet all around him, instead of mad screams of a rushing crowd desperate to get out?

On the heels of the Wal-Mart guy tragically trampled by Black Friday crowds (another chance for anti-American sentiment in international newspaper headlines, incidentally), you'd think there would've been more than one person hurt, but thankfully, the man survived the gunshot, and no one else was injured in the fracas.

There used to be a cinemahouse in downtown Miami with a similar reputation. It was inside the Omni mall -- an AMC deep inside its bowels. I went years and years ago, completely oblivious to the fact that there had been more than one woman raped there, and that patrons had complained of rats scurrying and even fleas springing from the floorboards. FLEAS.

Oh my God, how did we live before the internet?

Because today, before I so much as head out to a moviehouse I do not know, I check out the online reviews in three places.

At Cinema Treasures, for the history.
At CinemaTour, for the photos.
At InsiderPages, for the comments.

If you think this is too much bother, you're obviously not scared of being raped or getting shot.

Say one day I got it into my head to go to Philadelphia, and by miracle found myself near the Riverview Theatre. Having my laptop handy, I instantly would've known to make a beeline out of there. Reviews do not lie, my friends. Five reviews, not one positive word to say.

horrendous! 1 Star Rating - Unsatisfactory

While the theater itself is a good size the people that frequent this place are pros at ruining what should be a great experience. I've been there four times on four different days of the week at four different times of day for four different types of movies and it never seems to matter. It's not one or two groups that talk to each other and on their phones through the movie, it's 70% of the people in there! Nevermind the slews of baby carriages carrying all different ages of children into R-rated shows. (Infants - todlers - pre-teens) Not once have I ever had a pleasant time there. Far below acceptable!

PROS: Nothing
CONS: every person that walks in there

DON'T DO IT! 1 Star Rating - Unsatisfactory

I live only a few blocks away from this theatre - yet, I will drive all the way to Cherry Hill, NJ to attend a movie. Riverview is GHETTO! It's full of riff-raff. If you feel like hearing people talk throughout the movie or if you feel like having your feet stick to the floors, I highly recommend Riverview! Otherwise, go to Lowe's Theatre in Cherry Hill!

Too Bad! 1 Star Rating - Unsatisfactory

I cannot sit thru a movie without being annoyed every minute that I am there. I read the reviews posted here. I must agree that convenience is not the answer. DO I want to be annoyed? So now I stay home until I can travel to a safe venue.

This place sounds like a horror story. So how come I know that, and Mr. Local Mook did not? What did he expect from a place with this kind of clientele and reputation?

Sometimes people blow their tops, especially when provoked an infinitessimal amount of times. Big cities tend to do that to folks. Remember Michael Douglas in Falling Down?

Now, I don't know this James Joseph Cialella Jr from Adam Sandler, but he doesn't strike me as a meek guy who suddenly tired of the urban rat race.

He looks like a mook. He acted like a mook. He is a mook, same as the rest of that lot.

The moral of the story is, what did you expect? It's a bad area. Go somewhere else for peace and quiet, unless you want to be the REALLY BAD GUY. IN PRISON.

About Those Movies

As you can imagine, I am angry I didn't get off the Movie guide on time. I am working on it, in between family time.

However, just to get the ball rolling, here are Box Office Mojo's poll's partial results, on the films its readership would like to see this weekend.

What is your top choice to see Christmas weekend (Dec. 25-28)

37.7% The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
13.4% Valkyrie
10.8% Bedtime Stories
9.2% The Spirit
5.3% Marley and Me
5.1% No interest this weekend.
4.0% Twilight
3.1% Slumdog Millionaire
2.2% Yes Man
2.0% The Day the Earth Stood Still
1.7% Other
1.6% Seven Pounds
1.6% Doubt
0.9% Bolt
0.8% The Tale of Despereaux
0.6% Four Christmases

I voted for Valkyrie, which my father has been in a tizzy to see particularly. Strange really, considering his father was on the other side in WWII, and never let my mother forget it...

As for "Despereaux", I am giving it a good review overall, because I liked the film's self-confidence. However, it is definitely not for kids under 10 as it has quite scary visuals, which robs it of its natural appeal. But I can see why very few people have it high on their viewing list this Christmas season.

Oh and whilst I am at it, "Four Christmasses" should not be viewed by any sentient human being.

Given that South Florida has a plethora of wonderful movie theatres, I like to choose the atmosphere of one cinemahouse over the other, given the kind of film I am watching. That's why I went to the Regal Palace in Westchester for Andy Garcia's "The Lost City", because I knew the old Cubanitos that go there would be the perfect receptive audience.

(To this day, it ranks as one of the most moving collective movie-going experiences I have had. The entire audience started clapping at the end, since they had lived through what Garcia had explored. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful to be a part of that audience)

So it'll be the Muvico Parisian for "Benjamin Button" as it requires a plush, elegant seat for a nearly three-hour film; the Muvico Paradise for "Marley & Me" for the raucous family atmosphere; and the best cinemahouse in the world, the Muvico Palace in Boca Raton, for "Valkyrie". I already have the tickets (it sold out on Tuesday).

P.S.: I've also already chosen what I'll be wearing to each cinemahouse, but I'll spare you the details. Or maybe start a new blog, "What is Victoria wearing?".

Coming Soon

Last year, I offered up my Christmas Movie Guide, and I intend on doing the same this year, hopefully in time for this weekend. If there is any special film you are interested in hearing my viewpoint on, please post it in the comments section.

I've been racking up the film miles of late, and tomorrow, I intend on watching the otherwise hateful Sean Penn, in "Milk".

As a sneak peak, let me just say the best film I've watched so far this season is "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas", adapted from John Boyne's book.

It's hard to describe the feel of this layered film. It reminds one of Egon Monk's Die Geschwister Oppermann (perhaps the best rendering of the early Nazi period I've ever watched on German television), Spielberg's Schindler's List, and a dash of The Omen too. I think it's those eyes.



See you in the third row from the back!

Prince Bond

Princes William and Harry make their first appearances as royal guests-of-honour at the new Bond film's world premiere in London.

"Quantum of Solace" (Worst. Bond. Film. Name. Ever.) was shown to a star-studded audience at the Odeon in Leicester Square.

Here they are, braving the artic conditions with their shiny red noses, and impeccable smokings.

So I Saw "W"

I snuck into a showing of Ollie Stone's "W" this Sunday. I rarely perform the switcheroo, but I was durned if my hard-earned dollars would reflect positively for him, at the box office.

I don't know what I expected, but I walked away feeling half-amused.

Sure, it's mainly a hatchet job that takes literary license with its protagonist's life, but it wasn't entirely unsympathetic to the man. Brolin boiled President Bush down to what presumably Stone believes is his essence -- the jokey scion of a high-achieving family who has a daddy complex; a man-child incapable of introspection, just "Christianist" belief. Brolin plays him as a person with no inner monologue. What you see, is what you get and what you get is a man in perpetual motion.

But it wasn't savagely negative. Hang on though. Maybe there is something at work here, that allows me to view "W" this way.

Perhaps like with Palin's SNL skits, which many liberals and yes some conservatives thought "sandbagged" her, I didn't think they were so bad because I expected far, far worse. After all, after 7 weeks of incessant degrading commentary about Palin, and nearly 8 years of the same for George W. Bush, I have heard every negative spin on these two to know what unfairness is.

Perhaps like a battered wife, who flinches when a kiss is coming simply because she is used to expecting the punch not the love, I am grateful for the gentleness.

Thus, even though the criticism is palpable to others, I am grateful for any crumb of leniency on the part of my usual aggressor.

When the film was over, my opinion was semi-confirmed by the commentaries of the audience as they filed out. I kept my ears open, of course.

"What did you think of it?"
"Eh."
"It was sympathetic to him."
"Yeah, I was expecting more hate."

Even though Stone tried a similar psycho-history approach in Nixon, I suppose that was my same reaction too.

"Yeah, I was expecting more hate."

So thanks for the crumbs, Mr. Stone. I'll take 'em.

P.S.: Look at this photo. Real Dubya? Or Brolin?



That's Brolin, "Rove", with Millie and Barney. The physical resemblence is striking. From the mouth up, identical.

It's Brolin, not Fey who should be remembered for the best political "impersonation" this year. But he won't be. His was genuine acting.

Hype vs. W

"Hype: The Obama Effect" will be coming to a theatre near you, when it's released on September 1st.



But so will Oliver Stone's "W" movie, on President George W. Bush, due out on 22 October.



One can say many things about both films.

One has a credible, Oscar-winning director behind it, the other a group of concerned conservatives who call themselves "Citizens United".

One is going to be released after the Democratic National Convention. The other days before the US Presidential election (the better to remind people what they went through for 8 years, or so Stone and his co-ideologues hope).

If Senator Obama loses, be sure this completely unheralded, minor, badly distributed film on the Democratic nominee will be blamed for his demise. It'll be the 2008 equivalent of the Swiftboat Veterans ad.

But if Senator McCain loses, no one will point to the cynically-debuted, hatchet job film on a Republican by Oliver Stone.

Republicans don't blame the messengers. They just pay attention to the message.

Summer '08 Film Guide

Much promised, I still haven't gotten around to composing the Summer '08 Film Guide. I'll try to cobble one out soon.

Although I'll just say here and now that I loved Catman! Kitty Ledger stole the show, though.

If I'm Blogging At Midnight

That means despite having bought Midnight-oh-one tickets to watch "The Dark Knight", I didn't make it.

I passed by my local cinema at around 4 PM, and the queues were already AROUND THE BLOCK. I tried to approach it again at 10:00, but it looked like Elvira Does Early Halloween. It was wall-to-wall Heath Ledger make-up wearing Jokers, and their emo girlfriends.



So here I am, blogging about not having attended the premiere. I'm going tomorrow night to the Premier in Boca, though. It's worth the one hour trip to do it in the lap of luxury.

Stay tuned for a review, this weekend.

Sex And The Gertrude Stein Look-A-Like

I finally saw Sex And The City this weekend, and let me say that for the first hour I was a pig in muck, I mean! a diva in Prada.

It was everything one expected it to be, and more since the storyline was extremely well-crafted, with pitch-perfect acting performances by Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker, especially.

Unfortunately, I thought Kim Catrall's part was underwritten, perhaps a nasty testament to her having held out for so long. She had always been the sexiest of the four ladies, as everyone knows -- but in the cable show, her 28 minutes left you wanting more and never thinking she was a hideous caricature of a 40-plus strumpet. What a shame then, the celluloid Samantha Jones descended into sad farce.

Kristin Davis' part was as usual, ditzy. She's the most centered, fulfilled of the four and her character is as grating as ever.

Cynthia Nixon's taut, cynical Miranda was certainly always the most real, most well-defined persona of the four ladies, arguably, even better than Carrie Bradshaw's.

She was the character which allowed a peep of reality into an otherwise preposterously, but deliciously glamourous show. The film didn't disappoint, with her able on-screen husband David Eigenberg providing the most throat-catching storyline of the four.

I can cope with reality. I welcome it. And yes, I knew that Cynthia Nixon was soon to wed her long-time love, Christine Marioni.

I just had not, until this moment, clapped eyes on the pair.



Well, what can you say.

Sometimes it is better not to know too much about celebrities. Anyway...Mazel Tov, Cynthia. Enjoy it -- whilst it lasts.

Flixster Namesakes

Social networking sites like MySpace and Friendster have revolutionised how we interact online, as much, if not more than blogs because they are proactive, rather than often reactive like blogs are.

Participation, not lurking, is what keeps them going since the experience is lessened if you don't join in the fun.

(And have you noticed that seemingly all "third-wave" inventions have a way of becoming unbelievably addictive? From the internet itself, to such things as gaming, to Youtube, as well as Facebook I've heard, are all time-wasting portals of drastic proportions. Who said modern man has a short attention span? It's just selfish, is all)

So it was without too much amazement that I heard from Renato, that the Friendster idea has been made into a niche market for us cinephiles.

Flixster is here!

...well, it's been here since January 2006, but you get the picture.

Anyone of you on Flixster already?

I am about to join, but I dread falling under the spell of its addictiveness, if only for that first week when all you do, is haunt and lurk its site (first night I was on Youtube, I was on from 11 PM to 6 AM, straight).

We'll see if I join, because anything which takes me away from Sundries, and therefore, my friends here, is not something I like.

Still, finding people who actually can speak for hours about a given film which no one around me knows, or I think doesn't know -- that's a boon, I must say, even if my particular readership here is unusually gifted in being able to speak knowledgeably about many films.

Since we're on the topic, allow a quick review of the latest film I've seen this month, The Namesake.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

-- As an aside, you know me. Rare, rare is the weekend where I don't stuff my face with at least 2 films at the cinemas. But since February, I've seen oh, maybe, 5 films? Including Breach and 300, the first of which I thought almost cartoonishly anti-Catholic, the second of which I rather enjoyed, actually. --

I don't know about your previews, but my cinema chains were heavily HEAVILY promoting trailers of The Namesake, even months away from its premiere.

Having been thus primed, it was a film I couldn't wait to see, because it seemed like a suitably interesting film amongst the dreck of the New Year, the traditional time when the studios throw their worst films at us, the viewing public.

What, after all, is not to like about The Namesake, given my own background?

A coming-of-age movie about a young immigrant who learns to appreciate his parents' culture, and who finds an inner peace about his sometimes irascible relationship with his father, as he does so.

Maybe not exactly my case, but close enough.

For those of us who are both repelled and attracted in turns by Bollywood films, it also seemed like a respite from all the corny sashaying and endless musical numbers which one gets, like it or not, from such productions.

Also, it didn't look like one of those cutesy pictures like Bend it Like Beckham or Bhajji on the Beach, which no matter how much I liked (and I did), were still minor comedies at best.

Finally, I thought, a serious film about a topic which is truly universal: learning to grow up and awakening parts of one, we didn't know existed so deeply inside us.

Alas, alas, The Namesake fell well short of its appointed rounds.

I have not read the book of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, so perhaps those of you who did, might be better disposed towards the film.

Certainly that happened to me with Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, which I walked out of because I have KNOWN people like him, and his mother, and thus was deeply discomfitted to see it laid out before me (Annette Benning was terrific, though).





The story revolves around a man who has a life-altering event occur to him as he is reading Nikolai Gogol's story, The Overcoat, which incidentally I adore.

He decides to emigrate to America, and some time later, comes back to India so that his parents may find him a suitable wife. They do, and the couple moves together to America, where they eke out a cold, humble existence in New York, where their son is born, then their daughter.

In memory of that life-altering event, the man names his son Gogol, who as can be imagined, hates his name because of its tease-making quality at school.

But is it his first name, or his parents' alien culture that Gogol hates? As you can imagine, it's all interrelated, which we know, but it takes him almost a lifetime to come to terms with, sped up after a tragedy in his life alters his way of thinking.

As you can see, the story outline itself is fascinating. One is gripped by a simple story of angst and reconciliation.

The story's strong suit are the two minor leads -- the father, played with deft elegance by Irffan Khan, and the mother (who is perhaps too pretty and young, not to mention statuesque throughout, to be properly convincing), Bollywood leading actress, Tabu.

When their story is the focus of the film, in effect, in the first hour, the story glides effortlessly, though not without flaws.

The scenes of assimilation are almost all rehashed from a million tales of immigration (we know that Ashima is going to find it difficult to cope with the cooker and the laundrette -- give us something different!).

But when the couple is together, there is a tenderness, an INDIANNESS that is lovely to behold.

Enter Gogol.

Maybe it hurt that I had recently seen Kal Penn in the abysmal "Epic Movie" (yes, what? I love spoofs) but let me say, he is perhaps the worst actor I've seen in a while.

His torturedly American diction doesn't help matters, and his delivery thus is encumbered by some kind of self-conscious patter which makes his lines fall flat before they are out of his mouth. Ack, he's so distracting!

Neither he, nor his wife, nor indeed, his sister in the film add anything to its storyline, and that's not even mentioning the completely forgettable role played by Jacinda Barrett (playing yet another upset would-be bride, as she did in The Last Kiss).

From start to finish, The Namesake promised much, and gave so very little for what its trailer represented it to be.

Watching that, you'd think the story centred around Gogol returning to India to find his roots, only then realising how treasured his ancestry was and what his parents meant to him, and thus primed for that, we looked for a kind of epiphany which never came.

Look, it's not My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with its weedy stupid storyline, but neither is it Maria Full of Grace which was starkly bitter.

I couldn't help thinking that the 3-hanky weepie, The Joy Luck Club, did a much better job with the little they were given to work with, only by the charisma of its secondary actors.

The Namesake couldn't even muster that. As they say, wait for the DVD.

Ah well. We'll just have to see what other film is out there for us adults to enjoy.


QUICK SPRING 2007 MOVIE GUIDE

Well, since we're on the topic, and you'll perhaps remember my Christmas Movie Guide 2006, here are some quick reviews which might be of some interest to you.


Zodiac

A lengthy film (almost 3 hours long) which doesn't get bogged down in its own detective worship, unlike so many crime thrillers around (Black Dahlia comes to mind, achingly).

Whilst not as good as the stellar reviews said, it still is a churning search for the Zodiac killer which haunted the Bay Area in the 1970s. Stage veteran, Mark Ruffalo, yet again shows why he is one of the more exciting actors around.


GRADE: A-


Meet the Robinsons

The surroundings, which will soon be blogged on Sundries, were the highlight of this film for me, not the actual movie which was trite almost to a sacchrine degree. Walt Disney isn't capable of producing that age-defining film anymore, and that's a shame.

If you get to see it on 3-D, do. If not, forget about it.

GRADE: C+


Breach

Oh God. If it's not the hysterical anti-Catholicism of the Da Vinci Code, it's this winter's little gift box from satan, Breach.

Sure, Robert Hanssen's story is definitely worth telling, because it was the worst breach of security in our nation's history. But unlike the other recent spy stories, this was given the nod by Hollywood presumably because Hanssen's motivation wasn't JUST greed -- it was fame, intertwined with a malevolent Opus Dei personality.

Upshot, Catholics bad. Catholic spies, worse, and hypocrites to boot.

GRADE: C-


300

Are you kidding me? If you come for a rendition of the Battle of Thermopylae as presented by Herodotus, save your money.

But if you come for a rollicking good time, filled with mythic warriors who acted as larger-than-life on screen as they were in real life, enjoy this film.

It was a ROMP, one that I wish the studios would make more often. It had the quality, and joyfulness of a good-old-fashioned Hollywood epic, even dire ones, like Clash of the Titans.

GRADE: A-

(Soon to watch: Iraq in Fragments, Miss Potter, Inland Empire, Colour Me Kubrick, Offside, Summer in Berlin, Disturbia, Lonely Hearts, Grindhouse. Stay tuned...)