“A paraplegic lesbian math genius”

While I’m delaying my aforementioned HJNTIY post (I promise I’m not putting any thought into it), here’s a gem from Ross Douthat on the absurdity of the Oscars*

Obviously, there’s a long tradition of giving great actors their Oscars for the wrong movies (see Pacino, Al, and many others), and Winslet’s award will be a reward not only for The Reader but for Little Children and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and even Titanic, among many other fine performances. And when Hathaway wins her Oscar in 2017 or so, Rachel Getting Married will doubtless be one of the movies on the Academy’s mind when they reward her for playing Marie Curie, or a paraplegic lesbian math genius, or the wife of a concentration camp commandant who falls in love with a Jewish prisoner, or whatever.

*I’ll watch anyway, as I always do.  I have high hopes for Hugh Jackman as host.

Valkyrie

I was happy to see this one do reasonably well in crowded Christmas weekend.  Tom Cruise remains a solid actor (an with skilled thespians Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, and Eddie Izzard in the cast, Cruise shows he can hold his own).  Moreover, Bryan Singer knows how to direct a thriller, and Valkyrie is probably his best film yet (The Usual Suspects, while entertaining, is one of the most overrated films of all time).

As others have said, what’s amazing about Valkyrie is how thrilling it is even though you know how it ends.  Fortunately for Singer & company, most in the audience (the American audience, anyway) don’t know much about his particular episode in history.  Singer, I think, was largely counting on the audience’s ignorance, especially with regard to how close the attempted coup was to being a successful coup.  You’ll know better, but as the conspirators piece-by-piece take over Nazi Germany, you think they just might get away with it.  If only.

Hollywood’s Cyrstal Ball

Before I get back to the all-important most date-able TV characters list (soon, I promise!), I’d like to briefly dissect this ridiculous piece by Mike LaSalle.

He poses a question: Did the Hollywood films of 2008 predict the economic collapse of 2008? Instead of just answering “No” and moving on to something — anything — else, LaSalle wrote this:

It would be too neat to say that 2008’s movies explicitly anticipated the financial crisis, but a recurring theme of civic catastrophe haunted the year, repeatedly telling us that something wasn’t right, that things had spun out of control and that our institutions were on the brink of systemic failure.

How on earth is this theme unique to the films of 2008? Has LaSalle seen any other movie released, well, in any other year? His evidence:

This theme crossed genres and fueled movies of varying quality. “Eagle Eye” was a likable but silly action ride, in which an all-knowing computer creates havoc and comes within one second of wiping out the entire U.S. government. “Blindness” showed how helpless our society might be in the face of a sudden epidemic. “City of Ember,” a futuristic fantasy, depicted a postapocalyptic underground society, days away from collapse, run by greedy, shortsighted government officials. “WALL-E,” an animated postapocalyptic fantasy, depicted an Earth wiped out by pollution, in which survivors lived on a spaceship.

I can play this game too.  Live Free or Die Hard (2007) was a likeable but silly action ride, in which a human hacker creates havoc and comes within one second of wiping out the entire U.S. government. Children of Men (2006) showed how helpless our society might be in the face of a sudden epidemic.  V for Vendetta (2006), a futuristic fantasy, depicted a dystopian society run by greedy, shortsighted government officials.  Apocalypto (2006) depicted an entire civilization wiped out by pollution.

Why Christopher Nolan Is the Best Contemporary Film Director

Besides of course being 6-for-6 in feature films (if you haven’t seen his debut film, Following, watch it immediately).

From USA Today (emphasis mine):

Many consider Heath Ledger, who died of a prescription overdose on Jan. 22, a shoo-in for a supporting-actor nomination. But fans won’t find much more of Ledger’s Joker in DVD extras. There are features on the staging of the film’s elaborate stunts, alternate angles and a segment on the technology behind Batman’s gadgets, but not a single deleted scene or outtake from Ledger’s performance.

Nolan says he wasn’t keeping deleted scenes from fans. “For my past three films, I really haven’t had scenes that didn’t make it in the movie,” he says. “If it’s in the final script, I tend put it on screen.”

Few things anger me more than a surplus of deleted scenes — and especially, alternate endings — on a DVD.  There’s typically a reason they were cut in the first place.  The only exceptions I can think of are Christopher Guest or Judd Apatow movies, where deleted scenes might still be funny in their own right but perhaps don’t serve the film’s narrative.

Though he isn’t signed for a third film Batman flick, Nolan says he has started outlining possible story ideas:

“It was obvious when the box office was so big ($530 million domestically) that we had underestimated how ready fans were to reboot the franchise,” he says. “The worst thing you could do now that you’ve gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing.“

I’m obviously not alone in hoping Nolan makes a third film.  What’s important is that he gets it right, and he seems determined to do just that.

Hat tip: BOF

Bond vs. Bourne, Continued

Via Dark Horizons, two bits of spy flick news.

1) Daniel Craig says the next 007 film won’t be a direct sequel like Quantum of Solace was to Casino Royale, but the Quantum organization’s presence may still be felt.  More importantly, he’s up for adding Q and Moneypenny.  Maybe I was right:

The filmmakers used the gun barrel at the end of the film as a punctuation mark, as if to say “Bond is now Bond.”

And Felix is Felix, and M is M.  Bring on the whole gang.

2) Uber-producer Frank Marshall discusses the future of the Bourne saga.  Universal basically has the rights to Robert Ludlum’s non-Bourne books, and apparently Marshall and company are considering using The Parsifal Mosaic as the backbone of the next Bourne film.  I haven’t read that one, but I’m a big fan of many of Ludlum’s books (it still suprises me how long it took for Hollywood to discover their potential as films).  But: I’d rather see them incorporate the Carlos storyline from the Bourne books.

Give Bond his friends, and give Bourne his nemesis!

“Sex Should Not Be Advertised”

Dan Drezner refuses to live in a world in which Mr. & Mrs. Smith is deemed the third sexiest movie ever by Entertainment Weekly.  I refuse to live in a world in which people read Entertainment Weekly.

Meaning of post title (and a recreation of my favorite “sex” scene ever) here.

For Your Consideration

Despite the awful winners, stupid rules, and boring telecasts, I’m a sucker for the Oscars.  And so I always get excited this time of year when awards buzz picks up, even though I’m typically unable to see most of the movies nominated.

Most interesting to me: the “For Your Consideration” sites the studios put online to promote their films to Academy voters.  Typically, these sites at minimum list showtimes for special screenings so voters can get another chance to see the films on the big screen.

Of course, those screenings are only for the some 6000 Academy members who get to vote.  So what do these sites offer the rest of us?

Besides the immense pleasure we get from learning that Disney is actively campaigning to get High School Musical 3 a Best Picture nomination (check for yourself if you don’t believe me), we get access to free, legit PDFs of many great screenplays.  Many of the sites also sample potential contenders for Best Original Score.

Since there doesn’t appear to be a single list for available scripts, I thought I’d compile what I found here (Note: this list may be incomplete, and I may update it as more screenplays become available).  Broken down by studio:

Walt Disney Studios is campaigning on behalf of Bolt, Miracle at St. Anna, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Wall-E, and the aforementioned HSM:3.  The only available screenplay is Wall-E, which has a pretty good shot at getting a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Miramax Films highlights Doubt and Happy-Go-Lucky, but neither have scripts uploaded.

Universal Pictures has scripts up for Changeling (original) and Frost/Nixon (adapted).  The studo is also promoting Mamma Mia! and The Tale of Despereaux.

Focus Features is pushing Burn After Reading (an original script by Oscar faves the Coen brothers) and Milk (original).

Warner Bros., no surprise here, is working hard to make sure The Dark Knight gets the recognition it deserves.  The only other film WB is promoting is Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, but the script is not yet available online.

Paramount Pictures (with Dreamworks and Dreamworks Animation) has a fairly bare site, with just screening information for Indiana Jones IV, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Tropic Thunder.  No scripts are currently available, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually put up Benjamin Button.  If it isn’t available here, Warner Bros. (which is handling international distribution) is promising to upload it onto its BAFTA site.

Paramount Vantage has scripts up for The Duchess and Defiance (both adapted).  The adapted screenplay for Revolutionary Road will likely appear eventually as well.

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UPDATE 11/25/08

007 and Tradition

As is my tradition, I went to see the new Bond film on opening night.  There’s always something exhilarating about seeing a new movie with a packed house, but I’ve always found it to be especially so with Bond films.

And the reason is that the audience is different.  Sure, you get your typical date night couples, the people who go every Friday night to see the latest, well, anything.  But with a Bond film, as with any genre film, you get your rabid fans as well.  And the 007 fan base is particularly remarkable in its ability to transcend generational lines.

I have seen the last four Bond films on opening night.  And though it is a fairly young tradition for me, compared to the well-dressed elderly couple I saw on Friday night who have probably been doing this for the last four decades, I feel very much a part of something special.

Complicating matters is the way the Daniel Craig reboot has toyed with tradition.  Craig’s Bond is emotional and impulsive.  He’s far more comfortable using deadly force.  Moneypenny and Q are nowhere to be found.  And as Roger Ebert complains, 007 drinks beer.