Happy Birthday Christian

christian bale is one of the best actors around these days. this year he is finally getting his due with his role in 'the fighter'. a golden globe sits on his mantle and now an oscar nom as best supporting actor. he was robbed of a nom for 'batman returns' in 2005.

bruce wayne in 'batman returns'

and now the oscar nom for 'the fighter' as best supporting actor

Happy Birthday Vanessa

vanessa starred in a number of my favorite films and amongst them were 'camelot'. it was a lush adaptation of the broadway musical and vanessa played guinivere as a queen a king would go to war over. vanessa proved herself worthy as a musical leading lady who sang her musical numbers with a sultry and smoking voice.

trailer

'simple joys of maidenhood'

'camelot'

'what do the simple folk do'

'the lusty month of may'

'take me to the fair'

'i loved you once in silence'

vanessa was oscar nominated in 1968 as best actress for 'isadora'. based on the life of dancer isadora duncan it was largely unseen. pity as it has a brilliant performance by ms. redgrave. on my wish list for disc release.

trailer

three scenes including the end of isadora duncan

what can i say about ken russell's 'the devils'? a mad nun, a sex crazed priest and total all around depravity. not for the faint of heart. and another vanessa film that may be lost for all time. it's never really been available on disk except for a lousy 'from tv' copy. it's a shame considering the garbage that is released on disc that a major film maker's work is wallowing in limbo.

trailer

just one of the more bizarre scenes in the film

'murder on the orient express' is truly one of my favorite all time greats. a star studded cast, a full lush score and an amazing adaptation of the agatha christie novel. all around grand entertainment.

trailer

a great scene combining the departure of the orient express and a piece of the amazing score that sent it on its way

and what a score!

and most recently there is 'letters from juliet' in which ms. redgrave stole the film playing a woman in search of her lost love in verona.

trailer

featurette

Happy Birthday Katharine

i loved katharine ross since 'the graduate'. she feel out of film when she reached a 'certain age'. the parts were just not there. but three wonderful performances in three wonderful films give her a place forever among the best.

she stole hearts worldwide as elaine in 'the graduate' a great film and a defining film for all time.

elaine and ben together again

as joanna in 'the stepford wives' katharine went from normal to stepford without missing a beat.

as etta place she held her own with two giants of the screen newman and redford in butch cassidy and the sundance kid' and oh that smile!

'the bicycle scene', raindrops and oh that smile again

katharine appeared in an all-star film 'voyage of the damned' as mira hauser about german jews seeking refuge and denied entry everywhere. her character, etta hauser, was a jewess posing as a gentile. she was prostituting herself to make money to help her parents seeking refuge. it was a bit overbloasted but for history buffs it was a  bit of an enlightment.

*****************

Oscarbation: Luise Rainer

ms rainer won two consecutive wins for 'the good earth' and 'the ziegfeld follies' in 1936 and 1937. ms. rainer turned 101 on january 12th. belated wishes luise.

1936 'the ziegfeld follies'

the scene that got her the gold

1937 'the good earth'

Remembering Donna on Her Birthday and Oscarbation 1953

donna reed may best remembered for her role in 'it's a wonderful life' with jimmy stewart.

or she may be best remembered for her role as donna stone on the 'donna reed show'

however donna should always be best remembered for her academy award winning role as alma 'lorene' burke in 'from here to eternity'

And the Nominees Are for the 83rd Academy Awards

Best Picture
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
"The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
"Inception," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
"The Kids Are All Right," Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
"The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
"127 Hours," Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceàn Chaffin, Producers
"Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
"True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"
Animated Feature Film
"How to Train Your Dragon" Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet
"Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich
Art Direction
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"
Cinematography
"Black Swan," Matthew Libatique
"Inception," Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech," Danny Cohen
"The Social Network," Jeff Cronenweth
"True Grit," Roger Deakins
Costume Design
"Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"I Am Love," Antonella Cannarozzi
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan
"The Tempest," Sandy Powell
"True Grit" Mary Zophres
Directing
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," David O. Russell
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher
"True Grit," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Documentary (Feature)
"Exit through the Gift Shop," Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
"Gasland," Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
"Inside Job," Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
"Waste Land," Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
Documentary (Short Subject)
"Killing in the Name"
"Poster Girl"
"Strangers No More"
"Sun Come Up"
"The Warriors of Qiugang"
Film Editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful," Mexico
"Dogtooth," Greece
"In a Better World," Denmark
"Incendies," Canada
"Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)," Algeria
Makeup
"Barney's Version," Adrien Morot
"The Way Back," Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
"The Wolfman," Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Music (Original Score)
"How to Train Your Dragon," John Powell
"Inception," Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat
"127 Hours," A.R. Rahman
"The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Music (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from "Country Strong," Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from "Tangled," Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from "127 Hours," Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
"We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Short Film (Animated)
"Day & Night," Teddy Newton
"The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
"Let's Pollute," Geefwee Boedoe
"The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
"Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)" Bastien Dubois
Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession," Tanel Toom
"The Crush," Michael Creagh
"God of Love," Luke Matheny
"Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt
"Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Sound Editing
"Inception," Richard King
"Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
"Tron: Legacy," Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
"Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger
Sound Mixing
"Inception," Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
"The King's Speech," Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
"Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
"The Social Network," Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
"Hereafter," Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
"Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
"Iron Man 2," Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours," Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
"The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year," Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter," Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
"Inception," Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler

Oscar Noms Tomorrow

Oscar Noms Tomorrow

i think there may now be a race for 'best picture' after the pga defied the critics and went for 'the king's speech' which WAS the best picture of 2010.

'The King's Speech' Takes PGA Award

the producer's guild awarded 'the king's speech' best picture last night. this came as a major surprise to 'the social network' cheerleaders.this now puts the oscar foe best pic in flux. flux is good. maybe this tear the oscar ceremony won't be all the formally expected to win. for too many years now the oscars have become a fait accomplis in most categories. maybe a bit of nail biting will liven things up.

The Best of Film 2010: Let the Arguements Begin

 yes it was a good year for film lovers. my personal tastes vary and there was a lot to satisfy my movie going pleasure. i can't limit my 'best of' to ten. the following are just representing the treasure trove of movies that more than satisfied in 2010.

these films affected me in different ways. some are brilliant pieces of film making. a couple just made me smile. two made me shudder in a good way. one specifically dazzled my eyes and ears. some made me cry or a least shed a few tears. some made me think well after the film ended. but after all is said and done they all satisfied and touched me in one way or another. 

(argue amongst yourselves. my work is done)

1. the king's speech
simply the all around best. acting, directing, screenplay and characters you care for. give colin the oscar now.

2. Inception

a feast for the eyes and ears. what direction and editing are all about.

3. Black Swan

a psycho sexual feast. i just happen to love films that blur the line between reality and fantasy. a better descent into maddness has not been served up before. give natalie the oscar now.

4. Shutter Island

a mystery to die for. another film that blurs the line between what is real and maybe not so real.

5. Agora

does history repeat itself? see for yourself.

and the rest in no particular order



The Town

ben affleck triumphs in his sophmore directorial effort. why the hell is blake lively not getting supporting kudos?

 127 Hours

the film some are afraid to see. has no one ever heard of great editing. a triumph in cinema fotography

 City Island

a slice of life gem. andy garcia has never been better.

 Hereafter

no pronouncements or denouncements. just a call for thoughtful dialogue. clint eastwood amazes yet again.

 Fair Game

the truth can prevail.

 The Social Network

amazing on most levels. a bit overwritten and yet surprisingly underdeveloped characterization. the characters btw are some of the most despicable people i've ever spent two hours with.

 Remember Me

an indie with heart. robert pattinson is more than a vampire heart throb. he has the wounded soul of a montgomery clift.

 Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

i really did not want to see this film. i was more than pleasantly surprised.

 Letters to Juliet

a romcom for all ages. vanessa redgrave shines.

 Twilight Eclipse

the best of the trilogy. you may say well hell that's not saying much. well maybe not to you but it is to me.

 The Fighter

i went kicking and screaming. i was wrong. christian bale is worth the admission price.

 The Tillman Story

oh america the beautiful...not so much.

 Hiachi: A Dog's Tale

why the hell this little gem went straight to dvd i'll never know. if you ever loved a pet or had a pet love you this is a must.