'Big Love', Chloe Sevigny and Lizzie Borden

'big love' ends sunday on hbo. except for last season it was a good show. this season was exceptional and made up for last year. in a good move hbo has picked up chloe sevigny's 'lizzie borden' as a two parter. chloe has always stood out on 'big love' but this year, especially last week, went to the darkest sides of her character nicki. i am going to miss this series but am grateful hbo gave it a chance.

'Les Miserables': The 25th Anniversary Concert Part 5

there are magical moments in the theater. there is a hush in the audience as a performer goes for the gold. when i first saw les miz the moment was when frances ruffelle began singing 'on my own' the audience was silent as a stone. it seemed even breathing had stopped. the only sound was the amazing sounds coming from ms. ruffelle. a pause in the song carried the echo of her last note. then she quietly finished her piece and the next sound was deafening applause as the audience spontaneously rose to it's feet. these moments are few and far between but when they occur i am thrilled for the performer and that i am a musical theater nut. ms. ruffelle won the tony and olivier awards for her performance. deservedly so.

i wish i had been at this concert of the show. samantha barks delivers the same song with the same intensity and vocal adrenalin as ms. ruffelle. she seemingly seamlessly stopped the show. the magic is seen on the disc. the magic in the theater must have been enthralling. i am jealous i was not there.

ms. barks is a natural. she is a beauty with a voice. and damn what a voice. her emotional attachment to the character and the song is visible and so natural. ms. barks i bow to you and your talent.

samantha barks delivers

the following sequence, 'javert at the baricade', 'little people', 'the first attack', ends with the ms. barks and nick jonas duet 'a little fall of rain'. they both deliver without missing a beat. eponine's demise is so natural and so understated. brilliant!

(to be continued)

'Les Miserables': The 25th Anniversary Concert Part 4

the role of enjolras has always overshadowed that of marius when awards were handed out. ramin karimloo in this concert adaptation does not disappoint. he is quite a winner actually. as part of 'one day more' and 'red and black' he shines. but as always with this role it his 'do you hear the people sing' that he makes his everlasting mark in musical history. going out on a limb here i think he is the best enjolras i've ever seen or heard. trust me i've seen and heard many.

'one day more'

 'red and black' and 'do you hear the people sing'

Song of the Day: 'Don't Give Up'

a musical moment with petula clark

'don't give up' the extended version 

Remembering Gordon Macrae on His Birthday

i've never given gordon macrae his due. truth be told it was mr macrae  in both 'oklahoma' and 'carousel' that started me on my musical path. i honestly don't know much of his work other than these two films. i just never got into post 1950 musicals. i found them 'light'. it was curly and laurey williams, julie jordon and billy bigelow who introduced me to, at that time, the 'modern' musical or the 'book musical'. in so far as his costar in both these films, shirley jones, celebrates her birthday at the end of this month i'm splitting the treasure they gave us along with the team who changed the musical forever collaborators richard rodgers and oscar hammerstein.

 'oklahoma'

'soliloguy' from 'carousel'

'Les Miserables': The 25th Anniversary Concert Part 3

i have always loved the combination duet and triplets ''in my life' and 'a heart full of love'. with memories of judy kuhn and michael ball forever playing in my head i was nonetheless blown away by this concert version. nick jonas, katie hall and samantha barks are so well cast. amazing. brilliant. and so much more. mr. jonas, formerly of the jonas brothers, of whom i know nothing, has a brand new career as a musical star. katie hall lucked out here. the actress who was to play cosette in this concert fell ill and ms. hall was pulled from the touring company to fill in. she stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. a star was born. actually ms. hall and mr. jonas bring a more youthful 'look' and feel to the roles which although i never missed in the past makes this production that much fresher.

  and then there is ms. barks as eponine. what can i say? well those two words amazing and brilliant fit along with every other superlative in every dictionary ever compiled. this is but a taste of the triumphant samantha banks. part 5 of this entry will show her true vocal power, beauty and star quality. 

three amazing talents with 'in my life' and 'a heart full of love'. i am blown away.

(to be continued sunday)

'Les Miserables': The 25th Anniversary Concert Part 2

les solonga plays fantine. i have to admit she fared better giving voice to eponine in the 10th anniversary concert. but i quibble. she is fine as fantine but just not as good as the rest of a truly amazing and mostly unknown cast. and who the hell can follow patti lupone and ruthie henshall anyway? audra mcdonald that's who! however, ms. solonga does fare much better in act 2 (finale) to be fair.

in order to be fair to ms. solonga i am posting her eponine from the 10th anniversary dream cast concert singing 'on my own'

(to be continued)

'Les Miserables': The 25th Anniversary Concert

it's time for you to buy a blu ray. the 25th anniversary concert of 'les miserables' is your excuse as if you needed one. if you love or even just like les miz you owe it to yourself to see it on blu ray. it is truly an amazing video. the cast, the staging, the cinematography,the orchestrations and the lighting are amazing. i love this musical. i loved it in 1985 and i continue to love it with each new version recorded and filmed. this version even surpasses the wonderful 10th anniversary (the dream cast) dvd with it's scope and breath. over the next few days i will share 'highlights' from the concert here. they are good but in no way compare to the sight and sound of the blu ray. i am sure the dvd version is wonderful also but i have not seen it. don't think i will owning the blu ray disc.

the opening

(please note the subtitles are not on the disc unless you wish them to be)

the remarkable alfie boe as jean valjean delivers, really delivers, 'bring him home'

(to be continued)

Hail the King

one last time i salute the most worthy colin firth on his oscar for best actor of 2010. so deserved.

and at last i was able to find the full best actor category awarded by the best actress of 2010 and one of filmdoms most delightful and sincere actresses the lovely and charming sandra bullock.

Happy Birthdat Rachel

rachel won the oscar for the 2005 film 'the constant gardener' in the supporting category. it was one of those misplaced nominations. she deserved to be in the best actress category but studio manipulations placed the nom in supporting. they figured she had a better chance to win there. she won there. perhaps they were correct. 

rachel's 2010 release 'agora' did not get much theatrical play. i recommended it before and recommend it still. it's intelligent. it's about history repeating itself. it's relevance is this: the crazy right wing christians today are repeating the same things today as the original jesus cults did in ancient times. try it.it's important.

'The Adjustment Bureau' : Opening Friday

for me this is the first major release of 2011. the continuously growing talents of matt damon and emily blunt star in this thriller. the trailer is inviting and a must see for me. i'll let you know.

 trailer

Remembering Jennifer on Her Birthdate

 'portrait of jenny' remains my favorite jennifer jones film

 jennifer won her best actress oscar for 'the song of bernadette'

Oscarbation: It's a Wrap

the royals win...the zietgeist goes down down for the count. the critics and pundits are in a bitter snit. they say the academy embarrassed itself. they say 20 years from now the history of oscar will see the taint of their selection. i say 20 years from now the film will be remembered well and the current critics and pundits will not be remembered. i say the right choice was made with 'the king's speech' coming out on top. i think now it was not a true race. i believe the pundits tried to create a race. 'the social network' is a 2010-2011 film...a zietgeist. the king will reign for years to come.

colin was a lock. sandra had the key and opened the lock and charmingly awarded mr. firth his oscar after using her charm and personality to give each nominee his due as only she could. her 3-4 minutes on the stage were the best minutes of the night. she showed all the charm ms. hathaway could not throughout the proceedings. ms. hathaway has all the charm of a meat clever. what was all her bowing and kowtowing about? why was she kissing ms. bullocks buttocks? she will never be a sandra bullock. she is crass with a smile.

james franco got lousy reviews as host. he's james franco what did they expect? he is an independent spirit. he was himself. i say good for him. he kowtowed to no one. he doesn't have too. he's an amazing talent.

i hope melissa leo is aware that her phony and crass acceptance speech will show forever on you tube? i did not think it possible but her oscar acceptance was more over the top than her 'the fighter' performance. she won i get it. now just make her go away. helena and/or amy you were robbed. 

otherwise all was good. 'inception' was rewarded in the tech categories it deserved.  'social network' won editing which was deserved and score which it did not. 

the natalie portman and christian bale wins were expected and worthy. between them and colin the acting awards were 3/4 right on. 

it's now in the history books and before we know it it all begins again.

here's to the films of 2011. may you be as good as 2010 which in fact was a remarkable film year.

March Video Releases

And The Oscars Go To...

Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Editing: Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Make-Up: The Wolfman
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Song: We Belong Together, Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More
Best Live Action Short: God of Love
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing
Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World, Denmark
Best Documentary: Inside Job

to be continued

Oscarbation: A Final Look at the 2010 Nominees

and now we just wait for the envelopes to be open...it's been a long long season. there are so many worthy nominees. 2010 was a good year for film. maybe a great year. we all have our thoughts and hopes for the outcome in each category. i personally wish for 'the king' to reign supreme. colin of course. natalie, christian and either amy or helena would thrill me. 'inception' should go home with a bunch of tech awards. we'll see so the punditry ends here. post mortem begins tomorrow.

Spirit Award Winners in Independent Film

Best Feature: “Black Swan”
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Best Actor: James Franco, “127 Hours”
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Screenplay: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, “The Kids Are All Right”
Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Foreign Film: “The King’s Speech”
Best First Feature: “Get Low”
John Cassavetes Award: “Daddy Longlegs”
Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
Robert Altman Award: The director, casting director and ensemble of “Please Give”
Piaget Producers Award: Anish Savjani, “Meek’s Cutoff”
Someone to Watch Award: Mike Ott, “Littlerock”
Truer Than Fiction Award: Jeff Malmberg, “Marwencol”

Happy Birthday Elizabeth and Oscarbation 1966

liz won two oscars. don't get me started on the first for 'butterfield 8'. but her second for 'who's afraid of virginia wolff' was so damn deserved. really who knew she could indeed act?

'who's afraid of virginia wolff'

making conversation

dancing and smothering

confrontations

Happy Birthday Josh

Oscarbation: Best Picture Winners 1927-2009

and which film will join the above winners tomorrow night

Oscarbation: Best Actress Winners 1927-2009

and which of these five actresses will join this group for 2010?

Oscarbation 1 Year Ago (2009)

and yes there was sandra

Oscarbation: Best Supporting Actress Winners 1936-2009

and which of these ladies will join the group above?

amy adams in 'the fighter'
helena bonham carter in 'the king's speech'
melissa leo in 'the fighter'
hailee steinfeld in 'true grit'
jackie weaver in 'animal kingdom'

Oscarbation 10 Years Ago (2000)

best picture: 'gladiator'

best actress: julia roberts 'erin brockovich'

best actor: russel crowe 'gladiator'

best supporting actress: marcia gay harden pollock'

best supporting actor benicio del torro 'traffic'

Oscarbation: Best Actor Winners 1927-2009

and which of these gentlemen will join the group

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'

Oscarbation: With a Week to Go Here Is the State of the Race

the golden god! well he is a god that we bow to this time of the year. hell i want one!!! this year for the first time in a long time there appears to be a race on in more than one category. some films and performances have gone up, some down, then up and down again. it's been a topsy kind of turvy award season. and to tell the truth i like it. before all the damn critics awards the oscar ruled. every oscar night presented surprises. not all good surprises admittedly but there was a good deal of suspense. it was a time when people at oscar parties voted for who they wanted to win and not who will win because the critics ordained it. well this year there appears, hopefully, to be some backlash to the critics. and that is a good thing. oscar voters are not critics. they are lovers of film and the film industry. i love film. good film. i don't need a film to be canonized by critics or their groups. i firmly believe last year that the academy bowed to the critics with 'the hurt locker'. in truth i know no one, not one person, who thought it was the best film of the year. different maybe but in no way the best.  so perhaps this year the critic's darling will not win and the best picture of the year will win. you know where i'm going. but that's for next time. today is just about...

...the state of the race

best picture

until mid january 'the social network' (the commoner) appeared to be the lock. but the tide began to shift and after winning the pga and the dga guild awards 'the king's speech' (the royal) began to edge up and seems to have overcome the momentum of the facebook film. either would be worthy but i'm going full steam ahead with the royal one. and then there is 'the fighter' which seems to have gained last minute word of mouth. it certainly is most worthy as an also ran but not quite the top spot victory. the race is on with 'the king's speech' in secratariat formation. onward britannia!


best director


it's tom hooper (royal) vs david fincher (commoner).
i believe fincher gets the oscar here as 'the king' walks away with the top prize. however hooper won the dga. it's a horse race to the finish but at this point fincher by a nose. personally i'd go chris nolan for 'inception' but for some god forsaken reason he did not score a nomination. fincher gets it as the commoner cannot be ignored as 'the king's speech' proved.


actor


it's a done deal. anyone other than colin firth would be a sham and the major upset of the season. enough said!


actress


first it was benning. then portman. now it's dead heat on the oscar merry-go -round. do they go benning for a lifetime achievement as they did last year with jeff brigges over colin firth or do they go performance and justly award natalie portman? i'm thinking they are smarter than we think. but then again who will the elders vote for? the long standing joke is dolores hope. will she 'get' portman? and then if she does on the other hand won't the dirty old men like jerry lewis and ernest borgine go for the younger sexier (don't forget the lesbian kiss...these old straight geezers love that!) portman. it's portman by a nose at this point but benning's husband, warren beatty, has influence and friends and then more friends. clear a space on your mantle natalie.


supporting actress


a month ago this was melissa leo's ('the fighter') to lose. a self promotion blunder gone awry knocked her down a peg or three. she is in contention with co-star amy adams also. split votes i believe. actually i say ms. adams gave the better performance of the two. ms. leo was just too 'methody' for me. over acting, over the top...thus me thinks for ms. leo it is just over. then there is helena bonham carter for 'the king's speech'. is this her time? it's been 13 years since 'the wings of the dove' brought her to international attention. she has worked ever since commanding attention in everything she appears in. she is now in the front runner for best film. adams and leo split. voters going down ballot sweep her in with picture and mr. firth. it is bonham carter's award to lose now and she would be royally worthy.


supporting actor


only a  royal sweep gets geoffrey rush his second oscar. it would be deserving indeed. but this category is still owned by christian bale as it should be. the only wonderful thing that could really happen would be a tie. trust me...it will not happen.






this is the state of the race. i keep up with it. i read everything i can on it. it's the gay super bowl for gods sake. yes gods not god's. 


later this week i'll give my final thoughts including tech awards most all of which i'd give 'inception'. but i wonder if most academy members know the difference between visual effects and cinematography? i wonder. if yes 'inception' gets it. if not it's a toss up between the royal and the commoner again. thus we end where we began.