REACTIONS TO OSCAR

Wow. What can I really say? All in all, I think the picks are pretty lousy. Not that some of my favorites didn't factor into this morning's announcements, but overall, an uninspired group of selections. Here's the link, followed by my comments:

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=nominees

Zero nominations for the best film of 2008, THE FALL. Not even a cinematography or costume nomination. Completely fucking pathetic. A travesty in my opinion.

How did Clint Eastwood not make it in for best actor for GRAN TORINO? Ditto Philip Seymour Hoffman for SYNCECDOCHE, NY? Pitt was solid in BUTTON but I would have gone with those two over him in a heartbeat. And while I enjoyed Frank Langella's performance, it was nowhere near as rich as Eastwood's or Hoffman's. Pitt did however have that amazing role in BURN AFTER READING, so I guess the cumulative effect played some part in his getting nominated for best actor.

No Sally Hawkins for best actress for her amazing work in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. How could this be? Did Merryl Streep really need another nomination? She was good but Hawkins was much, much more deserving.

How could MILK get an original screenplay nomination over a film like RACHEL GETTING MARRIED? MILK was a paint-by-numbers, highlight reel writing effort, boosted by terrific direction by Van Sant and a magnetic performance from Penn. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED was a brilliant dissection of a family and a wedding and something truly original and special. GRAN TORINO should also have gotten an original screenplay nod. And WALL*E, a film I loved with all my heart, had a better, richer screenplay than SYNECDOCHE, NY? Not a chance. WALL*E is, first and foremost, a brilliant technical achievement, but on paper, it consists of two characters repeating one another's names throughout much of the film. This is a major oversight. Kaufman's work on SYNECDOCHE, NY will be studied and admired for decades to come; it's one of the most original pieces of writing ever put up on the big screen.

I thought THE READER was excellent and better than many people have been giving it credit for being, but under no circumstances was it a better or more accomplished film that THE DARK KNIGHT, SYNECDOCHE, NY, or any number of movies from 2008. Again, not saying I don't respect THE READER, because I do. It's just that I don't think it was as good as some others.

Same with FROST/NIXON. A solid, entertaining movie. But best picture and best direction? I don't f'ing think so.

Also, Kate Winslet. She should have gotten her nomination for her blistering work in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. Not that she's bad in THE READER but her work in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD was even better. And Leo got snubbed for his riveting work in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD -- when will the Academy come around on him as a leading man?

Where is Bill Irwin (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED) or Eddie Marsan (HAPPY-GO-LUCKY) in the best supporting actor category? Michael Shannon was electrifying in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD but he didn't have enough screentime to warrant a nomination. If there was a best cameo performance then fine. Same with Viola Davis in DOUBT. Great work, but not enough. Nominating her over Rosemarie DeWitt in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED is head-scratchingly stupid.

The only nominations I can really say that I am excited about are as follows: Robert Downey Jr for best supporting actor for his incredible performance in TROPIC THUNDER. Martin McDonagh getting a well-deserved best original screenplay nomination for IN BRUGES, one of the most underrated films of the year. Werner Herzog finally getting some Academy love for his brilliant documentary ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD. And it was nice to see Fincher get his first directing nomination.

So, as usual, I am left with an irritated feeling with the nominations. Next week I will be posting my "IF I HAD A BALLOT" column which will run down each category with what I feel are the year's best efforts.

REVIEW: DEFIANCE (***1/2)

Ed Zwick’s DEFIANCE (***1/2) is a square-jawed historical action-drama that hits all of the right notes. Based on an improbable but true story, the film is emotionally stirring and extremely entertaining in an old-fashioned way. Zwick, who has etched a solid career making big-budget dramas like GLORY, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, THE LAST SAMURAI, and BLOOD DIAMOND, is a filmmaker who likes to tackle socially relevant topics while infusing his films with a Hollywood sensibility. This process works in DEFIANCE, better than it did in other Zwick efforts like THE SIEGE, partly because the foundation that DEFIANCE is based on is extremely noble and well intentioned. The film tells the story of the Bielski brothers, Russian Jews who created a movable society of Jewish refugees in the forests of Belorussia during the height of WWII. Tuvia (Daniel Craig) is the stoic leader; Zus (Live Schreiber) is the trigger-happy fighter; Asael (Jamie Bell) is the more contemplative member of the group. Their plan was to save as many Jews from the concentration camps as they could, while killing as many Nazis as possible. The fact that this story is true eliminates the desire to scream “cliché!” or “that’s not possible!” It is possible. And it really happened. What these men did is nothing short of impossibly heroic, and to that end, they deserve a film like DEFIANCE to showcase their brave and selfless efforts.

After their parents are killed, Tuvia and Zus concoct a revenge scheme, and brutally retaliate for the deaths of their parents. When word comes that both of their wives (and in the case of Zus, his child) have been sent to the death camps, they are at odds with what they think they should be doing: saving lives or exacting countless acts of revenge-fueled violence. Tuvia and Asael stay with the group of refugees, building a make-shift community, creating laws, and trying to establish some sort of society, made up of men, women, and children, old, and young, healthy and sick. Zus leaves the group to fight with the Russian resistance. Friendship and romance blossoms in the forest for both Tuvia and Asael, while Zus gets his hands dirty with potentially duplicitous Russian soldiers while carrying out bloody raids on Nazi strongholds. DEFIANCE is, if nothing else, a riveting action film; the set-pieces are beautifully staged and handled by an expert technical crew. But unlike so many other attempts by Hollywood to combine human drama with the demands of the action genre, DEFIANCE remains true to what is most important – the lives and outcomes of the many people that the Bielski’s saved. By the end of the war, it has been stated that they saved over 1,200 Jews from being murdered.

As with any Zwick production, the film looks amazing. Eduardo Serra’s cinematography is lush and poetic while also having a gritty quality that really makes you feel like you’re trudging through the cold, damp forest with the group. It’s some of the best work of the year. There are many action scenes, some big, some small, all handled in a simple, coherent fashion. One scene in particular has an impressionistic tone to its violence which was extremely stylish. James Newton Howard’s score is terrific, pumping up the entire film without falling into the typical bombast that other films of this ilk tend to do. The tight, economical editing by Steven Rosenblum keeps this over-two-hour-film moving at a brisk but unhurried pace. And all of the performances are solid. Craig is all steely reserve while Schreiber gets to play into the inherent machismo of Zus. And Bell brings a tender quality to Asael; he might be the youngest of the three brothers but he’s certainly not at any disadvantages. Zwick does an excellent job with his direction, even if he can’t help but have Tuvia riding a white horse in a few scenes, a little too boldly exclaiming that the man was a savior. And a few of the lines in the script Zwick co-wrote with Clayton Frohman are a bit wooden. But that doesn’t keep DEFIANCE from kicking some serious butt when it needs too. Better than I expected overall, DEFIANCE is a worthy addition to the growing sub-genre of WWII films dealing with the Holocaust. It’s exciting, sad, and by it’s conclusion, very moving. These men were heroes, and without them, many generations of families would never have had a chance.

FOUND

Season 5 starts tonight at 9pm. VERY excited.

IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE

BATTLE FOR HADITHA (***1/2) should be shown to all new Marine recruits. This is a troubling, extremely visceral piece of filmmaking from British documentarian Nick Broomfield (BIGGIE & TUPAC, KURT & COURTNEY) who made his feature film debut with this excellent but tough-to-watch combat film. More than any of the recent Iraq war movies to come out of Hollywood, BATTLE FOR HADITHA really makes you feel like you're in the middle of the shit, just as HBO's amazing miniseries GENERATION KILL did. The film follows a group of Marines and highlights their attack and slaughter of 24 Iraqi civilians after one of their men was killed by a road-side IED in Haditha. Broomfield gives equal coverage to all of the people involved: the trigger-happy and emotionally distraught soldiers, the Al-qaueda insurgents who planted the bomb, and the innocent bystanders living in a nearby apartment complex who faced the wraith of the vengeful Marines. More than anything else, BATTLE FOR HADITHA urgently reminds the viewer that what goes on in war is angry, deadly, and extremely unpredictable. The fact that the Marines killed a large number of innocent people (including women and children) out of sheer, blind rage is extremely disturbing -- what kind of training are these soldiers receiving? Numerous points are made throughout the film that the Marine corps doesn't really care about its constituents; they are "warriors," groomed for killing and death. Nothing more, nothing less it seems. Of course, if one of my friends was blown in half and then died in my arms, I'd be pissed too, and I'd want to strike back at those responsible. But the disgusting acts of violence committed against the innocent should never have happened. However, in the heat of battle, people make mistakes, and decisions are made on an emotional level, not an intellectual one. Broomfield shoots the movie in pseudo-doc fashion; lots of handheld camerawork, semi-improvised dialogue, and extremely realistic moments of graphic war violence. The acting is solid across the board but at times, with the kids playing the Marines, a little stilted. This could be because most of the actors playing the soldiers are just that -- soldiers -- and not professionally trained actors. BATTLE FOR HADITHA, like Brian De Palma's underrated REDACTED, is a very powerful reminder that we're up shit's creek without a paddle over in the Middle East, and there are lots of unstable and psychologically damaged Americans fighting a war that they don't quite understand. This is a point that has been hammered home, not just by this film and others like it, but by first-hand testimonials of soldiers who have completed their tours of duty. Broomfield doesn't hide his contempt for George W. Bush and American military policy in this film, and nor should he. Bush and his team have let the world down for the past eight years. And now, finally, they're about to be shown the door. Good riddance if you ask me. BATTLE FOR HADITHA is a potent piece of work.

HARDCORE

INSIDE (***), a stunningly violent French thriller from first-time filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, sets the current standard (at least from what I've scene) for on-screen death and punishment. This is a short (75 minutes) but unrelentingly brutal horror-thriller that utilizes fantastic digital cinematography and brilliant sound effects to create one of the craziest, nastiest, bloodiest cinematic home-invasions ever put on film. The set-up is simple: a pregnant woman named Sarah (Alysson Paradis), who has just recovered from a devastating car-wreck which killed her husband, is home-alone on Christmas eve on the last night of her pregnancy. A strange woman knocks on her door and asks if she can use the phone as she says she's been in an accident. The woman, never named in the film but played with icy, intense devotion by Beatrice Dalle, seems to know a little about Sarah, and before long, has broken her way into Sarah's house after she's been told to leave. What ensues is a vicious fight to the death between Sarah and the woman, with cops and other innocents making their way into the house at various points in the film, but never making it out. The directorial craft and technique of Maury and Bustillo cannot be ignored; they are very talented and stylish and their level of filmic sadism is something to behold. The performances from Paradis and Dalle, are, in a word, exhausting. Throwing themselves around the house and with Paradis in emotional turmoil for almost an hour straight, the dedication to their parts deserves commendation. But while the film is technically fantastic and the gore handled in a very up-front and realistic fashion, what purpose does the film serve overall? Many mentions are made throughout the film to the 2007 riots in France, but any ideals of social critique are absent in the story. Instead, what we're treated too (depending on your definition of what a treat is) is a genre film with brass balls, a movie that punishes its characters and the audience for the sheer thrill of it. And trust me, unless you're a student of the current new-wave horror movement coming out of France the last few years, you've never seen a thriller like this. Most effective are the subjective "from-the-womb" shots that Maury and Bustillo cut too while the pregnant Sarah fights for her life -- truly intense. I am not a fan of horror films; it's my least favorite genre. But every once in a while, a horror film comes out that I hear a ton of buzz about and my interest gets piqued. This was the case with INSIDE. I doubt I'll ever watch it again but I'm glad (in some sort of sick and deranged way, I guess) I got a chance to see what many people feel is one of the best horror movies ever made.

AWFUL

And it shouldn't have been. RIGHTEOUS KILL (ZERO STARS) is the worst film of 2008. Worse than THE HAPPENING, even. And there was no reason for it. The film didn't have to be a masterpiece; merely solid would have been acceptable. But no. RIGHTEOUS KILL is truly uninspired in every single department. Pacino and DeNiro should be embarrassed with themselves (but they aren't...) and director John Avnet should never be allowed to direct a major motion picture again (though, astoundingly, it looks like he will). Screenwriter Russell Gewirtz loses any good-will he earned with his terrific script for the caper-flick INSIDE MAN with this piece of garbage. RIGHTEOUS KILL was probably the first script he ever wrote as everything in it is a mess; the structure is poorly conceived, the dialogue is beyond cliche, and the "twist" is telegraphed so early in the plot that there is absolutely zero suspense generated by anything in the narrative. The plot, such as it is, is hackneyed beyond any sense of recognition: there's a killer bumping off the scum of society and all fingers point to a cop. Pacino and DeNiro are asleep at the wheel with their performances; they look tired, bored, and fat. This film is the very definition of "grab the money and run," as evidenced by its producers, the kings of "shit-as-cinema," Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, and Boaz Davidson. Just go to the IMDB and look at their resume; it's not worth the time to type up. And this is not to say that I didn't expect a piece of trash; I fully did. When the film came out last fall, it was eviscerated by the critics, yet opened solidly on the backs of its aging stars, and then sunk like a stone from the box office charts. Avnet, a hack if there ever was one, should stick to television where he knows best (he worked on the fantastic but short-lived show BOOMTOWN), because in features, he's lost (88 MINUTES, the other [but unseen by me] Pacino travesty from '08, RED CORNER, UP CLOSE & PERSONAL). The movie, which was shot in Connecticut doubling for NYC and shows it, looks tacky and sloppy around the edges. The filmmakers don't even have the conviction to disrobe their gorgeous female star, Carla Gugino, during her many sex scenes (and she's an actress who isn't afraid of nudity). I had to at least rent RIGHTEOUS KILL because of the two legendary actors involved, but this is a faaaar cry from the glory days of HEAT. Atrocious dialogue, ham-fisted direction, trite plotting, and lazy performances. It's the sort of film you can watch while folding your laundry and re-organizing your closet, two activities I engaged in while taking in this festering turd. What else do I really need to say other than it's the worst of the worst of the year?

EYE FOR AN EYE

Ed Zwick's DEFIANCE (***1/2) is an ass-kicker.

Full review to appear soon.