Yesterday Scott dropped off the hard drive with all of the media for "All God's Children" to begin the process of color correction (getting all the colors up to the correct requirements for broadcast and generally creating the best look for each shot and making sure everything is consistent).
Thimo and a 1940s Gibson at Retrofret
Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench
My last movie recommendation before the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards.
Richard Eyre’s “Notes on a Scandal” stands out most for its fabulous acting. Ever since Jim Jarmusch’s “Coffee & Cigarettes” I consider Cate Blanchett to be one of the most talented actors. Of course, Judi Dench’s abilities are never called into question either. Not to undermine Bill Nighy who doesn't get as much screen time but one of the best scenes.
Sometimes I wonder: if I become aware of great acting while watching a film, doesn’t it mean it was too obviously ‘Acting’ and I’ve been pulled out of the movie? In this case I never felt pulled out – I was just amazed at how real all these extreme emotions came across. There is an especially truthful moment when the husband and wife stand by the door – quite heart-wrenching (you’ll know when it happens).
A fantastic film for adults with themes of mid-life and the relationships of full adults. How rare and precious. Yet never a dull moment; with twists and turns and suspense “Notes on a Scandal” never comes across as a preachy, moral tale for grown-ups.
Doug Jones and Ivana Baquero
Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a moral fairy tale for adults about changing from being selfish to selfless and the choice between sacrificing yourself for others or sacrificing the innocent for your own gain.
Fascinating historical setting in post-war Spain. Incredible locations, production design, costumes and last but not least casting. Everything is just slightly other-worldly.
At times rather brutal – but mostly darkly beautiful and haunting.
(Spanish with English subtitles)
Al Gore As I’ve been writing about a few of the films I’ve seen recently I wanted to make sure I mentioned the possibly most important film of last year: Davis Guggenheim’s “An Inconvenient Truth”.
I URGE you to watch this film capturing Al Gore’s presentation on global warming.
Beyond the politics, your religion or spirituality, your nationality and whatever beliefs you may have, everyone should watch this film and ponder what we can do to save the environment – and what may happen if we don’t…
There’s hope – especially now that even the American government has finally accepted that global warming exists (it’s a bit of a joke that it took so long, not a very funny one, of course).
The only part that puzzled me about this film is that the hole in the ozone layer (or “the ozone patch”) was hardly mentioned. Is that not an issue anymore at all or did Al Gore just not want to complicate the issue in his presentation?
This documentary/drama - a mixture between interviews and reenactments (that are so high in production value they are more than just reenactments) – by British filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross tells the true story of several British men who were arrested in Afghanistan in the 9/11 aftermath and ended up being held at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay for years.
Often difficult to watch, this is a must-see. While it didn’t seem that the film makes a clear judgment if the British men of Pakistani descent had justifiable or “good” reasons to be where they were, the film makes a very clear case how wrong and horrible the treatment of detainees by American forces has been.
Beyond the content the film is worth watching for its quality in filmmaking. Winterbottom is a talented filmmaker both with fictional as well as with documentary projects – in both cases we feel like we’re right there experiencing real life. And we don’t feel like we’re watching “a school lesson”.
The only drawback for me was a lack of information and quite a bit of confusion during the scenes in Afghanistan. I’m not sure if some specifics of who was who and what they were doing was purposefully left out to recreate the confusion of the time or if knowledge is expected from the audience or there were other dramatic reasons why some details/information were missing.
Michael Sheen and Helen Mirren “The Queen” shows Queen Elizabeth vs. Tony Blair during the aftermath of Lady Di’s death in the late 90s. Because I watched this film in Germany I had my parents at hand to remind me that during this time there was a real possibility that the monarchy was going to collapse due to the royal family’s behavior.
I wonder if audiences in the US will be aware of this – or if they have all the background information on Lady Di and her specific issues with the royal family that keeps getting hinted at in the film but never fully disclosed. Although it is not necessary knowledge, I believe it would make the film more enjoyable. The other catch was that I just didn’t quite buy Tony Blair’s noble motive. From what I understand these are Stephen Frears’ interpretations of what went on – not necessarily fact.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the film about the struggle between the generations, the old tradition and the new way of life, between people who all think they know best – an age-old conflict which transcends the specific issues of the British government.
And of course, there’s something quite satisfyingly voyeuristic in watching the queen trying to fix her Jeep or the prime minister getting served burnt fish sticks or seeing his E-guitar collecting dust in a corner.
By the way, I have yet to see a film by Stephen Frears I don’t like.
Shannyn Sossamon, Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham
"Wristcutters: A Love Story" is a road movie, a buddy movie and yes, a love story, almost entirely set in an after-life only filled with people who have taken their own lives.
These general plot lines of road/buddy/romance movie may be rather conventional – but nothing else in this film is. "Wristcutters" truly deserves the label “fresh”.
Goran Dukic has created a fascinating and unique universe (shot perfectly in washed out blue-ish color and filled with desolate production design) in which we meet truly interesting characters you can’t help but care about – all that wrapped in an unusual and enjoyable humor.
A friend recently said he didn’t think this film is for everyone. Yes, maybe some people would be offended by how suicide seems to be treated so casually. But it’s not mocked – it’s just a matter of fact – and it certainly doesn’t glorify it.
Highly recommend.
Misty Wilkins, Debbie Doebereiner, Dustin Ashley“Bubble” (a film about three people working in a doll factory and their relationship) is the first in a series of six digital video features directed by Steven Soderbergh, which will all be filmed in small towns with local nonprofessional actors who will be working off a script which has been roughly outlined and then filled in by the actors’ real life personality and backgrounds.
Sounds quite a bit like Italian Realism. And here again: it works.
I thoroughly enjoyed the realism of the characters, people you don’t expect to see in films but at the grocery store. Truly great performances. More real than Reality TV, you get the feeling that “the people” have finally made it onto the screen.
The static wide shots that seem to objectively observe from a distance enhanced the feeling of realism (which, in my opinion, worked a lot better than the close and constantly jumping around camera of “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints”).
Fortunately this film is not just an exercise in watching real people doing real mundane everyday things. There is conflict, there is change, there is pondering.
A quiet film about real life? Not everybody’s thing. But I love it!
And I’m not just saying that because I hope it will spawn a trend which will awaken interest in a feature film I directed years ago with non-actors in a small town improvising based on… or am I? :-)
A photo of Muenzplatz held by photographer Guenter Westphal at Muenzplatz
My Parents' Backyard On Thursday
Chan Marshall (Cat Power)
Tilda Swinton
Eugene Hernandez, Jeff "The Dude" Dowd, Scott Solary
