Category Archives: Oscar Stuff

Boy and the World – Director, Ale Abreu

Animation, Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

This is a wonderful and surprising film. It depends pretty much entirely on the animation with no dialogue and only a music soundtrack. It follows the adventures of a small boy from a rural community in Brasil. After his father leaves to work in the city he decides to chase after him and reunite his family. His adventures reveal the complexity of modern Brasil including the good but mostly bad aspects of urban life. The animation art is beautiful and ranges from the very simple to very complex as the urban landscape is revealed. In watching the film I could not help but think that animation is an increasingly important part of all film making now. Not only the animated feature like this one but many live action films now as well. The Oscar category of Best Animated Feature Film (for which this is one of the nominees) seems hardly adequate anymore. I suspect this will not win the Oscar which I am guessing will go to Inside Out however I sort of wish there was something else it could win. I am not sure whether the time has come for animated films to be considered in other categories at the Oscars but ever since Disney created Snow White there has been a need to better recognize the talent and art that goes into these films.

I fear also this film will not get much attention. I saw it at the TIFF Lightbox and I was only one of 5 people in the theatre. Disappointing for what is a very beautifully created film. I may not get to see any of the other nominees except Inside Out which is also disappointing. There were many other Hollywood animated features this year that are not on the list so at least the Academy added some diversity here if not in other categories. If you like animation try to see this one.

The Big Short – Director, Adam McKay

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

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I loved this movie. A very smart script, a great ensemble cast and a rapid fire, black comic look at the financial industry and the economic collapse of 2008. It manages to explain the complexities of the events that led to the crash and show us that it really wasn’t that complex. It was clear to some that it was bound to happen but the financial industry, banks and ratings companies all conspired to keep a very unstable and likely criminal process going that ended up devastating the lives of millions of people worldwide. The knock on the film is that it is really very funny and some feel the issue is too serious to be taken apparently so lightly. I disagree. The humour is very black and while I laughed I was also horrified. The characters all benefit greatly from the meltdown as they bet that it would happen and won very big. They are thrilled and in some cases very cold about the situation. The exception is Steve Carrell’s character who while benefitting is clearly also stunned that the whole thing could happen. The truth is that there was nothing these characters could do to change the situation so they took advantage of it. They couldn’t blow the whistle because they were not in positions of power to do so. The film makers use their stories to demonstrate how bizarre the whole thing was and how easily it could have been stopped if the greedy people who created it had obeyed the law and basic moral principles.

Christian Bale is nominated for Best Supporting actor but Steve Carrell also deserves a nomination in my opinion and the understated performance of Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling are great. I have been a Steve Carrell fan for many many years. His start on The Daily Show and his role in The Office are classic in themselves but his recent ventures into dramatic roles shows an actor with a range of talent. He has had many nominations but only one win for The Office and he deserves more. It is still early in his film career but I suspect we will see an Oscar or Golden Globe in the not too distant future. So – bottom line? This is a great film, entertaining and informative and with a message to deliver. Enjoy.

Trumbo – Director, Jay Roach

Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

Another all white nominee for an Oscar this year – Bryan Cranston (nominated for Best Actor) for a great portrayal of Dalton Trumbo the Hollywood writer who was blacklisted and exiled from Hollywood for being a communist during the McCarthy years. He played a key role in resisting the anti-communist efforts of the Committee on Un-American activities which hurt or ruined the lives of many people not only in Hollywood but beyond. Cranston is very very good in the role and the film is well-written and acted. I was disappointed that Helen Mirren pictured above was not included in this year’s nominees for Best Supporting Actress. She plays journalist Hedda Hopper, one of Trumbo’s and others nemeses as she rode the anti-communist wave in the entertainment industry. She is wonderfully despicable. John Goodman also puts in a great performance as Frank King, one of the only producers willing to hire Trumbo anonymously after his exile. All in all a very entertaining film. I am curious however about a documentary I have not seen called Trumbo that came out in 2007 and is well reviewed. I will definitely track it down and post my impressions. It garnered no awards that I can find but sounds very interesting.

The Martian – Director, Ridley Scott

Adventure, Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

This is one of the first Oscar nominated films I have seen so far this winter. Telling the tale of an astronaut isolated on Mars with only his wits to help him survive, it is thrilling, funny, uplifting and Matt Damon is excellent, carrying the film very much on his isolated shoulders.  With 3 of its 6 Oscar  nominations for sound and production design and visual effects it is also great to watch.  The science is mostly pretty good according the geeks who have seen it. Sure there are lots of misses and miscalculations to those who choose to pick at it but all forgivable in my opinion for an excellent cinematic ride.

The Hateful Eight – Director, Quentin Tarantino

Adventure, Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

If you like Tarantino, you will like this movie and if you don’t you won’t. Personally I am a big fan and loved this movie. Set in a single room for most of the 187 minutes it all hangs on the acting and that is top notch. Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell as the leads are very good but the best performance is turned in by the only major female character played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. The supporting cast are also all wonderful with great performances in particular from Tim Roth and Bruce Dern. The claustrophobic setting lends great tension to a movie that sparkles all the way through. I am tempted to look at my watch in any movies that extend past 90 minutes but not this time. One is never sure about the agenda of each character or who is going to die in some over the top violent manner until the final twist ending(s) and the script and timing keep you on the edge of you seat throughout. Great stuff delivered with skill and humour from Tarantino who continues to improve with each outing.

Very Semi-Serious – Director, Leah Wolchok

Comedy, Documentary, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, Uncategorized

The subtitle for this HBO documentary film is: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists. I have to admit I am a New Yorker cartoon addict. I get the magazine every week and like the old Playboy joke – I do read it for the articles but first I flip through and read all the cartoons. To get a chance to learn how they get chosen, who draws them, and who the editor is, was a chance not to be missed. Best of all I saw it at the Bloor Cinema – home of the Hot Docs festival and the New Yorker’s cartoonist and cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff was there for a Q and A after the showing. The film took 7 years to put together and includes interviews with many of the better know cartoonists who are fascinating and often unusually strange people themselves. We learn a great deal about how the cartoons are chosen and how Bob Mankoff works with the contributors to improve and enhance their work including such factoids as: Mankoff goes through 1000 cartoon submissions a week to choose 15 to be published. He does this often by meeting with the cartoonists personally each week in his office to discuss and critique their submissions. He cares deeply about the art of cartooning and uses his job as editor to build and support the small group of active cartoonists. Cartooning is a slowly dying art with fewer publications publishing them each year. To ensure the continuance and renewal of the art Mankoff deliberately works with younger contributors who will hopefully replace the current old timers like himself. He has been remarkably successful. The Q and A after the film was brilliant with Mankoff being a sharp and witty in person as he is on the pages of the New Yorker. If you are a fan you can also read his book titled after one of his more iconic cartoon captions: How about never. Is never good for you?

Women He’s Undressed – Director – Gillian Armstrong

Documentary, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2015, Uncategorized

This is a truly great documentary about Orry-Kelly who is perhaps the most influential costume designer of his time — the golden age of Hollywood. He was Australian from a small rural town and the most unlikely to end up where he did. As a costume designer he worked on over 250 films including Casablanca. Some Like it Hot, Irma la Douce and An American in Paris. He won three Oscars and worked for MGM, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios. He dressed Marlene Dietrich and Betty Davis and Marilyn Monroe and of course did the gowns for Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot. His sense of design allowed him to make the careers of many female stars of his time.

He was also gay and had a long term relationship with Cary Grant and shared the lifestyle with many other stars and artists of the time including Randolph Scott among others. However being gay was illegal and increasingly frowned upon by the industry leading to Grant and others having to abandon their obvious lifestyle and even getting married to cover the reality of their lives. Orry-Kelly was not so willing to cover his real life. It led to the end of his relationship with Grant but he moved on and found another lover who was not in the business and who he kept secret.

The documentary uses an actor to play the role of Orry-Kelly as a narrator which works very well as well as some great scenes from his movies and interviews with other costume designers, directors and film critics who know his work and aspects of his life. The Director, Gillian Anderson introduced the film and told us not to leave before the credits run since she inserted a final scene in the middle of the credits. The last scene of the film before the credits tells us that Orry-Kelly wrote a tell all memoir that has been repressed and prevented from publication by Cary Grant. The manuscript was lost. However Gillian Anderson made a great effort to track it down and in the final final scene inserted in the credits we learn that the manuscript was with his mother in Australia and is still in the hands of the family. One can only hope that the legal obstacles can be overcome so we can buy the book. Apparently it is available there but I can’t see how to get it shipped to Canada. Rats!!!

At any rate this is a great film, funny, interesting and educational all in one. Go for it.

http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/tiffdocs/women-hes-undressed

Youth – Director – Paolo Sorrentino

Comedy, Drama, Loved it, Oscar 2016, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2015, Uncategorized

This film will likely be on the OSCAR track if not for best film then for best actor for Michael Caine. The director is Italian and noted for several previous films that were generally pretty depressing in theme and plot. They have been lauded for quality but not for fun. This film takes him in a new direction. The story is lighter than anything he has previously done and offers a theme of redemption. I found some of it very beautiful to look at, very funny in several places, moving in others, but he insists on inserting scenes and images that as far as I can see are a tribute to Fellini and have nothing to do with the plot or theme. Nonetheless I was entertained more than I was irritated and the acting is top notch. I am reminded at how effortlessly the old pros like Caine and Keitel can act while being impressed with the Paul Dano a young actor who has a great career in front of him.

The story is about two old friends, Caine and Keitel who are at Swiss spa to rest and regain health. Keitel is a film director and Caine a retired composer and orchestra conductor. Both have hidden issues in their lives that remain unresolved and which come to light in the course of the film. I can’t tell you how the plot evolves but will intrigue you with the fact that Miss Universe is also there and prone to walking about with minimal clothing, and a small subplot in which Caine and Keitel bet on the quality of the relationship between ta couple who eat dinner at table near them. The picture above has them observing a change in that relationship. All very funny.

On the whole a good movie and one that will be out this fall and worth the time to see.

http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/specialpresentations/youth

Victoria – Director – Sebastian Schipper

Adventure, Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2015, Uncategorized

I am not entirely sure about this movie. It is not the best I have ever seen and it is a wee bit too long but all in all very entertaining. Victoria is a German film but most of the dialogue is in English. Set in Berlin it tells the story of a young Spanish student who hooks up late one night or really early one morning with four guys who are out for the night partying. What starts out as a fun encounter and a blossoming romance with one of the guys slowly turns darker as the guys are coerced into a bank robbery and the girl – Victoria – becomes the driver of the getaway vehicle. I will not give away the whole story but needless to say it all starts to go awry until the climactic ending. The characters speak English because the guys are German and Victoria is Spanish. The common tongue is English which they all speak relatively well and which makes for interesting dialogue.

What is unusual about this movie is that it all happens in real time and is shot in one continuous take. Apparently they did three versions and the final one is the one that was released. The dialogue is all ad libbed which is a credit to the actors since it is mostly in English which is a second language for them all. The pace of the movie picks up slowly over the time and ends in a rush. Great fun really and although one can punch all kinds of holes in the plot, the nature of the filming is unique and the story compelling so you really want to see how it all comes out at the end and definitely stay hooked. Not sure when this might be released. The film will be at several film festivals including Vancouver and Berlin and hopefully will get general release in the New Year if not before. Definitely worth the effort to see.

http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/specialpresentations/victoria

Born to be Blue – Director – Robert Budreau

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2015, Uncategorized

This movie is brilliant. Maybe the best movie I have seen so far at the festival. Ethan Hawke portrays the legendary jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker in a tightly scripted film that covers an early part of his career about his struggles to deal with heroin addiction and the connection between that and his music. It’s a complex story but handled very well. The filming, much of which happened in Sudbury, and the acting are at the highest level. The music is great with Canadian jazz artists doing most of the work although Ethan Hawke apparently did much of the singing and he is very good. Jazz stalwarts like Mike Murley and Terry Clarke back him up and really enhance the movie. Baker rose to stardom at the time of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis but when jazz was still a domain of black musicians in New York. Baker was part of a new style of west coast cool jazz and he sang as well which was not well regarded by the New York artists. A great quote from the film has Ethan Hawke in a kind of soliloquy saying: Hey Dizzy, Miles, there’s a white boy coming from California and he’s gonna eat your lunch.

The biography of Chet Baker is a novel in itself and this film only touches on the early part of his career. His most productive time for playing and recording occurred after the end of this film but we see how he gets to that point and it is a moving story. Going back to Hitchcock and Truffaut, one of Hitchcock’s techniques or skills was to portray feelings and thoughts of the characters in a glance or a look rather than dialogue. In the last scene of this movie, Baker is on stage at Birdland. Playing at Birdland in NYC is the sign he has finally made it back to the top. He struggles however to go on stage and although he has been clean – no heroin for years – he is tempted to use again just to get the confidence he needs to go on. The tension builds and we do not know if he will resort to heroin he has in his dressing room or take the methadone that has kept him clean so long. His fiancée who has helped him stay clean all this time did not come with him to NYC and he felt abandoned by her however she shows up unannounced just as he comes on stage. She has told him she will leave him if he goes back on the drugs and she will know he is using just by his manner when he is high. He comes out, sees her and starts to play My Funny Valentine. He brushes his cheek which is the sign he is using again and she sees it. He continues to play as he watches her take off her engagement ring and walk out. He however has made it back, the heroin helps him play to his full potential while destroying him at the same time. His eyes say it all: goodbye, I’ve made it, I am never going back. Fade to black. Great scene, great ending, great performance.

No release date for this film yet but some critics who have seen it say it is Ethan Hawke’s best performance in film. It is bound to come out and it will be well worth your while to see it.