A few recommendations from and away from Oscar Mania

Now that all the Oscar ballyhoo is fading away as fast as THE DESCENDANTS' early lead for Best Film did, let me tout a small but powerful movie that actually deserved its Best Actor nomination--A BETTER LIFE. It's the story of an illegal Mexican immigrant raising his middle school son in the LA barrio and desperately trying to start his own gardening business and keep his son from sinking into the gang culture. Sounds familiar, right? True, but director Chris Weitz infuses this familiar plot with warmth, humor, and suspense. The father is played by Mexican actor Demian Bichir. He carries the film with dignity but never sinks into laychrymose appeals to liberal guilt. A BETTER LIFE puts us into the lives of immigrants and helps us understand what the governor of Arizona never will.

In theaters now is a strange little movie called CHRONICLE about three teen boys who somehow (sketchy plot point) get zapped with telekinectic powers. At first their reactions are comically charming and so typical of boys their age, but as their powers increase, things become intense and deadly. There's a bit of SUPER 8 here, since the guys are looking for their true selves, and the main character escapes his life through toting his video-camera everywhere (and finally he controls it through telekinetic powers). Although the last twenty minutes are formulaic, the rest of CHRONICLE captures the teen world of hazing, bullying, and scariness with authenticity. References to the classic CARRIE are obvious, but deserved. Both deal with the effects of social ostracism in the teen world, one we saw only this week with the school shooting in Ohio.

FEARLESS OSCAR PREDICTIONS

I refuse to jump on the ARTIST bandwagon. A delightful and well-made film, yes, but hardly Best Film of 2011. It's clever knock-off of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, a classic that wasn't even nominated back in the day. So, here we go...
BEST FILM--SHOULD WIN: HUGO. WILL WIN: THE DESCENDANTS.

BEST ACTOR--SHOULD WIN: Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL. WILL WIN: George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS.

BEST ACTRESS--SHOULD WIN: Viola Davis, THE HELP. WILL WIN: VIOLA DAVIS.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR--SHOULD AND WILL WIN: Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS--SHOULD AND WILL WIN: Octavia Spencer, THE HELP.

BEST DIRECTOR--SHOULD WIN: Martin Scorsese, HUGO. WILL WIN: Michael Hazanavicius,THE ARTIST.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY--SHOULD WIN: Jason Chandor, MARGIN CALL. WILL WIN: Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY--SHOULD WIN: MONEYBALL. WILL WIN: THE DESCENDANTS.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY--SHOULD AND WILL WIN: THE TREE OF LIFE.

BEST MAKE-UP--THE IRON LADY. SHOULD AND WILL.

BEST ART DIRECTION, BEST COSTUME DESIGN--HUGO...SHOULD AND WILL.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: SHOULD WIN: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. WILL WIN: HUGO.

BEST FILM EDITING: SHOULD WIN: HUGO. WILL WIN: THE ARTIST.

BEST SOUND EDITING, BEST SOUND MIXING: WILL AND SHOULD WIN: WAR HORSE.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: SHOULD WIN: HUGO. WILL WIN: THE ARTIST.

A contrarian's view

Whitney Houston is dead. She has been dead a week now, and her "private funeral" was today in the church where she once sang in the gospel choir. I am sorry when someone dies, but I am sorrier that the sordid projectory of her life and career was not curtailed or turned to a more positive ending. I am wondering why CNN and many other cable outlets broadcast her funeral. Why the lighter magazines (PEOPLE, ENTERTAINMENT, and on down) continue to give this particular death such province.

Popular entertainment, which I have always loved, has its down sides. We have watched too many similar accounts of shooting then falling stars, and most of them have addiction at their base. Judy Garland and Elvis Presley, perhaps the greatest talents in this group, died much too young, riddled by drugs and simply worn out by their personal conflicts and the demands of the business and those who were supposed to be there for them. This old, and rather monotonous story has been seen in films from THE ROSE, a not too thinly disguised bio-pic of Janis Joplin to A STAR IS BORN, in which Garland starred not as the tragic star (that was her co-star James Mason) but as the plucky heroine. A cycle that includes Michael Jackson, Billie Holliday, and many jazz greats, film stars, and many more in show buisness (there's no business like...) will continue as long as the audience, the business, and the wannabes promote it.

Houston had a strong voice indeed, but to claim she is a once in a lifetime voice is nonsense. Actually, her top registers were grating, and like Celine Dion, she wore on many people. Her main legacy consists of the many apers like Mariah Carey and Beyonce and the so-called talent scout shows like AMERICAN IDOL and now THE VOICE. And what do these great new voices sound like? Loud, untrained, screeching at times, melodramatic--and those are the winners. Sorry to be so pessimistic about popular music these days, and Whitney Houston is only one example, but many yearn to hear intelligent lyrics, great melodies, and professional, heartfelt performances. They didn't die last Saturday. They have been gone a long while and we are the less for it. But at least we have the recordings and the films.

I Just can't get enough of this series!

Tense competition, sudden death, lots of mouth-smacking, gorgeous clothes, spectacular sets, and over-heated drama!! No, I'm not talking about last night's Grammy Awards. I am talking DOWNTON ABBEY, which last night packed more drama, romance, and between floors intrigue than most series do in years. First, those kisses. Matthew, who has miraculously recovered his legs and his manhood, waltzes with Mary while the set swirls around them, Scorcese style, only to be seen by his ailing fiance Lavinia who overhears his profession of love for Mary, and....several shots later, dies of Spanish flu after telling Matthew he should drop her for Mary. Oh, the guilt. Then we see Bates and Anna consumate their love after a rushed marriage, a scene that probably could have used less light (like none), but soon Bates is arrested for his former wife's murder. Can anyone find happiness?

Third, Lady Sybil and Tom (the chauffeur!), the classic class war couple, finally get close enough for a little peck, throwing the family into an aristocratic tizzy. And last, and most shocking, Sir Richard kisses a parlour maid and almost goes for more, until his wife recovers from her near-death dance with Spanish flu.

And there was much, much more to enjoy. I cannot remember a series that offered tragedy, suspense, social insight, and beautiful people in such large dollops. All I can say is, "Please, sirs, I want MORE!"

DRIVE....Add DRIVE to your best ten list!

Just watched an incredibly moody, fast, and brilliantly paced noir film called DRIVE starring one of the future big name actors, the charismatic Ryan Gosling. I missed this one this summer, but now I know how much I missed.
Gosling plays a part-time stunt man who moonlights as a getaway driver for heists. He is cool, collected, and keeps his emotions pent up...until he meets his neighbor Irene who is lovely and needy. For the first time he cares for a person and her son. In a complicated plot that involves her ex-con husband, big time criminals, and the driver's unwise decision to try to help her with one more heist, DRIVE builds suspense and dread that inevitably leads to a series of dramatic climaxes, all of them violent.

DRIVE has echoes of Steve McQueen's classic BULLET, especially in Gosling's tightly wound driver, in the chase sequences (brilliant), and in a black Mustang that recalls McQueen's. As noir, this film stands with the best of them: CHINATOWN, THE BIG SLEEP (Bogart version), and AGAINST ALL ODDS. It's fresh, always surprising, and always riveting. One caveat: this film is beyond bloody, but you'll know when to look away. I suggest you do. I also suggest you see DRIVE!

Bruegel on film, an interface of art, history, and cinema

One of the most unusual and beautiful films in many years, THE MILL AND THE CROSS (2011)chronicles the great 16th century Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder as he paints THE WAY TO CALVARY, 1564. Lech Majewski, a Polish director "paints" his tribute to the master painter by attempting to compose the painting on film. Many shots show landscapes, characters, 16th century country life lifted from Bruegel's many canvases. We look into the distance and see Bruegel's aquamarine sky with strange rock formations; they are the backdrops for the action, which apes the painting itself.

The story of THE WAY TO CALVARY is nominally the crucifixion story, but that is only the beginning. The viewer has to look deeply into the painting to find the event itself and as he scans the landscape he sees the Pieta (Mary's sorrow), the via dolourosa with Christ carrying the cross, children playing, Spanish soldiers in red, a whole world of Flemish life serving as history and as allegory. This is the technique Bruegel is famous for, taking an important moment in biblical history or myth and scaling it down to fit into the everyday goings on of Flemish life. See, for example, his masterpiece THE FALL OF ICARUS where the plowman keeps plowing, the ship keeps sailing by, and no one notices the splash of a young man who has fallen from the sky. It's this sense of detail that the director brings to THE WAY TO CALVARY, a film that deserves a careful watching. You will be rewarded.