Time sure flies when you’re busy. I didn’t even realise how long it’s been since my last post until I checked the date. I’ve been about to post something a few times, but I never seem to get around to it once I’m actually here at the computer. I’ve noticed that a handful of people have kept popping in every now and then, so I apologise for the lack of new content. I can’t say you’ve missed out on much, but I’ll try to post a little more regularly from now on. After next week, that is, since I have a final linguistics exam left that I need to spend some time preparing for, as well as a literary essay to write.
It has been a month now, but I’m still bummed out about Kurt Vonnegut dying. I know he was 84 years old, but for him to be outlived by this guy just doesn’t seem right to me. Since it’s a bit late for a meaningful tribute post, I’ll suffice to say that Kurt is up in heaven now (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
As for me, I turned 29 a few days ago and already feel like I’m getting old. I went to the about page to update my age just now and realised I should probably write something more substantial there. I’ll deal with that too in the near future - as soon as I’ve figured out what could be relevant to put there.
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I sure am glad that somebody warned me about the Scottish weather before I left. It was even colder than in Sweden! The weird thing was that the Scots didn’t seem to think so. S and I wore winter caps most of the time because of the icy wind, but there were plenty of people around Glasgow not even wearing proper jackets. And you’d think we’d be used to cold weather!
Anyway, we had a great time. Spent most of the time in Glasgow, but took the train to Edinburgh one day as well. Didn’t get a chance to see any comedy, though, since everything interesting was sold out, but British television kept us entertained enough at night (they sure have some pervy shows over there). I’ll post some pictures (of Scotland, not of pervy TV shows, obviously!) in due time. For now I just wanted to let you folks know I’m back in the real world.
Oh, and I got a job! Kinda. Can’t say much yet, though. I’ll keep you posted.
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[I decided to edit this part of the post, simply because it was little more than poorly written whinging, and I also don’t want to risk offending a certain someone should they happen to stumble upon this site.]
On a lighter note, S and I are going to Scotland (Glasgow) on Saturday. Should be fun. It just so happens that we’ll be there during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Maybe we’ll get to see some of it. Expect some pictures in a couple of weeks!
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This will be my last film-related post in a while, I promise. I’m getting pretty sick of it myself. Especially after the anticlimactic ceremony last night. I stayed up till 6:30 a.m. to see The Departed win for Best Picture? Shameful. As I’ve said before; what does it say about Hollywood that its best production of the entire year is a remake of a foreign film made only four years earlier? This was supposed to be the year the Oscars went international and opened up more to foreign filmmaking, with a larger number of foreign nominations than ever before. Yet, in the end, it was the same old sentiment that prevailed: we can’t understand their films, but we don’t have any ideas of our own, so let’s make them again - Hollywood style!
In a way, it made perfect sense though. 2006 really was the year of remakes, more than ever before. A whole bunch of old films had an, at best, mediocre new film made with its name on it. Here’s only a small selection: The Hitcher (original from 1986), The Omen (1976), The Wicker Man (1973), Poseidon (1972), All the King’s Men (1949), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Pink Panther (1964), and the list goes on. Announced to be released within the next couple of years are remakes of genuine classics (some of them are more of cult classics, but still) such as Hitchcock’s The Birds, The 39 Steps, Evil Dead (WHY?!), 1984, Tron, Easy Rider, Footloose… Even some films that have already been remade before, such as The Fly and The Blob.
Now, I know how tiresome it is to hear this kind of endless whining, but it really makes no sense to me to make all these films all over again when there are so many original screen-writers out there dreaming of having their ideas put into production. It’s not illegal downloading that’s keeping certain films from being made (as the studios claim); it’s the lack of will to take a chance on an original story when a remake is a much safer bet. It’s exactly the same as in the music industry; why waste energy on writing new songs when you can make a fortune recycling other people’s old hits? Anyway, sorry about the tirade. Let’s get back to the Oscars, shall we?
Apart from the disgraceful best picture award, there weren’t that many surprises last night. While I don’t think Scorsese deserves an Oscar for this or any of his other recent films, I’m kind of happy for the guy. He should have won one a long time ago, but that’s an entirely different issue. Pan’s Labyrinth not bringing home the foreign film award was probably the biggest surprise of the evening. I definitely expected (and wanted) that one to win, but I’m also very happy about The Lives of Others winning. While most people already know about Pan, maybe this award will cause a few more people around the world to have a look at this great German film as well.
Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker. Never really any question, was there? Ryan Gosling would have been a nice choice, as well, but I’m really happy for Whitaker. He’s been in the game for a long time now. Same goes for Alan Arkin; it’s nice to see solid veterans getting awarded. I love the fact that Little Miss Sunshine got a couple of awards as well. Not much else to say about the other categories, really, that I didn’t already say in yesterday’s post.
Best speech? Can’t remember many of them, but I liked the one by the winner for best short film (West Bank Story). He made some good points about why these small categories are important. Even though most of us probably don’t care about them, they are basically where new, promising filmmakers have a chance to get discovered. I just have to check out that fil, by the way. A comedy musical about the Israel-Palestina conflict. Sounds rather post-Yugoslavian, if you know what I mean.
What about Ellen DeGeneres? She was fine, I think. A bit silly, but appropriately so. Her opening monologue appeared partly improvised and was pretty funny. It’s worth noting that she’s only the second woman ever to host the Oscars. Second. In 79 years. Let’s hope she returns, because these events need something to break the male dominance. You may not think it makes any difference, but it does a lot for the overall feel of the show.
The musical acts were a real bore, though. Three Motown tunes in a row is the last thing I need when trying to stay awake late at night. I’m glad Melissa Etheridge won for best song. That American Idol reject was just terrible, and Beyoncé too.
In conclusion, I would just like to remark on the broadcast on Swedish television (Channel 9). They had this film critic in the studio, Hans Wiklund, a man I can’t stand because he never has anything relevant to say about anything (you could say the same thing about me, but hey, my opinions are free and I would never motivate giving a film a bad rating because I think the main actress is ugly). Whenever he was asked about something in the studio (where they would discuss things during the commercial breaks on American television), he was just staring at his notes, stating the most obvious facts. Not to mention he kept complaining about how Al Gore was still “campaigning for his film” even though “it’s a bit late now”. He actually seems to think Gore has only been after the Oscar all this time. Nevermind the subject matter! Jebus. I’m so hoping they’ll get rid of that guy for next year.
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Finally, the time has come to predict who gets one and who doesn’t. Last year, if I remember correctly, I was right in 10 out of 13 predictions, although I admit to being a bit vague in a couple of those predictions. This time, I’ll discuss 14 categories, but it’s more about personal preference this time than about trying to read the minds of the Academy. This has to do, of course, with the fact that I’ve seen so many of the films myself this year, and paid less attention to what other people say.
Anyway, here are my picks and tips for tonight’s Academy Awards. Films I’ve seen are written in bold letters, my personal pick in each category is marked with asterisks (*), and the nominee I predict will win the Oscar is marked with dollar signs ($).
:: BEST PICTURE ::
$*Babel*$
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
*Little Miss Sunshine*
The Queen
The big surprise for me here was Little Miss Sunshine. I’d be happy to see it win, but the equally deserving Babel is probably a safer bet (I’m cheating here and selecting two personal picks, since I can’t decide which I like better). I haven’t seen Iwo Jima, but I doubt it’ll go all the way, since not many others have seen it either. The Queen is an outsider here, while The Departed better not fucking win. Sorry for being so harsh, but it’s nothing more than a mediocre remake. And how would that make Hollywood look, its best production of the year being a ripoff of a foreign film?
:: BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE ::
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
$*Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland*$
Wow, I’ve actually seen all these. What I don’t understand, though, is why DiCaprio is considered as having a bigger role than Djimon Hounsou, who is nominated in the supporting actor category. I saw Blood Diamond last night and thought DiCaprio was pretty good, but was his Rhodesian accent believable? I couldn’t tell. Nice to see he finally grew up, though. Will Smith was good, but hardly better than Forest Whitaker or Ryan Gosling. One of those two should win this. Probably Whitaker; the Academy loves this type of role. Venus is the most unintentionally creepy film I’ve seen in a long time (a 74-year old man trying to get a 19-year old girl in bed - very tasteful), so Peter O’Toole better not win.
:: BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE ::
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
$*Helen Mirren, The Queen*$
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Helen Mirren, hands down. Winslet was great too, but in a pretty boring film. Cruz wasn’t as annoying as she usually is, but still not Oscar-worthy. Meryl Streep shouldn’t even be in this category. Don’t get me wrong, she was solid, but despite being the devil of the title, she was not the main character of that film.
:: BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ::
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
*Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond*
$Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls$
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Djimon Hounsou is my favourite here. He was very believable in a strong part. Murphy seems to be the critics’ favourite, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins, since the Academy has always had a thing for crappy musicals. All the others were good, but had quite small roles.
:: BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ::
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
$Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls$
*Rinko Kikuchi, Babel*
Again, the musical performance seems to be the favourite. I’d go with Rinko Kikuchi, though. She was so believable as a deaf girl that some professional critics actually thought she was deaf herself, and I think that says something about her performance.
:: BEST DIRECTING ::
*Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel*
$Martin Scorsese, The Departed$
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Is this going to be the year Scorsese finally gets his Oscar? Many people think so, but as much as I think he deserves one for some of his earlier work, I cannot support awarding him for the mediocre remake which is The Departed. Eastwood is always popular with the Academy, but I doubt they’ll feel right about awarding him for the third time in only a few years, especially if it means snubbing Scorsese once again. Personally, I’ll be rooting for Inarritu.
:: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM ::
After the Wedding (Efter Bryllupet), Denmark
Days of Glory (Indigènes), Algeria
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), Germany
$*Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), Mexico*$
Water, Canada
My favourite category. I like all these that I’ve seen, but Pan’s Labyrinth is one of a kind. It brought even some the most reluctant English-only speakers to the cinema to see a foreign film, and that’s quite something. The Lives of Others and Indigènes were great too.
:: BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY ::
Borat - Cultural Learnings… - Sacha Baron Cohen et al
*Children of Men - Alfonso Cuaron et al*
$The Departed - William Monahan$
Little Children - Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
Notes on a Scandal - Patrick Marber
Little Children probably looked good on paper, but the finished product was something of a bore. Children of Men would be a deserving winner, but I wouldn’t be surprised if The Departed takes this one. I don’t like at all how they dumbed down the original story for this script, but that’s just me. All I can say about Borat is, WTF?
:: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY ::
$Babel - Guillermo Arriaga$
Letters From Iwo Jima - Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis
Little Miss Sunshine - Michael Arndt
*Pan’s Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro*
The Queen - Peter Morgan
Very strong group of nominees here. I’d go with Pan’s Labyrinth, but Babel would work as well. Any of these could win, but my bet is that it stands between Babel and The Queen.
:: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE ::
Cars
$Happy Feet$
*Monster House*
It seems that everybody loved Happy Feet, but I found it a bore. I’d go with Monster House, but doubt that it’ll win.
:: BEST ART DIRECTION ::
Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
$*Pan’s Labyrinth*$
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige
Pan’s Labyrinth, I hope. Although, this is one of those categories in which musicals usually do well, so I’ll be prepared for the worst.
:: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY ::
The Black Dahlia
$*Children of Men*$
The Illusionist
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige
In case you didn’t know, I’m one of those few people who actually care about this category. In Children of Men, there’s a great long scene which looks like it was shot in one single take. Some blood spatter remaining on the lense for quite a while works to reinforce this feeling, but I have no way of telling whether or not it was really so. In any case, the camera work really adds to the general feeling of that film, and would be a worthy winner. So would Pan’s Labyrinth. The Prestige was pretty good in this sense, as well, but the others had something out of the ordinary, and were far more interesting films. I would have loved to see a nomination for Little Miss Sunshine too, though.
:: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE ::
Deliver Us From Evil
$An Inconvenient Truth$
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country
I still haven’t got around to seeing Al Gore’s film, which will probably win this. To be honest, I don’t think there’s much for me to learn from it, since I’ve been aware of these issues for many years already. I’ll make sure to see it some day though, as I hear it’s a great production. I know I’m far from being the first to say this, but it would be kinda cool if he’d announce his presidential candidacy for 2008 during his acceptance speech. Jesus Camp was well-made and incredibly disturbing, but I doubt it has a chance against Gore.
:: BEST VISUAL EFFECTS ::
*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest*
$Poseidon$
Superman Returns
Quite a weak group of nominees this year, isn’t it? No real “wow”-moments in any of these films. Everything has been done before. I guess I’d pick Pirates. Poseidon just felt like Titanic all over again. Anything could win this.
That’s it! Check back tomorrow for comments and rants of disappointment over my favourites being snubbed. 
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Cars
After an incredibly boring opening scene featuring a Nascar race (sorry, but I have no interest in cars whatsoever, not to mention racing), the film picks up and is rather enjoyable all the way. It’s definitely fun to watch, so my only objection would be that the story feels kinda old. We’ve seen this same story many times before, about the big city snob who finds himself after spending some time in a small town. The animations are great, though, and I absolutely love the way Pixar thought of all the small details. Flies in the form of VW Beetles leaving tiny tire marks on the windows is the kind of thing that gives this film that little extra something.
Happy Feet
Having heard so many positive things about this film, I was surprised to see what a sleeping pill it was. It’s slow, has too much unmotivated singing, and the tap dancing is really boring. I thought this would be about respecting people who are different, but instead, it’s implied that the reason Mumble is different from everbody else is that his father dropped his egg. Now that’s a great lesson for the kids, isn’t it? Pretty much the only good thing about this film is Robin Williams.
Monster House
A surprisingly good film. The atmosphere is a lot scarier than what’s usually the case in animated films of this sort, so it may not be appropriate for the youngest children, but personally I found it very refreshing to see an animated film free from the most childish aspects. The animations are wonderful, and the story works all the way, which is also quite unusual for these films.
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Babel
This film works on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin. Four stories about four families, all sharing a common theme of loss and lack of communication, with an undertone related to concerns of class and North-South relations. Hope that made sense, since I don’t know how to say more without ruining it for those who haven’t seen it. Just consider the different characters’ fate in the end of their respective story-line; who has a happy ending and who gets screwed? And why? There’s a clear pattern there, which, judging by other people’s comments, a lot people seem to have missed entirely. Great acting from everybody - even the kids, which is unusual. Nice also to see Brad Pitt pull off a different kind of role.
The Departed
What can I say about this? The acting is good and the premise is fairly interesting, but there is one major problem with this film: I’ve seen it all before, in a better film. It’s hard to say this without sounding like some kind of puritan fanboy, but I really don’t see why they had to re-make a film like Infernal Affairs. It was good as it was, and it sure had a better ending than The Departed. All the character depth from the original is lost in Scorsese’s adaptation (again, compare the endings), and the added love triangle really had no place in the film (I don’t know why Hollywood filmmakers keep insisting on putting these unmotivated love interests in every bloody film - it’s getting really old now). This is not a bad film, but it doesn’t add anything new, and it gets pretty boring for a while in the middle act. Can’t say I’m too fond of the overly macho dialogue, either (I thought we’d gone past the days of “fag this, fag that”, but apparently not). For a film that’s nominated for best picture, The Departed is a major letdown.
Little Miss Sunshine
I paid no attention to this film prior to its Oscar nomination because I got the idea that it was about beauty pageants - an American phenomenon I happen to despise with intensity. It turned out to be a really enjoyable story, however, with lots of heart and black humour. It gets a little over-the-top in the end, perhaps, but I’m willing to overlook that. The film is both tragic and hilarious, and also spot-on in its depiction of little miss beauty pageants as nothing but creepy forms of child exploitation. That may or may not have been the filmmaker’s intention, but that’s how I interpret it. Great acting by everyone, and I especially love the cinematography. I consider it a major snub that it wasn’t nominated for this. If you don’t see what I mean, just check out the scene in the kitchen in the beginning, when Greg Kinnear’s character is on the phone. Nothing much happens, but the clever hand-held camera work still makes it captivating to watch.
The Queen
As a radical anti-royalist, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this. It’s quite a fascinating speculation in what might have gone on with the British royal family following the death of Princess Diana. The only problem is that it is just that; mere speculation - which I didn’t fully realise until after seeing the film. Still, apart from a couple of odd scenes involving a stag (which in retrospect seem even more ridiculous and overly symbolic), this film is an interesting depiction of a royalty caught between tradition and modernisation. Helen Mirren is fantastic, and I mean that. Never seen anyone play a now living public figure with such confidence before.
Letters From Iwo Jima opened here two days ago, but I haven’t had the time to see it.
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It seems all I do these days is watch films and post an occasional review. This Oscar Race thing turned out to be more work than I expected. I’ve been able to see a fair number of nominated films this past month though. Some very good, some pretty damn crappy. I’ll probably just write a few short comments on the remaining films towards the end of the week. The Oscars are getting close now.
Apart from a few films I haven’t been able to see, I’ve also skipped a few on purpose. There’s no way in hell I’m going to sit through Dreamgirls, for example. Same goes for Flags of Our Fathers and United 93, but for entirely different reasons.
Anyway, I’ll try to make this less of a film blog as soon as this whole Academy Awards thing is over. When I come to think of it, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to watch the actual ceremony this year! It’ll air on a brand new channel which launches on Sunday and tops off its first day with the Oscars. It’s unclear whether I’ll be able to get it or not, since I don’t have digital TV and my cable provider is useless at providing proper information. I’ll try to tune it in, but it sure would be an anticlimax to all this moviegoing if I’d end up having to read about it all afterwards.
UPDATE: Turns out my fear was unfounded. All is well.
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Oscar nominee: Best Leading Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Supporting Actor (Jackie Earle Haley), Best Adapted Screenplay
From what I had heard about this film beforehand, I expected it to be one of my favourites in the Oscar Race. But despite a great cast and an interesting premise, Little Children turns out to be little more than a disappointment. The film seems incomplete somehow, and while it could just be me not getting it, the high degree of overtness in large parts of the film suggests otherwise. Take the scene where they discuss Madame Bovary, for instance; instead of subtle references, we’re treated to an incredibly overt drawing of parallels between the characters. The sleepy omniscient narrator is also overused, too often stating the obvious in an overly important tone and disturbing the feel and flow of the film. I also can’t help but feel that the subplot with the child molester was rather mistreated. I would have liked to see more of him. From the previews, I got the idea that he was supposed to be the target of the entire suburban community’s projections of their own flaws and fears, but apart from one good scene involving a swimming-pool, we never really get to see more than just one person’s obsession. Little Children has a few tense moments toward the end, but they’re not enough to save a film that never really goes anywhere.
Oscar Race 2007
UPDATE: I swear I didn’t read Monica’s review before writing mine, but we seem to have been bothered by pretty much the same things. She’s much better at articulating her thoughts than I am, so if you know Swedish, go ahead and read her review as well.
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Oscar nominee: Best Foreign Language Film
I found After the Wedding to be a pretty basic drama. There was really nothing special about it, especially not when compared to the other nominees in this category. It’s different than those films, though, as it remains on a personal level while all the others deal with grander themes. It’s essentially a family drama, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but while watching the film I couldn’t escape the feeling that I had seen it all before. I felt all along as if I knew what was going to happen next, and I was right most of the time. It’s a shame really, because with a less predictable plot this could have been a really good film. All the acting performances are good, the music is great and really adds to the melancholic feel of the film (any film that uses a track from Sigur Rós‘ () album is bound to be depressing), and the cinematography is great as well. The film also raises some interesting ethical dilemmas, but again, nothing really new. So despite all the good things, this film left my mind pretty much as soon at it was over, and that was a big letdown compared to some of the other films I’ve seen lately.
Oscar Race 2007
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