 It’s interesting how a lot of people are coming around to the NC-17 rating this year. Last year it was going to be the kiss of death for ‘Blue Valentine’ and this year it was going to spoil any of the hopes and dreams that ‘Shame’ had. In the last month or two though, things have changed. You’re hearing a lot about bucking the NC-17 trend of failure at the box office and Oscars. You’re hearing about legitimizing the rating, and how this could maybe be a good thing for film in general. I’ve been saying it for a long time, but I’m glad it’s finally getting some mainstream traction. Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter recently had to say:
Read more on Will “Shame” Change the Outlook on the NC-17 Rating?…
Born: March 15, 1943
Place: Ontario, Canada
Major Awards and Citations:
48th Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement (eXistenZ)
49th Cannes Film Festival Jury Special Prize (Crash)
32nd Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award (Eastern Promises)
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay of 1991 (Naked Lunch)
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Direction of 2005 (A History of Violence)
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Director of 2005 (A History of Violence)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director of 1988 (Dead Ringers)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director of 2005 (A History of Violence)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director of 1991 (Naked Lunch)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay of 1991 (Naked Lunch)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay of 1991 (Naked Lunch)
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Director of 2005 (A History of Violence)
Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Director of 2005 (A History of Violence)
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director in a Canadian Film of 2007 (Eastern Promises)
Oscar Snubs: Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, A History of Violence
So here we are, at the end of David Cronenberg Week and at the opening of his latest film A Dangerous Method. What was the purpose of all this, besides an excuse to wax poetic on one of my favorite working directors? Read more on Under the Circuit: David Cronenberg…
 I’m always interested in seeing who gets longlisted for the BAFTA Rising Star Award, and this year is no exception. Especially since it’s an award that gets voted on by the public, it does sometimes tend to reflect who moved up in the world of cinema this year. Their choices this time around are eclectic but strong. They are:
Read more on The longlist for the BAFTA Rising Star Award is out!…
 Without question, Alexander Payne’s latest film “The Descendants” floored me. Making his mark with the 1996 abortion-debate satire “Citizen Ruth” and maneuvering through high school politics with “Election”, a melancholic essay on growing old in “About Schmidt”, and his 2004 Oscar breakthrough, “Sideways”, which won Payne an Oscar for co-writing that film’s screenplay, Payne has always focused on people, men mostly, on the verge of falling apart. A terrific writer and underrated director, Payne does not just deliver great lines of dialogue or iconic images. Whether they are found in the unforgiving hallways of a Nebraska high school, the rich and bountiful experiences in the Napa Valley wine country, or the gorgeous atmospheres found in Kauai, Hawai’i, Payne is brilliant at dialing into how his moments, settings, and characters all intertwine.
And with “The Descendants”, Payne’s 7-year hiatus as a director finds him returning with his best and most fully accomplished work. Featuring George Clooney in a performance richer, more rewarding, and more affecting than anything he has delivered in his Oscar-winning career, Payne offers a film that speaks to the connections we make and take for granted, the uncomfortable emotions we all too frequently suppress, and the sudden rush of realization that comes too late, when those relationships you have always assumed would be there…may be gone forever.
Read more on The Descendants (****)…
 While I remain exhausted, bored, and increasingly angry and cynical over the unwieldy use of 3D in our movies nowadays, along comes Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo”, a dazzling visual masterpiece that makes the best argument I have seen yet for the continued use of the medium in this “Everything In 3D” world we live in. With countless terrible examples of films that squander the technology or even worse, try and upgrade from conventional 2D to a post-conversion 3D, the novelty is dying rapidly. So leave it to the cineaste Scorsese to make this film – rooted in the beginnings of moviemaking, and yet telling its story with the most impressive of visual presentations. Acknowledging that I’m about to make a proclamation prone to ridicule and somewhat steeped in hyperbole, I came away from “Hugo” believing that this just might be the finest 3D work I have ever experienced.
And while “Avatar” fans gather their pitchforks and torches over that statement, “Hugo” is much more than simply a 127 minute visual adventure. There is a compelling, heartfelt, if not scattered story at its core, with two engaging and impressive young performances and some elegant supporting work from Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, and yes – even Sacha Baron Cohen.
Read more on Hugo (***½)…
 Without the Academy Award worthy performance of Michelle Williams in the title role, there wouldn’t be too much to get excited about with ‘My Week with Marilyn’. Nothing is bad, but everything pales in comparison to Williams. She’s so good as Marilyn Monroe, you hardly notice the rest of the film. This is nowhere near the disaster some anticipated, and Williams is far better than even the most generous predictions had hoped for. The thing is, her phenomenal work (second only in her career to last year’s turn in ‘Blue Valentine’) is stuck in an only decent movie. Director Simon Curtis is sure to make sure Monroe is handled perfectly, he kind of loses sight of the rest of the production. This is in some ways a movie in search of a story. A docudrama more than a biopic, it’s never too heavy or too light, but much of it feels inconsequential. I liked the characters and the acting, but I just wish they had more to do. It’s not quite a missed opportunity, but there’s a much better movie that could have been made than this one. That being said, it’s still satisfying enough and I can’t say enough about Williams’ performance. The rest of the cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, and Judi Dench do their part, but they’re merely orbiting around this stunning performance. But what a performance it is!
Read more on My Week with Marilyn (***)…
Seldom have Kris Tapley (www.incontention.com) and I agreed so completely on a film`s merit and its chances for Oscars as we have on The Artist, the French film that has been taking the industry by storm since Cannes. I cannot remember a foreign language so captivating audiences since Life is Beautiful (1998) somehow convinced audiences, critics and Academy members that is was a film worthy of attention and Academy Awards. Never forget that Roberto Benigni’s Holocaust fairy tale, which alone should spell caution, for many, trivialized the Holocaust the besmirched the memories of the millions who died in the death camps that the Nazis operated with such brutal precision. Watching him win Best Actor, not only the Academy Award but the Screen Actors Guild left me numb and very, very angry. Among the nominees in 1998 along with the hyper active Italian actor-director were Edward Norton in American History X (1998), Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Ian McKellan in Gods and Monsters (1998). Though Norton was the rightful winner in my mind for his searing performance as a racist skinhead who learns the error of his ways, any one of the three would have been a more worthy winner than Benigni. His film, Life is Beautiful (1998) would win three Academy Awards which led him to use the Oscars as his crowning achievements!! Standing on chairs, acting the fool, I wonder if he ever watches the replay of his reactions and recognizes what an absolute buffoon he was being. Apparently he was the most sought after dinner guest during the Oscar campaign, feted and toasted by the biggest stars in the business, though some saw through the film, Steven Spielberg and Warren Beatty among them.
Read more on The Artist and Oscar – Really?…
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It’s interesting how a lot of people are coming around to the NC-17 rating this year. Last year it was going to be the kiss of death for ‘Blue Valentine’ and this year it was going to spoil any of the hopes and dreams that ‘Shame’ had. In the last month or two though, things have changed. You’re hearing a lot about bucking the NC-17 trend of failure at the box office and Oscars. You’re hearing about legitimizing the rating, and how this could maybe be a good thing for film in general. I’ve been saying it for a long time, but I’m glad it’s finally getting some mainstream traction. Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter recently had to say:
