"Killer" buzz: Ouch, that hurts
1/25/2010 6:17:25 PM
The film it seems that everyone at Sundance Film Festival was talking about on Sunday night, according to a pair of blogs, was "The Killer Inside Me," the crime tale filmed in Oklahoma last year.
The premiere apparently induced a substantial amount of venom for its graphic violence against women, apparently at a level not seen on film in a couple of years. In the blogs by writers covering this year's Sundance festival, films like "American Psycho" were brought to mind, and much was discussed about a scene involving Casey Affleck's deputy character punching Jessica Alba's prostitute in the face, repeatedly, with her features noticeably distorting.
After Sunday night's first screening, a woman reportedly lambasted director Michael Winterbottom during a Q&A session, questioning how the film made it into the festival's lineup.
Ouch. That's the reaction to some of the comments made (I don't want to post one blog that I read, as it unabashedly gave away the film's entire plot). This reaction also applies to reading the works of Jim Thompson, the Oklahoma native and pulpy fiction writer whose books never shy away from the cruelty factor, especially against women.
As I wrote in a blog last year when the film was announced, one need only watch "The Grifters" or "The Getaway," both adapted from Thompson's books, to see how women are treated in the author's world.
The key question now, as the film has not yet gained a distribution deal for the United States: What studio is going to show an interest in promoting such a hot-button, buzzed-about motion picture? Or rather, will all of the major studios shy away, despite the film's star power?
Golden Globes reacts, look ahead to Oscar
1/18/2010 12:48:21 PM
Some thoughts on Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards, bestowed by 90 foreign reporters who emerge once a year to help stage a TV show that looks like a wedding reception:
It's funny how easily people mistake the hype of the Golden Globes for relevance ahead of the awards, followed now by the rolling of eyes that must be occurring among many after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association named "Avatar" and "The Hangover" as their two best picture winners...not that "Avatar" wasn't a good choice, but more on that later...could "The Hangover" sneak in as one of the best picture nominees now that the field has been expanded to 10 nominees? I still don't think so...I only made one Golden Globe prediction in my blog, and I got it right: James Cameron of "Avatar" as best director over his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow of "The Hurt Locker," and wasn't it nice to see Cameron go from his "I'm the King of the World!" speech for "Titanic" to Sunday night's surprise and benevolent acknowledgement that Bigelow "richly deserved to win."
Best actor already appears to be a two-man race for Oscar, and maybe just a one-man: George Clooney is as deserving for "Up in the Air" as any winner in recent memory, but the feeling that he'll have more opportunities and that Jeff Bridges has been too long overlooked is growing pervasive...the current word is that "Crazy Heart," the movie for which Bridges won best actor at the Globes, will open in Tulsa on Jan. 29. Tulsans should flock to this flick, with Bridges playing a broken-down country singer crooning tunes written by T-Bone Burnett that sound like 1970s Waylon Jennings classics...Clooney may be destined to be one of those historical "How did he not win?" runners-up of Academy lore.
"Avatar" wasn't the only upset, just the biggest. Awards going to Robert Downey Jr. for "Sherlock Holmes" and Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side" both felt like they had won popularity contests rather than a "best performance" category...Downey wins the most amusing speech category, being funny and snide but with none of the crude sex jokes that so many employed on stage, apparently influenced by host Ricky Gervais. When did the Golden Globes turn blue? Was Robert De Niro auditioning for "The Hangover 2," or what? I'm glad my kids weren't watching with me...the wins by Downey and Bullock may prove as forgettable as the ones from the year before, as many viewers the other night may still be wondering why Mickey Rourke was presenting an award (he won best actor the year before for "The Wrestler") and who Sally Hawkins is (she won for "Happy Go Lucky" in 2008, allowing her to hand an award to Downey).
Did Gervais cross the line with some of those jokes? Maybe with that, uh, reduction joke in the opening monologue, when the show most likely had some "family viewers" who were then sent scurring away...Gervais' best zinger of the night, after sipping from what looked like a glass of beer: "I love a drink as much as the next man," he said, setting up the next presenter, "unless the next man is Mel Gibson." Ouch, and hilarious...I love Toni Collette, winner in the TV category for "The United States of Tara," but despised the fake-bake...M'onique and Christoph Waltz, the supporting acting winners for "Precious" and "Inglourious Basterds," respectively, won on Sunday night, and both will win again at the Oscars. Those races are over.
Meryl Streep, a winner for "Julie & Julia," gave another one of those speeches that she's famous for: Meandering at the start, as if she's ill-prepared, then completely graceful and gracious by the conclusion...I liked the moxie of that "Grey Gardens" best TV-movie speech from the winners. They just keep thanking people despite the get-off-the-stage music starting up. It wasn't like the Oscars, with that big stage and multiple podiums for the camera to cut away to, so go for it, keep thanking everybody you need to thank, bravo...People in the audience simply were not applauding en masse for James Cameron's "Avatar" wins. Was it jealousy over his billion-dollar commerce? Maybe they just don't like Cameron and his ego? Or was it simply an "Avatar? Seriously?" moment at it taking the top prizes? Any or all of the above, the treatment was pretty shabby, even for that crowd.
Golden Globes: James Cameron, or his ex-wife?
1/15/2010 5:38:11 PM
James Cameron announces himself as the King of the World. |
I'll watch the Golden Globes on Sunday night, or at least some of it. I'm intrigued to hear what Ricky Gervais has to say as host, and what some will have to say about his hosting. Gee, last year he presented one award and he created a controversy.
But of all the matchups, more than Bullock vs. Streep or even Streep vs. Streep (she has two of the five best comedic actress nominations), I'm looking forward most to Bigelow-Cameron.
That would be best director nominee James Cameron of "Avatar," nominated in the same category as his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, the director of "The Hurt Locker."
Bigelow was wife No. 3 for Cameron (of five), and the two were married from 1989 to 1991. Right before Bigelow he was married to Gale Anne Hurd, producer of his "Terminator" films. Right after Bigelow, Cameron married his "T2" star Linda Hamilton as No. 4, another marriage that lasted only a couple of years.
Wife No. 5 is an Oklahoma City girl who made it in Hollywood, and she and Cameron have been married for almost 10 years, with three children. That would be Suzy Amis, perhaps best known for her role in "The Usual Suspects" as the lawyer girlfriend of Gabriel Byrne's character, and memorable as the granddaughter who helps Old Rose (Gloria Stuart) tell her story in "Titanic," Cameron's last blockbuster.
There are other nominees in the category on Sunday night, but I think best director is between Bigelow and Cameron. You never know with those wacky Hollywood Foreign Press Association types, but my guess: Cameron in a surprise, because everyone in Hollywood and overseas loves the smell of money, and "Avatar" is money.
Mary Kay Place gives a nod to her home state
1/7/2010 5:49:41 PM
In the last couple of minutes of "Youth in Revolt," the very funny teen comedy opening on Friday, Tulsa actress Mary Kay Place makes a reference that you won't get unless you're from Oklahoma.
Listen close, or you'll miss her clearly improvised comment made while playing cards with her husband, played by M. Emmett Walsh. She needs a particular card, and he lays it down, making her quite happy.
"Thank you very much," she says, mischievously toward her husband, whom she has just defeated, "and here's your change. Thank you for shopping at Otasco."
Most under the age of 30 might not know that Otasco was Oklahoma Tire and Supply Company, a chain of retail stores specializing in auto parts and appliances, that was based here in Tulsa. That's because the company filed for bankruptcy in 1988.
But Mary Kay Place remembers the place, and her hometown.
That free movie....it's now on Wednesday
1/5/2010 10:43:15 AM
A free screening of the new movie "Youth in Revolt," a teen comedy starring Michael Cera, is set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Circle Cinema.
I previously told all of you that it would be Tuesday morning, but a snag in delivering the print to Tulsa has put off the screening until Wednesday, at the same time and the same place.
Provide the password "Twisp" and you're in to see "Youth in Revolt."
Michael Cera ("Juno," "Superbad")is cast as the protagonist, Nick Twisp, in this sex comedy. The film is rated R for sexual content, language and drug use, and it has a running time of 1 hour, 30 minutes.
So remember: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Circle Cinema. The movie is "Youth in Revolt," and the password is "Twisp."
Twisp=Free Movie
1/3/2010 10:47:36 PM
Provide the password "Twisp" at Circle Cinema at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday for free admission to the new movie "Youth in Revolt," a teen comedy based on the C.D. Payne novels.
The film opens Friday in theaters, but you can be the first in Tulsa to see the picture starring Michael Cera ("Juno," "Superbad") as the protagonist, Nick Twisp, in this sex comedy. The film is rated R for sexual content, language and drug use, and it has a running time of 1 hour, 30 minutes.
So remember, you college-age students who have yet to return to school and can attend a movie that begins in the morning: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Circle Cinema. The movie is "Youth in Revolt," and the password is "Twisp."
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle: And the winner is...
12/22/2009 4:35:37 PM
"The Hurt Locker" is the best motion picture of 2009, according to the Oklahoma Film Critic's Circle, which also announced George Clooney and Meryl Streep as the best in their fields this year.
"The Hurt Locker," a war film about a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq, edged out "Up in the Air" as top film, and it also won the best director prize for Kathryn Bigelow.
Clooney was named best actor for "Up in the Air," as a frequent-flyer who specializes in firing employees, ahead of Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker." Meanwhile, Streep took the lead actress award for her depiction of chef Julia Child in the comedy "Julie & Julia," just nudging out Gabourey Sidibe, the young star of "Precious."
Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") and Mo'Nique ("Precious") won their respective supporting actor and actress categories in voting from the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle.
The OFCC membership includes film critics who publish in print and on online outlets, including the Tulsa World, The Oklahoman and Oklahoma Gazette.
The group's top 10 films, in order, were: "The Hurt Locker"; "Up in the Air"; "Inglourious Basterds"; "(500) Days of Summer"; "Precious"; "A Serious Man"; "Up"; "District 9"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; and "Avatar."
"Up in the Air" also won for best screenplay adaptation, while the relationship comedy "(500) Days of Summer" took top honors as the best original screenplay.
Other OFCC awards included "Fantastic Mr. Fox" as best animated film; for best first film, a tie between director Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" and director Marc Webb's "(500) Days of Summer"; "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" as best documentary; and the French drama "Coco Before Chanel" as best foreign film.
In the categories of dishonor, Oklahoma film critics agreed on "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" as the "Obviously worst film" of 2009. "Amelia" took the booby prize as "Not-so-obviously worst" picture of the year, in a category, according to an OFCC press release, contains films that may have great talent behind them, but somehow add up to less than the sum of their parts."
The group's Web site, ofccircle.org, includes links to the Oklahoma film critics' reviews as well as feature articles.
Don't miss "Avatar" in Imax
12/17/2009 2:36:44 PM
Do not arrive late if you plan on seeing “Avatar” in Imax 3-D at Cinemark: The movie is going to start on time, no previews included. You do not want to miss the start of this film.
That said, you do not want to miss this film. It is epic in all the best ways.
The sci-fi extravaganza is, at 162 minutes, of such a length that to have added on previews to run with the Imax print would have necessitated an intermission, Imax projectionist Heath Poe said.
Without previews, the 500-plus pound print can remain on one platter and play without an intermission. Note the start times for this weekend’s Imax showings of “Avatar”: 11 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Previews will be shown before the movie all of Cinemark’s non-Imax theaters that are screening “Avatar,” Poe said.
Who's winning before the Golden Globe nominees are announced Tuesday
12/14/2009 2:10:01 PM
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that obscure collection of film journalists who have gained ever-greater significance in recent years because their awards show is the most fun party around, will announce its Golden Globe nominees in film and TV on Tuesday morning.
Who's going to be nominated? Just look at the year-end film lists from three groups in the last week, and you will see that a trend is developing.
New York Film Critics
Best picture: The Hurt Locker
Best actor: George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Best actress: Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"
Best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Best supporting actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Best animated film: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Los Angeles Film Critics
Best picture: The Hurt Locker
Best actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
Best actress: Yolande Moreau, "Seraphine"
Best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Best supporting actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Best animated film: Fantastic Mr. Fox
National Board of Review
Best picture: Up in the Air
Best actor: George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Best actress: Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Best supporting actor: Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Best supporting actress: Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Best director: Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"
Best animated film: Up
When it comes to the Golden Globes, and later the Academy Awards, Waltz and Mo'Nique may be unbeatable in the supporting roles. Best actor is increasingly shaping up to be Clooney, with Bridges trailing. Best actress is anybody's guess, director may be assured for Bigelow (she would be the first woman awarded) and the excellent "Fantastic Mr. Fox" might, but probably won't, give "Up" a run for its money in the animated category.
"Blind"-sided
11/24/2009 5:14:39 PM
For two weeks, I kept seeing ads during football games for “The Blind Side,” the movie based on the true story of NFL player Michael Oher and the family that helped this young man with an unfortunate upbringing find happiness, security and success.
I kept thinking that with the emphasis on Sandra Bullock as the sassy, caring mom shown in the commercials, this didn’t look like your average sports movie, despite its placement during football games watched predominantly by men.
It turns out “The Blind Side” is a huge hit, with an opening three-day box-office at $34.5 million, and that success is thanks to women. Centering more on the feel-good story than on sports action, the audience was 59 percent women, according to tracking by the CinemaScore service.
Have women ever dominated a weekend like this past one, with the "Twilight" sequel, "New Moon," making $142 million, and then "The Blind Side" numbers? It's not likely.
The "Blind Side" good fortune is likely to continue, because the film connected with audiences in a rare manner, according to CinemaScore data: “The Blind Side” is only the second film of 2009 to average an A-plus rating from theatergoers leaving screenings, accomplished previously this year only by “Up.”
See "The Cove," and watch for more Oscar docs
11/23/2009 5:58:40 PM
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences produced its short list of documentaries, whittling down 89 entries to 15 that will now be considered for the ultimate five nominations.
The good news: “The Cove,” the brilliant picture (currently playing at Circle Cinema) that exposes the killing of thousands of dolphins annually in Japan in such a unique way (read my 4-star review at tulsaworld.com/movies) is on the list. It might be the favorite.
I say that because of the disappointing news: Some of the year’s best works were left out in the cold. I admit to having not yet seen 11 of the films on the short list (many of these make their way to theaters after being nominated), but three I have seen that did make the short list — “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” “Food, Inc.” and “Every Little Step” — could have been replaced by three better ones.
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” a sort of real-life Spinal Tap movie, was a rock doc filled with heart and humor. “The September Issue” featuring Anna Wintour assembling Vogue’s annual doorstop edition was an irresistible look at the devil herself donned in Prada. “Tyson” was a blow-by-blow account of Mike Tyson’s rise and fall.
More good news: The Circle Cinema has played several titles, and operator Clark Wiens confirmed that the theater will be seeking multiple films from the remaining short-list nominees. Check the Internet Movie Database for information on these documentaries: “The Beaches of Agnes,” “Burma VJ,” “Facing Ali,” “Garbage Dreams,” “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” “Mugabe and the White African,” “Sergio,” “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” “Under Our Skin” and “Which Way Home.”
The Academy Award nominations are announced Feb. 2.
First look at "The Killer Inside Me"
11/11/2009 4:56:00 PM
There are a few still photographs from the film “The Killer Inside Me,” the Casey Affleck-Jessica Alba-Kate Hudson movie that shot in Oklahoma (and in Tulsa for one day), beginning to circulate. You didn’t hear this from me, but if you look online hard enough, there are visual images of the film with Affleck’s deputy sheriff, ahem, disciplining Alba’s prostitute character.
Yes, it’s a spanking. Yes, the movie is going to be down and dirty.
The images shot by director Michael Winterbottom (“A Mighty Heart,” “Welcome to Sarajevo”) are beautiful period reproductions of cinemas, vintage cars and dangerous women. Smoky and seductive and a bit glossy, there’s something there that would likely gain the approval of Anadarko native Jim Thompson (who also wrote the books-turned-into-movies “The Grifters,” “The Getaway” and “After Dark, My Sweet”).
Check out the photos  here and notice the one with Affleck and Ned Beatty, which was shot in Tulsa on Boston Avenue during that June 29 day of filming. In addition, take a look at Tulsa World’s slideshow of photos from that day.
Todd Lincoln attracts a "Twilight" star
11/6/2009 4:35:00 PM
Ashley Greene (left) in "Twilight: New Moon" with Kristen Stewart. |
Tulsa native and now Los Angeles-based filmmaker Todd Lincoln seems to have his most promising film project to date lined up with the news that one of the stars of "Twilight" is thisclose to being cast in a lead role.
Variety reported Thursday that Ashley Greene -- best known to film audiences for playing Alice Cullen, or the sister of studly Robert Pattinson's character -- is in final negotiations to star in "Apparition."
"Apparition" is based on Lincoln's original screenplay, and he will direct the film about a supernatural being that is freed during an experiment by college students.
The film is scheduled to begin production in February for Dark Castle production company, started by Joel Silver ("The Matrix" films, "Lethal Weapon" films), who will produce "Apparition."
Lincoln, a Holland Hall graduate, has been working in Los Angeles for several years making videos and commercials. He also started, along with his pal Jeremy Lamberton, the 10-year-run of the Tulsa Overground Film Festival.
This just in on "This is It"
11/2/2009 3:42:38 PM
When the Michael Jackson documentary "This is It" opened last week, I didn't bother to note anywhere that it would play in cinemas for only two weeks, as it was promoted, because I knew it wasn't true.
Big shocker: An announcement came on Monday that you can buy tickets to "This is It" not through Nov. 12, but through Thanksgiving, after a $100 million opening through last Sunday ($68 million overseas).
So just like with the Hannah Montana concert flick in 3-D and the recent "Toy Story" re-release and others, "two weeks only" is a remarkably flexible term.
Such proclamations might be meaningful if they came with a disclaimer, like "playing for two weeks only, unless the movie tanks," but even the Disney concert film from the Jonas Brothers that went bust in theaters overstayed its two-week welcome with a five-weekend run.
Why the "Wild Things" is a cheat
10/29/2009 1:28:33 PM
I figured the box-office for “Where the Wild Things Are” would drop in its second weekend by more than 60 percent, or about double what so-called “family films” usually fall off by in their second week. Why? Word-of-mouth buzz.
As in bad buzz. As in, “Don’t take your 5-year-olds who are of the age that you read the book to them, because the movie was not made for them, not made for the age group that first falls in love with Maurice Sendak’s book.”
The film’s gross fell by 57 percent, from a No. 1 debut of $32.5 million down to $14 million in the second weekend (while “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” continues to drop by only about 30 percent a week). The “Wild Things” sharp decline was more in line with that of a film targeted at an older crowd, which I believe the makeup of the film to be, despite seeing commercials for the movie during my daughter’s “Spongebob Squarepants” viewings.
“Where the Wild Things” was a huge disappointment for me, because it felt like a lie had been perpetrated. I loved this book as a child. I had expectations that a movie would be similar in tone, filled with imagination and a bit of fear. I expected to take my own children, ages 5 and 9, to see the film at a later time.
Within minutes of the screening I knew I would not be returning for an encore with the little ones. I agree with other critics that many children’s movies have become increasingly shallow and ridiculously manic, and I went in knowing that “Wild Things” by director Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich”) would be different.
What I didn’t know was that “Where the Wild Things Are” would bore young kids. I felt cheated — and depressed by all the sad animals on Max’s magical island — as I walked out of the theater. I was not the only one.
“I just got out of that movie, and it sucked,” said a mother into her cell phone outside of theater No. 10 at AMC Southroads 20, a 400-plus seater that was nearly full on a fall break Friday that she was exiting with a couple of boys in tow. “It was terrible, and I was ready to leave after 10 minutes, but I thought it would get better, and the kids had really wanted to see this movie …” the woman continued.
She was passionately ticked off, and so were a few others. “Wild Things” was the first movie in three years of reviewing films for the Tulsa World in which I saw families leaving the theater before the end of the movie for some reason other than for an “accident,” if you know what I mean.
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