Check out this 30-minute documentary on the making of American Hustle, currently making the rounds as Oscar voting is underway. This is when the studio campaigns are at their loudest:
TRAILER #2: "22 Jump Street"
Coming out June 13th, Sony's released another trailer for 22 Jump Street- this time the boys are undercover in college. The first one was pretty funny, and the sequel is the same writers and directors, so I'm actually looking forward to this:
TRAILER: "Guardians of the Galaxy"
The first trailer for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy had its world premiere last night on Jimmy Kimmel. Looks kinda interesting, I guess. My biggest hope for any Marvel movie is that they not feel generic, as so many of the studio's movies are starting to lately. I sense an Avengers-humor vibe with this one, but I wonder if the only difference is that these particular characters are less known than the other comic book heroes. We'll see. The movie's coming out August 1st:
REVIEW: "The Act of Killing" (2013) Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
Joshua Oppenheimer's experimental documentary (now streaming on Netflix) does an extraordinary thing. It takes a look at mass genocide through the eyes of the people who committed it- the victors who "won" over the rebels acting against the state. In Indonesia in 1965, following a failed attempted coup, local gangsters were hired to help wipe out much of the population, in an anti-communist purge led by the Indonesian army. They formed infamous death squads and killed upwards of 500,000 people in one of the worst massacres of the last century. Now, Oppenheimer goes back to Indonesia to interview the people took part in these atrocities, who are now part of a right-wing paramilitary group called the Pemuda Pencasila, and protected and in some cases even celebrated by the state.
The leader of one of these squads, Anwar Congo, is the main subject of the film, along with several other former gangsters and petty criminals who went on to commit crimes against humanity. Congo and his friends are happy to talk about what they did, reminisce, even re-enact in classic Hollywood fashion the killings they took part in, and led. The result of this approach is a haunting, surreal, deeply disturbing account of history from the people who have never been held accountable for what they've done. It's antithetical to every history lesson many in the West have ever been taught, and indeed, it's like stepping into another world, an upside-down universe where any normal notion of morality and evil is turned on its head.
The perpetrators of these crimes have dealt with the fallout in various ways- some have no regrets and still celebrate their victory (it was all in the name of "anti-communism" after all, as they've been told over and over again). Others seem to have a total acceptance of the murders, even understanding the horrifying nature of it while admitting that in a practical sense there's nothing to do but live with it after it's done. In a particularly sickening interview, one of Congo's friends compares actions of right and wrong as flexible, always changing depending on who's in power at a particular time. He compares the killings to the torture practices instilled by the Bush administration at Guantanamo and the foundational lie of the Iraq war, seeing as no one from the Bush White House has ever been held accountable for those crimes either. Your heart sinks while watching this as you realize recent U.S. history will now be pointed to as an example for other countries who commit atrocities without retribution.
Anwar Congo himself is the most disturbing of all, as his own accounts of this time seem to haunt him personally, and over the course of the film he communicates his own nightmares and flashbacks to the murders, culminating in an excruciating final sequence that will stay with you for days. Despite the fact that all the criminals seem to glory in their horrific past and are eager to be on camera and share it with the filmmakers, the questions the film brings up about the nature of evil in human beings are the most unsettling. These frail old men do not now resemble the killing machines they once were and their perceived affection for family members do not match the caricatures we often get of crazed murderers in the movies or in life. These men could be people you run into on the street. And that thought is so troubling that the film leaves a lasting impact unlike anything else you'll see this year.
* * * *
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Foreign Correspondent" (1940)
The Criterion Collection is out with another awesome cover this week for Alfred Hitchcock's under-appreciated Foreign Correspondent. This is one of his best movies, a mass government conspiracy thriller that sees an everyman international reporter (Joel McCrea) mixed up in one dangerous incident after another, and all at the start of WWII. I really love this movie, and it has some of Hitchcock's best setpieces, from the confrontation in the mysterious windmills to the climactic plane crash (an insanely impressive stunt for the time). Not to mention a scene-stealing early turn from the great George Sanders as a fellow muckraker. Look for this one.
Original trailer from 1940:
FEATURETTE: "20 Feet From Stardom"
A look at the Oscar-nominated documentary about overlooked back-up singers in the music industry. It's a terrific movie, and I think it's probably the frontrunner in this category, because it stands out as the feel-good film against the other documentaries, most of which are heavy, intense movies with serious subject matter. You should check it out:
Movie of the Day: "Lincoln" (2012)
A special one for President's Day. My favorite movie of 2012 was Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, a fascinating look at 19th century politics and the story of how our 16th president fought to secure the passage of the 13th amendment abolishing slavery in the United States forever. It's anchored by an incredible performance from Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, who transforms himself so completely that you forget you're not watching the real thing. You may have to be a history buff like me to appreciate this movie, as I know there are a lot of people who found the long debates and political conversations boring, but if you are interested in history and/or politics, the deeply literary script crafted by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner (from Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography Team of Rivals) is gripping stuff indeed.
Trailer:
Makeup and Sound Guild Awards to Gravity, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club
The second to last round of guild awards were presented last night, as the Motion Picture Sound Editors gave out their two feature film awards to Gravity for Sound Effects and Captain Phillips for Sound in dialogue. Those two awards combine into one Oscar category for Sound Editing, where both films are nominated- so the always hard to call sound awards are anybody's guess at this point. Mine would be Gravity, but they may split the two Sound categories (the other is Sound Mixing) with Captain Phillips, so that it can win something too.
Meanwhile, the Hair & Makeup Guild gave out its prizes as well:
- Contemporary Hair Styling: The Butler
- Contemporary Makeup: Prisoners
- Period and/or Character Hair Styling: American Hustle
- Period and/or Character Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club
- Special Makeup Effects: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
This is a slam dunk Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, where it's only up against The Lone Ranger and Bad Grandpa. There's no way the Academy allows a Jackass movie to win one of their coveted statues. This coming weekend should bring the last of the industry guild awards, with the Costume Designers weighing in, along with the Cinema Audio Society.
PREVIEW: "Unbroken"
Angelina Jolie's new directorial effort, Unbroken, got a special preview trailer during the Olympics last night, narrated by Tom Brokaw and everything. The movie has a script by the Coen Brothers and is set to come out at Christmas this year:
BOX OFFICE 2/14-2/16: 'Lego Movie' Tops Again; 'About Last Night' a Strong Second
Over Valentine's Day weekend, About Last Night gave The Lego Movie some competition, but only on the holiday itself, as the two were neck and neck as of Friday night. Over the rest of the weekend though, The Lego Movie easily sailed into first place with $48 million, a tiny drop from its $69 million opening last week. It now has $129 million total after just two weeks in release. About Last Night is the second big hit in a row for Kevin Hart, as it came in strong with $27 million and a solid "A-" from audiences. It was the week of 80's remakes all around, as RoboCop pulled in $26 million for third place and Endless Love amassed $13 million in fifth.
The Monuments Men continued to perform solidly, with another $15 million, so crowds are warm to it despite the tepid reviews, and Frozen finally fell out of the top five, but now has $376 million total, and I seriously wonder if it can get to $400. Finally, the horribly received romance fantasy Winter's Tale, with Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell bombed with just $7 million.
Top 5:
- The Lego Movie- $48.8 million
- About Last Night- $27 million
- RoboCop- $21.5 million
- The Monuments Men- $15 million
- Endless Love- $13.4 million
Next week it's the volcano movie Pompeii and the Kevin Costner thriller 3 Days to Kill, but I'm going to make another call that neither of them takes down The Lego Movie for #1 in its third weekend? What do you think?
12 Years a Slave wins BAFTA Best Picture, Gravity Takes Director
The British Academy Awards awards split the big prizes today, with 12 Years a Slave winning just Best Picture and Best Actor, while Gravity won Best Director, Best British Film, and 4 others for a total of 6 trophies:
- British Film: Gravity
- Short Film: Room 8
- Animated Short: Sleeping With the Fishes
- Production Design: The Great Gatsby
- Sound: Gravity
- Editing: Rush
- Documentary: The Act of Killing
- Makeup & Hair: American Hustle
- Costume Design: The Great Gatsby
- Music: Gravity
- Animated Film: Frozen
- British Debut: Keiran Evans, Kelly + Victor
- Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
- Cinematography: Gravity
- Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
- Original Screenplay: American Hustle
- Adapted Screenplay: Philomena
- Rising Star Award: Will Poulter
- Visual Effects: Gravity
- Foreign-Language Film: The Great Beauty
- Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
- Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
- Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
- Picture: 12 Years a Slave
This was the last major precursor before the Oscars and it basically tells us nothing, except that Alfonso Cuaron is a lock for Best Director. 12 Years has won the top prize at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, PGA (with Gravity) and now the BAFTA, but it has not been picking up many other awards to go with it. Even here, where it was favored to sweep, it didn't even win Supporting Actress or Screenplay as it was expected to. Voters in every group seem to want to reward Gravity and 12 Years a Slave at the same time, and have been splitting that up by giving Cuaron director and 12 Years Picture. This still means the Oscar race is wide open, because with the kind of ballot the Academy uses, you cannot control a split vote like you can in these other awards groups. We'll see what happens in two weeks, but I think the Best Picture prize is a 50/50 tossup between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity.
Ellen Page Comes Out
Juno star Ellen Page came out as gay last night at a Human Rights Campaign event before an audience working on behalf of LGBT youth. Here's her brave and emotional speech:
