Marvel's current timetable of one sequel and one "original" film a year continues, as the trailer for Ant-Man drops. The most publicity this movie's gotten has been all the controversy surrounding Edgar Wright abandoning the project last year after spending at least three years writing the script and working on pre-production. Apparently the director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz had ideas that were far too creative and "off-brand" for Marvel, which now seems to package its movies off an assembly line devoid of unique content. So it shouldn't be surprising that they've produced a very generic trailer after placing director-for-hire Peyton Reed on the film. I love Paul Rudd, but sorry guys- I see nothing to get excited about in this teaser. It's coming out July 17th.
Iowa Joins 'Boyhood', J.K. Simmons Train
The love just won't stop. The Iowa Film Critics agree that Boyhood's best, but also list what their runners-up were. By the way, I really hate it when any group gives out an award for "best movie that hasn't come out yet." What's that about- the title you liked best?
- Best Film - Boyhood (runners-up, Birdman and Imitation Game)
- Best Director - Richard Linklater (runners-up, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, David Fincher)
- Best Actor - Micheal Keaton (runners-up, Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch)
- Best Actress - Reese Witherspoon (runners-up, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike)
- Best Supporting Actor - JK Simmons (runners-up, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton)
- Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette (runners-up, Emma Stone, Tilda Swinton)
- Best Score - Birdman (runners-up, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game)
- Best Animated Film - The Lego Movie (runners-up, Big Hero 6, How To Train Your Dragon 2)
- Best Original Song - Everything is Awesome (runners-up, Lost Stars, Glory)
- Best Movie Yet To Open in Iowa - A Most Violent Year and American Sniper (tie)
Vancouver Critics like 'Boyhood,' Tilda Swinton
The Vancouver film critics went for Boyhood in best film but gave actress to Tilda Swinton for Only Lovers Left Alive! Probably my favorite critics pick all season. She was so great in that, and in Snowpiercer last year- it's a shame she won't be recognized for either come Oscar time. Sigh.
Film: Boyhood
Director: Alejandro Inarritu, Birdman
Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Actress: Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive
S. Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
S. Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Foreign: Force Majeure
Documentary: The Overnighters
REVIEW: "Foxcatcher" (2014) Steve Carell, Channing Tatum. Dir. Bennett Miller
What's there to say about a movie like Foxcatcher? It's impeccably wrought, well-acted and precisely controlled, yet I didn't get anything out of the experience that would make me want to recommend it to someone else. It's cold, it's moody, it's unsettling...but essentially that's all it is, and a movie has to have more to it than simply a sense of atmosphere. There has to be something of a story worth telling, or characters worth knowing- something that leaves you feeling that what you're being shown is in some way worth your time. I did not get that from this film as a whole, despite the finely tuned crafting of the individual pieces of it.
In 1987, Olympic wrestler Mark Schulz, here played by Channing Tatum, was invited to the "Foxcatcher" estate of billionaire John DuPont, whose goal was to provide training grounds for the 1988 Olympic wrestling team and be their coach and advisor. There was no real sense of purpose in DuPont's life, or so this movie would have you believe, as he was endlessly searching for something to build his legacy on, using his mass inherited wealth to do so. He had no talents of his own, or close friends, and he may have also been using this endeavor to buy himself some of those, as he seemed to want the wrestlers to look up to him as a father figure and a mentor. Or maybe he was physically attracted to them, as the movie vaguely hints, using their presence to work out his hidden sexual desires.
The film doesn't outright tell us any of this, that's only me theorizing based on the slightest inferences sprinkled throughout this slowly paced, methodical telling of what happened at the DuPont estate. It ended in the tragic killing of Mark Schulz's brother Dave, also an Olympic wrestler, but this film wants us to observe and question what it is that led to that event. I can't say that I have any kind of an answer, and that's because the movie never focuses on any one aspect of the story it purportedly wants to tell. In some ways this is a character study, not simply of John DuPont, but of each of the Schulz brothers as well. The movie at times trades off between them, and we see various angles of the relationship between Mark and DuPont from different viewpoints, but always from a carefully observed distance. There's not enough intimacy involved in any of it to know what's really going on under the surface, and the tone is maddeningly opaque.
The bright spot is the performances from the actors, all of whom give it their best shot and dive head on into the material, especially Steve Carell as the intensely disturbed DuPont. Disguised by heavy facial makeup including a prosthetic nose, Carell nonetheless does not let the makeup act for him, turning in a deeply unsettling, creepy performance as this troubled figure- so much so that you're perturbed by his presence and relieved when he's not onscreen. I'm not sure if that's a sign Carell succeeded in this role or not- but I was genuinely put off by him and didn't want to see any more of him than was necessary. Tatum is also impressive as Schulz, and turns in a much more serious performance than we're used to seeing from him. As the needy and sulking athlete who lives in his brother's shadow, he hulks down under his physical presence and changes the way he walks to more closely resemble a wrestler. It shows a canny development of talent from an actor who I used to think sounded like he read his dialogue phonetically.
But best in show here by far is Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schulz. Blessed with his uncanny knack for complete naturalism, he once again delivers the most un-actorly performance in a very actorly film (he's using the false prosthetics too, but on him they seem to disappear) and you can't help but feel the entire movie should have been seen from Dave's point of view. As the older, more secure brother who always looked after his younger one and still sees what's going on around him, capable of being bought but incapable of being owned, it's he who suffers most in the end and he who was least deserving of the troubles brought upon him. Ruffalo is the highlight in a film that feels unbearably frustrating at times, content to wallow in the unsettling atmosphere of DuPont's wealthy and remote island of existence without giving us any insight into his character or what makes him tick- or worse, why any of this matters. Why do we need to spend all this time with a man who remains utterly inscrutable, watching as events inevitably unfold without any hint as to the inner workings of his mindset? Do the events themselves communicate something bigger? Is it meant to be ambiguous? Bennett Miller shows off his tight control over every shot and the performances of his actors, but to what end? I'm afraid this story was lost on me. I felt thoroughly creeped out by Carell's villainous John DuPont, but that was it, and not in a good way.
* *
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Working Girl" (1988)
After a drought in blu-ray picks for the last couple of weeks (as per usual at the end of the year), our weekly recommendation is back with a classic from the late Mike Nichols. A kind of corporate fairy tale that encompasses 1980's values, but entirely centered on Melanie Griffith's quest to work her way up from lowly secretary to Sigourney Weaver to high powered executive at a Wall Street bank. It's funny, it's crowdpleasing, and watching it now, it's incredibly disheartening to realize that a movie like this wouldn't even be made today- a workplace comedy revolving around two women's professional ambitions with a star like Harrison Ford essentially playing the supporting love interest? I can't even imagine it.
Original 1988 Trailer:
North Carolina Chooses 'Budapest'; Oklahoma and North Texas like 'Boyhood'
You thought we were done with these, right? Nope- still a handful of regional critics groups left to go, but they're getting slimmer. Hey, at least North Carolina did something super awesome in naming the ferocious Essie Davis Best Actress for The Babadook! Now that's what I'm talking about! I'll love these guys forever for that.
NORTH CAROLINA FILM CRITICS
Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Director: Richard Linklator, Boyhood
Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Actress: Essie Davis, The Babadook
S. Actor: Edward Norton, Birdman
S. Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
O. Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
A. Screenplay: Guardians of the Galaxy
Foreign Film: Force Majeure
Animated: The Lego Movie
Documentary: Life Itself
OKLAHOMA CRITICS
These guys didn't do much worth noting, except name a couple of cute extra categories, like "not so worst" film (what the hell does that mean?) Chalk up another Boyhood win.
Best Picture - Boyhood
Best Actor – Michael Keaton, Birdman
Best Actress – Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Best Animated Film – The LEGO Movie
Best Body of Work – Chris Miller & Phil Lord – The LEGO Movie & 22 Jump Street
Best Director – Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Documentary – Life Itself
Best First Feature – Nightcrawler
Best Foreign Language Film – Force Majeure
Best Guilty Pleasure – Edge of Tomorrow
Not So Obviously Worst Film – The Monuments Men
Obviously Worst Film – Transformers: Age of Extinction
Best Original Screenplay – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay – Gone Girl
Best Supporting Actor – Edward Norton, Birdman
Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
NORTH TEXAS CRITICS
Meanwhile, the North Texas critics unsurprisingly went for Boyhood and other familiar winners- it's sort of interesting that Arquette and Simmons have nearly swept the supporting races, while there seems to be a whole lot less consensus in the lead acting categories. I wonder if there's a possibility for upsets there at the televised awards.
Picture: Boyhood
Director: Richard Linklator, Boyhood
Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Actress: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
S. Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
S. Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Cinematography: Interstellar
Animated: The Lego Movie
Documentary: Life Itself
Foreign: Ida
Ensemble: Birdman
PGA Nominees include 'American Sniper,' 'Nightcrawler,' snub 'Selma'
Well, the all important Producers Guild announced its ten feature nominees today, and boy is American Sniper coming on strong. The strongest late release of a Clint Eastwood movie since Letters From Iwo Jima I'd say. The big shock on the list is the absence of Selma, which has gotten totally skunked by the guilds so far. That's obviously not a good sign, but I still think it will get in at the Oscars (it's their kind of movie and the Academy was the only group to receive screeners), even if it manages a smaller than expected nominations haul.
Theatrical Feature
- American Sniper
- Birdman
- Boyhood
- Foxcatcher
- Gone Girl
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Nightcrawler
- The Theory of Everything
- Whiplash
Animated Feature
- Big Hero 6
- The Book of Life
- The Boxtrolls
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- The Lego Movie
Documentary Feature
- The Green Prince
- Life Itself
- Merchants of Doubt
- Particle Fever
- Virunga
The winner of the PGA is normally your Best Picture winner, even if the nominees usually miss by 1-2 movies. This year I think what'll happen is that Selma replaces Foxcatcher, and Nightcrawler misses out. Yes, Nightcrawler has done extremely well with the guilds, but there's always one that does that ends up missing in the end, and it's always a genre movie, pulpier than what the Academy likes. That could either be Nightcrawler or Gone Girl this time, but I still think Gone Girl's box office haul of $160 million will be rewarded in the end. And Bradley Cooper for Sniper looks likely to be in there for Best Actor more and more every day, but I can't figure out who to toss from the lineup. David Oyelowo may be the weakest, but we'll see this Friday morning who's still looking good for acting nominations when the BAFTA list is revealed. On a sidenote, it's interesting that the PGA snubbed supposed doc frontrunner Citizenfour altogether- I'm really thinking Life Itself is going to be the one that takes the Oscar in that category.
Art Directors Guild Nominates 'Inherent Vice,' 'Imitation Game,' 'Guardians'
The Art Directors Guild announced their nominees today for three different categories of film sets- period, fantasy and contemporary.
Period Film
- Inherent Vice
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- The Theory of Everything
- Unbroken
Fantasy Film
- Interstellar
- Into the Woods
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Contemporary Film
- American Sniper
- Birdman
- Foxcatcher
- Gone Girl
- Nightcrawler
The most egregious snub here is Mr. Turner in period film. I'm sorry but do these people really not have enough respect for their own craft to just skip a film with some of the best production design of the year? Because that's the only thing that could explain it missing (and for Theory of Everything of all things, which used already existing locations? Seriously?) The production design branch of the Academy better rectify that error next week.
REVIEW: "Whiplash" (2014) Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons. Dir. Damien Chazelle
Whiplash is a solid gut punch of a movie- one that lays you flat on your back by the end of it, knocking the wind out of you as you wonder where the impact came from. 29-year-old director Damien Chazelle shows he can craft suspense scenes that'll rip your heart out of your throat in spite of the fact that this movie really could not be classified as a thriller in any way...but it goes to show you how something original can still be done with a style of filmmaking intended to upend convention.
Not that this is a perfect film. In fact for the first half of it, it's difficult to absorb, simply because the setup is so inherently ridiculous to take seriously. The Spectacular Now's Miles Teller is a 19-year-old college student at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory (clearly meant to model Juilliard) where he harbors dreams of becoming the next Charlie Parker. He's a talented drummer who's spotted in the film's opening scene by the belligerent Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the school's studio band conductor, who makes his living by turning his students into punching bags, berating them with homophobic, xenophobic, and personal insults (although the line is apparently drawn at racially insensitive remarks, since we never see him screaming at the African-American kids) supposedly meant to push them to reach their talent limit in a way no talk of "encouragement" ever could.
For quite a while I simply was unable to buy this premise. First of all, no instructor or teacher could ever get away with hurling verbal and physical abuse at their students- the classroom scenes seem ripped straight out of Full Metal Jacket, when Lee Ermey's drill instructor would scream obscenities at his cadets, charged with turning them into killers as a metaphor for what the military does to young men. That scenario made sense on the level of allegory- this situation seems designed simply to give J.K. Simmons a showcase to dominate the screen as a flashy, monstrous lunatic- which, to be fair he does extremely well (it's a powerful performance). But that setup simply doesn't work in every scenario. First of all, it's a music school that's not segregated by gender- why are there no girls in this class? My guess is because their presence would immediately pull you out of any reality this is meant to evoke- maybe you can buy Fletcher's antics in a room full of guys as some entertaining showboating ala Full Metal Jacket, but again, that was the very macho universe of the army, in a film that was making a point about the violent nature of man. This is a music college. It's not a male dominated world (we see girls walking around outside of Fletcher's classroom), the only reason they're not in the room is so we can buy the conceit- it's a fantasy.
But it's not supposed to be a fantasy- you're meant to buy into this story on a level of reality here. What ultimately saves the film for me is the unexpected turn that Simmons's character takes in the final third, a twist that does defy expectation and leads to a supremely intense, thrillingly climactic sequence that spotlights a feat of bravura directing more impressive than anything I've seen this year. Chazelle has a way of staging the jazz scenes that manages to make your pulse race in a way you could hardly imagine was possible watching people play big band music. Miles Teller is very good in this film as the determined young would-be prodigy (no matter that anyone actually wanting to be in Fletcher's class is itself a suspension of disbelief), and Simmons of course dazzles with a sly, menacing grin as he takes what could be a rote, one-dimensional character out of the realm of cliche and into something truly memorable by the movie's end. I'd say it's worth seeing both for him and for the technical achievement of a new director boldly introducing himself to audiences with a lot of pizzazz.
* * *
BOX OFFICE 1/02-1/04: 'Hobbit' Three-peats at #1 to open 2015
The Hobbit: BOFA has opened the New Year's box office with another reign at the top of the charts, following its predecessors, which also spent three weeks at No. 1. It came in with $21 million over the weekend, which is less than either of the previous films made on their respective third weekends, but enough to rule once more. Meanwhile, Unbroken and Into the Woods are having a parallel run, as Into the Woods turned out to have actually topped Unbroken last week and did so again this time, coming in with $19 million while Unbroken earned $18 million. The Disney musical now has $91 million in the pot, Unbroken $87 million, both successes, at least financially (awards hype for both has died down considerably due to mixed-negative reviews).
The first new release of the year was The Woman in Black 2 (above), which actually overperformed, coming in with $15 million, much to the surprise of everyone, including the studio. Horror fans are clearly starved for anything they can get, seeing as this cheapie sequel didn't have the first one's main attraction, Daniel Radcliffe in it. Night at the Museum rounded out the top five, dipping 29% for $14 million and a $137 million total, just about enough to break even with its budget.
Top 5:
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- $21.9 million
- Into the Woods- $19 million
- Unbroken- $18.4 million
- The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death- $15 million
- Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb- $14.5 million
The more interesting box office news is what's happening in limited release these last holiday weeks, with The Imitation Game increasing its haul this weekend by 2% despite the theater count remaining flat (747) and making it to No. 7 with an outstanding $30 million dollar haul after only six weekends in limited release. It's now outgrossed all of the specialty releases of 2014 besides Grand Budapest Hotel, and should have along way to go with Oscar nominations right around the corner. American Sniper is also doing incredible business so far on just 4 screens, adding 640k for a $2 million total and set go wide on the 16th, and Selma also perked up some, bringing in $645k from 22 screens and set for wide release next weekend. Finally, the last release of 2014, A Most Violent Year (above), came out on New Year's Eve and did very well at 4 theaters, earning $188k- not bad for small film from a tiny studio (A24)- arthouse fans must have been paying attention to the reviews. Next week it's the previously mentioned wide release of Selma, along with Taken 3, the annual Liam Neeson winter actioner. See you then!
National Society of Film Critics Names Jean Luc-Godard's 'Goodbye to Language' Best of 2014
Well, I wanted something different. So, apparently did the National Society of Film Critics, the last most important critics group in the country, as they decided to choose something wildly unpredictable (possibly just for the sake of doing so, I suspect, since Godard's film has been very divisive with critics). With the New York, LA and National Board of Review already chimed in, the big four for critics awards are now complete (although there are still some regional players who haven't announced yet). With this set of winners though, the NSFC can be expected not to influence anything major this year in the Oscar race, but perhaps that's what they wanted.
- Picture: Goodbye to Language
- Director: Richard Linklator, Boyhood
- Actor: Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner
- Actress: Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night
- Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
- Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
- Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Non-Fiction Film: Citizenfour
- Cinematography: Mr. Turner
Oscar Roundup: Best Picture & Director Contenders
Now it's time to round up the very confusing options we have this year for Picture and Director. In some ways it seems like a wide open year with no clear frontrunner, yet in other ways it reminds me of 2011, when voters didn't love any of the nominees enough to prevent The Artist from sweeping everything as a kind of default, least disagreeable winner. This year, that option looks like Boyhood to me, but let's see where we end up.
BEST DIRECTOR
Oh boy. This category is the toughest to suss out. The directors branch of the Academy is the most idiosyncratic of the major branches and they tend not to pay any attention to things like precursors and buzz (not even the Directors Guild necessarily influences them). Yes, strong Best Picture contenders usually have their directors nominated as well, but there also tends to be out of left field moves no one saw coming, such as in 2012, when the branch snubbed the two people everyone thought were the only safe bets that year, Ben Affleck and Kathryn BIgelow, in favor of auteur choices Behn Zeitlin and Michael Haneke. This year looks to me like a potential shocker along those lines, because aside from two seemingly surefire nominees (you never know with this group), I don't really know who else will make it in.
The two locked in look like Richard Linklater for the Best Picture frontrunner Boyhood, and Alejandro Inarritu for Birdman, both seen as heavily artistic directorial achievements in line with what the branch tends to admire. After that it's tough. Many think Ava Duvernay is another lock for Selma, but I'm not so sure. The movie has gotten stellar reviews and many assume she will be nodded because she'd make history as the first black woman ever nominated in Director, but I do wonder if stats like making history hold much sway over this branch, which includes many foreign directors only concerned with the achievement at hand. Still, Duvernay is a member of the branch, so that would presumably work in her favor.
Then it's kind of a crapshoot. The Imitation Game is presumed to be a top 2-3 picture contender, which usually means the director gets in too, but the unknown Morten Tyldum hasn't been nominated in non-industry places like the Golden Globes or BFCA. We'll see if Bafta and the DGA go for him though- if they do it bolsters his chances. Then there's the respected David Fincher, a two-time nominee for Gone Girl, which was a huge hit this year, and Wes Anderson, never nominated but now up for the very popular Grand Budapest Hotel (but does this branch like his films at all?). Mike Leigh is a strong possibility I think, for Mr. Turner, even if the movie doesn't show up in many other above-the-line categories- he's enormously well respected within the branch, nominated twice before, and this film may be the pinnacle of his directing career. Finally, newbie Damien Chazelle directed Whiplash this year, which got great reviews, is reportedly loved by the Academy and would be a very Behn Zeitlin-esque nomination- but will they pull that same hat trick twice?
My predicted 5:
- Ava Duvernay, Selma
- Alejandro Inarritu, Birdman
- Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner
- Richard Linklater, Boyhood
- Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
I didn't even mention possible contenders Clint Eastwood for American Sniper (a veteran two time winner and four time nominee) and Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher, but they're in there too. Basically I think this is the hardest category to predict this year and I fully expect to be wrong. I certainly don't feel strongly about anyone but Inarritu and Linklater (of course, watch them get snubbed now). We'll definitely know a little more when Bafta and the DGA weigh in here, but even then this branch can often go its own way. There's less suspense when it comes to the win- I don't see how anyone can take this away from Linklator and the 12-year project he accomplished.
BEST PICTURE
So now we come to the big prize. This is a very strange year, because most would argue it's a weaker year for movies, and in this case it's hard to predict what makes up a list of nine or ten nominees. It would certainly be a year like this one that argues for going back to only five, because even then it's hard to see what would ultimately make the cut this time. I'm just going to go ahead and lay out what I've predicted will get in, based on the various precursor noms given so far, even though we are missing two crucial ones in Bafta and the PGA- maybe I shouldn't predict before hearing a bit more from the industry, but oh well- here we go.
Predicted 9 in alphabetical order:
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
There's a couple of films that could slide in here, and to my surprise Nightcrawler is definitely an option. It could have enough passion to force the nominee count to ten, which would be the first time that's happened under the preferential ballot system they've been using for the last three years. The movie has defied all predictions and made a great showing all over the place, starting with the critics, then the NBR, AFI, and the ACE Eddies yesterday. Again, seeing if it shows up at Bafta and the PGA will be the real test, and at the expense of what movie. I think the weaker films on this list that could theoretically be knocked out are Sniper, Theory and Gone Girl, but I'd only give any of them the slightest chance to be snubbed. I actually feel better predicting the BP nominees than I do director at this point. And I suppose there's still a small chance that Unbroken could land a slot despite the bad reviews (box office helps sometimes), but as of now I think that's only a remote possibility. We'll see how close I am come Jan 15th- I actually predicted all the nominees last year, but given the uncertainty this year, I don't expect that to happen again. And for the win, well- I continue to think it's Boyhood unless/until another movie wins the top prize at a major guild. If something else wins the PGA, Bafta or even the Globe, I'll take it seriously, but right now it looks like this movie's going all the way.
