We Can't Wait #1: The Tree of Life

Nathaniel: And so we come to the top film in our List O' Impatience called "We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" There's still neither trailer nor official stills. With Malick, you always have to wait. Even when you feel you can't.

The Tree of Life
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Fiona Shaw (in the 1950s) Sean Penn and Joanna Going (in present day)
Synopsis (don't read if you don't wanna know the very basic template) Malick has described the film as a "mystical epic". There's rumored to be a section of the film about prehistoric Earth. But most of what we know is that it's a story in two main parts. First, a story about the eldest boy in a young family in the 1950s (Brad Pitt is the father) and the loss of innocence. The second part is about the boy as a disillusioned adult man (Sean Penn)
Brought to you Apparition. That's Bob Berney's new distribution company that is obviously thinking Quality + Oscar. Last year they brought us Bright Star and The Young Victoria and this year the fine Aussie noir The Square and the rock bio The Runaways.
Expected Release Date god only knows. It's Malick.

As much as I am eager to see this, I can wait until Malick is finished. I feel we could have avoided all that New World confusion if awards season hadn't rushed that film into strangely blink-and-miss multiple versions.

Robert: At this point I think I'd just be happy if The Tree of Life is finished in my lifetime. I don't begrudge Malick his slow work style (after all it results in masterpieces) but my anticipation is turning into impatience. I blame the sexy allure of the unknown. Think about it. Malick's last movie was based on a historical story we were all familiar with. The one before that was based (albeit loosely) on a book. But this is the first time in over thirty years we've really had no idea what he's cooking up.

Colin Farrell in The New World (2005)

I can't imagine the distribution will be as botched as it was with The New World. This has to be poised as the big Oscar contender of the year. I can even recall reading that Malick was prepared to get less elusive and campaign (though that has yet to be seen).

Is it me or are there an unusual number of mysterious movies coming out this year?

Nathaniel: It's not just you. But none are as mysterious as this. Even when Malick's movies are based on true familiar stories they feel somewhat ethereal.That's the wrong word. Otherworldly. Otherwordly it is. New Worlds. I assume Malick has to be the alpha and omega of why we're all interested in this one. So anyone care to share when they first fell for Malick's work and why?

Jose: I was twelve when I saw The Thin Red Line, it was my first Malick and I couldn't make sense of a single thing other than the fact that it was so green. That's all I remember from it now actually: leaves and soldiers.

<-- Jim Caviezel in The Thin Red Line (1998)

I figured it all out almost a decade later when I took on the task of watching all of Malick's films (it's not that big a filmography I know) and saw how nature was such a predominant part of his work. I think I fell in love with it when I saw the performances he got out of Sam Shepard in Days of Heaven and especially Q'Orianka Kilcher in The New World. The way their characters are at complete balance between the natural and the ethereal is breathtaking.

Craig: I really like that I don't know a great deal about this one, and indeed many of the more attention-worthy films coming out later in the year. But this adds to that Malick allure, as you say Robert. There were two recent films - one late last year (Where the Wild Things Are); one earlier this year (Shutter island) - where I successfully managed to avoid anything and everything said about them. I wanted to keep it all a surprise. And it worked well; I enjoyed both completely spoiler-free.There have been certain films in the past where I'll read as much as possible, and the hype I build for myself for them doesn't always pan out. I don't think we'll get a great amount of pre-release information on Tree of Life either. And I've found this works particularly well with Malick's stuff. Because he doesn't make too many films in any given decade, this is all kind of in keeping with his secrecy and mystique. This basic plot premise (which I did read - I slap my own wrists!) does sound really allusive and more than a bit oblique, which leads me to think that his themes will be broad as hell and all-encompassing. As he gets older is he grasping for those ever more grand subject matters?

The first Malick film I saw was his second (or third if you count the short Lanton Mills): Days of Heaven. I liked the look and feel, and the music struck me as nice, but I was really too young to actually grasp what it was really all about. Then I saw Badlands (ace), and his others over time, and now I've since re-watched Heaven again (several times now). Although I like to think I have a better grasp of its mood, climate and sense of evaporating time (and the music is still next to godliness), I still, gladly, can't fully comprehend why it's so evocative. It's probably my favourite of his still. Richard Gere hasn't been better; Brooke Adams and Linda Manz were just so perfectly cast; and although it's been commented on to the nth degree - and is a rather shopworn phrase now - but all that 'magic hour' photography is just as fresh and spellbinding today - it's just so easy on the eye!

Days of Heaven (1978)

Days of Heaven feels kinda unfinished, unresolved in a way, too. One of the main things I love about it is that, even though the film technically ends, it's easy to believe that the story continues and resonates beyond that point. So I guess it's a 'first love' situation with Days. I love me some Malick - bring on the Tree!

JA: I can't remember if it was Badlands or Days of Heaven that caused me to fall for Malick, but getting to see Badlands on a big screen a couple years ago cemented my impression that when it comes to Malick, the bigger the better. Somehow I missed The New World in theaters - I don't know how that happened, but they did mess up that movie's release something bad - but seeing Badlands splashed across a giant screen made me realize what I've been missing watching them on little TV boxes.

<--- Sissy Spacek in Badlands (1973)

So, not knowing much about the plot, that alone is what's got me enthusiastic here - the chance to spy his visuals once again in epic scope. And that there might be an IMAX companion-piece is only further blowing my mind. I fully intend to die in the theater from too much damn beauty, and I can't imagine a better way to go.

Nathaniel: I hope you live but I heartily second the sentiment.

And on that breathtaking note, readers, we conclude this year's We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond series. Hope you enjoyed. Tell us about your first Malick experience. If you haven't had one, get to it soon before this movie appears.

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

California Mountain Link

MTV Kill Bill 3? Daryl Hannah shouldn't tease me this way. I love Elle Driver too much to breathe properly when she's mentioned.
My New Plaid Pants "The Golden Trouser Awards" I love these every year. So fun
Cinema Blend reminds us why Avatar isn't really the #1 movie of all time. There's more than one reason. There's a few.
Bright Lights After Dark on James Cameron's signature motif: The Artificial Body.

Deadline Hollywood Terrence Malick to start filming his Tree of Life follow up already? No movies for decades and then four in a twelve/thirteen year span? What invader snatched his body?
By Ken Levine a tribute to the resilience of actors. It's hard out there. (This sorta puts those Oscar nominations into perspective. As in: just even being in the conversation, even if you were eliminated early on. That's gold)
Cinema Styles really hates Up. But has truly thought the position out.
Movie City Indie "Obligatory Generic Oscar Morning Report." So funny.
In Contention 10 Snubs That Sting

Decade in Review: 2005 Top Ten

2009 is almost over and so many magazines and websites have already offered up their best of the year AND decade that I'm afraid y'all will get sick of the retrospectives before The Film Experience has chimed on. Remember: the tortoise wins! 2005's top ten list (in its original form) follows. New comments in red.

Public Favorites (Box Office): Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, War of the Worlds, King Kong, Wedding Crashers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Madagascar and Mr & Mrs Smith
Oscar Favorites: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck and Munich
My Vote For UnderAppreciated: In Her Shoes, Happy Endings and The White Countess
Top Ten Runners Up (11-15): The Squid and the Whale, Match Point, The New World, Junebug and The Beat That My Heart Skipped. I like all five of these even better today than I did at the time... and more than a few things in my top ten list. I'd definitely reorder.

10 Corpse Bride
If there is one thing I value above all else in animated films, it's vivid character designs and cohesive artistic vision. In this area, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride has few equals. Credit goes to the titular auteur Tim Burton and co-director Mike Johnson's guiding goth-happy hands as well as one of Hollywood's finest production designers, Alex McDowell. (His past visually stunning credits include Minority Report, The Terminal, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, and Fight Club. And still no Oscar nomination for his troubles... tsk tsk Hollywood.)

Beyond its superb visual delights, Burton's best film in years also digs up rich voicework from its cast, and offers an enchanting tale both sweet and sour. Nowhere close to perfect but Corpse Bride's got magic to spare.

09 Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were Rabbit
(Another animated film that's blissfully not of the currently homogenous CG *only* school of animation)

I have been a fan of W&G for a long time and enjoying them for an entire feature was akin to visiting with supremely droll friends whom one never sees enough of. To sweeten the reunion, they brought along the sublimely silly Lady Tottington. They even uncovered a heretofore unseen sense of humor in Ralph Fiennes (who voices bunny-hunting Victor Quartermaine). W & G's last cinematic outing was in 1995. A plea to Nick Park: Please do not make us wait another whole decade for the next adventure.

Curious that I shoved two animated films into the top ten... especially considering how strong the runners up were. I blame this partially on my own childlike delight at stop motion animation (it gets to me on some primal level) but mostly on release schedules. I know I'm too susceptible to that but it's just the way I am. I am better at loving things I'm familiar with than brand new things I've just met. And I had JUST gotten a glimpse of Match Point and I remember that I had an awful awful time processing The New World and what was going on with Oscar qualifications that year. Like Nick recently mentioned, I wasn't even sure which version of the Malick movie I was watching. And I don't know that it even still exists. I'm nervous about what this says about me but I actually felt physically angry at the idea that a movie I saw in the theater was not the same movie that my friends saw in the theater which was maybe not even the same movie that critics were writing about for their readers who would never be able to see that one. In some ways I'm still angry. It makes no sense to be this bonkers about it but I even feel like there should be laws against that ever happening again.

08 Good Night, and Good Luck.
Seasonal truth: As surely as leaves fall in autumn, "prestige" dramas arrive in movie theaters. They are generally set in the past, always aim to be 'classy', wish to delight year-end awards voters with gorgeous production values, and plan to be good for you, too. Rarely however are do they deliver on all four counts. This recreation of the 1950s media war between journalist Edward R Murrow (played by the mesmerizing David Strathairn) and Communist hunting Senator Joseph McCarthy (playing himself in archival footage) gratefully hits all of its mark. It's a prestige bullseye for writer, director, star, and emerging activist hero George Clooney.

I have had no desire whatsoever to rewatch this. Does that mean I overvalued it or is one enjoyable viewing of anything reason enough to love a movie?

07 Kings & Queen
Ever since seeing Arnaud Depleschin's wondrously mutating film Rois et Reine about a single mother named Nola (the superb Emmanuelle Devos) and the four men (father, son, ex-lover, and fiancé) in her life I've been desperately trying to pin it down. Exactly what is it?

Whatever it is --melodrama, comedy, existential quandry-- it's as gripping as any fine novel. And to extend the comparison further, it seems just as rich and information packed. Like Nola herself, Kings and Queen is a mysterious and possessive creature: Ultimately unknowable but unwilling to let you withdraw from its world.

06 Brødre
I first saw this Danish drama @ TIFF in 2004 where it became one of my two favorites of the festival. A year later Brothers was released in the states to critical acclaim but made not much of a ripple at the arthouse box office, making it one of the many lost foreign pleasures of the year.

Hollywood may soon be utilizing director Susanne Bier. It's easy to see why. This drama about a young family turned upside down by the news that the husband has been killed in Afghanistan is emotionally potent without ever once feeling forced, despite story elements that would be either pedestrian or overplayed in lesser hands. There's nary a false note struck from the entire ensemble including Hollywood actress Connie Nielsen (making her first film in her homeland) who has never looked better or been more sympathetic onscreen.

Oops. Hollywood didn't take my warning about a story that would feel "pedestrian or overplayed in lesser hands". They went and proved my point just two weeks ago.

05 Me and You and Everyone We Know
Quirky. Edgy. Precocious. Artsy. Odd. These are all adjectives that truthfully describe Miranda July's debut film. Unfortunately all of these carry a whiff of negative connotation. Any of them alone can feel like mere attitudinal posing if a film has nothing to say. Thankfully Me and You and Everyone We Know, with its endearing cast of childlike adults and children playing at adult games has plenty to say about life and connections in this digital age. So quirky yes, but blissfully so. Me and You transcends any adjective you'd like to bestow on it.

One of Miranda July's funniest affectations in her performance/digital art is her tendency to use pre-recorded crowd cheering to punctuate her lines or do her own repetitous call/response with a lowered voice creating her own sycophant lover. I didn't need the prompting to express my adulation. In a year filled with promising debut filmmakers hers was the most endearing new voice.

This movie feels a bit like a lost oddball relic now. Not that it's aged poorly... just that it was always such an idiosyncratic unfashionable feeling thing that it stills feels a bit like an installation rather than a movie that came out. I hope she makes another film soon.

04 Caché
The last time I saw a Michael Haneke picture the title was The Piano Teacher. I was completely terrified, revolted, and stunned. Though nothing in Caché (also known as Hidden) reaches the peak of Isabelle's Huppert's performance accomplishment in the earlier film, I much prefer the newer film, which offers me the same visceral mix of reactions, albeit in different quantities. Perhaps in 2002 I just wasn't ready for the way Michael Haneke mercilessly dissects human weakness.

This mind-bender (and politically-minded story) about a rich French couple and the stalker-like videotapes that begin arriving at their door is masterfully told and rewards attentive viewing. The Austrian auteur uses no musical scoring, no quick editing, and no cheap Hollywood "gotcha!" scare tactics but still manages to thoroughly unnerve the audience. And unlike most tales meant to terrify, Caché also gives the intellect a workout. Michael Haneke may be the most gifted frightener since Alfred Hitchcock.

03 Pride & Prejudice
Confession: Prior to seeing this romantic romp from debuting director Joe Wright I had not read the Jane Austen novel nor seen the BBC miniseries which many consider definitive. I have since begun to fill in those gaps. For those angered at the films many liberties taken (300 plus page novels can't make it to film without cuts --sorry) I say pshaw! What matters is the spirit of the thing. And spirit the new Pride & Prejudice has in spades.

Austen's writing is full of memorable characters, delicious staccato banter and wit and breakneck pace. In this impressively cinematic transformation, the nimble cinematography, beautifully dexterous setpieces, and highly enjoyable performances have all been beautifully choreographed together to ape the high spirits of Austen's eternal charmer. For pure movie-movie fun and swoon-worthy romance, this film is tough to beat.

I am not at all embarrassed by my love for this film, but I do think I overstated the case with the bronze medal. I'd move Caché up a spot for sure.

02 A History of Violence
David Cronenberg, the legendary Canadian director, is a shining beacon to all fringe dwelling filmmakers with a taste for mainstream exposure. You can make an accessible film without losing any of your maverick qualities or subversive spirit. Cronenberg hardly sold out upon taking the reins of this graphic novel adaptation. His signature offputting bits, like his taste for body-horror are still present, just less visible. In one of the film's many masterfully pivoting scenes, Edie Stall (Maria Bello) suddenly vomits upon learning a disturbing truth about her husband. This isn't the in-your-face gynecological terror of Dead Ringers (another Cronenberg masterpiece) but damned if it's not psychologically connected to Mrs. Stall's genitals

...Violence is one of those rare movies that expands and contracts with the audiences expectations. For film fanatics wishing to get lost in the celluloid, it's as deep as you want it to be. For the more casual moviegoer it's a shocking thriller. Either way it's a superbly crafted piece of cinema.

01 Brokeback Mountain
When I read the famous short story upon which this instant classic is based it haunted me for weeks. In very few pages with precise and spare prose, Annie Proulx gave me a portrait of two lives and broke my heart in the process. The film version has that same lean spirit but miraculously never missteps in expanding her original story. This portrait has fresh details and a stunning humanism. Ang Lee paints the secondary characters, wives, mothers, employers, fathers nearly as vividly. In the process the confident auteur has deepened the tragedy of the original story. Brokeback Mountain is no longer just a small but perfect romantic tragedy. It's now an improbably behemoth portrait of tragedy spilling out all over; this is the price of love rejected and forbidden --both for all those who find it and all those who deny its place in society.

Brokeback, which felt like an instant classic at the time, has never disappointed on repeat visits. If anything its familiarity works for it. Like Jack and Ennis, this love deepens. Will it haunt for a whole lifetime?


How does 2005 hold up for you? Which were your favorites at the time and which have snuck up on you as enduring loves?
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Birthday Suits, Well Directed

Lights. Cameras. Birthday Action (for this, the 30th of November). Only one month left to go and it's 2010. How crazy is that?

Ridley, Terrence (in the 70s) and Marc

1835 Mark Twain's books have been adapted into movies ever since the movies began. Most notably The Prince and the Pauper and any tale of Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer
1920 Virginia Mayo 40s and 50s star, frequent Danny Kaye foil
1926 Richard Crenna, character actor
1927 Robert Guillaume, "Benson"
1929 Dick Clark, seemingly immortal creature who may finally be destroyed by the rise of his spiritual offspring Ryan Seacrest. It's all very Cronos vs. Zeus, only without the thunderbolts
1937 Ridley Scott, manly director whose movies are usually way better when they're shot through with a strong female presence. Consider the three classics: Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Alien. The rest of the filmography surely has its moments but that's the trinity right there.
1943 Terence Malick, mysterious director, nature lover. He's only directed 4 features but what a quartet: Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World. His fifth classic (I'm guessing) Tree of Life will arrive next year.
1950 Margaret Whitton potent 80s supporting actress (Secret of My Succe$s, Ironweed) who made her last movie Trial By Jury way back in 1994. I guess Hollywood didn't meet her needs. They certainly didn't capitalize well on her gifts.
1950 Chris Claremont wrote the X-Men, owned my childhood
1951 Bo Welch frequent Art Direction Oscar nominee. The filmography includes The Color Purple, Edward Scissorhands, Men in Black, Batman Returns, The Birdcage and The Little Princess
1952 Mandy Patinkin, singer, Inigo Montaya, broadway star, actor, continually wasted on TV series. I loved Yentl (1983) as a kid but I still can't quite forgive Babs for putting Mandy in a film musical (his only) and not letting him sing. That ain't right. I mean Warren Beatty even let him sing (with Madonna) in Dick Tracy and that wasn't even a musical



1952 Henry Selick director, stop motion miracle worker (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach, The Nightmare Before Christmas. See previous post)
1955 Billy Idol rocks, sneers, acts once in a blue moon (The Doors)
1956 Stephen Dillane actor of stage, screen, tv. Has played husband to two of TFE's favorite actresses: Kidman in The Hours and Moore in Savage Grace
1959 Cherie Currie, about to be portrayed by Dakota Fanning in The Runaways (see previous posts)
1969 Marc Forster hot bald director (Quantum of Solace, Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball)
1969 David Lindsey-Abaire playwright and screenwriter (Rabbit Hole)
1969 Amy Ryan, Oscar nominated actress (Gone Baby Gone)
1973 Nimród Antal the unusual named Hungarian American director (Kontroll) is currently directing Adrien Brody and Topher Grace in a reboot of the Predator franchise imaginatively titled Predators (2010)
1982 Clémence Poésy, French actress, known to millions as "Fleur Delacour"
1985 Aoi Miyazaki, Japanese actress

Finally today is the 31st birthday of diminutive screen god Gael García Bernal, one of the best and most important actors working. My wish for his next decade onscreen is that he reunite with either Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mama Tambien) or Pedro Almodóvar (Bad Education) but preferrably both. Maybe even a reteam with Alejandro González Iñárritu so long as the director hands him an Amores Perros quality role rather than the thankless one he got in Babel.

The cinema doesn't always do right by its most talented partisans but thankfully GGB is in demand. Next up is a romantic drama with Amanda Seyfried called Letters to Juliet. After that he's starring in the period drama También La Lluvia for actress turned director Icíar Bollaín followed by (gulp) a romantic comedy with Kate Hudson called Earthbound. Finally, that Oscar nomination that he's deserved but that's proved elusive could arrive. He has another starring role in a biopic (he's done that before with Motorcycle Diaries) called Gardel and then there's (maybe) Martin Scorsese's Silence, a historical drama about Jesuit priests. The latter, where he'd supposedly partner with the other recent screen "Che", Benicio Del Toro, sounds promising. Wouldn't it be nice to see Scorsese try his hand at directing a young and very talented actor whose name isn't Leonardo DiCaprio for a change?
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Will Apparition Haunt the Oscars ?

Oscar watchers take note: Prestige pic distribution titans Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad, who between them have brought you a huge array of Oscar players ( among them), have announced the name of their new company. It's "Apparition". If English is your second language you should know that that means:

a): an unusual or unexpected sight : phenomenon b: a ghostly figure

Will this new company haunt the Oscars this year?

Their inaugural release is Jane Campion's romantic drama Bright Star (previous posts) (previous posts) and they'll follow it with Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt. The latter, Terence Malick's "mystical epic", was previously rumored to be delayed until 2010. There's no new release date but the Apparition press release indicates that it is arriving in 2009. Hopefully the release strategy will be less baffling than that afforded Malick's last picture The New World.
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We Can't Wait #14 The Tree of Life

Directed by the no longer totally unprolific Terrence Malick
Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and three child actors (Sean Penn and Fiona Shaw also appear)
Synopsis is vague --something about a young family in the 1950s and the loss of innocence. But do Malick's plots ever inspire "ooh!"s. No, it's the filmmaking. Bring on the shots of grass, trees and skies!
Brought to you by Plan B Entertainment (originally founded by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.
Expected Release Date It's Malick. I won't even try to guess

Nathaniel: Malick has directed only four features in his lifetime (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The New World) and each time we lose several critics to The Rapture when they surface. Since it made other lists besides mine, I assume you're disciples?

JA: I got to see Badlands on a big screen last year, and that pretty much cemented the fact that I will never ever ever miss a Malick movie on a big screen ever again. I'd only seen his films on DVD before that and, while enjoying them all, it's just not the same. So very much pretty.

And Malick's eye (via Lubezki's eye) trained on Pitt amongst that foliage has already got me standing at attention.

Joe: Oy. Not to in any way slight Badlands, because that movie was the absolute greatest, but The Thin Red Line was absolutely unbearable to me, and I didn't even make it through half of The New World before shutting it off. I'm sorry, I couldn't deal. I know this makes me middlebrow and pedestrian to say this but holy god they were just so boring. So no, this didn't exactly make my list. I love Emmanuel Lubezki, y'all, but I can just watch Children of Men again the week this one opens.

Whitney: Malick has made my top directors list for a long time, so to find out that he's directing a movie this year totally made my day. Really, I was telling everyone I knew that he was making a new movie and that Brad Pitt was starring. Even my mom, whose latest dip into the cinema world was Eagle Eye ("too much swearing") and who didn't care at all.

It will be like The Assassination of Jesse James, but with the real Malick. I wonder what thought-provoking classical music he'll choose this time??!

poll by twiigs.com

Fox: I'm glad to see that The Tree of Life is shaping up to be primarily Pitt's film and that Sean Penn simply "also appears". I really don't wanna see any more of that guy for a looong (three Os!!!) time. Maybe he can vacate with the Winslets for awhile?

But, unlike Joe, I was glued to The New World and casually consider it to be the best film of the 00's. It came on and wrapped around my head for three hours (or however long it was). I get into a trance when watching Malick's films. I think his dedication to the purest form of cinema is something we should celebrate while we still have him around.

Nathaniel: I go all hypnotized, too. But don't get too excited about the absence of Penn, Fox. Malick loves the voiceover as much as I love a good musical number. I ain't exaggerating! (Weird that I love Malick so much since I despise narration as a general rule???). And since Penn is credited as "adult Jack" I assume he's one of the boys all growed up (unless his parents had a really weird sense of humor) and therefore narrating.

I'm totally curious how all the readers feel about Malick, though. Not to be terribly reductive but his visuals tend to either entrance or provide the cure for insomnia. Which is it for you out there?

In case you missed any entries they went like so...
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We Can't Wait:
#1 Inglourious Basterds, #2 Where the Wild Things Are, #3 Fantastic Mr. Fox,
#4 Avatar, #5 Bright Star, #6 Shutter Island, #7 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
#8 Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, #9 Nailed, #10 Taking Woodstock,
#11 Watchmen, #12 The Hurt Locker, #13 The Road, #14 The Tree of Life
#15 Away We Go, #16 500 Days of Summer, #17 Drag Me To Hell,
#18 Whatever Works, #19 Broken Embraces, #20 Nine (the musical)
intro (orphans -didn't make group list)
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I'm Not Here to Make Links

MCN two ways of seeing Barack Obama
Defamer "Tom Cruise as The Village People" What a biopic that would be. Can we get Todd Haynes to direct?
NY Post strange case of Kiss of the Spider Woman's long wait for a DVD
Scanners the color of movie blood
MNPP "incinerated by lousy dialogue"

Twitch a new DVD release for Terrence Malick's The New World in October. Why is it that I just can't handle the issue of this ever-evolving movie? It really bothers me. Films are not blogs --you're not supposed to keep fiddling with the design (*refresh your screens*). They're more like books. Books don't suddenly get rewritten. Even when I love the movie in question (Blade Runner and this) I have issues. When I see a movie, I want to know that I've seen it. When I watch it again I want to marvel that the detail I'm catching for the first time is, in fact, something I've seen twice. I want the "never before seen" thing to be a figurative experience, not literal. I don't want the "you haven't really seen the movie!" feeling hanging over me like some mutated sword of damacles...(wielded by Audrey Rose?). This hurts me. I can't wrap my head around the existence of three versions of one movie less than three years after its debut.

"I'm not here to make friends"
FourFour Rich is utterly brilliant, yes? Check out his latest video montage. This is why I can't watch much reality TV. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Dustbowl Dreams

Hey gang, this is Thombeau, visiting from Fabulon and Arcanta. I'll try not to be too pretentious or annoying!

It wasn't until the mid-1960s that a new generation of filmmakers was ready to address "The Great Depression" in more artistic terms than the backdrop for the struggles of the noble Joad family. Though the cinematography may be beautiful in these films, giving a haunting, almost romantic feel, the barren landscapes and weatherworn faces of the poor provided desolate images of loss and despair. It is in the midst of dusty towns and rural environs that the following three films are set. You have probably seen them all, as they are universally acclaimed and considered modern classics by many. If you haven't, you really should, and if you have then you just might want to experience them again.

By far the most popular, and arguably revolutionary, of this trilogy is Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The beauty and charisma of its leads, the great ensemble acting, the sass and violence, all make for a rollicking good time with an overtone of serious issues. However fictionalized, this was based on events that actually took place. Hovering around the periphery is the constant reminder that these were hard times; people had lost everything and were just trying to get by. Robbing banks may have been a fun and easy way to get money, but most of those banks were near empty. The famous scene where Bonnie reunites with her elderly grandmother, on a windswept hilltop, is striking for summing up the era in a few short minutes with the eyes of an old woman who has seen it all.



Seldom taken as seriously, Paper Moon (1973) is not only a great comedy, it's a fantastic evocation of a time when pleasures were simple and money was scarce. The use of period music ("Let's have another cup of coffee"), or, conversely, the silence that fills the background in many scenes, plus the attention to detail in the prop, costume, and makeup departments, create a very definite time and place. Long dirt roads and wide open spaces provide a vast context for the tiny dramas of the lead characters. Once again, a windy hilltop comes to mind: when Miss Trixie, after going winky-tink, approaches young Addie and tells her what her plans are, the desperation and determination are obvious.



The incredible Days of Heaven (1978), though portraying a slightly earlier time, fits in well with the above-mentioned films. Much has been written about the fabulous, dreamlike cinematography. The vast and endless plains seem to swallow up the characters and their intertwined destinies. The sound of the wind is almost another character. The gypsy lives of migrant workers is shown without explanation; it's simply a given. Again, people are doing whatever they can to get by. This movie, more than most, is so image-driven that it is difficult to choose only one that sums it all up. If ever possible, see this on the big screen. Please.

Other recommended films that display an essence of the era are They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and Bound for Glory (1976), but this list is far from complete. Any additions that you're crazy about?


As a footnote to this post, I simply must add that each of these films has a fantastic supporting cast. Estelle Parsons won a well-deserved Oscar for her hysterical (in every sense of the word) performance in Bonnie and Clyde. Paper Moon would not be the same without the fabulous Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight. Also, P. J. Johnson's performance as Imogene never fails to amuse! And Days of Heaven would not be as strange and wonderful without the phenomenal narration of a young Linda Manz. Great stuff!

via thombeau

Notes from Venice - Day 5/6

Boyd from European Films here, reporting on the ongoing Venice Film Festival

Mood: tired
Weather: hot but cloudy
Films seen: Cassandra's Dream, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Nines, La graine et le mulet, Un baiser - s'il vous plaît, The Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier
Gripe of the day: Brad Pitt's sunglasses
People currently on the same square mile of earth as I am: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Todd Haynes, Richard Gere, Jason Schwartzman, Tim Burton, Joan Chen, Toni Servillo, Terence Howard, Sam Shepard

Last night the Venice Film Festival hosted the gala premieres of two films that had the boys and girls lining the red carpet screaming their lungs out: Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream with Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford with Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt, who graced the red carpet with Angelina Jolie. (During the latter film's premiere I was in another building half a mile away and I could still hear the deafening screams floating into the room on the gentle sea breeze. "Oh! It must be half past nine," I thought.)

Earlier yesterday, Brad Pitt's sunglasses caused an uproar with attending photographers when during a photo opportunity for accredited picture-takers he refused to take his sunglasses off and then maliciously passed them on to Casey Affleck before he could have his mug shot taken. A voluntary photography boycott seemed to be in the air for the evening premiere, but things had apparently calmed down by then, as photographers clicked away like mad when the Royal Couple also known as Brangelina finally walked down the red carpet.

So what about the movies? The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (full review) is a magnificent motion picture that will appeal more to the fans of Terence Malick than those of Clint Eastwood. In my review I compared it to both Zodiac and a suspension bridge in that it stars of with a violent episode before going into calmer (read: character psychology) waters and then arriving at the titular act of violence that must certainly rank with the most exciting scenes of the year. How director Andrew Dominik succeeds in making the killing of a man cleaning a picture on a wall so exciting you will have to see for yourself, though a clear mixture of cunning mise-en-scene and a slow build-up that only a 155-minute picture can afford must at least be partially held responsible.

Pitt is in fine form, though at 40+ he looks a bit wrinkly for 34-year-old James (even Pitt gets older, yikes!) and Affleck is truly great, looking at the serious possibility he might get an acting nomination at the Oscars before his older brother Ben. People voting in the technical categories will also love this film, which looks absolutely stunning (gorgeous cinematography? check. great production design? check. period costumes. check! lovely make-up and hair? check) and also features a great, sombre score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The film seems to be too artistically inclined and too long to go for a Best Picture win, but it could turn out to go home with most Oscars a la Memoirs of a Geisha a few years back, simply because it is a stunning production all the way and could win a heap of statuettes in those categories.

Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream (cast pictured above, courtesy of Fabrizio Maltese) is a funny case. Just a couple of weeks ago I reviewed the new Chabrol film La fille coupée en deux (The Girl Cut in Two), explaining that the two filmmakers both had a glory period that belongs to the past in common, as well as the fact that they seem unable to live without making movies and still churn out one a year of varying quality. As such, Allen made something of come-back with his extremely well-received Match Point, and, I wrote, Chabrol's latest could be considered his Match Point, a "deliciously dark and well-observed tale that marks a fine return to form."

Imagine my surprise when I saw Cassandra's Dream, which feels like a Chabrol film transplanted to London as directed by an American (which it is). Is there some mutual cross-pollination going on between the two directors? Coincidence or not, the latest films from both masters premiered yesterday one after the other in Venice. A full review of Cassandra's Dream is forthcoming, but let's just say for the moment that it's pretty dark and pretty funny, and again reminds everyone why this character actor will never go out of business.

(A not unimportant note on the Chabrol: Ludivine Sagnier becomes not only prettier by the day but is also clearly growing as an actress. Plus, Benoît Magimel is irresistible as a slimy, fey and delusional heir with too much money and not enough good manners.)

Time Goes By (For Directors)...

...so slowly, unfortunately.

Now, you guys are all here for one reason: Movies. I know it. You know it. We all know it. Everybody has their own peeves when it comes to the movie business. Some can't stand movies over two hours. Others can't stomach remakes or sequels (so, what? you see three movies a year? teehee).

Two of my biggest peeves are release dates (a frequent topic of anger at Stale Popcorn) and directors who take too long between movies. I though I'd take a look at three of my favourite directors and their movie-making habits. Feel free to comment at the end about your favourite time-wasting directors. Do they do it to torture us? Do they it so we savor their films moreso? Eitherway, it frustrates me. I want more of the people I adore.


Baz Luhrmann
We all know Nathaniel's affection for Luhrmann's 2001 musical pastiche Moulin Rouge! Well, I love it too. Incredibly so. I also loved his first feature, the dance extravaganza Strictly Ballroom in 1992 and his first American film, the Shakespeare adaptation William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet in 1996. We all know Luhrmann is currently working on a new Australian-made epic entitled Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

By the time that movie is released (probably towards the tail end of 2008) it will have been seven years since I saw the curtain open to the 20th Centry Fox logo on opening night on Moulin Rouge! In that time Luhrmann has staged a production of La Boheme and directed Kidman again in N° 5 the Film for Chanel.

Each of Luhrmann's film's look so pain-stakingly meticulous (can you believe Moulin Rouge! cost only $50mil! I think that silly new Halle Berry movie cost more than that) that I can sort of forgive him for taking his time. When Australia premiers I am fairly certain that it will the most excited I have ever been for a movie that didn't have Hugh Jackman shirtless. And, hell, Australia probably (hopefully?) has that too!


Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick's reputation is legendary. Four films in Thirty-Two years and nary a bad one in the bunch. I, unfortunately, haven't had the opportunity to see his first feature, 1973's Badlands starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek (and not through lack of trying). In 1978 he made one of my top ten films of all time, the Richard Gere-starring Days of Heaven. That movie was infamously filmed only during the "glory hours" of dawn and dusk. The film won the Best Director prize at Cannes plus the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Of it's other three nominations Ennio Morricone (recent lifetime achievement Oscar winner) definitely deserved to win for that amazing music.

While it's not my favourite, quite a few consider 1998's The Thin Red Line to be Mallick's greatest. The film which came 20 years after Days of Heaven was nominated for, but didn't win, seven nominations including Best Picture and Director. It's a WWII film but if there's any director who would give us a "different" war film, it's Mallick. Comparing it to 1998's other WWII film, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, just makes it all the more impressive. Those who love it though are in good company. Martin Scorsese ranks it the #2 films of the 1990s. Impressive.

While his next film, The New World, was virtually ignored bar a Best Cinematography Oscar nomination (that's three in a row for Mallick's films) in terms of awards and box office, I personally think it's another masterpiece. It helps that I saw this one in the cinema though I suppose. Apparently Mallick has a film due out in 2008 entitled The Tree of Life, but considering it can take Mallick up to two years to edit a film, I doubt that will come through. I wonder if it has any connection to Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain?


Ray Lawrence
Lawrence may be an unfamiliar name to some of you, however if you have read my blog for a while you will surely know of my affection for this man. In 1985 he directed Bliss. A trippy little movie that won the Best Film prize at the AFI (Australian Film Institute, the closest we get to an "oscar"-esque awards show) as well as winning Best Director and Best Screenplay awards for Lawrence himself. It was also a contender for the Palme D'or at Cannes.

We had to wait, *drumrole please*, sixteen years for only his second film, the undisputed masterpiece Lantana. That film uptrumped Moulin Rouge! to win AFI awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actor (Anthony LaPaglia), Best Actress (the amazing Kerry Armstrong), Best Supporting Actor (Vince Colosimo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachael Blake) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Andrew Bovell). That's an amazing haul. Apart from the four great award-winning performances Lantana boasts worthy performances by Daniella Farinaci, Barbra Hershey, Geoffrey Rush, Peter Phelps and Leah Purcell.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait another sixteen years to get Lawrence's third feature, the Raymond Carver So Much Water, So Close To Home adaptation Jindabyne. I've waxed lyrical on this movie, which I am crowning my #1 of 2006. It stars The Lovely Laura Linney as the wife of a fisherman (Gabriel Byrne) who tries to comprehend the actions of her husband upon his discovery of a dead Aboriginal girl. It's, funnily enough, released in America in two weeks (April 27) and in the UK on May 25. See it, please. Lawrence has no plans yet for a fourth film.

I didn't mean this to be so long, sorry

But, if you are wanting to read some more about the movies of these three, *nudge nudge*, then do so in the sake of cross promotion and click the links below to some of my Stale Popcorn entries about them.

Sofia Coppola = Baz Luhrmann

Moulin Rouge! and Lantana scoop some prizes at the 2001 UMA awards

An appreciation for Days of Heaven

Ray Lawrence got on helluva performance out of, Mrs Hugh Jackman, Deborra-Lee Furness in Jindabyne

Lohan if She's Lucky

Going out or staying in? Your new movie/DVD options:

In Theaters: At Least on the Coasts (links go to trailers)
Dead Man's Shoes I love Paddy Considine, don't you?
Keeping up with the Steins Answer me this: Who funds big screen films starring sitcom actors? You've got Entourage, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Still Standing in the house. You can watch those in yours. It's like that trailer for The Sentinel. Who is going to pay money to watch Keifer Sutherland save the president onscreen when they can watch him save the president for free at home?' Someone please explain.
Wah-Wah This looks 3 tablespoons too precious. But it's directed by Richard E Grant. I've mentioned it many times and I'll keep mentioning until you all obey: You must read his movie memoirs With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E Grant one of the funniest books ever.

In Multiplexes
Goal! The Dream Begins Normally I don't rush to see 'inspirational sports movies' but in doing the Actors of the Aughts write ups yesterday I noticed that Alessandro Nivola is in it (and signed for sequels as well). So I guess I'll be seeing lots of football over the next few years. He describes his chararacter as an expensive player with "a habitually wild attitude toward my career and my personal life" Nivola w/ wild personal life? I am so there.
Just My Luck No clip has rationalized my irrational desire to see this, but see it I shall. If Lohan is lucky her fans will all turn out. She can't coast on love for Mean Girls for too much longer...
Poseidon Love the upside down poster. Otherwise... Why?

New to DVD This Past Week
The Facts of Life The complete first and second seasons! So you can watch the show try and find its footing with way too many characters, dumping annoying Molly Ringwald (who would get her revenge just 4 years later becoming a teen superstar) and many others until they settle on Jo, Natalie, Tootie, Blair, and Mrs Garrett as their fab five.
Munich On last year's Oscar shortlist.
Nanny McPhee I had been begging Emma Thompson to return to the big screen. Be careful what you wish for. I refuse to see a woman that radiant be that hideous for 97 minutes. Sorry.
The New World Just beautiful. Do yourself a favor if you're seeing it for the first time. Turn off your phone. Refuse any distractions you normally allow yourself when watching movies halfheartedly at home. This deserves to be seen in the theaters. But since it had one of the most poorly handled releases ever (Argh! New Line. Just Arggggh!), most of you will be seeing it home.
Rumor Has It How many more chances does Aniston get to headline?

What will you be watching this weekend?

tags: Lindsay Lohan, movies, celebrities, Emma Thompson, movie trailers, dvd

Badlands (1973)

This weekend I watched Badlands --one of those 70s classics I had never gotten around to seeing. Having loved The Thin Red Line I assumed it was a must-see. Which it is. But sometimes you leave certain classics underwhelmed. I recognize that it's a thing of beauty and I admired the almost-frustrating distance and objective tone that Malick maintains. But I can't say that it suddenly became a personal favorite.

The revelation for me was Sissy Spacek. I was never really a fan of this actress but her 70s work is sublime. More on this topic and Julianne Moore as Spacek's acting descendent at Cinemarati...