Modern Maestros: Woody Allen

Robert here, back with another entry in my series on great contemporary directors.

Maestro: Woody Allen
Known For: witty comedies about life, dramas about love, often though not exclusively set in New York
Influences: Early comedy owes much to cartoonist Jules Feiffer, drama much to Ingmar Bergman.
Masterpieces: Anything I write here is going to get me in trouble. But let me say I agree with the popular sentiment that Annie Hall is most of all. Also Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors and maybe The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Disasters: Disaster is such a strong word and there are several that may (yet may not) qualify.
Better than you remember: And for everyone there's at least one Allen film that the world seems to loathe but you love. For me it's Scoop (recently).
Box Office: Annie Hall is tops with 136 mil.
Favorite Actor:You may think it's Diane Keaton (7) or Mia Farrow (13) but in fact Woody Allen's favorite actor is Woody Allen, having starred in 17 Woody Allen movies.

Woody Allen is nothing if not a victim of his own prolificness. Anyone who steps up to the plate as much as he does is going to strike out a lot. But the hits he gets are often home runs, or at least triples (someone help me before I stretch this metaphor out any more). My standard for this series has been to ask whether a director has made at least two notable quality films in the past ten years. And though it's fair to say that he's been missing more than hitting lately, Woody Allen certainly meets that standard. The two films of note here, of course, are Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona, though I also find Scoop to be just as good as both of them. I mention that not because I can really make a case for Scoop, but to point out how Allen's "bad" films even have worthwhile elements that speak to people. And so there are people who think Melinda and Melinda was great or who champion Whatever Works or Cassandra's Dream. The question with each new Woody Allen film isn't whether or not it'll be wholly embraced by the critical community and play for awards but also whether it'll be a small gem that you and you alone seem to appreciate.

Allen's career has been much discussed, especially in the 70's 80's and 90's. His thoughtful New York comedies, his sentimental love notes to jazz and early cinema, his Bergmanesque dramas have all been analyzed and analyzed again. To focus on his recent career is to focus on a man abroad, outside a city more closely associated with him than perhaps any other modern man. The two previous aforementioned films of note came from England and Spain respectively. Thematically they are about the nature of passion and how it is rooted in the seductive call of the foreign away from the warm and safe loving embrace of home. This is what Woody Allen thinks about when he's in Europe. While the man's heart clearly belongs to New York City, it is obvious that his experiences flirting with locations that belong to the hearts of others has breathed a new tilt into his career with interesting results.

A brief note about Allen's "lesser" films of recent years. While they may not have achieved a critical consensus, they still explore classic Woody Allen territory, touching on issues of love, loneliness, crime and guilt. They still feature quality acting and classically glamorous cinematography. It's comforting that Woody, if not consistently great, is still consistently Woody. And that's why we keep coming back and rooting for another hit. It's why his movies are still embraced and anticipated and rolled out at high status film festivals. It seems odd to suggest that perhaps more than any working director, Mr Allen's bad films are almost always worth seeing. Yet it requires a special kind of talent to accomplish that and it's worth celebrating. Allen's next film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiered in Cannes to pretty good reviews and will arrive for our consumption soon. If you're not excited for that, the next film after his next film will feature French First Lady Carli Bruni and is hotly anticipated for the fact. That's the thing about Woody Allen. There's always another shot at greatness around the corner.
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He Should Really Write a Movie For Her

Sequel Madness

I love that Hollywood plans ahead for years and that the internet dutifully hangs on every corporate decision. There's always an internet flurry of excitement about it... as if we're all purchasing calendars for 2011,2012,2013 and circling dates. We eagerly pretend that we're planning our social calendars around it.

I barely know what I'm doing next week.

That said, I love Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies... so when the teaser poster hit today I did imagine myself lined up on May 6th two years from now, I admit. This despite my feeling that franchises should quit while they're ahead. Q: How do you top Spider-Man 2? A: You don't. You just quit and move on to another project. Even if Hollywood wants to live on a diet of superheroes alone there are still hundreds of them that are awaiting celluloid treatment.

I love superheroes as much as anyone (ok, slightly less I guess... I mean, I won't buy tickets to just anything) but sometimes I wish that Hollywood would get crazier about it and make sequels not just to blockbuster but to interesting movies of all genres.

Wouldn't you kind of like to see a sequel to that trippy indie Primer (the one with the homemade time travelling machine -- remember that)? Or check back in with Emily from The Devil Wears Prada presumably still one stomach flu away from her ideal weight? She was a scream and the film wasn't about her. Emily Blunt is a bigger star now so... why not?

I'd totally be up for a threequel to In the Mood For Love and 2046, wouldn't you? And though I'm positive it's not fashionable to say, I even think it might be cool to check back in on Juno and Paulie at some point to see how they're doing. Most good movies are better left alone but then... there's always Before Sunset to disprove the notion that return trips are unavoidably shallow retreads.

Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.

Damn that movie was great.

But maybe the obstacle to most non-franchise genre properties spawning sequels is that really good movies feel so complete as is... For instance, I feel like I know EXACTLY what happens in the imaginary Vicky Christina New York. It seems so clear to me what that summer in Barcelona did and didn't do for Rebecca Hall and Scarlet Johannson.

P.S.

Vera Drake: Jailbreak !
October 12th, 2012 at theaters everywhere.
Clear your calendars. Pass it on.

Pedro & Penélope / Quentin & Diane

My best friend Jensen, whose favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Pedro Almodóvar, brought me home this Spanish Vanity Fair (pictured left, April 2009) from his trip to Barcelona. Before he left he kept imagining fourgies with Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson. He was okay with any combo should one of them be unavailable. His cinematically inspired fantasy did not come to pass but things did heat up: he nearly burned down his hotel room. True story (!) albeit not for this blog.

Here in the States April's Vanity Fair cover gave us the overexposed Apatow boys. I demand a refund!

I can't read Spanish but I like pretty pictures and they require no linguistic skills.


I love pretending that Penélope is a badass harpist, don't you? Not every actress can pluck those multi-colored strings. It's a rarified skill.

Speaking of directors and their muses...

Did you see Sunday's NY Times Magazine? The piece on Quentin Tarantino is a good read and the photos are wicked, saucily playing up QT's well known foot fetish. Wiggling those big toes aside for a moment, I love this quote when he's asked about Pulp Fiction's Palme D'Or win in 1994 and who the jury president was.

Clint Eastwood. And the second head of the jury was Catherine Deneuve. I think of her as the queen of France. So having the queen judge your movie is scary until you remember that she did Belle de Jour. She turned out to be one of my bigger defenders. She's spent an entire career supporting directors who pushed the envelope, from Buñuel to Jean-Pierre Melville to Godard

You mean Deneuve isn't the queen of France? Someone needs to fix that maintenant -- let's make it official. Tarantino can be annoying but he knows cinema and great actresses and every director should.

Still, I have to admit... seeing these photos of QT drooling on Diane Kruger's gams (which somehow promotes Inglourious Basterds. Don't ask me how) made me jealous on behalf of one Uma Thurman.


If Tarantino is suddenly going to be prolific again (here's hoping) can he please put Uma back in the driver's seat where she belongs? Few other filmmaker seem likely to do it.
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Whatever Works at ShoWest

Here's another report from Film Experience regular Rosengje from sunny Vegas where ShoWest is closing. She has just seen Woody Allen's latest Whatever Works (previously discussed here)! I am green with envy. Let's jump right in to her slightly spoilerish thoughts.

In many ways, Whatever Works is an amalgam of all of the neuroses and preoccupations that have defined Woody Allen's previous films. Larry David plays Boris, a misanthrope who fled his "rational" marriage to live downtown in isolation, teaching chess to children through methods that involve repeated name-calling and knight-throwing. Boris's life is thrown into turmoil by the arrival of Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood), a runaway from Mississippi. Melodie is eventually followed by her mother (Patricia Clarkson) and father (Ed Begley, Jr.).

Patricia Clarkson storms into the movie after approximately 40 minutes, and plays a role in many ways comparable to Penélope Cruz's tempestuous Oscar-winning Maria Elena. While I was initially skeptical of Allen's treatment of Wood as a young Lolita, Clarkson actually plays the much more sexualized character. After showing up on Boris's doorstep in a hot pink ensemble (scrunchy included!) fit for the Southern pageant circuit, she is quickly awakened to the culture of New York. Naturally, this involves sex and art. In an interesting inversion of the much discussed relationship between ScarJo, Javier Bardem, and Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Clarkson moves in with two men without giving it a second thought. Her character transitions from praising Jesus to opening an exhibit of nude collages. Clarkson is dynamic and sexy and once again demonstrates her unbeatable range. I don't think it is any stretch to consider her worthy of this year's Oscar race.

Patty sandwich! Apparently Woody is really into threesomes now.

The rest of the cast is also effective, pulling the humor out of frequently dark material. David's character first seems like the typical Allen prototype, but there is a bitterness to him that reminded me more of Max von Sydow in Hannah and Her Sisters. Evan Rachel Wood is very likable, but the vitality of her performance is trounced by the arrival of the inimitable Clarkson. Begley Jr. gives a hilarious turn, and Henry Cavill is both endearing and smarmy as a late love interest for Melodie.

The biggest stylistic change Allen makes in this film is having Boris directly address the audience. The film opens with a lengthy treatise on the character's views on death and the cretins that populate the world. We end with a similar address, but this time it is tinged with a kind of optimism unique to Woody Allen. The character's refrain of "whatever works" takes on a slightly sweet quality. I suspect audiences and critics will debate the sincerity of its happy ending. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and believe it provides the same level of insight into the director's fears and desires that many pegged on Deconstructing Harry.

I'm encouraged to hear rosengje's positivity regarding Patty Clarkson (she who really needs an Oscar) but maybe she'll have to get there from Shutter Island instead? Would they really reward a similar role to last year's winner to get back-to-back Woody Allen Best Supporting Actress citations?

Film Experience podcast guest Katey also liked what she saw, speaking highly of Evan Rachel Wood's performance, too. I am so eager to see this. I have to have my annual Woody.
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Oscar Did You Knows?

a few pieces of useless trivia for you!


...that in the elite community of actors who've won more than one Oscar, all thirty-eight of them with Sean Penn as the newest club member, the average wait for the second statue is 9 years. Kate Winslet for the win in 2017, baby! Of course, for some actors the love affair with the Academy is intense and feverish and the statues are back to back (Tom Hanks, Luise Rainer, Jason Robards, Spencer Tracy) as if the voting body wanted to seal the deal before they started showing... if you know what I mean. The most common wait time though is strangely but a 3 year span. That's happened to five goddesses of the silver screen (Glenda Jackson, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland).

Only four actors have won three or more Oscars (Katharine Hepburn, Walter Brennan, Jack Nicholson, and Ingrid Bergman) and though most sentient beings expect Meryl Streep to become the fifth to achieve that rare honor, she'll set another record when she does. The longest wait after the second Oscar for that third -- well, besides eternity -- was Ingrid Bergman's 18 year delay. It's been 26 years since Streep's second win so she's already shown more patience than Bergman had to.

Penn's second win also makes him the fourth straight man to win the Lead Oscar for playing a gay man. He follows William Hurt in Kiss of the Spiderwoman (1985), Tom Hanks in Philadelphia (1993) and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote (2005) to that distinction. Now if they'd only give the Oscar to a gay actor playing a gay man for once. Sir Ian McKellen's loss for Gods and Monsters still stings. Especially since it's better than any of those performances.

[cue music] Onesies beats twosies but nothing beats three [/music]

Cuteness alert: Kate, Sean and Penélope reenact the Vicky
Cristina Barcelona menage a trois with their gold men.

I haven't double checked this statistic (where would one check it?) but I believe that Penélope Cruz is now only the second actress to win an Oscar for a film in which she engages in threesome loving -- the first being Liza Minelli in Cabaret (well, depending on how you interpret the events of Cabaret). Unless I'm forgetting someone. Which I might be.

These random pieces of trivia are brought to you by a ferocious hangover sponsored by Absolut Vodka. I shall try to collect myself for further Oscar post-show business.

Steaming Hot

Too darn hot. They're having a heatwave. Et cetera.

I meant to toss this out on Wednesday but here are my choices for sexiest of the year. Yes, I'm back to the FB Awards. Gotta wrap these up. Medalists in every category have to be announced a week from today!

I decided to give Daniel Craig a vacation this year (no blue speedo. no nomination!) even though he's already a double medalist in this category. Who I really wanted to include was Haaz Sleiman from The Visitor. That was a good film but while we're wading into shallow waters, wouldn't it have been a better film if he had drummed in his underwear in every scene. Haaz doesn't make the nominee shortlist because carnality seemed to be the last thing on his mind in the film (legal troubles will kill the sex drive). The choices might seem a bit more obvious than in past years, but sometimes obviousness hits the spot.

Read on...
Strip with Marisa Tomei. Kill for Angelina Jolie. Put your fists up for Hugh Jackman.
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"Great Performers" and Fine Portraits

I always love the mid February edition of the NY Times Magazine. It tends to capture several Oscar nominees but spreads its net wider, too. One could say it's like a miniature version of Vanity Fair's traditional "Hollywood Issue". It then celebrates the handpicked field of glitterati with portraiture sessions. This year's man behind the lens is the award winning Italian photographer Paolo Pellegrin.


His subjects are almost entirely Oscary this year (shame. I liked the variety) with Kate Winslet as covergirl. Who else? She's in hair rollers for the cover but this photo above is my favorite still from her shoot. I love how bright-morning over lit she is and, it's so... red. The write up by author Tom Perotta (Little Children) is surprisingly interesting too in that, while very flattering, it's not entirely a puff piece. He expresses brief concerns about some career decisions and the way Winslet sometimes overemphasizes her dissimilarity to her unsympathetic characters on the promotional circuit.

Inside the magazine you get Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn, Penélope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Frank Langella and Robert Downey Jr. (pictured left with Jude Law on the set of Sherlock Holmes). The sole Off Oscar player for this round is rising star Kat Dennings who is profiled by her 40 Year-Old Virgin mom, Catherine Keener.

The highlight for me? I'm sure you've already guessed it. The entire Penélope Cruz section. It's got wonderful images and a profile by Pedro Almodóvar himself, including this actress-extravagant bit

Cruz belongs to the Mediterranean school of acting, a style that is characterized by its carnality, gutsiness, shamelessness, messy hair, generous cleavage and shouting as a natural form of communication. Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, the early Silvia Mangano, even Elizabeth Taylor and Rachel Weisz, mastered this style. Penélope's Raimunda in "Volver" was modeled on Magnani, Loren and Cardinale, and I guess that it was the mesy-haired, loud-voiced Penélope that inspired Woody Allen to cast her as the mentally unstable artist in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," a role for which in the past few months she seems to receive an award every other day.

If the profile weren't generous enough we even get several shots of Pené rehearsing her big dance number in Nine. [see many previous posts]

"Coochie coochie coochie coo... / I've got a plan for what I'm gonna do to you
So hot! / You're gonna steam and scream / And vibrate like a string..."

Yes please! More, more, more.

For more on any of these topics, just chase the labels below. Thanks for visiting The Film Experience.
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Gee-nee-us

StinkyLulu makes a very fine case for Penélope Cruz as a "should win" at the Oscars (less than three weeks away now, kids).

<-- Maria Elena tells it like it T-I-is

Okay okay... so technically Lulu, the high priestess of supporting actressness, is rooting for one Viola Davis but this particular write up tipped the scale for me, it did. Give Cruz that naked gold man, Academy peeps. You know she's on a real roll. Think about it. Career peaks don't last forever. Strike while the iron she is so freaking hot!

[This FYC is brought to you by a sudden unplanned Cruz tear here at the Film Experience. She's everywhere in these blog posts.]

We Can't Wait #18 Whatever Works

Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, Patty Clarkson and Kristen Johnston
Synopsis Aging New York City man begins romance with a much younger (what a surprise!) southern gal and has wacky encounters with her family.
Brought to you by Sony Pictures Classics
Expected Release Date Summer

Fox: I have a Woody Allen blind spot. Meaning, the man could put out crap for the rest of his life, and I would still hold out hope that the next time around would produce one of his good ones. I'm also not one to jump all over Allen's post-80s output. Not at all. I quite like many of the films he made in the last twenty years. However, personally, I can do without any more European Scarlett Johannson jaunts.

I have high expectations for Whatever Works because it has a unique comic supporting cast in Ed Begley Jr. and Kristen Johnston. And... oh yeah... he's FINALLY WORKING WITH LARRY DAVID! It might be great, but it could just as well go all wrong. Woody Allen doing southern caricature humor? Oy. Yeah, it could go very wrong.

Nathaniel: I share your blind spot. (Speaking of blind -- why wasn't that gag funnier in Hollywood Ending? It had such potential) But I don't share the enthusiasm for Larry David. I just hope he's not the Woody proxy. I don't think that ever quite works unless it's minus the proxy part. I prefer the pictures without an obvious Woody Allen role -- like Vicky Cristina Barcelona or Match Point. I wanted to kill Kenneth Branagh when he was trying to "do" Woody in Celebrity.

And I'm glad ScarJo was tossed aside for this one though I wonder how Evan Rachel Wood will fare in Woody's universe -- it's so different than the one she usually inhabits onscreen... or the one we all live in come to think of it.

poll by twiigs.com

JA: This one didn't make my short-list because my blind-spot for Woody's films shuts out the films entirely until they suddenly appear at the local indie multiplex and somebody suggests we see that new Woody picture and I say 'what new Woody picture?'... you get the gist. I had heard he was working with Larry David, but this "wacky southern" angle is new to me and... it has me terrified. Mainly because my boyfriend is southern and the slightest hint of tired southern stereotyping causes him to go apoplectic and I just don't need to deal with that (again). Borat made him spit nails.

What worries me here with regards to that is Woody's not above relying on tired stereotypes even recently - the only reason the Latin Lover and Fiery Latina stereotypes Woody made Bardem and Cruz play in VCB worked was that those actors made something out of them that in my opinion wasn't really on the page. So let's hope his actors are up to the challenge this go around then. I don't need to dodge spit nails anymore!

Joe: If we all share the same Woody Allen blind spot (as I do as well), how the hell did this movie make our list? Not that I'm not looking forward to it, but that was before I learned that Larry David, and not the delectable Henry Cavil, would be playing the lead. Because, silly me, why WOULDN'T Larry David be the perfect romantic counterpart for Evan Rachel Wood? (Although at the rate she's going lately...) Every time I think Woody's going to allow me to forget his creepy and gross relationship with women, he has to go and pull one of these. Anyway, Larry David teaming up with Woody Allen seems like a clash of similar styles -- kind of like if Woody had cast Mel Brooks in his movies twenty years or so ago. How much "Jewy Old Curmudgeon" humor can the South be expected to handle?

On the other hand: Patty Clarkson. Oh, okay. I'm in.

Fox: Speaking of Woody's "gross relationship with women", he may be pushing the "little girl" thing a bit too much by giving Evan Rachel pig tails and color clashing outfits. I mean, in that first still she looks like she's twelve! Maybe he saw her in thirteen and got inspired.


JA, I share in your boyfriend's nail spitting fits. I mean, I'm from "Texas", not the South (we think we're special!), but Southern characters in films is something I think filmmakers continually get wrong. (Though, a shout out to Jeff Nichols for getting it right in Shotgun Stories). I hope Woody doesn't add on to that long line of failures.

And, Nathaniel, at least Hollywood Ending had that shot of Woody falling from the rafters. That had me howling and made putting up with the movie's other weaknesses worth it.

Whitney: Maybe it made our list because I put it up there pretty high. I've got a little bit of a thing for old Jewish men and Larry David is my favorite. I might be the only one in the world that thinks he's so sexy. Yep. Sexy.

Joe: Well, you and Evan Rachel Wood, hopefully.

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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GLAAD it wasn't Chuck and Larry

I never know what to make of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. I totally understand their raison d'etre but they've made some odd calls over the years. Remember when they totally endorsed that Adam Sandler movie? The one with the absurd and frankly damaging premise that gay men have it easy when it comes to employer benefits and insurance.

Anywayyyyy. Like every organization that has more than 1 member they give out awards. Here are their film-related nominees for the year that was...

Outstanding Film – Wide Release
Brideshead Revisited (Miramax Films)
Milk (Focus Features)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Columbia Pictures)
RocknRolla (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)

The new Brideshead underlined the previously gay-in-subtext-only nature of the piece so I understand why they went for it even if I didn't think much of it. Milk is a gimme. I've already mentioned how pleased I was with Nick and Norah's take on sexuality. I assume VCB is here due to the molten hotness of the Scarlett & Penélope mash session. Weren't they aware that that's too much hot for a darkroom? I mean, there are chemicals in there, ladies! I enjoyed that CruzJo tangle as much as any man would have, but it still seems like a stretch to me for this award. RocknRolla is here because...??? If you've seen it, please share in the comments. I didn't know there was anything queer about Guy Ritchie Guy Ritchie's latest.

Outstanding Film - Limited Release
The Edge of Heaven (Strand Releasing)
Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom (New Open Door Productions)
Save Me (First Run Features)
Shelter (Regent Releasing)
XXY (Film Movement)

I'm sort of angry that everyone began to write about how great The Edge of Heaven (pictured left) was after it had already left the cinema. Why didn't anyone tell me of its worth when it was in theaters? I suppose this is a "my bad" situation since I loved Head On by the same director. I should've pounced on that one. The others I'm less familiar with beyond the Oscar submission XXY and the pleasant Shelter (which I wrote about here). But if they were going foreign here I find it hard to believe that there weren't worthier entries than a Noah's Arc film. GLAAD was into threesomes this year apparently so why not Christophe Honoré's Love Songs?

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY
Chris & Don: A Love Story (Zeitgeist Films)
Freeheld (Cinemax)
A Jihad for Love (First Run Features)
Saving Marriage (Regent Releasing)
Sex Change Hospital (WE tv)

Freeheld was an Oscar winner last year. I've heard good things about A Jihad for Love which is about gay and lesbian muslims. Have any of you seen it? I have a Chris & Don screener. I have too many screeners. When can I watch them? If only screeners would arrive steadily throughout the year and not crush the postman with their weight during Oscar season. Poor flattened postman.

Off-Cinema I was pleased to see nominations for music artists like Jay Brannan, Magnetic Fields and Hercules and Love Affair. GLAAD's theatrical awards went very tranny. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If you ever have a chance to see Justin Bond (the total genius -- "gee-nee-uss" to quote Pené -- of Kiki & Herb fame, Dina Martina or Taylor Mac perform, you must. But approach with caution if you're the sensitive or easily frightened type.

Here's a full list of GLAAD nominees for those who are interested.

Signatures: Penélope Cruz

Adam of Club Silencio here with a look at my favorite actresses and their distinguishing claims to fame.

If for some unjust reason Penélope Cruz should lose the Supporting Actress Oscar, I know she'll handle it well. Throughout her career she's learned to make the best of a bad situation. Not to say it won't take some time...


It wasn't all that long ago that Penélope was an actress lost in translation. Beautiful and effortless in Spanish; beautiful and trying in English. In short time and with the help of some great directors, Penélope's become a sensational bilingual stunner. I'm convinced it's because of that positive attitude. Even as a nun impregnated by an HIV-positive transvestite, or a teenage prostitute giving birth on public transport, Penélope finds such splendid ways to deal with cinema's most dire debacles.

Penélope's character Maria Elena, her nominated role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, is on the path of self destruction once her lover takes another. But give her some time and that bitter hatred of the world and Scarlett Johansson magically transitions into artistic inspiration and mutual bisexual lust. Penélope's all about learning and personal growth.

"What did they say in art school? They said I was a genius... I'm not talking about talent. I said genius. Gee-nee-us. Gee-nee-us."

Her fruitful collaborations with Pedro Almodóvar have yielded her greatest tragedies, but also her greatest optimism. Penélope's transcendent turn as Raimunda in Volver pits her against all sorts of obstacles as a mother forced to cover the death of her deadbeat husband, cope with the sexual abuses of her past, and deal with the possibility that her dead mother still wants closure. Trying times indeed, but Raimunda turns that tragedy into triumph. She opens her dream business and manages to heal old wounds. "I felt like I knew women like that, and I love that she refuses to be a victim," says Penélope, "I love the dignity that Pedro gave her in the script, and I just wanted to give her that."


Penélope has already completed work on Almodóvar's latest, Broken Embraces, and prepared for the inevitable misery with that same distracting idealism, "I think every day changes you a little bit and makes you learn something new. Now maybe from the outside that change can be seen like a silent thing, but I think we're constantly moving forward, evolving, changing and learning."

Of course she's right. If you can survive Bandidas, you can survive anything. Just give Penélope some time. And the Oscar.

"I don't like her for you, I don't trust her"

How do you say "diva" en español?

Vicky Cristina Barcelona arrives on DVD tomorrow. Will you finally see it?
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The Top Dozen Films of the Year

Year in Review Part 5 of 5

And we've finally come to it...

Generally the making of a top ten list is cause for Sophie's Choice style agony but drafting 2008's list was unusually pleasant. Which is to say that the best films this year weren't as aggressively audacious or as eager to thrown down artistic and technical gauntlets as There Will Be Blood and No Country were last year (with the possible exception of Steve McQueen's prison drama Hunger which opted not to open in New York, thus making it ineligible for my list). Perhaps filmmakers were ahead of the curve and foresaw the wave of cautious optimism that was about to start rolling around the world. Consider the turn about from the following filmmakers who are no strangers to dour moods: Mike Leigh opted for cheer and generosity of spirit, Woody Allen made his sunniest film (quite literally) in years, and Gus Van Sant understood that "you gotta give them hope".

Honorable Mentions / Runners Up

Moodily stalking this year's top ten films, is a lonely Swedish girl who reluctantly goes by the name of "Eli". She's 12 years old. She's been 12 years old for a very very long time. She's both the love interest and the monster in the haunting horror flick Let the Right One In. Director Tomas Alfredson obviously has filmmaking in his blood (his dad, brother and girlfriend are also in the business) and his breakout hit pulses with memorable creepy imagery and smart directorial choices, especially in its first half...

READ THE REST
for thoughts on Burn After Reading, A Christmas Tale, The Class, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Let the Right One In, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Reprise, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler and an adorable Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class (also known as WALL•E)

"Meanwhile..."

While I work on some articles, please solve these recent off-screen mysteries in the comments:

• <-- How long do you suppose "Sophie and Sky" stayed together after that wedding ceremony wrapped in Mamma Mia! and what scenic destinations did they hit before the split?
• What happened to The Joker after Batman ran off in The Dark Knight ?
  
• How long did it take Carrie Bradshaw to fill that cavernous lighted walk in closet in Sex & The City?
• What was Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz) doing during the first half of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (which I've come to think of as Maria Elena Barcelona --haven't you)? Maybe she told us and I've forgotten but, even so, would you trust her with any recap of events?
  

Penélope. Predictions. Pacing.

It's just two months (minus one day) until the Golden Globe nominations are announced. The year is speeding up with casualties (Blindness, Miracle at St. Anna's) and "how far can they go?" entries (Happy-Go-Lucky, Rachel Getting Married, Frozen River, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Duchess) now available for public consumption. Whenever real contenders from early in the year are starting to spin in DVD players (The Visitor, Iron Man) you know the gun has fired on awards season and some contenders are already sprinting towards that distant finish line. Pace yourselves people! October to January is a marathon.

Tangent: Doesn't Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) feel lock'ish now, with so few supporting actress contenders yet in play? Sometimes it pays to be first out of the gate.

From this weekend forward there's nary a week without a new hopeful emerging. I've started revising the prediction pages. As for the Actress Psychic Contest... (sigh) I know I've been remiss this year but my excel skills are not up to the task and my magical elf from last year has been curiously unavailable. He's avoiding me! Why doesn't he want to spend hours inputting nonsensical formulas into spreadsheets for me? Why I ask you, why??? I keep saying "soon" on the point totals and I mean it. But I'm turning into the boy who cried wolf. Forgive and be patient.

Tuesday Top Ten ~ 2008 Check-In

Season 3 of "Tuesday Top Ten" begins now...

A few months ago I published a "best of the year thus far" post that looks ridiculous in retrospect. It's dangerous to do those in the early summer. I mean... people can still look it up later and use it against you. An update...


That's my top 10 --okay, top 12. I don't like to decide exact rankings or final grades until late December/ early January. Films deserve more consideration than a "did'ja like that?" the second the credits roll. That's why I'm so anti-December when it comes to release dates. It's not fair to the films that top ten lists & awardage are chosen mere seconds after watching that last round of "please love me!" prestige flicks

Top Twelve 2008. Thus far ~ alpha order
Burn After Reading -Like many Coen concoctions it's hard to wrap your head around initially. Funnier to think about afterwards than to watch. Therefore, I'm guessing it gets funnier to watch on multiple go-rounds. Got it? And how about that sneaky perfect punchline ending?
Un Conte de Nöel (A Christmas Tale) -An absorbing, sophisticated and lengthy family drama/mystery/comedy. It's almost like seeing a really good novel or spending an inordinated amount of time with an overstuffed fascinating scrapbook. There's so much going on. Opens November.
The Dark Knight -You've seen it already. Next...

Elegy -Fine adult performances from Kingsley, Cruz and Patricia Clarkson especially ... all of them lensed for maximum beauty/interest in their performances. (article)
A Girl Cut in Two -Divisive (you might hate it) but I found it colorful, kinky and involving. Ludivine is luscious but Benôit steals the show with a flamboyant and charismatic star turn.
In Bruges -Martin McDonaugh's strong debut feature. If you've seen his brilliant plays you won't be surprised at his depth, black humor, and intricate command of plot and character. Now on DVD

Kung Fu Panda -Dreamworks makes an animated feature without excessively dated pop culture jokes. Slapstick gags rule instead. Those age just fine, think Looney Tunes.
Rachel Getting Married -Anne Hathaway rises to a performance challenge and the formerly sleepwalking director Jonathan Demme is noticeably wide-eyed again. It's a vibrant, spontaneous, movingly humane picture. (prev post) Opens October
Reprise -An overachieving Norwegian picture about talented 20something best friends whose lives take abrupt turns once success hits. Director Joachim Trier is one to watch. Now on DVD

Trouble the Water -this raw rapping multi-faceted documentary on Hurricane Katrina, the US government, poverty and survival is a must see. "Who scared of water? Not me!" (review)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona -Woody Allen's overly erudite sexy summer in Spain. Penélope Cruz is headed for her second Oscar nomination for her blazing funny take on that Woody staple: the rampaging ex-girlfriend/wife.
Wall•E -You've seen it already. Next...

I figure if I show you these now, I'm using my teensy powers for good. See these before the year is through. It's an order a kind request. They're all quite discussable which is, in its own way, more of a recommendation than a "thumbs up" you know? ...for true movie lovers that is. But now that that's typed up it's soon to expire. Oh the sweet futility of the "in progress" list: I see Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler and Clint Eastwood's Changeling in the next two days. Wish me luck.
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TTT ~ Season 2: Horror Performances, Longest Best Picture Titles, Cinematic Princes, Jude Law, Weirdos, Hookers, Best of '07, Ways to Improve Oscar Ceremony, Black Actresses and more...
TTT ~ Season 1 Index: Christian Bale, Bald Heads, Best of '06, Horseplay, Holly Hunter, Funny Girls, Future Bios, Catwoman, Oscar Nominationless and more
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Naked Gold Man: Baby Steps

Festival season (Hello TIFF!) births and defeats many Oscar dreams. But it's worth remembering that while all the festival "sure things" are named and buzzed about -- Slumdog Millionaire, Rachel Getting Married, The Burning Plain, Lovely Still, Changeling, The Wrestler, etcera... -- that they're rarely counted. There are only 5 slots in each category... or less. The Oscar race is long and hard and there are few sure things. Particularly in September.

But one thing that the new buzz reflects truthfully is that the race is always on. Oscar competition starts long before a film is released -- critical perceptions and audience reactions can never be controlled per se but they can be manipulated and managed, tweaked, anticipated, hyped or countered. This occurs in any number of ways from the moment of conception: the pre-production buzz (who is cast? is John Q Director right for the material?) to birth...


...(the first reviews and that nail biting opening weekend) to the toddler days when the film starts exhibiting its own personality, a product of both nature (filmmakers as proud parents) and nurture (pre-Oscar awards, media favoritism and industry and public discussions serving up the Environment).

And even if a golden hopefully is great and/or statue friendly (not always the same thing), there's the completely uncontrollable variable: what and who else is dancing around begging for the same attention? Fact: A year with 30 truly great lead performances will result in the same number of nominees as a year with only 7. This is why "locks" are so rare despite the ubiquity of the word in nearly every Oscar conversation.

That said, the following cute toddlers will surely be included in that invitation-only private school @ the Kodak Theater. They've made the race that much more difficult for any young film choosing to follow.

Animated Film - WALL•E. Only 2 spots left and they'll just be happy to be nominated.
Visual Effects - Iron Man. You know they'll honor it somewhere ... somewhere being right here. Only 2 spots left
Score -John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Why would they stop now? He's been nominated for every single Indy outing. Only 4 spots left.
Acting - only 19 actors and actress need apply for the 20 spots.

Heath Ledger's Joker performance in The Dark Knight is still monumentally creepy to think about or be reminded of, isn't it? Eight weeks of ubiquity, often a great inoculation for hysterically praised work, haven't managed to dilute its feverish pull. That's an impressive feat and a performance that once seemed like a worthy "likely contender" is now a "lock". But we still don't know what this means for the larger Oscar picture. And it's all about the larger picture. "Supporting" is where Ledger's buzz first happened. But many voices are starting to shout for "Lead" status. The Joker's ghostly presence and penchant for chaos will affect future candidates and the Oscar race... but which one. Both? Pre-season can be filled with reversals... he could conceivable alter the chances of candidates in both categories as actors jockey for space and attention in the abundant pre-season honors. And does the desire to honor the late great young actor, pull the rest of the film and its achievements upwards and into the Kodak or not? It's also possible that the long haul to Oscar nominations (still 4 months away) could convince some voters that Ledger's posthumous nomination honor is reward enough for this Batman film. Honestly, what does Batman contribute to his own movie (this time around)?

Ledger's performance is already briskly jogging towards that January goal. Other competitors are still crawling. Penélope Cruz and Woody Allen's writing (the latter always somewhat in the running) could very well represent for Vicky Cristina Barcelona but neither are done deals and could be crowded out with ease if the fall films are especially strong. Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) Melissa Leo (Frozen River -previous article) will now be leaving the safe realm of the theoretically worthy and entering the real world of starry household name competitors and heavily funded movies. I love the arrival of the fall films. So many golden possibilities ahead. I personally can't wait to see what happens next. And you?

Oscar Prediction Revisions & Best Actress Psychic updates are coming round about September 20th (apologies for the long wait)