Utah & Phoenix Film Critics: 127 Inceptions For the King

It's so cute that film critics circles are so interested in "their own" as it were. Boston is always accused of rallying behind Boston-set films (in their defense they often have many of them to choose from) and a few days back Utah, where 127 Hours takes place, really handed that film some water in its moment of need. Not that the Academy voters are actively debating Utah's choices before filling out their ballots this week... they're more likely to be swayed by James Franco's grandma (see video after the jump).

But given that 127 Hours has been slipping down a thin rocky crevice away from sunny awards heat (AWKWARD METAPHOR ALERT) it'll take every honor it can get. Will AMPAS go for it or do we have another Into the Wild (2007) on our hands i.e. lots of preseason heat, little to show for it on Oscar nom morn?

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Yes, No, Maybe So: 127 Hours & Fair Game

It's a true story double feature for this installment of Yes, No, Maybe So, in which we break down personal reaction to movie trailers.

We'll start with Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire follow up -- and boy does this trailer not let you forget that this is the follow up -- which is called 127 Hours. In the movie, James Franco plays Aron Ralston who gets pinned under a rock and the rest is, well, his arm is history.



Yes James Franco is on the rise and this could be the movie where he finally proves the extent of his talents. He does have to hold the screen for virtually the full running time. If I've understood the prerelease mumblings correctly, what we're seeing in the trailer is only clips from the first half hour ish of the movie. I'd actually love to have that be the rule for Hollywood. You may not use anything past the 30 minute mark in your trailers. Begone Spoilers! (Not that people don't know what happened in this particular story since it's so easy to sum up and everyone has already been summing online for months.)

Also Moab, Utah is ridiculously beautiful even when shot by cinematographers far less gifted than Oscar winner Anthony Dod Mantle or Enrique Chediak. I know because I once lived in Utah and every photographer, good or un, has a million photographs capturing the rocky beauty of southern half of the state.

No For lost in the desert existential survivalist drama, I'll take something more contemplative like Gus Van Sant's Gerry. Will this be too tricked up to combat those nerves filmmakers so often have about how long they can hold the audiences attention? (Hence the current ridiculous average shot length being under 2 seconds problem.)

Maybe So Even though I wasn't crazy about Slumdog Millionaire -- it's actually my least favorite of his filmography (that I've seen) -- I do think Boyle is an energetic and often interesting filmmaker. My Boyle heirarchy would break down like so.

1. Trainspotting ...choose life
   
2. 28 Days Later ...choose the future
   
3. Shallow Grave ...choose a starter home
   
4. Sunshine ...choose a fucking big television
   
5. The Beach ...choose a family
   
6. Slumdog Millionaire ...but why would i want to do a thing like that?
   

Love the top three and admire the fourth quite a lot. Slumdog and The Beach are like weird twins of the B-/C+ overrated & underrated fraternal variety. So I'm curious about this movie. Where will it fit in?

Verdict: I'm a yes all told. I'll see it opening weekend in early November if I somehow miss the critic's screenings.

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In Fair Game, Naomi Watts plays CIA Operative Valerie Plame and Sean Penn her husband the journalist in this true story that's already been covered at the cinema in a movie with Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga that nobody went to see called Nothing But the Truth. (It's on that annually expanding list of December Glut Plague victims)



Yes We need to be reminded of stories like this. Particularly since the sins of the past administration are still haunting us. It's definitely a compelling and resonant story about a nation that chucks their integrity and bedrock values for political point scoring (sound familiar? see also: current events).

No On the other hand, do we need to be reminded of it again this quickly? And doesn't the casting of Sean Penn in a liberal political type movie feel a bit too preaching to the choir, a bit too on the nose?

Maybe So I'm intrigued that they choose to end the trailer with Naomi Watt's defiant line reading...

They push you until they find the point at which you break. You can't break me. I don't have a breaking point.

(even though the underscore is laughably OTT) because I feel the exact opposite about her as an actress. She often seems so broken before a movie even begins. I think she's Oscar worthy in Mulholland Dr and nomination worthy in The Painted Veil (easily her two best performances) but my principal problem with her intensely pitched work is that she always seems ahead of the character arc, rather than developing it organically towards narrative peaks. I'm hoping she's calm and nuanced her at least before they threaten to break her.

Verdict: I'm a no in terms of desire, but I try to see everything if Oscar buzz becomes involved. So if awards seasons starts calling on Naomi, I'll definitely catch it.

How do these trailers breakdown for you in the yes no maybe so sense? Have at it in the comments. Whether you're pinned under a rock or your dangerous secret has just been outed, nothing is more urgent than blog commenting!
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A Little Light Reading

When you're reading this, I'm on a plane to Utah and the Sundance Film Festival. I'll be tweeting obviously so follow me on Twitter... but I also hope to pop in here with short bits from the fest. However, in case things are too crazy for blogging (this is my first time attending since 1998... and back then I was but a humble moviegoer with a random ticket or five), I've invited some extra guest bloggers to chime in. Most of them you'll recognize from their own fab blogs or from past guest stints here. Enjoy!

Whenever I'm on a plane I end up buying some cinema book I've had a hankerin' to read. This month that's Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America. Unfortunately, I already cheated and read the introduction "Warrenology".

...I had met a lot of stars, but never met anyone quite like him. Indecently gifted, he acted, he wrote, he directed, he produced. A brilliant mind. Tough. Analytical. Inquisitive. Hoovered up everything and gave back nothing. Funny. Self-deprecating. And good, or reasonably good, politics. And he was classy, had style to burn. Nothing and no one ruffled his feathers. He was Captain Cool, Mr. Natural. It cost considerable effort to present a lacquered exterior like his, but he pulled it off with seeming ease. Grace. That was the magic of it: you never saw the gears grinding. Norman Mailer, when he wrote about Beatty for Vanity Fair, called it "charm," tried to define it, and gave up.

I had never been a big believer in vaporous concepts like "charisma," which I filed away with "karma," "vibes," and "auras," but I'm embarrassd to report that when I was in his presence I felt an almost palpable sense of well-being, as if I were a better person because Warren Beatty liked me, or pretended he did.

I already ♥ it.
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Sundance 2010 Preamble

I'm flying out to gorgeous Park City a week from today. I vow to not complain about the cold. I vow to not write boring posts about what I'm eating or the room in which I'm sleeping. I vow to try and complete at least the "oscar'ish" portions of the FB Awards before I leave.

Do me a solid and peruse the list of films on offer at Sundance. Let me know in the comments which films you're most interested in hearing about. Keep in mind that the star-laden films aren't always the ones to be at (Did you know Carey Mulligan's name at this time last year?). That said... Obviously I will see the Annette Bening / Julianne Moore lesbian epic (hey, it's epic to me) The Kids Are All Right. But what else should I make time for?

You can't see everything and there's a lot of cinema.

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Detroit, Chicago, Utah, Etcetera

In past years I have sort of enjoyed the slow trickle of critics organization announcements, but this year they all gushed through journalism's infrastructure so quickly I lost track immediately in the deluge. I'm also slightly suspicious that nobody cares this year (or am I projecting?) since it's about the fifth year in a row with a large degree of consensus. Some years consensus makes a great deal of sense. Others, not so much. Since this happens every year now, I think it's a sure sign that all we ever needed was a few big groups. I'm still a bit perplexed why all of these little groups don't merge to become something more awesomely super-sized.


But in case you do care (and because I have a photoshop problem) here's a few more chosen because these are cities or states where I've actually lived or visited frequently.

Chicago Film Critics
Picture & Director The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) Actress & Most Promising Performer: Carey Mulligan, An Education Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon Animated Feature: Up Documentary: Anvil! The Story of Anvil Cinematography Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker Original Score: Michael Giacchino, Up Most Promising Filmmaker: Neill Blomkamp, District 9

Utah Film Critics
I'm trying to arrange a Sundance trip this year. Yes, Sundance coverage right here if everything pans out. So crazy that we've never covered it considering how many festivals we have covered at this point. (Katey is going too. Woohoo. Fun in the snow. Wintry vidcasts!) Picture & Director Up in the Air (Jason Reitman) Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education Actor: Viggo Mortensen, The Road Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious Supporting Actor: Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach Fantastic Mr. Fox Foreign Language Film: Thirst Animated Feature: Fantastic Mr. Fox Documentary: The Cove

For what it's worth, Christian McKay (Utah, San Francisco) and Woody Harrelson (NBR) are the only men who've been able to snag a trophy away from Christoph Waltz in the Supporting Actor category. Waltz has now won 18 prizes for his wicked performance as Col. Hans Landa in Basterds... starting with that summer biggie: Cannes.


Detroit Film Critics
They actually did go their own way in Best Picture (gasp) so I had to make them an illustration, too. I'm not sure how many film critics are left in Detroit though what with the economy the way it is there. Even when I still lived there aeons ago, they were the two big papers were starting to merge. Detroit needs a little burst of color for a pick-me-up, so a house carried by balloons seems appropriately uplifting. Picture & Director: Up (Pete Docter) Actress & Breakthrough Performance: Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Precious Actor: Colin Firth, A Single Man Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds Ensemble The Hangover

Let's see... how to cover everything else we've missed. Oh forget it. If I followed every group I'd get carpel tunnel merely typing "Christoph Waltz". Movie City News has a chart and a staff that has time for such a chart. Good on them. If you look it over you can quickly see that most every category has one clear consensus pick.

The most contentious of all categories in this year end hoopla is actually foreign film. Summer Hours and Sin Nombre have each won five prizes (neither of them are eligible in that Oscar race) with The White Ribbon trailing with three. What's interesting though is that a grand total of ten films have won this award which is way more honorees than in any other category, wherein the critics were mostly content to nod at each other agreeably. As for me I fall firmly into the Summer Hours camp in this three-way battle (see previous post). It's a quiet beauty, neither as obfuscating as The White Ribbon despite equally complex subject matter nor as reductively familiar as Sin Nombre despite its equally obvious "types". Not that all three films aren't very compelling cinema. See them!
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Hump Day Hotties, Will Swenson in Hair

<-- This hippie to your left is Will Swenson, backstage at Hair here on Broadway. Not Hairspray, Hair. (They definitely don't believe in hairspray in this show. The locks must be free to fly about, the wilder the better.)

Swenson plays Berger (one of the musicals two leads) and the leader of the "tribe" of drugged up sexually uninhibited anti-war kids that the musical fawns over as they drop out in Central Park. The other lead is Berger's less wild best friend "Claude" played by freshly out Broadway regular Gavin Creel. He replaced Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) who did the role in Central Park last summer. We assume he dumped Hair for his part in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock? It's the musical's loss but who can blame him. You'd take a role in an Ang Lee film, too.

I apologize that I've been so weirdly name-droppy lately (I blame the recession ... it's fun, try it) but fact: I went to college with Will Swenson. We were both there the same time as Aaron Eckhart. I didn't really know either of them, only of them, but that hardly matters when name-dropping. My two best friends knew them (they ran with the actor/dancer crowd) ...so I pretend like I did.

Will Swenson in Hair (2009) / Treat Williams as "Berger" in the movie (1979)

So there Swenson is in the altogether in HAIR (the famous 1st act closer still includes the whole cast getting naked). Our alma mater would most definitely not approve. In fact, Swenson's fans probably won't either. Will Swenson's film career has been almost entirely as a star actor/writer/director in the ultra specific and insular world of Mormon movies with films like Singles Ward and Sons of Provo on his resume. (That filmmaking wave won a brief bit of media attention outside of Utah in 2000 but quickly retreated back into its own bubble). But if his original fans disapprove of his latest performance, it's their loss. The Berger role is spiritually akin to the emcee role in Cabaret: he addresses the audience frequently, taunts them sexually and serves as guide into this strange world. Swenson doesn't pull any punches. His is the most sensual performance and he's got the best head of hair. He's completely "best in show". A TONY nomination better be forthcoming.

<-- the 1979 movie featured early career performances from Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo and John Savage. It was Milos Forman's follow up to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I've always had trouble getting through Hair (1979) the movie. Have you seen it? I don't actually think much of the musical in general, on stage or film. It lacks as much direction as the characters it shines its sun on and I always have issues with musicals that only have 2 or 3 great songs. That said, this new production is great. The revival minimizes nearly all the musicals inherent flaws and maximizes everything that's resonant about its energy, sexuality and politics with exuberant setpieces, high energy performances, doses of reality and absolutely terrific staging which involves the audience more vigorously than any Broadway production has in recent memory. If you're visiting New York anytime soon, it's a totally rousing night of theater. This production: A

P.S. This production was so good, and its Vietnam era angst so resonant with contemporary shadings that I almost want someone to grab the film rights again. Surely more can be wrestled from it than what Milos Forman got? Here's the famous opening number "Aquarius" as interpreted in his film version and, just for fun, a number from a stage reading of another Broadway to Movies back to Broadway property, Camelot (Will Swenson is Sir Sagamore and singing with Marin Mazzie as Guinivere. He shows up at the 1:57 mark)


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Commie Link-Loving Sons of Guns

/Film Michel Gondry to direct Seth Rogen's Green Hornet
BlogStage an opening date for Spider-Man the musical which is now called Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Whaaaa?
Bright Lights... on the subtextual Oscar highlights
Dear Jesus experiences those 'commie homo-loving sonofguns' at the Oscars being shown in Mormon homes


Empire Freida Pinto in a Woody Allen movie next. No comment.
Sunset Gun Who's Afraid of Angelina Jolie?
Roger Ebert also loved the Oscar broadcast ... possibly even more than I did. I'm aware that there's the normal slew of negative reviews out there but I think it's foolish to get hung up on Oscar reviews. The host in particular should NEVER read Oscar reviews. Basically you could copy and paste Oscar night reviews verbatim with only the hosts name changed. The negative reviews are always the same "it was boring. it was long. nobody cares about these movies. it's out of touch. above all the host sucked". It doesn't even matter what actually transpired on the broadcast. These reviews will always exist. They're a time tested tradition right up there with opening the envelopes. It's the nature of the beast.

So I loved the broadcast (my review) and these reviews don't bother me a bit. My efforts to get more positive like Poppy (Happy-Go-Lucky, y'all) must be paying off (slowly). I'm glad there are others like Ebert feeling the love. At the very least you have to give Hugh & team points for effort. They were working their asses off to make that a better show than it has been the past few years. I'm glad the ratings were slightly up.

Finally, if you're a film lover who is leaning towards film making you might want to check out this list by Movie Maker of the best cities for movie makers to live in. Their reasoning sounds complex so I shan't try to summarize but please know that I was surprised to see my city of origin there (Detroit #11) but not at all surprised to see my pre-NYC home in the mix (Salt Lake City #17). So if you're a filmmaker... say yes to Michigan. Michigan needs all the help it can get these days. Everyone is leaving and nobody has work. How that makes it a good city for movie making I don't know but if Movie Maker says it, it must be true.
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Deep in the Heart of Texas Critics

Perhaps you've noticed that I haven't posted the results of several film critics awards the second they've come in. It's because there are too many. But I finalized info on my Oscar pages this morning. Texas was the latest thorn in my side. I ask the following in all sincerity: Are there really enough film critics working in the State of Texas to justify three separate critics organizations: Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Houston each with their own? Should all these laid off film critics you keep hearing about be relocating to the Lone Star State?

What's worse is that these three Texan entities don't have different aesthetics. Oh sure there are disagreements in Best Picture: Dallas (Slumdog), Houston (Benjamin Button), Austin (The Dark Knight). Yet all three of them agree on Heath Ledger as Supporting Actor (The Dark Knight) and Anne Hathaway as Best Actress (Rachel Getting Married). In other categories they have 2/3 agreement. Why not just form one Supersize Texas Association of Critics (STAC) or somesuch? Wouldn't their opinions have slightly more weight that way?

Here in NYC, the publishing capital, we only have 2 film critics organizations that claim a "place" in their title (NYFCC and NYFCO). If in New York, where you can't throw a bagel without hitting a critic, we can only justify 2...

I'm glad New York keeps it simple. Could you imagine? The Bronx Film Critics Association (BFCA -wait that acronym is in use), the Greater Association of Long Island Critics (GALIC), The Upper West Side Film Critics Association (UWSFCA). The Upper West Side Film Critics Association Online (UWSFCAO) Staten Island Critics Circle Organization (SICCO), Washington Heights Hispanic Association of Critics (WHHAC), East Village Association of Critics (EVAC). I mean where does it end? Central Harlem Online Independent Critics Everlasting (CHOICE), Freelancers Union Critics Kircle (FUCK). Exactly!

Madness.

Do you think Houston thinks they can kick Dallas/Ft. Worth's ass? You know Austin thinks itself a total hipster and above the fray. Which it kinda is... but still. It's not like Austin's choices truly rocked the fringes. For that you have to go to Toronto -- Wendy & Lucy as Best Pic. Rachel Getting Married in three categories... Woot!

And while we're filling in the blanks, there's also Phoenix which honored Benjamin Button and Las Vegas which went with Frost/Nixon and not just in Best Picture. All over the place it won. That's its first (and probably last) win for Best Picture. But at least it ain't Frontrunner Millionaire. On a more humorous note, despite the Slumdog SAG ensemble nomination (grrr - a prize for the casting directors ability to find cute children?) the cast is still unknown to many. Over @ MovieWeb for example, they think the great male actor Irffan Khan is actually the pretty if blank female star Freida Pinto and they also think that Frieda Pinto is Frieda Pinto while she is simultaneously Mia Drake. Oops.

In other news... Utah joins Austin in lauding The Dark Knight as Best Picture (with Rachel Getting Married as runner up? Interesting if inconsequential... it's really too bad Rachel has been faring so poorly outside of Anne Hathaway. But history will be kind to it long past the Frost/Nixons). They give director to Pixar's Andrew Stanton for WALL•E. They went totally populist.


updated Oscar pages
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A Short Note From Utah. All The Old Movie Theaters I Loved Are Torn Down

Nathaniel here just saying "hi" briefly from my travels. I've been driving around with an old friend. The bad restaurants are the same. The good movie theaters are gone. I think you can understand that this is a double negative for me, after many years in NYC. Though I am on vacation from this blog thanks to my trusty buddies Susan, JA, and Thombeau... there's no vacation from my other gigs. So in case you missed them you can read my despairing "help me!" review of Sleepwalking @ Pajiba. (I don't know if you've heard but this Charlize Theron character can really act) and my probably bonkers and semi-affectionate review of Never Back Down @ Zoom-In...


in which I explain how Sean Faris is just like Tom Cruise, only not. I am probably way too nice to this utter mediocrity but I saw it immediately after the laughably (or sleepily) inept 10,000 BC so I was feeling extra charitable. If you're grading on a curve it's a masterpiece in comparison. That's the danger of seeing too many movies... especially in a row.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled guest programming.