A Serious Man: Not an Odd Film Out
Werner Herzog and Christian Bale on the set of Rescue Dawn
In a column for the Guardian over the weekend, Joe Queenan used A Serious Man to stand in example of movies by directors which stand apart from the rest of their filmography. In the case of A Serious Man, Queenan writes:
A Serious Man falls into that category of films that, for whatever reason, do not have the same texture or mood as a director’s other films. It may be a decision the film-maker has made deliberately, or it may be entirely inadvertent, but these films stand apart from the other movies in a director’s body of work. It is as if the film-maker abruptly decided to take a holiday from his own personality and make a film in somebody else’s style.
He goes on to cite other examples of this theory for great directors. He notes Werner Herzog for Rescue Dawn (“…a well-crafted action picture. And nothing more.“), Spike Lee’s Inside Man (“…certainly doesn’t have the feel of any other Spike Lee film. It is work for hire.“) and Ang Lee with The Hulk (“…one of those catastrophes so bad that its sequel seems like the industry’s personal apology to the movie-going public for what has gone before.“)
He also cites a few examples of better one-offs, such as Scorsese’s Age of Innocence, Eastwood’s The Bridges of Madison County and, inexplicably, Peter Weir’s Green Card.
I’ll leave what he considers good or bad to the side (seriously though, Green Card?) and just comment on the mistake of characterising so many of these films as being far apart from the other work by directors.
Let the Oscar Buzz Begineth!!
As we are prone to do, it feels like to kick-off the Oscar buzz season as awards from major film festivals begin to roll in and the ceremony approaches. I realise that this may feel like the kind of wishing-life-away feeling that it given as you walk into shops in mid-September and see Christmas stock out all over the place, but these will get more frequent as we get closer and can begin to actually predict what could win. This is more to provide an interesting gauge of how buzz works, how it changes and how wrong we could well end up being by the time the awards come around.
So, just for the big few categories, here’s what seems like it’s going to cause a stir this year: Continue reading →
Alternatives to the EW Twenty-Five Directors
Entertainment Weekly recently posted a list of the top twenty-five active film directors. These lists will forever cause disagreement and controversy but some of the inclusions, and subsequent exclusions, on this list are pretty unforgivable. Even if you don’t find it too irratating, as a film fan and blogger I feel it only necessary to present some arguments both against the inclusion of some and against the exclusion of others while I would also like to take some time to argue for the inclusion of a few that I think may brook argument elsewhere.
BAFTA Predictions
So, here in print, are our predictions for this year’s BAFTAs. Please check out the podcast in which we discuss what you will find here. Also, here is the full list of nominations for your perusal.
Best Picture – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire
Sam: Slumdog Millionaire
Beth: Slumdog Millionaire
Tom: Slumdog Millionaire
Best British Film – Hunger, In Bruges, Mamma Mia, Man on Wire, Slumdog Millionaire
Sam: Man on Wire
Beth: Slumdog Millionaire
Tom: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director – Clint Eastwood (Changeling), David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Stephen Daldry (The Reader), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Sam: Danny Boyle
Beth: Danny Boyle
Tom: Danny Boyle
Best Actor – Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Sam: Mickey Rourke
Beth: Dev Patel
Tom: Mickey Rourke
Best Actress – Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long), Meryl Streep (Doubt), Kate Winslet (The Reader), Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Sam: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Beth: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Tom: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Best Supporting Actor – Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder), Brendan Gleason (In Bruges), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading)
Sam: Heath Ledger
Beth: Heath Ledger
Tom: Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Actress – Amy Adams (Doubt), Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Tilda Swinton (Burn After Reading), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Sam: Penelope Cruz
Beth: Marisa Tomei
Tom: Amy Adams
Best Original Screenplay – Burn After Reading, Changeling, I’ve Loved You So Long, In Bruges, Milk
Sam: In Bruges
Beth: Milk
Tom: In Bruges
Best Adapted Screenplay – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire
Sam: Slumdog Millionaire
Beth: Slumdog Millionaire
Tom: The Reader
Best Foreign Language – Baader Meinhof Complex, Gomorrah, I’ve Loved You So Long, Persepolis, Waltz with Bashir
Sam: Waltz with Bashir
Beth: Persepolis
Tom: Waltz with Bashir
Best Animated – Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir, Persepolis
Sam: Wall-E
Beth: Wall-E
Tom: Wall-E
Orange Rising Star – Michael Cera, Michael Fassbender, Noel Clarke, Rebecca Hall, Toby Kebbell
Sam: Michael Fassbender
Beth: Toby Kebbell
Tom: Michael Fassbender
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