Nantucket Film Festival: Day Two

It was a rainy day in Nantucket and therefore a good day to stay indoors and watch a few movies. The day started in 'Sconset at the Casino, where I saw Mia and the Magoo, which is a French animated film that has been re-dubbed into English. It tells the story of a young girl journeying to find her father who works on a construction site in the middle of nowhere. There are a few Avatar overtones as the villain in this film is building a resort which is destroying the pristine wilderness, and, in particular, the Tree of Life which grows upside down. Mia is aided by the Migoo (voiced by Wally Shawn), who are supernatural but low-IQ creatures, supposed to be watching over the Tree of Life. Mia and the Magoo has a few good moments but neither the animation nor the characters are three dimensional. Two beers.

 

The second movie in 'Sconset after a nice lunch on the beach at Codfish Park eating a Turkey Terrific (the best sandwich in the world) was Circumstance. This film follows two teenage girls growing up in Tehran today. It spotlights the difficulties of growing up as a woman in Iran. This film, shot in Beruit by female Iranian director, Maryam Keshavarz, is quite intense and compelling. Four beers.

After this, I moved to Nantucket High School for my last two films. They were both American dramas. The first, The Last Rites of Joe May, chronicles the last few days of the life of an aging scam artist (Dennis Farina). He comes home after two months in hospital to find a young single mother living in his apartment. Even though this film is straight out of the Indie-film playbook, and you can predict every plot twist, it works because the performances are so good, particularly Farina, and Jamie Anne Allman (The Killing) and Meredith Droeger who play the mother and daughter. Three and half beers.

The last film of the day was the best. Margin Call can't be called an Indie Movie since its cast includes Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore. But it has a great script, and Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons are under strict control by director, J.C. Chandor so they don't eat the scenery. Margin Call tells the story of the start of the recession of 2008 when a big investment bank realizes that its debts are greater than its assets, and they plot to sell everything before the clients catch on. Zachary Quinto (Spock in the new Star Trek) is very good as the young analyst who discovers the problem.  Five beers.

Nantucket Film Festival: Day One

Well, it's that time of the year again. I'm here at the 16th Nantucket Film Festival. I will be seeing 17 movies in 5 days. Day One was a light day with only two movies. The splashy opening movie was Cars 2 only a couple of days away from it's opening. And the second film was Buck, a documentary which was a Sundance selection and has quite a bit of buzz. It has opened in NY and LA and will be going into more theatres as the summer progresses.

Cars 2 is a sequel to Pixar's Cars. In general, I love Pixar movies like Finding Nemo, Toy Story and The Incredibles. But I didn't like Cars. For some reason, I have no problem with fish, toys and super heroes coming to life but cars? Anyway, Cars 2 is more of the same except that the main character this time is the broken-down tow-truck, Mater. This sequel which involves a round the world series of races and some international intrigue is a real snoozer. I had a nice nap in the middle. The only interesting thing in Cars 2 is that they introduce the Bond car voiced by Michael Caine as a member of the British secret service. He is great. I was sitting in the same row as Vera Farmiga and her husband and kid. She had an Oscar nomination as George Clooney's love interest in Up in the Air, and has her first try at directing opening later in the festival.

Buck is a really nice film. It is about the life of Buck Brannaman. He was the technical advisor on Robert Redford's film, The Horse Whisperer, starring a 13 year old Scarlett Johansson. But Buck is the real deal, an actual horse whisperer. This film follows him around the country as he gives clinics on "starting" colts. He doesn't use the word, "breaking." It also details his childhood when he and his brother were trick ropers trained by their abusive father. Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl, is very well put together. It is heart-warming, to say the least, but it also shows Brannaman as a 3-dimensional character, even showing him failing to train a difficult horse. You should see this one if comes to a theatre near you. 

My "Oscar" Nominations

Sorry this is a bit late. Since the middle of December, I have seen 15 movies starting with Black Swan and ending with Blue Valentine this weekend. I haven't seen everything but here is my best shot. My picks for "best" of the year are in red:

 

1. Social Network

The Social Network probably had the most buzz of any movie coming out in 2010. It generated huge interest because, well, most of us, myself included, are part of the 500 million users of Facebook. But beyond that, while The Social Network is a biopic of Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founders of Facebook (more on that later), it is clearly a fictionalized biography. And when you are watching the film, it is fun to try and guess what is true and what isn't. The Social Network was written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) and directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) so my expectations were high going in. And I'm happy to say that the movie lives up to its hype. Somehow, Sorkin and Fincher have turned a story about geeky guys sitting at computers 24/7 into an intense spy thriller. Read my whole review here.

2. True Grit

Joel and Ethan Coen say that they have never even seen the original movie, but that the book by Charles Portis, on which it is based, was a favorite of theirs when they were kids. So now we have a new True Grit just three years after the Coen Brothers made their modern western, No Country for Old Men. The new True Grit stars Coen-Brothers' favorite, Geoff Bridges, in the John Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn, a stereotypical tough lawman of the old west who is approached by a 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) who wants him to catch the man (Josh Brolin) who murdered her father.  The Coen brothers movies are always interesting, but they are often just a bit over the top. True Grit is played as a straight western right down to the John Ford camera shots. It's a wonderful job. Read my whole review here.

3. Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole tells the story of a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) whose young child was killed when he ran into the street and was hit by a car driven by a teenager (Miles Teller). At the start of Rabbit Hole, the tragedy has already happened, and we find the couple trying to deal with their grief and get on with their lives. In Rabbit Hole, Kidman gives a really affecting performance, particularly in her scenes with the boy who was responsible for the accident and is grieving as much as she is. Miles Teller does a great job in this small role. I guess the big surprise is that John Cameron Mitchell can direct such a nuanced film after doing Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus. Rabbit Hole could have been a real downer of a movie, but it isn't. Read my whole review here.

4. The King's Speech 

I was born in in Canada in 1954. For my whole life, Elizabeth II has been my Queen. I loved the movie, The Queen, and now here is another film about the Royals. The King's Speech is the story of Elizabeth's father George VI (Colin Firth), who never thought he would be King until his brother, Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) gave up the throne because of "the woman I love." George VI was a nice guy, but he had a horror of public speaking because of a life-long stammer. After much frustration, his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) finds an Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who claims that he can help. Everyone in this film is great, but I particularly loved Geoffrey Rush. He and Colin Firth are great together and besides I'm a sucker for an English period piece.

5. The Kids are All Right

The Kids are All Right has the look and feel of a classic Indie film except for the fact that it stars Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, who have 9 Oscar nominations between them including nominations for Bening and Ruffalo for The Kids are All Right. This film tells the story of a lesbian couple (Bening and Moore) with two kids (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) who were both fathered by the same sperm donor (Ruffalo). This is a fun movie to watch with lots of energy from all the cast including up-and-comer Wasikowska, who was also Alice in Wonderland this year. You can't do better than Bening and Moore, and adding Ruffalo to the mix makes their freak flags fly. Also, this is one of only two nominated films with a female director, Lisa Cholodenko, who does a great job with The Kids are All Right.

6. 127 Hours

You gotta love Danny Boyle. He has directed Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions, and my pick for best movie of the year two years ago, Slumdog Millionaire. He makes unusual movies and mostly they are very good. His new movie is 127 Hours, the real-life story of Aron Ralston. He's the hiker who was trapped when I rock fell on his arm while he was way off the grid in Canyonlands National Park. Since he didn't tell anyone where he was going, and he was unlikely to be found, he had a choice of slow death, or to try and cut his arm off so he could get away. You all know what he did. Anyway, this may seem like a strange choice for a movie. It's definitely dramatic, but the whole story is about a guy stuck by himself for days while he cuts his own arm off. James Franco is amazing. Read my whole review here.

7. Inception

Inception is probably the most innovative film of the year. It has a Matrix-like story that is nevertheless different and interesting. It has Christopher Nolan, who directed the amazing Memento and The Dark Knight, at the helm. It has a great cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cottilard, Ellen Page, Michael Caine, and the late lamented Pete Postlethwaite. It has two former child stars, Lukas Haas (Witness) and one of the most under-rated actors around today, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun). Put Brick on your netflix list. Anyway, Inception is worth seeing if you missed it the first time around. The effects and the plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat. And it really makes you wonder if you are awake or dreaming in your "real" life.


8. How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train your Dragon tells the story of a Viking village with a difference. These Vikings hunt and are hunted by a veritable zoo of dragons. A young Viking who is useless at hunting the dragons secretly befriends one of the most fearsome ones.  I was a bit confused by the fact that all the Vikings had Scottish accents. The fact that Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson were among the celebrity voices may have affected this. In order to get an idea of how good How to Train your Dragon is, I brought along a couple of experts aged 4 and 5 as well as their very tired mother to see the movie. Anyway, both Ellie and Chiara gave How to Train your Dragon a big thumbs up. And I did too.

9. Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone is a great little film that surfaced at Sundance, where it won the Grand jury Prize, and is still around at the finish line. It is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes) and Best Screenplay at the Oscars. The last nomination is a testament to this film about very rural Missouri, where the most popular cash crop is Meth, and the characters speak in sentences often consisting of one word. Jennifer Lawrence is the breakout star of the year, and John Hawkes (Perfect Storm, Deadwood) is so buried in his character that he is almost unrecognizable. Winter's Bone isn't a happy movie but it is very watchable and you won't guess the ending. This is the other film with a female director (Debra Granik).


10. Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Every year there are great movies that tank at the box office. Scott Pilgrim vs the World is one of them. This is a great movie, but for some reason no one wanted to see it. Scott Pilgrim vs the World tells the story of a slacker rock-band member (Michael Cera), who meets the girl of his dreams (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), only to find out that if he wants to date her, he has to defeat her seven evil exes in a fight to the death. He begins to live a video game where he finds he has superpowers that enable him to fight the evil super-exes. I found Scott Pilgrim vs the World to be very refreshing and very fun. Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad) has been accused of playing the same weak, geek character in every movie, but here he gets to break out. And Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played a chip off the old block in Live Free or Die Hard, makes you believe she is worth fighting a few evil exes to the death.

also worth seeing: Get Low, The Runaways, Nowhere Boy, The Fighter, Never Let Me Go, Another Year, Somewhere, Toy Story 3, Blue Valentine.


Best Actor:

1. James Franco (127 Hours)

2. Geoff Bridges (True Grit)
3. Jesse Eisenberg (Social Network)
4. Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
5. Robert Duvall (Get Low)

also: Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs),  Jim Broadbent (Another Year), Stephen Dorff (Somewhere), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)




Best Actress:
1. Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
2. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
3. Noomi Rapace (The Girl who Played With Fire)
4. Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)
5. Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go)

also: Julianne Moore (The Kids are All Right), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs the World), Anne Hathaway (Love & Other Drugs), Ruth Sheen (Another Year), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)



Best Supporting Actor:

1. Christian Bale (The Fighter)

2. Andrew Garfield (Social Network, Never let Me Go)
3. Matt Damon (True Grit)
4. Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)
5. John Hawkes (Winter's Bone) 

also: Justin Timberlake (Social Network), Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right), Michael Nyquist (The Girl who Played With Fire), Bill Murray (Get Low)

Best Supporting Actress: 

1. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

2. Amy Adams (The Fighter)
3. Lesley Manville (Another Year)
4. Ellen Page (Inception)
5. Mila Kunis (Black Swan)

also: Dakota Fanning (The Runaways), Kristin Scott Thomas (Nowhere Boy),  Mia Wasikowska (The Kids are All Right), Diane Wiest (Rabbit Hole), Helena Boham Carter (The King's Speech), Elle Fanning (Somewhere), Olivia Williams (Ghost Writer), Cate Blanchett (Robin Hood)

Best Director:
1. David Fincher (Social Network)
2. The Coen Brothers (True Grit)
3. John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole)
4. Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
5. Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids are All Right)

Also, Christopher Nolan (Inception), Debra Granik (Winter's Bone), Danny Boyle (127 Hours), John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole)

Down the Rabbit Hole

I didn't really know what to expect from Rabbit Hole. It is directed by John Cameron Mitchell who burst on the scene in 2001 with an amazing edgy film, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Mitchell wrote directed and starred in that film as the unfortunate transvestite rocker with the angry inch. He also directed Shortbus which was a sex romp, but Rabbit Hole is a complete change of pace for Mitchell. This new film tells the story of a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) whose young child was killed when he ran into the street and was hit by a car driven by a teenager (Miles Teller). At the start of Rabbit Hole, the tragedy has already happened, and we find the couple trying to deal with their grief and get on with their lives. Kidman's mother (Dianne Wiest) and sister (Tammy Blanchard) are trying to help but there is lots of tension between them.

 Each character is in his or her own private hell. They all want to move on, but they don't know how. Grief is driving Kidman and Eckhart apart. He contemplates an affair with a woman (Sandra Oh) that he met at a grief therapy group. And Kidman starts spending time with the kid who ran over her son. Rabbit Hole is an amazingly good film. It was a play by David Lindsay-Abaire which won a Pulitzer and a Tony. So the writing is excellent, which is a good thing because most of this movie is no action and lots of talking.

The casting is great and so is the direction. The emotions are so raw in Rabbit Hole that in most films the actors would be eating the scenery. But the nice thing about this film is that the actors underplay everything, and because of this, it has a greater impact. Kidman, in particular, is amazing. She is coming off a couple of big Hollywood films, Nine and Australia. These films didn't really test Kidman's range but take a look at Margot at the Wedding and you'll really see something. In Rabbit Hole she gives a really affecting performance, particularly in her scenes with the boy who was responsible for the accident and is grieving as much as she is. Miles Teller does a great job in this small role. Eckhart is also coming off some big Hollywood films like The Dark Knight, and this is a nice return for him to a smaller film. 

I guess the big surprise is that John Cameron Mitchell can direct such a nuanced film after doing Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus. Rabbit Hole could have been a real downer of a movie, but it isn't. It's not a happy movie. I don't know how anyone could get over the death of their child. But the characters in Rabbit Hole are very real and the viewer cares about them.  They don't get over the tragedy, but they do find a way to keep going and find some meaning in their lives. Kidman was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, and this movie is going to be on my Top Ten list for the year. Rabbit Hole is still in the theatres, so if you are looking for something that is not The Dilemma or Little Fockers, go see it.

True Grit Redux

I love the Coen Brothers. I should have learned never to be surprised by what movies they choose to make, but I was a bit surprised that they decided to remake True Grit. As you all know, the original True Grit was a John Wayne vehicle for which he won his only Oscar. Joel and Ethan Coen say that they have never even seen the original movie, but that the book by Charles Portis, on which it is based, was a favorite of theirs when they were kids. So now we have a new True Grit just three years after the Coen Brothers made their modern western, No Country for Old Men. The new True Grit stars Coen-Brothers' favorite, Geoff Bridges, in the John Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn, a stereotypical tough lawman of the old west. He is approached by a 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) who wants him to catch the man (Josh Brolin) who murdered her father. 

He sets off in search of Brolin along with a goofy Texas Ranger (Matt Damon). The girl is not satisfied merely to hire Cogburn but she wants to go along to make sure the job is done right so she follows them into Indian territory, where Brolin has joined with a gang of n'er-do-wells (Barry Pepper et al.). Bridges, Damon, and Steinfeld make an odd but entertaining threesome as they pursue their quarry. It's been a long time since I saw the original 1969 version of True Grit with John Wayne in Bridges role, so I won't try to compare them.

Here is how the rest of the 1969/2010 cast compares role by role: Glen Campbell/Matt Damon, Kim Darby/Hailee Steinfeld, Robert Duvall/Barry Pepper, Jeff Corey/Josh Brolin. Dennis Hopper also appears in the 1969 version as a member of the gang. The new film version hews closely to the original book in which the story is told through the eyes of the young girl. This new True Grit is both very entertaining and has a wonderful manic energy that makes this one of the best films of the year. 

What makes this a great movie is a rare combination of direction, acting and screenplay. Hailee Steinfeld is an eye opener. A child actor can make or break a film. Just look at how bad the young Darth Vader was in Star Wars Episode I. But Steinfeld is amazing, helped by an amazing script which lets her say things like, "His depredations are at an end." There is a great vignette at the beginning, where she wants to sell back some ponies that her father bought to the seller, a Colonel Stonehill (Dakin Matthews, [played by the great Strother Martin in the 1969 original]). The back and forth between the girl and the Colonel is hilarious and gives a taste of both the stubbornness of the girl's character, as well as how entertaining True Grit will be. As soon as Geoff Bridges and Matt Damon join the fun this movie is a joy to watch. All the characters speak in very flowery Victorian sentences, which are a bit reminiscent of the characters in Deadwood, but without having "motherfucker" in every sentence.

Geoff Bridges, one of my all time favs, does a western spin on The Dude to become Rooster Cogburn. He is great as usual, but you have to listen closely to catch his lines because they are so slurred and garbled. Matt Damon, almost unrecognizable here, is wonderful and funny as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. Damon isn't British but he is becoming a very British character actor. Brolin also does a good job in the small role of the villain. But it is Hailee Steinfeld, with exactly zero feature films under her belt, who steals this movie. True Grit is also an interesting as part of the Coen Brothers' oeuvre. Their movies are always interesting, but are often just a bit over the top. True Grit is played as a straight western right down to the John Ford camera shots. It's a wonderful job. True Grit will be on my Top Ten List for the year and is worth a visit to your local theatre.