The UBS Evening Television & Movie News 12.24.09
Posted by Erik Luers on 12.24.2009
Erik Luers talks upcoming flicks, the passing of film critic/scholar Robin Wood, a potential "In The Heights" feature film, Florida Film Critics Awards, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins say sayonara, Joon-ho Bong's new film wins some prizes, Andy Critchell’s photo news brief, and a look back at 2009 and the year in movies.
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Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the UBS Evening Movie News. I'm Erik Luers, reporting from Florida the day before Christmas. How's life? George is away this week but will be back for the final UBS News Report of the decade next week. Get ready. No seriously, get ready. If you haven't noticed, the Knicks are on a winning streak. When did that happen? It must be that holiday gusto. Ever realize that when Akon sings, "I'm trying to think of the word to describe this girl without being disrespectful," he has already, by admitting to this, been disrespectful? At the end of every decade we all must admit that we are ten years older. I'm looking at you, grandma. Allright, enough. Like Laura Palmer at a crack house and Ingmar Bergman at a prayer meeting, let's dive right into things, shall we?
CHOSEN ONES, STEP FORWARD! "Eons ago, on the planet known as Denab IV, its creator Excelsior appeared as a vision to several people he deemed "Chosen Ones." Those lucky few were selected by him to lead their fellow Denarians in keeping the planet as the paradise he always envisioned. As each passing generation of the Chosen Ones reached a certain age, Excelsior visited them in their dreams to give them the wisdom necessary to pick up where the previous generation left off. This continued on until Excelsior's spiritual form was cast down to the planet he had taken such care in crafting.
And feel free to check out the new blog for the novel HERE!
Oh, And By The Way, Have You Seen This Man?
And with that, on with the news!
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING MOVIES
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus: From Terry Gilliam comes a story-telling doctor's deal with the devil which sends him scrambling to save his daughter on the eve of her 16th birthday.
This is obviously highly anticipated for being Heath Ledger's final appearance in a movie. But more than that, it looks to be Gilliam returning to being Gilliam. The visuals looks quite remarkable in a bizarre fashion, and the story seems quirky enough to even inspire the people of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In its own way, it's a perfect movie for Christmas. Take some acid and look in the mirror.
Sherlock Holmes: Detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
This movie looks like crap to me, and I'm a big fan of that Kurgan wrestler. ICP for life!(!)!(!) This movie will probably make a boatload of cash this coming weekend, and the masses will go in droves. How are the reviews? Does it matter? It's Commando posing for Sherlock Holmes. People will go regardless.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakel: Alvin, Simon and Theodore must put aside music superstardom and return to school, where they look to win a $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands contest in order to save their school's music program. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes -- Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette.
Masterpieces like this only come once in a lifetime (or in the case of this franchise, twice in a decade). We must all go and see this so that we may tell our grandchildren, "when I was your age I went out to the theaters and saw the gosh darn Squeakel".It is a film which defines our time and makes sense of our livelihood. It will cure disease and help the poor. People will love Roman Polanski again. You'll see. Or you won't. I recommend you don't.
It's Complicated: From Nancy Meyers. During his son's college graduation, Jane (Meryl Streep) hooks up with her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), who's married to a younger woman. As if being your ex's mistress isn't tough enough, Jane also finds herself drawn to Adam (Steve Martin), a smitten architect. Comedy must ensue.
This could be a fun little movie. The performances look solid and the jokes, while lame, seem delivered with enough gusto to make you smile and sip back the egg nog. Streep is always good, and her film choices are usually strong as well. Usually. Interesting note: Streep has worked with both Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron this year. If she would've called up Penny Marshall, we could've had a...........well, I don't know what.
Credit: imdb.com
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S THE HONEST TRUTH DEPARTMENT
Lights up on Washington Heights: Kenny Ortega, the director of the "High School Musical" movies and "Michael Jackson's This Is It," is attached to direct Universal's adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical "In the Heights."
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who composed and wrote the musical as well as starred in it, is set to star in and produce the big-screen adaptation. Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the play's book, is writing the script.
"Heights" explored three days in New York City's Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights and featured hip-hop, salsa, merengue and soul music. It was nominated for 13 Tonys, winning the award for best musical.
Playbill.com
Having seen the Broadway production back in July of 2008 (I really enjoyed the music and the performances, but felt the story was really weak), I am somewhat excited for this developing project. Lin-Manuel Miranda is extremely talented (this past summer at a comedy club, he did a freestyle/improv about my life, which was really cool), and the music is infectious. This could be the rare musical that connects with younger kids who don't care about musicals. A rap, latin inspired big Bway musical on the silver screen. Why not? It's optimistic and a lot of fun. I hope this one comes to be.
Will "Mother" ever see the light of day?: Directed by Joon-ho Bong, Mother, South Korea's submission for the 2010 best foreign language film Academy Awards, won the top prize at the Blue Dragon Awards ceremony held in early December in Seoul.
Despite its important victory, Mother, the tale of a middle-aged mother (Kim Hye-ja) fighting to clear the name of her son (Won Bin), who has been accused of a vicious crime, failed to win many more trophies. In fact, the film won only two other awards: best supporting actor (Jin Ku) and best lighting.
The best director was Yong-hwa Kim for Take Off, an action film about Korea's national ski jumping team.
altfg.com
So the movie is still out there kicking. That's good to know. After showing at the NY Film Festival back in October, Mother still seems to be struggling to find a commercial release date here in the States. If it gets nominated for an Academy Award this February, that may soon change. Only time will tell. Cool to see it already picking up some awards though. The advanced word on this one is excellent. It's my dream to one day win a Blue Dragon award too, just so I can tell my parents that they are the proud parents of a Blue Dragon award recipient. Hey, I can dream.
A great leaves us: Robin Wood, a film critic who published the first serious work in English on Alfred Hitchcock and who applied formal rigor and moral seriousness in his book-length appraisals of Howard Hawks, Arthur Penn, Ingmar Bergman and other directors, died on Friday at his home in Toronto. He was 78. The cause was complications of leukemia, said Richard Lippe, his longtime partner.
Mr. Wood, who was British by birth and education but spent much of his career teaching in Canada, made a remarkable debut as a critic. While teaching English at a secondary school, he placed an article on Hitchcock's "Psycho" in Cahiers du Cinéma, the celebrated journal associated with the French New Wave and auteur theory. With this validation, he began writing for a variety of British publications and followed up with a series of influential studies of important directors. Following his own advice, he wrote an essay on "Psycho" and submitted it to the British journal Sight & Sound, whose editor returned it with the comment that Mr. Wood had failed to see that the film was intended as a joke.
Infuriated, Mr. Wood sent it to Cahiers du Cinéma, which, despite its contempt for British film criticism, accepted the article, a careful teasing out of the themes of sex, death, money and compulsion in the film. The Cahiers cachet afforded him instant entree to the British journal Movie, to which he began to contribute in 1962.
"I began to realize that all of these films that I had loved in the past could be taken seriously, that some real artistic claims could be made for them," he told Your Flesh magazine in 2006. "That was a revelation, and really all I needed to understand. So it was purely from that article in Cahiers that I became a film critic. I think if they had turned it down, I probably wouldn't have written about film anymore, and I would probably still be an English teacher today."
Mr. Wood, a penetrating critic with a graceful prose style, soon emerged as one of Britain's most influential film writers, a reputation enhanced by the groundbreaking "Hitchcock's Films" (1965). "A lot of people thought it was ridiculous, this idea of taking Hitchcock seriously," he told Your Flesh. "He was seen as simply an entertainer; one was merely amused by his films, had a few shocks, a few laughs, and that was it."
In 1973 Mr. Wood was invited to create a film studies program at the University of Warwick, in Coventry, where he lectured until accepting a post as professor of film studies at York University in Toronto in 1977. He retired in 1990.
In his later film criticism, Mr. Wood concentrated on politics, specifically sexual politics. A 1977 speech to the British Film Institute, "Responsibility of a Gay Film Critic," gave notice of his new critical program, which he pursued in "Hollywood From Vietnam to Reagan" (1986) and "Sexual Politics and Narrative Film: Hollywood and Beyond" (1998). With colleagues at York, he started a radical film studies journal, CineAction, in 1985. His enthusiasm for Hitchcock never flagged. In 1989 he returned to the subject in "Hitchcock Revisited," appraising the director from new angles but maintaining his admiration. "I think the best of Hitchcock films continue to fascinate me because he's obviously right inside them, he understands so well the male drive to dominate, harass, control and at the same time he identifies strongly with the woman's position," he told the World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org) in 2000. Hitchcock's films, he continued, "are a kind of battleground between these two positions."
The New York Times
Having only been introduced to Mr. Wood's writing about a year ago, I find this news pretty shocking and sad. Professors of mine would frequently reference his work and would assign the class his most famous pieces. He was a real polemic and a daring writer. He wrote seriously about films, academically even, and he would frequently be brought up in conversation when discussing Hitchcock (along with Andrew Sarris, he was one of the few critics to take Psycho seriously). 78 may not seem very young, but in this day and age, we expect our idols to live long, prosperous lives. Wood is a legend in film theory and film criticism, and he will not be forgotten. How could he be? We're still arguing about him to this day.
How's are these for famous Wood quotes? "One might say that the true subject of the horror genre is the struggle for recognition of all that our civilization represses and oppresses."
And: "The Hollywood cinema, dominated by corporations, is now (with even the future of life on the planet in jeopardy) given over to the project of 'not letting people think'."
Florida has film critics too: Complete list of Florida Film Critics award winners:
Picture: Up In The Air
Actor: George Clooney, Up In The Air
Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Supp. Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Supp. Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
Director: Jason Reitman, Up In The Air
Screenplay: Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Cinematography: Mauro Fiore, Avatar
Foreign Language: Sin Nombre
Animated Feature: Up
Documentary: The Cove
Breakout: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Golden Orange: No Award
Awardsdaily.com
Call me ethnocentric but only in part, as I am spending the Christmas and New Year's holiday in Florida (nothing say winter like 80 degree weather), I bring to you the recently announced Florida Film Critics Awards. It seems like every city throughout the United States has their own critics group awards, and everyday another four or five are announced. The Hurt Locker has been wining Best Film at about 90 percent of these groups, with Up in the Air taking the other ten. Luckily, the race still appears wide open (as opposed to last year). Look for it to come down to the wire between Jeff Bridges and George Clooney in the Best Actor category. Also, it's nice to see Sin Nombre and The Cove getting some much deserved love.
Nice knowing you: Actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have announced their breakup after more than 20 years together, People.com reports. "Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins have announced that they separated over the summer," Sarandon's publicist said in a statement. "No further comments will be made." The longtime couple have two children together, Jack, 20, and Miles, 17.
EW.com
Uh oh. Not a Hollywood power couple! I guess this is what happens when Tim Robbins refuses to whip out the lovely bones anymore. Oh the horror. Is there anything more to report here? Tim Robbins should do another movie soon, you know, to pay for alimony and stuff.
1. Avatar: $77,025,481
Total: $77,025,481
2. The Princess and the Frog: $12,185,949
Total: $44,717,721
3. The Blind Side: $10,021,280
Total: $164,725,525
4. Did You Hear About The Morgans?: $6,616,571
Total: $6,616,571
5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon: $4,407,598
Total: $274,598,319
6. Invictus: $4,203,171
Total: $15,877,956
7. A Christmas Carol: $3,443,464
Total: $130,813,354
8. Up In The Air: $3,210,132
Total: $8,215,704
9. Brothers: $2,889,121
Total: $22,349,862
10. Old Dogs: $2,340,575
Total: $43,625,471
TRULY STRANGE: A Clip From The Live Stage Production of Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas
THE REASON WHY SUICIDE RATES GO UP AROUND THE HOLIDAYS: Christmas Comes But Once a Year (1936)
ANDY CRITCHELL'S INTERACTIVE BABE PHOTO NEWS BRIEF WITH ANDY CRITCHELL
With it being Christmas and all, I am taking a break from showcasing a new or unknown hottie. No, like everyone else this time of year I am going to take it easy and as such here is a gal we all know and love; British bombshell Lucy Pinder:
Hope you have a great holiday, see you next week!!
MAD PROPHET OF THE AIRWAVES
Ah, another year, another dollar. As 2009 dwindles down, a lot of people will be reflecting on the year that was while looking ahead towards the year that will be. The following week is when we start setting goals for ourselves while trying desperately and usually unsuccessfully to remember what goals we set for ourselves three hundred and sixty-five days ago. I am a smarter person now than I was in 2008, and I can tell you this because I have lived a year longer, have experienced more, learned more, observed more, etc. Everyday I try to acquire some new information, a little bit of knowledge here, a little bit of knowledge there. Even if I'm not always on top of it, it keeps me going.
Something else keeps me going, too. The movies. It has been quite a good year for the cinema, and I say this while still playing catch up with some of the smaller, well acclaimed flicks that originally passed me by. I have seen quite a lot, but not all, and I am here to tell you that things are in good shape. Just this year, thanks to 411, I was able to write up my thoughts via full reviews for new works from Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Jim Jarmusch, Aleksandr Sokurov, Stephen Frears, Richard Linklater, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, Juan Carlos Tabios, Sam Mendes, Steven Soderbergh (twice), and many, many more. Smaller, capsule reviews written up on my 411 Blog included new works from Jane Campion, Peter Jackson, Jason Reitman, Ramin Bahrani, Spike Jonze, the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, and again, many more.
And still, I feel I haven't done enough. My work is not yet finished. Throughout January I will continue seeing as much as I can from 2009 in an attempt to gain a greater and more well balanced perspective of the year that was. Some years have been better than others. I'm here to tell you that this is one of the better ones. You can disagree if you'd like, but see the movies first.
Film criticism is cool again too. After having a disastrous season, the producers of At The Movies decided to fire Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz and replace them with two in print, "serious" film critics by the names of A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips. The show has returned to being fun. The banter is back, and the cheesy attempts at soundbytes are gone. Which critic do you prefer? Take sides if you must. As long as you have an opinion (or a passion), you're on the right path.
It was also a tough year for film critics. Legendary film critic Andrew Sarris, after working at The New York Observer for twenty years, was let go due to budgetary reasons. Strange to be fired at eighty years of age, but that's how it's gone for film writers these past few years, even the great ones. Recently we lost Robin Wood, and that was monumental in itself. But while we lost some, we regained others. A big hardcover book celebrating the writing of Manny Farber was recently released, bringing a renewed interest in the "termite art" founder's critical theories, and so we can chalk that up as a win. Hopefully it'll find its way under your tree this holiday season.
Does it ever feel like all the awards worthy, "good" stuff seems to come out in the month of December? This is not entirely true. There has been enjoyable movies all year long. Yes, big Hollywood producers try to withhold all their Oscar bait until the end of the year, but sometimes even they don't know what they have. Look at Antichrist. That film won the Best Actress award at Cannes, and yet it is not an awards contender, not in the general sense anyway. It is worthy of awards, of course, but it won't get many. It's not marketable, but movies don't always have to be. Sometimes they can be good at what they are, and that will prove marketable enough.
Some movies work aesthetically, but crash and burn when it comes to the narrative. Some are the opposite. I think it's good to appreciate both. Favoring one over the other is fine, but I truly believe both serve a purpose, and to classify one or the other as merely good or bad is not only shortchanging the filmmakers, but the medium itself.
I sometimes argue for style over substance, but within my argument I am always sure to point out that style can often be substance. Look for me to further this claim in 2010. There are some interesting film directors working now with quite a visual eye. I support them wholeheartedly. New techniques used for the greater good of storytelling should be commended, not reprimanded. So, on my part, I tip my hat to them.
I also would like to tip my hat to repertory theaters and revival houses, wherever they may be. Showing older films in 35MM, some obscure and historically disregarded and ignored, can be quite costly and financially unstable, and yet the programmers and curators persevere for the greater good of film culture. These are people who really love movies. As much as I love DVDs, seeing films in their original ratio on actual film is a great, collective moviegoing experience. Some cities are better at supplying this experience than others. Still, film societies can always come from six feet of anywhere.
In closing (and in closing out the new year), we must all remember to look back as we move forward. This was a very good year and overall decade for film, not just for the flicks but for the critics and academics. And for the audiences! Movies are a lot of fun, and so is thinking about them, reading about them, and arguing about them. And that's why I love them. I try to help them as much as they help me. It's a friendly, give and take relationship. So to them, I say thanks. And Happy New Year too.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 144 of The UBS Evening Movie News! For Andy Critchell, I'm Erik Luers, and we'll see you next week!
Fantastic job, Erik. Thanks so much for filling in for me this week. And Andy, anytime you present Lucy for our readers' viewing pleasure, that gets the Sirois Seal of Approval. Well done, guys. Well done...
Posted By: Sirois! (Registered) on December 24, 2009 at 12:20 AM
I can't figure out the Peter Bogdonovich reference/picture.
Posted By: EricVonErich (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 03:33 PM
I'm not buying the book.
Posted By: HoosierJim500 (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 06:30 PM
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