Commentary | The Movie Rat

10 Keys to a Better Life as a Fanboy: 5. Forewarned is Forearmed?

Posted on March 20, 2012 by bernardovillela

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Warner Bros.)

This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my own experience. I hope they are helpful.

This may be the most difficult of my guidelines in which to practice what you preach but it is completely possible. Basically, what this means is that if you find yourself to forming prejudicial opinions when hearing news tidbits about an upcoming films try and avoid them. Granted this is becoming increasingly difficult in a wired world but it is possible.

For example, I wrote about the split in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked into what they picked and thus opined on it. However, none of the headlines I saw gave it away had I not clicked the link I’d be none the wiser.

Now, of course, casting news is usually a giveaway. It’ll be in the headline that so-and-so was cast in a given role but what I’ve learned in those scenarios is that I have been surprised many times by such decisions so I no longer read too much into those.

This feeds into the blank slate argument but basically the less about the production you can manage to absorb and form an opinion on before you see the film the better off you will be.

10 Keys to a Better Life as a Fanboy: 4. Leave Your Expectations at the Door

Posted on March 19, 2012 by bernardovillela

newmoms.com

I have frequently started articles by saying that I went into a screening as a blank slate an that greatly enhanced the experience. Clearly this is much easier said than done and it works best when you literally don’t even know the plot details about what you are going to see. That being said you can try to apply it to an adaptation of one of your favorite works.

This selection is kind of a fail safe should number two not cut it for you. If you absolutely cannot drain yourselves of recollections of the book or other adapted materials open yourself to the experience you are about to have. Lower your expectations if you have to. Be prepared for anything and everything and don’t sit in wait of certain events. Get into full on hit me mode and let it wash over you as much as possible.

If you are typically hyper-critical take it down a notch, if you’re just critical be escapist. You can still reflect back on the film later on and make up your mind about what you thought. The key is to have those opinions be based on the movie and nothing more.

10 Keys to a Better Life as a Fanboy: 2. Have a Bad Memory

Posted on March 15, 2012 by bernardovillela

Ian McKellan in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

I don’t know if it’s possible to train yourself to have a bad memory but you can sure as hell give it the old college try. You may have to be born with it and in that case I have been blessed. At least in this regard, it’s not really as handy as you may think.

How this will help you, though, is that the further you remove yourself from the source material the more you will be able to enjoy the film as a separate entity. An example of my experience with this is the Harry Potter films. Now granted they have gotten better, in my opinion (exponentially so with each installment), however, when I saw The Sorcerer’s Stone my first viewing was marred because I had so recently finished reading the book.

Since then there has been a bit of a gap between my having read the book and seeing each movie. Some were larger than others but that has helped. With each successive film I have spent less and less time and mental energy thinking to myself “Oh, Such-and-Such is coming up.”

Anticipating events and then wanting to see how they are executed cinematically can diminish your enjoyment unnaturally. If you came in as a blank slate you may either be awed or disappointed but it would be all your opinion of what you saw and in no way influenced by your expectation.

An illustration I could give you would be The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I never read them. I don’t care if I ever do read them. It certainly wouldn’t make my bucket list were I to write one (Finishing War and Peace would), but I did see all three movies. Thus, I had no preset expectations and the reception it got was the reverse of what usually happens. It was hyped, fans wanted it and were typically pleased with what they saw. For the record: I thought part one was pretty good, part two was interminable and part three was brilliant until it decided it would refuse to end. In some parallel dimension of the multiverse I’m sure it never did.

10 Keys to a Better Life as a Fanboy: 1. A Book is a Book (A Question of Form)

Posted on March 14, 2012 by bernardovillela

1. A Book is a Book (A Question of Form)

Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Lucasfilm)

The first and most important thing to keep in mind if you are hoping to have a happy existence as a fanboy is that medium matters. A book is a book, a comic is a comic and so on and so forth. Each medium has its own rules and limitations and conversely benefits. If something achieves perfection within its form it is therefore referred to as a masterpiece.

It is very difficult but not impossible for a story to be that well told in more than one medium. Now how to gauge whether or not a film has achieved such a lofty height cannot and should not be decided based on a comparative analysis.

There is merit to examining the decisions made in adding and omitting and transforming material from other mediums to film but such discussions are typically more adept to academic scenarios and not germane to analyzing the quality of a film.

I will even have occasion to describe a film I saw and cite that I thought it should’ve done X when it does Y, Case 39 is a prime example of that, however, that should not influence one’s overall opinion of a film. You must look at what is presented you and then decide if it works based on what is there not what you wish is there. That should apply to films as well.

Another illustration would be Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I was hoping against hope that amidst the bloodshed would be the headless corpse of Jar Jar Binks, alas it was not to be. Yet that didn’t color my entire view of the film. It still would’ve been bitchin’ though.

84th Annual Academy Awards

Posted on February 26, 2012 by bernardovillela

Before We Even begin

Here are the pertinent links you’ll need as a frame of reference for my thought-process as the evening progresses.

In a vacuum my thoughts on what the nominees should’ve been based on what I saw can be found in the BAM Award Nominees. The pertinent winners can be found in these three posts (Acting, Crew and Film).

For a slightly less competitive slant on the year in film you can check out my Top 25 of 2011 (#25-21, #20-16, #15-11 and #10-1).

For what I want to happen and what I think will happen in most categories tonight go here.

You’ll note I didn’t comment on the short films as I was ill-informed at the time. I have since seen them my thoughts on the live action shorts and animated shorts are now available.

I’ll likely only know at the end of the night how well or how poorly I did in regards to prognosticating but you can follow the post here or tweet me during the show and I’ll likely respond.

The Red Carpet

I always complain about E!’s coverage yet what am I watching before I leave for the party. Yeah…

What’s written under that piece of paper with the Canadian flag on it? Press ID or what?

These Oscars will at least be more engaging because of the sizable screen I am seeing them on.

If not for the little skirt thing Michelle Williams’s dress would be perfect.

George Clooney is the only current star who looks like he fell out of the Golden Age. Everyone else is slightly awkward in a tux.

Milla Jovovich is now in the pole position for best dressed.

Maybe Penelopé Cruz now. Pretty amazing look.

The Ceremony

Billy Crystal still has it. Amazing opening. Wow.

They have to get Tom Hanks.

Robert Richardson wins for Hugo! Amazing! My favorites are 1-1.

Switching up the announcements this year.

Hugo again yes! Called set design on both counts I think.

Where’s this band coming from?

The Artist takes costume design. Is the start of the dominance?

Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas sighting. Good to see them. For all my E! complaining they do seem to be less myopic.

It’ll be hard to top the speech by A Separation.

Octavia Spencer wins for The Help. Well done. Great work. First standing ovation of the show.

This band in the boxes is the consistent bad idea in this show.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo wins editing. Funniest awkward acceptance.

Hugo gets sound editing. That’s three.

Another editing/mixing sweep. Hugo is up to four wins.

Not a surprise considering the attendance numbers that the Oscars are focusing on celebrating moviegoing this year.

Undefeated I’ve heard about and want to see. Memorable speech for an audio dump and the first playoff of the next.

Rango best animated feature.

Hugo in somewhat of an upset, which pleases me. Five now.

Christopher Plummer with a much deserved win and standing ovation. Great moment.

Thankfully the president’s speech was short and followed by one of the best jokes of the night.

In all seriousness what is the rule about using non-original music in scores. Loved The Artist and its original music but it did use a lot of Vertigo.

Well, my gamble in a competition fell through. Not surprised Muppets won. There were better songs in Rio than the nominee.

The first wow of the night. Woody Allen won it. I was taken aback. Amazing and awesome.

Surprising but pleasant live action winners. Political speeches abound. Great speech from animation winners.

Should’ve charged my phone the whole way. Blogging by phone is draining may power down before the end of the show.

It’s An Honor Just To Be Nominated

Posted on February 26, 2012 by bernardovillela

Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall in Cleopatra (20th Century Fox)

“It’s a an honor just to be nominated” is a phrase that’s such a truism that it rings empty and hollow. In fact, you hardly hear it anymore, however, I do believe actors when they do say it. The fact is there are only so many Oscar nominations to go around such that many very, very talented people never even get so much as nominated. While some have one standout performance that grabs everyone’s attention. Below you will find a list that could be longer of some notable actors who never even were nominated for supporting or leading actor/actress prizes.

Pictured above is one of the more unfortunate cases: critics at the time and film historians agree that Roddy McDowall was a virtual lock for Best Supporting Actor in Cleopatra. However, a clerical error submitted him as a lead. Fox tried to rectify the mistake but the Academy wouldn’t allow it thus McDowall was not even nominated. An ad taken out by Fox apologizing for the oversight and commending McDowall’s performance was a poor consolation prize at best.

Best Non-Oscar Nominees

1. Christopher Lee
2. Bela Lugosi
3. Boris Karloff
4. Vincent Price
5. Edward G. Robinson
6. Mae West
7. Michael Keaton
8. Peter Lorre
9. Mel Gibson
10. Sonia Braga
11. Alan Rickman
12. Fernanda Torres
13. Roddy McDowall
14. John Barrymore
15. Joseph Cotten
16. Errol Flynn
17. Bob Hope
18. Lloyd Bridges
19. W.C. Fields
20. Lon Chaney, Jr.
21. Victor Mature
22. Conrad Veidt
23. Peter Cushing
24. Donald Sutherland
25. Eli Wallach
26. Robert Blake
27. Malcolm McDowell
28. Kurt Russell
29. Martin Sheen
30. Christopher Lloyd
31. Jeff Goldblum
32. Steve Buscemi
33. Kevin Bacon
34. Vincent D’Onofrio
35. Marilyn Monroe
36. Jean Harlow
37. Rita Hayworth
38. Myrna Loy
39. Hedy Lamarr
40. Tallulah Bankhead
41. Maureen O’ Sullivan
42. Betty Grable
43. Jane Russell
44. Jeanne Moreau
45. Barbara Steele
46. Mia Farrow
47. Margot Kidder
48. Jamie Lee Curtis
49. Meg Ryan
50. Ellen Barkin
51. Isabelle Huppert
52. Shelley Duvall
53. Madeline Stowe

So You Wanna Win Best Foreign Language Film?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by bernardovillela

Gaspard Mannesse and Raphael Fejtö in Au Revoir les enfants (Orion)

To be clear this article is not meant in any way shape or form to disparage the Academy. This list is aimed at the film enthusiast who may, as I used to, get a bit too worked up about who won or lost. Granted you will link your opinion to a sense of justice, however, it bears keeping in mind that below are over 30 films all of whom were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but did not win all of whom have a legacy stronger than most winners of the award. Ultimately, time, the public and critical re-appraisal are what determine the films that last, awards, while nice, are in the moment comparatively speaking. The Oscars are a great show and if something or someone you like wins its even better but if not its not the end of the world. The list below is evidence of that.

1. Umbrellas of Cherbourg
2. Kapò
3. Marriage Italian Style
4. Kwaidan
5. Stolen Kisses
6. Lacombe, Lucien
7. Cousin Cousine
8. Jacob the Liar
9. That Obscure Object of Desire
10. Kagemusha
11. The Last Metro
12. Das Boot
13. Colonel Redl
14. Au Revoir Les Enfants
15. Pathfinder
16. Farewell My Concubine
17. The Scent of Green Papaya
18. The Wedding Banquet
19. Eat Drink Man Woman
20. O Quatrilho
21. Secrets of the Heart
22. Four Days in September
23. The Thief
24. Central Station
25. Children of Heaven
26. Amores Perros
27. Lagaan
28. Amélie
29. Evil
30. The Chorus
31. Downfall
32. Pan’s Labyrinth
33. After the Wedding
34. The White Ribbon
35. Incendies

So You Wanna Win Best Picture?

Posted on February 21, 2012 by bernardovillela

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Amblin)

To be clear this article is not meant in any way, shape or form to disparage the Academy. This list is aimed at the film enthusiast who may, as I used to, get a bit too worked up about who won or lost. Granted you will link your opinion to a sense of justice, however, it bears keeping in mind that below are 25 films all were nominated for Best Picture, did not win but all have a legacy stronger than most winners of the award. Ultimately, time, the public and critical re-appraisal are what determine the films that last, awards, while nice, are in the moment comparatively speaking. The Oscars are a great show and if something or someone you like wins it’s even better but if not it’s not the end of the world. The list below is evidence of that.

Films That Didn’t Win Best Picture

1. Citizen Kane
2. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
3. King Kong
4. The Wizard of Oz
5. The Color Purple
6. The Sixth Sense
7. The Maltese Falcon
8. Apocalypse Now
9. Raging Bull
10. Star Wars
11. JFK
12. A Few Good Men
13. Pulp Fiction
14. As Good As It Gets
15. Double Indemnity
16. It’s a Wonderful Life
17. High Noon
18. Miracle on 34th Street
19. The Ten Commandments
20. Dr. Strangelove
21. The Graduate
22. The Exorcist
23. Chinatown
24. Jaws
25. Taxi Driver

Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films

Posted on February 20, 2012 by bernardovillela

In recent years there have been nationwide screenings of the Oscar-nominated short films, which is a great thing for many reasons: clearly it promotes the filmmakers but also as a filmmaker and Oscar spectator you’d like to have an informed opinion based on more than just the title and/or the snippet shown, which I have operated under many times.

Sunday

Sunday (Dimanche) (The National Film Board of Canada)

A really charming and imaginative piece that sees the world accurately through a child’s eyes and more importantly through his imagination.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

I will start out by saying I do love the concept of this short. There are some funny, insightful and charming moments, however, this short also bothered me on more than one occasion. It’s the most original idea but yet feels the need on several occasions to incorporate tropes that make it more mundane, more ordinary and less intriguing. One of the tropes is absolutely unnecessary spoon-feeding that puts a damper on the ending. The concept the film has gives it an edge I just feel some of the choices it makes means it doesn’t live up to its fullest potential. All that said I fully anticipate this film will win even though there are several worthy shorts.

Wild Life

Wild Life (The National Film Board of Canada)

If my gut about Oscar voters is right this is a long shot but by no means should it be. The animation in this film is beautiful in a painterly style and the story has comedic and dramatic impact. It also features some frames, a title-card driven subplot and documentary style confessionals. For a short it’s got so much going on, great stuff.

La Luna

La Luna (Disney/Pixar)

An absolutely wonderful and whimsical tale that is pure magic. The short features no actual dialogue but says so much. It boasts a beautiful score by Michael Giacchino and great 3D animation. My favorite by far.

A Morning Stroll

A beautifully constructed and simple tale that uses several different animation styles to equal effect.

The animated program also usually features several highly commended shorts, as the nominees usually run short.

This year’s highly commended selections are: Skylight, Nullarbor, Amazonia and The Hybrid Union. All are very good and consistent across the board. In fact, some of the biggest reactions at my rather full screening was during this portion and I’d venture to say Skylight was the funniest one by far.

This year’s animation slate is quite strong with a few titles I’d be happy to see win.

For the Return of the Juvenile Award

Posted on February 13, 2012 by bernardovillela

This can be considered a general call to attention for several entities. Firstly, to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, you will be asked in the course of this article to un-retire an award. Now several categories have been scratched from the list of Oscars handed out annually many of them with reason. For example, there used to be separate color and black & white cinematography awards. This was logical because there is an inherent and obvious difference in shooting black & white versus color. It was also logical because for many years there was a fair split between films shooting in either medium. Now the question “Color or black and white?” is hardly asked and the award no longer is qualified.

That is an example of an award that has been retired and should be. An award that should be un-retired and become a staple is the Juvenile Award. The Juvenile Award was presented 10 times between 1935 and 1960. It was a category where there were never nominees but on occasion the academy would feel a performer was worthy of honoring.

Now the nomenclature is a little dated and if the Academy were willing to update the name that’d be fine. The fact of the matter is that due to the outstanding and consistent achievement by young performers year after year there should be a category to recognize these achievements. We’ve reached a point where the occasional young nominee as an honoree and as a pseudo-stunt is old.

This will allow proper credit to be bestowed upon young talent and thus Keisha Castle-Hughes would have her statuette and so would Haley Joel Osment and he would’ve been nominated appropriately as a lead amongst the youths anyway.

There is precedent for honorary statuettes becoming standardized categories, for example, honorary awards were bestowed upon foreign releases before the creation of a fully-nominated category in 1957.

The second intended audience for this piece is the studios and distributors who are sitting on Oscar-winning performances which are pieces of history that are unknown to the public.

Typically, the Juvenile Award was cited for the actor’s body of work as the best of his age group in Hollywood during the given year. However, examining filmographies one can easily see the specific projects that garnered the honor.

Juvenile Awards were Awarded to: 

Hayley Mills

Hayley Mills in Pollyanna (Disney)

“For Most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960.”

Pollyanna is a Disney classic title and readily available.

Vincent Winter and Jon Whiteley

Jon Whietely and Vincent Winter in The Little Kidnappers (United Artists)

For his outstanding performance in The Little Kidnappers.

This title seems to be out of print and it shouldn’t be it’s a shared award for one film, which is rare. I had also never heard of this film or these last two winners until I was updating this post so I’m glad I did.

Bobby Driscoll

Ruth Roman, Bobby Driscoll and Paul Stewart in The Window (RKO)

“For the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949.”

This was mostly for the The Window, a film noir where Driscoll plays a modern incarnation of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” So Dear to My Heart, a Disney film, went wide in January of that year but premiered in 1948. It is typically drama that’ll have influence on such an award and The Window is available from The Warner Archive Collection but streams on Amazon.

Ivan Jandl

Ivan Jandl

“For the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948 in The Search .”

This film is available from Warner Archive. It’s the tale of an American soldier helping a Czech boy find his mother.

Claude Jarman, Jr.

Claude Jarman, Jr. in The Yearling (MGM)

“For the outstanding child actor of 1946.”

This award is truly for The Yearling which was Jarman’s debut. It is still readily available on DVD and is well worth seeing. Be sure to have Kleenex on hand for this tear-jerker.

Peggy Ann Garner

Ted Donaldson, Joan Blondell and Peggy Ann Garner in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (20th Century Fox)

“For the outstanding child actress of 1945.”

While her notable performances from 1944 (Jane Eyre and Keys to the Kingdom) are available and her most famous 1945 role (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) the other two parts in 1945 that earned her a general citation for excellence (Nob Hill and Junior Miss) are out of print.

Margaret O’Brien

“For outstanding child actress of 1944.”

O’Brien earned her award for four performances. Only Meet Me in St. Louis is on DVD. The Canterville Ghost is on VHS, if you like that sort of thing.
 
Judy Garland  

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (MGM)

“For her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year [1939].”

Judy Garland’s performances in both Babes in Arms and The Wizard of Oz which won her the award in 1940 are both readily available. The first is part of a Rooney-Garland Box Set released by Warner Brothers Home Video.

Mickey Rooney and Deanna Durbin

MGM

“For their (Durbin/Rooney) significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth, and as juvenile players setting a high standard of ability and achievement.”

Rooney’s Andy Hardy films are still readily available.

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple

“In grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934.”

Most of Shirley Temple’s filmography is still readily available.

Any gaps in the availability of a performance in the history of this unique and short-lived award should be rectified. Likewise, the award should return. The Academy can name the award after Ms. Temple if they like and honor young actors every year.

For even missing from this list are the likes of Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper, Roddy MacDowell, Dean Stockwell, Elizabeth Taylor, Patty McCormack, Anne Rutherford, Debbie Reynolds and more, so even in an era when the award existed not everyone worthy won the award. Not that trophies need to be handed out in hindsight or to those who have left us but the award should definitely make its presence known again both on video and in the ceremony.