Features
Yesterday, I began my far-fetched wishlist of nominees for tomorrow’s announcement with a look at the technical categories. Today we move into the big races. And as much as I thought I had my favorites clearly mapped out in my head, a rundown of the eligible titles made for some very crowded races indeed. Once […]
My dream ballot: part two
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:21 pm · February 1st, 2010
Filed in: Daily
THE LONG SHOT: Consider this
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:34 pm · November 18th, 2009
There’s nothing like an Oscar season to prove what a small number five (or even ten) is. We may only be in November, but already, months of conversation, covering a broad canvas of Oscar sure-shots and long-shots alike, have devolved into a ruthless mathematical elimination process, as previously five-wide categories fill up with safe bets. […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
David Poland’s Oscar underdogs … where are the ladies?
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:50 pm · November 13th, 2009
For those of you bored of reading the same ever-narrowing list of names in the assorted Oscar-speculation pieces across the web, David Poland’s latest column is a slight breath of fresh air. Decrying the fact that many pundits are making ludicrous long-shot calls like “This Is It” for Best Picture, while ignoring more deserving contenders […]
Filed in: Daily
Supporting actors, step forward
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:19 am · October 1st, 2009
A while back, certain folks were (rather unfairly) dredging up the routine annual complaint about the supposed scarcity of viable Best Actress contenders. Dave Karger, however, has located the real weak spot of this year’s awards race, and it concerns the opposite sex for a change: where, he asks, are the Best Supporting Actor standouts? […]
Filed in: Daily
Apparition will release ‘The Young Victoria’ Stateside
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:06 pm · August 10th, 2009
Bob Berney’s new outfit is filling out nicely, having acquired “Bright Star” out of Cannes, announcing plans to release Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” in 2009 last week and now, snatching the domestic rights to Jean-Marc Vallee’s “The Young Victoria.” Anne Thompson has the scoop: Over the weekend, Apparition closed a U.S. distribution deal […]
Filed in: Daily
Cougar in a corset
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:08 pm · May 19th, 2009
Jane Shilling has a piece at the Telegraph about the gender politics of “Chéri” — specifically, the social disruption engendered by a romantic relationship between a middle-aged woman and a young man. Describing “Chéri” author Colette, and by extrapolation the character of Léa (played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the film), as “the original cougar,” Shilling […]
Filed in: Daily
REVIEW: “Chéri” (***)
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:12 am · May 9th, 2009
My first thought on leaving the theatre after watching Stephen Frears’ crisp, elegantly turned new effort is that it is, in many ways, a consummate Frears film. My second thought, however, ran counter to the first: it has, over the years, become increasingly difficult to define what “a Stephen Frears film” might be. We are […]
Filed in: Reviews
PAGE TO SCREEN: “Chéri” by Colette
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:52 am · May 6th, 2009
Merely casual acquaintances of French literature will likely associate the name Colette with her short story “Gigi” – or rather, the flouncy musical film adaptation thereof that swept the board at the 1958 Academy Awards. A sunny, sanitized interpretation of an intricate study in sexual politics, it captured the author’s sensibility in its lavish set-dressing, […]
Filed in: Page to Screen
REVIEW: “The Young Victoria” (**)
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:04 pm · March 9th, 2009
Somewhere out there, wherever such souls reside, Anne of Great Britain must be wondering what she had to do during her reign to merit her own prettily mounted biopic. She may be the last relatively untapped figure in British heritage cinema’s well-worn library of queenly narratives, but she has once more been passed over for […]
Filed in: Reviews
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