In Contention

Tag: Shutter Island

  • ‘Shutter Island’ poster

    Shutter Island

    (Courtesy: Yahoo! Movies)

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography – Volume I

    Saoirse Ronan in The Lovely BonesLIGHTS…CAMERA…you were probably waiting for the word “action,” no? Action is, after all, what many individuals go to a film to see. But the “lights” and the “camera” in this classic phrase bring a film beyond a book or a radio show…and capture the “action.”

    The individuals who paint the images of cinema with light and composition are rewarded in the Oscar category of Best Cinematography. Cinematographers are pivotal in the making of any film and it is thus unsurprising that directors often continuously work with the similar camera heads.

    Like many cinephiles, I must say this is my favorite of the so-called “technical” categories and I eagerly anticipate the race every year.  This year is no exception.

    Australian D.P. Dion Beebe might seem to be leading this year’s lenser race with his third collaboration with Rob Marshall, the musical adaptation “Nine.” Despite not being cited by the Academy for some of his more innovative work (see Michael Mann’s “Collateral”), Beebe has been previously nominated for 2002’s “Chicago” and won the Oscar in 2005 for “Memoirs of a Geisha.” “Nine” will give him the opportunity to pay homage to Federico Fellini while also capturing sprawling musical numbers, a feat this category tends to reward.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Buried treasure, reading pleasure

    Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams in Shutter IslandEntirely slipped my mind to do this on Friday, but here’s what we (and you) were talking about this week:

    • At 2009’s halfway mark, this week’s list shone a light on the year’s most undersung films thus far.

    • In Page to Screen this week, we eagerly sank our teeth into Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Island.”

    • As the respective “Ice Age” and “Transformers” rehashes battled for box-office glory, “Up” quietly became Pixar’s second-highest grosser.

    • Meanwhile, soon-to-be titan “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” garnered mixed-to-positive notices.

    • Burton, Lasseter, Miyazaki, Zemeckis … the upcoming Comic-Con just got a lot more auteur-heavy.

    • Speaking of comics, “The Green Lantern” has a lead … and his name is Ryan Reynolds.

    • Away from the big screen, we discussed the joys of bargain-bin DVDs.

    • And stirred up debate with a celebration of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

  • PAGE TO SCREEN: “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane

    Shutter Island by Dennis LehaneDeep into Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel noir “Shutter Island,” there’s a wonderfully telling exchange between the two central characters. Reflecting on the gothic heights to which their situation has spiralled, one observes, “It’s all a bit Grand Guignol, don’t you think?” His partner’s reply: “I don’t know what the fuck that means.”

    Ostensibly a nod to class difference within the narrative, it’s also arguably a tongue-in-cheek dig at the novel’s self-reflexive straddling of high and low culture. “Shutter Island,” of course, is Grand Guignol of the highest order, but with an acute awareness of the term: steeped in references to throwaway pulp fiction and lurid 1950s B-movies, but written with the literary discipline and deference of a serious novelist.

    Needless to say, Boston-ish setting aside (and even then, “Shutter Island” goes to significant dramatic lengths to distance itself from the city), the novel is a very different beast from the two Lehane titles successfully given the screen treatment in recent years. For all their whodunnit trappings, “Gone Baby Gone” and “Mystic River” traded largely in earnest authenticity; “Shutter Island,” by contrast, hinges on artifice.

    Lehane has apparently stated his admiration for Graham Greene’s alternation between “novels” and “entertainments”: this, carefully wrought and quotation mark-enclosed as it is, is plainly his idea of a pure entertainment, a funhouse, a ride.

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  • Always a day away

    I’ve had a chaotic day today, so I regret to inform that I haven’t yet finished hammering out this week’s edition of Page to Screen. Apologies. Be sure to check in tomorrow for a discussion of Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Island.” Promise.

  • Page to Screen delay

    Apologies for the disappearance of Page to Screen this past fortnight — amid the screenings, travelling and general whirl of the Edinburgh Film Festival, the reading and writing time required for the column has somewhat fallen by the wayside.

    I can promise, however, that Page to Screen will definitely be back this time next week, with a look at Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Island.” We’ll also be getting into “An Education” and “Push” (AKA “Precious”) in due course — all titles that, especially with this morning’s game-changing announcement, look to remain very much in the awards conversation. (EDIT: Hold that thought — we’ll be discussing “An Education” instead next week.) Stay tuned.

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Island’ sighted, ‘Ghostbusters’ quoted

    Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter IslandA quiet week round these parts — and everywhere else, for that matter:

    • The week’s biggest talking point was the unveiling of the first trailer for Scorsese’s “Shutter Island.” Still mopping the drool from the floor.

    • We celebrated the quarter-century (!) anniversary of “Ghostbusters,” listing the most quotable lines from that eminently quotable film.

    • Our poll of the most influential films of all time finally wrapped … in rather muted fashion. But hey, democracy rules.

    • We had the privilege of interviewing the great Francis Ford Coppola.

    • This week’s Page to Screen examined “Playing the Enemy,” the inspiration for Clint Eastwood’s upcoming “Invictus.”

    • In a rare last-minute coup, “The Hangover” stole “Up’s” thunder at the box office.

    • The 30th anniversary of John Wayne’s passing provided the impetus to wallow in The Duke’s finest screen moments.

    • And finally, yours truly dipped his toe into the murky waters of Oscar predictions.

  • 6/12 Web Round-up

    John Travolta in The Taking of Pelham 123(Wow…that week went by fast.)

    • Patrick Goldstein thinks the new “Shutter Island” trailer is overkill for those who don’t want everything spoon-fed. [The Big Picture]

    • More on the alleged misogyny of Lars von Trier. [CNN]

    • Shia LaBeaouf talks “Transformers” with John Hiscock. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Sarah Palin, the bold, the bright, turns her own daughter into a rape joke punchline.  Idiot.  (Sorry for the politics but it was worth conveying.) [Politico]

    • Is “Bruno” coming along at an inopportune time for the good fight? [New York Times]

    • Eight documentary dos and don’ts from Sundance programmer Basil Tsiokos. [indieWIRE]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports from a “Whatever Works” press conference in New York. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Speaking of which, Jeremy Kay has something to say on the franchise glut. [The Guardian]

    • In honor of the out-dated plot of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” Christopher Campbell offers up 10 stock market scams from the movies. [Spout Blog]

  • ‘Shutter Island’ trailer

    Even though the thriller throttle is wide open, the moody atmospherics of this just-released trailer for Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” had me from frame one. DiCaprio looks in confident control, everything in stride these days. Kingsley conveys subtle sinister panache with the best of them. Haley is having the time of his life, taking the bull by the horns. And how can Bob Richardson be at the top of his game each and every time he turns his light meter on?

    This one just shot to the top as must-see. Now. Give it to me ASAP.

    See it in HD at Apple.

  • Guessing games

    Carey Mulligan in An EducationOK, I held off compiling a set of 2009 Oscar predictions for as long as I could. Actually, I tried to hold off even thinking about them — so long and largely depressing was the 2008 derby that I felt I owed myself a few months of pretending that movies are their own reward. (Not that the artistically desolate spring season is the best time for idealism.)

    Year-in-advance predictions are the strict preserve of crazy people. (And we love them for it.) By contrast, in offering up my first predictions a mere 7-8 months before nomination day, I feel only slightly unhinged.

    Before you peruse my predix, I should offer the disclaimer that my best guesses may just as easily be my worst. Living a continent away, I can’t approach Kris for ear-to-the-ground expertise, and I often run with notions that are fanciful, to say the least. This time last year, I was predicting 5 nominations for “Happy-Go-Lucky,” including a Best Picture bid.  Then again, I walked out of “In Bruges” last April convinced I’d seen a future screenplay nominee. I have my isolated (often very isolated) moments of clarity.

    All of which is to say to say that these predictions aren’t to be taken terribly seriously. At this early stage in the game, with so many variables in the equation, why not have a bit of fun and float a few wild-card possibilities? By the time the unknowns become known and the race starts narrowing down, there’s little room to be playful, so I like to get it out of my system now.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Taking the temperature

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerIt’s somewhat surprising that our year-in-advance Oscar coverage is only three months old.  That now ancient list of predictions seems so long ago, and yet, even with Cannes behind us and this or that indication of a few of the contenders, I have no idea how to offer an educated update beyond general housekeeping.  The season, it seems, will remain elusive for just a little while longer.

    Here’s what we know: Critics didn’t respond to Universal’s “The Boat That Rocked” across the pond.  But the Brits hardly have a soft spot for Richard Curtis.  Along similar lines, Stephen Frears’s “Chéri” hasn’t exactly inspired either.  But both films, from awards savvy studios, could find a second wind when they eventually open Stateside.

    The biggest Oscar hopeful to emerge from this year’s Cannes fest is, in my opinion, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.”  Heralded in some quarters as a return to form for the director, and snatched up by the intrepid Bob Berney (formerly of Picturehouse and now closing in on a name for his distribution company with partner Bill Polhad), the film could be a nominations hog, anywhere from six to 10 possibilities.  You’ll note all of my ponderings in that regard in the latest chart update below.

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  • 5/12 Web Round-up

    Green Lantern• Alex Billington takes a few snaps of upcoming release poster artwork in Cannes (including “Shutter Island” and “A Christmas Carol”), then, the web being what it is, he slaps his watermark all over them. [First Showing]

    • Kevin Costner keeps the western’s light flickering with an upcoming A&E mini-series. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • The top 10 movie misquotes of all time. [The Guardian]

    • Vaneta Rogers consolidates the numerous “Green Lantern” rumors flying around town.  Please, God, don’t fuck it up. [Newsarama]

    • Speaking of rumors, Drew McWeeny recounts the crash and burn of one such, this one concerning the potential casting of Christian Bale in Andrew Stanton’s “John Carter of Mars.” [Motion/Captured]

    • Roger Ebert expresses concern over the use of 3D technology in “Up,” specifically citing the potential for diminishing “brightness and delicate shadings of the color palate.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Anthony Breznican previews the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. [USA Today]

    • Candace Jackson talks “The Girlfriend Experience” with director Steven Soderbergh and star Sasha Grey. [Wall Street Journal]

    • William Goss remembers 1998: the movie summer that was. [Cinematical]

    • Twitter’s potential effect on the unstable world of film criticism gets some more ink. [The Wrap]

  • Take the money and run

    Jackie Earle Haley in Little ChildrenJackie Earle Haley’s recently resuscitated career is a textbook example of how true the banal platitude “the nomination is the reward” can sometimes be. Prior to 2006, the former child star hadn’t made a film for 13 years; one devastating performance (in Todd Field’s undervalued “Little Children”), a smattering of critics’ awards and a richly deserved Oscar nomination later, he’s a steadily working character actor with a reasonably high-profile slate of projects to his name.

    Sure, “Watchmen” may not have panned out all that well, but it was a pretty amazing get for a 47 year-old non-star — and his performance is deemed by many to be the embattled film’s brightest spot. And getting to work with Scorsese in “Shutter Island” is none too shabby either, I would imagine. So when people say that awards are inconsequential, I’m sure the likes of Haley might beg to differ.

    So it was with mixed feelings that I read the news that Haley is taking on the role of Freddy Krueger in New Line’s upcoming reboot of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise. On the one hand, it’s nice for the thesp to get to be the centrepiece of a project for a change, and a potentially profitable one at that; on the other, surely yet another remake of an iconic horror title is good news for precisely no one else. When will this particularly lazy trend run out of steam?

    I understand that an actor of Haley’s age, appearance and profile probably doesn’t have a wealth of tempting projects to choose from, but it’s a little grim that a gifted actor has to resort to this. Here’s hoping there are more  Fields and Scorseses in his future yet.

  • Year-in-advance winner predictions

    Yes, I’m insane, but before I leave off this year’s year-in-advance week, by request, I thought I’d throw up a random set of winner predictions and see if I was close to the target next February.  Last year I managed three correct guesses (four if you count Winslet for the wrong movie), two of them in the tech categories, so maybe I can at least up that tally.  I really want to predict Clint’s movie for Best Picture, but I have some weird sense of irritation at predicting an untitled movie.  Oh well, who cares?

    Best Picture: “Nine”
    Best Director: Rob Marshall, “Nine”
    Best Actor: Morgan Freeman, “Untitlted Nelson Mandela Project”
    Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer, “Chéri”
    Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, “Untitlted Nelson Mandela Project”
    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Nine”
    Best Original Screenplay: “Up”
    Best Art Direction: “Amelia”
    Best Cinematography: “Nine”
    Best Costume Design: “Chéri”
    Best Film Editing: “Nine”
    Best Makeup: “The Wolf Man”
    Best Music (Original Score): “Broken Embraces”
    Best Music (Original Song): “Nine”
    Best Sound Editing: “Green Zone”
    Best Sound Mixing: “Nine”
    Best Visual Effects: “Avatar”
    Best Animated Feature Film: “Up”

    Those will all be wrong.  Each and every one of them.

    (And in case you missed it: OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2009 a year in advance!?)

  • 2/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in Diner• Thom Yorke and Gustavo Santaolalla to join forces on “Terminator Salvation” tunes?? [The Playlist]

    • Tom O’Neil spotlights the BAFTA voting process. [Gold Derby]

    • T.L. Stanley on the politics of Dustin Lance Black’s WGA acceptance speech. [Gold Rush]

    • David Poland says Universal dropped the ball on “Frost/Nixon,” as represented by its incredibly weak box office showing. [The Hot Blog]

    • Along a similar line of thought, and in an increasingly popular column idea the past week or so, Peter Sciretta comments on three of this year’s Best Picture nominees being among the lowest grossers in Academy history. [/Film]

    • Presumably out of ideas for the time being, Jeff Wells goes seeking advanced word on “The Road” at…IMDb. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Barry Levinson writes a love letter to Mickey Rourke.  Did they kick the tires and light the fires in the nick of time for this campaign to push on ahead? [New York Times]

    • Bolt and the other characters who transformed cinema. [The Independent]

    • Roger Ebert predicts a handful of the categories, steps out on a limb for Viola Davis. [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Across the pond, newly minted BAFTA winner Penelope Cruz explains why she can’t stop crying. [The Sunday Times]

    • Richard Brody spots a mole on the set of Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island.”  Well, not really — it’s actually a Cahiers du Cinema-sponsored Argentinian filmmaker/mentee. [The New Yorker]

  • 1/3 Oscarweb Round-up

    Ralph Fiennes• Patrick Goldstein responds to that B.S. Daily Beast Penn/Rourke thing.  Probably a little too lax but at leat he somewhat lays into the “journalist” responsible for the piece. [The Big Picture]

    • Michael Cieply scopes out tobacco use in the year’s Oscar contenders. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Andrea Hubert catches up with “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel. [The Guardian]

    • Kevin Maher talks “The Reader,” among other things, with Ralph Fiennes. [The Times]

    • Susan Wloszczyna takes a first journalistic stab at Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Shutter Island.” [USA Today]

    • A creepily in depth look at the top “Jeffrey Wells moments” of 2008.  Yeah.  We’re the story. [Spout Blog]

  • My top 10 most anticipated films of 2009

    Johnny Depp in Public EnemiesNo explanations, just my annual unfiltered, edge-of-my-seat anticipations.  My tastes tend to skew entertainment from afar; I don’t look forward to the Oscar stuff until later in the year, when the pieces of that crazy puzzle are slowly revealed.

    Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

    1. “Watchmen” (Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. Pictures, March 6)
    2. “Public Enemies” (Michael Mann, Universal Pictures, July 1)
    3. “Avatar” (James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, Dec. 18)
    4. “A Christmas Carol” (Robert Zemeckis, Walt Disney Pictures, Nov. 5)
    5. “Terminator Salvation” (McG, Warner Bros. Pictures, May 22)
    6. “Shutter Island” (Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures, Oct. 2)
    7. “Green Zone” (Paul Greengrass, Universal Pictures, TBA)
    8. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Gavin Hood, 20th Century Fox, May 1)
    9. “State of Play” (Kevin Macdonald, Universal Pictures, April 17)
    10. “2012” (Roland Emmerich, Columbia Pictures, July 10)

    Least anticipated: “Inglorious Bastards”

    You?

  • INTERVIEW: Michelle Williams

    Fate can have a bittersweet sense of timing, and Michelle Williams understands this better than most. A 2008 that started bleakly with the passing of Heath Ledger, her former partner and the father of her daughter, has ended as a professional banner year for the 28 year-old actress.

    A triptych of startling performances in a disparate array of projects — Sharon Maguire’s “Incendiary,” Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York,” and, most prominently, Kelly Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy” — have made this the year Williams consolidated the Oscar-nominated promise she demonstrated as a member of strong indie ensembles in the likes of “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Station Agent,” and emerged as a great, free-standing actor in her own right.

    Further accolades have rolled in, with her tricky, film-carrying performance in “Wendy and Lucy” earning her an Independent Spirit nod and a Best Actress award from the Toronto critics, while in the background, her late ex remains the year’s most talked-about thespian. When she sighs wistfully over the phone from New York and says that it’s been “a weird year,” that barely seems to cover it.

    It’s another curious reversal that the film largely responsible for making this such a big year for Williams truthfully couldn’t be any smaller. “Wendy and Lucy” is a brilliant, elegiac piece of Americana that easily ranks among the year’s finest films. The story of a young, broke drifter, Wendy, whose already fragile existence collapses when she is separated from her best friend Lucy, a yellow-gold mongrel, it inauspiciously came her way as a short story (“Train Choir,” by co-scripter Jon Raymond) with a brief note attached — the lean script still uncompleted.

    “Todd Haynes recommended it to me,” she says, referring to the iconoclastic auteur who directed her in last year’s “I’m Not There.” “He’s a mutual friend of mine and Kelly’s, and he thought we’d be a good fit. So I read it — I mean, I’d be stupid not to trust the judgment of someone like Todd.”

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