In Contention

Tag: Tom Hardy

  • Alfredon’s ‘Tinker, Tailor’ smolders on screen

    I don’t want to write too much about “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” right now because, point blank, I want to see it again and digest and — gasp! — consider.

    For now, though, I’ll start with this: It’s an impeccably made, satisfyingly dense piece of work from director Tomas Alfredson. It’s the rare film that is a slow burn but nevertheless moves along at a clip, with a very well-honed editorial sense, I might add.

    The thing is, I saddled up to the film this afternoon without knowing the source material or bothering to investigate it much. I’ve never read John le Carre’s novel (I will) and I haven’t seen the 1979 British mini-series starring Alec Guiness (I will). And the vibe I get is it would be helpful to come to the new film with a modicum of knowledge on that, but it’s no less satisfying. It just means a second look is in order, and I’m all for it, because you come away with an extreme reverence for craft here.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Strong year for double-dippers

    We find ourselves right in the middle of the big Toronto press junket, er, film festival, where 200-plus films are landing, many of them as world premieres, and the landscape of this year’s Oscar race is really beginning to take shape.

    As I looked out at the various films in play this year, it suddenly occurred to me that, perhaps more than ever, there are a lot of double-dipping actors and actresses in the hunt. Not all of these performances are or will be awards bait necessarily, but there could still be cases for more than a few saddling up to dual nominations this year.

    At the top of that list would have to be Brad Pitt. After already giving what many believed to be his best performance to date in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” the paparazzi-hounded star found himself the recipient of a lot of great ink for his work in “Moneyball” when it screened in Toronto at the end of the week. Wisely, Fox Searchlight will be planning a supporting actor push for the actor in Malick’s film, which is both practical (given his clear lead in the other film), and organic (given that, at least in my opinion, he is supporting to Hunter McCracken’s lead in “The Tree of Life”).

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  • OFF THE CARPET: And we’re off!

    This morning’s interview with “Into the Abyss” director Werner Herzog represented my last Telluride communique (though I guess I was already home) from this year’s 38th annual festivities. Five days, 18 posts, nine movies and three interviews. It was a dense sprint to start the race, and now, with Venice still in-progress and Toronto set to raise the curtain Thursday, we find ourselves in the thick of the season’s early breaths.

    Up in the Colorado mountains, the biggest takeaway was Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.” Payne was highly visible throughout the festival, sometimes taking in six or seven movies a day, fielding compliments for his work and settling in to what has apparently become his favorite festival experience.

    His film first dropped on Thursday afternoon as a special invitation screening for press and patrons. That’s where most of the early word stemmed from as critics and bloggers (yours truly among them) raced back to offer up our thoughts on the director’s first film in seven years. But that’s not the story of that film’s life at Telluride. The story was its discovery for the rest of the attendees over the next four days.

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  • REVIEW: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (***1/2)

    Venice Film Festival

    An uncharacteristically dark Venetian downpour greeted this morning’s premiere screening of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” and if some flashbulbs of lightning last night hadn’t already previewed the turn in weather, I’d suspect the pervasively, necessarily drab atmospherics of Tomas Alfredson’s artful John le Carré adaptation of bleeding out from the screen and into the beyond.

    Looking for all the world as if the print has been stewed in black tea before being left to gather a few months’ worth of dust in the projection room — and that’s a good thing, I hasten to add — the film proves a happy marriage between two very different brands of understated precision: the British scholarliness of le Carré’s dense espionage lore and the icier Scandinavian calm that Alfredson brought to his breakout vampire drama, “Let the Right One In.”

    In many ways, Alfredson directs le Carré’s self-described “little gray men” of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service as they are themselves vampires of the Cold War: lurking in irremovable half-light, striking efficiently and selectively, and only notionally acquainted with the concept of sunlight, these thickly-tweeded spies appear to bear the burden of their profession as a lifelong alibi for the avoidance of intimacy, social functionality and even standard-issue conversation.

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  • 8/31 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Social media boost ‘The Help,’ actress Oscar plays, Bird Flu back ahead of ‘Contagion’

    • Anne Thompson talks to “Warrior” stars Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy and director Gavin O’Connor. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Lucas Kavner on the debt “The Help” owes to social media for its box office staying power. [Huffington Post]

    • Louis Virtel looks shines a light on five female roles that seem to have the right Oscar stuff. [Movieline]

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  • ‘Warrior’ pulls its punches

    I have to say, even though the pieces were there and I tend to respond overwhelmingly to father/son dramas, I was really surprised at how little I felt emotionally while watching Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior.” And O’Connor really excels at this stuff, in general, for me. But it didn’t come together this time.

    I feel pretty much alone here because the film has been affecting a number of critics and press members for the past month or so now and the room I was in tonight was all energy and tears, right there with it. But I don’t know, there is something in the fabric of the writing that kept me at arm’s length.

    So Nick Nolte’s Paddy Conlon character was an asshole father to sons Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton). I know this because I’m being told over and over and over again. I know it, but I don’t feel it. Being presented with a thousand-day sober man looking to make amends really shoots that in the foot and you start wondering why his kids can’t just stop being pricks. Something, anything, that would have keyed us into their perspective would have gone a long way.

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  • “You don’t want to be trapped inside with me, sunshine.”

    So I was sitting down for a casual interview with Nicolas Winding Refn this evening, after seeing his ABSOLUTELY AMAZING OMFG FILM “Drive” at a special screening. Guy Pearce walks up with Tom Hardy in tow, so I couldn’t pass up the photo op. As you know, “Bronson” was comfortably one of my top 10 films of 2009. And I managed to not utter the words “Dark,” “Knight” or “Rises” while chatting briefly with the classy and ultra cool Hardy. I hope these two work together again soon.

  • Bane

    Since a reader already tried to veer off-topic in another thread with this, I might as well get it out of the way. A shot of Tom Hardy as Bane from “The Dark Knight Rises,” revealed through viral marketing that will no doubt be as annoying (if not more so) as it was during the run-up to “The Dark Knight.” The official press release announcing the beginning of shooting went out yesterday, cuing hit-grabbing on every morsel of “information” that will find its way out of the set. Hope you’re all geared up for iPhone videos of production and blurry shots of Gotham police department logos out the Yin Yang!

  • ‘King’s Speech’ nabs seven BAFTA Awards

    I had more interesting things to do at the Berlinale this evening than watch the BAFTAs, so the only commentary I can offer is on the winners list itself. And, well, it doesn’t make for terribly exciting reading. To the surprise of precisely no one, “The King’s Speech” ruled the night with seven trophies, though as I predicted, “The Social Network” barred its way in the Best Director category — with further wins for Adapted Screenplay and Editing bringing its total to three.

    Clearly, Fincher’s Oscar hopes are still alive, though it would be unwise to read too much into this result: as I noted earlier, BAFTA voters split their top two awards more often than not.

    Two of the wins for “The King’s Speech,” however, were widely unexpected. With Geoffrey Rush beating Christian Bale to the Best Supporting Actor award — and Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter both predictably winning their categories — the film becomes only the third in BAFTA history to scoop three of the four acting categories.

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  • Hathaway set for Catwoman in ‘Dark Knight Rises,’ Hardy confirmed as Bane

    I feel compelled to pass this along in the midst of the usual Oscar talk because, well, you know me.

    I looks like Anne Hathaway has been confirmed for the role of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman chapter, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Tom Hardy, meanwhile, who was cast in an unnamed role a few months back, has been confirmed for the role of Bane.

    Yep, “Batman Returns” and “Batman & Robin” in one movie, despite a bevy of villains that could have been much more intriguing in this new direction the character has taken.  On top of which, as much as I love Hathaway, I don’t like her for Kyle.  At all.  But you know what they say about opinions…

    Anyway, on Hardy (who was speculated for the role of Dr. Hugo Strange in a take on the “Prey” storyline), I’m equal parts intrigued and disappointed by the character choice.  Bane was infamously misused in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 craptastic vision, but if you’re looking to close out your trilogy (and three is as far as Nolan ever planned to take it), Bane is a nice character to use — if you’re faithful.

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  • BAFTA names Rising Star nominees

    As you know, BAFTA likes to trickle out a few awards announcements ahead of their nominations, which will be revealed next Tuesday. Last week, we had the Best Foreign Language Film nominees and general category longlists — today, we have the five finalists for their Rising Star Award.

    Perhaps the most unique category in a ceremony that otherwise follows the Oscar template with increasing devotion, this self-explanatory honor  is the only award BAFTA hands over to the voting public, though the shortlist is compiled by a panel of journos and industry insiders. (Before you cry foul at some relatively established names on the list, the award is not necessarily for newcomers, but for actors whose profile grew significantly in the past year.)

    The public vote inevitably favors the star with the greatest youth appeal — last year saw Kristen Stewart beating Best Actress winner Carey Mulligan, while the year before, non-British viewers were left scratching their heads when Noel Clarke saw off Michaels Cera and Fassbender.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Supporting ladies gather, London opens, Hardy goes to Gotham

    • Off the Carpet picked out the likeliest runners in a highly malleable Best Supporting Actress race.

    • We checked in on the Best Animated Feature race, where it seems we may be looking at a three-nominee field after all.

    • Away from the awards beat, the week’s big news was the casting of Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman venture.

    • The Academy formally revealed the list of 65 contenders for Best Foreign Language Film.

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  • Tom Hardy cast in Nolan’s next Batman film

    I kind of don’t like calling it “Batman 3,” but in any case, Mike Fleming is reporting at Deadline that Tom Hardy, star of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” has been cast in a “lead role” in the sequel to 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”

    Naturally, “insiders are keeping the role secret and won’t even say if he’s up for a villain role, but that seems a reasonable assumption,” Fleming writes.  I find myself wondering.  I heard an interesting theory (there are many surrounding these films) some time ago that Hardy would be an intriguing choice for actor Basil Karlo, aka Clayface (given his actorly role in “Inception”).  All talk, of course.

    There is also discussion that, solely based on the fact that the film is shooting in New Orleans, the villain might be bayou-centric…Killer Croc.  I’d frankly be all about that if they could pull it off.  Part of me wants this third film to embrace the heightened reality of the universe, rather than boil too much further into realism.  Supernatural elements could be done in a classy fashion, I think.

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  • Tom Hardy on ‘Inception’ and being Nolan

    In Kris’s thorough rundown of the collected performances in “Inception,” I was both pleased and unsurprised to see rising British star Tom Hardy come in for praise. From the outset, his is the name I’ve been most intrigued by in the film’s formidable ensemble. Hardy has been doing stellar, even stunning, work on stage, TV and on the Britfilm scene — culminating in a British Independent Film Award for “Bronson” last year that should rightfully have been the start of a longer awards trail.

    But “Inception” — a minor role in 2001’s “Black Hawk Down” notwithstanding — really marks the actor’s arrival in mainstream Hollywood, and he’s obviously made it an auspicious one. Call it groundwork for his bid for superstardom in George Miller’s revival of the “Mad Max” franchise: he’s an inspired choice to fill Mel Gibson’s shoes, so here’s hoping the rest of the reboot is similarly adventurous.

    It’d be exciting to see Hardy become a star, and not merely because he’s a fine actor. His sullen model’s features and inked-up boxer’s physique don’t quite fit Hollywood’s leading-man mold; nor does his messy (and gladly disclosed) backstory of early alcoholism and addiction.

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  • On the performances of ‘Inception’

    As a number of people have pointed by asking, my review of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” doesn’t offer much perspective on the performances in the film.  The reason is probably a combination of a few things.

    For starters, I wanted to be as careful as possible to write a spoiler-free review that could be enjoyed by those who haven’t seen the film, and whenever I would find myself considering this or that performance, I felt detailed commentary on plot seeping in.  So I pulled back.  But more importantly, and this is no swipe at the talent on screen, the real star of the film is Nolan and his imagination.

    That sounds like a cop out, but it’s not.  I really and truly didn’t get a whole lot out of the performances.  My favorite is perhaps the least emotional turn of the piece, a steely, confident, at times physically demanding piece of work from an actor I admit rarely does it for me: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  He lays claim to the character you’d probably trust sooner than the rest if you found yourself in these mind-bending circumstances and does it without histrionic swagger.  I dug that.

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  • REVIEW: “Inception” (***1/2)

    In reviewing 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” I wrote that director Christopher Nolan “has made a brief career of exploring characters built upon their somber, in some instances twisted pasts, however distant or immediate.” The theme continues with “Inception,” a film like nothing you have ever seen before that plays out like a two-hour therapy session, wrapped in the accoutrement of a heist film and bathed in the panache of an entirely immersive cinematic experience.

    The hero is Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man trying to find his way home, to paraphrase the filmmaker. But is home just a dream, some fantasy trapped in the “what if” corridors of his mind? Or is it possible that maybe through one final job of contrived gobbledygook he might find his way to the life he was forced to flee years before?

    Cobb’s black market profession is “extraction,” a type of mind theft dependent on dream manifestation technology developed by military intelligence for training purposes. If you want someone’s secrets, Cobb’s your man. For a price, he and his crew will go into the individual’s subconscious and bring it to you on a silver platter. But it’s a dangerous job, given the complexities of the process, not to mention the complexities of dealing with the kind of people who’d pay for such a thing.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: A little bit of English

    Rosamund Pike in An EducationYesterday, while talking with one of my sane friends whose thoughts drift to film awards perhaps one day a year, the conversation turned to the BAFTAs, which announce the nominations for their 2009 film awards tomorrow.

    “The BAFTAs, they’re like the Oscars for British films, right?” she asked.

    “Not quite,” I replied. “They’re open to all films.”

    “But the British films always win, right?”

    “No, not always.” I stared into my pint. “Well, a lot of the time, yeah.”

    “Why not just make them for British films, then?”

    “Because they want to be like the Oscars.”

    “So why do they keep rewarding the Brits?”

    The conversation could have circled this way for some time, but fortunately, it was time for another round – and by the time I returned from the bar, the topic had shifted to Pat Robertson.

    My friend’s innocent but pertinent questions only grazed the surface of the peculiar identity crisis suffered by the BAFTA Awards, a longstanding institution, kindly regarded by many, that only joined the pack of Oscar precursors nine years ago. Since they did so, it’s become increasingly difficult to ascertain who they are, what they stand for in awards season.

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  • Best in show: the year in superlatives

    Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock HolmesWrapping up my perspective on the year today, a personal list of superlatives, Oscar categories and other silly nonsense.

    Swing back around on Monday for the ultimate wrap-up, my list of the best films of the decade.

    Best Picture
    “A Serious Man” (Focus Features)

    Best Director
    Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”

    Best Actor
    Sharlto Copley, “District 9”

    Best Actress
    Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

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