In Contention

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  • POLL: The most influential films of all time, round one, part five

    I’ve got family coming into town this afternoon, and since this week’s poll had three runaway winners in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Godfather” and “Pulp Fiction,” and I doubt three more hours will close the gap on the stragglers (poor “Jurassic Park”), I think it’s time for a new installment.  Next week will be the final round one poll and we’ll be closer to the end and your view of the 10 most influential films of all time.

    Once again, check the background on this series here.  Have a look in the left sidebar and chalk up no more than three films to survive and move on to the next round.  This week should make for an easier selection than last week.  As always, though, it’s a random assortment.  Blame the fates if you find yourself facing a Sophie’s Choice.

  • ‘Precious’ teaser poster and trailer

    If you’re wondering, “What the heck is ‘Precious,’” allow me to remind you that the Sundance sensation “Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire” was re-titled in the wake of that silly effects movie, also called “Push,” earlier in the year.  As Cannes starts to heat up, perhaps bringing a host of awards contenders into the picture, Lionsgate has smartly decided to remind us all of this little Oscar hopeful by unleashing a stunning new teaser poster and the first trailer for the film.

    The poster is immediately reminiscent of the work of designer Saul Bass, and though you wouldn’t expect an image that seems to be marketing a thriller to work so well, it somehow pulls it off:

    Precious

    The trailer, meanwhile, does a fine job of selling the film without falling into the trap of marketing to urban audiences with too heavy a hand. It clearly showcases what looks to be a star-making performance from Gabourey Sidibe and, of course, Mo’Nique, a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress recognition since January.

    The trailer premiered exclusively on the official websites of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, each of them supporting the film’s distribution.  Additionally, it seems the film’s official title is now “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”  Too much.  Stick with “Precious.”

  • Tom O’Neil’s Emmy intervention with Denis Leary

    I don’t know how many fellow “Rescue Me” fans are out there, but if you’ve been watching this season, you know that the FX series is probably hitting its most powerful stretch.  Everyone is on their game, the writing is as crisp as ever and frankly, if ever a case has been glaringly obvious for some Emmy love to finally come actor and writer Denis Leary’s way, this is the year.

    Tom O’Neil over at Gold Derby, with his brilliantly obsessive awards analysis, has put up a two-part video webchat with Leary that you have to check out.  It’s fun to watch Leary run through the list of names he’d be up against: Keifer Sutherland, James Gandolfini, Hugh Laurie, Gabriel Byrne.  “Wow, I’m really screwed,” he says.  “Those guys know me and I probably owe them money.”

    O’Neil gives some sterling advice on which episodes to submit for Emmy consideration.  Brilliant.  I loved this.  And kudos on the Cobra T-shirt.  Here’s the podcast in two parts:

  • Getting excited?

    Lost

    (Courtesy: Movieline)

  • 5/13 Web Round-up

    Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation• Nicole Kidman teams up with “Slumdog Millionaire” star Rubiana Ali in a Shekhar Kapur-directed, Ridley Scott-produced Schweppes ad. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Patrick Goldstein pulls back the veil on studio manipulation of box office expectations. [The Big Picture]

    • Revisiting “Star Trek: The Next Generation”‘s eerily prescient torture episode. [Slate]

    • Dissecting the meaning and pronunciation of “synecdoche” across the pond. [The Guardian]

    • Screenwriter David Nicholls on the “indulgence” of writing an adapted screenplay. [Live Journal via The Independent]

  • Taking a stab

    Someone asked me to offer my best (read: worst) guesses as to which Cannes films might get lucky on awards night. I originally wasn’t going to, on the principle that it’s a self-defeating exercise to handicap films one barely knows anything about, but then I saw the Guardian is plucking odds out of thin air, so why not? Awards punditry … the game the whole family can play.

    And hey, I may as well gift you with the opportunity to come back in two weeks’ time and laugh at my clairvoyant incompetence. I’m nice that way. My guesses after the cut — feel free to share your own in the comments.

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  • All eyes on ‘Up’

    UPDATE: I was expecting Jeff Wells to come up with a slightly contrarian take on “Up,” and he doesn’t disappoint. Not that he doesn’t like the film — “peppy,” “delightful,” “visually luscious” and “touching” are some of the adjectives he tosses its way — but he does qualify his praise with concerns that the film compromises itself somewhat by trying to be all things to all men:

    It’s not meant as a putdown to say that Up is too immersed in buoyant punchiness and mainstream movie-tude, which basically boils down to Pixar’s always-front-and-center task of giving the family audience stuff to laugh at and go “oooh” and “aahh” about, to finally matter all that much. It’s too entertaining, in put it another way, to sink in all that deeply.

    So what am I saying, boiled down? That it’s really quite well made and has an almost stoner sensibility in portions but may be a little too good for the lowbrows and at the same time isn’t really deep and resonant enough to penetrate with quality-cinema buffs? Something like that.

    Wells will no doubt have to fend off accusations of curmudgeonliness for that take, but whether I wind up agreeing with him or not, I understand what he’s getting at. At the very least, it’s healthy to hear a perspective that diverges from the unreserved praise doing the rounds: if Pixar movies are indeed the adult auteur works so many critics insist they are, then they merit more complicated critiques.

    EARLIER: Kudos to Jeff Wells for this hilarious snap from this morning’s “Up” press screening at Cannes. Made me laugh, anyway.

    Up press screening at Cannes

  • ‘Map of the Sounds of Tokyo’ trailer

    Thanks to AwardsDaily for pointing out this trailer for Isabel Coixet’s new effort, which will be the final Competition title to screen at the Cannes Film Festival. That’s the same slot that proved so lucky for “The Class” last year, but speaking for myself, this trailer doesn’t suggest similarly great things ahead — much as I like Rinko Kikuchi and Sergi Lopez, this looks a little fey for my liking. Still, as I mentioned in my Cannes preview recently, Coixet is the only auteur making her first appearance in the Competition this year, so we wish her well.

    WARNING: Nude scenes render the trailer strictly unsuitable for work.

  • Kidman out

    Quelle dommage. It appears that Nicole Kidman has dropped out of Woody Allen’s untitled 2010 project. No explanation has been offered.

    It’s hard to say how great a loss this is — with details on the film so sketchy at this point, we have no idea whether we’re talking about the actress ditching a major role or one of those starry cameos he occasionally sprinkles through his ensemble pieces. I’m disappointed nonetheless; Allen would have been a nice name to check off on the actress’s enviable auteur roster.

    I’d suggest the obvious replacement of Naomi Watts, but — oh, wait — she’s already in it. Is Cate Blanchett free?

  • Trades head over heels for ‘Up’

    UpWith all the positive word that’s been trickling out this past week, it’s no surprise to hear that “Up” has scored universally breathless raves from the trade papers.

    Actually, it’s no surprise under any circumstances — with the sole exception of “Cars,” it’s one of the safest bets in the in the industry that every Pixar production will arrive on an overwhelming wave of critical goodwill, with the usual go-words of “wondrous,” “captivating,” “inspiring,” and more often than not some jab about how the studio is currently making the greatest films in American cinema.

    Not that I’m being facetious — I loved “WALL-E” too last year, even if not all Pixar’s efforts inspire the same reverent devotion in me that they seem to in most critics. I’m just saying the reviews give me no idea yet where my heart will lie on this one.

    We can expect more “Up” buzz throughout the day: the Cannes press screening is going on as we speak, ahead of the film’s official opening of the festival tonight. For now, here’s McCarthy’s Variety valentine:

    Depending on what you think of “Cars,” Pixar makes it either 9½ out of 10 or 10 for 10 with “Up,” a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along. Tale of an unlikely journey to uncharted geographic and emotional territory by an old codger and a young explorer could easily have been cloying, but instead proves disarming in its deep reserves of narrative imagination and surprise, as well as its poignant thematic balance of dreams deferred and dreams fulfilled.

    Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances, most importantly from Asner, Plummer and nonpro Nagai, exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michael Giacchino’s full-bodied, traditional score is superlative, developing beautiful themes as it sweeps the action along on emotional waves.

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  • Esquire calls ‘The Road’ the year’s ‘most important movie’

    (left to right) Kodi Smith-McPhee and Viggo Mortensen in The RoadWe’ve certainly waited a while to get any substantial word on “The Road,” not least since it got pushed back by an entire year to ease the pressure of post-production. John Hillcoat’s film screened in unfinished form late last year, provoking a scattering of commentary — the Film Experience’s Nathaniel Rogers offered some interesting thoughts, though sensibly held off on any detailed critique — but the film has remained something of a mystery.

    Now, amid an interesting profile of the film, Esquire magazine’s Tom Chiarella has gone on the record as saying it’s good — very good indeed. Though he admits the film is a harrowing sit (as it well should be) that you won’t necessarily want to endure more than once, he’s full of admiration for the film as a fundamental piece of storytelling:

    The Road is no tease. It is a brilliantly directed adaptation of a beloved novel, a delicate and anachronistically loving look at the immodest and brutish end of us all. You want them to get there, you want them to get there, you want them to get there — and yet you do not want it, any of it, to end.

    You should see it for the simplest of reasons: Because it is a good story. Not because it may be important. Not because it is unforgettable, unyielding. Not because it horrifies. Not because the score is creepily spiritual. Not because it is littered with small lines of dialogue you will remember later. Not because it contains warnings against our own demise. All of that is so. Don’t see it just because you loved the book. The movie stands alone.

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  • Where the wild things come from

    Here’s pretty much the coolest thing I’ve seen on the internet in a while: We Love You So is a blog from the makers of “Where the Wild Things Are” that details, in pleasantly haphazard fashion, the various films, books, images and other bits and bobs that served as form of influence or inspiration (however tangential) for them while working on the film — and plenty else besides.

    As you’d expect from Spike Jonze and his crew, it’s a pretty mixed bag. I was, however, thrilled and excited to read that Jonze regards Lynne Ramsay’s amazing “Ratcatcher” as a relevant tonal reference, citing the way the film so emphatically enters the midset of its child protagonist, adopting his own perspective. Smart thinking. It’s a clear sign (as if we needed one) that Jonze is taking this story as seriously as he would any adult-oriented project.

    Amid the more random odds and ends on the site, I particularly loved this delightfully depressing photo of a desolate New York ice-cream parlor, that illustrates the extent to which Maurice Sendak’s book has permeated everyday life:

  • THE LISTS: Top 10 Cannes runners-up of all time

    Cinema ParadisoI’ll be honest with you, readers. Struck with the idea of waking (after its winter nap) our weekly lists feature with something suitably Cannes-themed, I started with the obvious: the 10 greatest Palme d’Or winners of all time. Simple, snappy, uncomplicated.

    Or so I thought. But as I began whittling down the titles, I came to the disheartening realization that my list looked pretty much like that of everyone else who has had a go. By the time you’ve included the inarguable likes of “Apocalypse Now,” “The Leopard,” “The Third Man” and “Taxi Driver” (and hell, that’s before I even reached 1980), there’s precious little room for idiosyncratic argument, however obtuse you may be.

    (It also leaves a sadly narrow window for personal favorites: it was when I was balancing the numbers and realized that I had to boot either “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” or “The Knack” that I began to have doubts about the enterprise.)

    The thing is, unlike the Academy Awards, the Palme d’Or goes to a genuinely great film more often than not. Sure, there are errors of judgment now and then. (“The Child” over “Cache?” What were they thinking?) And some years present a slate so rich there are bound to be slights however you deal the cards. (I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to choose between “Pulp Fiction” and “Three Colors: Red” in 1994.) But Cannes is a festival that, an impressive amount of the time, gets it right in hindsight. Too right — for my list, anyway.

    And so it was that I decided to turn my attention to the runners-up. Cannes has always awarded a silver medal of sorts, under various monikers over the years: the Special Jury Prize, the Grand Prix du Jury and, currently, the simply but sweetly named Grand Prix. A significant number of future classics have been handed this accolade, but it’s a sadly undersung one: as with so many things in life, first place is all that counts in the history books.

    So I’m taking a moment to give this honorable category of winners their due. What follows is my selection of the 10 greatest runners-up in Cannes history. There’s a daunting range of films to choose from (check out the full list here and here), so this list turned out to be pretty agonizing too. (No “L’avventura?” Mon dieu!) A couple of titles here were robbed, but many of them were simply unlucky to come up against formidable competitors. All of them, however, deserve to recognized as the Cannes champs they are.

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  • Lots of ‘Trek’ happening on Blu

    Cover of Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1If you’re like me, the bad-assery (yes, bad-assery) of J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” unlocked some eerie, deep, dark geek that you didn’t really know existed.  No, I’m not hitting the net looking for a life-sized Enterprise Captain’s chair (though they are certainly out there), but I’m quite interested lately in going back and discovering a franchise that never quite appealed to me as a youth.

    Luckily, Paramount and CBS Blu-ray is way ahead of you.  Landing in beautiful high definition are a slew of home video tie-ins that are sure to please old and new fans alike.

    First and foremost there is the massive six-film set — “The Original Motion Picture Collection” — which hits shelves today and includes the “Star Trek” films from the 1979 original to 1991’s “The Undiscovered Country,” which brought director Nicholas Meyer back to the material for the first time since “The Wrath of Khan.”

    If six films is a bit too much, you can pick up the “Motion Picture Trilogy”, also released today, which includes “The Wrath of Khan,” “The Search for Spock” and “The Voyage Home,” a series of films that works pretty well as a stand alone set (though tossing in the first installment would have been nice).

    I haven’t had a chance to dig into the films yet, but the crown jewel of all this “Trek” home video insanity has been spinning in my Blu-ray player for a number of days now: “‘Star Trek’: The Original Series — Season 1,” which released April 28.  Some will pick this up immediately for reasons of nostalgia and I imagine more than a few purists will shy away from the “view with enhanced effects” feature available on each episode.  I had fun bouncing back and forth, personally.

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  • Why young Kirk was listening to the Beasties’ ‘Sabotage’

    This is awesome.  If there’s one thing I’m sick of hearing about the new “Star Trek” film it’s bitching about the use of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” in an early scene.  Personally, I love every outrageous moment of this scene, including the track’s usage, but I never would have imagined there might be a reason it was used.  I’ll let this post at Topless Robot spell it out:

    One of the complaints nerds have about the new J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie is the very odd use of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” when young Kirk is driving his stepdad’s classic car off a cliff. Although I liked the movie, I did think it was odd to hear such a well-known, popular song in Star Trek. Well, TR commenter PossibleMisnomer has an idea why the song was used, and I think he’s 100% right — it’s because William Shatner has a long history of mispronouncing the word sabotage as “sabo-taj.” Watch [this] video, and you can even hear him refusing to admit his pronunciation is wrong (during some kind of voice work), and then him saying “sabo-taj” back in his Trek TV days.

    (via Ryan Rotten at Twitter)

  • Go-to spot for Cannes coverage

    A brief endorsement, if you don’t mind.  Cannes starts up tomorrow with the opening night world premiere of Pixar’s “Up,” and though In Contention won’t be on the Croisette, Guy will be chasing down morsels of information throughout the fest on a daily basis.  One of his frequent stops, I imagine, will be Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere, and allow me to just say that this is the time of year when Jeff really lights up.  His Cannes coverage is consistently superlative and well worth your daily stop so make sure you keep up with his shenanigans.

  • 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]

  • Cannes: sizing up the Competition, part two

    Charlotte Gainsbourg in AntichristContinuing yesterday’s survey of the runners and riders in the race for the Palme d’Or…

    “ANTICHRIST” (Lars Von Trier)

    The pitch: You’ve seen the trailer. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe star as bereaved parents who retreat to a remote woodland cottage to nurse their grief, only to be terrorised by unnamed forces of evil. (English dialogue)

    The history: Over his seven previous Competition appearances, Von Trier has enjoyed a gradual ascent from the Technical Grand Prize for 1984’s “Element of Crime,” to the Jury Prize for 1991’s “Europa,” to the Grand Prix for 1996’s “Breaking the Waves” (1996) to, at last, the Palme d’Or for 2000’s “Dancer in the Dark.” Nothing since then, however, with his masterful “Dogville” coming up surprisingly (and undeservingly) empty-handed.

    The outlook: The film may appear to be familiar (albeit bloody terrifying) horror fare in the trailer, but we should know by now never to presume what a maverick like Von Trier has up his sleeve. Cannes is usually averse to the genre, so whether the film made the lineup because it’s something more subversive, or simply because it’s directed by one of their favourite sons, remains to be seen. Either way, the film will need to be something special to get Von Trier back in the winner’s circle – after all, “Dancer in the Dark” proved so polarising, juries have been unwilling to take a chance on him since. He tends to put his actresses through the wringer, so perhaps there’s a chance for Charlotte Gainsbourg here – but who knows?

    “SPRING FEVER” (Lou Ye)

    The pitch: Erotic drama follows a young man hired to survey a married man’s homosexual affair; tangled relationships ensue as the spy and his girlfriend become sexually drawn to the adulterous couple. (Mandarin dialogue)

    The history: Not counting an unfortunate 2006 withdrawal after his “Summer Palace” fell foul of Chinese censors, this is Lou’s second Competition appearance.

    The outlook: There is a great deal of goodwill in the world-cinema fraternity for Lou, who has fought a continuous battle with the Chinese censorship board. His last film, the politically charged “Summer Palace,” resulted in the director receiving a five-year ban from filmmaking – a ruling Lou is flagrantly flouting by screening his new film (which was shot in secret on handheld cameras) at this year’s festival. It’s a courageous move, and I think there’s a strong chance the jury might like to demonstrate their support for the embattled auteur with a prize of some variety.

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