I'd love to announce that I've completed this year's Oscar'ish 1/2 of the FiLM BiTCH Awards before heading out to Sundance but I can't shout that out triumphantly because it didn't come to pass. However, I did complete a few more categories while packing my bags for the festival. More when I return obviously.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
By now the sweepers in awards season would be getting really annoying if most of them weren't such terrific, deserving performances. I'm on consensus this year I guess. I definitely don't wanna quibble with the Christoph Waltz enthusiasm: he's on my list, too. Bu
By now the sweepers in awards season would be getting really annoying if most of them weren't such terrific, deserving performances. I'm on consensus this year I guess. I definitely don't wanna quibble with the Christoph Waltz enthusiasm: he's on my list, too. Bu
t it was interesting that on a second viewing of Inglourious Basterds he didn't dominate the film for me as much. This is not to say that the performance is lesser than I at first supposed. It's just different. He's very much part of the ensemble, and my favorite thing about the performance, as I indicated in the write up is all the facetious diplomacy. You see, everyone sharing the scene with him realizes who's in control... and I mean both the actors and their characters. But even though Waltz is holding the reigns, it's this intensely dominating connection to the other actors that makes this less a show-off vanity turn and more of a film-lifting contribution.
SONG
Went a little Crazy Heart crazy. Yet I still don't love the film. If this film had only been the musical performances, with the movie just following Bridges who can give you every detail of Bad Blake's life while just hitting these dive bars and singing, I might have loved it. It's the rest of the movie I didn't care for, a story I've heard a hundred times and one that's usually told with a bit less repetition. But I love Bridges up there singing those songs like it's as natural and familiar to him as any bodily function. He's been singing them his whole life... or at least Bad Blake has. Same difference.
Went a little Crazy Heart crazy. Yet I still don't love the film. If this film had only been the musical performances, with the movie just following Bridges who can give you every detail of Bad Blake's life while just hitting these dive bars and singing, I might have loved it. It's the rest of the movie I didn't care for, a story I've heard a hundred times and one that's usually told with a bit less repetition. But I love Bridges up there singing those songs like it's as natural and familiar to him as any bodily function. He's been singing them his whole life... or at least Bad Blake has. Same difference.
DIRECTOR
I'm still weighing the pros and cons of 2009 but one thing I absolutely loved about the film year was the diversity of voices. Even if "The Year of the Woman Director" was a bit reductive sounding -- does that mean they're not allowed to direct next year? -- it wasn't only the justly lauded Kathryn Bigelow (The Sexy Locker!) who was working wonders. Jane Campion returned to the silver screen with none of her considerable transporting skill and visual sensitivity diminished. I can't wait to see Bright Star again (out on DVD!).
I'm still weighing the pros and cons of 2009 but one thing I absolutely loved about the film year was the diversity of voices. Even if "The Year of the Woman Director" was a bit reductive sounding -- does that mean they're not allowed to direct next year? -- it wasn't only the justly lauded Kathryn Bigelow (The Sexy Locker!) who was working wonders. Jane Campion returned to the silver screen with none of her considerable transporting skill and visual sensitivity diminished. I can't wait to see Bright Star again (out on DVD!).
My favorite directorial achievements of the year, all 12 of them, represented a wide swath of voices, nationalities and types. People are calling James Cameron "King of the World" again. And even though Avatar did earn him the title (again), there's room at the cinema for multiple royals. Don't you think?
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