Awards Daily

Thanks to reader A.J. who alerted us to this Slash Film post.

Just posted at InContention.

Will it be good Jim Brooks or bad Jim Brooks? ¬†I hope it’s good Jim Brooks. Good Jim Brooks for me is Terms of Endearment, The Simpsons, As Good as it Gets and Broadcast News. Broadcast News is probably my favorite, even still (“I am singing and reading BOTH”). Bad Jim Brooks is Spanglish and I’ll Do Anything.

24 hours ago the first reviews for Eat Pray Love trickled in from sources we don’t usually reward with main page quotes. As the second wave of reviews wash ashore this morning, seems appropriate to spotlight another more important voice of support. A.O. Scott at the New York Times shows he gets the groove of the movie’s intentions right up front. Not only its own modest internal meaning. But in terms of a balanced multiplex menu, the meaning and value this type of movie brings to those who “want to go to there.”

The double standard in Hollywood may be stronger than ever. Men are free to pursue all kinds of adventures, while women are expected to pursue men. In a typical big-studio romantic comedy the heroine’s professional ambition may not always be an insurmountable obstacle to matrimony, but her true fulfillment — not just her presumed happiness but also the completion of her identity — will come only at the altar.

This paradigm is, of course, much older than the movies, but it can be refreshing, now and then, to see something different in the multiplex: a movie that takes seriously (or for that matter has fun with) a woman’s autonomy, her creativity, her desire for something other than a mate.

(more…)

Erik Childress over at Cinematical has done the brave thing and decided to rank the current Best Pic contenders. This isn’t a practice we recommend because there is just no way to tell what films will emerge, really, out of Toronto, Venice or the end of the year’s last gasp. Childress knows this and makes an attempt to actually give a real reading of what’s been seen thus far and what might get some attention later. ¬†Read Childress’ full piece, but here are his rankings. I have a few bones to pick with this, which I’ll do after the cut.

1. Inception – The frontrunner until someone starts creating a moronic backlash.
2. Toy Story 3 – Highest grossing film of the year so far. 2nd highest animated of all-time.
3. The Kids are All Right – The indie film of the moment that audiences and critics are digging.
4. Shutter Island – Should have been in the ten last year.
5. Winter’s Bone – Much better than the #3 film. Lead Actress talk may take front and center.
6. Get Low – If Crazy Heart was considered a contender, then this has to be.
7. Never Let Me Go – The trailer may as well just announce its already been nominated.
8. The Social Network – 10 nominations for Fincher’s last film. And it kinda sucked.
9. Somewhere – Sofia Coppola back in Lost In Translation territory?
10. Miral – If Focus didn’t already have two films on the list, I may have neglected Weinstein’s chances.

(more…)

Two critics from Florida break out of the gate with early reviews for Eat Pray Love. We’ve never featured either of these guys, and the only reason I’m doing so now is because they’re the first to jump the gun. Two moderate thumbs up, one thumb a bit more wobbly than the other. Both agree that work from Julia Roberts and Robert Richardson is a pleasure to watch.

(75) — Steve Persall, St Petersberg Times: Roberts makes it easy, summoning every ounce of acting talent sidelined by motherhood and projects beneath her for years. This isn’t a showy performance but one with subtle reactions to dramatic twists and genuine wonder at what her character discovers. Roberts still flashes that dazzling smile at precisely the right moments to endear but those moments are effectively chosen. No doubt it will be remembered in awards season.

Director Ryan Murphy (TV’s Glee) needs only to follow his star while cinematographer Robert Richardson locks up his seventh Oscar nomination by keeping the exotic locales in focus…

Eat Pray Love is femme filmmaking at its femmiest, yet fits nicely alongside other movies men don’t usually confess to liking and women love. Sometimes “the sweetness of doing nothing” except traveling the world, finding yourself and pigging out is a seductive idea. (B)

Somewhat less seduced is the critic from Orlando.

(63) — Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The generations of American women who have grown up with, identified with and love Julia Roberts may relish her star turn in Eat Pray Love, one woman‚Äôs journey in search of herself and other things.

(more…)

Based on the 1985 film “Blood Simple” by the Coen Brothers, the historical thriller changes the Coens’ backdrop from a small Texas town to a small Chinese town in the Gansu province, but keep the plot intact: a jealous husband hires a professional to kill his adulterous wife and her lover. Naturally, things go awry and get bloody fast.

Zhang’s version stars Sun Honglei and Ni Dahong, and also features a duo of heavily caricatured fools for comic relief. Having made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival, the Sony Pictures Classic release opens in limited release in the U.S. on Sept. 3.
(WSJ via LivingInCinema)

Continuing to showcase The American as a vintage spy thriller, this featurette maintains the same gloss of prestige that we’ve seen carried through from the retro poster design. Even the timbre of the narration reminds me of the preview voice-overs intoned for esteemed espionage classics like Topaz and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (The American’s direct ancestor).

Generation Z movie. Pretty soon they’re going to have to start back at A. This film was written by the same author who wrote the book, Galt Niederhoffer, a woman producer and novelist.

ONTD graciously posted the photos of the upcoming hottie hopefuls for Oscar 2010. There is nothing quite like the taste of fresh young meat, is there? Just kidding. It is funny how every year they bring out another slate and they really do serve them up like fresh meat, don’t they? How else to capture the attention of an attention-deficit riddled culture? No one had to bring sexy back. It’s here and it’s here to stay.

Nonetheless, brushing aside the need to sell the fresh meat, these actresses really have shown that they have the stuff to really make it. And with no further ado, the Oscar Hotties of 2010, female.

From W Magazine—after the cut.

(more…)

Adrien Brody is currently shooting Detachment in New York (Queens and Long Island), a film that chronicles the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students as told through the eye of a substitute teacher. Brody stars opposite Marcia Gay Harden, red hot Christina Hendricks, William Peterson, Bryan Cranston, Tim Blake Nelson, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner and James Caan. I feel an ensemble nod coming on.

The director is Tony Kaye (American History X). Production began on July 25, 2010.

Brody will play the lucky substitute. IMDb has Detachment releasing in 2011.