Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Counting Sheep: 8 of them?!

So, I have actually been restraining myself! It's been just over 12 hours without me ranting on about this morning's Oscar nominations. Ok, that's not QUITE true, as I had thrown something together arond 8 this morning and then promptly lost it before saving. It wasn't too coherent anyway.

First, the Happy Dance for Terrance Howard ("Hustle and Flow")! He was fantastic and carried the entire film. The only thing that would have made it better was if one of the woman in the film had been nom'ed in the supporting category. I also can't wait to see how the producers deal with performing the song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"! Yeah, Debbie Allen, show us!

The second Happy Dance is for William Hurt ("A History of Violence"). He nearly stole that entire film with only a 7 minute scene and an eye roll! Loved him and L O V E D the film!

So. "Brokeback Mountain," which is being regarded as a 'minimalist masterpiece,' gets EIGHT nominations?! That seems like a bit of over hype to me. I LIKED it, but... The noms for "Capote" and "Crash" were a wee bit surprising. "Good Night and Good Luck" received exactly the right nominations! LOVED it! But they all will watch "BBM" sweep past them.

Now, "Munich." I don't even know WHAT it is doing in any of its FIVE categories! Maybe film editing. Maybe. But Spielberg had obviously lost, or at least handed over control of a third of the film to Tony Kushner. As far as I am concerned, it took up the valuable slot that could have been occupied by "A History of Violence." But I will have to take some comfort in that ignoring Cronenberg will only make him more of a cult figure!

"Pride and Prejudice"? Hmmm. It was NICE, but four noms seem a bit over done for something that is NICE. I do think that Kiera Knightley will wear something lovely. I hope. Her nomination occupies Naomi Watts' place for "King Kong" and for that, "P&P" can't be forgiven!

And, I guess so that I can justify my snark, I will have to go see "Walk the Line," which I have less than no interest in. And I need to catch two of the documentaries, if possible. I haven't seen ANY of the foreign language flicks and probably won't get the chance (though I did let "Paradise Now!" pass by).

CLICK HERE for more...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Dinner Tonight!!!


JARDINIERE!!!! YUMMMMMMM!!

Maxxxxx says, "Wheeeeeeee!"

CLICK HERE for more...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

The New Syriana Geisha

"The New World" is Terrance Malik's latest piece of cinematic poetry. The film is so lyrically filmed, it is almost hallucinogenic. It is art. One could find fault in some of the continuity and contradictions in the script, but that would be like faulting a few brushstrokes on a master's canvas. I was swept away by almost all of it. The denouement during the last 30 minutes (after the first two hours) was a bit dull, but that was the point of it. But at least that was when Christian Bale entered the film, so it was still pretty. :)
Maxxxxx gives it a soft clucking and a small, peaceful "whoooo!"

"Syriana" on the other hand, is not so pretty to look at, and is far from poetic. I had a really difficult time following this. It is written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who wrote "Traffic" a couple of years ago. "Syriana" carries the same plot structure as "Traffic" and focuses on oil cartels, including ALL THE POSSIBLE PEOPLE who are involved in such business. I simply am not familiar enough with the language of the oil business, and the government involvement in such, to actually keep track of everything that was going on. I was able to appreciate George Clooney's film-stealing performance though! Jeffrey Wright is just as great, but in a much less flashier role than Clooney's tortured CIA agent. On the other hand, I don't know what Matt Damon was doing in this.
Maxxxxx says, "What! What!"

And finally, a particularly delicious find. The 60's had "The Valley of the Dolls." The 70's had too much camp to mention ("Mame" anyone?). The 80's had "Mommie Dearest." The 90's had "Showgirls." Well, I think that the 2000's has "Memoirs of a Geisha"! I saw this immediately after "The New World" so perhaps it isn't fair. However, the director, Rob Marshall ("Chicago"), has asked these actresses to pull out all the stops in portraying what may be a lost art: being ultra-competitive geishas! I might also be a bit harsh, in that the vast majority of the cast is performing in a second language, if not phonetically at times. The kimonos are STUNNING (by Colleen Atwood) and some of the music is lovely (John Williams). But a cat fight in silk is still a cat fight!
Maxxxxx gives it his piercing rape-whistle-like scream!

CLICK HERE for more...

Friday, January 20, 2006

The First Case of Bird Flu in the U.S.


Maxxxxx is pretty upset about this!!

CLICK HERE for more...

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Golden Goblets, er, Globes


As MUCH as I tried to resist, I will give in to comment upon Sunday's Golden Globes. First of all, I think they double the categories (Drama and Comedy/Musical, Motion Pictures and Television) just to get MORE cool swag, parties and screeners from the nominated studios. But, FINE, I'll just go with what the Globes did.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- I LIKED "Brokeback Mountain," but I LOVED "A History of Violence" and "Good Night and Good Luck." Also, "The Constant Gardener" was another step for director Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") to becoming a true auteur! I would rank "Brokeback Mountain" with "Match Point" myself.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

*FELICITY HUFFMAN - TRANSAMERICA -- Hands down, a great performance!


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
*PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - CAPOTE -- Again, a great performance!! Heath Ledger does the 'internal burning' thing quite well. David Strathairn had the benefit of Edward R. Murrow's truly brilliant speeches. Russell Crowe was quite good, but the character is sort of standard. Terrence Howard should have been in the musical category, where he should have WON! Howard gives the most realistic and untheatrical performance of this entire group.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*WALK THE LINE -- Ok. I must confess: I haven't seen this. I saw the other four, however. "The Producers" IS Musical AND Comedy! "Mrs. Henderson Presents" produced a bunch of laughs from me. I suppose you could consider "Pride & Prejudice" a comedy. I guess. "The Squid and the Whale" was not funny, nor musical. It was just twisted and uncomfortable. I don't know why or how it made the cut here.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*REESE WITHERSPOON - WALK THE LINE -- No, I haven't seen it. But I DO think she is a good actress. But is she better than Dame Judi Dench and Laura Linney? Uh, I don't think so. I don't why Keira Knightley is here. I haven't seen "The Family Stone."

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*JOAQUIN PHOENIX - WALK THE LINE -- So, I am beginning to think that "Hustle and Flow" was NOT in this category so "Walk the Line" could claim three top awards, for some unknown reason. Johnny Depp is a brilliant actor. Nathan Lane works his ass off. Jeff Daniels is in the wrong category, if he is to be nominated at all. Haven't seen "The Matador" (and I'm not going to) or "Breakfast on Pluto" (don't want to, but probably will see it). Steve Carrell should have been in this category for "The 40 Year Old Virgin."

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
*PARADISE NOW (PALESTINE) -- I just couldn't bring myself to seeing this. I LOVED "Kung Fu Hustle," but the BEST Foreing Language film of the year, if not one of the BEST over all, was "The Best of Youth" (Italy) which wasn't even nominated. Poop on the Globes for that!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
*RACHEL WEISZ - THE CONSTANT GARDENER -- Quite good, though Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain") was incredible! Scarlett Johansson will have a "role of a lifetime" moment someday, so she can wait. I didn't see the other two: "In Her Shoes" (Shirley MacLaine) or "North Country" (Frances McDormand). Oh, and why aren't there double categories in support roles? Hmmmm?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
*GEORGE CLOONEY - SYRIANA -- Agreed, though I would have been happy with any of these guys.





BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
*ANG LEE - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- Well, ok, I guess, since he made a 'gay cowboy movie' palatable to the general audience. However, George Clooney did a visually stunning job with "Good Night, and Good Luck." Peter Jackson helmed the BIGGEST and most complicated movie of the year with "King Kong", and STILL made me choke up more than I did in "Brokeback Mountain." Woody Allen ("Match Point") adn Gernando Meirelles ("The Constant Gardener") are auteurs and above this kind of thing. David Cronenberg should have been in this category, instead of Speilberg!

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
*LARRY McMURTRY & DIANA OSSANA - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- They stretched a short story to something full length. So good for them.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
*JOHN WILLIAMS - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA -- This was the only one out of the five that I did not see! But he is a great composer, so he gets the benefit of the doubt.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
*"A LOVE THAT WILL NEVER GROW OLD" - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- eh, ok. I think 'Best Song' is a silly category to begin with.

I'm going to skip through the television categories as I don't really watch that much. Well, of this stuff anyway. "Trash TV" doesn't have it's own category. :(

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA

*LOST (ABC) -- God yes!! I continue to be stunned by it!



BEST TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) -- Tough one, this. I LOVE my DH fix every Sunday night! BUT is it better than "Curb...?" It is NOT better than "Arrested Development" which wasn't even nominated.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*MARY-LOUISE PARKER - WEEDS -- I've only seen one episode of "Weeds" and would have to agree that she should have beat the four "Desperate Housewives."

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
*STEVE CARELL - THE OFFICE -- Wrong. Though it makes up for his snub from the motion picture section. My money was on Jason Lee ("My Name is Earl"), and would have been thrilled for Zach Braff "Scrubs" or Larry David "Curb..."

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
*SANDRA OH - GREY'S ANATOMY -- I. Love. Her.

CLICK HERE for more...

Friday, January 13, 2006

"Lestat" a new musical (yes, a musical, but without a "!" in the title)


Well. San Francisco has the mixed blessing of seeing "Lestat" in it's pre-Broadway incarnation. It's the new Elton John musical, by the way. First, the positives: The voices of the entire cast were outstanding! Carolee Carmello is especially effective as Lestat's mother, Gabrielle. She reminded me of a young Betty Buckley. Allison Fischer also steals the show as Claudia, in doing basically a "Bad Seed" imitation. It doesn't fit at ALL with the production, but it was entertaining as she pops up at around the 2 hour mark. (FYI: she is 16, playing a 10 year old, who is actually only 5 years old in the book. Anyway...)

Now, the rest of the production. It is sort of hard to figure out where to start. However, one can begin with the material. Elton John's score is dull. There are a couple of numbers that almost get you involved, however running at 2 hours and 40 minutes, there's got to be something MORE to keep you going! What the score initially lacks is the "I want" song. What does Lestat want? There are also lost opportunities for Lestat and his supporting cast, i.e. a duet for him and Nicholas would have been lovely, as well as some sort of trio for Lestat, Luis and Claudia. As it is now, each character has something of a moment, but nothing that brings them together, with the exception of a particularly Disney-like finale. And for what is Lestat's show, he is not given the kind of material to make it his own. Which leads us to...

Lestat is performed by Hugh Panaro. He is an 'Andrew Lloyd Webber tenor' as can be ascertained by his bio. He has a great voice. However, he just doesn't seem to know how to play Lestat. His technique is so wooden, it is nearly melodramatic, which is in direct contrast with the very POP music that he needs to sing. He also does not seem to form any kind of connection with anyone, with the possible exception of Gabrielle. And he has an annoying habit of upstaging the supporting cast. tsk, tsk. Why hasn't the director helped him? Which leads us to...

The director, Robert Jess Roth. He directed the mind numbingly successful "Beauty and the Beast," but is more notorious for having been the director who was fired from the original production of Disney's/Elton John's "Aida" in Atlanta. I can sort of see why. Firstly, the pacing is just DEADLY at times, and most unfortunately, especially in the second act. He hasn't seemed to pull Linda Woolverton's book and Elton John's score and the production design together without making cuts and concessions. I sort of got the feeling that Roth said "Yes" to everything that anyone on his production team wanted. There is not feeling of guidance, aka direction for the production. It just keeps slugging along.

That said, the costumes by Susan Hilferty ("Wicked"), wigs by Tom Watson ("Wicked" again) and sets by Derek McLane ("I Am My Own Wife") are all quite effective, especially in presenting the passing of 200 years. The 'Visual Concept Design' (aka projections) by David McKean ("MirrorMask") and lighting by Kenneth Posner (again, "Wicked") are a bit overdone. I love McKean's work, but it seemed that the production relied too heavily on the projections at key moments, i.e. whenever someone was sucking someone else's blood. Also, the constant intertitles projecting Lestat's narration was annoying, and it was an obvious way to kill time for another costume change. And what might work cinematically, is just a bit confusing on stage as one is trying to concentrate on this really complicated story while also watching some truly surreal art behind the performers. Again, it is as if Roth said 'yes' to everything.

But seeing as this is its first stop (next stop: Boston), perhaps this is how Roth works: Throw EVERYTHING in and we'll start cutting. I'm just not sure that cutting is going to help. He needs to get John and Bernie Taupin (lyrics) back in there and write stuff for LESTAT!! It is HIS show! And start forgetting about being so slavishly tied to Anne Rice's books (the show includes both "Interview with a Vampire" and "Lestat").

CLICK HERE for more...

Sunday, January 01, 2006

2005: Gone! 2006: Coming!

So, instead of dwelling on the past, since "Best Of"s also entails remembering the "Worst Of"s, I choose to look forward to what 2006 might bring me, or what I will bring to it.

1) Atlanta beckons.
2) As well as a dog named Humphrey Bonegart. Atlanta will probably always have homes to buy! Humphrey Bonegart will probably, or I should say, hopefully be adopted soon.

3) Until such a time that a dog adoption is possible for me, I will volunteer at San Francisco's Animal Care and Control.
4) Swimming lessons. To prepare for...
5) A dream vacation to Hawaii with my friend Gretchen.
6) A weekend in Las Vegas with my friend Stephen (aka Maestas).
7) 'Softer' shock absorbers for my Mini.
8) Film festivals!
9) Perhaps a 'special friend' will become something 'more.' (no pic!)
10) No more surgery. Easier chemo, instead.

CLICK HERE for more...