movie Glossary
Give Me Some Feedback
Whenever an inexperienced or reluctant public speaker steps up to the microphone, he is greeted with a shrill blast of feedback when he begins to speak. BOBBY SKAFISH, Chicago, IL
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HOLLYWOOD — "The Hurt Locker," a film that was made with little cash but limitless willpower, defeated the highest-grossing film in history and won the best picture Oscar here Sunday night. The director of the spine-chilling war drama, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to ever win the best director Oscar. James Cameron, director of "Avatar" — and her former husband — cried all the way to the bank.
Live-tweeted from Los Angeles: 10:06 -- The Oscar acceptance speech the Academy refused to televise: http://j.mp/bwA1yo 9:55 -- Shortest Oscar story in history: ( ! > $ ) 9:52 -- http://twitpic.com/17b5ry - I would like to thank the Academy for getting me 6,575 new followers on twitter. And my drama coach, of course 9:46 -- The Dude Aboded.
For many years George Penacchio of KABC and I co-hosted the Oscar Night red carpet interviews for the ABC owned & operated stations. It was fun. It's the one night in a year of dreaded red carpet gauntlets that stars actually seem to enjoy.
Alice in Wonderland (PG)
As a young reader, I found Alice in Wonderland creepy and rather distasteful. Alice's adventures played like a series of encounters with characters whose purpose was to tease, puzzle and torment her. Few children would want to go to wonderland, and none would want to stay. The problem may be that I encountered the book too young and was put off by the alarming John Tenniel illustrations. Why did Alice have such deep, dark eye sockets? Why couldn't Wonderland be cozy like the world of Pooh? Watching the 1951 Disney film, I feared the Cheshire Cat was about to tell me something I didn't want to know.
LOS ANGELES -- I wonder what this might mean. "Precious" did about as well as it possibly could have Friday might at the Independent Spirit Awards. It won for best picture, best actress (Gabourey Sidibe), best supporting actress (Mo'Nique), best director (Lee Daniels) and best first screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher). Supporting actor Lenny Kravitz was in the house, but couldn't win because he wasn't nominated.
Dear Readers: Most web sites generate less income than they cost to maintain. Mine is no exception. Because I want to preserve free access to the site, I've come up with an idea I'd like to run by you. I'm announcing The Ebert Club, which will offer a group of additional attractions and conveniences for members.
Pink Floyd: The Wall (R) (1982)
The rock opera "Pink Floyd the Wall," first performed in 1978, came at a time when some rock artists were taking themselves very seriously indeed. While the Beatles and Stones had recorded stand-alone songs or themed albums at the most, The Who produced "Tommy" in 1969 and "Quadrophenia" in 1973. David Bowie and Genesis followed, and "Pink Floyd the Wall" essentially brought a close to that chapter.
Q. In "Shutter Island" I noticed something odd. About mid-way through the movie, the Leo DiCaprio character is interviewing a female patient. His partner Chuck gives her a glass of water. At first she only pantomimes drinking the water, then in the next shot you see her putting down an empty glass. When at last she leaves the table, the glass is shown half full.
After I lost my speaking voice, everybody thought they had this brilliant idea. "Hey! Why don't you just take your voice from your old shows and put it on a computer?" Sounded good to me.
Jayne Mansfield, who was not a dumb blond, spent most of her adult life in the service of that image. She was so successful that today, as she lies dead in New Orleans, there is very little to say about her that is not the invention of a press agent.
What does Variety -- once known as "The Showbiz Bible" -- think it has to offer readers? After Monday's news that they've jettisoned (what's the reverse of "ankled"? I forget...) longtime film critic Todd McCarthy, whose name had become synonymous with Variety even before the publication's reviews had actual bylines, I don't see much future in the once-essential trade paper. Lay off the people who are your reputation, your authority, your influence, and what's left? Nothing. There will still be a batch of web and paper pages legally entitled to call itself "Variety," but so what? It's like one of those bands that tours under a once-famous name without actually offering the work of any of the names that made it what it was. How much is that worth to you right now? And the Muriel™ for the Oscar™ for Best Picture goes to...How Bigelow delivers more bang for your buck Young Haven Hamilton: A Poem by Henry Gibson Oh dear, who's killed film criticism this week? Artifice and reality: Mean Streets to Shutter Island The Ultimate Movie Metaphor The Ghost Writer: Polanski was here Face/Off: Avatar The Art of Screenwriting Collaboration Spoilers: Linus, Lucy, Charles M. Schulz and Charles Foster Kane One shot: The Old Spice Manmercial Shhhhhhhhutter up, critics! 100 Ways to Love a Cat: Way 34 Is reality off-limits in American political reporting? Really cool 3-D, 1936-style...
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The Opening Shots Project Index
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I flew home from the Oscars to find half a dozen e-mails awaiting with the same unbelievable message: Variety had fired its chief film critic, Todd McCarthy. Its spokesman was hopeful Todd and its chief theater critic, David Rooney, who was also fired, could continue to review for the paper on a free lance basis. In other words, Variety was hopeful that without a regular pay check, McCarthy would put his life on hold to do a full-time job on a piecemeal basis.
"Nobody on the web is has figured out how to make any money," I said one day before a screening at the Sundance Film Festival. I was talking to another movie critic whose reviews were also online. "My wife has," said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw a robust man in a ski sweater who seemed to be bursting with things to tell me.
Sometimes in the noise of the news there will be a single item that pops out with clarity. That happened when I heard about Tracy, California, which is charging $300 every time the fire department answers an emergency call that doesn't involve a fire. That summons up not only the prospect of little Susie's kitten being left to die up in the tree, but also of her dad who has just collapsed with an asthma attack. One citizen said if her husband had a heart attack, she'd set her kitchen table on fire to dodge the fee.
• Michael Mirasol, ManilaPost World War II British Cinema was one of the richest periods in film history. Finally free from budget and stylistic constraints saddled during wartime, some of the greatest filmmaking talent the filmdom had arisen. John and Roy Boulting, David Lean, Laurence Olivier, and Carol Reed were just a few of the notables whose directorial prowess had struck the scene. But a pair which was the period's most prolific was Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; The Archers.
"Wait until you see the rest of my forest," says Aisling, before she leads Brendan to the top of an oak tree. That remark by a guardian of the forest describes "Brendan and the Secret of Kells." This deceptively simple story of a young Irish monk has hidden dimensions beneath its lush, exuberant visuals. To praise its beauty alone becomes an understatement.
thumbs
Linked here are reviews in recent months for which I wrote either 4 star or 3.5 star reviews. What does Two Thumbs Up mean in this context? It signifies that I believe these films are worth going out of your way to see, or that you might rent them, add them to your Netflix, Blockbuster or TiVo queues, or if they are telecast record them.
Gathered here in one convenient place are my recent reviews that awarded films Zero Stars, One-half Star, One Star, and One-and-a-half Stars. These are, generally speaking to be avoided. Sometimes I hear from readers who confess they are in the mood to watch a really bad movie on some form of video. If you are sincere, be sure to know what you're getting: A really bad movie.
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