The week in film

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been catching up with homework, so the blog hasn't been updated in quite a while. Because of this, what I'm going to do today is summarize what's been happening in the movie community in this past week.

-The National Board of Review announces its winners! This critics association is widely considered the first real indicator of the Academy Awards. It has a history of strong correlation with the Oscars, while it's true that they are more risky in chosing winners than the Academy. Who is the big winner this year? Up in the Air, for sure. The film earns the first mention of the season in the Best Picture category, and added to the impressive reviews and buzz make it a lock to receive a nomination in the morning of February the 12^th. George Clooney is poised to attend the Kodak Theater as a nominee again, and Anna Kendrik, mostly unknown for the most of us, looks likely to earn her first nomination. Her performance has been raved all around, so this choice is as pleasing as it gets.

Carey Mulligan, who has been tipped for Oscar since the season started, is named Best Actress, making her the likely owner of the newcomer spot. The Academy has always loved to give recognition to unknown stars who give a career turning performance (Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone or Saoirse Ronan in Atonement). Woody Harrelson, once a movie star, makes his comeback this year, with a strong turn in the compelling film The Messenger. Critics have been hailing Harrelson's performance for months now, but with such strong players like Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), Alfred Molina (An Education) or Stanly Tuccy (The Lovely Bones), he isn't secured the spot.

Lots of love for (500) Days of Summer, Invictus ( can Eastwood repeat the story a la “Million Dollar Baby”?), The Hurt Locker or Up, and almost none for Precious, which doesn't make the top ten and only earns a mention for her newcomer star, Gabourey Sabide. Can awards turn on Precious? We don't think so, but we don't know.

- The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association gives out its prizes: Once precursors start rolling in, there's no stop until The Golden Globes let us know their nominees. The DC Critics Association look a lot like the National Board of Review this year. “Up in the Air” scores big again, and it's looking very powerful at this point. Carey Mulligan also repeats placement and is a treat to other big names such as Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren.

Christopher Waltz snags the Supporting Actor award for his great turn in Tarantino's masterpiece “Inglorious Basterds”. He has been considered a contender since the film was shown at The Cannes Film Festival, and many critics think he is the one to beat at the Oscars. We'll have to wait and see.

Precious is given some love, and its two stars, Mo'nique and Gabourey get accolades. Mo'nique, as we've commented earlier, is said to be impressive in the film, so the Oscar doesn't seem too far fetched.

It's important to say that “Nine” or “The Lovely Bones” are almost nowhere to be seen. Nine gets a mention in the Art Direction Category, but with such a group of actors, it's weird that it hasn't been single out as the best ensemble by this associations. Did someone say Memoirs of a Geisha?

As for The Lovely Bones, the film has been receiving really bad reviews from most of the critics who have been able to seen the film. There are those who are raving the film too, but they are alone in this one. We'll have to wait and see how the Academy reacts to the story of a murdered child.

- The music theme for the upcoming fantasy film Avatar is unveiled: “I see you” is the title of the song which will be playing over the credits on James Cameron much anticipated movie “Avatar”. The tune, sung with power by the super talented Leona Lewis, has already divided critics and movie fans. There are those who think it's a repeat of Celine Dion's “My Heart Will go on”, calling the song sappy, sacarine or ear damaging indulcing. Others say it's an epic song, sang with great emotion by Lewis, and that it was time that a big movie included a big scaled theme, like Titanic itself or Pearl Harbor. Let's see if the Academy likes it and gives Leona Lewis the chance to perform on the ceremony. That would be something epic.

- The Blind Side kicks “New Moon” out of the top spot at the American Box Office: Sandra Bullocks film has at last dethroned the lame girl meets vampires and werewolves movie. The sports drama is truly the sleeper of the year, as we hinted earlier. It has made 130 million dollars in USA alone, and is on its way to earn 150 million. Great to see Sandra Bullock enjoying success once again. The other big movie of the weekend has been “The Princess and the Frog”, which in two weeks has cashed in 2 millions dollars at only two theaters. With numbers like that on limited release, Disney may have a really big winner in this holiday season, when the movie finally opens nationwide. The success of this film would mean that there is still hope for 2-D animation, so from here we hope it delivers at the Box Office.

Up and Coraline lead Annie Nominations

The Annie Awards are the most important in the field of animation. Movies like “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”, “Mulan”, “The Beauty and the Beast” or “The Lion King” have been nominated along the years, some of then have even won. Even if animated movies have their own categories in the Academy Awards, since “The Beauty and the Beast” earned a nomination in 1992 for Best Picture, there's been an strong campaign to push this type of films to get that kind of recognition, more prominently in this last years. Pixar films like “Wall-E” or “Ratauille” have ended among the best reviewed movies of the year, and many, many, film critics thought they were deserving of the highest honor. Maybe this year, with the Best Picture field opened for ten contenders, we could see “Up”or “Coraline” in that category. Here you can check out the nominations.

It was obvious that Pixar's “Up” was going to be one of the most nominated films. This heartbreaking tale of an old man and a young boy who go on a journey to exotic places but more importantly, a journey to the past and the long lasting memories, is one of the best pictures of the year for sure, and has been raved all around the globe. Even if the story alone justifies the eight nominations, the detail and spectacular computer rendering make them more deserved.

That “Coraline” is tied with “Up” for most nominations is a bit of a surprise. The movie, an stop motion work directed by Henry Selick, the maker behind the cult classic “Nightmare before Christmas”, has been very well received by critics, who admire the adult approach to Neil Gaimans novel. Expertly done and filled with enchanting images, audiences haven't respond as well as critics if you look at its American Box Office. With 75 millions dollars, which is not a small feat this days, the movie was expected to do much better. Box Office, even if it shouldn't be relevant come awards time, is very important, because Hollywood prefers to reward big sellers that little or independent movies. Nice to see the support from the Annie's.

“The Princess and the Frog” snags 5 nominations. The last effort from Disney Studios to try to save traditional animation seems to be paying off. We'll have to wait and see until it opens nationwide all over the USA to know if people are won over by the story of a black princess who is turned into a frog after kissing a toad. The story, set in the magical and jazzy city of New Orleans, has already earned raves from the top critics.

If there is one disappointment we have to single out, that would be “A Christmas Carol”. The Robert Zemeckis adaptation, which we have discussed earlier, has not been nominated in any category, which is quite surprising, as if it's true that critics haven't liked the way the story is put on screen, most of them have been really kind in their comments about the special effects and the animation effort put on the film. The movie could very well end out of the Animation Category at the Academy Awards when they announce their nominations on February 12th, which can be considered a total disaster.

The bets are on. Can you make yours?

Twilight remains on top, The Blind Side hits 100 million

Another weekend has gone by, and it's time to have a look at the US Box Office. As expected, “Twilight: New Moon”, the second installment in the hysteria inducing saga, remains on top, adding almost 43 million dollars, making its total after 14 days 230 million dollars. It goes down 70% in this second weekend, even if that's normal in blockbusters which open to huge numbers. The movie, which hasn't been perceived has an improvement over the first part, has many critics and moviegoers scratching their their heads, as they don't understand what it is that makes this film such a hit. What it is for sure is that "Twilight," regardless of its quality, proves that there are still movies than can appeal to audiences and make movie-going a phenomenon.

Maybe the most surprising thing at the Box Office this weekend is the second position of Sandra Bullock's drama “The Blind Side”. With a budget of 29 millions dollars, it passed the 100 million mark this weekend, making it the first drama of 2009 to do so. It's on its way to cross 150m, and maybe more. Sandra Bullock, a loved by the audience star, has been around for more than twenty years, but rarely has she got two box office hits like this years “The Proposal” or “The Blind Side”. Many are calling the movie the “sleeper” of 2009, a movie that is under the radar but once released goes on to make an spectacular Box Office.

Other releases like “Old Dogs” or “Ninja Assassin” don't fare as well, with the first one cashing in 16 million dollars and the second one 13. Not that anyone pictured them as Box Office hits, but maybe a little bit more was expected from both of them, as the first stars two of Hollywoods best known stars, Robin Williams and John Travolta. "Ninja Assassin" is the second feature of James Mcteigue, the director of “V for Vendetta”, a movie which has become a cult classic since its release in 2005.

“A Christmas Carol” surpasses the 100 million mark too, but with a budget of 200m, it's doubtful that it will get all it's money back, and “Planet 51”, the most expensive animation film done in Spain, gets a disappointing 10 million dollars from more than 3000 sites, making it a flop in the American market. With no interesting releases box office wise this upcoming weekend, we'll have to wait and see if someone can snag the top spot from “Twilight”.

Golde Satellite nominations announced

It's almost December, so that means there are only two months left until ballots are mailed out and the Academy of Motion Pictures announces the Oscar nominations. It's time for critics associations to judge what has been the very best of the year, and the first one to do so is The Golden Satellites. Here are the nominees in the main categories.

Nine leads the way with 9 nominations, and this could be an indicator of its chances at the Oscars.Nice to see Penelope Cruz nominated for what is said to be a cheeky and sexy role. Marion Cotillard, after taking home the Oscar two years ago for “La vie en rose”, could very well end up there again this year, as the early word says she is one of the highlights of the film. Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren or Judi Dench are nowhere to be seem, so their chances are reduced at this point.

Strong showing too of “Precious”, a film we have talked about earlier. It snags 5 nominations (Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay and Song), but Gabourey Sabide, who's been buzzed for her performance, has been let out, which is strange, since it looks like they really liked the movie. With plenty of precursors more to come, we don't think this means she's out of the race.

“Up in the air”, “The Hurt Locker”, “Up” or “An education” solidify their status of frontrunners, snagging quite a lot of nominations and securing their spot among the ten best pictures of the year. George Clooney, Jeremy Renner, Anna Kendrik, Carey Mulligan , Jason Reitman or Katherine Bigelow also gain a boost, and look like likely nominees, as Oscar Gurus have been predicting all season.

“Broken Embraces” earns two very useful nominations: Best Actrees for Penelope Cruz and Best Foreign Film. After the somewhat mixed reviews, it's nice to see americans love Almodovar, even if the movie itself has to compete with “The White Ribbon”, which won the Palme D'or in the last Cannes Festival, or “I killed my mother”, which has been received with raves.

Notably absent are “Avatar”, “The Lovely Bones” or “Invictus”. The reason is that this critics associations hasn't screened those films still, so we don't know how well they would have fared. “Avatar” would be for sure nominated for Visual Effects, Score and Song, and the other two we suspect would appear in many of the top categories.

So, here it is. The race has officially started, so now, relax and enjoy the awards madness.

Paranormal Activity: The horror picture of the year is here

Back in 1999, a little horror movie took the movie world by storm. It was called “The Blair Witch Project” and nobody had ever heard nothing about the Blair Witch story. Discovery Channel aired a documentary prior to the release of the film which shown how Burkittsville, a little town in the USA had always lived under the spell of a whitch who had been burned to death centuries ago. Three film students had wanted to do a class report on the woods of that village to try to discover the evil presence, but they were never seen again.

That is the premise of the film, a fake horror documentary with lots of shaky camera moving and spontaneous acting. Made with a budget of 20,000 dollars, the movie went on to make 140 millions dollar on the US Box Office alone, and a total 248 million dollar worldwide, making it the most profitable movie of all time. Furthermore, the movie was a never seen before phenomenon, with audiences going wild for it, and it started what we now call viral campaigning (fooling the audiences by introducing little glimpses in the web or on tv, making something fake look real, like what happened with the 2008 release “Cloverfield”).

Well, now in 2009, exactly ten years after the mentioned above movie, comes “Paranormal Activity”, which repeats more or less the same formula, with even more impressive results. The story tells the story of a young couple, Mika and Katie, who move into a suburban home but start feeling an unsettling presence, more prominently at night. They don't know if it is an evil presence, but they are sure they are not alone at their new house...

Filmed back in 2007, with a 15,000 dollar budget, first time director Oren Peli used his own house and a bunch of unexperienced actors to make the movie. After the good response in some Horror Festivals, the movie was finally picked up for release by Paramount, even giving the chills to a master like Steven Spielberg.

The audiences respond in the USA has been brutal. It has amassed more than 100 million dollars since it's release, making it the most profitable movie of all time, surpassing the previous owner of this distinction, The Blair Witch Project. It has also scared critics and all day people alike. Most movie critics don't hesitate on calling it one of the scariest movies of all time, and assuring the experience of watching it will leave you shacking.

Even if you can all see it in theaters in Spain as I write this, it's release has been quite peculiar: it's the first film to be released under demand. For it to be shown in our country, 200.000 people had to vote on the movie's official website. That number was surpassed weeks ago, so now, all you moviegoers, can run to the cinema and prepare to be very scared.

A Christimas Carol: A grand shallow spectacle?

Christmas is upon us, and it's that time of the year when the big hollywood studios unleash all their magical films, most of them aimed to please all the young audiences. One of the most beloved and successful of those films has to be the adaptation of Charles Dickens novel “A Christmas Carol”. The story of a miserly and cruel man with no heart has fascinated people of all ages, and it's been translated to the big screen many times, the most remembered by kids being Mickey's Christmas Carol, which told the story using traditional characters from the Disney universe like Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, Goofy or Daisy Duck.

Robert Zemeckis, director of some of the most inventive and heart touching movies of all time, like “Who framed Roger Rabbit”, “Forrest Gump” or “Back to the future”, brings us his own reinterpretation of the classic, using the revolutionary motion capture technique. This filming method , which he has explored to moderate success in his previous films (“The Polar Express” and “Beowulf”), uses a series of devices on the body of the actors which gather data about their facial movements, as well as body movement and gestures. All the information is sent to a computer and after a long and complicated treatment, the data is transformed into 3D images.

Even if Zemeckis has spent many years developing this technique, most of the critics aren't satisfied with the results. They all agree that the movie is a feast for the eyes; the views of London are spectacular and the detail is exquisite, but the bottom line is: there is no soul. Zemeckis, as they say, has tried so hard to make images as real as possible that he has forgotten to let the emotion flow. We don't feel the characters, and the experience, even if exhilarating, leaves us cold. There is also a big problem with the eyes, which was the main concern with “Polar Express” and “Beowulf”. You can't install devices on the eyes of the actors, so you have to recreate them in a computer. A person can communicate multiple emotions trough their eyes, but in “A Christmas Carol” they aren't real, they don't make us feel anything. An animated character looks at you and you feel nothing.

Greatly done but emotionally shallow they say, but as always, the public is the one who decides. In theaters everywhere now.

The "Precious" phenomenon

No other movie this season has kept people talking and buzzing as much as “Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire”, directed by Lee Daniels. From the day the film was shown as the Sundance Film Festival back in January (where it won the Audience Award, the Jury Prize and the Special Jury Prize), its popularity among critics, award watchers and moviegoers has sky rocketed.

Opening in smaller festivals live Sundance or Toronto is usually a big test for not too mainstream movies. On one hand, they need to be good or profitable to assure a distribution in American. On the other hand, if they are indeed great, they star generating buzz and gain that power that can give them the edge at the final stretch in awards season.

“Precious” is said to be this year's “Slumdog Millonaire”. The Danny Boyle's film opened in the Toronto Film Festival on September 2008, captivating both audiences and critics. From there the movie went on to being a global hit box-office wise; to sweeping in awards season, earning nine Academy Awards, and to being remembered as one of the most pleasing and satisfaying movies in quite some time. “Precious” is poised to do the same. It was received with an standing ovation in the Cannes Film Festival and it's already won audience and jury awards in the San Sebastian Film Festival, Dauville Film Festival and Stockholm Film Festival.

The story revolves around a young black girl, Precious, who has suffered miserably during her young life. Her mother beatens her; her father raped her whe she was little, and she is also poor, angry, illiterate and has nothing to fight for, nothing that matters.

Stand up comedian Mo-nique plays the brutal mother, and Gabourey Sabide plays the title character. Supporting roles are played by a de-glammed Mariah Carey or by the famous musician Lenny Kravitz. Oscar watchers predict Mo-nique is for sure going to be nominated and is a show-in for the win. Gabourey is also said to be the frontrunner at this point in the Best Actress Race. And even if it might sound surprising, many Oscar gurus are predicting the diva Mariah Carey to be nominated in the Supporting Actress category.

This is being called by many the best picture of the year, so it's a movie no one can miss.

Broken Embraces opens in New York to good but not great reviews

The ultimate offering of one of our best known directors, Pedro Almodovar, opened in New York City this past 20th of November, creating a lot of buzz, as the spanish director is one of the most venerated celebrities in the United States. Some critics had had the opportunity to screen the film back in October, in the New York Film Festival, or in the Cannes Film Festival in May, but most of them were attending the premiere not knowing what to expect: a movie of the depth and impact of "All about my mother" or "Talk to her", or a minor offering like "Bad Education".

Since the pairing of both Almodovar and Penélope Cruz turned out to be great with their last film together, "Volver", which earned the actress an Oscar nomination and respect in the Hollywood industry, expectations were really high, and the first reactions seem to be a mixed bag. The response is good, but far really enthusiastic.

Reviews basically single out the performance of Penélope Cruz, who is the "it" girl in Hollywood these days and has gain popularity after winning the Oscar last year for Woody Allen's latest "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". She is being called a contender in this years race for the prize for her performance in "Broken Embraces", but for that we'll have to wait to see how academy members respond to the film.

Reviewers also single out the way Almodovar makes a tribute to masters of cinema such as Alfred Hitchcock or Douglas Sirk, and how the movie is a collection of beautifull images crafted together by a person who loves cinema.

On the negative side, some critics seem to have a problem with the lenght of the film and the script, which is somehow dense and cold, not packing the emotional punch of Almodovar latest offerings.

All in all, the director is beloved in the USA and has a very large following there, so we'll have to wait and see the publics response when it opens wide in all the country, as it's only been given a limited release in two New York's City theatres at the moment.

Oscar Buzz

The Oscar season is in full bloom, and like every year, cinephiles, oscar watchers and critics are letting us know which films have the buzz and which don't stand a chance of getting the gold. Most of the films getting the heat have already opened, but some are still unseen.
Movies like "Precious", "The Hurt Locker", "Up in the air" or "An education" seem like a sure thing at this point of the race. Other hopefuls, like "Nine", "The Lovely Bones" or "Invictus" have began to screen to critics and producers, but we still have no word on them. We can't rule them out, but we don't know if they can meet the skyhigh expectations.

In the acting races, Meryl Streep is poised to earn her 16th nomination for playing Julia Child in "Julie and Julia", alongside Gabourey Sabide ("Precious") and Carey Mulligan ("An education"). The ensemble of "Nine" is the biggest doubt of the season: can Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz,Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench or Sophia Loren be good enough to get into the Oscar race? It would seem like it, but with no word out on the movie, we don't know if this is going to be Rob Marshall's "Chicago" or "Memoirs of a Geisha", wchich was a frontrunner for all Oscar season but crashed at the end.

As for the male categories, Morgan Freeman seems like the obvious choice, given that he plays Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwod's "Invictus". Other actors in the mix are Colin Firth for a "Single Man" (Copa Volpi in Venice Film Festival; George Clooney for "Up in the air"; Jeff Bridges, who returns to the game with "Crazy Heart", and of course the most talk about performance of the year, Christopher Waltz as Coronel Landa in the great "Inglorious Basterds"

In the technical categories, "Avatar" is ahead in predictions, even if we are still to see if James Cameron has delivered the film changing experience he has promised. Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Score and Song ("I see you", by Leona Lewis, a great vocalist who is aimed to repeat the success of Celine Dion's "My heart will go on") are in the bag.

There is still time for things to go upside down or stay like they are right now. Nominations will be announced on February the 12th, and before that precursors will tell us which movies were all hype and no substance, and which ones will be closer to taking home the top prize.

Twilight smashes the competition at the box office

"New Moon", the second entry in the vampire saga, debuted at the top spot of the american box office this weekend, earning an stimated 141 million dollars in three days, becaming the third best opening of all time, right behind "The Dark Night" (158 million dollars) and "Spiderman 3" (151 million dollars). The teen oriented film more than doubled the opening gross of the previous installement, which earned 70 million dollars back in 2008.

The number one movie last weekend, "2012", which also debuted with a record 65 million dollars, falls to the second position, loosing 65% percent of its box office, and making its two weeks total 108 million dollars.

The Sandra Bullock star vehicle and feel good movie of the year ,"The Blind Side" ,takes a strong 34 million dollars, besting Bullocks previous offering this year, "The Proposal", which took 32 million dollar in three days.

With "Avatar", by James Cameron; "Nine", by Rob Marshall, or "The Lovely Bones", by Peter Jackson, set to open in December, the box office is for sure going to surprise us a lot more.