Wednesday With a Song

I treated myself a few Sundays ago to a symphony ticket. How glorious. As part of the Pops series, the Fort Worth Symphony presented Rodgers & Hammerstein show tunes accompanied by film clips. Basically, the symphony played and the singers on screen burst into song.

I knew them all thanks to my folks. My mother and father loved theater and show tunes and I grew up knowing Oklahoma , The King and  I, Carousel, Sound of Music, and South Pacific.  Wow - so many great songs.

If I Loved You, June is Bustin' Out All Over, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Some Enchanted Evening, Getting to Know You, Shall We Dance, Oh What A Beautiful Morning, and more....

I had a great seat in the orchestra section. The symphony did a grand job, and the clips brought back such awesome memories.  I was fortunate to actually see Yul Brynner many years ago in a touring production of the King and I  - holy cow - he commanded the stage.

Anyway, support your local musicians and go see some and hear some great tunes. I'll be going back, that's for sure.

Oscar Countdown

Sunday February 28 is Hollywood’s big night – The Academy Awards. And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio/The Revenant – he’s the big fave. I have not seen the film and don’t plan to, but I’m sure he’s worthy. He fought a CGI grizzly bear!!

Matt Damon/The Martian – fun choice and so good

Bryan Cranston/Trumbo

Michael Fassbender/Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne/Danish Girl

Best Supporting Actor

Sylvester Stallone/Creed – seeming the sentimental fave. He was good but Michael B. Jordan deserves this nomination

Christian Bale/The Big Short – oh he can do crazy smart well

Tom Hardy/The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo/Spotlight – spot on

Mark Rylance/Bridge of Spies – superb and subtle

Best Actress

Brie Larson/Room – big fave and I agree. She blows you away

Cate Blanchett/Carol –captivates

Jennifer Lawrence/Joy – frankly she acted well, but not a winner. (annoying movie)

Charlotte Rampling/ 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan/Brooklyn – truly a stunning role in a tiny but excellent film

Supporting Actress

Kate Winslet/Steve Jobs – she won the Golden Globe and is always up for a great classy speech

Rooney Mara/Carol – should be a lead actress nom

Rachel McAdams/Spotlight – good job in a large ensemble movie

Alicia Vikander/The Danish Girl – she’s an up and coming actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh/Hateful Eight – crassly good  in this gross flick

Best Picture/Director

The Revenant/Alejandro G. Inarritu – seems to be the hot choice right now

Spotlight/Tom McCarthy – my personal fave. It was hot early on, but seems to be fading

The Big Short/Adam McKay – clever, sharp, and oh so edgy

Bridge of Spies – well done

Brooklyn – a classy little film. Worthy of watching

Mad Max: Fury Road/George Miller – ugh in my opinion. One big chase and a bit of a bore

The Martian – quite entertaining and worthy crowd pleaser

Room/Lenny Abrahamson – intense and well done, but tough subject

Good luck to all………..Hollywood still churns out some very worthy product that stretches the mind and soul. They entertain, amuse, and can make us weep.

Chris Rock as host should prove interesting as usual. The man is astute and funny. 

Happy Weekend everyone

Oscar Time - Predictions Part 2

Thanks for coming back - Here are my predictions for some big awards

Best Actress

Julianne Moore/ Still Alice – it will be a huge surprise if she does not win. Her performance in capturing Alzheimer’s decline is superb

Marion Cotillard/ Two Days, One Night – haven’t seen it, but lots of buzz on this one

Reese Witherspoon/Wild – she was perfect as Cheryl Strayed. Reese does spunky well

Rosamund Pike/Gone Girl – absolutely chilling performance as a cunning scheming double crossing wife

Felicity Jones/Theory of Everything – strong backbone behind Stephen Hawking. Charming and worthy 

Best Actor

Eddie Redmayne/ Theory of Everything – he’s the frontrunner and gave a physical and emotional depth to Stephen Hawking. Math and science proved exciting

Michael Keaton/Birdman – didn’t see it, but he could knock Eddie off his perch

Benedict Cumberbatch/ Imitation Game – as Alan Turing, he made a brilliant maddening man human. Excellent

Steve Carell/Foxcatcher – creepy and intense as John DuPont. You wouldn’t recognize him

Bradley Cooper/American Sniper – he lived, breathed, exhaled, spoke and embodied Chris Kyle. Not just a pretty face

 

And drum roll please………… This category has tightened up and could be a surprise.

Best Picture

Boyhood – director Richard Linklater filmed a boy’s story over twelve years. We saw him grow into a young man with all the drama in between. Poignant and rich. My personal fave

Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu – this one has been rising. I did not see it. My father called it quirky – not sure if he liked it. But it seems to be a critical favorite

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson. This is very inventive, creative, gorgeously filmed, and unique.

The Imitation Game – the story of Alan Turing and the cracking of the Enigma Code is exciting and well acted

The Theory of Everything – the story of Stephen Hawking – it’s math, science, disease, and a love story. Brings a sniffle

Whiplash – a brilliant teacher and a skilled kid on drums. Apparently Miles Teller whips up a fantastic performance as the student

American Sniper – the toll of war on a man – we go inside the soul of Chris Kyle – brilliant marksman, patriot, husband, father, and a bit of a broken man. This is the box office winner and is worthy of attention.

Selma – a snippet of a pivotal time in US History. 1965, Selma Alabama and Martin Luther King Jr leads a quiet protest that grows and leads in the fight for Civil Rights and the Voting Act. Great performances and quite a story, quite a man.  

If you missed them in the theater, it’s time to fill that Neflix queue. I’ve been filling in the blanks and seeing some great performances. Step out of your wheelhouse and be enlightened and entertained. Have tissues handy for some, or ready for a laugh on others. There is so much creativity in this world. Dim the lights, have your bowl of popcorn ready, and escape.

 

Oscar Time - Predictions Part 1

Hooray for Hollywood. I love the movies, as you can tell from all of the reviews I post. So let's look at my predictions in a two part special edition.

The 2014 Oscars shall be a snoozefest. While critically acclaimed and well filmed, acted, and directed, these were not big at the box office. Until American Sniper came along, a majority of people hadn’t even seen these performances. Sniper would win if it was based on box office dollars. However, that’s not how the system works – there’s popularity, there’s advertising dollars, there’s all sorts of shenanigans we don’t know about. But Sunday, February 22^nd shall be Hollywood’s big night. If nothing else, tune in for the opening introduction by host Neil Patrick Harris – that man is a winner.  

Let’s take a quick peek at the big categories – we’ll start with the first award usually given out to get the ball rolling 

Best Supporting Actress –

Front runner – Patricia Arquette/ Boyhood – over a twelve year span she played the role of the mother. Heartrendingly true performance. This is my pick

Laura Dern/ Wild – excellent job as we see her in flashback from Cheryl Strayed’s view

Keira Knightley / Imitation Game – she hung tough as the smartest woman in the room. Helped Alan Turing solve Enigma. I liked her a lot

Emma Stone/ Birdman – didn’t see this movie. But you can always count on Emma.

Meryl Streep/ Into the Woods – nope. She was fine, but I would not have nominated her. So-So singer in a musical

 

Best Supporting Actor –

J.K. Simmons/Whiplash – he’s the frontrunner as a tough music teacher

Mark Ruffalo/ Foxcatcher –he plays Mark Schultz – it did not end well on the DuPont estate

Ethan Hawke/Boyhood – he’s the fairweather father and gives a soulful performance

Edward Norton/Birdman – didn’t see him, but generally darn good

Robert Duvall/ The Judge – didn’t see him, but he IS Robert Duvall

 

check in tomorrow for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture

 

What's in Your Queue?

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba (a town without a cinema). I do have a specialty column, What's in Your Queue?, that features short blips on movies I've rented through NetFlix. Christmas and New Year's week were quite entertaining:

Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the youngest Pavensie kids, Lucy and Edmond, along with their spoiled cousin Eustace take an unexpected trip back to Narnia. They join King Caspian for an epic high seas adventure on the Dawn Treader. They sail to the end of the world to rescue seven lords, banished by Caspian's evil uncle. Fun story and effects. This series has been amusing and it's a worthy rental.

Heathers - this is an oldie from the eighties starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. High school has its cliques and the "Heathers" are all blonde and boorish. Winona's character skates by with her dark prettiness and sharp tongue. However, she sees that the girls are out of control and enlists the new guy (Slater) to punish them. Well, he's a bit psycho and what was a prank turns into murder and escalates. Heathers is dark and makes fun of high school. It was ahead of its time and now, as a film, stands the test of time. Amusing.


Margin Call - Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Zachary Quinto head this all-star cast into a near Wall Street crash. Big trading company, overextended packages, crazy leveraging and financing. Sound familiar? This film brings our nightmare 2008 economic crash onto the screen. It seems very realistic as the risk department figures out that this financial behemoth has gone beyond its own rules and needs to do a mass sale of epic proportions to perhaps survive. Who knew computer screens could be so compelling? We know what's going to happen and yet we watch this gripping tale of money, greed, and how it is all a game. Wow!


Horrible Bosses - Kevin Spacey again, only this time he is evil, along with Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell as worst bosses ever. Buddies Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day) can't leave their miserable jobs, so they decide to creatively eliminate each other's employers. Crazy schemes ensue after advice from con artist Jamie Foxx. This is a funny over-the-top zany movie.

That's what I did with my time, in between reading new goodies on my Kindle, and trying to outsmart my Wii Mii.

What's in Your Queue????

Film Fascination

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, a town with no theater. Nonetheless, a good friend, Cecil, decided I needed a press pass worthy of my title. So far, this has garnered no free movies, no free popcorn - just a few laughs. I don't care. I love the movies and the experience. The concept of NetFlix is cool - discs in the mail or streaming video whenever you want to watch a movie. We even have a big screen and comfy chairs with cupholders. But I am easily distracted and less involved at home.

I enjoy the movie theater experience and agree with a quote from director Werner Herzog (WSJ, 2/23/10). "I'm sitting there in awe and astonishment and I enjoy to be in a place where there are people around you and the curtain opens and the miracle begins."

Superb acting, dialogue, scenery, costumes - there's just nothing like movie magic.

This year the nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:
Mark Boat: The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Owen Moverman: The Messenger
Joel Cohen and Ethan Cohen: A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Peter Doctor, and Tom McCarthy: Up

All worthy contenders. Writers rule!

Bare Claws

How sweet that the family sitting behind us at the theater decided to treat mom to a movie.

However, perhaps X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn't the smartest choice with a 4 and 6 year old in tow. As the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, I am concerned for my readership (however small) and try to point out ratings and if there is excess violence, language, or sex. The rating system isn't perfect, but it does provide a guideline. PG-13 for this X-Men flick was a suitable code- teensy language and plenty of violence - and thus not appropriate for two young boys.

There is so much information published these days that I almost believe that folks are immune. Do people read reviews and ignore ratings? Rather like zooming through the yellow light (well, it isn't red yet), PG-13 is a stopgap on the way to R and what's a little blood and gore for youngsters? Having a high pitched voice ask questions throughout the film ( and not using a "we're in the movies, you should whisper" voice) should have sent a signal to the parents that they were in the wrong show.

I do believe in parental control of content. Parents should be aware of movie content for kids and it should be age appropriate. Parents should be aware of books and reading content, and available to answer questions.

And like Wolverine, I wanted to bare my claws in anger at folks with cell phone text screens, and at people who act like they are home watching a video - stop talking. Shut up! That's probably a rant for another day.

I shall close with a portion of my review - Wolverine is a slashing good time. It's a summer no-brainer, and Hugh Jackman flexes the pecs with resounding success. Enjoy this in a cheap matinee with a huge tub of popcorn. However, don't bring your four year-old.

Joanne