Author: billc

SXSW ended yesterday.  Once the music started I fell behind (and went to a few less movies) but here are hilights from the last five days.  The movies I liked best were all documentaries…

Charles Bradley: Soul of America – 3 out of 5 – Charles Bradley was living in the projects in Brooklyn, looking after his mother and doing a James Brown cover act when he finally got his big break and released his first album at the age of 62.  This documentary covers the time leading up to the release of his album and his first tour.  The tour includes a stop at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie where he lived for several years in the 70s.   We saw him at ACLfest last year and he is good (and as the documentary shows, a truly nice guy).

Shut Up & Play the Hits – 3.5 out of 5 – LCD Soundsystem was a great dance-punk band that was led by James Murphy.  This is a great concert film of their last performance held last year at Madison Square Garden.  The concert footage is great and it’s juxtaposed with an interview of James Murphy and footage of him before and after the last show. My only complaints is they didn’t include any interviews with other members of the band or delve into how the band evolved.

Marley – 4 out of 5 – this is the definitive documentary about the great reggae singer Bob Marley who died at age 36 from cancer.  It shows how he grew as an artist starting in the early 60s and gives great insight on Marley’s personal life.  This also has great music and concert footage.

Under African Skies – 4 out of 5 –  Paul Simon’s Graceland is one of my favorite albums.  This documentary follows Paul as he returns to South Africa 25 years after making the album for an anniversary concert with his original collaborators.

The album was made while South Africa was ruled by an apartheid regime and a U.N. cultural boycott was in place.  This movie does a great job exploring the political ramifications and backlash that Simon encountered after the album was released for ignoring the boycott.  The movie also does a great job examining the collaborative process between Simon and the South African artists as they created the music and Simon’s creative process as he created the album. There is great archival and recent footage of the concerts and the music is great!  

America’s Parking Lot – 3 out of 5 – A very entertaining  documentary about a group of Dallas Cowboy fans/tailgaters.  The film focuses on the passion/obsession of a group of  fans who have tailgated together for many years.  They show up hours before game time and live and die with the Cowboys.

The film covers the last couple of years playing at the old stadium before moving to their new stadium a few years ago.   As the move to the new stadium nears the focus of the movie shifts to the economics of billion dollar stadiums and the impacts to the average fan.  At the new stadium fans have to pay tens of thousands of dollars just to have the right to buy the tickets.  Not only are many of the tailgaters forced to give up their tickets but the ones remaining  no longer park together further breaking up the group.   Even though I hate the Cowboys the film makes you feel for these fans.  

I plan to have my wife see this movie to show her how lucky she is that I’m such a relatively laid back fan!

 

Here are some of the hilights from days 3 + 4

Brooklyn Castle – 3.5 out of 5 – This was a very entertaining documentary about a lower income, inner city middle school in Brooklyn that has been the most winning chess team in the country for years. The movie shows the impact the team has on these kids lives and the impact of budget cuts on the team beginning with the recession a few years ago.  Not only are the kids incredibly good chess players but they are great kids that you quickly connect with. The teachers are awesome – incredibly dedicated to their students and have a real impact on their lives.  The movie is funny, touching and uplifting.

The Raid: Redemption – 4 out of 5 – This is a great action/martial arts movie!  A SWAT team attempts to move in and clear out a building controlled by a drug lord. The drug lord is prepared and pretty soon into the movie it’s down to just a few remaining cops.  There are several great action scenes and the plot is really good.  This was a packed theater (1200 people) and there were several collective crowd groans, cheers and applause during some of the action.  This is a foreign film with subtitles and very violent.  If you like this type of movie don’t miss this one when it is released in the next couple of weeks!

Beware of Mr. Baker – 3.5 out of 5 – A good documentary about Ginger Baker, the onetime drummer for Cream and Blind Faith.  An incredibly tumultuous life with a long history of drug abuse and careening from one problem to another.  Due to his many arrests he was not able to get a visa to come to the U.S. for this world premiere. Fascinating movie.

21 Jump Street – 4 out of 5 –  Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star in this comedy.    The movie-makers take the title and premise but little else from the old TV show that helped launch Johnny Depp’s career.   This movie has lots of hilarious/farcical moments and no potential source of laughs is off limits.  Hill and Tatum  make a great comedic duo and it’s fun to see their high school persona’s flip as they return.  This has a great cast including Rob Riggle, Ice Cube (very good) and others.    There was a great Q+A after movie. Jonah Hill was hilarious and it seemed like all involved had a great time making this movie and it shows on the screen. This opens next week and except for those who don’t like rude/crude is highly recommended. This is the type of movie that is best when seen in a crowded theater so I recommend seeing this early in it’s release.

 The Do Deca Pentathalon – 3 out of 5 – A comedy directed by the Duplass brothers. They actually filmed this before their first big studio film Cyrus but didn’t get to finish the editing until recently.  The movie is about two brothers who in their teens had a 25 event competition to determine the best brother that ended in controversy and acrimony.  The events include things like holding your breath under water, sports, etc.  Many years later they decide to re-stage the event to determine once and for all the best brother.  It has funny and touching moments and I enjoyed it. It also had a good Q+A afterwards (I assumed this was an autobiographical film but it was friends growing up that had the competition, not them)

For those who missed my first batch of reviews here is the link: SXSW Reviews – Part 1

Next week is SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin so everyone should be prepared for a lot of entries! SXSW pretty much takes over downtown Austin for 10 days of music (conference + shows), interactive (conference) and film (conference and film festival).  They have even added a comedy component the last couple of years that has been growing significantly. I take the week off and check out a lot of movies and music, some comedy, and try to get some sleep.

The film festival lasts for the entire 10 days of SXSW. The films run the gamut of Hollywood fare, narratives, documentaries, shorts, etc. There are well over 100 films playing at 11 venues. Many are world, U.S. or regional premieres and often the lead actors, directors and producers are in attendance and do Q+A sessions after the films. Since there’s a music festival going on at the same time, there are several music-oriented films that have associated music-oriented events. For example. last year I went to a documentary on the Foo Fighters and everyone waiting on line for the movie was given tickets to an unannounced Foo Fighters concert at a nearby venue after the show. It was a good movie followed by a great concert afterwards!  I’m looking forward to seeing two music documentaries this year: Marley (a bio of Bob Marley) and Shut Up and Play the Hits (about the final shows performed by LCD SoundSystem).  I anticipate James Murphy from LCD SoundSystem will be at the screening.

SXSW is very accessible and I am able to get into most of the movies that I want. Most have 3 or 4 screenings during the 10 days (although the later screenings have fewer actors/directors/producers in attendance).   $80 film passes are available that get you in all screenings not filled up by badge holders.

SXSW music starts on Tuesday and runs through Saturday. More than 2000 bands of all genres play at more than 90 venues day and night. Many bands give multiple shows. Part of the fun is to try to find an up-and-coming act playing in some small venue before they really break out. The most anticipated show this year (and toughest ticket to come by) will be Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in an as-yet unannounced relatively small venue (probably 1500-2500 people). Tickets will be given out by lottery so I have my fingers crossed. The latest rumor I’ve heard is that Jay-Z and Eminem will also be putting on shows but we’ll see…

For the music, in addition to badges there are wrist bands available that will get you into most shows.  You can also volunteer to work for a few days and then get a wrist band for compensation. A lot of college kids do that and it  is what my son does.  The other option for music is to buy nothing and just do free or non official SXSW shows.  There are free shows at Auditorium Shores that include the Shins, Counting Crows and the Cult as well as others.  There are also many non-SXSW venues doing shows as well as official venues having free shows during the day.

I don’t really do much at SXSW interactive. For those interested here’s a link with info.  I think one of the keynote speakers is the head of Pinterest, the latest hot social networking phenomenon.

Last year was the the first year I went to one of the comedy events featuring John Oliver and several other comedians. This year I look forward to attending a live taping of my favorite podcast, WTF with Marc Maron.

I’ll try to keep everyone updated!

Below are the nominees we’d pick to win based on what we’ve seen. These are not our guess for which nominees will actually win. Unfortunately, due to our day jobs we have not been able to see as many of the nominees as we would have liked to but we’ll try to do better in the coming year!

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”
“The Tree of Life”

Bill C. – I’ve see all but “War Horse” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”  I enjoyed all the ones I saw, although “The Tree of Life” could have been a little more focused.  I’m going to go with “The Artist.” “Hugo” would be my back-up choice.

Bill I.  – Very tough to pick the best, as my top 3 are very close. I’ll go with The Descendants.

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Bill C. – I have seen all of these performances except for Demian Bichir.  For me it comes down to George Clooney and Jean Dujardin.  Gary Oldman was good but it was a pretty subdued performance without him showing a range of emotion. Brad Pitt was good too but but he didn’t show the range of the other two.  And my winner is…George Clooney.  Clooney gets the win because his was more of a real emotional performance while Dujardin was a caricature of a silent movie actor. While Dujardin was terrific, I’ll go with the real emotional performance by Clooney.

Bill I. – I will also pick George, especially liked his sprinting in his sandals. I thought Ryan Gosling should have been nominated for Crazy, Stupid Love, he was compelling to watch.

Best Actress
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Bill C. – I haven’t seen Glenn Close or Meryl Streep (although I didn’t really like Streep in the preview).  I’m surprised Tilda Swinton didn’t get nominated.  I’ll go with Viola Davis.

Bill I. –  Another tough call, although I hoped Jessica Chastain should have been nominated for The Debt, especially combined with her work in The Help and Tree of Life (which I only heard about). I’ll go with Rooney Mara, who blew me away portraying the Lisbeth Salander character, whom everyone who read the book I’m sure had expecatations in mind.

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Bill C – I only saw Kenneth Branagh and Jonah Hill so I’m going to pass here.  From what I’ve heard, I think it will come down to Nick Nolte (a Bill I. top movie) and Christopher Plummer.

Bill I. – Branagh is the best nominee I saw. However, best of the year was Christoph Waitz who portrayed the charmingly evil (typecast!) Circus Master in Water for Elephants. What a scary dude!

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Bill C. – I didn’t see Janet McTeer. Jessica Chastain had a great year; they need a ‘Best Year’ category for her (with Michael Fassbender getting it on the men’s side)!  I thought Berenice Bejo was good too, but I’m eliminating her for the same reason I eliminated Dujardin. Octavia Spencer is my winner. Just a great performance.

Bill I. – I’ll go with Octavia, but what about Bryce Dallas Howard, who was perfect in The Help?

Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Bill C. – I’m going with Martin Scorsese in a very un-Scorsese like movie. His love of movies is on display every frame of this movie. Terence Malick made a beautiful movie but again he just went overboard for me. All of these guys are deserving.

Bill I. – I pick Marty as well, who gave us a visual, magical tour-de-force in Hugo.

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Bill C. – I’m surprised a silent movie is nominated for Best Original Screenplay!  I haven’t seen “A Separation.”  I’d like to see Woody Allen win again.

Bill I. – I would like to see Woody lose. For a winner, I’ll go with Margin Call, with a great story, characters and dialogue.

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
“Bullhead” (Belgium)
“Footnote” (Israel)
“In Darkness” (Poland)
“Monsieur Lazhar” (Canada)
“A Separation” (Iran)

Bill C – I have only seen “A Separation”, which is excellent.  I have also heard good things about “Bullhead” has gotten great buzz from FantasticFest in Austin and is being distributed by Drafthouse Films (the folks in Austin who run my favorite theater – The Alamo Drafthouse) so everyone should go see it!

Original Score
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams

Bill I. – I don’t know about score, but the opening of Dragon Tatoo was astounding, Trent Reznor killing Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. It reminded me of the best Bond movie openings, or even my favorite opening of all time, Boogie Nights’ use of Kool & The Gang’s Jungle Boogie.

Best Documentary Feature
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”

Bill C – I haven’t seen any of these but am really surprised that “Senna” was not nominated.

Best Animated Short Film
“Dimanche/Sunday”
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
“La Luna”
“A Morning Stroll”
“Wild Life”

Bill C – We recently saw a compilation with all of these and they are all excellent. The best were “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” and “La Luna.”  “Books” is an homage to reading and was incredibly well done. “La Luna” is a whimsical look at the Moon by Pixar.  I’m going with “Books”. Click here to see “Books”!

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Animated Feature
“A Cat In Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

Best Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Cinematography
“The Artist”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Costume Design
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Hugo”
“Jane Eyre”
“W.E.”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?”
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Best Achievement in Film Editing
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”

Best Achievement in Makeup
“Albert Nobbs”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“The Iron Lady”

 

Best Live Action Short Film
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
“Drive”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”