MAFFE Break - Trailers galore

Which of these will get some end of year awards traction? None, one, all?

Anyway, here they are.

'Eat, Pray, Love'

Gosh I love Julia - is there anyone more charming? And I love Viola (naturally not getting a lead role, but stuck with supporting Best Friend - will black actresses ever get a break?) and this looks like a nice charming little film to get lost in. Here is hoping there is a little more meat than what is on offer in the trailer. Seeing as how it is based on a true story one would hope so.

'Switch'

The old turkey baster switcheroo eg? Here we have Anniston coasting on her charisma. Perhaps there are some risks being taken here, perhaps not. I just wish she would take a risk and step out of her comfort zone just so we can see if she can. If she fails then back to rom coms. Anywhoo, it looks kind of cute, but that child has already annoyed me.

'The Greatest'

See Susan and Pierce hysterically grieve. See Carey Mulligan try and live up to the expectations thrust upon her.
The story does seem kind of full of schmaltz, but it could be a little grittier. Trailers do have a way of making all drama seem very 'Lifetime'.

Actress Watch!

And Trailers galore

First up was have some Miller chic and KEIRA KNIGHTLY! in the film "The Edge of Love". Early word has been some RAVES but also a few 'meh' reactions. However they all say wonderful things about Knightly. It is only a matter of time before her next nomination.



Penelope Cruz is going to have a stellar year! Although she will most probably not get awards buzz for this, it will help to solidify her eventual nomination for "Vicky Christina Barcelona". Look out for a Patricia Clarkson to steal the movie...as always.



I have been watching some of the clips for Julia Roberts new film "Fireflies in the Garden" and I have to say I am not that impressed by what I am seeing. there are three clips available to view:
"I love you big"
"Meat is murder"
"Did you sleep with her?"
Looks kind of Life time original movie to me.

This is Oscar.

I asked who you felt deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar back in 1989.

And the results of this were hardly surprising:

5) With 4% of the votes we have Angelica Huston – “Enemies: A Love Story”
Tied with
5) With 4% of the votes we have Lena Olin – “Enemies: A Love Story”

3) With 8% of the votes we have Julia Roberts – “Steel Magnolias”

2) With 32% of the votes we have Dianne Wiest – “Parenthood”

1) With a 53% we have Brenda Fricker – “My Left Foot”

No one could really vote against Christy Browns Mum could they.
She became the eventual Oscar winner for her portrayal of a mother who’s strong will never allowed her to give up on her son who was born with crippling cerebral palsy never gives up.
She was up against much bigger names, but in the end the performance won out.

However, poor Brenda never did go on to make many other films of great note. Always getting the small roles of either wise old woman (“Home Alone 2: Lost In New York”) or Irish Ma (“So I Married and Axe Murderer” and “Veronica Guerin”) or any other old mother/grand ma role going.

I think it is about time for a comeback! Someone cast her and prove this was no fluke.

For my next poll we will be looking ahead in the Best Actress category, 1990.
The women you have to choose from are:


Kathy Bates - Misery
Anjelica Huston - The Grifters
Julia Roberts - Pretty Woman
Meryl Streep - Postcards from the Edge
Joanne Woodward - Mr. and Mrs. Bridge

Vote to the right ->

"Charlie Wilson's War" Reviews

"Charlie Wilson's War" has been the big ole question mark of the season. Is it any good? The trailer left me, well, mixed. Tom and Philip looks a hell of alot of fun. Juiia just looked a little deranged (come on...am I the only one who sees Amanda Lepore?)
The film has been reviewed, and not by some AICN fanboy, this time Variety has chimed in and so has The Hollywood Reporter.

Both are extremely promising, and both single out it girl, Amy Adams. Julia get good noticed as does Tom and Philip. The script is raved about so expect Aaron Sorkin to be nominated. Not sure if it can crack Best Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor and most importantly Best Picture, we will see when more reviews come in and the Box Office has been calculated.

Aren’t Oscars full of sh*t.

The results are here from my latest poll.

I asked who you felt deserved the Best Actress Oscar back in 1989.

The results were shocking!! I had no idea that the eventual winners performance/character was so loved, I fully expected her to get my lone vote and be at the bottom of the heap.

This goes to show just how time can change the minds of many.

Here are the results:

5) With 4% of the votes we have Isabelle Adjani – “Camille Claudel”
Tied with
5) With 4% of the votes we have Jessica Lange – “Music Box”

3) With 7% of the votes we have Jessica Tandy – “Driving Miss Daisy” (The eventual winner)

2) With 18% of the votes we have the lovely Michelle Pfeiffer – “The Fabulous Baker Boys”

1) With a whopping 66% we have Pauline Collins – “Shirley Valentine”
Now I was fully expecting the Pfeiffer to run away with this. I honestly thought she would win by a land slide. Perhaps the reason she came in second was due to the fact that many of my British friends voted. Or maybe people went with the character they loved the best.
Or more likely, I am convinced my friends Dean and Lee logged on to 50 different computers to vote though.
Anyway Congratulations Pauline! You deserved it!

For my next poll we will be looking ahead in the Best Supporting Actress category, 1989.
The women you have to choose from are:


Brenda Fricker – “My Left Foot”
Anjelica Huston – “Enemies, a Love Story”
Lena Olin - “Enemies, a Love Story”
Julia Roberts – “Steel Magnolias”
Dianne Wiest – “Parenthood”

Poll is in the side bar to the right, near the top. VOTE!!!!

Oscar on the horizon.

I get a little bored posting about movies getting made. Since my viewership is a little down and the comments dwindle I thought I would do a massive movie wrap up.

Lets have a look at some the of the films getting put into production and what it means for the awards races of the future.

Hannibal Lector himself, the endlessly working Anthony Hopkins has signed on to playt the Master of Suspense , Alfred Hitchcock, in an upcoming biopic, to be directed by Ryan Murphy . Murphy is best known for directing “Running With Scissors” , “Nip/Tuck” and “Popular”, so he does have a way with quirk, although these are hardly stellar programs/movies on which to base pedigree. He has three upcoming films in production which all sound very interesting, and could up his caliber. (“Pretty Handsome about a transsexual father, “Dirty Tricks” about the aftermath of Watergate, and the Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts film “Need”. The casts he has collected for these projects are of a very high standard, and he could even direct one or more to Oscar glory before the Hitchcok biopic.…check out the cast lists for these movies here.

The film will open with the making of Psycho, which is a very interesting place to start and will hopefully get the attention of all film geeks. There are rumours circulating that Helen Mirren might play Hitchcock's wife, so this could be a major awards magnet, especially for the actors. Maybe Hitchcock will FINALLY get his Oscar.


Only two years since his last film, but it seems Terence Malick's getting ready for another film, and it's a script he's been working on for nearly thirty years. “Tree Of Life” is finally set to go into production, with Heath Ledger and Sean Penn in talks to join the cast.
Filming's due to start in March - which means that Malick will be under some pressure to finish before the actors' strike at the end of June. Any Malick film will already get awards buzz just from hearing his name.


“The Proposition” has its major fans, and got wonderful critical notices. Director John Hillcoat is gearing up to direct Guy Pearce in “The Road” based on a book by Cormac McCarthy about a man and his son walking through a post-apocalyptic landscape in search of water, food and some place of safety.
Guy Pearce is a very talented actor (he nailed Felicia in “Priscilla”!) so with any luck he could show up in awards races…it sounds like he has the entire screentime.
Hopefully shirtless and sweaty.


This news kind of makes me a little queasy, but my friends there will be a “Dances With Wolves” sequal. “The Holy Road” picks up eleven years after Wolves, with Dunbar now married to Stands With Fist and the white man encroaching further on the lives of the Sioux as they build a railway – the titular Holy Road – across the country.
This premise does sound very very good, and I am glad they have decided to so this route. I have always wondered what happened to characters in the future. Did Christian ever get over the death of Satine?
Any way, anything that can get President Laura Roslin aka Mary McDonnell back on the big screen is alright by me.


Director of the moment, Tony Gilroy, is going to direct Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in “Duplicity”.
The couple will be playing corporate spies who work on opposite sides, but unite to stage an elaborate con and rip off corporations by stealing something of great value.
Owen would seen to be a good hand at working with Gilroy, and the material should be right up his alley (where I would like to be). Roberts has not really stretched herself as an actress since “Closer”, so it will be interesting to see what the director can get out of her. He seems to be able to get wonderful performances out of his actors, so we shall see.
Cold be possible Oscar material. Actresses are hardly allowed to play outside the box of grieving mother/wife, whore or icon so it would be nice to have a different role nominated than the usual in Best Actress, and corporate spy would be wonderful…very Faye Dunaway in “Network” – ish.

Cramming them in before the Actors strike.

Nicole Kidman aka the woman who works so much she should look at getting herself cloned, has signed on to star in “Monte Carlo”, a rom-com about some dull and bored teachers who ‘hysterically’ pose as wealthy women while holidaying in the glittery and star studded tourist resort/tax haven of Monaco (hence the title).

I know, I know….Nicole trying out a rom-com again. When will she ever learn? Thoughts like these are flying through your head faster than you can say “Bewitched”, but wait…..there is more!

In an interview with Fox 411 Kidman said that Julia ‘flash those gums and make a million’ Roberts may be joining her as on of those teachers. And if Roberts signs on, we’d expect to see another A-lister take the third role.
The director for the project Tom Bezucha has already shown, with The Family Stone, that he can handle a starry ensemble casts. Sure that film was schmaltzy, but I really enjoyed it, and thought SJP did a wonderful job.

The film is based on the Jules Bass novel ‘Headhunters’ which goes by this premise:

” Four middle-aged friends from New Jersey decide to spice up their lackluster lives by vacationing in Monte Carlo and posing as four of the wealthiest women in the world in this slight but stylish romantic caper. Darlene, Eleanor, Irene and Carla are hunting for wealthy bachelors and a little excitement. Decked out in rented designer costumes and borrowed jewels, they enter the stomping grounds of the rich and famous and are immediately accosted by a quartet of handsome, suave men bearing white caviar and expensive champagne. The setup is perfect, too perfect; the men, who claim to be filthy rich, are really imposters themselves. Love is inevitable between the duly-matched couples, but less predictable is what will happen when the truth is finally laid bare.”

The film has been criticized for having thread bare characterization. Lets hope the screenwriter, who ever they may be, adds some depth. Perhaps seek out Aline Brosh McKenna who was able to get blood out of stone in 2006.

If Roberts signs on, we should see another top female added to the mix. This will give the chance to these actresses who are knocking on 40’s door to show the young starlets how to really shake things about.
Kidman needs a hit and Julie needs her rom-com crown re-attached to her head. Who should get the other roles? Catherine Zeta Jones needs a big hit, and Halle Berry could do with having some fun on screen and staying away from the thriller sect.
But I have someone in mind. Someone who would be perfect, is of the age and could really benefit from being in a huge hit.

HOLLYWOOD…IF YOU ARE READING AND YOU WANT AN ACTRESS WHO WOULD BE BRILLIANT IN THIS TYPE OF ROLE PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF REGINA FALANGY, CAST LISA KUDROW!!!!

Thank you, and put me in the credits if you do! How could you not...LOOK AT 'EM!

Charlie Wilson's War - Trailer

I am having a huge whinge now. I was foolishly dismissing this film, and doing so for a very long time. Now I am caving in and thinking it could be a good contender. This now means I am going to have to update all the categories in my predictions.

Whinge whinge whinge.

The trailer not only makes this look rather entertaining, but also a SCATHING critique. Something Hollywood would eat up in this political climate.
Tom Hanks actually looks like a lot of fun, as does Phillip Seymour Hoffman and they could easily be upsets in this very crowded race.

Looking like a cross between Lady Penelope (pictured) and a drag queen, Julia on the other hand does seem to stick out a little like a sore thumb.
Recycling her "Steel Magnolias" accent with turdo blonde hair piled up on her head, she does look a little...shall we say...strange.
My actual first impression was that she looked a little uncomfortable in front of the camera....but then again I am judging a movie by it's trailer......something I made a huge mistake with before.
This could all just be because it has been so long since we have seen her on screen, but I am not convinced, although early word says she is terrific.
I never really trust early word...I need to see the proof damn it!

Any ways....here is the trailer for you all to judge!

Charlie Wilson's War Bande Annonce
Uploaded by lesfilms

Stardom, and the price on acting.

Ok, the general Conesus is that Madonna cannot act. Every time she has attempted to on screen/stage she has been laughed at, with a brave few who give her praise. Don’t get me wrong, “Shanghi Surprise”, “Four Rooms”, “Body of Evidence”, “The Next Best Thing” and “Die Another Day” were all fairly wooden and lack luster performances.
But I will argue this:
“ Bloodhounds of Broadway (crap clip…sorry)”, and “ Shadows and Fog” were not bad, she was believable and got the job done well. She made me laugh and was a lot of fun with Rosie in “A League of Their Own”, ditto the fun for “Dick Tracy”. She actually really impressed me with “ A Dangerous Game ” . And, even though the movie was awful, she was played screwball and silly to perfection in “ Who’s That Girl (again…crap clip…sorry)” something that no one gave her credit for.
(As for “ Evita ” I will only say this, in her scenes where she sang live she was AMAZING, and had she done that for the whole film, she would have been Oscar nominated)
The problem is no matter what she does, the audience will always see Madonna. Her image will always be bigger than anything else.

The reason I was thinking about this is because I was reading a lot of the reviews for “A Mighty Heart” and most said the same thing. You know it is Angelina Jolie. The serious subject matter of the true life story of Mariane Pearl is let down because the star in the lead is just too media saturated to get lost in the role in the viewers mind.

What happens when your star is too bright for the roles you play? Does the media’s current obsession with celebrity over world crisis add to this? Will Lindsey Lohan ever be able to live down her snatch flashing, drinking binges and time in rehab to be taken seriously?

Will the same fate happen to Halle Berry. Will she be able to rise above the controversy and her own sex siren image to deliver, and get lost in, a true performance? (I hear no one crying "foul" over the fact she was cast as Tierney Cahill - a white woman - in “Class Act", or is that too politically incorrect??)

Take Julia Roberts. I love this woman, she has charisma to spare, but we all know that when she acts, she is always Julia Roberts acting….no matter how good it is. I remember watching her in “ Closer ” and “Erin Brockovich” and thinking “Oh My God…Julia has a potty mouth!”. Even I could not differentiate the star from the performance, which is sad for her because the performances were good.

True, actresses cannot all be the Meryl Streep’s, Toni Collette’s, Laura Linney’s, Helen Mirren’s, Samantha Morton’s, Kate Winslet’s (and SO MANY MORE) of the acting-world. Not all want private lives. Not all want to avoid media attention by not becoming fashionista glamazons.
This is because with newspapers and magazines comes some good roles and, more importantly, celebrity. And sometimes if you are blessed with conventional beauty, you will use it to gain the advantage.

Whenever I hear a role as being ‘Oscar bait’ I switch off. The true great performances of the years usually come from those films that did not have the acting buzz.

I do kind of wish that the good roles in smaller films, the juicy ones with substance, were left for those with tremendous talent who are lower on the casting list. Those, who have that rare talent to become the person, and make you forget the actor.

Knit one, Steel Magnolias two?

Mike Binder, who recently wrote and directed "Reign Over Me" and also penned and helmed "Man About Town" and "The Upside of Anger", has been tapped to adapt Kate Jacobs' novel "The Friday Night Knitting Club" for Universal Pictures and producers Christine Peters and Julia Roberts.
The film will star Roberts as a single mom who juggles the demands of running a knitting store with raising her teen daughter. Her regular customers gather once a week to work on their latest projects and chat. When a tragedy occurs, the customers are forced to realize they've created more than just a knitting club. I have not read the book so cannot comment on it's merits or lack of, but what a sweet idea it would be to reteam the ole cast of Steel Magnolias for this.
Mike Binder can write smart and witty dialogue and what better cast could he have then the one that helped stamp some of the best movie quotes into our heads than that of Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Darrel Hannah and Shirley Mclaine (I have no idea the ages, numbers or the sex of the charactures in the book so this could all be just one big ole fantasy in my head). Well one can dream!

I need Sally Field

At home with a terrible bout of the flu, and all alone. My boogie bear had to go to work, so I am here trying to do things to trick my body into thinking it is better. Not working so far. This is why I have not been doing my music and video of the week this week. Cause I am not listening to anything. But I may watch Steel Magnolias.