The Best Actress race.

Sweeney Todd - Trailer

Here we go. Never judge a book by it's cover right?
I am not going to judge "Sweeney Todd" by this trailer. The movie could be wonderful, but I am apprehensive as I always am with Burtons films.
I am not nervous because it looks bad, or I am worried Johnny can't sing, but because it looks very Tim Burton. Visual eye candy, but lacking in that little bit of soul that will make it great. I could be completely wrong, but too me Burton seems to use colour and design to convey emotion and energy far too much. With "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" even the visuals lost impact quickly because there was no energy in the picture.

I hope it is different this time. This musical deserves a GREAT adaptation.

All I will say is Helena looks wonderful. Here is hoping she is.

Sweeney Todd trailer
Uploaded by Cinerie

Independent Backlash.

Happens every year. There is that one Cinderella story in the box office/awards season, usually a small movie that makes it big and people start to bitch. I don't just mean a little light bitchery, I mean full on hateful attacks.

I witnessed it last year with “Little Miss Sunshine” when quite a few bloggers out there began trashing it as it did better and better in box office and the precursors. I mean it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I except that, people are not going to like everything.
But I noticed that a lot of these ‘critics’ are the same people who bitch and moan about the state of Hollywood movies and blockbusters.

Shouldn’t you celebrate when an independent film gets notice? It is a platform for so many positive things to happen. After “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” the spot light was shone once more upon independent film. Now we are getting buzz about films like “Juno”, “Once”, “The Savages”, “Away From Her” and “Grace is Gone”. These are all small films that could be headed to boxoffice and possible awards glory. And the same thing will happen
People will start bitching about the ones who are most successful. “LMS” made 7.5 times it’s production budget (Sony Pictures would be so happy if their biggest blockbuster of the year did that. “Spiderman 3” only made back 1.3 times it’s budget).
How good or bad “LMS” actually is not important, what is important that a small film can do well. It is possible for small film-makers with a vision and voice to be heard.
Sure “LMS” is slight when compared to heavier fare with a conscience like “Good Night and Good Luck”, but it still found it’s way with no star power behind it.

This year the biggest success thus far is “Once”. This film has currently grossed 10 million worldwide, which sounds like small potatoes when compared to a blockbuster. But take this into consideration. The film was made for only $150,000. It has made back it’s production budget 66 times over. (had “Spiderman 3” done that it would have made over 15 billion in worldwide gross, executives would salivate).
It still could gross more and possibly affect the Awards race, but what is important is that it was a success and it was seen and loved (I am still waiting for the UK release)

This years most likely awards breakout will be “Juno” and there are already rumblings amongst bloggers who say it is too slight and not as original as everyone is saying. Bah Humbug to them.
Can we just celebrate a film being made that is original and independent? Hollywood is churning out remake after remake. Most of the original screenplays are based on toy lines. We have movies based on TV shows and Saturday morning cartoons being rushed into production with big money being thrown at it.
And most of the blog community roll our collective eyes and get on your key boards and rant about the mass lobotomy’s Hollywood executives seem to have had.
Then when something comes along and is original we all complain it isn’t original enough. Is anything? How many different ways can you tell a story?
All you can hope for is that a movie moves and transports you. That you leave the cinema awed by it’s power to move, tickle, entertain you and even make you question. If there are more films like “Once”, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, “The Blair Witch Project”, “In the Bedroom”, and “Little Miss Sunshine” made, would that be a bad thing when you look at the alternative (“Transformers”, “Shrek the Third” “Resident Evil”)?

Thanks to Box Office Mojo for the figures!

Watch this space

A Variety RAVE for "The Kite Runner".

Jackson's back!!??

This may be the most exciting news I have heard in a while. The fact that there may finally be a truce between Peter Jackson and New Line over the rights to “The Hobbit” fills me with joy.
Revisiting Middle Earth will be fantastic, and I am sure even the extended editions of the DVD’s will be designed to fit in with the current ones.

Please let this happen. To let another director touch this would be a terrible mistake. The complete franchise should be completed under the guidance of Jackson. He breathed new life into Tolkien’s work, bringing it to a whole new generation, and he should be the one to tell the story of Bilbo Baggins.

Most of the cast who would return feel this way, and so do most of the other directors who have been approached for the movie.
Should he take on “The Hobbit” the idea of splitting it up into two movies makes perfect sense, and also gives me longer to get excited.
I just wish there was a part three to visit…perhaps….. “Return From the Grey Havens” ?

The Best Actress race.

Should have been HUGE!!

Hop Chip - Over and Over
(kind of almost big...but not enough for my liking)

The Best Actress race.

Should have been HUGE!!

Amanda Ghost - Idol

Taking a wee little break!

Not that this means I won't be posting, but Mikey needs a life. Trying to learn Spanish, so need study time, and need to stop being a movie hermit and get out and see friends.

However will still be posting some saved stuff ('Best Actress Pics' which seems to be popular, and the 'Shoulda' posts which don't...but I like 'em,!)

The Best Actress race.

Should have been HUGE!!

Imani Coppola - Legend of a Cowgirl

If you ever come near my Oscar again, I'll kill you. Do you understand?

Oh wow. With all the excitement of the Oscar Season kick off, I totally forgot about my poll (insert joke about how I am always thinking about my poll - ha ha he he)

I asked who you felt deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar back in 1987.
The results were surprising. I actually thought this would be a toss up between the Jewish mom shtick of Olympia Dukakis and the scary over the top shouting of Owens Mama from Anne Ramsey (my personal favourite – “Holy Shit! What a dream I was having! Louis Armstrong was trying to kill me!”).

But know it went to someone completely unexpected.

In descending order

5) With 2% of the votes we have Ann Sothern – The Whales of August
4) With 3% of the votes we have Norma Aleandro – Gaby – A True Story
3) With 15% of the votes we have Olympia Dukakis – Moonstruck
2) With 28% of the votes we have Anne Ramsey – Throw Momma from the Train
1) With 49% we have Anne Archer – Fatal Attraction.

I had no idea this performance was so beloved, but I guess it was. I am now going to have to rent the film (F*ck you voters…the poor bunny boil was enough for my fragile twelve year old self. I raised bunnies, and named them all after characters in “Watership Down”…..my little Pipkin looked like our little pot bound friend here…sniff)
But congratulations Anne Archer. You beat out some formidable opponents and still had such heights in your future as “Body of Evidence” and “Ghost Whisperer”. Good to know you are remembered by movie audiences so fondly. Yay you!

For my next poll we will be looking back to the same year, but in the Best category, also know as the year of the 1988. The women you have to choose from are (tough year too!):


Glenn Close - Dangerous Liaisons
Jodie Foster - The Accused
Melanie Griffith - Working Girl
Meryl Streep - A Cry in the Dark
Sigourney Weaver - Gorillas in the Mist

Vote on the poll which is in the bar to the right.

Looks good on paper!

Only last weekish I talked about “State of Play” the sausage fest with Brad Pitt, Jason Bateman and Edward Norton. Well it seems the adaptation of the British mini series is having the testosterone diluted.
Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Dame Helen Mirren have been added to the mix.

McAdams will play a newspaper reporter investigating the death of the mistress of a fast-rising congressman. Mirren will play the newspaper's editor, (in a nice sex change as the role was played by Bill Nighy in the British series).
Wright Penn will play the congressman's estranged wife who becomes romantically involved with the politician's former campaign manager (Pitt), who leads the newspaper's investigative team. Norton plays the congressman, and Bateman plays the other lead reporter.

Now, ‘State of Play’ is on my Love Film list to rent (like Net Flix, but with a British accent) so I cannot judge it by the source material yet, but this does sound like a doozy.
We also have Kevin Macdonald directing from a script written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (hmmmmm). We all know Macdonald can get some meaty performances out of his cast, so this is one of those films that will high on awards watchers radars.
Judging by this clip I am very very curious......my only gripe is I wish they coulc have found some room for Kelly Macdonald.



The film is due in 2008.

Deserves to be HUGE!

Amy MacDonald - Mr. Rock and Roll.

One of those melancholy tracks reminicent on Looking Glass's - 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)'.