"Rachel Getting Married" Trailer

Now this does look good. I was not really sure as for Anne Hathaway's Oscar chances until I have watched this, and now she, and the rest of the cast are looking like they will be serious contenders.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Trailer

Ummm..........yeah. Totally excited now.

THE RUG RATS BLOG-A-THON!!!!!

It is hear....and I have been partying and almost missed it! Priorities MICHAEL!!!

So the turn out has been great, and I want to thank everyone for entering. I was expecting 3 entries so I am ECSTATIC with the all of you who participated. You will all be getting thanks yous!


Lets get started:

Firstly we have an entry from the fantastic blog 'Runs like a gay" written by Ben. He takes a closer look at Oscar winner (Special juvenile award) Bobby Driscoll. Did you know his voice was used for Walt Disney's feature Peter Pan (1953) and an actual "acting" performance was filmed, then rotoscoped for the animated character? I didn't. Andy Serkis eat your heart out.

Next we have the brilliant José of "Movies Kick Ass" who writes about those pesky little children who lie and make up stories. I always relish it when a child is a villain....they are so evil. Liar Liar pants on fire indeed.

Embarrassingly, James of "Rants of a Diva" has written a wonderful post featuring a child performance in a film I have never seen. And it is a classic. James, I am puting this on my lovefilm list immediately!

One of the most interesting takes was from Manuel of "A Blog Next Door" who aims his critical and loving eye on those unsung hero's, Child voice actors. I would definitely have to add to that wonderful list Daveigh Chase who was absolutely brilliant in "Lilo and Stitch"

We have had liars, cartoons, and child actors of yester-year. So of course we have to go into the freaky. Those actors scarred for life by staring in Horror films. The Culture Kid looks at Danny Lloyd.

Then there is a film that has been dividing the critics, yet all say the same thing about this young little actress. Scott from He Shot Cyrus casts his eyes over Catinca Untaru in Tarsem's "The Fall".

Then some strange little person decided to join. So let him. Michael Parsons worships at the foot of Sara Gilbert.

Last, but most definitely not least we have the lover of the Supporting Actress Stinky LuLu who of course stays true to form, and reminds us of the diversity of the young girls who have all flirted with Oscar.



Here is mine (part two)

Ariel: What are transvestites?
Christy: A man who dresses up as a woman.
Ariel: For Halloween?
Christy: No, all the time. All the time.
Ariel: Why?
Christy: It's just what they do here, OK?

When I decided to host my little blog-a-thon I already knew which child performances that I would write about. I knew I wouldn’t right a long essay, but I just wanted to watch the film again and be captivated like I was when I first watched it.

I want to right about the formidable talent of these two young performers.

Sarah and Emma Bolger in “In America”

In America is the story of an immigrant Irish family, who move to New York City to start a new life after the death of their youngest child (Frankie). They move into a rundown top-floor apartment in a seedy neighborhood. The father (Paddy Considine) is an actor trying to realize his dream. His wife (Samantha Morton) gets a job in an ice cream parlor. Their two daughters (Sarah Bolger & Emma Bolger) attend Catholic school, and make friends with everyone in the neighborhood.

This is the first, and since, only time I have lost the plot and blubbed in a movie theater. I blubbed within the first 20 minutes and didn’t stop until 2 hours afterwards.
This is mainly due to the realistic and moving performances of these two young sisters.

The Narrator, Christy (Sarah) is the quiet older sibling, viewing life through her camcorder while observing her fathers struggle with his grief and her mothers dignified despair. She plays with her sister Ariel (Emma) and makes friends with the sleazy people in the neighbourhood to keep the appearance of normality for her parents. However Christy wears her heart on her sleeve and her pain is constantly displayed on her face. She mourns the loss of her brother and feels her parents pain, yet tries to keep everything together for Ariel.


Her father has emotionally cut himself off since Frankies death, no longer playing with his daughters they way he used to. This hurts Christy to no end, and when she finally allows her tears to flow and her father asks “what’s wrong little girl” Christy finally taps into her grief and anger:

“Don't "little girl" me. I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year, ever since Frankie died. He was my brother too. It's not my fault that he's dead. It's not my fault that I'm still alive.”

Sarah Bolger carries the emotional weight given to her like a pro, never going for schlocky sentimentality and grounding the film when it attempts flights of fancy. Her watchful gaze as she sees all around her tells the story. It is her eyes, that although she is smiling, look tired and worn out. She has taken her families weight on her back, and you know she will continue to do so.
Long after the credits roll you remember her sad beautiful face and the movie she carried.

As good as she was, it must have helped having her real life sister playing her sister in the film. Of course the chemistry was fantastic, but Emma Bolger, who was no more than 7 when the movie was filmed is equally as superb.


Ariel is a free spirit. She has no fear and runs around making friends with everyone she meets, never prejudiced by anything. She plays and laughs and is your typical 7 year old, that is until she wakes up from a nightmare terrified and screaming.

Ariel: I'm scared.
Johnny: Don't be scared.
Ariel: Everyone's dying.

As she stands there screaming and crying, her father trying desperately to console her she says those lines, through a childs hysterical tears. I have no idea how an actress so young can tap into imaginary pain and make it so real. She, like her sister never once go for the Dakota Fanning “Lets act like I’m wise beyond my years” style of acting, and that is how this film works.

These two little girls are trying to deal with the loss of their brother while watching their parents slip away into sorrow and they make every moment of it believable.

Rug Rats Blog-A-Thon

Here is my entry - Part one.

The rest of the entries will be posted at 00:01 hours on the 28th! Thank you all for writing!

when it comes to child performances, people are very divisive. Some people HATE them, some people LOVE them. I am in the middle. There are some great child performances out there. But for every realistic and believable one there 5 Katrillion wooden or completely over the top ones.
Which is why, when one stands out it is cause to sit up and notice.

For my first entry I am going with an actress from a TV show, because I have been re-watching it on DVD and forgot how brilliant it really was.

"Roseanne" was a TV show I always loved, even the silly last season. Mainly because Roseanne Barr was such a fantastic actress, something no one ever remembers, due to her crazy private life. With her on screen family she got some terrific actors, but the one who sparred with her wise cracks the best and stole the show was always Sara Gilbert as Darlene Connor. The mother daughter relationship between the two actresses was completely organic and believable. This is due to Gilbert not playing a copy of Roseanne, but a hybrid of her mothers wit and humor and a sports loving tom boy.

The episode that totally sold me was "Brain-Dead Poets Society". Darlene has to write a poem for school, but doesn't want to. Roseanne is ecstatic because she get to re-live her lost dreams of being a writer through her daughter. When Darlene refuses to do it, it set up one of the cleverest jokes on the season.

Darlene Conner: (shouting) I don't want to be expressive! I couldn't care less about poetry! I just want to graduate high-school, so I can get on with my life, so I can get a job, and get out of this hell-hole town!
Roseanne Conner: But if you could be expressive, what would you say?

Darlene ends up writing the poem and it ends up being selected to be read aloud at an All Culture Night event, but opts out.
Roseanne, really wants to hear Darlene's poem and lays the pressure on. Much to Darlene's dismay, she winds up on stage at the Culture Night, to read her poem, a poem that would render Roseanne in painful emotions.


The acting from Roseanne in the last scene is impeccable, but it is Gilbert who stands out. Wise cracking and foul mouthed Darlene stands on the podium and stares out at nothing. She reads the poem in complete monotone, the way all kids do when public speaking. That dull emotionless voice that is only wishing for this moment to end.
If this wasn't impressive enough, the way her voice slightly changes during the heart breaking finale of her poem is. Getting ever softer and sadder she deals with the embarrassment of standing in front of peers and parents in an ugly dress pouring out her thirteen year old heart, by withdrawing into her head and her voice. Darlene as we know it has disappeared and the real one, with all her insecurities is left.

To Whom It Concerns: Darlene's work will be late, it fell on her pancakes and stuck to her plate.

To Whom It Concerns: I lost my assignment, maybe I'll get lucky, solitary confinement.

To Whom It Concerns: My mom made me WRITE this, but I'm just a kid, so how could I fight this?

To Whom It Concerns: Darlene's great with the ball, but guys don't watch tomboys when they're cruising the hall.

To Whom It Concerns: I just turned thirteen, too short to be quarterback, too plain to be queen.

To Whom It Concerns: I am not made of steel, when I get blindsided, my pain is quite real.

I don't mean to squak, but it really burns. I just thought I'd mention it:
To Whom It Concerns.

I dare you to watch it and not get just a little misty eyed.

It is no wonder she was nominated for a prime time Emmy. The acting praise was always heaped on Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman, but with episodes like this Sara Gilbert proven she was one of the best.