60 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblog/ Rants, raves and randomness from the Empire office 19/03/2010 06:21:27 james@empireonline.com (James Dyer) http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/small-screen/post/p788 The latest World War Two miniseries from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and much of the team who brought us 2001’s Band Of Brothers landed on American screens Sunday night, launched with a ringing, library footage reminder of why America got into the conflict: Pearl Harbor. I’ll answer one of the big, pressing questions up front: is it as good as Band Of Brothers? My response is I simply don’t know yet. Eschewing access to screeners, I’m watching each episode as it airs, savouring the experience of seeing it in 10 chunks and avoiding spoilers as much as possible to see how the story unfolds naturally. Unlike Brothers, which threw you straight in with Easy Company and stacked up any number of similarly-uniformed, mud-caked faces to try to recognise and familiarise yourself with straight away, The Pacific has learned from this minor downside and instead focuses on three characters – veteran John Basilone (Jon Seda), writer/machine-gunner Robert Leckie (James Badge Dal... http://www.empireonline.com788 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p784 It's been a few days now since the 2010 Academy Awards finally saw a woman (only the fourth nominated) take home the Best Director and Best Picture prizes. Speech of the night, by pretty much anyone's reckoning, also went to a woman - Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock. A few cautiously laudatory articles about women in Hollywood have followed - here and here for example - but they all feel a little forced. Here's the thing: Kathryn Bigelow's win is a great thing for her, a well-deserved acknowledgment of a brilliantly made film that never got its due. And Sandra Bullock's the most likeable actress in Hollywood, a star whose classiness during awards season (even turning up to collect her Razzie) just confirms the impression that she's a lovely person - and she's a very good actress, whether in dramatic turns in the lik... http://www.empireonline.com784 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p783 This weekend, I finally went along to see something I've been hearing about for ages: Secret Cinema, the event where they don't tell you what you're going to see but you go along anyway. And while my verdict's mixed, I do think this has massive potential for film fans, because most of my objections were specific to the event I attended. The deal is this: after ponying up your wodge of cash (and it is a bit of a wodge), you are told where to head about two days before the scheduled screening. In addition to a time and place, we were assigned identity cards, in German and referencing the DDR (immediately prompting me to start speculating about The Lives Of Others, The Baider-Meinhoff Complex and Goodbye Lenin), which we were supposed to bring along. Turning up to Shepherd's Bush on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I found a massive queue of people headed for the venue, which had a big sign outside reading Potsdamer Platz in case anyone was still in doubt (yes, that should maybe have give... http://www.empireonline.com783 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p782 Death is the villain you can't beat. Infection is the villain you can beat, slice, mash and shoot repeatedly in the head. Infection makes for great cinema. OK, infection makes for OK cinema, mostly... with occasional stabs at greatness. But it's spreading. Today, you have a choice in your Disease Of The Week movie. There's Extraordinary Measures, which reviewers tell us is essentially 105 minutes of Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser trying to out-scowl each other in the quest to cure Pompe disease (something to do with over-spending until your football club is on the verge of bankruptcy). Or you can catch The Crazies, in which an accidentally applied government bio-weapon turns a town of hick Yanks into fury-fuelled simpletons who keep trying to kill each other. Yes, apparently, this is different from usual. The Crazies is a remake of George Romero's '70s shocker. Not only has Romero made - in Night, Dawn & Day Of The Dead - three of the best films ever about death (ea... http://www.empireonline.com782 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p781 Our eleven days of film-related fun are at an end – for 2010, at least, and this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival has now drawn to a close. For me, it went out in style with an early screening of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. To say I’ve heard mixed reviews about this is putting it mildly, so I went in with serious reservations. But I’m not a purist for the books, so I suspect that both of these elements helped me to find it a a mostly enjoyable family film; the all-ages audience seemed to feel the same (and bless the munchkin who was audibly amazed by the 3Dification of the Walt Disney logo at the beginning, which really set things up nicely). You'll probably go to see this regardless, so I’ll be brief. Things worth shelling out £10 for: Helena Bonham Carter, and one of the best ensemble voice casts ever (special amongst them, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Paul Whitehouse). Things to brace yourself for: Johnny Depp doing a cute, ... http://www.empireonline.com781 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p780 I have to admit, the distraction of being hastily called away to shoot a short film was an enjoyable one, but I’m regretting how much great stuff I’ve missed out on since being away from Dublin this week. What, exactly? For starters, the chance to revisit my second favourite movie of 2010 thus far, I Love You Phillip Morris, an early peek at the much anticipated sequel to Todd Solondz’s Happiness that is Life In Wartime, a well-received documentary from ‘the Italian Michael Moore’ taking potshots at the Berlusconi administration with Videocracy, and the brilliant Lebanon, plus rare big screen airings of the likes of La Dolce Vita, one-take wonder (okay, not really, but you know what I mean) Russian Ark, and Eyes Without A Face. The thing I’m really kicking myself for missing, though? The concert celebrating the film music of Nino Rota, which played to a rapturous crowd at the National Concert Hall. Here’s hopi... http://www.empireonline.com780 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p774 On most things that matter, I agree with Michael Moore. I think that mass gun ownership is more likely to produce social harm than social good. I think the provision of universal health care is a moral issue and private health care is just horrific. I think - stop me if I'm too controversial here - Bush was a bad President and some bankers deserve a good slap upside the head. I really, really wish I could sing Moore's praises to the heavens for his films tackling these subjects, but the damn movies make it impossible. While I’m willing to give most of Bowling for Columbine and sections of Sicko a pass, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Capitalism: A Love Story are two of the biggest missed opportunities in modern cinema history. For the love of Zeus, the former was targeted at George W. Bush; the latter at the fricking banking industry, in 2009! There are no bigger sitting ducks, and yet Moore wandered in, scattered buckshot wildly in all directions and missed the damn d... http://www.empireonline.com774 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p777 I was feeling like I was the only person in the world (or at least on the festival circuit) who hadn't seen Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, so Day 3 of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival was my chance to make amends. I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting huge things from it - possibly because his style has become so familiar, or maybe because his profile is large enough for his opponents to see him coming these days; whatever the reason, it turns out I'd underestimated this one. I’m still evaluating it, but it may be Moore’s strongest film since Bowling For Columbine. After the basically solid but ever-so-slightly underwhelming Sicko, and with his nemesis leaving the White House, Moore must have been nervously biting his nails in search of a target. A sane man would be President once again - tough times for a crusading domestic documentary maker. But then the financial crisis erupted. Oh, how that angry little part of his... http://www.empireonline.com777 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p776 Ask anyone who was there, even as a kid, and they’ll tell you the Reagan years were a particularly dark period in world politics; he was a reactionary old fool who most people were glad to see the back of. And yes, I’ve re-written that sentence to avoid being sued by his estate. Still, no matter how painful the memory, it’s always good to be reminded of past mistakes, and today I was delivered a double dose from the early years of the Decade Of Shame – two features, and by coincidence, both set in 1981. The first was a bit of a surprise, which I had overlooked on my earlier perusal of the programme: Oliver Stone’s Salvador. I’m still not sure which stream of JDIFF this belongs to (my guess is it’s part of their ‘Out Of The Past’ section), but I’m certainly glad it was included, for a couple of reasons. First, it now serves as a testament to the theory of “the more things change...” - America playing with puppet dictato... http://www.empireonline.com776 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p775 I landed in Dublin this afternoon to crisp, cool conditions – albeit one up on London for at least having intermittent blue sky and patches of sunshine - which helped get the Jameson DIFF (a good one for fans of acronyms) off to an enthusiastic start. The opening night film was Neil Jordan’s latest, Ondine, which played to a full house as excited as you would expect to see a film shot entirely just down the road (I noticed several people around me excitedly nudge their partners/family members when a certain extra made a fleeting appearance). After the introductory speeches and a tribute to late local festival hero and champion of Irish cinema Michael Dwyer, Jordan and his star Colin Farrell introduced their co-stars and the film. Selkies, the seal people of Celtic folklore, seem to have an instant and obvious appeal for the family film – off the top of my head I can think of at least two other solid films within the genre to feature these mythological creatu... http://www.empireonline.com775 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p773 Twenty years after Pretty Woman cemented red hair’s association with prostitution*, I’m looking at a rare breed of screen redheads. When I first saw, and fell in love with, Pretty Woman, I was a gangly ginger kid being picked on at school. “Never mind,” I thought, “by the time you’re an adult there’s sure to be loads of mainstream films with glamorous redheads in them.” Well, I was half-right: there are whole cinematic genres based around gangly kids being picked on in school, but redheads? Not so much. While television has welcomed gingers with open arms thanks to the likes of Desperate Housewives, Mad Men, True Blood and Grey’s Anatomy, the big screen has proven to be a lot slower: the quirky redhead remains an art house or indie staple but has not made it into the mainstream. With just Amy Adams, Isla Fisher and Julianne Moore leading the charge of redheaded A-list leading ladies, and even fewer leading men beyond Damian Lewis and Kevin McKidd,  Moore’s joke to fellow ginger Conan O’Brien that they should form a club seems less of a giggle and more depressing.... http://www.empireonline.com773 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/off-the-wire/post/p772 It's been interesting watching the reactions to Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, from the trailer alone. People seem to forget that artists have a fractious relationship with their times, that sometimes their work arrives out of synch with public taste, and that sometimes their art takes chances that even their most loyal followers won't accept. The irony, of course, is that nobody knows this better than Scorsese, who has conducted a personal journey through the film cultures of three very cine-literate countries (Italy and the US, with Britain on its way) and directed a milestone documentary (No Direction Home) about the musician, poet and electric folklorist Bob Dylan, himself no stranger to controversy and public questioning. Along the way, the song remains the same; sometimes a contemporary audience isn't always sitting in the right seats to judge. So what has Scorsese done to blot his copybook, in the wake of his most successful commercial run since the 70s and early 80s? Well... http://www.empireonline.com772 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p771 I was lucky enough to see Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It recently, and I'm telling you right now that it both rocks and rolls. Starring Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Juliette frickin' Lewis, Marcia Gay Harden and Barrymore herself, it's the story of a girl encouraged to be a beauty queen by her mother, who instead turns to the violent, slightly demented sport of roller derby.  It is, in other words, a sports movie for girls, and while it pretty much hits all the beats of that genre, it does so in a really smart and funny way. My feisty, feminist, Doc-Martens-with-roses-on wearing flatmate and myself came out of the film literally bouncing and grinning and wondering why on Earth this didn't do better at the US box office*. But not to worry: the distributors here in the UK have decided to go a different route with the poster - and the result is this:... http://www.empireonline.com771 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/off-the-wire/post/p770 It’s been a tough few years for Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego (or is it the other way round, as Quentin Tarantino had David Carradine argue?) but with the recent speculation that Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will be helping to oversee Superman’s return to the screen, things might finally be looking up. Like any decision regarding the Man of Steel, it’s bound to be a controversial one: the character has been around for so long and so many people (including Richard Donner and, more recently, Bryan Singer) have tried their hand at making a movie based on him, to varying levels of success, that no one can seemingly please everyone. But Nolan has a solid, proven track record with DC/Warners’ other heavy hitter, Batman and while he has no plans to ditch Gotham City for Metropolis (he has his brother and David Goyer are currently working on the scr... http://www.empireonline.com770 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/off-the-wire/post/p768 As a huge Spielberg-phile in general and Jaws-freak in particular, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of producer David Brown aged 93 this week. It seems to me that Brown was a dying breed of gentleman producer. As Ron Howard, who worked with Brown on Cocoon, put it Brown was "less the wheeler-dealer than the great judge of content. He knows that story drives everything. He loves writing, and he know what ideas will translate and what won't."  Which didn’t mean that Brown wasn’t above the odd gimmick or two. Spielberg had made up some Jaws T-shirts at the start of production. When the director turned up for a meeting with Brown and producing partner Richard Zanuck with every intention to quit, the pair were sporting the Spielberg-sponsored Jaws T-shirts, guilt-tripping the director into returning to work. Having the nous and foresight to give Spielberg his feature film directing break The Sugarland Express, Brown supported Spielberg... http://www.empireonline.com768 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/off-the-wire/post/p767 Helen: Well, here we are – and it feels like it’s a pretty predictable mix. Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the way, both with nine, with Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up In The Air snapping at their heels. This year’s awards feel suspiciously like a two horse race between Bigelow and Cameron’s movies (will Oscar reward the money, the scale and technical innovation or the sheer ability?) but perhaps I am unwisely discounting Tarantino and Reitman too early. Precious, I feel, is a lock only for Best Supporting Actress, which will go to Mo’Nique or there is no justice. But let’s focus on Best Picture to begin with. We can discount any film that didn’t also get a Best Director nod from winning, I think. So goodbye (but well done for joining the party) District 9, The Blind Side (definitely the WTF nomination there), An Education, A Serious Man and (the mig... http://www.empireonline.com767 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p766 The awards were announced last night at an awards show that saw David Hyde Pierce rapping, and a film considered to be one of the most critically savaged in the competition – Mark Ruffalo's Sympathy For Delicious – getting a special award for its "fearlessness". The top two awards, which last year went to Precious and We Live In Public, surprised no one by going to Restrepo (pictured) and Winter's Bone. Surprisingly, the popular Michelle Wiliams/Ryan Gosling two-hander Blue Valentine went home empty-handed. It was quite a good night for the Brits and the Irish, however. Four Lions failed to explode, but a suprise winner was Lucy Walker, who was actually at the bar when the Audience Award for her inspirational documentary Waste Land was announced. Exec-produced by City Of God director Fernando Meirelles, Waste Land follows Brazilian artist Vik Munez as he puts together his latest art proje... http://www.empireonline.com766 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/under-the-radar/post/p765 ONE FESTIVAL DARLING I wanted to like the much-hyped Howl (pictured), but though I was dazzled by James Franco's great and very plausible portrayal of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, I think this experimental docudrama went in a few too many different directions. Primarily, it's an account of the 1957 trial in which San Francisco bookshop owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti was taken to court for publishing and selling obscene material, namely Ginsberg's 1955 poem Howl, a semi-autobiographical tribute to his peers. The courtroom scenes were funny and quite insightful, but the filmmakers chose to weave in three extra elements: a faux 'interview', in which Ginsberg talks to an unseen journalist; a recreation of the poem's first ever public reading in 1955; and, most mystifying of all, some animated sections seeking to replicate the poem's jazzy, freeform imagery. Beat aficionados will find elements to enjoy, but, personally, I think this won't serve the experts and casual viewers may well find them... http://www.empireonline.com765 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/empire-states/post/p764 The scene: The Empire offices, Friday. Chris Hewitt is leading a news meeting (yes, we have news meetings). Chris: So, Miramax has been closed down by Disney. Helen O’Hara: We should do something on that. A celebration or something. Chris: A celebration? Of Miramax? Are you mad? What have they ever given us? Pause. Ali Plumb: [meekly] Quentin Tarantino? Chris: What? Ali: Quentin Tarantino? Chris: Oh yeah, Quentin Tarantino. After all, Harvey and Bob Weinstein were the guys who took a chance on him with Reservoir Dogs, and then partnered with him throughout his illustrious career. You could make a case that Miramax is the House That Quentin Built, so yeah, they did give us that. Phil de Semlyen: And they introduced world cinema to a wider audience. Helen: Oh yeah, world cinema, Chris. Rememb... http://www.empireonline.com764 http://www.empireonline.com/empireblogs/off-the-wire/post/p763 Taking a break from the Sundance marathon, I found myself watching the SAG awards telecast on Sunday night, which is actually a much bigger event that I'd ever realised. Quite a few things went through my mind as I watched, one of them being that I really think the Oscar race is taking shape now, and, if you haven't already put your money on Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, I think you should do so now, ditto for Mo'Nique (Precious) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), since they too seem to have a lock on their respective supporting-actor categories. But the thing that surprised me most was the award for Best Ensemble cast; like many others, I'd have bet the farm on Nine, for pedigree alone, so I was actually quite shocked – in a good way – to see the guys from Inglourious Basterds win the day. It proved to me that there are still some upsets possible along the way. So this got me to thinking about the upsets I'd like to see. For Best Acto... http://www.empireonline.com763