Summer Festivals
Los Angeles is not known for its film festivals. There are no Golden Bears, Silver Lions or Palme D’ors awarded to obscure auteurs whose careers rise and fall on a handful of impossible-to-get-into screenings presided over by the cinematic elite. There are no A-List celebrities conducting full press Q&As.
Episode 162 – The Oscars / RANGO / THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
Here it is – Gareth and I discuss how we managed to endure this year’s Oscars, talk about the lovely RANGO, suggest you become a Social Media Intern for a new feature, cry at SONG SUNG BLUE and reveal a strange personal story with THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.
Episode 159 – Oscar Nominations / BLACK SWAN Reconsidered / THE KING’S SPEECH
Good Lord it’s the 2011 Oscar nominations folks! Listen in nail-biting suspense as Gareth and I discuss the possible winners, possible losers, who should have been nominated, who just doesn’t belong, all that plus thoughts on THE KING’S SPEECH and BLACK SWAN is reconsidered.
Films of the Decade: The 'B' List
Records used to have ‘b’ sides, Armond White produces a ‘better than/worse than’ list every year, and the decade’s still winding down, which can only mean one thing: I’ve found a flimsy but good enough reason for today’s post: The Films I Liked in the 2000s but not enough to go to the mountaintop. Or [...]
The Movie of the Year 2009: Moments
And so we continue cutting together the patchwork of the year’s best film, today’s chapter culled together from the richest moments I’ve seen on screen in 2009 (there will be more, of course): MOMENTS Every part of ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ when the narrating voices contradict each other. When Andreotti in ‘Il Divo’ returns to [...]
Oscar Listens to The Film Talk!
Last week I posted about the problem facing the Academy Awards – the fact that films released later in the year crowd out space for remembering movies that we saw before September. I echoed a previous suggestion by Mr Ebert that the voting period should be cut in two; with films released from January – [...]
'Kavi' Wins the Gold at the AMPAS' 36th Student Academy Awards
We’re chuffed here that ‘Kavi’ has taken the Gold at the 36th Student Academy Awards. I’m a big fan of ‘Kavi’: TFT Review of Kavi and will reiterate what I said in our original review – if you get a chance to watch the pic online or at a festival please do – it’s a [...]
The Best Film Ever Made
I was walking at high altitudes in New Mexico yesterday with three friends, and the conversation turned to where it inevitably goes when people know that part of what I do for a living is to watch movies. ‘So, what’s the best film ever made?’ It’s an impossible question, of course – I’m not sure [...]
Hollywood Meets Tehran
When there’s an international crisis, I know I’d prefer to have Annette Bening and Alfre Woodard on my side – strong women with a reflective presence. I’m not kidding. So it’s good to see that they’ve gone one step further than just talking about peace or acting in movies that make people feel good about [...]
Great Night at the Belcourt Theatre Oscar Benefit
Special thanks to everyone at the Belcourt Theatre who helped us podcast, live blog and Twitter from last night’s Oscar Night America Benefit: ‘The Film Talk’ to Podcast from Belcourt Oscar Party! Gareth and I had a great time – the edited highlights of the our Oscar commentary will be live on the site this [...]
We Live Blogged to the Bitter End…
Here for your viewing pleasure, Dear Listener: the full and unexpurgated TFT Live Blog from the Academy Awards: 3.49pm: (Oscar Time): Gentlemen, Your Vehicles Please: Let the Live Blogging Commence! Some folks like turning up early to the Kodak – and if you’ve ever tried to drive in LA in the week preceding the Oscars [...]
TFT at the Oscars 2009: The Excitement Mounts
Well, dear listener, the time is almost now – your genial TFT co-hosts are be-suited and be-seated and be-truffled (a new verb to describe the feeling when you’ve just sipped a soup you would only be served at an Academy Awards party; in our case, it came from Panera Bread in downtown Nashville). You may [...]
If Danny Boyle Wins for Slumdog Millionaire, Should Loveleen Tandan Get an Oscar as Well?
So I get up this morning, shuffle around in my robe, take the dog out, pour myself a cup of coffee, fire up the laptop to finish the Oscar Benefit script and peruse the Tubes for film news. And what do I find? That ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is actually co-directed by a woman named Loveleen Tandan: [...]
Podcasting from the Belcourt Oscar Benefit this Sunday!
Just a quick reminder that Prof. Dr. Higgins and I will be podcasting from the Oscar Night America Benefit at the Belcourt Theatre this Sunday: ‘The Film Talk’ to Podcast from Belcourt Oscar Party! We hope to see ya there – and if you can’t make it we’ll be releasing the highlights of the show [...]
How Will the Oscars Be Re-Invented? Gary Cooper Shows One Way Forward
Via dana comes this lovely bit of Academy Award history: Audrey Hepburn winning an Oscar® for “Roman Holiday” While I appreciate the youthful elegance of Audrey Hepburn in the clip, what interests me more is the ‘remote’ segment with Gary Cooper somewhere in ‘old-time-hollwoody-mehico’. As talked about in this post: What the Oscars are Planning [...]
Nate Silver's Oscar Predictions
Nate Silver, the sports and politics statistics genius behind FiveThirtyEight has gone all Oscar on us: Oscar Predictions You Can Bet On! I think he’s spot on, except for the Best Supporting Actress Award. I just can’t believe that the Academy is going to award that little man to Benjamin Button’s Taraji P. Henson, (who [...]
Time for Oscar to Graduate?
Ryan Gilbey has a smart little piece at The New Statesman on transforming the Oscars into an awards ceremony that actually reflects a range of the best of the previous year’s cinema rather than merely the working out of grudges, favours, and ‘well it’s been a long time so we might as well’ sentiment – [...]
'The Film Talk' to Podcast from Belcourt Oscar Party!
TFT will be podcasting this February 22nd at the official Oscar Night America benefit at the Belcourt Theatre! The Belcourt’s Biggest Party and Fundraiser of the Year! Gareth and I will be recording a ‘play-by-play’ account of the ceremony while we watch it live on the local ABC affiliate, WKRN; interviewing local celebs attending and [...]
Man on Wire Wins Best British Picture at the BAFTAS
Shock! Surprise! Can you imagine the Academy Awards giving Best Picture to a documentary? Of course not – but that’s what the The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has done – just moments ago: Guardian Baftas 2009: Live blog Prof. Dr. Gareth Higgins will be happy of course – he loves Man on [...]
What the Oscars are Planning – Make it Like the Superbowl
Via the Hollywood Reporter comes the news that Sid Ganis, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences teased possible Oscar winners with the news that year’s awards will be something we haven’t seen before: Academy chief promises ‘truly different’ Oscars It’s understandable why the Academy feels the need for this of course. [...]
Viola Davis – The Reason to See Doubt
Viola Davis. Let me say that again. Viola Davis. She has one scene in Doubt. And that scene is with Meryl Streep. She blows Steep off the screen. Davis is up for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress this year and if she wins my Oscar Night is made. For goodness sake somebody keep [...]
Kung Fu Panda is Better than Wall-E – The Annie Awards are Right
Much frothing in the blogosphere regarding the 36th Annual Annie Awards giving 15 awards to Kung Fu Panda, including Best Feature, while giving Wall-E none. The thing is, the Annie’s are right. Kung Fu Panda is the better movie. Wall-E deserved to win technical awards I’m sure. It’s innovative interpretation/translation of real-world lenses and cameras [...]
The Best Picture Nominees – Could You Do Better?
We’ve reviewed all but one of the films nominated for Best Picture on the show already (odd one out is ‘The Reader’, which we may get to eventually); and as I turn them over in my mind, one thing is clear – they’re not the best films of the year, in my opinion at least. [...]
Top 5 Academy Award Oscar Predictions
Hey there – I imagine Professor Dr. Gareth Higgins will be posting his own predictions – but here’s my first thoughts on the Academy’s nominations, (as we’ve mentioned before, being nominated by the Academy is, of course, no indication of filmic quality or lasting value): BEST ACTOR * Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (They should [...]
