The year (so far) in film, 2010

In the homestretch now before awards season, and a few enjoyable films are worth mentioning. "True Grit" will make for a terrific holiday outing when it is released during Christmas week. Jeff Bridges does a sensational job in the John Wayne role, and Hailee Steinfeld is sure to be nominated in the supporting categories, though her role is really a starring one. We laughed so much at the sharp dialogue that we'll have to see it again to catch the parts we missed. The ending is rushed a bit, but it is still an A to A-minus. "The King's Speech" is a wonderful story, with fabulous writing and the acting of Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter is out of this world. BAFTA's galore, for sure. "Black Swan" got mixed reviews in our house, with Barbara giving it one of her rare A's, and me thinking it was creepy and overheated. Hard to knock the training and preparation of Natalie Portman, however, and the ending made us gasp with ir's spot-on suddenness. "The Town" and "Inception" were crafty, smart films, but not the kind which Hollywood usually rewards. "Harry Potter 7-a" was disappointing and incomprehensible if you had not read the books. "Hereafter" bored Barbara but I liked it, thinking of it as Clint Eastwood's European fim. "The Kids Are All Right" was okay, but really just a soap opera. We laughed and enjoyed "Red", but is simply summer fare. We have not seen all of the notable animated films, but "Toy Story 3" did not let us down. The film most likely to be below the radar until critics' lists come out is "The Social Network". The story and characters are compelling and credible, which is good, given that it is based on a (continuing) real life drama. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and its two sequels are must-see action for those who have read the books, and that includes about half the world now. There are many films we have not yet seen, and some of them will have to wait for Netflix, what with the holiday season and the Palm Springs International Film Festival hard upon us, but we'll be listening for comments on "The Fighter", "Somewhere", Another Year", "Winter's Bone", "127 Hours", "Get Low", "Waiting For Superman", "Biutiful", "Rabbit Hole", and "Bluie Valentine".

The Year in Film, 2009

In my experience, 2009 was an average year for films, with few peak experiences. Most of the contenders for annual awards would struggle mightily against past winners. Even the standouts (or, should I say, “my favorites”) won’t make my Top 100 all-time list, though they fair well against the year’s competition. My general release favorites included The Hurt Locker, Nine, Up, A Single Man, The Road, Precious, An Education, The Blind Side, and maybe, Up In the Air. Small films that I liked, were Captain Abu Raed and One Peace at a Time, a documentary. The Palm Springs International Film Festival was its usual…a fantastic experience, with delightful fellow film goers, from near and far, but also reflective of 2009, in general. Some superb experiences, made whole by the appearances of writers, directors and some actors, a few excellent films, many very good ones, and the expected clinker or two, most often in the case of a country’s submission for an Oscar. This year’s clear winner of the PSIFF “razzie” is Dogtooth, an offensive and inane Greek import, though it had competition from the unfortunate The Misfortunates. My favorite small film was Letters to Father Jacob, the most enjoyable epics were Bride Flight and John Rabe, and the documentaries were simply sensational: The Most Dangerous Man In America, Learning From Light: I.M. Pei The Great Contemporary Art Bubble, and The Art of the Steal to name a few. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo did not disappoint, and the theaters were packed with many who had read the book. Sony plans English versions of all three “Girl…” novels…unfortunately, this probably means we will not get to see English subtitled versions of films two and three on the big screen. Other festival films we were glad to see included Rabia, Mother, Villon’s Wife, Chameleon, Mediterranean Food, Air Doll, Slovenian Girl, The Last Days of Emma Blank, Glorious 39, The Swimsuit Issue, About Elly, The Over the Hill Band, Vincere, North, and Excited. Films I missed, but will be look for in limited release or on Netflix include: Nobody to watch Over Me, Red Ridng trilogy, The White Ribbon, War in Wintertime, Welcome, A matter of Size, For a Moment, Freedom, Only When I Dance, My Dog Tulip, Medal of Honor, The Other Bank, Today’s Special, The World Is Big and salvation Lurks around the Corner, and Waking Sleeping Beauty.

It's Awards Season at the Movies

It's that time again - awards season at the local cinema, and, as usual, the Palm Springs International Film Society is ahead of the game. So far, we have screened many of the predicted contenders, including A Serious Man, Up In the Air, Precious, The Lovely Bones, A Single Man, and The Road. Still to come are Nine, It's Complicated and Invictus. Some fabulous individual and ensemble performances, many faithful presentations of literary works, and story lines which keep one talking, long after you've left the theater. Looking forward to the holiday films as well - Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, The Imaginarium og Doctor Parnassus, and The Young Victoria. The Palm Springs International Film Festival starts in earnest on January 8th, and there's no better event for filmgoers, where the most enjoyable conversations occur while standing in line.

My Favorite Films of 2008

In general, I did not find it to be a great year for film. Maybe I'm getting a little jaded, seeing so many feature length and short films each year as a screener for the Palm Springs International Film Festival and ShortFest, many of them mediocre or worse. Perhaps the DVD world of Netflix has made us all too limited in patience. My friend, Ed, says that he would never walk out of a movie he had paid to see, back in the day. But now, it's all too easy to hit "eject" and slide in another. We'll have to see how 2009 goes, but, for now, here are the films I most appreciated in 2008:

In Bruges
Happy-Go-Lucky
Gran Torino
Everlasting Moments
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Departures
Iron Man
Frost/Nixon
Rachel Getting Married
The Reader
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Band's Visit
Man On Wire
Frozen River
Wall-E

Netflix remains a great source of little gems. I especially enjoy small films, and one I recommend often is Elsa and Fred...check it out.

Welcome

If you like art forms, or care about living things, this is the blog for you. Poetry, essays, watercolor, acrylics, films, novels, music...pick your pleasure. I'll post my own work, and anyone else's which catch my eye, as painful as that sounds. I'll recommend books and films, some so obscure they don'y even make it to IMDB.com. So, as my Walt, my fellow Living Poet on the Poetic Asides section of writersdigest.com, says, "come little goldfish in my pond, interact, don't be koi."