Quentin Tarantino Reference Manual

via Roger Ebert's twitter from madatoms.com,

I found it really interesting:

2010: The Good or the Bad?

The Oscars are usually the last of the national awards to be given out. This year was no exception. So, with the Oscars out of the way, 2009 was officially wrapped for cinema. The Hurt Locker was crowned as the year’s best and Kathryn Bigelow and Geoffrey Fletcher made history.

But now, with all the Oscar hoopla out of the way, it’s the best time to take a look at some of the interesting projects slated for a 2010 release. On the sidebar on the right hand side, you can see a list of my top ten most anticipated films.

‘The Tree of Life’, Terrence Malick’s new project tops this list as you can see.

Now, the words “Terrence Malick’s new project” should be a clue to why I’m so excited for that film, but in case you don’t know, I shall explain. Malick, one of my favourite directors and arguably one of the greatest American directors ever, has only directed four films in the past. At the age of 67, he’s supposed to be gracing the silver screen one more time and for this film, he’s collaborating with Sean Penn, Brad Pitt (pictured), composer Alexandre Desplat (of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Birth and Lust, Caution fame) and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki whose great work we’ve enjoyed in films such as ‘Children of Men’ and Malick’s own, ‘The New World’.

Second on the list is ‘Inception’, Chris Nolan’s new film, set for a July release. Chris Nolan is coming out of a really successful decade with several acclaimed films to his credit and expectations from his latest feature are really high, after he directed one of the most respected superhero movies of all time. The trailer did not disappoint so hopefully the actual movie won’t either.

Further down on the list is Black Swan. I’ve immensely enjoyed Darren Aronofsky ‘s previous films, particularly his last one, The Wrestler. Clint Mansell is said to be reuniting with him to compose the music for the film, which in itself is an exciting event. If you are a heterosexual male reader, the pervert in you might like to know that as reported, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis get a little bit too friendly in this film.

‘Toy Story 3’ should not need any explanations. ‘Somewhere’, is Sofia Coppola’s latest feature. Although I didn’t particularly enjoy ‘Marie Antoinette’, my never ending appreciation for ‘Lost in Translation’, one of the greatest movies of the past decade gives me enough reasons to look forward to this film. ‘Miral’ is directed by Julian Schnabel who has previously done fantastic work on Before Night Falls and more importantly (at least from a personal point of view) on ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’.

‘The Green Hornet’ has everything going for it and to be honest, I’m not sure why it doesn’t have a higher spot on my list. Aside from the director, Michel Gondry, whose work on ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ gives him a lifetime pass for me, it should be interesting to see Seth Rogen play a superhero against his usual type. Even more exciting is the fact that the very recent Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, or as you may know him, the Jew hunter, will be playing Chudnofsky, the villain of the story. And who’s to say he’s not a good choice for a villain? Tell me you don’t want to see Seth and Christoph fight? Oh, beauty!

The Coen brothers are back to work with a remake of the 1969 Western classic, ‘True Grit’. Oscar winner (yes, finally) Jeff Bridges will be reprising the role of “Rooster”, portrayed by the great John Wayne in the original. Bridges is having a busy year as we will also be seeing him in ‘Tron Legacy’, the sequel to the 1982 sci-fi film, ‘Tron’. Josh Brolin is also busy this year; aside from ‘True Girt’ (which of course is his second collaboration with the Coens after ‘No Country for Old Men’) he will also be seen in Woody Allen’s ‘You Will meet a Tall Dark Stranger', Oliver Stone’s ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ and ‘Jonah Hex’.

Jeff Bridges will reprise John Wayne's role in the remake of True Grit.

‘Blue Valentine’ stars two of the most talented young actors in Hollywood, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and the reviews coming from Sundance have been promising. The tenth movie on my list is ‘Greenberg’, Noah Baumbach’s new film. I’m a big fan of both ‘The Squid and the Whale’ and ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ (he co-wrote the screenplay with Wes Anderson for this one) so I’m really looking forward to seeing ‘Greenberg’.

The list shows the top ten movies but obviously there’s more to get excited about. Aside from the aforementioned Woody Allen film, ‘Get Low’ starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek also looks like an interesting project. Robert Duvall’s short but unforgettable performance in ‘The Road’ gets me all excited to watch him in this lead role. Will this role possibly have any awards bait? ‘Iron Man 2’ is a good one for the geek inside. I really enjoyed the first one, so I can’t wait to see what happens next. Robert Downey Jr. has really been on a roll recently.

‘The Kids are Alright’ and ‘Chloe’ are two films starring the greatest working actress (no, there’s no contest!) Julianne Moore. The reviews for the former have been favourable coming from Sundance.

Speaking of Sundance, last year’s honours went to movies that went on to become awards season sensations, such as ‘Precious’, ‘The Cove’ and ‘An Education’. If that tells us anything, ‘Winter’s Bone’ and ‘happythankyoumoreplease’ are movies to look out for.

There are a few other projects that look interesting for one reason or another:
‘I love you Phillip Morris’, in which Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor star as an unusual pair of lovers.

‘Never Let Me Go’, the film adaptation of the acclaimed book of the same name, starring the brilliant Carey Mulligan, is Mark Romanek’s first film in 8 years.

‘Betty Anne Waters’ stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell in the lead roles. Rockwell’s name is good enough to drag me to the theatre after a series of strong performances in the last few years. If you have looked at my favourites from 2009, then you know that anyway.

I’ve never been a big fan of John Cameron Mitchel, but I’m curious how his collaboration with Nicole Kidman will turn out in ‘Rabbit Hole’.

Finally, the guilty pleasure spot goes to 'Date Night'. It’s true that all of Shawn Levy’s films so far have been disappointments, but Steve Carell, Tina Fey, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Whalberg and Mark Ruffalo all in one film? That’s just too good to pass up.

Sam Rockwell in 'Betty Anne Waters' as Betty's brother who is wrongfully imprisoned.

Over at InContention, Kristopher Tapley has a list of possible award contenders that gives a good picture of what movies might be in play next year. You can check the list here.

What movies are you looking forward to? Which ones do you think will live up to the expectation?

Is there any movie I forgot to mention?

Best of 2009: Part III

I finally wrapped up the year in March!

I posted my favorites in acting categories here and in other categories here.

Here’s the third installment. Enjoy!

Picture

If this were a Top 20 list:
20- Where the Wild Things are, 19- (500) Days of Summer, 18- An Education, 17- The Secret in their Eyes, 16- Bright Star, 15- Fantastic Mr. Fox, 14- Avatar, 13- A Serious Man, 12- Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, 11- Sugar

Finalists:

10- Moon

Avatar, District 9 and Star Trek stole all the sci-fi buzz this year. Too bad, because this small British film deserved a lot more attention. Inventive, stimulating and entertaining, aided by that amazing performance from Sam Rockwell, the movie leaves you wanting only more. Hurry up on the second one Zowie Bowie!

(Bonus marks: Clint Mansell!)

9- Fish Tank

Mia’s passion for street dancing may be specific to herself, but the themes are universal and Andrea Arnold’s gritty and raw approach puts the audience right in her world. Fish Tank is not the first British film in recent years to have a realistic look at the life of the lower class in England, but it is the best one so far.

(Bonus marks: Mia’s taking Keira for a walk. Brilliant!)

8- The Hurt Locker

It’s a really unique war film. It doesn’t take sides to make you feel sympathetic for any of the characters. In many cases in the film, the opposing side is not even a human; it’s a set of bombs waiting to go off; but that is the reality of war. And Kathryn Bigelow so expertly handles this reality with the repetitive and extremely intense structure that you start to feel like you’re there, with them, hoping the bombs don’t blow you up.

(Bonus mars: Sgt. James in the grocery store, looking at the boxes of cereal. So thoughtful.)

7- Up in the Air

Funny, sad, bleak, smart, honest, entertaining and most importantly, real! Jason Reitman’s films always have a quality of looking light and comfortable; and I say quality because the material he has to deal with is so complex, it takes a lot of effort just to make it look effortless. Up in the Air is no exception. It may even be his best one yet.

(Bonus marks: This!)

6- The Messenger

Most war films deal with the story of soldiers who fight on the battlefield. The Messenger deals with those who fight off the battlefield. Maybe that’s why it’s more accessible than virtually any war film I’ve ever seen. The movie has a slow build; nevertheless, the story and the performances are so strong, it doesn’t need any photography or editing tricks to create the intensity. It’s a sensitive and gut-wrenching film and as Peter Travers says it best, “It means to shake you. And it does.”

(Bonus marks: 1- Steve Buschemi the Great. 2- Will and Olivia in the kitchen. The always delightful, always mysterious Samantha Morton does one of her best scenes.)

5- The White Ribbon

The small village will haunt you for days. Haneke described the movie as a study of the origin of every kind of terrorism. What he doesn’t say is that, like in his previous work, Cache, he doesn’t give an answer to his questions, but leaves you thinking for a very long time after. With absolute technical mastery, he has created a mysterious atmosphere and that is exactly why this movie succeeds.

(Bonus marks: Christian Berger’s Cinematography)

4- Inglourious Basterds

There’s just so much to appreciate in this film for a film lover; from quotable Tarantino dialogues, to Richardson and Wasco’s visual treat, to the amazing performances by the international cast, to Brigitte’s right shoe and Shosanna’s red dress.

Is it violent? Definitely. Ridiculous? Sure. Flawed? Maybe. Best American film of the year? Most certainly.

(Bonus marks: The opening scene. It’s so engaging, you technically never move your eyes away from that point on.)

3- Mary and Max

Heartfelt in its story and stunning in its visuals, it is the epitome of animation in 2009; and that’s saying a heck of a lot, considering that this year also produced Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline. Original, Clever, delicate and extremely detailed, Mary and Max is a remarkable movie you’ll always want to watch again.

(Bonus marks: Mary’s mother.)

2- A Prophet

As good a crime film as there’s ever been. It may sound strange but it’s not for the lack of a better word if I describe this film as “poetic”. A Prophet could have been just another typical prison drama but Audiard handles the non-traditional narrative with such care and precision, he achieves the perfect balance between the character development of a drama and the fast paced momentum of a crime film and gritty violence and artistry, while maintaining his personal style. A real crime classic in the ranks of Goodfellas and Godfather.

(Bonus marks: The murder scene; one of the many scenes that prove Tahar Rahim to be the most promising actor of the year.)

Top Pick:

1- About Elly

Every character, every movement, every subplot, every angle, everything in this movie is perfectly placed. Farhadi’s film is precious in that it is one of the very few films that have something to say about the educated middle class people of Iran, which makes it accessible to a universal audience. It’s the most realistic depiction of the lifestyle of Iranians as a society still in the middle of a cultural revolution, in between tradition and modernism. About Elly is an intricate piece from start to finish, from the script to the mise en scene and on a thematic level and a technical level. Oh, and have I mentioned the performances?

Farhadi’s been getting better and better film by film. This film is going to be hard to top, so I can’t wait to see what he does next.

(Bonus marks: Elly! In every scene she’s present in, but especially in the car, when she answers the phone call with those the distressed eyes. Only on second viewing it becomes clear why that performance is so beautiful.)

I will be writing a full review on About Elly later as a part of a series I have planned on Iranian cinema, so make sure you check it out if you like the movie as much as I do. If you haven’t seen it yet, well, let’s hope a North American release is on the way.

And so there you have it.

Are there movies you think are worthy that I didn’t mention?

*Inglourious Basterds Poster taken from here.

Jafar Panahi, one of Asia's most acclaimed directors, arrested!

Iranian Police arrested Jafar Panahi, one of Iran's most successful directors last night, along with his wife, his daughter and 15 house guests.
Panahi has been a supporter of the opposition movement in Iran and has publicly supported the defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Reports indicate that plainclothes police forces broke into Panahi's house on Monday evening without prior notice, searched the house and after arresting him, also took away some of his personal belongings. Superior police forces have denied the possibility of the arrest being related to political reasons.
Sevaral filmmakers, including Ken Loach and Shirin Neshat, have already expressed their opposition to his arrest and have called for his release.
Panahi was also denied the right to exit the country last month to attend the Berlin film festival.
Panahi's films in the past have dealt with social issues such as poverty and sexism. His first feature, The White Balloon, won the Golden Camera award at Cannes film festival in 1995. He is also the recipient of Venice film festival's highest prize, the Golden Lion, for his 2003 film, The Circle; and the Silver Bear at Berlin film festival for his latest film, Offside, in 2006.