The Saint
Screen
Funny how fallin feels like flyin
Ross Dickie reports on an Oscar contender from the Glasgow Film Festival
It's time for the Oscars
Robert Dougherty gives you his best guesses for the 82nd Academy Awards
Ten damn movies. While the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will recognize amazing actors and intense writing, I just cant get over the fact that the Best Picture category has ten nomineesmaking your predictions half as likely to be correct. The move is an embarrasing, transparent attempt to get more viewers.
That being said, the race has come down to two films: The Hurt Locker and Pocahontas-in-space opera Avatar. My moneys on The Hurt Locker.
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart is the favourite for Best Actor. The five-time nominee has yet to win, but the hype surrounding him has made it clear that this is his year.
Best Actress is one of the few truly competitive races this season. Sandra Bullocks courageous housewife in The Blind Side has generated great reviews, but one cant underestimate how much the Academy loves Meryl Streep. Still, its Bullocks race to lose.
Best Supporting Actor has been clear since May with the release of Inglourious Basterds. Christoph Waltz will come away with the award this Wednesday.
Similarly, Best Supporting Actress is locked up. MoNiques universally acclaimed sadistic mother in Precious will earn the comedienne her first Oscar.
The Oscars airs on this Sunday night, March 7th, at 2 AM - well worth staying up for!
The Hurt Locker:
not worth buying?
James Williamson feels let down by the British DVD for the six-time BAFTA winner
For those who prefer to ignore the hype surrounding the awards season, The Hurt Locker is an Iraq War drama which follows an Explosive Ordanance Disposal unit in their struggle to survive their dangerous task. The tone of the film is immediately set by the gruesome fate of the units leader, and things only get worse for remaining team members Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) with the arrival of their new leader, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner)it isnt long before Jamess risk-taking puts the entire team in danger.
The plot is episodic in nature, as the unit is threatened by an escalating series of perilous situations. The relationships of the three men subtly tie these encounters together, and the more disparate sections provide insight into their psyches. Jeremy Renner shines, making Williams extreme nature believable. Director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) and screenwriter Mark Boal (In the Valley of Elah) are clearly fascinated by the mentality of those who choose such a hazardous occupation. The gripping film they created has extended that fascination to audiences and critics alike.
Unfortunately. the DVD package does not share Hurt Lockers captivating qualities. While there is nothing wrong with its sound or visual quality, the extras are sorely lacking. The Behind the Scenes feature is only twelve minutes, mainly consisting of the casts comments on characters and themes with only occasional sound bites from Bigelow or Boal. Just one brief segment gives insight into the actual making of the film, and there is obvious reuse of footage from the supplementary cast interviews. There is no separate interview with either director or writer and no commentary track, a strange omission in the British version, as it does exist for the Region 1 (North American) version.
Renting or downloading the Oscar contender on iTunes without the extras may be a better option than the £9.99 most retailers are charging for the full package. With such limited special features, this is a great film on a meagre DVD.
Crazy Heart
112 Minutes
Dir. Scott Cooper
In Scott Coopers directorial debut, the inimitable Jeff Bridges takes on the role of Bad Blake, a country singer who faded away before he had the chance to burn out. Resigned to the bowling alley circuit and enslaved by the bottle, Blake stumbles from small stage to small stage in an almost permanent state of inebriation. The films dark mood shifts when the washed up musician agrees to an interview with Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a young journalist who he meets in Santa Fe. The chemistry between the two is immediately apparent and although both actors deliver outstanding individual performances, the film is at its best when they share the screen.
Receiving his first Oscar nomination in 1972 for his role in The Last Picture Show, it seems about time that Bridges gained the recognition that he so thoroughly deserves with a nomination this year. His main contender is undoubtedly Colin Firth, who recently picked up a BAFTA for his understated performance in A Single Man much has been made of the scene in which Firths character learns of his lovers death. Bridges portrayal of Bad Blake is equally subtle: the slightest grimace says more of the world-weary singer than any line could possibly convey. Its a tight race, but wouldnt it be great if The Dude won an Oscar?
Credit must also be given to the late Stephen Bruton who, along with T-Bone Burnett, composed and produced such an incredible soundtrack. Songs such as Fallin & Flyin and The Weary Kind provide an important sense of realism and history to Blakes character. Hijacking a Toby Keith concert for one of the movies biggest scenes, Cooper has clearly gone to great lengths to give the story a feeling of authenticity. With the expert vocal coaching of Roger Love, Bridges and Farrell performed all of their own songs. If there is lip-syncing, it is so well executed that it never detracts from the music itself.
One minor criticism could be made of Coopers first shot at writing and directing relates to the quality of the screenplay. This isnt to say that its bad, but the dialogue is nothing special. Without the magnetic screen presence of Bridges and Gyllenhaal, not to mention compelling supporting performances from Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall, the film would be relatively unexceptional. As things stand, its one of the best films Ive seen so far this year.
Crazy Heart had its Scottish premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival last week, and is now in theatres across the UK.
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