Best of Black Sheep: A SERIOUS MAN

Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed and Sari Lennick


Larry Gopnick: It’s not always easy to decipher what God is trying to tell us.

Let alone deciphering, it isn’t always that easy even hearing what God is trying to tell us most of the time. Imagine trying to hear God speak to you when you walk in the house at the end of an incredibly long day, only to hear your trouble-making son complain about how the television reception is off, your daughter complaining about how the uncle that is staying with you never leaves the bathroom so that she can do her hair and your wife, after barely acknowledging your presence, asking when you’re going to make that appointment with the divorce lawyer. This is Larry Gopnick’s life, as told by Joel and Ethan Coen in their latest and most personal film, A SERIOUS MAN. Clearly, God is trying to tell Larry something about his life but with the Coen’s playing God, it isn’t the least bit surprising that there is nothing clear about it at all.


A SERIOUS MAN takes place in 1967 in the suburban Midwest. This would be about the time and place that the Coen’s were coming into their own as young men. Larry, his eclectic family and his neighbours were inspired by a pastiche of the adults that surrounded the young filmmakers during that time. And while this is without question their most personal work, it is by no means an autobiography of their own family. What it is, is a morality tale about one man, who could be any man, and his test in life. Yes, this man is a serious man; he tries to do right by others and himself and for him, this is the definition of taking life seriously. How can we take life this way though when there are so many factors beyond our control and how can we then turn to God for both guidance and blame?


The Coen’s here delight in taunting the powers that be in a day when people are looking for answers from powers as vague and as vast as the universe itself. The story is set long before these days but we cannot help but watch from our current perspective. Adding an extra layer of existentialism is the devout Judaism of almost the entire cast. The film opens with a tale of a couple who inadvertently invite a dybbuk (the soul of a dead person) into their home, subsequently cursing their family for eternity. It isn’t confirmed whether Larry Gopnick is a direct descendent of these two but with everything he has to go through, you’ve got to assume he must be. The deep roots that ground Judaism in tradition and bond its people to each other and to their God don’t necessarily provide answers as welll and while this could be interpreted as criticism, it feels more like a sympathetic and jovial send-up instead.


At the center of it all, there is an ordinary man going through an extraordinarily difficult time that he cannot seem to take control of regardless of the efforts he makes. The Tony-nominated stage actor, Michael Stuhlbarg, cements that center with a remarkably memorable performance. His face may be weathered but it is also one of genuine earnest that is increasingly more stupefied with every new burden he must bear. His misfortune inspires both sympathy and big laughs, proving that we all know that life is hard; that we’ve all been there to some extent and that if we were lucky enough to get out of there, we can look back and laugh. And try as he might to be that serious man at all costs, the one lesson that Larry cannot seem to grasp is that no matter how hard we fight, maybe some of us are just plain cursed to begin with.


CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Oscars @ Home

There are over 40 different films nominated for Oscars this year and less than 30 days before the actual telecast. Let's be real here. Unless you've been thoroughly preparing for this throughout the year, you will not get a chance to see all the nominated films in time. Even if you did prepare, or are a film critic like myself and have seen 30 of the nominated films already, there are some selections, like the surprise animated feature nominee, THE SECRET OF KELLS, which won't reach theatres until after the awards are handed out. And so I suppose the goal is to do the best we can with what time we have and with the resources available to us.

This is where I come in. I will help you make sure you see as many of the right films possible before the big night. To make it easier on you, I'll start with all the nominated films that you can get at the video store or on demand or delivered to your door. Believe it or not, there are 16 films available to rent before the telecast airs, five of which are nominated for Best Picture. You can start your journey comfortably in your living room and work your way up getting out of the house and into the crowds to see the rest. I will rank them in order of importance and list the awards they are nominated for so that you can see why I consider them important.

1. THE HURT LOCKER
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING


Tied for the most nominations with AVATAR, THE HURT LOCKER is your first stop. Unfortunately, as it only pulled in $13 million or so in theatres, it is a lot of people's first stop so it might be hard to find. If you're a fan of the war genre and appreciate the tension that only dismantling bombs can carry, you should just buy it. It's a gorgeous film. THE HURT LOCKER has a great chance to win in all of its categories, except the acting (sorry, Jeremy Renner), so this is a must if you want to follow on the big night.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SUPPORTING ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has only one less nod than THE HURT LOCKER but not as much buzz. I would say it would be a surprise Best Picture winner but if anyone has a shot at a directing upset, it's Quentin Tarantino. Christoph Waltz is a lock for Supporting Actor and Tarantino might take the screenplay nod instead of the directing award. This one is also a must see.

3. DISTRICT 9
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
FILM EDITING
VISUAL EFFECTS

DISTRICT 9 is a long shot in all of it's categories but the fact that it managed that much attention in such big categories makes me think a lot of people liked this one. It is a must see before the telecast just because of what it is nominated for but as it won't likely win, it won't be the end of everything if you miss it.

4. UP
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANIMATED FEATURE
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND EDITING


UP has a very good chance to beat FANTASTIC MR. FOX for Animated Feature and an off chance at the screenplay bid so it is a contender but I don't see it as a Best Picture threat. Composer Michael Giacchino could grab another award for his score but I don't know how many people watch the Oscars for the music category. If you haven't seen UP, you should. You'll be happy to see it win whatever it does.

5. A SERIOUS MAN
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Two biggies there but no support in any other category suggests people liked A SERIOUS MAN but weren't floored by anything in particular about it. Personally, I loved everything about it and still think Michael Stuhlbarg was robbed in the Best Actor category. It comes out tomorrow and Black Sheep's full review will be up then.

6. JULIE & JULIA
Nominated for:

ACTRESS

JULIE & JULIA only has the one nomination but it happens to be a record-breaking one for Meryl Streep and people are saying that it is going to come down to her or Sandra Bullock in THE BLIND SIDE. If you want to get in on that race, you need to start here.

7. IN THE LOOP
Nominated for:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


Although I was sad not to see Tom Ford pick up a nod for writing A SINGLE MAN, I am thrilled to see the screenplay for IN THE LOOP up for it instead. This is definitely one of the sharpest, dirtiest, most hilarious films I've seen in years. You likely have never heard of it but if you are debating watching it because of the nomination, good for you! You will laugh very hard at this British political satire. It is brave and shocking and again, so funny!

8. STAR TREK
Nominated for:

VISUAL EFFECTS
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING
MAKEUP

STAR TREK may have missed out on the bigger prizes but these four nods tie STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME for the most Oscar nods for any Star Trek film. You don't need to see this beforehand but you should definitely see it.

9. THE COVE and FOOD INC.
Each nominated for:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

You don't always get to see the nominated documentary features that easily and THE COVE and FOOD INC. are two that you don't want to miss. Both will change your life and just imagine how smart you'll look at your Oscar party when you can say you've seen two of the nominated documentaries.


THE REST ...

The following films are nominated here and there and also available to watch before the telecast, in case you wanted to be thorough. Once you're done with the first half of this list though, you should probably get to the theatre before the rest of these. Priorities, people!



BRIGHT STAR
(Nominated for Costume Design)

COCO AVANT CHANEL
(Costume Design)

CORALINE
(Animated Feature)

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
(Cinematography)

IL DIVO
(Makeup)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(Sound Mixing) CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Shearing the Oscars: Best Picture

As was started yesterday, Black Sheep continues today with a brief look at each of the ten Oscar nominated films for Best Picture. Yesterday, we looked at the first five, alphabetically, AVATAR, THE BLIND SIDE, DISTRICT 9, AN EDUCATION and THE HURT LOCKER. Today we continue with five more incredible films and I ask only one thing today. I ask that we take the time to acknowledge each of the nominated films and why they are being recognized instead of focusing on just two front runners.

All five of the following films deserve their place in this year's race. The remaining five Oscar nominees for Best Picture are ...

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS


I've seen this film three times now and it honestly took me all three viewings to get past director, Quentin Tarantino's ego in order to appreciate its beauty. At least I can say he's earned it. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS certainly stands as one of his finest works, potentially second only to PULP FICTION. A variety of his influences are not only being honoured here but actually reappropriated and given the Tarantino touch. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including two for Tarantino himself as writer and director, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS should not be discounted as a serious contender. The Tarantino camp just has to want it as bad as Brad Pitt wanted his scalps in the movie.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE


I believe that had the Oscars taken place a few months ago, PRECIOUS would be taking the top prize. The reality is that this film first screened over a year ago at Sundance and has been making nothing but noise since then. By the time it screened at TIFF and took the audience award, insiders were calling it this year's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In other words, it was a sure thing. Maybe it was overkill or maybe it only had enough to strength to go so far, but interest in PRECIOUS dropped almost instantly when the box office receipts started dropping. I still believe it deserves its place in the winners' circle but it will be tricky to get people back on this train.

A SERIOUS MAN


I was really hoping to see A SERIOUS MAN included amongst the Best Picture nominees. This is one of the most personal stories the Coen Brothers, Joel & Ethan, have told and yet it is one of the least inclusive works I've seen from them. Their authenticity and playfulness with the idea of one man cursed by God is often hilarious and even more often, painfully uncomfortable. Led by a brilliant performance by Michael Stuhlbarg, perhaps my most disappointing acting snub, A SERIOUS MAN has not and will not reach enough of an audience to get enough votes in this category and the Coen's far better work, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, already took this prize just a few years ago.

UP


The people at Pixar are probably very happy about the five Oscar nominations their latest hit, UP, has earned. It is also only the second animated film in history to earn a Best Picture nomination. And while it may have been their biggest money earner in years, I do not personally feel this is their best work in years. I loved UP; I've seen in three times and have laughed and cried each time but WALL-E not making the cut last year is one of the major contributing factors to UP even having a shot at being nominated this year. A win for UP would be a consolation prize almost, I feel. It is edging out FANTASTIC MR. FOX in the Animated Feature category and that, and possibly Michael Giacchino's enchanting score, is likely as far as it is going to go.

UP IN THE AIR


Back when awards season was just starting, people were calling UP IN THE AIR the one to beat. It was winning critics awards over and over again, while director Jason Reitman and star, George Clooney, were looking like top contenders in their fields. The energy has died out some but it isn't too late to get it back. If the cast and crew work their magic on the scene, it shouldn't be too hard to remind people that UP IN THE AIR is an incredibly timely and tender piece about connecting with other people and other flights. Reitman's smooth touch and Clooney's classical charm give UP IN THE AIR an ease that let it glide right into your heart.

And so that sums up all ten nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. Who are you rooting for? Get creative! CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Shearing the Oscars: Best Picture

The nominations for the 82nd annual Academy Awards were announced this past week and, if you care about the Oscars at all, you likely knew already that they were to be expanding their Best Picture category from five to ten slots. It may have been a thinly veiled attempt to ensure the telecast audience grows this year by embracing a wider array of films but did it work? My guess, based on the support the films reached in other categories and the feelings I'm getting in my stomach, I would venture that had the Academy stuck with five nominees, they would look a little something like this:

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

I would have been satisfied with that, even with AVATAR being included. Thanks to the new rules though, the following films get to bask in Oscar glory as well:

THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
A SERIOUS MAN
UP

All, save for one, which I will allow you to figure out all by yourself, are well deserving. So, it would appear, that Oscar did good so far and their future bodes well. I'm still back and forth on the move though. On the one hand, I feel that honouring ten films better encompasses all genres and audiences. On the other, I feel it cheapens the recognition itself. While I am torn on this point, I am decisively upset with the media for how they've handled the whole thing. The Academy goes out of its way to reach a wider audience and honour more films and what do you do? You whittle the list down to a mere two entries, suggesting this biblical David vs. Goliath cage match between THE HURT LOCKER and AVATAR, as though none of the other films stand any chance. I understand that frontrunners exist but to be fair, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has eight nominations in total, only one less than the big two. UP IN THE AIR has already won plenty of top prizes during awards season too. Even PRECIOUS, whose buzz died off long ago, still has Oprah behind it. If she can get a president elected, she can get a measly, little Oscar.

And so, in the interest of actually considering all ten nominated films instead of writing them off immediately after they were announced, Black Sheep will break down the nominations for Best Picture, one by one, beginning with ...

AVATAR

Do I believe AVATAR has an excellent chance of winning Best Picture? Yes, it does. Do I believe it should win? Of course not. The entire world has been swept up in the incredible spell AVATAR has cast on filmgoing audiences. Do I believe it warrants its nomination? Yes, I do. Any film that wows and inspires as many people as this one has, deserves to honoured as one of the best pictures of the year. An exciting adventure doesn't always make for an incredible film though. Director James Cameron's screenplay is unoriginal and obvious and the acting is uneven at best. Sure, I had a good time watching AVATAR but nothing other than that has stayed with me. A Best Picture winner should be timeless.

THE BLIND SIDE

I swore I would never see this movie when I first saw the preview and I finally had to cave last weekend because it was becoming pretty clear that Sandra Bullock was going to score a Best Actress nomination for her work in it. She did just that and, in another beguiling sign that she has a very good shot at winning that award, she also inspired enough love to elevate the film itself into the Best Picture race. Clearly, I had very low expectations for THE BLIND SIDE but I was pleasantly surprised. By that, I mean, it was alright. Alright should not be nominated for Best Picture, let alone win, and, in this case, it won't.

DISTRICT 9

I don't think DISTRICT 9 has any genuine chance of winning this award but the fact that it's here speaks to how much unexpected impact it had on those who saw it, including myself. (DISTRICT 9 is nominated for Best Picture at Black Sheep's Mouton d'Or Awards this year as well.) The Academy also showered the film with love for its elaborate and imaginative screenplay as well as its very real visual effects and intense editing style. Stealing an editing slot from bigger fish, UP IN THE AIR, suggests that its chances are stronger than I think they are but if a piece of science-fiction is going to win this year, it will be for bluer aliens than these.

AN EDUCATION

As AN EDUCATION too earned a Mouton d'Or nomination for Best Picture this year, it is clearly a favorite of mine and I am thrilled to see it make the final cut, alongside the brilliant Nick Hornby screenplay and the breathtaking performance by Carey Mulligan. This film has a much better chance of winning overseas at the BAFTA's though than in Hollywood. It is one of the nominated films that stands a good chance to see its box office receipts increase now but that is only because it has not been seen by many at all. (It has earned less than all of the other nominated films in this category.) It's lack of exposure will ultimately cripple it.

THE HURT LOCKER

This Kathryn Bigelow picture has only made a few million dollars more than AN EDUCATION but has been lauded as the Best Picture of the year by critics almost universally. And now that it is available to rent, interest in the film has, uh, exploded, if you will. Critical darlings don't always take the big prize and God knows war-themed pictures have struggled hard for years now but THE HURT LOCKER has the potential to transcend that. It will reach an audience now that it may never have without this recognition and that audience will be shaken by its overpowering tension. They won't know what hit them and if the HURT LOCKER Oscar campaign doesn't trip any major wires before the big night, the rest of the nominees won't know what hit them either.

Black Sheep's breakdown of the Best Picture nominees continues tomorrow with INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, PRECIOUS, A SERIOUS MAN, UP and UP IN THE AIR.

In the meantime, what do you think? Is it really just a race between AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER? If it is, was it worth expanding the list to begin with? Black Sheep wants to know what you think! CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Black Sheep previews SOUTHLAND

Black Sheep's complete Oscar coverage commences this weekend but first, I need to talk to you about a viewing experience I just had. Now, I know that as of late, it has been pretty fashionable to bash NBC's initial decision to run "The Jay Leno Show" five nights a week, let alone the embarrassing fallout from that bold move. There is one unsung casualty though from this move that needs to be heard. The decision to eliminate the ten o'clock drama meant that NBC cancelled one of the most promising police dramas to appear in years. SOUTHLAND, from ER creator, John Wells, and PUBLIC ENEMIES co-writer, Ann Biderman, was a late addition to the schedule last year and aired for all of seven episodes before NBC pulled the plug. Fortunately, cable network, TNT has picked it up. Take my advice and get on the first season right now. The desperate situation the Los Angeles police department finds themselves facing every day makes for incredibly tense and gritty drama, thanks to brave writing and sharp performances from this stellar cast. Regina King has never been better; she wears the burden of a police force facing insurmountable odds on her face like a veil but never gives up. And Ben Mackenzie is just impossible to ignore; his fresh faced rich boy cop is complex and intriguing. Now, would be the perfect time to start watching. The new season starts March 2 so you won't have to wait long to find out what happens after season one's shocking cliffhanger. SOUTHLAND: SEASON ONE is available now to own, thanks to Warner Brothers Home Video. CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Tis the Season: The Academy Awards

Question: Why can't Julianne Moore get a break already with you Oscar people? She finally puts out a role worth nominating again in A SINGLE MAN (which was essentially ignored except for Colin Firth) and you don't even pat her on the head for it. Shame. Speaking of which, THE BLIND SIDE for Best Picture? Is this what you expanded your spread for? To include mediocre white-washed Hollywood movies about rich white women helping unfortunate black youths? The only major category to post not one but two surprise nominations was Supporting Actress, where Moore was snubbed. I did not expect to see any love for the cast of NINE, including Oscar favorite, Penelope Cruz. And I can only assume they gave the nod to Maggie Gyllenhaal for CRAZY HEART for having to make out constantly with a drunken and disheveled Jeff Bridges, who is God knows how many years older than she is. Those were definitely the biggest shockers for me this morning. It was not my only disappointment though. The following love was noticeably absent from this morning's announcements: STAR TREK could have easily been a Best Picture contender. It may not have made as much money as AVATAR but it was 100 times better and smarter. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER was one of the most original screenplays of the year and should have been recognized as such. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and PONYO were such better animated film experiences than THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. And what on earth is THE SECRET OF KELLS? (Excuse my ignorance.) I'm happy AN EDUCATION found its way into the Best Picture category but I cannot understand why Alfred Molina was not acknowledged for his great work in the film. IN THE LOOP being nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category is very exciting but it meant snubbing Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach for their great work of Roald Dahl's FANTASTIC MR. FOX. And while I am very pleased to see the Coen Brothers in the winners circle again with A SERIOUS MAN, I am saddened not to see the fantastic work of star, Michael Stuhlbarg, recognized as well.

AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER (directed by divorced spouses, James Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow) lead with nine nominations apiece. Without further ado, here are the nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards ...

(Click any highlighted title for the original Black Sheep review.)

LEADING ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES in CRAZY HEART
GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR
COLIN FIRTH in A SINGLE MAN
MORGAN FREEMAN in INVICTUS
JEREMY RENNER in THE HURT LOCKER

SUPPORTING ACTOR

MATT DAMON in INVICTUS
WOODY HARRELSON in THE MESSENGER
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE LAST STATION
STANLEY TUCCI in THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTOPH WALTZ in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

LEADING ACTRESS

SANDRA BULLOCK in THE BLIND SIDE
HELEN MIRREN in THE LAST STATION
CAREY MULLIGAN in AN EDUCATION
GABOUREY SIDIBE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
MERYL STREEP in JULIE & JULIA

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PENELOPE CRUZ in NINE
VERA FARMIGA in UP IN THE AIR
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL in CRAZY HEART
ANNA KENDRICK in UP IN THE AIR
MO'NIQUE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE

ANIMATED FEATURE

CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
THE SECRET OF KELLS
UP

ART DIRECTION

AVATAR
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE WHITE RIBBON

COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

DIRECTING

JAMES CAMERON for AVATAR
KATHRYN BIGELOW for THE HURT LOCKER
QUENTIN TARANTINO for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
LEE DANIELS for PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JASON REITMAN for UP IN THE AIR

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

BURMA VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA
WHICH WAY HOME

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

CHINA'S UNNATURAL DISASTER
THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF GOVERNOR BOOTH GARDNER
THE LAST TRUCK
MUSIC BY PRUDENCE
RABBIT A LA BERLIN

FILM EDITING

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

AJAMI
EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS
THE MILK OF SORROW
UN PROPHETE
THE WHITE RIBBON

MAKEUP

IL DIVO
STAR TREK
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

ORIGINAL SCORE

AVATAR
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE HURT LOCKER
SHERLOCK HOLMES
UP

ORIGINAL SONG

ALMOST THERE from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
LOIN DE PANAME from FAUBOURG 36
TAKE IT ALL from NINE
THE WEARY KIND from CRAZY HEART

SHORT FILM ANIMATED

FRENCH ROAST
GRANNY O'GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY
THE LADY AND THE REAPER
LOGORAMA
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH

SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION

THE DOOR
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA
KAVI
MIRACLE FISH
THE NEW TENANTS

SOUND EDITING

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
UP

SOUND MIXING

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
IN THE LOOP
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE MESSENGER
A SERIOUS MAN
UP

BEST PICTURE

AVATAR
THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
UP IN THE AIR

The Academy Awards air on Sunday, March 7. CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

OSCAR predictions 2010

Tomorrow is like my own little Christmas morning. I've said this before but it's true. I get so excited the morning the Academy Award nominations are announced! I can't help it. The entire award season has been building to this. I say this now but it is almost more exciting than the night they announce the winners. Shortlisting is so much more fun than choosing one winner. C'mon!

This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has decided to expand their Best Picture nominee list to 10 contenders. This is something they haven't done since 1943, when CASABLANCA took home the prize. The obvious argument for the expansion of the category is to subsequently expand their viewership. People say that had THE DARK KNIGHT or WALL-E been nominated last year, that more people would have watched. These people are probably right. This move ensures that no beloved blue creatures will be left off the ballot. Good timing on the Academy's part, considering AVATAR is the new box office champion of all time. People will watch this year for sure. That is, unless AVATAR somehow doesn't make the cut ... which I will not complain about.

Rather than try to figure out the nominees in all the major categories, I'm just going to wager what will make the Top 10 in the Best Picture category. Seven out of the ten are sure bets for me and I filled my swing slots with DISTRICT 9, STAR TREK and A SERIOUS MAN. We'll find out if I'm on the right track or if the Academy fell for more Eastwood schlock this year tomorrow at 8:30 AM EST.

Here are Black Sheep's predictions for Best Picture ...

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
A SERIOUS MAN
STAR TREK
UP!
UP IN THE AIR

I would love to see (500) DAYS OF SUMMER or FANTASTIC MR. FOX or A SINGLE MAN sneak in there. Let's make it interesting!

I hope I sleep tonight. CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

THE 2009 MOUTON D'OR AWARD NOMINATIONS

UP IN THE AIR leads Black Sheep Reviews' 2009 Mouton d'Or Award nominations with a total of seven, including one for Best Picture. Fellow Best Picture nominee, DISTRICT 9 follows with five nods. UP! also earns five nods but misses out on a Best Picture shot. PRECIOUS, AN EDUCATION and (500) DAYS OF SUMMER round out this year's list of contenders for the top prize, each scoring four nods. The Best Picture race this year is one that is particularly meaningful to me. Together, the five films define the year in film for me, as they should. Each one left a distinct mark on me and each one would go on to be more than just a movie but also a memory of my life.

There is one change to the Mouton d'Or Awards this year ... The technical awards have been dumbed down simply because I don't feel technical enough to make any judgment. So instead of having specific awards for editing, cinematography or art direction, there is just one award now called, Best Looking Movie.

This is also the second year for the Black Sheep Reader's Choice Award. Another six films have been culminated from your submissions for Best Film of 2009 and over the course of the next few weeks, you can vote for your favorite of the favorites by completing the Black Sheep poll near the top right of the page.

The winners of the Mouton d'Or Awards will be announced on Saturday, March 6. Without any further delay, I am proud to present to you the Black Sheep Reviews' 2009 Mouton d'Or Award nominations ...

(Click any highlighted title to read the original Black Sheep review)


BEST BIG MOVIE

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK
UP!
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST LITTLE MOVIE

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
THE HURT LOCKER
J'AI TUE MA MERE
SIN NOMBRE


THE WORST MOVIE I SAW ALL YEAR

THE FINAL DESTINATION
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
THE LOVELY BONES
OBSERVE AND REPORT
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON


BLACK SHEEP READER'S CHOICE AWARD

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
UP!
UP IN THE AIR


THE TREVOR ADAMS ANIMATED FEATURE AWARD

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
PONYO
UP!


BEST LOOKING MOVIE

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST MUSIC IN A MOVIE

FANTASTIC MR. FOX
NINE
A SINGLE MAN
UP!
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

MATT DAMON in INVICTUS
ALFRED MOLINA in AN EDUCATION
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE LAST STATION
STANLEY TUCCI in THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTOPH WALTZ in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

MARION COTILLARD in NINE
VERA FARMIGA in UP IN THE AIR
ANNA KENDRICK in UP IN THE AIR
MO'NIQUE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JULIANNE MOORE in A SINGLE MAN


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER written by SCOTT NEUSTADTER and MICHAEL H. WEBER
THE HURT LOCKER written by MARK BOAL
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS written by QUENTIN TARANTINO
A SERIOUS MAN written by JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN
UP! written by BOB PETERSON and PETE DOCTER


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9 written by NEILL BLOMKAMP and TERRI TATCHELL
AN EDUCATION written by NICK HORNBY
FANTASTIC MR. FOX written by WES ANDERSON and NOAH BAUMBACH
A SINGLE MAN written by TOM FORD and DAVID SCEARCE
UP IN THE AIR written by JASON REITMAN and SHELDON TURNER


BEST ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES in CRAZY HEART
GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR
COLIN FIRTH in A SINGLE MAN
MORGAN FREEMAN in INVICTUS
MICHAEL STUHLBARG in A SERIOUS MAN


BEST ACTRESS

HELEN MIRREN in THE LAST STATION
CAREY MULLIGAN in AN EDUCATION
MAYA RUDOLPH in AWAY WE GO
GABOUREY SIDIBE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
MERYL STREEP in JULIE & JULIA


BEST DIRECTOR

KATHRYN BIGELOW for THE HURT LOCKER
JAMES CAMERON for AVATAR
JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN for A SERIOUS MAN
LEE DANIELS for PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JASON REITMAN for UP IN THE AIR


BEST PICTURE

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

It's been a good year! CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Tis the Season: The Screen Actors Guild

Earlier this week, AN EDUCATION, THE HURT LOCKER and PRECIOUS saw their chances for Oscar gold increase with Best Film nominations at the BAFTA's. At the Screen Actors Guild awards, given out last night, it was another film that declared itself a contender. Without AVATAR or UP IN THE AIR to contend with, as they weren't even noninated, Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS emerged triumphant in the Best Ensemble category, the SAG equivalent of Best Picture. As for the remaining acting categories, the winners remain unchanged from last week's Golden Globes. I still haven't caught Sandra Bullock's supposed best performance of her career in THE BLIND SIDE so I have no business saying anything at all about this but I will this week at some point, and let me tell you, if I'm right about this being just some big pay on the back for a long career and contribution to Hollywood, you will hear about it people! This is a guild made up of actors designed to reward the most incredible performances in their field. Again, I cite Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe as exceptional examples of this craft and I hope that the SAG aren't debasing themselves by proving that all of this is nothing more than a fancy popularity contest.

The Screen Actors Guild film award winners are:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
NINE
PRECIOUS

And the winner is: INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER

And the winner is: JEFF BRIDGES - CRAZY HEART

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

And the winner is: SANDRA BULLOCK - THE BLIND SIDE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, INVICTUS
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer - THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES

And the winner is: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, NINE
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Diane Kruger, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

And the winner is: MO'NIQUE - PRECIOUS

For a full list of winners, visit the SAG website. CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Best of Black Sheep: CREATION

CREATION
Written by John Collee
Directed by Jon Amiel
Starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly


Oh, how timely to throw together a biopic about Charles Darwin now. It seems to me that, while Darwin’s theories about evolution have been angering religious types since before they were committed to paper, they seem to have been an even hotter topic in recent years with creationists. It would almost seem as though the creators of CREATION may have specifically intended to capitalize on that controversy to get people to see their movie. They may succeed in getting people into the theatres but their incredibly bland picture will ensure that whatever conversation they hoped to inspire will stop there.


CREATION – the movie, that is, not the finite starting point of existence – begins with Mr. Darwin (a frail, pale but mostly able Paul Bettany) telling his eerily smiley daughter (Martha West) a story. I would think that director, Jon Amiel, is telling his story because he sides with Darwin so I’m not clear why he wanted to portray him as an elaborate story-teller right from the start. If this is the man whose mind would manifest the argumental means to theoretically “kill” God, there should be no seed of doubt planted behind him if he is to be taken seriously.


While Darwin grapples with the death of his favorite daughter, he must resolve his faith and his science in order to complete his years of research. The whole process drags him into madness and Bettany's real-life wife, Jennifer Connelly is alongside for the descent as his wife and first cousin, essentially reprising her role from A BEAUTIFUL MIND, except this time with an English accent. Her religious devotion is at distinct odds with her husband’s scientific methods but Amiel doesn’t allow this complex divide between them to open any serious debate; oddly, he has them not speak instead. This missed opportunity is what makes CREATION trite when it could have been contentious.

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Tis the Season: The BAFTA's

The British Academy of Film and Television, essentially the British equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, have announced their nominations for the BAFTA's, essentially the equivalent of the Oscar. Leading the pack with eight nominations apiece are international phenomenon, AVATAR, critical darling, THE HURT LOCKER and British pride, AN EDUCATION. Each of these three films will compete for Best Film alongside PRECIOUS and UP IN THE AIR. Missing out on a Best Film nod but scoring seven nominations, is DISTRICT 9. That is one nomination more than favorites, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and UP IN THE AIR. This is definitely good news for AN EDUCATION and THE HURT LOCKER as these indie hits have not been seen by that large an audience and need as much exposure as they can get to score Oscar nods. AVATAR is essentially a lock for a Best Picture nod now at the Oscars and I'm happy to see that the BAFTA voters were smart enough to leave its "original" screenplay off the ballot. Another notable absence is Sandra Bullock for Leading Actress in THE BLIND SIDE. Other snubs include NINE and THE DAMNED UNITED, neither of which received any love whatsoever and British-themed films, BRIGHT STAR and THE YOUNG VICTORIA, which each only earned one nod in the production categories. The BAFTA winners will be announced February 21.

Here is a list of the nominees in the major categories ...
(Click any highlighted title for the Black Sheep review)

BEST FILM
AVATAR
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

DIRECTOR
James Cameron, AVATAR
Neill Blomkamp, DISTRICT 9
Lone Scherfig, AN EDUCATION
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
Quentin Tarantino, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE HANGOVER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
IN THE LOOP
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

LEADING ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER
Andy Serkis, SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL

LEADING ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUATION
Saoirse Ronan, THE LOVELY BONES
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA
Audrey Tautou, COCO BEFORE CHANEL

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, IT'S COMPLICATED
Christian McKay, ME AND ORSON WELLES
Alfred Molina, AN EDUCATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES
Christoph Waltz, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne-Marie Duff, NOWHERE BOY
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS
Kristen Scott Thomas, NOWHERE BOY

ANIMATED FILM
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
UP!

BRITISH FILM
AN EDUCATION
FISH TANK
IN THE LOOP
MOON
NOWHERE BOY

For a full list of nominees, please visit the BAFTA website. CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

THE LOVELY BONES

THE LOVELY BONES
Written by Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and Peter Jackson
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci


I would not have thought that Peter Jackson, the director of the infamous Lord of the Rings trilogy (in case you didn’t know), would ever be a horrible choice to adapt a cherished novel to the big screen. Going forward, I will not be so naïve. In it’s original form, The Lovely Bones, as delicately told by author, Alice Sebold, is a shockingly honest account of what one seemingly happy family endures after the death of their eldest daughter. Its scope reaches into the minds of everyone who is affected by her death and even goes so far as heaven itself for answers. On screen, it goes nowhere near any of this insight and just ends up a mangled mess.


The death of Suzie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a fourteen-year-old girl with her whole life ahead of her, was senseless violence in a time when people still thought such things never happened to them. No body is found and therefore no rest is had by those Suzie touched in life. To sit with the book is to sit with the Salmon family in their grief. It is a cathartic experience and one that I may need to go through again after having all my healing robbed from me by Jackson. His focus, if he had any at all, circles around Suzie’s personal transition from the land of the living to that of the dead. This allows Jackson to imagine grand imagery to bridge the gap between both worlds but, like Suzie, he too gets lost in the “in-between”.


The only things that keep The Lovely Bones from falling apart completely are the performances of Stanley Tucci and Ronan as the murderer and his prey. Their incredible grasp of the source material is the only reminder of its chilling emotional charge. As for Jackson, he should have stuck with the gold he had in hand from the start.

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Black Sheep has Big Love for BIG LOVE

The dust from the Golden Globes has settled and now that I can get over all of their ridiculous choices, I can congratulate an unexpected win that I was very pleased to see. Ever since I first saw her face in KIDS, I was taken with Chloe Sevigny. She has never really connected with the mainstream public but she has amassed a cult following of admirers. On Sunday, she won her first Golden Globe and I could not be happier for the role she won for. As Nicolette Grant in HBO's BIG LOVE, Sevigny's sometimes cold exterior is put to perfect use. She plays the second of three wives in a modern Mormon polygamist family that also includes Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin. Nicky has always been tricky, to say the least. Coming from life on the compound, she is the daughter of a false prophet and is torn between her loyalties to her past family and her current one. She is always dressed in such dowdy attire and so tightly wound, it is a miracle she hasn't combusted into flames by now. In the third season of BIG LOVE, now available on DVD, she finally starts seeing her past for what it really was but it might be too late. Her antics have her on the outs with her new family and it isn't clear that she can ever get back in their good graces. I would love to see bigger love for the show itself but I will hold on to this win for now. Congratulations, Chloe!

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

And the Golden Globe winners are!

The Globes are over. I had a great time tweeting throughout and sharing the experience with a lot of the readers and other writers out there. I did not so much enjoy the show. It was somber and awkward. Ricky Gervais was ridiculous. Occasionally amusing but mostly insulting and unappreciative. And the choices?! Such bizarre wins that leave me unenthused about the rest of the awards season. Sandra Bullock over Gabourey Sidibe or Carey Mulligan for Best Actress? The Hangover for Best Comedy over 500 Days of Summer. And although I can respect a James Cameron win for Best Direction, I cannot get on board with an Avatar best picture win over Up in the Air, Precious, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds. I hope when I wake up tomorrow, the film press will be declaring the Golden Globes a big joke so they have zero influence on the Oscar nods.

BEST PICTURE (DRAMA)

The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Winner: AVATAR

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)

George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers

Winner: JEFF BRIDGES - A CRAZY HEART

BEST ACTOR (COMEDY)

Matt Damon - The Informant!
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine

Winner: ROBERT DOWNEY JR - SHERLOCK HOLMES

BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)

Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious

Winner: SANDRA BULLOCK - THE BLIND SIDE

BEST PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
IT'S COMPLICATED
JULIE AND JULIA
NINE

Winner: THE HANGOVER

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglorious Basterds

Winner: jAMES CAMERON - AVATAR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messengers
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones

Winner: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Baaria (Italy)
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Maid (Chile)
Un Prophete (France)

Winner: THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)

BEST SCREENPLAY

District 9
The Hurt Locker
It's Complicated
Inglorious Basterds

Winner: UP IN THE AIR

BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)

Sandra Brullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It's Complicated

Winner: MERYL STREEP - JULIE AND JULIA

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penelope Cruz - Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Julianne Moore - A Single Man

Winner: MO'NIQUE - PRECIOUS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog

Winner: UP!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Cinema Italiana - Nine
I See You - Avatar
I Want to Come Home - Everybody's Fine
Winter - Brothers

Winner: THE WEARY KIND - CRAZY HEART

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Informant
Avatar
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Winner: UP! CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

From 2000 to 20: Black Sheep's Best Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

It’s pretty self-explanatory, folks. The decade ended a couple of weeks ago and after careful consideration and a little assistance from my Flickchart obsession, I have whittled down what I consider to be the 20 best films of the last decade. It was certainly not easy and there are so many titles that won’t be mentioned below that truly stood out as well but 10 years is a long time, people. And that means a lot of movies. If you’re narrowing them down to 20, some titles are just not going to fit. And we will call those titles losers because that is what they are. (Sorry 2009, not a single entry from your year managed to make the cut.)

And now for the winners. Black Sheep’s favorite films of the last decade are … (click on any highlighted title for review)

NUMBER TWENTY … WALL-E … Directed by Andrew Stanton … 2008


The last decade was very good to Pixar but according to the world of WALL-E, not so good for humanity. This little robot still warms my heart every time I see him and Pixar gets mad respect from me for constantly pushing themselves when they could so easily coast if they wanted to. Robots can teach us a lot about love if we just listen.

NUMBER NINETEEN … ADAPTATION … Directed by Spike Jonze … 2002

If Nicolas Cage is playing twin screenwriters – one a Hollywood hack and one a tortured artist; and Meryl Streep is playing an unsatisfied writer who gets lost in the exotic world of orchids, thieves and pollen snorting, you know you’re dealing with the crazy mind of screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman and the visual eccentricity of Spike Jonze. This is a beautiful story about getting bogged down in the details.

NUMBER EIGHTEEN … ONCE … Directed by John Carney … 2007

This tiny little modern musical, where music doesn’t just happen spontaneously but rather just exists constantly in the world of these musicians swept the hearts of the world and of the cast itself, as lead actors, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova found love while making it. While their love is never that easy on screen, their real chemistry and beautiful songs leave you wanting to see it a lot more than just once.

NUMBER SEVENTEEN … KILL BILL VOLUME 1 … Directed by Quentin Tarantino … 2003

This was a very welcome return to form for one of the most decadent directors of our time. Tarantino makes so many calculated moves in his work and every time he pulls them off, we marvel. Uma Thurman, in an underrated performance, embarks on a tale of revenge that is completely impossible to predict but disturbingly satisfying. Tarantino’s martial arts experience certainly helped him fashion this into a contemporary masterpiece.

NUMBER SIXTEEN … HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH … Directed by John Cameron Mitchell … 2001

It isn’t so often that you come across a film that takes on a topic as out there as a transsexual rock star who had a botched sex change operation in order to leave East Berlin only to find the wall come down shortly afterward. Director/Star, John Cameron Mitchell makes Hedwig such an unforgettable character by showing us the human side underneath all the wigs and makeup.

NUMBER FIFTEEN … THE PIANIST … Directed by Roman Polanski … 2002

This last entry may never have made the list if I didn’t see it again recently. The hardships endured by Adrien Brody, a pianist, and his family during the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland is subtly told by Roman Polanski, a man whose own family history must have made making this extremely tumultuous. Hopefully, his catharsis was as strong as the one he captured on film.

NUMBER FOURTEEN … FAR FROM HEAVEN … Directed by Todd Haynes … 2002

Todd Haynes is a favorite of mine. He isn’t afraid to be different and he isn’t afraid to talk about being different while ironically trying even harder to blend in to the 1950’s aesthetic where this story takes place. Julianne Moore, an actress often overlooked by the Academy, should have won for her performance as Cathy Whitaker, a housewife whose husband (Dennis Quaid) has eyes for other men and whose own eyes have fallen for her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert). It is a beautiful exercise in restraint.

NUMBER THIRTEEN … THERE WILL BE BLOOD … Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson … 2007

What more can I say about this modern American masterpiece other than what I just wrote in my review from a couple days back? I will just applaud; Anderson for becoming the director he always could; Daniel Day-Lewis for proving why he is the best living actor; Paul Dano for showing incredible promise; Jonny Greenwood for adding an unexpected level of disturbance with his score; and Robert Elswit for making it all look so good. They struck something alright!

NUMBER TWELVE … THE DARK KNIGHT … Directed by Christopher Nolan … 2008

I have mad respect for this film because effort and ambition go a long way with me. Christopher Nolan pushed the boundaries of comic hero movies so far with this Batman caper that he managed to reach the masses. It was tricky and twisted and it took us on flights we have never experienced on film before. The haters can go on hating this one all they like. No matter what they say, this will always be the film that killed Heath Ledger in my eyes and he went out blazing.

NUMBER ELEVEN … MOULIN ROUGE! … Directed by Baz Luhrmann … 2001

This modern musical is a visual explosion of colour, excitement and love. While it may not be entirely original in its story, it is very much so in its imaginative execution. Repurposing old pop songs and giving new meaning to already meaningful words was a delight for viewers because they could so easily relate to the sentiment. This film celebrates and honours some of the most beautiful values around. Love, above all else.

NUMBER TEN … IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE … Directed by Wong Kar-Wai … 2000

This Hong Kong film from one of the most masterful directors of the modern era is an intense exercise in restraint. Beneath its exquisite exterior, two lonely lovers imagine what it would be like to be with each other, which they both desperately want but do not say. Imagining alternative realities makes it tricky to stay strong in the present one and the aching passion that exudes from both the performances and the aesthetic is intoxicating.

NUMBER NINE … THE SQUID AND THE WHALE … Directed by Noah Baumbach … 2005

As a child of divorce, I’ve never really felt that affected by the dissolution of my parents’ marriage. This honest look at divorce though explores what happens when the center of everything you know is suddenly gone and the rules of gravity no longer apply. Noah Baumbach’s touching screenplay and sensitive direction allow for so many brilliant individual moments, which in turn allows each of the players, including Jeff Daniels’ best work, to act selfishly for the first time in their lives and love it.

NUMBER EIGHT … UNITED 93 … Directed by Paul Greengrass … 2006

It took five years for Hollywood to tackle what happened in 2001 directly. Paul Greengrass took the schizophrenic film approach he applied to the latter Bourne movies and applied it to a day that was infinitely more chaotic. Unknown actors make up the passengers on the flight in question and subsequently, instead of egotistical performances, we are left to focus solely on the fear, the emotions and the heroism that sprung from these ordinary people. This is a tool for healing.

NUMBER SEVEN … LOST IN TRANSLATION … Directed by Sofia Coppola … 2003

When I first saw this film, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed. It was a lesson in learning how to cut through the hype to see the film for what it truly is. This quiet film about feeling lost and drifting through a world that makes no sense is still timely today. The relationship between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson is so delicate and always just outside of reach, but watching them find solace and understanding in each other when there is none around them gives hope to all.

NUMBER SIX … MILK … Directed by Gus Van Sant … 2008

Something happened to gay cinema in the last decade. It became about so much more than just being gay. And while Harvey Milk is undeniably an activist for the gay community, the film itself also shows all the other facets of his life that make him a complete human being. I watched this film and wept because I knew so little about the history of the gay rights struggle and then wept some more when I saw how the struggle still forges on today.

NUMBER FIVE … TRAFFIC … Directed by Steven Soderbergh … 2000

Every time I see this movie, I am impressed with how complex it is without pandering to anyone in order to make it more accessible. Yes, the cast itself invites a wider audience but the caliber of the combined talent is what drives home the futility and the ongoing need for the War on Drugs. Soderbergh attacks such a wide canvas and does it in such a deliberately colorful fashion; I am still in awe that he was able to tie it all together so perfectly.

NUMBER FOUR … CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON … Directed by Ang Lee … 2000

Ang Lee understands love. Or at the very least, he understands how to convey the otherworldly connections it makes between the people who fall into it. This dreamlike martial arts adventure is about honour, love and kicking some serious ass. It is a whimsical dance that mesmerizes and enchants the viewer while drawing them in to the difficulties loyalty places on sharing love. It even has a random segue about a girl and her comb. It is as much a testament to the beauty of love as MOULIN ROUGE! is.

NUMBER THREE … NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN … Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen … 2007

This is the definitive Coen Brothers film. Much like P.T. Anderson did the same year with THERE WILL BE BLOOD, the Coen Brothers abandoned what they knew about filmmaking and ended up making their best work by pushing themselves into unfamiliar territory. Aside from the introduction of an iconic antagonist, Anton Chigurgh (Javier Bardem), this film is a subversive cat and mouse game that is consistently sharp and unexpected. It is on many levels a practice in perfect filmmaking.

NUMBER TWO … ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND … Directed by Michel Gondry … 2004

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of much of Gondry’s work but this mind fuck about whether it is better to have loved and lost than to have ever loved at all is the most thorough exploration of the topic I know. As Jim Carrey has Kate Winslet erased from his memory in response to her having done the same to him, he quickly realizes that, while the memories may be tainted, their initial beauty gave him a joy that should never be forgotten. Ignorance is not bliss, my friends. It is just a lack of true appreciation.

NUMBER ONE … BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN … Directed by Ang Lee … 2005

Anyone who knows me is likely not the least surprised to see BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN at the top of my decade list. This is a film that spent months being tossed around the media as “The Gay Cowboy Movie”, and even though it had so many of the right elements in place – Ang Lee as director, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, as the cowboys – it had the potential to ruin any chance gay cinema would have to grow going forward if it got it all wrong. Instead, Lee hit every note perfectly. What it actually became was a film with an unexpected universal appeal that would open doors for future gay characters to be so much more than just gay. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN stands as my favorite film of the decade and my favorite piece of gay cinema of all time.

Thank you for remembering the last ten years in film with me. Here is to the next ten! CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Remembering the year 2008

MAN ON WIRE
Directed by James Marsh


2008 was the year I started being published as a film critic. I suppose one could argue that I was published prior to this as I was self-published right here on Black Sheep but there is something about being published in print that validated my journey as a developing film critic. My destiny was unfolding before my eyes. Not everyone believes in destiny but those who do probably see how the seemingly disconnected pieces of their lives come together to bring them to the exact moment where they stand. Perhaps their destiny is a job; perhaps it is love. Whatever it is, it is pretty safe to say that there aren’t too many people out there that believe that their destiny is to walk a tight rope between New York City’s infamous World Trade Center towers. It was one man’s destiny though, one that was filled in 1974 and one that is magnificently chronicled in James Marsh’s Academy Award winning documentary, MAN ON WIRE.


Your first instinct might be to assume that the man who pulled off this incredible feat must be completely insane. After seeing MAN ON WIRE, you might not think any differently of Philippe Petit. By cutting together rare archival footage of Petit and his gang preparing for the big event with still photographs, news footage and modern interviews with all of Petit’s cohorts, Marsh is able to paint a picture of how Petit got from point A to point B, or from the North Tower to the South Tower, if you will. The incredible, almost cosmic, momentum pushing Petit forward though comes directly from Petit’s mouth. The man is ridiculously animated and alive, not surprisingly. I might be too if I walked a wire 1350 feet off the ground. He never answers that inevitable question as to why he did what he did (which also included wire-walking across the steeples of the Notre Dame Basilica in Paris and the two north pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia) but simply asserts that he was meant to. When you see him on the rope, you know he is right.


As it is described a number of times in the film, to watch Petit walk across the wires is like a little bit of magic in an otherwise dull day. As these activities all took place over thirty years ago, there isn’t a vast collection of footage to pull from to recreate them. Reenactments are not exactly new to documentaries but the style with which Marsh attributes them here is certainly not something I’m accustomed to. Sumptuous black and white footage of what certainly could not have been captured as it happened is not only strikingly gorgeous but also fully engaging. Paul McGill plays Petit as a young man and, alongside a cast of 1970’s French artist/anarchist types, he helps to set the heist tone for the film that Marsh uses as a framework to heighten the suspense. History affirms that they are able to pull off their caper but placing us in the middle of the action helps us to feel like even we can have dreams as impossible as this one.


At no point in time in MAN ON WIRE is there any mention or image of the towers coming down. Instead, Marsh treats us to archival footage of their construction. Yes, their construction in the context of this particular story is to show them as mere devices in Petit’s personal journey but there is something exalting in watching these great structures coming into their own when most only have the image of their destruction in their minds to remember them. Marsh himself has asserted that he hoped his film would give the viewers a new image to remember the towers by – one of artistry and magic as Petit walked back and forth between them eight times in the middle of the air on what was otherwise an ordinary day.



BLACK SHEEP'S 2008 TOP 10
(in alphabetical order ... click any title for full review)

THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan (Director)
THE DUCHESS, Saul Dibb
ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS), Laurent Cantet
MAN ON WIRE, James Marsh
MILK, Gus Van Sant
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, Jonathan Demme
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Sam Mendes
THE VISITOR, Tom McCarthy
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton
THE WRESTLER, Darren Aronofsky CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Remembering the year 2007

THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano and Dillon Freasier


I did not choose this movie to commemorate 2007 because I associate it with some distinctive element of that year. No, the reason is much more simple than that. I chose THERE WILL BE BLOOD simply because it was released too late for me to review it at the time. As it ended up being one of my favorite films of not just that year but of all-time, I figure it warrants the accolades now. Without anything but the reputation of the director, Paul Thomas Anderson (BOOGIE NIGHTS, MAGNOLIA) and the lead actor, Daniel Day-Lewis to base this on, I somehow knew beforehand that this would be an instant classic, that it would somehow change the game without anyone knowing they were playing one to begin with. The moment it started, everything I suspected was confirmed. The unsettling hum of Jonny Greenwood’s score rises gradually as the scribe-written title makes way for the vast hillside where the story begins. And then we meet Day-Lewis, as Daniel Plainview. For the next ten minutes, he chips away at a wall in a well with a pick. He is completely silent, intensely focused and all of it is pure brilliance. If you aren’t mesmerized after this one scene, you should just shut it off.


Plainview, thanks to Day-Lewis’s uncanny embodiment of this character, is now a film icon. This is a man so complex, so devious and so conflicted that he is unlike anything ever captured on film before. He comes from humble beginnings and pursues the American dream diligently as an oil man. His dedication pays off and an unfortunate twist of fate brings a child into his life. For a time, it seems as though all is well, as though Plainview will rule the world he has created for himself. Naturally, life is not so kind. The pursuit of financial wealth, when pursued so vehemently, makes it difficult to see that life is still happening. Before long, Plainview is at odds with the local preacher (Paul Dano, who shows incredible potential and holds his own with Day-Lewis), who is himself at odds with God himself as he falsely claims to be a prophet. The clash pits religion against capitalism and exposes the thin line between them when they are corrupted. When an accident strains communication between Plainview and his son, his one human connection is severed and his hope for salvation is practically over. Day-Lewis’s subsequent descent into the madness of his mind is beguiling.


As much as the success of this film rests on the powerhouse performance of its star, praise must be gushed on its helmer, P.T. Anderson. Anderson’s previous films have attracted a certain type of filmgoer. In BOOGIE NIGHTS, he was provocative and playful with 1970’s porn but lost the plot before it could conclude. In MAGNOLIA, he entered a dramatic hurricane, which he weathered just fine mostly but that overtook him at times as well. With PUNCHDRUNK LOVE, he was poignant but the subject matter was too off the wall for even some of his fans to appreciate. With THERE WILL BE BLOOD though, he took on a topic unlike anything he has tackled in his past, one that is so inherently rich and deep, that he was forced to step up his game. Not only did he do this but the challenge itself transformed him into a master filmmaker. It is always so fulfilling to see a director step so far away from what he knows already to become the incredible director he always promised to be.


THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a chilling prophecy of where we are now. It is a promise that at one point in time, there will in fact be some blood. The film makes good on its promise just as it has happened in life over the same subject – oil. Revisiting the dawn of the oil industry in America gives insight into the birth of the maddening greed that seems intrinsically linked to it. Mindful not to be so simple though, Anderson paints Plainview as far more complex than a simple glutton. His issues run far deeper than that and the actions he takes act as a drill that eventually reaches his core and catapults a substance as putrid as oil from his soul. By the time this epic concludes, we too are covered in a black substance that isn’t easily shaken.



BLACK SHEEP'S 2007 TOP 10
(in alphabetical order, click on any title for review)

ATONEMENT, Joe Wright, director
I'M NOT THERE, Todd Haynes
JUNO, Jason Reitman
MICHAEL CLAYTON, Tony Gilroy
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Joel and Ethan Coen
ONCE, John Carney
PERSEPOLIS, Vincent Parronaud, Marjane Satrapi
RATATOUILLE, Brad Bird
LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON, Julian Schnabel
THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Paul Thomas Anderson
CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2006

Written by Michael Arndt
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin


So far, as Black Sheep has been remembering the last decade in film, I have reviewed a film from each year that I had not already reviewed. For 2006, I’m doing it a little differently. I did review LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE when it was released and, as I am man enough to admit when I’m wrong, I can say that I was unfairly harsh on this indie darling. Sometimes I can be a little bit stubborn and the way this film was being market fed to the public irked me to say the least. It was being positioned as the little quirky movie that would instead of one that could and I just wasn’t happy that Hollywood had made up America’s mind for it before they had the chance to do it themselves. The truth of it is, that they probably would have anyway as LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is like the film equivalent of getting some much-needed sun.


From the moment Mychael Danna’s plucky, jubilant score begins and the wide-eyed, crystal blue eyes of Abigail Breslin as Little Miss Sunshine hopeful, Olive, stare into the camera, husband and wife directing team, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris suck us into the vacuous life of the Hoover family. Reflected back in Olive’s big thick glasses is not just a newly crowned Miss America but rather the setup of the winners and losers dichotomy that drives this film toward its inevitable end. We are then introduced to the remaining members of the Hoover family, one by one. Each of them is done so by showing us the true core of who they are each day. The father, Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a failed motivational speaker who is having a harder time keeping his own hope alive. The brother, Dwayne (Paul Dano) is working out and crossing off dozens of days on his calendar to show his determination to as yet undisclosed goal. The grandfather, an Oscar winning performance by Alan Arkin, pretty much doesn’t care anymore as he snorts heroine in the bathroom. The mother, Sheryl (Toni Collette), smokes secretly in her car as she tries to keep it all together. And there is a new addition this evening, Uncle Frank (Steve Carrell), fresh from his failed suicide attempt. Although you wouldn’t think it, this family is pretty easy to relate to and a lot of fun to spend time with.


In the opening scene at the dinner table, you quickly learn everything you need to know about how this family works and how close it is to coming completely undone. It is another bucket of chicken for dinner being served on paper plates. They’re barely even trying anymore but yet somewhere underneath the pressure that threatens to consume them all, a little girl wants to be a beauty queen. It doesn’t matter that, to look at her, you would never think to push her in that direction. What does matter is that she wants to win. That is enough to get this dysfunction family into an even less functional yellow Volkswagen bus for a road trip that promises to be transformative for each of them. Of course, they don’t know that when they get into the car and neither do we. Dayton and Faris do a very good job of making it feel as though we too are along for this ride and they do not shy away from letting us in on both the high’s and the low’s. It can make for a very uncomfortable, claustrophobic experience at times but the six actors in this car are each so talented that they bring so many levels to what could have been a very flat journey. Instead, tiny revelations about who they are and who we are grow out of the awkward spaces.


Michael Arndt’s Oscar winning screenplay owns its originality by simply honouring what makes each of its characters human, from their flaws and their fears to the moments where their strengths surprise even them. In the hands of Dayton and Farris, novice feature filmmakers though you would never know it, you can feel the care for the words being said on screen. The choices made to make the points punch, like having two characters discuss where their lives are going when they get to the end of a pier, are so subtle and crafty that you can forgive the few moments that feel somewhat iffy. Like any family though, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE isn’t perfect. It is however a sign of hope for American families finding their American dreams not working out no matter how hard they keep at it. By the time Olive makes it to her pageant, we’ve all remembered that winning isn’t everything and that trying is all that matters.

On that note, I will try to be a lot less stubborn in the future.


BLACK SHEEP'S 2006 TOP 10

BABEL, Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inaritu
BORAT, Larry Charles
THE DEPARTED, Martin Scorcese
DREAMGIRLS, Bill Condon
HALF NELSON, Ryan Fleck
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, Clint Eastwood
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
THE QUEEN, Stephen Frears
UNITED 93, Paul Greengrass CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2005

CRASH
Written by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco
Directed by Paul Haggis

NOTE: This article has spoilers aplenty and should not be read by anyone who has not seen the movie.


I can still remember the feeling of my stomach dropping when Jack Nicholson announced that the 2005 Best Picture Oscar was being awarded to Paul Haggis’s CRASH, and not the frontrunner, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. I wasn’t the only one either who was floored; you could here the jarred pause in Nicholson’s voice when he announced it. The signs were pointing in that direction throughout the evening. First, CRASH took Best Editing, the only award it won that I genuinely feel it warranted, keeping all those simultaneously told stories in check and well balanced. Then it came along and took Best Original Screenplay. I say took but I really mean robbed considering there were three better screenplays that should have won (Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT, George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK and Josh Olsen's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE). After those two wins combined with the previous win for Best Ensemble Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking it all became a serious possibility. After it happened, the guests at my Oscar party could seriously see I was disappointed, distraught even. I popped Gustavo Santaolalla’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN score and began picking up after the mess.



It’s not that I don’t care for CRASH. I was just as mortified when Matt Dillon had his hands up Thandie Newton’s dress and just as gripped when he had to rescue her from her burning vehicle the next day. I was just as devastated when that adorable little girl was shot and just as exalted to witness the man-made miracle that allowed for her to survive. CRASH is not without its merits. Incredibly powerful scenes made all the more poignant by often surprising turns by Dillon, Newton, Terrence Howard and Michael Pena. To call it Best Picture though meant ignoring its condescending and manipulative storytelling techniques in favor of the ignorance it so aggressively draws to the surface. Of course race, prejudice and hatred are just as relevant now as they always have been despite the advances made, but Haggis, and I doubt he did it intentionally, preys on his viewer by using the inherent ignorance in each of us to make the film seem superior and revelatory.


CRASH takes place in a rough 24-hour period. In that period, a handful of Los Angeles inhabitants from all walks of life experience so much suffering that you would think the end of the world had arrived. Now, all that transpires is certainly possible but too darn convenient for me to swallow. Newton and Howard are seriously abused by a racist police officer (Dillon) one night and the next day, she ends up in a massive car accident and he ends up in a carjacking that turns into a run-in with the law. I bet the “Honey, how was your day?” conversation between those two had to be impressive after that. And imagine when Newton reveals that Dillon had to save her from the car and Howard is flabbergasted because Dillon’s partner (Ryan Phillippe) from the night before ended up saving his ass earlier that day. The scene between Newton and Dillon in the car cannot work as effectively if the previous scene they share doesn’t happen first but the odds are too overwhelming for me to accept. If this storyline stood on its own then perhaps it would be easier but taken with everything else, it all just feels as though Haggis is moving the pieces on the board one at a time to make the game play out as he needs instead of how it might.


The other writing technique that infuriates me more and more with further viewings of CRASH is the way Haggis delights in playing with his viewer’s ignorance. Larenz Tate and Ludacris walk down a trendy L.A. street at night and debate racial complacency and prevalence in modern society. They look like thugs but everything they’re saying about contemporary attitudes toward race make so much sense to me and must naturally appeal to my white liberal sensibility. It is so obvious that Haggis wants us to sympathize with these poor black guys who can’t get a break. Consequently, we are also supposed to feel disdain for Sandra Bullock and Brandan Fraser as they walk past in their fancy outfits toward their expensive car. Not because their combined acting performances cannot amount to anything more than embarrassment (which might explain why they are the least featured characters in the ensemble) but rather because they judged these fine, young gentlemen by the colour of their skin as they walked past them. They assumed that they look like thugs and therefore must be. Imagine the audience’s shock and disgust with themselves when the thugs actually are thugs and they steal the white people’s cars. Haggis spends all this time exposing the audience’s ignorance in hopes of opening their eyes to it but he finishes by simply reinforcing the stereotypes and insulting my intelligence.



I am aware that I am gay and I am siding with the gay-themed film but BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN had won nearly every major award leading up to the Oscars and was considered a near-lock. The win for CRASH only shows me that the mainstream Academy was not ready to bestow accolades so publicly on a gay-themed film. Not to mention, that as a gay man, I am still a minority, just an invisible one. This can get pretty ugly sometimes when people don’t censor themselves because they don’t realize that we are among them. I suffer prejudice; I am still fighting for some basic human rights because I am still seen as less than human. It is exactly this kind of hatred that makes it impossible for the characters in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN to experience the love they are so obviously meant to. It is also the exact kind of hatred that CRASH tries so hard to bring to light but yet shines no light on the plight of the gays because theirs is not a racial issue. It still sure feels that way sometimes. As for the love that BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN fights so hard to foster, troubled or not, the characters in CRASH still get to have that and don’t even see for a second how fortunate they are for that opportunity. Despite this, they choose to live in their misery and all any of them can seem to do is blame everything bad in their lives on race.



Black Sheep’s 2005 Top 10

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Directed by Ang Lee
CAPOTE, Bennett Miller
THE CONSTANT GARDENER, Fernando Meirelles
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, Grant Heslov
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, David Cronenberg
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, Luc Jacquet
MATCH POINT, Woody Allen
MUNICH, Steven Spielberg
MYSTERIOUS SKIN, Gregg Araki
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, Noah Baumbach
WALK THE LINE, James Mangold
CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Best of Black Sheep: Remembering the year 2004

I’m a sensitive guy but I don’t cry very often. Usually, the only time I find myself crying is at the movies. For me, crying is a beautiful release and when I’m watching a movie and it comes over me, I always let it out. I figure if the hard parts of my life don’t bring me to tears, then I’d better let them out whenever the opportunity presents itself, even if I’m not completely sure what it is about the image on the screen that is moving me so deeply. When I first saw FINDING NEVERLAND, it was a matinee showing. There weren’t too many people in the theatre and that suited me just fine. This way, I got to sob profusely while still maintaining some sense of privacy. When the film was released to own, I brought it home and, to my surprise, cried just as much as I did the first time I saw it. When I watched it again recently to prepare for this piece, I was concerned, at first, that it wasn’t as good as I remembered it in my mind. But then, before I could get across the room to get my box of tissues, I was weeping once again.

Based on Allan Knee’s play, “The Man Who Was Peter Pan”, FINDING NEVERLAND is something of a tear-jerker that seems deliberately designed for boys. This is Peter Pan after all and what man cannot identify with the age old tale about not wanting to ever grow up? Certainly not this one anyway. That said, I don’t think this is what gets me crying each time; that would be too simple an explanation. No, it is something inherent in the story itself that speaks directly to this boy’s heart. FINDING NEVERLAND is a story about feeling inspiration and fostering your imagination. Without either of these, Neverland could never be found. James Barrie (Johnny Depp) is the author of “Peter Pan” and the film gives us the chance to see the very real components that would become one of the most timeless children’s classics in history. As a writer, especially one who struggles to find the words from time to time, seeing that they can come from everything transpiring right in front of me was truly freeing.


Historically, Barrie met the Llewelyn Davies family in London’s Kensington Gardens in 1897. In the film, it unfolds exactly the same way, only the man of the family, Arthur, has already passed away and, of the family’s five young boys, only four make the film for fear of overcrowding. The mother, Sylvia (Kate Winslet), is simply enjoying her time in the park with her boys when Barrie suddenly becomes a central figure in the boys’ game. From that moment on, he never stops playing with them. It isn’t quite so joyous for all the boys though, what with their father recently passed. No, young Peter (played by Freddie Highmore in the role that turned him into a child star) finds himself facing adult realities that are far too harsh for him to process, let alone preserve his innocence. Barrie steps in as a father figure but the healing does not begin so easily. Barrie must remind the boys that their imaginations can take them anywhere they want to go, any time they want to go there. As he unleashes the power of his imagination in hopes of rekindling theirs, he finds something completely unexpected – Peter Pan.


Director, Marc Forster, whom I have a love/hate relationship with (basically, I love this film and hate most of his other work), does his best to do to his audience that which Barrie is determined to do for his lost boys. FINDING NEVERLAND flows back and forth between scenes of hardship (loveless marriages, financial woes and terminal illness) and magical escapes, from pirate ships in the backyard to children bouncing from their beds and taking flight. “Neverland” is a place where one never has to grow up and it is always just on the other side of our conscious minds waiting for us to visit whenever we need to or just plain feel like it. All any of us has to do to find it is believe that it is there. At no time does it feel like FINDING NEVERLAND is encouraging us to ignore our responsibilities so that we can play whenever we want. It is quite the contrary really. Forster and friends are just trying to help us find it in ourselves so that it can help us get through all the tears.



Black Sheep's 2004 Top 10
(in alphabetical order)

BAD EDUCATION, directed by Pedro Almodovar
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Michel Gondry
FINDING NEVERLAND, Marc Forster
GARDEN STATE, Zach Braff
THE INCREDIBLES, Brad Bird
KILL BILL VOLUME 2, Quentin Tarantino
MARIA FULL OF GRACE, Joshua Marston
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, Walter Salles
TARNATION, Jonathan Caouette
VERA DRAKE, Mike Leigh CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE