Best of Black Sheep: BLACK SHEEP INTERVIEWS RYAN GOSLING

THE DRIVER
An interview with DRIVE star, Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling has a dream but its not what you would expect. It isn’t riches or success or notoriety; he has already achieved those lofty goals. No, Gosling has something much more specific in mind. “My dream is to create a character that people go out as on Halloween,” Gosling tells me when we meet at the Toronto International Film Festival. He says this with full sincerity and not a single trace of sarcasm on his beautiful face.

Gosling may have found that character in his new film, DRIVE. Known only as The Driver, his character sports a shiny bomber jacket with a giant scorpion on the back, is constantly fiddling with a toothpick in his mouth and he barely speaks a word most of the time. Aside from his inherent coolness, he is also one of the biggest badasses I’ve seen on screen all year. “He’s got issues,” Gosling quips of The Driver. “He’s a psychopath. He’s gotta get control of that, I guess.”

It was Gosling who pushed for DRIVE to be made and also for Danish director, Nicolas Winding Refn to helm. And once those two got started, there was no stopping them. “Nicolas and I creatively copulated and this movie baby was born and then we had to raise it,” explains Gosling. When he says things like this, he looks straight at you and doesn’t even flinch. It’s impressive.

The buzz behind DRIVE is as loud as the film itself and if it connects with audiences, which I assure you, it most certainly should, Gosling has the chance to continue solidifying his status as one of the most intriguing and marketable stars working today. Not too bad for a boy from London, Ontario. His work in this summer’s CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE was the best of the bunch and he also stars in next month’s THE IDES OF MARCH, directed by none other than George Clooney. Oscar is abuzz.

People are calling Gosling the next De Niro but he’s having none of it. “There is no difference between me and anyone else,” Gosling says both firmly and humbly, clearly somewhat irked by the notion itself. “I hate when that stuff happens,” he says of comparisons. “There’s no where to go after. It just sets you up to fail.”

Comparisons aside, the kind of intensity Gosling gives in DRIVE could not as easily be achieved by too many other young actors today. He is extremely intimidating and all he has to do is stand there and stare at you to accomplish this. When I ask him where he has to go in his head to be that menacing, he answers with three words, “Not too far.”

Gosling would simply prefer that his work speak for itself and his work in DRIVE is some of the best I’ve seen from him. This is likely, at least in part, due to his strong understanding of the material itself, which is based on a James Sallis novel. “Driving can be something of an existential experience,” he explains. “You aren’t being watched; you are just the watcher. It’s similar to watching a movie.”

And if that movie happens to have Gosling in the driver’s seat, all the better.


RYAN AND NICOLAS: A LOVE STORY

If it weren’t for REO Speedwagon’s most memorable hit, “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, Nicolas Winding Refn’s DRIVE may not exist today. The film’s star, Ryan Gosling, brought the idea of a stunt car driver who moonlights as a getaway car driver to Refn as his first pick to direct. The only problem was that Refn was sick with the flu at the time and hopped up on meds so he couldn’t quite get his head around it. When the Speedwagon song came on the radio on their drive home though, suddenly Refn got it and he just started to cry.

Gosling and Winding Refn on set

Ever since then, Gosling and Refn have been almost inseparable. “Ryan and I have become one person,” Refn tells me when we meet at the Toronto International Film Festival. In fact, Refn, a Danish filmmaker who has never worked in Hollywood, only agreed to make the picture because he knew Gosling would protect him from the studio system. “He was the star. He had the power to make this movie happen or not.”

Gosling and Winding Refn locking lips on the festival circuit

The love and admiration is certainly mutual. “There is nobody like him,” Gosling shares with me shortly after I speak with Refn. “For him, filmmaking is a fetish. He only shoots what he wants to see.” The twosome are already scheduled to shoot two more movies together and they even shared living quarters while shooting this one, staying up late pitching around ideas for the next day. Says Gosling, “We were always chasing that moment in the car when the movie was born.”

Best of Black Sheep: DRIVE

DRIVE
Written by Hossein Amini
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks and Albert Brooks


Irene: What do you do?
Driver: I drive.

Every now and again, a movie comes along and takes you for a ride you don’t soon forget. It straps you in with its fresh cinematic voice and doesn’t let you go until it has raced through your mind, taken some crazy turns and pulled back into the garage again.  When you step out, your legs might even feel a little weak from the constant barrage of thrills and brilliance. DRIVE is that movie. This year’s breakout director, and the winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes, Nicolas Winding Refn, delivers a smooth ride that will catch you off guard at almost every turn and announces the arrival of a new force to be reckoned with on the road.

While Refn may be the man behind the wheel off-screen, the man in the driver’s seat on screen is none other than Ryan Gosling. Known only throughout the film as the driver, Gosling exudes an eerie calm no matter how fast his life is moving. There are cars everywhere he turns. He works for a mechanic (Bryan Cranston) and drives stunt cars for the movies. He even moonlights as a getaway car driver for petty robberies and might soon start actually racing his own ride on an actual track. Gosling’s driver needs to be in that seat and subsequently in control of his own destiny. He lives a modest life and never gives anything away on his face, that is until he meets his neighbour, Irene (the always understated, Carey Mulligan). Once their hands touch, on the stick shift of his car no less, his engine starts making noises he’s never heard before.

DRIVE is an intense trip and once Refn kicks it into high gear, you can practically feel the rev of the engine emanating from the screen and reverberating through your entire core. It embodies a modern sense of extreme cool, from its pounding soundtrack to its excellent cast (including a deliciously funny, Albert Brooks and a just plain delicious, Christina Hendricks). DRIVE is a rebellious film, a night creature, a total badass of a movie. When it gets rough, it goes places I’ve never even imagined, let alone seen on film. And even though Refn pushes the movie into skids of reckless abandon, he is always clearly and confidently in control of the vehicle. By the time DRIVE screeches to a complete halt, you will instantly want to take it for another spin.

Best of Black Sheep: THE IDES OF MARCH

THE IDES OF MARCH
Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Directed by George Clooney
Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood


Stephen Myers: Nothing bad happens when you’re doing the right thing.
Governor Mike Morris: Is that your personal theory because I can poke holes in it.

George Clooney has been mulling making THE IDES OF MARCH for a few years now. When he first wanted to make it in 2008, he decided to put his plans on hold because of the political climate. The United States were on the cusp of a monumental election and a financial crisis and he did not want to take advantage of either. Three years later though, Clooney and his longtime production partner, Grant Heslov (GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK) think the timing is now right to unveil their political thriller to the voting public. Apparently, it is acceptable to be critical of their government again.

Clooney plays Governor Mike Morris, a seemingly genuine and upstanding gentleman, who is trying to secure the democratic party nomination for the upcoming presidential race. Naturally, nothing is as it seems and it would appear that no one can get to such great heights without stepping over a few people along the way. To get where he is, you also need a crack team behind you and Governor Morris’ includes actors as diverse and talented as Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood. Hoffman is the veteran, Wood is the intern and Gosling is the shiny new guy who is clearly on his way to greater things. In fact, Gosling’s career appears to mirror the position of his character, Stephen Myers. The man is certainly on his own streak and his lead performance here is another that will certainly continue to propel him forward.

THE IDES OF MARCH is a compelling and engaging thriller, despite not bringing much new to the table. Gosling’s Stephen gets caught up in the political crossfire behind the campaign scenes and it becomes a pretty harrowing challenge for him to ensure he still comes out ahead of everyone else. And while Clooney’s execution is smooth and effective, it does cater a little too often to his own political views. Clooney did not want his character to be a republican as he thought the criticism would be too obvious. As a democrat though, he gets the chance to voice all of platforms on topics as heated as gay marriage and tax incentives for the super rich. Everything he says seems so sensible, the film becomes something of a criticism for all politicians, as if to suggest it could be as easy as he claims if they would just get it together. And while Clooney may not be ready to run for president, he earns my vote for being a top notch film director.

IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY

IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY

Written and Directed by Angelina Jolie

Somewhere amidst raising countless kids and attending to the demands of being a giant star, Angelina Jolie found the time to write and direct her first movie. Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian war in the early 1990’s, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY tells the story of Danijel and Ajla (Goran Kostic and Zana Marjanovic), new lovers torn apart by the war who find themselves struggling to keep their love, or even just the idea of it, alive despite being on different sides of the conflict. Jolie shows promise as a filmmaker but she also shows us so much atrocity, that at times, the film is just relentless and borderline preachy.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards

The nominations are finally out! The Academy went with nine Best Picture nominees. I went with eight in my predictions and all eight of those made the list. How could I have known EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE would snag a nod in the top category? And what? A tenth film would have really been that bad? Round it out, people!

First of all, I was 82% right with my predictions. My worst showing came from the Original Screenplay category. MARGIN CALL? Who knew? There are some mistakes I'm quite pleased about. The first is Terrence Malick for Best Director for THE TREE OF LIFE, which also made its way into the Best Picture race when so many people had written it off. The new Best Picture voting system favours films that have passionate followings and that definitely applies to this polarizing picture.

Other happy surprises this morning include Gary Oldman's Best Actor nomination for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, which also managed a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination; Melissa McCarthy for Best Supporting Actress in BRIDESMAIDS, which also scored a Best Original Screenplay nod; and Max von Sydow for Best Supporting Actor in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. All three names were tossed around but were never sure things and I'm happy to see them amongst this list.

Unacceptable oversights on the Academy's part include Michael Fassbender for Best Actor in SHAME. This snub is reason enough for me to consider not watching the show. Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN was also overlooked. I never really thought she could make it in such a competitive year but Elizabeth Olsen was incredible in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE. 50/50 missed on the Best Original Screenplay category too. And Albert Brooks was overlooked for his delicious turn in DRIVE. Oh, and what about PROJECT NIM for Documentary Feature or the Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN?! And to top it off, all of these incredible films were ignored completely in all the other categories (except for DRIVE, which scored a Sound Editing, and TINTIN, which scored an Original Score nod).

Oh, and did anyone notice that THE HELP did not score a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination? I guess that Best Picture win is looking a little less likely.

Here is the full list of nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards. The winners will be announced on February 26, 2012.

(Scroll over any film title for the original Black Sheep review.)

BEST PICTURE

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
THE HELP
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
MONEYBALL
THE TREE OF LIFE
WAR HORSE

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Demian Bichir in A BETTER LIFE
George Clooney in THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dujardin in THE ARTIST
Gary Oldman in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Brad Pitt in MONEYBALL

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS
Viola Davis in THE HELP
Rooney Mara in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Meryl Streep in THE IRON LADY
Michelle Williams in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Kenneth Brannagh in MY WEEK WITH MARIYLN
Jonah Hill in MONEYBALL
Nick Nolte in WARRIOR
Christopher Plummer in BEGINNERS
Max von Sydow in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Berenice Bejo in THE ARTIST
Jessica Chastain in THE HELP
Melissa McCarthy in BRIDESMAIDS
Janet McTeer in ALBERT NOBBS
Octavia Spencer in THE HELP

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

A CAT IN PARIS
CHICO AND RITA
KUNG FU PANDA 2
PUSS IN BOOTS
RANGO

CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE ARTIST
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
THE TREE OF LIFE
WAR HORSE

ART DIRECTION

THE ARTIST
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
HUGO
WAR HORSE

COSTUME DESIGN

ANONYMOUS
THE ARTIST
HUGO
JANE EYRE
W.E.

DIRECTING

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE TREE OF LIFE

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

HELL AND BACK AGAIN
IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
PINA
UNDEFEATED

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM: FOOT SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS
INCIDENT IN NEW BAGHDAD
SAVING FACE
THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM

FILM EDITING

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
MONEYBALL

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

BULLHEAD (Belgium)
MONSIEUR LAZHAR (Canada)
A SEPARATION (Iran)
FOOTNOTE (Israel)
IN DARKNESS (Poland)

MAKEUP

ALBERT NOBBS
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
THE IRON LADY

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
THE ARTIST
HUGO
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
WAR HORSE

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

MAN OR MUPPET from THE MUPPETS
REAL IN RIO from RIO

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

DIMANCHE/SUNDAY
THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE
LA LUNA
A MORNING STROLL
WILD LIFE

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

PENTECOST
RAJU
THE SHORE
TIME FREAK
TUBA ATLANTIC

SOUND EDITING

DRIVE
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE

SOUND MIXING

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
MONEYBALL
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE

VISUAL EFFECTS

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
HUGO
REAL STEAL
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

THE DESCENDANTS
HUGO
THE IDES OF MARCH
MONEYBALL
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

THE ARTIST
BRIDESMAIDS
MARGIN CALL
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
A SEPARATION

Black Sheep predicts the 2012 Academy Awards

It's a shame the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to change the Best Picture rules this year. Now, anywhere between five and ten films will be nominated for the field's most prestigious honour in a year that could have easily seen ten very deserving candidates fill those slots. Instead, each film must garner 5% of the first place vote in the Academy's intricate and complicated system to earn a slot in the Top 10. If only six films manage it, then so be it, there are only six nominees this year. At least they would know that the films nominated have passionate followings.

I predict eight films will be nominated for Best Picture tomorrow. A secret part of me really wants to say nine because I would love to see BRIDESMAIDS sneak in there too. I think it has a pretty good shot but I'm playing it conservatively. This way if I'm wrong, well I'll be happy to be it.

The following are my predictions in the eight major Oscar categories. The nominees will be announced tomorrow at 8:30 AM, my time. (That's PST, in case you don't know where I live.)

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

BEST PICTURE

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE HELP
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
MONEYBALL
THE TREE OF LIFE
WAR HORSE

BEST DIRECTOR

Woody Allen for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Michel Hazanavicius for THE ARTIST
Alexander Payne for THE DESCENDANTS
Martin Scorsese for HUGO
Steven Spielberg for WAR HORSE

BEST ACTOR

George Clooney in THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dujardin in THE ARTIST
Michael Fassbender in SHAME
Gary Oldman in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Brad Pitt in MONEYBALL

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS
Viola Davis in THE HELP
Meryl Streep in THE IRON LADY
Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Michelle Williams in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Brannagh in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Albert Brooks in DRIVE
Nick Nolte in WARRIOR
Christopher Plummer in BEGINNERS
Max von Sydow in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo in THE ARTIST
Jessica Chastain in THE HELP
Melissa McCarthy in BRIDESMAIDS
Janet McTeer in ALBERT NOBBS
Octavia Spencer in THE HELP

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50
THE ARTIST
BEGINNERS
BRIDESMAIDS
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS
THE HELP
HUGO
MONEYBALL
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Check back tomorrow for the full list of nominees and to see how I did. I've made a few risky choices so my fingers are crossed. Also, the term "risky" is relative in this scenario as we are in fact talking about Oscar predictions.

Black Sheep Reviews presents the 2011 Mouton d'Or Awards

It is with great pleasure that I announce to you today the nominees for the 2011 Mouton d'Or Awards. This year marks the seventh year the awards have been held and this year's bunch of contenders is a strong bunch indeed. In fact, there were so many memorable performances and films this year, that the acting categories have been expanded to six nominations each. There are also two brand new categories this year. One is for Best Ensemble, which is just one more way to honour the incredible casts that collectively came together to impress right across the board in 2011. The other is for Best First Feature because I am always shocked by people who knock it out hard on their first shot behind the camera. To qualify in this category, you need not to have directed a theatrical feature prior to the nominated film. In fact, the only negative factor with this year's nominations comes from the Animated Feature category, where only two films have been nominated because of the lack of decent selections.

Leading this year's Mouton d'Or Awards is THE ARTIST, with a total of seven nominations, including one for Best Picture and Best Director. The little silent film that could is followed closely in the tally by two of the year's more sumptuously cinematic endeavours, DRIVE and THE TREE OF LIFE, both of which have earned six nods a piece, including Best Picture. The remaining two Best Picture slots go to THE DESCENDANTS and SHAME, both of which follow in third place for most nominations, totalling five each. I have seen all five of these films twice now and it will be a pleasure soaking them each in one last time before making my final decision.

It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the Best Picture nominees to only five choices, but as I ask my readers to narrow to just five, I too had to suck it up and deal. As always, I am very pleased with the selections that rose to the top of the Black Sheep Readers Choice nominees. Like last year, the five films represent a great mix of crowd pleasing offerings and the more obscure. My sincere thanks go out to all who participated by sending me their lists. It is always a great joy to see what other people appreciate and to hear why, so again, thank you for sharing with me.

You can now vote for your favourite in the poll at the top of the right sidebar. Voting will open and close weekly until the day before the Mouton d'Or Award winners are announced. This year, that day will be Saturday, February 25, 2012. Vote as many times as you like but just vote!

And so, without any further delay, ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the 2011 Mouton d'Or Award nominations ...

(Scroll over any film title for the full Black Sheep Review.)

BEST BIG MOVIE

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
BRIDESMAIDS
HANNA
THE HELP
THE MUPPETS

BEST little MOVIE

50/50
BEGINNERS
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
MELANCHOLIA
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE WORST MOVIE I SAW ALL YEAR

FRENCH IMMERSION
GREEN LANTERN
LARRY CROWNE
TRESPASS
YOUR HIGHNESS

THE BLACK SHEEP READERS CHOICE AWARD

THE ARTIST
BRIDESMAIDS
DRIVE
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE TREE OF LIFE

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
RANGO

BEST LOOKING MOVIE

THE ARTIST
HUGO
MELANCHOLIA
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
THE TREE OF LIFE

BEST MUSIC

THE ARTIST
DRIVE
HANNA
THE SKIN I LIVE IN
THE TREE OF LIFE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

KENNETH BRANNAGH in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
ALBERT BROOKS in DRIVE
ARMIE HAMMER in J. EDGAR
BRAD PITT in THE TREE OF LIFE
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in BEGINNERS
MAX VON SYDOW in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

JESSICA CHASTAIN in THE TREE OF LIFE
MELISSA MCCARTHY in BRIDESMAIDS
JANET MCCTEER in ALBERT NOBBS
CAREY MULLIGAN in SHAME
OCTAVIA SPENCER in THE HELP
SHAILENE WOODLEY in THE DESCENDANTS


BEST ACTOR

GEORGE CLOONEY in THE DESCENDANTS
JEAN DUJARDIN in THE ARTIST
MICHAEL FASSBENDER in SHAME
GARY OLDMAN in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
BRAD PITT in MONEYBALL
MICHAEL SHANNON in TAKE SHELTER

BEST ACTRESS

GLENN CLOSE in ALBERT NOBBS
VIOLA DAVIS in THE HELP
ELIZABETH OLSEN in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
MERYL STREEP in THE IRON LADY
TILDA SWINTON in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

BEST ENSEMBLE

50/50
BRIDESMAIDS
THE HELP
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50 written by Will Reiser
THE ARTIST written by Michel Hazanavicius
BEGINNERS written by Mike Mills
SHAME written by Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen
TAKE SHELTER written by Jeff Nichols

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
DRIVE written by Hossein Amini
MONEYBALL written by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN written by Lynne Ramsay and Rory Kinnear

BEST FIRST FEATURE

BEAUTIFUL BOY
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
PARIAH
SUBMARINE
TYRANNOSAUR

BEST DIRECTOR

MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS for THE ARTIST
STEVE MCQUEEN for SHAME
ALEXANDER PAYNE for THE DESCENDANTS
NICOLAS WINDING REFN for DRIVE
LARS VON TRIER for MELANCHOLIA

BEST PICTURE

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
DRIVE
SHAME
THE TREE OF LIFE

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through. Now, comes the hard part ... Choosing the winners!

HAYWIRE

HAYWIRE
Written by Lem Dobbs
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum


Aaron: Is this your idea of relaxing? Wine and gun maintenance?

To a large extent, both on the surface and at its root, Steven Soderbergh’s latest caper, HAYWIRE, is nothing more than a filmic excuse to watch former “American Gladiator”, Gina Carano, beat the living crap out of a bunch of big, strapping men. On many levels, Soderbergh has made this exact same movie in some form or another a number of times before, both stylistically and structurally. And while it may not be original at all, nor carry any real substance, HAYWIRE packs a punch that resonates with visceral intensity, leaving the viewer just as walloped as the men on screen, and loving it.

HAYWIRE is tailored to exhibit Carano’s talents to the utmost. Her mixed martial arts background lends great weight to the film, making the showcase well deserved. Whether she is taking on the likes of the mammoth Channing Tatum, or the highly skilled Michael Fassbender, or even the slightly smaller but equally spry, Ewan McGregor, Carano holds her own and then some. Her acting is occasionally stiff, but like Sasha Grey in Soderbergh’s THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, the frosty exterior suits her character. Besides, Carano is a total pleasure to watch when she gets rough and tough. When she fights, she unleashes a pressure and force on her opponents that is almost palpable, as if you can almost feel the brunt of her knuckles against your own cheek. Of course, this is also partly attributed to the manner in which Soderbergh allows the sequences to play out as well. While they bear his unmistakable style, they also exude a certain natural rawness to them that helps anchor the film too.

Soderbergh is unquestionably one of the most accomplished filmmakers working in cinema today. He is also, most of the time, one of the most identifiable directors as well. One always knows when one sees that yellow tint on the screen that one is watching one of his films. Even the international spy story, told from several different perspectives is reminiscent of his OCEAN’S 11 series or last year’s CONTAGION. On the one hand, I was disappointed to see Soderbergh cruising through such familiar terrain in HAYWIRE, but then there is the flip side to that. While it may not break any new ground for the director, all of his staples come together perfectly here, allowing for HAYWIRE to do what it does best, which is just kick ass.

Black Sheep interviews Ralph Fiennes

GENERAL FIENNES
An interview with CORIOLANUS director and star, Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes is known for playing intimidating, imposing characters, be that in his breakout film, SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993), his Oscar-nominated turn in the epic THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996) or his recurring role in the HARRY POTTER series, as the Dark Lord himself, Harry’s archnemesis, Voldemort. Like so many great actors before him, Fiennes has finally decided to step behind the camera with his directorial debut, CORIOLANUS. Keeping the experience true to intense form, Fiennes also stars.

“There were times when I came near to it, never totally though,” Fiennes confides when pressed if he ever regretted his decision to direct and star in this career benchmark, when we meet at the Toronto International Film Festival press stop. “Obviously I knew it would be hard and I tried to be as prepared as I could. It was a bit schizophrenic still.”

Based on one of William Shakespeare’s lesser known tragedies, and set in modern day Rome, CORIOLANUS finds Fiennes’ hero briskly built up and violently torn down by a near mad society, desperate for change and better living. “I love it dramatically because I think audiences are challenged as to where to put their allegiance,” says Fiennes of his attraction to the text. “They can start off resisting Coriolanus, then finding a way to admire him despite their thoughts about his views.”

Directing co-star, Gerard Butler

Having played the part over ten years ago, Fiennes knew even then that he wanted to keep the Shakespearean text intact for the present day setting. “I think it’s a potent mix when you put Shakespeare in modern dress,” Fiennes explains of his approach. “The trick is the language, you have to strip it of all theatricality and yet not deny its power.”

On screen with co-star, Jessica Chastain

Considering how stately he is on screen, Fiennes is considerably relaxed and humble in person. He is also quick to point out the important lessons he has taken away from the demanding CORIOLANUS. The first is that he wants to do it again. (He is already in pre-production on an Abi Morgan penned script called THE INVISIBLE WOMAN.) The second is that this time, maybe he’ll just sit back and watch from the director’s chair.

“You don’t want to be thinking about how you’re looking when you’re acting; you want to be just in it, reacting to the other person, but as a director, I have to try to detach.”

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Written by Linda Woolverton
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Voices by Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Potts: Tale as old as time, true as it can be.

From the moment the film opens on a spectacular view of a majestic castle through a forest filled with bustling foliage and sparkling waterfalls, the wave of love I felt for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST back in 1991, came rushing back over me when I saw it’s restored 3D rerelease on the big screen. Sure, the rerelease can be seen as nothing more than a gimmick to get more money out of already tapped out filmgoers. Disney doesn’t have to spend that much to make it happen so the returns will be plentiful. Sure, you can see it through this jaded filter if you like, but I choose to see it as an opportunity. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a wonderful film, plain and simple. Having it back in theaters, having it brought to new heights with it’s 3D conversion, is a gift, a delightful and infectious gift.

We are certainly all familiar with the story of the spiteful, selfish prince who refuses kindness to an elderly vagrant and is placed under her spell when she reveals herself to be a beautiful woman. He is physically transformed on the outside into the beast of a man he is on the inside. Meanwhile, his castle becomes an enchanted prison that finds its inhabitants changed into household items, like clocks and candlestick holders. When a brave, young girl named Belle trades her freedom for that of her father’s, and agrees to become the Beast’s prisoner in lieu of her dad (it’s a long story!), the possibility of breaking the spell becomes a reality. The Beast must find true love before it’s too late and Belle might be his last chance. And, to top it all off, all of this grandeur is told in highly enjoyable song and dance.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a classic love story and directors, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, tell it with very little placating, which Disney is all too easily prone to these days. The theatrics of the enchanted castle provide plenty of lighter fodder to alleviate the mood but there is still ample room leftover for a tender exchange of love between one very independent woman and one very tortured man. Belle (voiced by Paige O’Hara) is one of the most intelligent and strong heroines in Disney history, without forsaking any of her innocent romanticism, and the Beast’s (Robby Benson) inner struggle is an antagonist unlike most found in the Disney lexicon. As spectacular as the animation is and as boisterous as every musical number is, what I find most moving and most memorable about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the way it captures the delicate dance that led these two guarded souls to the love of their lives.

THE SWELL SEASON

THE SWELL SEASON

Directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s story is a lovely one. In fact, you’re likely familiar with it if you’ve seen the tender 2006 indie, ONCE (click title to read review), as it was loosely based on it. The film shows two musicians falling in love while discovering the beautiful music they make together as artists. One of the songs they wrote for the film, “Falling Slowly”, went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song and their lives have not been the same since.

A new documentary, named for their band, THE SWELL SEASON, explores how this unexpectedly famous couple navigate their relationship, and their band, through their newfound fame. The couple are no longer together and, while the film does give a very fair and intimate insight into why that came to pass, it may not be of any interest to those of us who would rather dig our heads in the sand and pretend that their love is as special as it once was. It also may not be of much interest to those unfamiliar with the band and their history but that's almost always the case with music documentaries. Despite my personal reluctance to believe though, I cannot deny the delicacy with which their cracks are depicted here. The music is still beautiful, just that much more heartbreaking.

THE IRON LADY

THE IRON LADY
Written by Abi Morgan
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Alexandra Roach


Margaret Thatcher: It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone.

In 2009, Margaret Thatcher attended the unveiling of her own portrait as British Prime Minister, held at her former office, London’s 10 Downing Street. Phyllida Lloyd’s THE IRON LADY supposes it knows Thatcher’s frame of mind in the time leading up to this event. The presumption is that Thatcher’s later years are spent mostly in solitude, facing her own mortality and inevitable dementia, whiling away the hours looking back on her life. There is some element of truth to this portrayal (Thatcher’s daughter has mentioned memory loss in the press), but the question is not whether the device is appropriate or not. It isn’t even the doors that it opens that matter most. THE IRON LADY hinges on but one thing - who walks through those doors and how she walks through them.

Meryl Streep, not surprisingly, is THE IRON LADY. Her performance, as Thatcher both during her rise to power in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and during her later years, is so focused and so commanding that she seems at times to be carrying the entire film in a cart behind her with a rope over her shoulder. Not that there aren’t other standout elements of the film, the most notable of which being Jim Broadbent as her deceased husband who has come back to her life through the power of hallucination, but just that Streep’s caliber of talent is clearly in full force as this iconic political figure. It is as though the breadth in Streep’s performance somehow became entwined with Thatcher’s stature as a politician to form a cross-generational super power of feminine strength. Does Lloyd know what to do with this though?

Lloyd does spin the film a little too often in the all too obvious feminist direction unfortunately. Yes, Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister and yes, she had to fight her whole life to be taken seriously in the relentless boy’s club that is the British Parliament. When she likens her struggle as a woman to those of a soldier in battle though, I’m less inclined to take her as seriously as she deserves to be. Abi Morgan’s screenplay, which misses no opportunity to be dramatic, operating in stark contrast to the bare bones work she did on Steve McQueen’s SHAME, pits Thatcher more often against her male detractors and herself, than the very real political issues she faced during her 11 years in office, sometimes glossing over major events. While this may not make for a great biography in then end, it still makes for some fairly compelling drama. And not one moment of Streep’s performance should be missed.

Black Sheep interviews David Cronenberg

On paper, it would make perfect sense to any outsider that famed Canadian director, David Cronenberg, would be the only appropriate choice to direct A DANGEROUS METHOD, an exploration of the complex relationship between the great grandfathers of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung and Sigmond Freud. Melding the cerebral and the hyper-sexual in this heightened a fashion might seem like old hat for the director of DEAD RINGERS and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, but suggest this to the man himself, and you might be surprised to hear what he has to say.

“I have to tell you I don’t think in terms of theme at all,” Cronenberg tells me over the phone, right before my chest gets tight at the prospect of insulting one of this country’s most acclaimed talents. “Anyone telling this story would be dealing with those same things. When I’m making a movie, for me, creatively, it’s as if I’ve never made another movie.” Cronenberg is also quick to explain to me he isn’t trying to be evasive in his response. With that, my tension is relieved and we move on happily.

“In retrospect, I could say I always wanted to do something about Freud,” Cronenberg, 68, says, upon further reflection. “To say that isn’t really to say anything at all though because Freud is such a big topic.” And so, he just needed the right project to come along and he found that project in Christopher Hampton’s (DANGEROUS LIAISONS) stage play, "The Talking Cure". Cronenberg had heard his Spider star, Ralph Fiennes, was playing Jung on the London stage and, while he couldn’t attend, he did read the play and found the angle he had been looking for all this time.

“I thought it was very doable as a movie and it would be fascinating to approach it just the way Christopher had, which is to say very neutrally,” Cronenberg explains. Hampton’s play does not pick sides between Jung and Freud, played on film by Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen, respectively, but rather allows the audience to take in their differing points of view and assess on their own where their allegiances lie. The play pits the two against each other by framing their relationship in context with another, that of a shared patient and one of the first female psychoanalysts, Sabina Spielrein, played with great fervor and bravery by Keira Knightley.

Fleshing out the stage version for the screen was easier than one would expect. “As they were both psychoanalysts, no detail went unnoticed. They were their own first subjects after all,” Cronenberg quips. So there was a plethora of information to draw to fill out the story but there was still some things that required a certain creative flair, namely most of the intense sexuality that happens behind closed doors. “There are some very intimate moments which are speculative, of course. There was still some modesty involved in these relationships because of the era.”

As impassioned as it gets onscreen, Cronenberg insists that the set itself, located in Vienna and in various German locations, could not have been more ideal. “It was as though, after one or two days, as if you’d worked with everybody many times before,” he recalls fondly. Of course, Cronenberg has actually worked with Mortensen before, most recently in 2007’s EASTERN PROMISES. While Christoph Waltz was originally due to play Freud, he had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts, and Mortensen stepped in. “With Viggo, I would say I have a long hand rather than a short hand,” Cronenberg describes of their working relationship. “We would exchange something like 25 e-mails about what kind of cigars Freud smoked and when.”

Cronenberg is currently in post-production on his 20th feature, COSMOPOLIS, based on the Don DeLillo novel and starring Robert Pattinson. First up though, he must contend with awards season, as A DANGEROUS METHOD is naturally garnering attention. Though happy with the acclaim, Cronenberg takes the arduous process in stride. “Awards season isn’t a real season; it’s not like fall or winter,” says the man whose first brush with Oscar came when his 1986 film, THE FLY, took home the statue for Best Visual Effects. “It can be very exhausting if you’re nominated so at a certain moment, part of you is almost praying you don’t get any nominations.”

Well, consider my fingers crossed for you, Mr. Cronenberg. Wait.

Best of Black Sheep: A DANGEROUS METHOD

A DANGEROUS METHOD

Written by Christopher Hampton

Directed by David Cronenberg

Starring Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen

Otto Gross: If there is one thing I’ve learned in my short life, it’s this: Never repress anything.

Canadian director, David Cronenberg, is synonymous with exploring sexuality and psychology on screen. In his latest epic, A DANGEROUS METHOD, he lets our minds get lost amidst these two forces as they intersect in Austria during the birth of modern psychology. What should have been an explosion of intense thought and tantalizing eroticism unfortunately amounts to little more than awkward conversation.

Like so much of psychoanalysis, some things make perfect sense on the page but do not necessarily apply past the theory. On paper, A DANGEROUS METHOD should work. Michael Fassbender plays Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, who engages in a father-son like relationship with Sigmund Freud, played by three-time Cronenberg collaborator, Viggo Mortensen. Freud’s beliefs surrounding psychological trauma tended to be sexual in nature and this would inevitably cause an irreparable rift between them as Jung thought there had to be more to it than that. The situation was only further exacerbated by Jung’s own affair with one of his own patients, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). The two enter a kinky relationship that really only proves Freud’s point but men being men, neither will admit any fault.

A DANGEROUS METHOD is aptly performed by its talented cast and beautifully shot and composed but it never truly comes alive. Considering the film itself is about repression, it certainly feels as though it could have used some loosening up. Instead, its tightly wound setting and nature eventually lead to its own unravelling.