If you believe the old adage that celebrity deaths come in threes, it appears Sid Caesar is our third in recent days (after Philip Seymour Hoffman and Shirley Temple Black). Caesar was a legend of Borscht Belt comedy. He worked extensively with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, et al. He has created a lasting legacy. Most importantly, he was fucking hilarious.
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Author Archives: Alftuba
Review – Oscar Nominated Shorts 2014: Animation
A couple days ago I posted my reviews of this year’s Oscar Nominees for Live Action Short Film. The animated ones overall were slightly underwhelming in comparison, but there were a couple a very bright spots – the very brightest of which didn’t even get nominated.
Wait… what? I’ll explain later. For now, here are my ranked reviews for the 2014 Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short…
5. Possessions (Japan/Japanese, 14 min)
A skilled handyman wandering through the woods in a storm seeks shelter in a seemingly abandoned shrine. The little hut is cluttered with various broken objects whose sprits haunt him until he fixes them. The premise is based on an old Japanese legend. Perhaps if I were more familiar with the legend or the culture from which it originated I would have gotten more out of this film. As it is the story seemed confusing and pointless. Many of the subtitles didn’t make much sense, and I can’t help but wonder if it was just a bad translation. Even so, the CGI was awkward and doesn’t blend well with the hand-drawn background. Overall, it just wasn’t that good. I quickly went from critical to bored.
4. Room on the Broom (UK/English, 26 min)
A witch and her cat ride around on their broom, stopping occasionally to take on more passengers, much to the cat’s increasing dismay. Like 2010 nominee, The Guffalo (and its not-nominated sequel The Gruffalo’s Child), this is a BBC production of a short children’s book, with a voice cast full of high profile names (Simon Pegg narrates). The problem with these films is they insist on using the original text, narrated word-for-word, with lots of pauses and dead space to fill out a half-hour TV slot. In doing so, they ruin the wonderful rhythm and rhyming scheme of that original text. The animation is skilled, and Broom in particular bests its formers with wonderful character work on the fantastically expressive cat. But the whole thing feels more like a glossy, expensive, yet over-long segment for Reading Rainbow.
3. Feral (USA/No dialogue, 12 min)
This is a beautiful hand-painted depiction of a feral child “rescued” from the woods and adopted by the hunter who found him. He is groomed for civilized life, but the grooming can only be skin deep. Though the story is clear enough, the telling is quite abstract. The screen is a series of gorgeous images that morph into one another, and each moment the imagery moves back and forth between concrete reality and symbolic dreamscape. The biggest potential pitfall with any work of abstract art is that it can have a tendency to sacrifice accessibility for expression. That’s somewhat the case here. The artistry that went into making this film is undeniable. But it wasn’t always entirely engaging or interesting.
2. Get a Horse! (USA/English, 6 min)
It was teased over a year ago as a long lost early Mickey Mouse cartoon. It turned out to be a new film blending traditional, grainy black and white animation with the most advanced and up to date 3D CGI. Mickey (voiced by some previously unused, archived recordings of Walt Disney himself) and his friends get into a chase that breaks through the screen and into the audience. Classic physics-bending cartoon hijinks ensue, with the help of modern technology to enable pranks the old Mickey would’ve never dreamed of. I loved this film when it screened in 3D before Frozen. In this program (and screeners sent to Oscar voters) it’s presented in 2D and loses a good deal of its technical appeal. Without that there’s not much of a story to prop it up (there never were in those old cartoons). Still, in 3D it’s a fantastic film.
1. Mr. Hublot (France/No dialogue, 12 min)
Mr. Hublot is fastidious shut-in with OCD, living in a fantastical steampunk/clockwork city populated by mechanical people. His world is turned upside-down when he rescues a stray robot dog that quickly grows too big and destructive for his perfectly ordered home. It’s an enormously sweet and touching little film. The characters are endearing and the design is stunningly beautiful. There are a couple times when a song comes in over a montage of events. The song is mixed a little too loud and feels a little distractingly out of place. But even so, it’s a sweet and enjoyable little ditty. This is my favorite of the animated nominees this year.
(It is not, however, my favorite of the year, as you’ll see below.)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – These programs often include a few other films that didn’t get nominated, in order to fill out a feature length slot. This year’s live action shorts were considerably longer on average, so that program stuck to the 5 nominees. But the animated program gave us a few others, including one that’s far and away better than everything else.
3-. A La Francaise (USA/No Dialogue, 7 min)
In 1700’s Versailles, all the rich, noble aristocracy are portrayed as hapless clucking chickens. It’s a pretty funny metaphor, but a simple one. There’s absolutely no depth here. Not much to say, really: reasonably enjoyable, and instantly forgettable.
3+.The Missing Scarf (Ireland/English, 7 min)
You’d be forgiven for thinking this is your standard children’s allegory about a cute little origami paper squirrel searching for his lost scarf, but you’d be oh so very wrong. In fact, it’s less of a story and more of a video essay on the nature of fear, with a final turn that’s surprisingly dark for adults, let alone any poor kids who might have been tricked into watching it. My mind kept thinking George Takei’s narration was going to rhyme or a least find a rhythm, but the fact that it never does only added to a certain level of discomfort that I’m pretty sure was intentional. It’s not a bad film at all, but watch at your own risk.
1+++!!!!!. The Blue Umbrella (USA/No Dialogue, 7 min)
Pixar is has been a staple in this category almost as often as it has in the Feature Animation. That the studio missed out on both this year is shocking and upsetting, but mostly for this one. It was paired with Monsters University in theaters, and while the latter was better than I expected, the former was the most wonderful thing on screen all night. In a photo-realistic city at night in the rain, a chance encounter between a blue and pink umbrella (the people carrying them are only seen by their matching galoshes) becomes a harrowing adventure, and ultimately a love story. Various objects in and around the street watch the proceedings with fantastic expressions created by ever so slightly bending already existing lines. The soundtrack is beautiful, and the story is incredibly touching. It’s the kind of film that’s so moving, so affecting, that I still get shivers up my spine even now, writing about it several days later. Despite whichever film wins the Oscar, this is in fact by far the Best Animated Short Film of the Year.
Clip…
Soundtrack…
The Tivoli’s 90th
This year the Tivoli Theater in St Louis will turn 90 years old. Cinema St Louis is marking the occasion with a May 25th showing of Meet Me in St Louis (1944), which itself is turning 70.
I won’t be able to make it myself, as THAT’S THE DAY OF MY WEDDING!!! But to those St. Louisans who aren’t attending the biggest bash of the year, this might be the next best thing.
Here’s the notice from Cinema St Louis. And hey, while you’re at it, give ’em a Like on Facebook.
On May 24, 2014, the Tivoli officially turns 90 years old. Accordingly, on May 25th, 2014, they will celebrate this milestone in a cinematic way, by showing MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (1944; this year marks 70 since its release).
This film, being of special importance to the city of St. Louis (which turns 250 this year), was deemed the most appropriate film to play. Starring Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Margaret O’Brien and many others, the film centers on the 1904 World’s Fair held in St. Louis (this year also marks the 100th year since that landmark event). This special confluence of anniversaries is of sufficient import to warrant a huge event!
Come Celebrate the Tivoli!
90 years old never looked so good.Event Info
What: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)
When: May 25, 2014 at 4:00pm
How much: $5 per ticket
R.I.P. – Shirley Temple Black
Shirley Temple Black passed away Monday night at the age of 85. Long before adding her married name “Black”, she was arguably the most famous singing and dancing child star Hollywood has ever known – certainly one of the first. That precocious little kid grew up to become an accomplished ambassador and humanitarian. But social and political accomplishments aside, her legacy will always remain a major milestone in screen history.
Review – Oscar Nominated Shorts 2014: Live Action
A few years ago the Oscar nominated short films began releasing in theaters, in feature-length programs divided by category: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary. Ever since, I have made it a point to catch these often fantastic, under-appreciated little gems. The exception is the Doc Shorts which, to this day, still rarely make it outside of New York and LA. But if you’re lucky enough to live in a city with an independent theater, chances are you can catch the Live Action and Animated programs.
I recently sat down to both groups. Stay tuned later this week for my reviews of the animated films. Today I present my reviews, in ranked order, of the 5 films nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best Live Action Short.
(Note: “Short” film doesn’t necessarily necessitate “Short” reviews, but for ease of reading, I’ll keep these to a single paragraph each.)
5. Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me) (Spain/English & Spanish, 24 min)
A Spanish couple, doing aid work in an unnamed war-torn region of Africa, encounter a group of child soldiers and their warlord. Soon they find themselves targets used for indoctrinating the newest youngest recruits. Like a French film reviewed further below, this shines a light on an important topic too often overlooked by the public. Unfortunately the heavy-handed style suffers from a chronic case of just-too-muchness. The occasional flashes-forward to a lecture hall provide occasional respite from the violence, but don’t exactly add much to the proceedings beyond a slightly awkward framing device. Some of the special effects are distractingly bad, as well. That said, some aspects of the film are very good, and I can see it gaining votes based on its social importance – perhaps even winning the Oscar. But I was too turned-off by its problems to appreciate any value that might have remained.
4. Helium (Denmark/Danish, 23 min)
A hospital janitor befriends a young terminal patient and raises the boy’s spirits by regaling him with tales of a fantastical alt-heaven called “Helium.” It’s quite touching, and the special effects are gorgeous. But it’s just a little too sappy to overcome the central cliché.
3. The Voorman Problem (UK/English, 13 min)
Martin Freeman stars as a psychologist called in to evaluate a prisoner (Pirates of the Caribbean’s Tom Hollander) who “believes” he’s a god. Those quotation marks are crucial to the film’s central gimmick. And it is a gimmick. It’s hilarious and well acted, but it’s a one-note joke. That’s not always a bad thing; I enjoy lots of joke-y shorts, including the Finnish film below. But there’s a well known “rule of threes” in comedy and storytelling. This film delivered its big turn on the second beat and ended, leaving an unfinished and unsatisfied feeling. In my opinion, the “problem” of the title is that it feels like only half of a great movie.
2. Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) (Finland/Finnish, 7 min)
After oversleeping, a woman has to get her useless husband and kids ready to leave for a wedding. This fast-paced comedy piles on more complications every few seconds, to perfectly recreate that sense of frantic frustration that’s so familiar. Like The Voorman Problem this could be considered a one-note joke, but unlike that film this has the advantage of a clear beginning, middle and end, an endearing tone, and relatable characters. The film is light, some might even say slight, but it’s very enjoyable.
1. Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) (France/French, 30 min)
A mother is desperate to leave town with her kids, but first they must stop at the supermarket where she works to make some final plans. I want to tell you what they are doing and why, but the film so expertly adds information piece by piece, steadily building tension and suspense, that I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, this is a powerful film, made by extremely talented women, about an important topic too often relegated to “women’s issues”, but whose audience is and should be universal. Everyone needs to watch this. The skill and artistry involved in every aspect of the production is absolutely top notch, and the script is as good as any in this year’s feature races. This is not only the best short film of this race; it may be the best live action short I’ve seen since I began paying attention to these races nearly a decade ago.
And there you have this year’s Live Action Short field. Needless to say, this ranking is my own opinion. I will make actual predictions for the Oscar races sometime over the next month. (Though my experience lately is the films I like the best actually often end up winning.) Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the Animation reviews coming up!
Solomon Northrup’s First Win of the Season
The USC Scripter Award was announced last night (around the same time as the Art Directors Guild). This award is for films with adapted screenplays only, but what make it special is that it awards the source material as well as the screenplay. Thus, the original Solomon Northrup took his first award of the season for his 161 year old memoir 12 Year a Slave, alongside screenwriter John Ridley. They beat out the writers of Captain Phillips, Philomena, The Spectacular Now, and What Maisie Knew.
Her, Gravity, The Great Gatsby Win Art Directors Guild
The Art Director’s Guild announced its winners last night (around the same time as the USC Scripter). They divide their nominees into three categories: Period, Contemporary, and Fantasy. The winners were, respectively, The Great Gatsby, Her, and Gravity. All three were nomination for Oscar’s Best Production Design, alone with American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave. None of these wins are particularly surprising, but it’s wonderful to see K.K. Barrett’s amazing designs for Her get some recognition. Perhaps the oddest thing about these awards is that Her‘s beautiful near-futurism was considered “contemporary,” while Gravity‘s contemporary and not-all-that-fantastical space station designs were placed in “fantasy.” Oh well, at least they both won.
Here is the complete list of the ADG Award winners. (Click here for the nominations.)
Excellence in Production Design – Period Film
“The Great Gatsby” (Catherine Martin)
Excellence in Production Design – Contemporary Film
“Her” (K.K. Barrett)
Excellence in Production Design – Fantasy Film
“Gravity” (Andy Nicholson)
Excellence in Production Design – TV Movie or Miniseries
“Behind the Candelabra” (Howard Cummings)
Excellence in Production Design – One-Hour Single-Camera Series
“Game of Thrones” (Gemma Jackson)
Excellence in Production Design – Half-Hour Single-Camera Series
“Veep” (Jim Gloster)
Excellence in Production Design – Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series
“Portlandia” (Tyler Robinson)
Excellence in Production Design – Awards, Music or Game Shows
“67th Annual Tony Awards” (Steve Bass)
Excellence in Production Design – Short Format Live-Action Series
“Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome” (Bryan Kane)
Excellence in Production Design – Commercials, PSAs, Promos or Music Videos
“Call of Duty: Ghosts” – “Epic Night Out” (Todd Cherniawsky)
Editors Pick Captain Phillips and American Hustle over Gravity
The Editor’s guild, the American Cinema Editors (or ACE), announced their awards Friday night. In doing so they did their best to throw open the doors on this crazy, super-competitive Oscar season – doors that had nonetheless seemed to be closing recently around Gravity as the most likely winner of the top prize.
ACE separates nominees into Comedy and Drama, so American Hustle‘s win in the former was unsurprising. It was the only Oscar nominee in the category, and it’s biggest competition was The Wolf of Wall Street. The biggest competition was for Drama, where top Oscar contenders Gravity and 12 Years a Slave were beat out by Captain Phillips.
In hindsight, perhaps this was as big a shocker as it seems. Phillips‘ director Paul Greengrass had already been selected to receive the guild’s Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award. Meanwhile, the film’s editor Christopher Rouse is hugely respected within the industry, and his work really was fantastic. There is precedent here: in 2007 Rouse and Greengrass’ The Bourne Ultimatum beat Oscar frontrunners No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood, before going on to take the Editing Oscar as well. Add to that the general rule that “more” usually wins in technical categories. Gravity, whose technical marvel is undeniable, builds its suspense in part through the use of several extremely long takes. In light of that it’s really no surprise that Rouse’ tight, quick-cut style would be favored by the editors.
Does that mean Phillips will go on to do the same in the Oscars’ Editing category? Possibly. Gravity or 12 Years or even Hustle could still take it if any of those films start to sweep. But this also could be the best opportunity to reward a highly admired film that nonetheless took a bit of a beating on nomination day, missing out on expected nods for Greengrass and Tom Hanks. If it won, it probably won’t mean much for the top prize beyond helping to keep us all guessing to the very end.
Here is the complete list of the ACE Eddie Award winners. (Click here for the nominations.)
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“Captain Phillips”
Christopher Rouse, A.C.E.
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“American Hustle”
Jay Cassidy, A.C.E., Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, A.C.E.
Best Animated Feature Film
“Frozen”
Jeff Draheim
Best Edited Documenatary (Feature)
“20 Feet from Stardom”
Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber & Jason Zeldes
Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
“The Assassination of President Kennedy”
Chris A. Peterson
Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television
“The Office” – “Finale”
David Rogers & Claire Scanlon
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television
“Breaking Bad” – “Felina”
Skip MacDonald A.C.E.
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
“Homeland” – “Big Man in Tehran”
Terry Kelley, A.C.E.
Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
“Behind the Candelabra”?
Mary Ann Bernard
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” – “Tokyo”
Nick Brigden
Best Student Editing
Ambar Salinas, Video Symphony
ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
Paul Greengrass
Lifetime Career Achievement Award
Richard Halsey, A.C.E.
Robert C. Jones
Heritage Award
Randy Roberts, A.C.E.
GrabBag – MacBeth Fassbender’d, Leto Heckled, and Philip Seymour Hoffman Remembered.
It’s Friday once again, and that means it’s time for another GrabBag! – our weekly mishmash of links and videos to get you through the weekend.
- There’s a new clip from Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. Reviews have just started coming out from its premier in Berlin, and needless to say, I’m even more excited.
- Dallas Buyers Club’s Jared Leto got heckled for being a straight man playing a transgender woman. His initial response was perfect enough, but then he proceeded to invite the heckler backstage for a “heart-to-heart” conversation about the subject.
- The 12 Years a Slave team is in full campaign mode. Here’s Steve McQueen on Nightline. Also, Lupita Nyong’o talks to Vogue about how she got into film…
… and screenwriter John Ridley talks to Bill Maher.
- Gender inequality in the film industry summed up in this fantastic infographic. (New York Film Academy actually published this several months ago, but it’s still and always relevant.)
- This week’s biggest and most shocking entertainment news story by far was the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman on Sunday.
- Director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) wrote an excellent remembrance on his blog.
- Meanwhile tweets poured in from other actors and industry insider.
- The team behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – which he was still filming when he died – released an offical statement. His performance as Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire was fantastic. I hope they shot enough new footage to shoot around him, because I don’t know how anybody will be able to fill his shoes.
- Finally, here is by far the best compilation/tribute video I’ve seen yet…
That’s all for this week’s GrabBag. Enjoy your weekend and try to stay warm!
Does Watching TV Condone TV?
Mascots for the Sochi Winter Olympics, apparently.
The Winter Olympics in Sochi begin tonight. Well today actually. By the time you read this the opening ceremony has probably already happened, but that’s what we get for being in the Western Hemisphere. Over the course of the next several days, I will likely watch several events I could otherwise care less about (Ice Dancing?). But this is the Olympics; everybody watches them!
Except this year that’s not so true. George Takei (of whom I count myself as a Facebook Fan) and many others have been highly outspoken about boycotting this year’s games in protest to host country Russia’s draconian policies toward the LGBTQ community. Of course I fully agree with and support Takei’s stance. I hope beyond hope that the boycott gains traction and encourages IOC to vet their choices more carefully and maybe even shames Russia’s leaders into changing their policies. (That won’t happen, but we can hope. That’s what protests are about, hope for change. If change were easy we wouldn’t need to protest.)
The problem is, despite my support for the boycott, I just told you I’m going to watch the Olympics. I’m not the only one. In fact I’d be willing to bet that most of you reaching this are struggling (though probably less than you like to admit) with this same conflict. So how do we justify this kind of internal dichotomy?
In fact, this is a question I’ve been trying to answer for years. My fiancé is an intelligent, caring, progressive, liberal-minded modern woman who nonetheless loves watching Jersey Shore, 16 and Pregnant, and Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, among several other similar cultural abscesses. I know countless people who watch every single episode of American Idol. Hell, even I myself feel the occasional need to watch Michael Bay movies.
In my opinion shows like these go part and parcel with a vast stupidification of our American cultural identity. To paraphrase Billy Madison’s principal, everyone is now dumber for having watched them. I (playfully) take people to task over their TV preferences on a regular basis. But in all honesty none of that actually changes the respect, admiration, or love I have for them as friends, colleagues, partners.
For much of my adult life I have believed that by watching something, you are implicitly condoning what’s on screen. In a way I still do. No, I don’t mean that by watching 12 Years a Slave you are supporting slavery (obviously). But you support the values that these filmmakers and this story, being told in this way, stand for.
But in the case of culturally empty or aberrant entertainment, does it really matter if you watch? Does that implicit support actually mean anything? Yes and no, but mostly (probably) no.
I am not in a Nielsen home. I don’t think I know anybody who is. Nobody is going to know that I’m watching the Olympics except those I tell. I raise the conversation, and therefore awareness, by talking about these shows, but my voice alone is negligible in the dull roar that already exists. Putting those mascots at the top of this blog post is probably the worst impact I can make.
Sure, Hulu keeps track of every time my fiancé watches Honey Boo-Boo, but our subscription would be the same whether we watch that or The Office. I’m not spending money I wouldn’t otherwise spend. I’m not financially supporting these shows or their advertisers any more than I otherwise would. When was the last time you bought something directly because of a TV ad? I bought a Pizza Hut pizza after a football game a few weeks ago, but other than that I can’t think of a single example.
Ok so as I write these arguments, I keep coming up with more and better counter-arguments. Reasons I should turn off the TV and tell you all to do the same. But you know what? I’m not going to. Why? I don’t know; I just don’t feel like it. I want to watch the Olympics.
And that’s as good an answer as you’re going to get. When I started writing this article, I wasn’t sure which side of the titular question my eventual answer would fall. Now at the end, I’m even less sure. You’re going to have to choose your own answer. Or don’t. Do what ever feels right or good or fun or whatever.
Me, I’m going to go eat cake and nachos and complain about not losing weight.
The Screen Life 