With this being Oscar week, the spotlight is on two releases that were overlooked by the Academy – one thankfully so, while the other quite erroneously. First, there’s the underwhelming collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio, ”J. Edgar”, that came out last fall. It initially earned some end-of-the-year nomination buzz, but that thankfully that fizzled out. But “Martha Marcy May Marlene”, an impressive directorial debut from writer/director Sean Durkin, was erroneously overlooked - maybe because, like the titular character (excellently played by Elizabeth Olsen), Oscar was confused. Whatever the reason, this uneasy character study is definitely worth your time. Other titles out today: the Bret Ratner/Eddie Murphy (no Oscars for them!) semi-hit, “Tower Heist”, also starring Ben Stiller and Matthew Broderick, and “London Boulevard” the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan ( “The Departed” ), starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightly, which saw a limited release overseas with only a short VOD release here in the States.

Well, that’s it for this week – previous reviews are highlighted in the list below. Enjoy the Rundown….

 

 

• Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Collection) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Bad Actress (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Blank City (DVD)
• Borgia: Season One (DVD)
• The Fades: Season One (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Five Star Day (Blu-ray)
• Hazel: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
• Honey (Blu-ray) 
• Honey 2 (DVD/Blu-ray)
• I Ain’t Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac (DVD)
• J. Edgar (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Last Fast Ride: The Life, Love, and Death of a Punk Goddess (DVD)
• Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1991 (DVD)
• London Boulevard (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Martha Marcy May Marlene (DVD/Blu-ray)
• The Mighty Macs (DVD)
• Nurse Jackie: Season Three (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Puss in Boots (DVD/Blu-ray) – 02-24-12!
• Retreat (DVD)
• The Space Between (DVD)
• The Story of Ireland (DVD) 
• That Show with Joan Rivers: Vol. 3 (DVD)
• Tower Heist (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Track 29 (DVD)
• Underdog: Complete Collector’s Edition (DVD) 
• Unforgiven: 20th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) 
• War of the Arrows (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Weeds: Season Seven (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• World on a Wire (Criterion Collection) (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• ZAAT(DVD/Blu-ray)

 

 

 

written by: Roger Allers, Brenda Chapman, Chris Sanders, Burny Mattinson, Kevin Harkey, Brian Pimental, Bruce Woodside, Joe Ranft, Tom Ellery, Kelly Ashbury, and Robert Lence

produced by: Don Hahn

directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

rating: G

runtime: 84 min.

U.S. release date: January 6, 2011

When “Beauty and the Beast” originally came out in the fall of 1991, I was a sophomore in college  into films such as “Rush”, “Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country”, “The Fisher King” and “The Last Boy Scout”. Say what you will about that selection, but needless to say, a fairy-tale romance/musical was the furthest thing from my mind. Come to think of it, Barry Sonnenfeld’s “The Addams Family” was released on the same day and I think I opted for that instead. That’s just where I was at the time and I never caught up with Disney’s 30th animated feature, until now. It took a 3D post-convert to do it, but I finally saw the award-winning film loved by many, Best Picture nominee and two-time Oscar winner (Best Original Score and Best Original Song), and for that I’m glad, but that’s about it.

I may have not been in a place to truly appreciate the film at the same time everyone else was, yet now I can understand and appreciate quite a bit about the film. It is famously known for being the first ever animated film to be nominated for Best Picture (it lost to “The Silence of the Lambs”, which featured a different kind of beast) and won for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. It came out as Disney was riding the wave of success from “The Little Mermaid”, a film that resurrected the studio’s hold on the animation genre. It was also one of the first films where animators used CAPS (Computer Animation Production System),  a groundbreaking new digital ink and paint system that allowed for a wider range of colors and a more confident way to combine hand-drawn art with CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery).

Much was being made about how the best use of CAPS is found in the waltz scene in “Beauty and the Beast” where it seemed like the two dancing characters were being filmed by a camera that was swirling around them. Its use is commonplace now and may even seem outdated, but 20 years ago this visually impressive device that stimulated multiplane effects was a big deal. So, it’s easy to see the impact this movie has had on other animators, but particularly the integral part it played in the Renaissance period – that is the late 80s/early 90s – of the Walt Disney Animation Studio.

The story is based on La Belle et la Bête, a French version of a traditional fairy-tale that was eventually made into a 1946 fantasy film by Jean Cocteau. Some may remember the modern American take on the tale, a television series starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman called “Beauty and the Beast”, which ran for three seasons. The Disney version shockingly took eleven screenwriters to come up with their own adaptation.

For the most part, the film is loyal to its source, notwithstanding the 25 minutes or so of musical numbers written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman injected to enliven the story. Most of those numbers work well, thanks to Jerry Orbach (a jolly “Be Our Guest”) and Angela Lansbury (the romantic ballad “Beauty and the Beast”) actors with considerable Broadway chops (who can pull off playing animated inanimate objects), while others were grating to my sensibilities. The story showcases an insufferable degree of clichés and stereotypes, where obvious sexism (not to mention Stockholm Syndrome) comes to mind. Maybe it’s easy to notice all these elements as a middle-aged viewer, having developed my cinematic palette over the years to notice such things.

Need I go into the story more? Probably not. Everyone knows about the handsome young prince cursed to live as a hideous creature (voiced by Robby Benson) due to his vanity and live his days secluded in an enchanted castle until he can find someone to love, one who will equally reciprocate. Then, in a nearby French village (where no one speaks French or has a French accent) we meet a young girl named Belle (Paige O’Hara, channeling Judy Garland), a singing book nerd (which helps when you’re using words like “provincial” in your song) who is loved – and made fun of (apparently in equal measure) – by the local townsfolk.

Yep, you guessed it – she’s the one to break the curse and soften the furry hide (and heart) of this socially inept and flat-out rude beast. Helping push along their meet-cute is a host of culinary utensils, a clock, and a swooning candelabra (finally a French accent). Of course, there has to be an antagonist throwing a wrench in the blossoming “inner beauty” affair, and that falls to the self-loving Gaston (Richard White), the local beefcake buffoon. I realize this lantern-jawed Neanderthal is a typical fairy tale character, but man did I ever immediately grow tired of him.

In fact, none of the characters here really did much for me, but I appreciated the light humor that some of them provided. Even though the overall character design wasn’t very appealing to me, the movie’s creative art direction is undeniably admirable, and is its infectious lively tone. Directors Trousdale and Wise and the extensive writing ensemble deliver a fine “If You Love Somebody/Set Then Free” tale that made Disney a load of change – which they’ve revisited over the years. That’s just what the House of Mouse is doing with this 3D edition. We saw it with “The Lion King” and we’ll see it again later this year with “Finding Nemo”. Although it’s great to see these classics on the big-screen again, but 3D does very little to enhance the experience, but the House of Mouse can’t deny the double-dip.

I can easily see how this movie is near and dear to many people’s hearts, but I’ll just appreciate it for what it is. Maybe it’s just the fact that I didn’t catch “Beauty and the Beast’ when everyone else did, but I can’t say it really holds up as a Best Picture nominee. That could also be because I’ve seen how far animation has come. On that note, I found myself preferring the delightful “Tangled” short that precedes this release – a fun sequel that showcases some hilarious wedding hijinks. Now that I’d like to see more of.

RATING: ***

For some reason, the studio behind “God is Bigger than Elvis” did not offer their Oscar-nominated Documentary Short to be included in Shorts International’s limited run currently making the rounds in select theaters. But the four (out of five) films that were shown are exceptional – all very powerful, important and emotional, in their own way. You won’t find any feel-good vibrations coming from any of these films though, so be forewarned. In traveling to Baghdad and Islamabad, we witness the horrors humans inflict on each other. We also visit the survivors of a devastating natural catastrophe in Japan and then head to Alabama to find a man who’s seen his share of humanity’s ugliness. Out of all the Oscar-Nominated Shorts (Live-Action and Animated), this is the batch that are the overall best.

It’s a shame these Shorts aren’t more accessible. Here are reviews of the Shorts I saw, along with a synopsis of “God is Bigger than Elvis”, the one I did not see….

INCIDENT IN NEW BAGHDAD

directed by James Spione / 22 min. / USA/IRAQ

Back in April 2010, Wikileaks released footage of one of the most notorious incidents of the Iraq War – the July 2007 slaying of unarmed civilians in Baghdad by US Apache helicopters.  We re-visit this event through both stunning aerial cockpit footage and from the perspective of Army Specialist Ethan McCord, who witnessed the devastating aftermath firsthand. McCord recalls seeing the carnage, which he described as something out of a horror movie, and how he also wound up finding and rescuing two children that were caught in the barrage of fire. Through his emotional recount, he shares how seeking mental health care after his experience was scoffed upon, how his PTSD has affected his interaction with his two children, and how he’s struggled for years with anger, confusion and guilt over his involvement in the war. This is a riveting short that could really benefit from a feature-length and a bit more embellishment (maybe detailing why McCord is now a single dad), especially when I learned that two of the slain victims were Reuters journalists – something editor/co-producer/director James Spione doesn’t mention.

RATING: ***

SAVING FACE 

directed by Daniel Junge & Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy / 40 min. / USA/PAKISTAN

This HBO Documentary is the most upsetting of the shorts I saw. It is the story of the many Pakistani women whose faces have been disfigured by acid attacks, usually at the hands of their husbands. The filmmakers focus on two victims who are fighting back, enlisting local aid from both a female legislator and a female attorney, in an effort to take a stand and punish their attackers. The stories of these two women is heartbreaking. One has lost the left side of her face (including an eye) and has to wear sunglasses and a burka in public. Her imprisoned husband denies his involvement, claiming it’s a conspiracy against him. Another young woman was splashed with acid by her husband, doused with gasoline by her sister-in-law, and lit on fire by her mother-in-law. The ray of hope is a compassionate Pakistani-born plastic surgeon (claiming his specialty is “boobs and butts”) from London has returned home to help restore the lives of as many woman as he can. The fact that this happens to hundreds of women each year should make your blood boil and eyes water – it sure did for me. As challenging as it is to watch, these woman are incredibly brave and courageous as they unite and speak out against such brutal acts.

RATING: ****

THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM

directed by Lucy Walker / 39 min. / USA/JAPAN

Here is a short that deals with the two sides of nature, its devastating destructive side and the side that showcases its profound albeit short-lived beauty. It opens with footage of the tragic tsunami that struck a specific area of Japan, as seen by townspeople who ran to the mountains for safety. We see fires caused by increasing waves carrying vehicles that crash into houses and schools, and witness unsuccessful attempts of rescuers and evacuees. Survivors provide their account of the event and how it has changed not only their way of life, but their outlook on it. With a calming and reflective score composed by Moby, director Lucy Walker also covers how the celebrated cherry trees and their exquisite blossoms have also survived, comparing their resilience with that of the survivors. It shows that beauty can bloom from tragedy, and the juxtapositioned images are both poetic and profound.

RATING: ***1/2 

THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM: FOOT SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

directed by Gail Dolgin & Robin Fryday / 25 min. / USA

The goal of this short is to introduce us to one of the many men (and women) who played an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama back in the 60s. He is Army Veteran, James Armstrong, who at 85, still owns and runs the barber shop he’s had In Birmingham since the 50s. His shop feels like a museum, adorned with historic newspaper clippings and photos, that (among many events) capture the march from Selma to Montgomery that Armstrong took part of, fighting for the right to vote for blacks. A sign in his shop proclaims plainly, “If you want a voice, you have to vote. You can’t complain about nothing if you don’t vote”. He has withstood tear gas and billy club attacks, as well as death threats toward him and his family, but seeing Obama elected President is a dream come true. Armstrong is the kind of guy who you can sit and listen to for hours, and many of his patrons do just that. Unlike the other nominees, this can be seen as more of a tribute, or a commemorative salute, to a man who is an example of how to opposed oppression in a non-violent manner, maintaining one’s integrity and dignity. He leaves viewers with these parting words, “Dying isn’t the worst thing a man can do. The worst thing a man can do is nothing”. 

RATING: ***

Barber of Birmingham – Trailer from jacob steingroot on Vimeo.

GOD IS BIGGER THAN ELVIS 

directed by Rebecca Cammisa / 37 min. / USA

Mother Delores Hart, was once a rising Hollywood starlet and is now a 73-year-old cloistered Benedictine nun. Known for providing Elvis Presley his first on-screen kiss (hence the title), Hart had co-starred with the likes of Montgomery Clift, Jeff Chandler and Robert Wagner. Then she gave it all up to become a nun, just as her acting career had peaked and right as she was about to get married. She spends her time at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut, but is rumored to make an appearance on Oscar night since the film has been nominated. Hart’s story was also told on a 20/20 episode….

Find out which Documentary Short will win an Oscar on February 26th!

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: An Incident in New Baghdad, David J., film, God is Bigger Than Elvis, Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts, review, Saving Face, The Barber of Birmingham: A Foot Soldier in the Civil Rights Movement, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom ]]> http://keeping-it-reel.com/2012/02/19/oscar-nominated-documentary-shorts-2012/feed/ 0 dj4our oscarshortsposterWA_edited-1 http://keeping-it-reel.com/2012/02/17/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-2011/ http://keeping-it-reel.com/2012/02/17/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-2011/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:23:41 +0000 David J. Fowlie http://keeping-it-reel.com/?p=4289 ]]>

written by: Eric Roth (screenplay) and Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)

produced by: Scott Rudin

directed by: Stephen Daldry

rating: PG-13 (for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language)

runtime: 129 min.

U.S. release date: December 25, 2011 (limited) & January 20, 2012 (wide)

There were a handful of crowd-pleasing and manipulative movies released in 2011, but none of them earned as vitriolic a reception as “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” did. It’s been called precocious, pandering, and cloying by critics, and even some avid moviegoers, while some viewers have found it satisfying despite its blatant heavy-handed nature. And now the latest Oscar bait from director Stephen Daldry has acquired a Best Picture Oscar nomination, a move which baffled many, including myself, and elicited even more vehement disapproval. While I’m not as outraged by this film’s existence, I do find myself perplexed that a cast of actors – who usually deliver performances ranging from good to great – are unable to redeem a film that, at its best, feels like a trite Hallmark special and, at its worst, a typical Lifetime movie.

The movie starts out with a figure floating in the air with debris swirling around him. We quickly learn the man is not floating, but falling from one of the Twin Towers and the day is September 11th, 2001. Whatever emotion that elicits depends on the viewer, I was willing to go with and see where it would lead, hoping for a poignant reflection on lives lost on that tragic day. It is nice to have hopes.

We then meet Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), a precocious 10-year-old boy who will be the protagonist and narrator of the movie. We learn he has Asperger’s Syndrome and is able to function thanks to the help he gets from his tender father, Thomas (Tom Hanks), who encourages the boy to use his sharp mind to see their New York City surroundings like an investigative adventure, instead of being stricken with fear by it. Through humor and patience, Thomas is able to instill confidence in his son, who is able to embark on a journey to uncover the city’s “secret history”, with coping mechanisms intact.

Then Thomas dies in the 9/11 attacks, devastating Oskar’s world. Throughout the next year, he becomes increasingly withdrawn from his grief-stricken mother, Linda (Sandra Bullock), as he obsesses over the five messages his father left on their answering machine that fateful day. When Oskar discovers a mysterious key labeled “Black” amongst his father’s belongings, he becomes determined to find out what it opens. He maps his way through all the Burroughs, visiting a variety of people who may or may not be connected to the key. Assisting the super-organized Oskar is the old mute man who lives in the adjacent building, known as The Reader (an expressive Max Von Sydow, nominated for Best Supporting Actor), and as the two break out of their respective comfort zones, unexpected regret and guilt surface for them both.

So, we have characters still reeling from a devastating event, trying to make sense of it all, as introduced by and  seen through the eyes of a cute kid. The selling point has to be the actor playing Oskar, who has to not only be a good actor, but also convincing and not too overtly cutesy. Newcomer Horn (a previous Jeopardy! champion) is actually quite good as Oskar, who with his many affectations (he carries a tambourine around as a pacifier), is a strange character, which is find since there have been and always will be strange kids in real life and in cinema. Although the performance is consistent, after a while his quirks and robotic delivery us just too much, becoming more of a distracting annoyance than an endearing character we care for.

Working with a first-timer, it feels like Daldry is the puppet master here, stringing along Horn’s work and reigning him in, making sure he stays on a path designed to pluck viewer’s heartstrings. If something like that seems blatant and obvious to the audience, than it doesn’t work.

Horn can’t take all the blame though, finger-pointing (and wagging) should be directed to screenwriter Eric Roth (responsible for “Forrest Gump” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), who provides nothing more than a one-dimensional role for the child actor. In fact, Roth doesn’t limit his cliff note characterization to just the main character, he’s generous to all the other actors as well.

From the concierge played by John Goodman, who trades profanity-laced high-fives to Oskar (designed to be cute), to the two characters with the last name Black, integral roles played by Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright (what are the chances that characters named Black are played by black actors?), each actor here has just barely enough cameo material to send this boy on his way. As noted above, these are actors that generally make us stop and take notice, here (save for Viola, who is great as always) they’re merely bumpers for Osker to bounce off of as he pinballs around town.

I have no idea if Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel is as cloying and maudlin as what Daldry delivers here, but I really hope the book is better (which we know, is usually the case). I’ve heard that it does have more visual flair and creativity, but nothing about watching what I saw on the big-screen gave me any inclination to check it out.

What needed to happen with “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is for the film to really go for sincerity, instead of outright manipulation and exploitative 9/11 coverage. I really have no problem with the events of 9/11 playing a central part of the story and I understand that the story is about loss. It’s just that grief and mourning are need to be dealt with honestly, in a way that the audience can come upon these themes on their own. But Roth and Daldry try to tell us what and when to feel, not instilling any trust in us to arrive there on our own.

Still, this is a movie that many will easily latch on to, paying no mind to its ready-for-cable acting and its obnoxious delivery. What a lucky guy Daldry is – this is the fourth film he’s made (“Billy Elliot”, “The Hours” and “The Reader”) and the fourth the Academy has nominated for Best Picture. Voters must just look at his name, shrug and vote. I’ll remain ambivalent and continue to think through all the other films that could’ve taken its place.

RATING: **

Each year we stare blankly at the Shorts that show up on the Academy Award nominations list, and we wonder what they’re about, who made them and (more importantly) how to view them. After all, how else to make an informative decision in your Oscar Pool? Well, this time of year, Shorts International releases a one-week run of the Live Action, Animated and Documentary Shorts in limited theaters across the U.S. If you’re lucky enough to catch them, you’ll find yourself more prepared come Oscar night.

Like last year, Keeping It Reel is out there, seeing as many of these Shorts as possible and sharing with you some short reviews of these. Without further ado, here are the 2012 Oscar nominees for the Live Action Shorts. Enjoy….

PENTECOST 

directed by: Peter McDonald / 11 min. / Ireland

Irish actor Peter McDonald premieres his first shot at directing with this short that he also wrote, with a light Irish Catholic comedy. Damien (Scott Graham) is a young boy who must serve as an altar boy for a very important mass, but his loyalties lie more in his passion for soccer than his local parish. While it was enjoyable, especially a pep talk a militant priest (Eamonn Hunt) gives the boys before they step out to do their duties, I seemed all too familiar. Perhaps because there have been so many shorts in recent years from the UK that focus on childhood and the Catholic church. The laughs in “Pentecost” are memorable, but that’s about it.

RATING: **

RAJU 

directed by: Max Zähle / 24 min. / Germany

I never would’ve thought that a short about a nice young German couple (some fine work by Julia Richter and Wotan Wilke Möhring) adopting an orphan in India, would be filled with such heart-wrenching suspense.  But Max Zähle’s “Raju” deals with some heavy moral issues after an unexpectedly devastating reveal. is a nicely calibrated thriller that takes an unexpected left turn into moral conundrum. All they wanted to do was give a child living in squalor in Kolkata a decent future, but when the boy, named Raju (Krish Gupta), vanishes, the husband is hit with some very hard truths. Seeing what these two good intentioned people go through, make this one of the more compelling entries in this category – it also helps that it has a fine beginning and ending.  It certainly is one of those shorts that should be greenlit into a feature-length film.

RATING: ***1/2

THE SHORE 

directed by: Terry George / 30 min. / Northern Ireland

Terry George has written (“In the Name of the Father” and “The Boxer”) and directed (“Hotel Rwanda”) some fine films, so it doesn’t surprise me that a short by him got nominated. “The Shore” is an absorbing drama that turns out to be both touching and funny. The story focuses on an Irish expatriate named Joe (the wonderful Ciaran Hinds) who returns to Belfast with his grown daughter, Patricia (Kerry Condon), since living in the U.S. for 25 years in the aftermath “The Troubles”. His reunion with Mary (Maggie Cronin) the woman he would’ve married if he stayed behind is unexpected, especially since she is now married to Paddy (Conleth Hill), a man who used to be Joe’s best friend. What happens in “The Shore” has to do with regret and reconciliation, as experienced by ordinary working-class people. It is a beautifully written, wonderfully acted Irish tale, that tenderly balances the comedic moments with legitimate heartache.  Out of all the shorts, this one resonated with most with me and the one that tells a complete story within its running time.

RATING: ****

TIME FREAK

directed by: Andrew Bowler / 11 min. / USA

Last year’s entry from USA  was “God of Love” a wonderfully clever hipster comedy, so it’s a little surprising to see yet another comedy come from the States. This short features a slacker named Evan (John Conor Brooke), who checks in on his neurotic inventor friend, Stillman (Michael Nathanson, pouring it on thick), only to learn that he’s developed a fully-functional time machine. Instead of visiting Ancient Rome like he had hoped, Stillman shares that he’s been stuck repeating and trying to correct unsatisfactory encounters with a dry cleaning owner and a young woman (Emilea Wilson) he’s fond of.  Other than that, there’s not much to it. “Time Freak” is creative and hilarious, but is a bit too close to “Groundhog Day”.

RATING: **1/2

TUBA  ATLANTIC 

directed by: Hallvar Witzø / 25 min. / Norway

There are some similarities to “The Shore” here, in both the way it tells a succinct story with engaging characters in such a short time, and the inclusion of two men who haven’t spoken for years.  This wintry Norwegian import is about a man who hasn’t communicated with  his brother in 30 years – and man that happens to be dying. Situated in an enchanting gray and gloomy coastal town, we meet 75 year-old Oskar (Edvard Hægstad), a hermit who’s told that he has six days to live. His decides to spend his last days at home, which requires a caretaker. Which is why  Inger (Ingrid Viken) a self-proclaimed “Angel of Death” arrives at his door. She is a perky teenage Christian girl who belonging to a local Jesus Club, assigned to assist him in his last days. Watching these two is the highlight of the short, as we see her resilience and his ambivalence collide. As a way of biding time, Oskar spends his days blowing up fish with dynamite and plucking seagulls out of the sky with his machine gun, leaving Inger to clip their legs off when they land on the icy ground. One of several straight-faced comedic scenes found here between the old goat and this goofy girl. The title comes from an enormous horn on the man’s property that was built by Oskar and his brothers when they were kids, and will now be used in an attempt to call out to his brother all the way in New Jersey. It’s a plot point that isn’t as interesting or entertaining as the relationship between the two characters. “Tuba Atlantic” is the kind of film I’m attracted to – one that transports me to a distant location I would never come across on my own and one that definitely grew on me since viewing.

RATING: ***1/2

Tuba Atlantic Trailer from Hallvar Witzø on Vimeo.

Find out who will be the winner on Sunday, February 26th!

Each year we stare blankly at the Shorts that show up on the Academy Award nominations list, and wonder what they’re about, who made them and (more importantly) how to view them. After all, how else to make an informative decision in your Oscar Pool? Well, this time of year, Shorts International releases a one-week run of the Live Action, Animated and Documentary Shorts in limited theaters across the U.S. If you’re lucky enough to catch them, you’ll find yourself more prepared come Oscar night.

Just like last year, Keeping It Reel is out there, seeing as many of these Shorts as possible and sharing with you some short reviews of these. Without further ado, here are the 2012 Oscar nominees for the Animated Shorts. Enjoy….

DIMANCHE/SUNDAY

directed by: Patrick Doyon /  9 min. / Canada

From the National Film Board of Canada, comes Patrick Doyon’s two-dimensional tale that takes place on a typical Sunday in a small town that has a gigantic train run through it, rattling everything and everyone. Here we find a little boy who likes to leave a coin on the train rail for the behemoth locomotive to flatten. He attends church with his parents, where we find his father sawing logs while dreaming of new power tools. The boy is followed by a trio of cackling eyeless black crows that resemble some of the adults he finds around him. Black and white with grey tones populated by flat and exaggerated characters who mumble and ramble rather than speak anything discernible, “Dimanche/Sunday” is nice to look at with a delightful score, but doesn’t really leave us with anything else.

RATING: ** 

Dimanche / Sunday (trailer) from doiion on Vimeo.

A MORNING STROLL 

directed by: Grant Orchard / 7 min. / UK

Another short that is content communicating using zero dialogue is, “A Morning Stroll”, creatively crafted by Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe and produced by the British animation company Studio AKA. Based on a short story by Casper G. Clausen called The Chicken, that was published in the New York Literary Review back in 1986, the short is spliced into three comical parts. In each segment we see the same activity taking place in New York City – a man walking down a street is surprised by a chicken that turns the corner, walks past him, and works its way into a residential building – told in different eras, using different animation styles. 1959 is told with simple black and white line drawings, 2009 in colorfully vibrant 2-D animation (with a fun bit involving a headphones and a zombie video game, and 2059 sees the city in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Cute, funny, and slightly disturbing, “A Morning Stroll” showcases how the same story can be told using a variety of animation styles. Considering all that we see here, it’s pretty amazing that it was all condensed to a mere 7 minutes.

RATING: ***

WILD LIFE

directed by: Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby / 14 min. / Canada

The entry from the Great White North is also supported by the National Film Board of Canada and employs a similar unique cartoon approach. “Wild Life” is a quirky hand-painted western story, featuring some fine brushwork that feels like a documentary at times in that it covers material that actually took place in real life. At the turn of the 20th century, many young Brits travelled to Canadian frontier seeking adventure and a new life for themselves. Such is the story here, as we see the story of an Englishman, who considers himself a cowboy now, who receives personal packages from England that include comforts from home. As the story unfolds, we see title cards that pop up, defining what a comet is, which is somewhat of a letdown connection to the character in the end. Still, the animation style is wonderful and refreshing.

RATING: *** 

http://media1.nfb.ca/medias/flash/ONFflvplayer-gama.swf

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE 

directed by: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg / 17 min. / USA

Of all the nominees, methinks this export from Moonbot Studios of Shreveport, Louisiana, has a strong chance of winning the Oscar. It’s another short without dialogue, delivering a delightful computer-animated story centered on a protagonist resembling Buster Keaton in a fantasy tale where books come to life in a sweet and endearing way. A fierce hurricane whisks away our hero off a hotel balcony up into the sky, dropping him in a land books have wings and expressively emote with the turn of each page. With its use of a variety of animation techniques, this short is certainly the most crowd-pleasing of the bunch, and might just make you second guess reading from a tablet. If there’s has your interest, then look no further – the entire short can be viewed here….

RATING: ***1/2 

LA LUNA 

directed by: Enrico Casarosa / 7 min. Disney/ USA

Pixar chimes in with its admission of a short that should appear in theaters before their next feature “Brave” this summer. On display is the enjoyably rich 3D animation style we’ve come to expect from the studio. The story is a coming-of-age tale about a young boy who tags along with his Papa and Grandpa for the first time as they go to work. They embark out to sea in an old wooden boat and at a certain point, the boy’s father unfolds a ladder that reaches to the sky, high enough to lean against an illuminating moon. The boy is surprised to learn the nature of their line of work. Writer/director Enrico Casarosa has worked as a storyboard artist on other Pixar films such as “Ratatouille” and “Up” and provides some fun character design to the characters here. Even though I liked the way it looked and enjoyed what is obviously a personal story, it just struck me as something fun and cute that you’d see before a feature-length animated film.

RATING: **1/2

written by: David Guggenheim

produced by: Scott Stuber

directed by: Daniel Espinosa

rating: R (for strong violence throughout and some language) 

runtime: 115 min.

U.S. release date: February 10, 2012

I recall a made-for-TV thriller called “Safe House” , released back in 1998 that was quite good. It starred an ex-covert operative played by Patrick Stewart, who is now being pursued for information he knows that could incriminate the President. The kicker – at the same time, he’s also facing his own mortality with early signs of Alzheimer’s setting in. The titular “safe house” was the character’s own home, which he had outfitted to barricade against the outside world with various defenses and security measures. Since almost no one saw it, it would be just the right material for a feature-length big-budget treatment or even a taut indie sleeper – too bad the new Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds movie, “Safe House” has no relation to that “Safe House”.

It would’ve been cool to see Washington play an ex-CIA operative dealing with dementia. He doesn’t necessarily look like a senior, but he would’ve pulled it off. Throw in a green-yet-capable agent played by Reynolds assigned to track the paranoid veteran down and there could’ve been some potential sparks flying – not the romantic kind, mind you, but the suspense/thriller type.

What we get instead is a solidly-made movie that riffs off previous Washington action thrillers, like “Man on Fire”, made by Tony Scott (the stylized and slick director everyone thinks made this movie) as well as other coolly smug characters the Oscar-winning actor has played in the past- but never really claiming an iota of originality.

Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) is a rogue ex-CIA agent and master interrogator who surfaces in Cape Town, South Africa, after lying low for nine years. He has unknown pursuers on his tail, looking like stereotypical Middle East terrorists, wanting him captured or dead – it’s unclear. Probably dead, considering all the ammo wasted. In the first fifteen minutes of “Safe House”, Swedish director Daniel Espinosa configures quite a raucous cat and mouse game, consisting of some clever escapes and plenty of vehicular damage. It ends with Frost evading them by turning himself over to the U.S. embassy, knowing it’ll by him time and wave a mess of red flags for the CIA.

He’s taken to a nearby safe house manned by Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), a young agent currently going stir-crazy on an assignment that sees zero action. That all changes once he gets a call from the suits at Langley, particularly his superior, David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson), who tells him about the guest he’s about to host. Frost is brought in like a prized catch by an armed interrogation unit (led by Robert Patrick), who are quick to water-board their guest when he fails to provide important intel that could incriminate the CIA and other global agencies. That’s interrupted when the nameless gun-toting goons easily storm the not-so-safe house, taking out the entire unit, leaving the inexperienced Weston to escort his guest to safety.

With Frost in tow, Weston quickly maneuvers through the busy streets, evading attacks and doing his best not to let Frost get in his head. Back in Virginia, Barlow and another official, Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga), who is doubtful of Weston’s capabilities and motives, scramble to aid Weston with their director, Harlan Whitford (Sam Shepard) pressuring them to “take care of it”. As they wax expositional plot points and spew “important” jargon, Weston struggles to maintain a hold on the situation, dealing with a crafty captive who begins to make him second guess the higher-ups, as he seeks out a new safe house in the countryside.

There are plenty of people out there who are attracted to a movie like “Safe House” which delivers all the adrenalized chases and explosions they’ll see in the ads. I know men who will be thoroughly satisfied by all the action here, and women who will enjoy the eye candy. Beyond that, there’s not much to the movie, and considering the cast – that’s a shame.

Most of the blame falls on screenwriter David Guggenheim (any relation to Davis or Marc is uncertain), who fails to provide any dimension to Washington’s role and gets lazy with cookie cutter portrayals of headquarter officials. We never find out why Frost has surfaced – even though he’s asked, which finds him without any real motivation and us lacking any kind of investment in the character. Where are his stakes? Is he just tired of it all and wants to walk around without always looking over his shoulder? Such thin characterization leaves Washington (who serves as a producer) to deliver a hybrid of “Training Day” and “American Gangster” to a character that seems to know everything and is impressed and/or shocked by nothing.

Attempts made to humanize the duo on the run seem unwise, and only serve to add unwanted speed bumps to the pace. Weston is given a girlfriend (Nora Arnezeder, who vacillates from crying to concerned) who has entirely too much screen time. Frost is given a knowledge of fine wine and a document forging friend (Ruben Blades) that he winds up jeopardizing. This is a movie that should have either spent more time in a legitimately safe house or pursuing an increasingly frenzied speed. Sadly, not enough time, logic, or consideration is offered to either of those aspects.

Of the performances, I was most surprised to find me gravitating toward an appreciation for Reynolds, an actor I expect to see play cocky and snarky roles. Here he shows an understandable panic and realistic desperation in Weston, who can’t possibly understand his situation, but nevertheless steps up to the unavoidable task at hand. Reynolds is an actor who has obvious potential to stretch his range, so it’s nice to see him play what is ostensibly the heart of the film.

As for the three supporting roles inhabited by Gleeson, Farmiga, and Shepard – none of them were given anything unique or original to do. Farmiga fared better in a similar well-intentioned part in last year’s “Source Code” and here she falls victim to a script that undervalues her acting chops and an absolutely hideous wardrobe. And Gleeson and Shepard give us work that they can do in their sleep – and it feels like they did.

One specific small part that I really enjoyed was from Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (known in the U.S. as Det. Holder in the AMC series “The Killing”, who worked with Espinosa before in the Swedish thriller “Easy Money”), who plays a character with similar responsibilities as Reynold’s Weston. Kinnaman enlivens the movie beyond its halfway mark with a character that’s difficult to initially put a finger on, providing some of the best conversational (and confrontational) interaction for Reynolds.

Despite the script’s lack of creativity and potholes, Espinosa does visibly kick off the picture with some creative beats, but essentially he fails to carry that spirit to the end. I appreciated his use of South African locales and saturated color palettes (a call back to Tony Scott’s work), but the man clearly works best when he has these characters moving fast, instead of slowing them down for predictable clichés and excruciating exposition.

“Safe House” isn’t a wholly disappointing experience, offering some bracing thrills and providing atypical work from Reynolds. But ultimately, I’m more interested in seeking out that other “Safe House” and revisiting Picard in peril.

RATING: **

written by: Jane Goldman (screenplay) and Susan Hill (novel)

produced by: Richard Jackson, Simon Oakes & Brian Oliver 

directed by: James Watkins

rating: PG-13 (for thematic material and violence/disturbing images)

runtime: 95 min. 

U.S. release date: February 3, 2012

Hammer Film Productions is a UK company responsible for releasing Gothic horror films known “Hammer Horror” from the 50s through the 70s. Then the horror genre went a considerably different direction, leaving behind foreboding mansions shrouded in fog, creepy townsfolk, and things that go bump in the night. Hammer Film producer Simon Oakes has recently staged a revival of atmospheric horror films, with its first hit being the 2008 American remake “Let Me In”. Last year saw the release of two unsettling thrillers,  “The Resident” and “Wake Wood”, that had supporting roles for potentially creepy actors, Christopher Lee and Timothy Spall (respectively), and were both released Direct-to-DVD and VOD in the States. Thanks to the “Harry Potter” films, “The Woman in Black”, will undoubtedly be the most successful film yet of the Hammer revival, with Mr. Potter himself, young Daniel Radcliffe headlining the film in his first post-Potter feature film.

Radcliffe is the real reason people will see this film, although – I can’t say he’s the reason.

Set in Edwardian-era England, the film opens with three sweet little girls playing with homemade toy dolls (eerie ones at that, the first of many) in an attic, who are suddenly summoned by an unseen source to walk over to the windows and jump to their death. The tone is set….

We then meet a young man named Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a widowed father in London with overdue bills, who leaves his toddler son with his nanny while he travels north for work. He’s sent by his employer, a law firm (although it is unclear if he’s actually a lawyer), to small seaside village to sort out the estate of a recently deceased woman. On the train ride there, he meets Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds) a wealthy landowner and friendly man who learns that Arthur’s destination is the Eel Marsh House and offers him a ride into town from the train station. He is, we learn, the only one in town with a motorized vehicle.

When Arthur’s lodging arrangements fall through, Sam invites him to his home for dinner, where we meet his troubled wife (Janet McTeer) and learn that they once had a son, who died as a young boy. With their shared experience of lost loved ones, the kindred spirits almost seem like a family – especially considering their son would have been Arthur’s age, had he lived. The rest of the villagers though are resistant to their new visitor and are eager to see him leave. Curiously keeping their children inside their homes, they remain mysteriously on edge.

Sam drives Arthur to the empty mansion, located at the end of a lone causeway. Surrounded by marshlands and sea water, the desolate location is inaccessible through much of the day due to high tides (reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s “Cul-de-Sac”), as if deliberately cut off from humanity. Arthur sets about his work, left to sort through piles of paperwork – until he starts to hear things, like footprints. He searches various rooms, finding nothing in what used to be a child’s playroom except some ugly homemade tchotchkes – creepy dolls, clowns, and monkeys.

Looking out the window, he sees a Woman in Black staring back at him in a nearby cemetery. Her face is gaunt and sickly looking with a laser beam gaze and she is dressed in a long black gown, in a kind of sacrilegious habit. Of course, as he leaves the house to check – she is gone. Since she is the titular character, we know she’ll be back. The music will cue us with jolting strings, the villagers will be aghast as they Arthur recounts, “I saw her!”, and so on. This is what we traditionally know about a movie like this, there’s no getting around such familiar aspects.

After mentioning this Woman in Black to the locals, Arthur discovers this is a woman scorned, who now haunts the Eel House property, and is responsible for several unspeakable acts involving local children. (Know wonder their parents were keeping them out of sight). Arthur sets out to reverse the curse of the Woman, in order to ensure the safety of his own son, who is set to visit him in three days with his nanny. Whether or not he knows what to do or if it will work is unclear, since it seems nothing has stopped this malevolent poltergeist in the past.

I’ll give director James Watkins (who made 2008‘s unrelenting “Eden Lake”) credit for delivering appropriate Gothic mood and atmosphere, and he also provides considerable scares, that may have viewers slumping down in the their seats or jumping out of them. In fight he and composer Marco Beltrami may have one to many jolting moments, at least for my tastes. I’m a believer in using such tactics sparingly in order to properly manipulate and string along the audience. Still, I much prefer what Watkins is doing here, basically on ode to straight-up ghost stories and urban myths, than the found footage and torture porn that we’ve seen churned out every October for the last seven or so years.

Where this film suffers is with its screenplay and its star. Nothing against Radcliffe, but he’s completely unconvincing as a widowed father. I respect that he hasn’t chosen a blockbuster in his first post-Potter role, and would gladly see him seek out indie fare, but the role that he’s famous for is a handicap (or spectre) here. To be fair, Radcliffe doesn’t have much to work with here, thanks to Jane Goldman (“Kick-Ass” & “The Debt”), who provides the actor with minimal dialogue, leaving him to look wide-eyed and confused at just about every turn. We saw enough of that in the last handful of “Harry Potter” films. What would have been nice here is to give the character a particular set of skills, but we never really know what he’s capable of or what – if any – specialty he has.

From the beginning, it seemed like he was sent up there as a lackey, with his employer giving him the requisite “one last chance”. So, then how is it that as soon as he hears spooky things,  literally sees the writing on a wall (in blood, no less), and bumps into the Woman in Black, that he turns into this investigator. Where does that come from? We’re not told. It’s not explained. In one particularly bizarre scene, we see Arthur take action and dive into a murky marsh to retrieve an object that he hopes will appease The Woman in Black. It’s an uncharacteristic move, that comes out of nowhere (something we would expect more from the Boy Wizard) and actually proves quite futile anyway. I blame Goldman for that. It’s lazy writing that wants to inject the film with a cheap red herring by way of an action scene.

Granted, she is adapting a beloved 1983 novel by Susan Hill, that was also made into a play, but this film adaptation needed a more convincing protagonist to help out such a sluggish story. Maybe that goes back to Radcliffe’s youth and the role he’s most known for. I can think of more convincing UK actors that could’ve pulled off this role in a more convincing manner, like Martin Freeman, James McAvoy, or Paul Bettany. My bet is the studios wanted someone young and with drawing power – so it was either Radcliffe or Robert Pattinson (in that case, let’s be grateful it was Radcliffe). As for the antagonist, she certainly looks the part – meaning, someone I wouldn’t want to see outside my window, but after a while she looks like a prop in a scary haunted house ride.

The reason she isn’t more fearful is because Goldman only vaguely eludes to her possible motivations. She wants revenge? To what end and what extent? If we knew a little more, we’d be more fearful. Many ghosts we see on film are haunting or committing evil acts, because they are not at peace – but no one has any clue here what will stop this apparition. So, why not leave and not bother trying?

In the end, what we have here is solid viewing for any horror fan – or, let’s face it – Harry Potter fan. But, its story lacks depth and originality, simply relying on Gothic traditions and the presence of a popular young actor. If I’m recasting him as I’m watching the movie, something is wrong.

RATING: **1/2