February 01, 2005

Three films I liked in 2004

2004 wasn't a particularly strong year for movies, but three of my favorites were Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, and Shaun of the Dead. (I also liked Sideways, but I plan on addressing the film and how Paul Giamatti was robbed of his best-actor nomination in another post.)

Million Dollar Baby is admirable for its spare style and its ability to handle its melodramatic, hyper-emotional elements with restraint, making them even more powerful. From a classic underdog story set in the world of female boxing, it goes off in a completely unpredicted direction; such a shocking wrench in tone and plot would sink a lesser film. Yet thanks to Clint Eastwood’s assured direction, it works. All three leads, Hilary Swank as the determined boxer, Eastwood as her reluctant trainer, and Morgan Freeman as Eastwood’s long-time employee and friend, are perfectly cast, and the acting rapport is genuine. I'm not a huge fan of Swank, who hasn’t done any interesting work since Boys Don’t Cry, but her performance is so natural and true, as is Morgan Freeman's, that they are a joy to watch. No flash, no glitz, no arty shots, just a great story, great acting, and some great directing from Eastwood, whose art is only improving with age.

After being badly miscast in Gangs of New York, Leonardo DiCaprio finally has a role he can sink his teeth into in The Aviator, playing young playboy-billionaire and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. In contrast to Million Dollar Baby, the film is all glitz and color and flash, another bravura piece of big-scale movie making from Martin Scorsese in almost top form. For any film buff, the best part is the lush recreation of the golden age of Hollywood. There’s Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, an entertaining cameo from Jude Law as Errol Flynn, and best of all, Cate Blanchett’s sly, on-the-edge-of-parody portrayal of Kate Hepburn. The first scene where the eccentric Hughes and the unconventional Hepburn meet, filmed in the slightly faded colors of a period newsreel, is funny and enchanting. The Aviator is an American tragedy that strangely ends decades before its well-known final act, but the strong performances and confident direction make this one of the best films of the year.

For silly, pure, and almost perfect light entertainment, with just a tad of gore, look no further than the British horror-comedy, Shaun of the Dead. A British parody of just about any zombie flick, the running gag is that Shaun, the slacker hero, doesn’t appear to notice that most of his neighbors are turning into zombies. The inventive screenplay is filled with laugh-out-loud jokes, for example, when Shaun and his roommate argue over the merits of the records they’re throwing at fast-approaching zombies. Even though the movie is fairly violent (characters are eaten by the living dead and plenty of zombies get whacked with Shaun’s weapon of choice, a cricket bat), the film remains light in touch, and the end is actually heart-warming. For lovers of the BBC comedy The Office, there’s a bonus in the casting of Lucy Davis as one of the zombie-fleeing team, and a brief cameo by Martin Freeman in one of the film’s funniest scenes.

Posted by oko at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2004

Out, out brief candle: Lumiere's gone

With the tsunami death toll now estimated at 100,000+, I worry that Jerry Orbach's passing won't get the attention it deserves. No way, dude. Everybody's eulogizing the best Frenchified singing candle of all time from Beauty and the Beast. And wasn't he in some show called Law & Order or something, too? Shed a tear with Gothamist. (Thanks to gawker.com.)

Posted by oko at 05:23 AM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2004

Doctor Zhivago vs. the Steward of Gondor

It appears that when old-time movie star and gambling addict Omar Sharif of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia fame isn't busy writing his bridge column, he enjoys smashing in the faces of the people around him, notably, actor John Noble, who played Denethor in The Lord of the Rings. Read about their alcohol-fueled brawl at Australia's National Nine News. (The story is six weeks old, but it's so bizarre, it deserves wider play.)

Posted by oko at 03:12 AM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2004

Separated at birth?

I just saw the trailer for the upcoming Tim Burton version of the head trip for aging drug users that is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Johnny Depp is playing Willy Wonka, the role pioneered by scary, googly-eyed, white-man 'froed Gene Wilder. (Who's more terrifying - Robert Helpmann as the child-sniffer in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Wilder as Wonka? Discuss amongst yourselves.) Anyway, after using Keith Richards as his inspiration for Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp appears to channel yet another fashion icon for Wonka. With his black bob, red lipstick, and outsize sunglasses, Depp looks uncannily like Anna Wintour, the pencil-thin editor of Vogue, who is going blonde with age. But perhaps Depp is slightly prettier? (Go to Gawker to see the amazing resemblance.)

Also, what is up with Depp and his obsession with funky fake teeth? I get the gold teeth as Captain Jack Sparrow, the missing front teeth for Ed Wood, but why the odd dentures for Wonka?

Posted by oko at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)