Il Postino (1994)

Il Postino
Directed by Michael Radford
Starring: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Linda Moretti
Grade: C

Given that its leading man basically gave his life to bring “Il Postino” to the screen (at least in the form we see it now), criticising the film feels rather like kicking a puppy. Nevertheless, its depiction of an insular Italian community – and the man at the centre of it – is disappointingly narrow, plumbing the sweetness of quaint, small-town living rather than expanding upon the relationships Massimo Troisi's Mario has with his girlfriend and her mother. Troisi himself gives a soulful turn which adds to the proceedings, but the film misjudges the measure of Mario, charting his enlightenment far too drastically. We're supposed to believe that his new-found engagement with poetry has also ignited political motivations in his character, but why? The integration of politics is a half-baked device devised to add drama to a story otherwise devoid of it, and snatch at our emotions with a late manipulative climax. Radford's routinely tepid direction adds very little in the way of flair, while Luis Bacalov's nice but earnest musical accompaniment reinforces how dreary the entire affair is.

The Impossible (2012)

The Impossible
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Starring: Tom Holland, Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Samuel Joslin, Geraldine Chaplin

Grade: C+ [54]

If we hadn’t already gathered that “The Impossible” is based on real events, Juan Antonio Bayona’s lingering fade on the words ‘true story’ punctuate a prologue to this two-hour dramatisation of a recent catastrophe. In chronicling the struggle of a British family caught up in the Tsunami which devastated South East Asia in 2004, Bayona disguises his film as a significant factual insight when, in fact, it is far better viewed within the confines of its disaster movie format.  

From a technical standpoint the film is a real accomplishment; even in its grandness of scale the Tsunami sequence has a barbed authenticity, and the wasteland left behind by the waves provides a ravaged, compact gauntlet for the stranded tourists to navigate. “The Impossible” is successful at delivering the bombastic sequences and plot pitfalls we associate with the disaster epic, but its episodic-yet-boldly-dynamic narrative style seems to generate conflict with its filmmakers’ sense of duty. Essentially, this is just as much of a product as “Poseidon” was, but self-serious, overly-sentimental, and hesitant to embrace its genre roots.

In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 26

EPISODE 26: A Little Bromance

[1:22:20]

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It's Episode 26 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we're warming up for awards with discussions of Oscar lineups from 1942, 1952, 1962, and 2003, as well as forecasting this year's nominees. The big release is David O'Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," of which the focus is firmly on Jennifer Lawrence, while buddy-cop drama "End of Watch" has the job of setting this week's pulses racing. The girls of hotline comedy "For a Good Time, Call.." get our inner-chick mode going, before Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz strip for "Gambit."  A late squabble about Indian cinema sets Jake and Michael's bar-setting bromance down some notches, but this was a fun one...

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: The contentious results of the Leeds Film Festival's audience votes, and championing films and performances that won’t make our year-end lists [2:05 - 14:00]

*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "End of Watch"
• "For a Good Time, Call..."
• "Gambit"
• "Lawrence of Arabia" (50th anniversary re-release)

[18:20 - 57:55]

Closing Segment: David O'Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook": considering the awards chances of its cast, offering examples of actors Oscar-nominated for the wrong films, and predicting next week's New York Film Critics Circle prizes. [58:00 - 1:17:10]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Ellie Goulding, "Anything Can Happen"

Argo (2012)

Argo

Directed by Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Scoot McNairy

Grade: C+ [55] 

For a film situated in the midst of a complex era for American-middle Eastern relations Affleck’s “Argo” bathes in simplicity, spurning insight into the period for a by-the-numbers rescue mission narrative. A ‘thriller’ without the thrills, it’s a sort of bedraggled descendant of Spielberg’s “Munich,” with less of the genuine peril or interesting character work which that film – for all of its faults – had in spades. Gleefully aware of its lack of earnestness and celebratory of Hollywood’s mysticism as a weapon against uniformity and protocol, the film-insider knowledge in the opening act works best in gaining a rapport for this lovingly novel conceit. It's less successful when becoming a primarily dramatic text, somehow underwhelming despite its sensationalist approach to a logistical, suspense-geared culmination, underserving both its audience and its intriguing real-life source material.

In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 24

EPISODE 24: Disrupt the Peace

[1:19:56]

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It's Episode 24 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week Ben Affleck's awards juggernaut "Argo" lands on British shores, but does it live up to the considerable hype? "Transformers" scribe Alex Kurtzman is the latest to lure Michelle Pfeiffer back to the screen in the family drama "People Like Us," while the established pull of Chris O'Dowd is tested in Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires." Pete endures Kevin James in "Here Comes the Boom," and Cal sits in for daunting "Dogtooth" director Giorgos Lanthimos's eery follow-up, "Alps." All this, and an opening segment on Wong Kar-wai's upcoming "The Grandmasters," which goes a little awry when an unexpected intruder stymies Pete's reverent flow. Well, not everyone liked "My Blueberry Nights"...

On the podcast: 

Opening Segment: Discussing the week's news, reactions to the first trailer for Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmasters," and some fond thoughts about the filmmaker's career thus far. [1:10 - 15:30]

*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "The Sapphires"
• "People Like Us"
• "Here Comes the Boom"
• "Alps"

[18:50 - 54:25]

Closing Segment: Discussing "Argo," crazy real-life stories adapted for cinema, and looking at early betting odds for the Best Picture Oscar. [54:30 - 1:13:05]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Intro Music: Faye Wong, "Dream Person"
Outro Music: The Supremes, "The Happening"

Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris

Grade: B [71] 

It wasn’t particularly reassuring when Sam Mendes became the latest A-lister to tackle the Bond franchise, his failure to register a worthy follow-up to debut smash “American Beauty” having lasted for more than a decade now. Thankfully, “Skyfall” is a return to form for the British filmmaker, its flag-waving patriotism omnipresent but on this occasion diluted with the dense, loaded political context of a Christopher Nolan film (Mendes himself has admitted Nolan’s influence), and an inherently personal motive for its villain beyond megalomania and terrorism. Like “Quantum of Solace” this feels like a transitory entrant in the 007 series (one would hope that the next installment be considerably more fun) but the use of literary roots adds dimension to an otherwise excellently-staged action adventure, and Craig continues to impress in his stint as the agent. It feels as though the character badly needs a boost, but in the stakes of entertainment “Skyfall” is yet another slam dunk for fans of this ever-adapting world of espionage.

And Then There Were 100: Best Picture

Time flies when you're having fun. Back in May, I posted the final 100 of Oscar's Best Actress nominees I had yet to see. As that figure now nears fifty the number of Best Picture nominees left has just reached the century mark itself. I have purposely left tasty-looking options to avoid a stale anti-climax, and I've also tried to spread the films in terms of decades, although -- as you'll see -- there are rather a lot of 1920s/30s films remaining. I don't know much about many of them, so please feel free to chime in with suggestions of which to get out of the way and which to leave until last.

Here's the list:

1. *Wings (1927-28)

2. The Racket (1927-28)

3. Alibi (1928-29)

4. Hollywood Revue (1928-29)

5. In Old Arizona (1928-29)

6. The Patriot (1928-29)

7. The Big House (1929-30)

8. Disraeli (1929-30)

9. The Love Parade (1929-30)

10. East Lynne (1930-31)

11. Trader Horn (1930-31)

12. Arrowsmith (1931-32)

13. Five Star Final (1931-32)

14. The Smiling Lieutenant (1931-32)

15. Smilin’ Through (1932-33)

16. State Fair (1932-33)

17. Flirtation Walk (1934)

18. Here Comes the Navy (1934)

19. The House of Rothschild (1934)

20. Imitation of Life (1934)

21. Viva Villa! (1934)

22. The White Parade (1934)

23. The Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

24. David Copperfield (1935)

25. Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

26. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)

27. Les Miserables (1935)

28. Naughty Marietta (1935)

29. Anthony Adverse (1936)

30. Libeled Lady (1936)

31. A Tale of Two Cities (1936)

32. The Good Earth (1937)

33. Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)

34. Four Daughters (1938)

35. Test Pilot (1938)

36. Of Mice and Men (1939)

37. All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

38. The Great Dictator (1940)

39. The Long Voyage Home (1940)

40. Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

41. One Foot in Heaven (1941)

42. Sergeant York (1941)

43. Kings Row (1942)

44. Wake Island (1942)

45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

46. Watch on the Rhine (1943)

47. Wilson (1944)

48. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

49. Great Expectations (1947)

50. *Hamlet (1948)

51. Father of the Bride (1950)

52. King Solomon’s Mines (1950)

53. Decision Before Dawn (1951)

54. Quo Vadis? (1951)

55. Julius Caesar (1953)

56. The Rose Tattoo (1955)

57. Friendly Persuasion (1956)

58. The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

59. Sons and Lovers (1960)

60. Fanny (1961)

61. The Music Man (1962)

62. America, America (1963)

63. Cleopatra (1963)

64. Becket (1964)

65. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

66. A Thousand Clowns (1965)

67. The Sand Pebbles (1966)

68. *In the Heat of the Night (1967)

69. Doctor Dolittle (1967)

70. Romeo and Juliet (1968)

71. Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

72. Z (1969)

73. American Graffiti (1973)

74. The Towering Inferno (1974)

75. Barry Lyndon (1975)

76. All the President’s Men (1976)

77. Bound For Glory (1976)

78. *The Deer Hunter (1978)

79. Heaven Can Wait (1978)

80. Tess (1980)

81. *Gandhi (1982)

82. Tender Mercies (1983)

83. Kiss of the Spiderwoman (1985)

84. Prizzi’s Honor (1985)

85. The Accidental Tourist (1988)

86. Mississippi Burning (1988)

87. My Left Foot (1989)

88. The Godfather: Part III (1990)

89. Goodfellas (1990)

90. The Prince of Tides (1991)

91. A Few Good Men (1992)

92. Howard’s End (1992)

93. In the Name of the Father (1993)

94. *Braveheart (1995)

95. Il Postino (1995)

96. Jerry Maguire (1996)

97. Good Will Hunting (1997)

98. The Sixth Sense (1999)

99. Traffic (2000)

100. Gangs of New York (2002)

The Last Ten Best Picture Winners

There are now only ten winners of the Best Picture Oscar that I haven't seen

(See image below.)

From top left: Wings (1927-28), The Broadway Melody (1928-29), Cavalcade (1933), Hamlet (1948), Gigi (1958), In the Heat of the Night (1967), The Deer Hunter (1978), Gandhi (1982), Out of Africa (1985), Braveheart (1995)

Not many of these instill fervent anticipation, but I'm probably most looking forward to Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night". The final three of those winners look daunting, but particularly Mel Gibson's "Braveheart", which I've seen about ten minutes of and could. not. stand.

If anybody has any suggestions as to which I should leave until last, I'd be happy to hear.