RIP Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

USA Today reports the death of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor at age 79. Full details have not emerged, but the source attributes recent heart problems as a likely cause of death. Taylor was among the top stars of the 1950's and 60's, offering dynamic and memorable performances in films like A Place in the Sun, Suddenly Last Summer and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - the latter film, in which Taylor co-starred with Paul Newman, remains as provocative as it was in 1958, largely thanks to Taylor's sexually charged performance as Maggie "the Cat." Taylor retained her status as a top star, despite working considerably less in recent years. Taylor won two Academy Awards for Best Actress - first in 1960 for Butterfield 8 and again for 1966's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? co-starring with Richard Burton. Taylor's performance as Martha in Who's Afraid of Viriginia Woolf? is not only her greatest work, but,  in my books, one of the best screen performances of all time.

A Director Heading Somewhere

Somewhere ★★★★

(USA, 97 min.)

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola

Starring: Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning.

It’s an odd coincidence to review Somewhere the same week that I’m beginning a unit on auteur theory with the first year class that I’m TA-ing. Sofia Coppola seems tailor made to fit both the criteria and the contradictions of the theory. She suits the profile of an auteur because she writes, directs and produces her own films, and, therefore, enjoys a high degree of control over her projects. She also has a discernable style, namely a minimalist aesthetic combined with a catchy indie-pop soundtrack. Finally, her films demonstrate consistent themes and preoccupations, most notably a fascination with disillusioned young girls. If Coppola meets the fundamentals of the theory, then why can one not champion her as an auteur? It seems the answer lies in what so often proves to be the restricting feature of auteur theory: the isolated masterpiece.

Genie Winners!

Denis Villeneuve adds another pair of Genies to last year's haul

Full list of winners for the 31st Annual Genie Award Winners! Incendies is tops with 8!
As expected, Incendies and Barney's Version dominated the awards. Barney took 3 acting honors, while Incendies' Lubna Azabal was a surprise winner for Best Actress. I'm disappointed that Tracy Wright didn't win, but her performance will nonetheless remain a hall mark of Canadian cinema.

BEST MOTION PICTURE: INCENDIES - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION: DENIS VILLENEUVE - Incendies
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: PAUL GIAMATTI - Barney's Version
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: DUSTIN HOFFMAN - Barney's Version
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: LUBNA AZABAL - Incendies
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: MINNIE DRIVER - Barney's Version

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN: CLAUDE PARÉ, ELISE DE BLOIS - Barney's Version
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN: NICOLETTA MASSONE - Barney's Version
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY: ANDRÉ TURPIN - Incendies
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING: MONIQUE DARTONNE – Incendies
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP:
ADRIEN MOROT, RÉJEAN GODERRE, VALLI O'REILLY, MICHELINE TRÉPANIER -
Barney's Version
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE: PASQUALE CATALANO - Barney's Version
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG: MARY MILNE – The Trotsky – “Already Gone”
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND: JEAN UMANSKY, JOCELYN CARON, JEAN-PIERRE LAFORCE, BENOIT LEDUC - Incendies
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING: SYLVAIN BELLEMARE, SIMON MEILLEUR, CLAIRE POCHON - Incendies
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: JACOB TIERNEY - The Trotsky
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: DENIS VILLENEUVE - Incendies
BEST DOCUMENTARY: LAST TRAIN HOME - Lixin Fan, Mila Aung-Thwin, Daniel Cross
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA: SAVAGE - Lisa Jackson, Lauren Grant, Lori Lozinski
BEST ANIMATED SHORT: LIPSETT DIARIES / LES JOURNAUX DE LIPSETT - Theodore Ushev, Marc Bertrand

SPECIAL AWARDS
CLAUDE JUTRA AWARD/ PRIX CLAUDE-JUTRA
JEPHTÉ BASTIEN, Sortie 67
Honourable Mention: PETER STEBBINGS, Defendor
GOLDEN REEL AWARD/ PRIX DE LA BOBINE D’OR
Resident Evil: Afterlife – Don Carmody, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer

If Genie Grants Me Three Wishes

Barney's Version leads the Genies with 11 nods, including Pic, Actor (Paul Giamatti) and Actress (Rosamund Pike)

The Canadian Genie Awards will be handed out this Thursday. While I’m quite eager to do a full discussion of the nominees, as well as offering my predictions for the winners, it sadly dawned on me that, well, I can’t. (I’ll explain that later.) Instead of offering analysis by category, I propose three wishes for the Genies, should I happen to find a magic lamp on the streets of Ottawa this week.

Wish #3: That we don’t lose to Denmark.

Incendies

While I temporarily enlisted in the war against Denmark following Canada’s tragic loss at the Oscars last week, I’m now over it. I’ve convinced myself that it’s a good thing that the Academy didn’t choose Incendies, as the recent crop of Best Foreign Language Films – The Secret in Their Eyes, The Counterfeiters, and to some extent Departures – are among the weakest films to claim the prize. (The snub therefore emphasizes the strength of the film…) Incendies gets another chance to make Canadians proud of their film industry as it vies for top prize at this week’s awards. It’s neck and neck with Barney’s Version, and Best Picture could really go either way (the films have 10 and 11 nominations respectively). I’d give the edge to Incendies; however, I’m a big fan of both films, so I’m happy if either wins. It’s hard to say which will win though, since Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique won last year. Competing against Incendies and Barney’s Version for Best Picture are the sci-fi horror film Splice and Xavier Dolan’s Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats), which is probably a consolation prize for his snub last year. Also nominated is the Quebec-produced drama 10½ – I’ll admit that I hadn’t even heard of 10½ prior to the nominations announcement, but it looks pretty good. The Genies usually end up being a two-way race between an English and a French-Canadian film, anyways, but this year it’s quite exciting given the strength and the popularity of the top contenders.

Star-Crossed Lovers

The Adjustment Bureau ★★★★

(USA, 105 min)

Written and directed by George Nolfi

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, Terrence Stamp, John Slattery.

That unseen, unnamed man; he just loves to pull the strings, does he not? The Chairman never appears during The Adjustment Bureau (or does he?), but that doesn’t stop his myriad of fedora-clad henchmen from bending the laws of fate. It might all sound confusing, but this is actually a deceptively simple and straightforward adaptation of the short story by Philip K. Dick. It might just be that I’m a sucker for old-fashioned Hollywood love-stories, but The Adjustment Bureau is cinematic escapism at its best: it offers fast-paced entertainment, yet it avoids the idiocy that often accompanies such slick productions.  

Much like the storytelling, the hero, David Norris (Matt Damon), turns out to be more than he appears. David is a suave and charismatic New York congressman running for Senator. Like a recent well-spoken politician, David’s campaign champions him as being a man of the people and he appeals to the younger demographic far more than his competitors do. David’s status as the front-runner in the race, however, takes a turn more abrupt than that of The Social Network when the New York Post runs a full-page photo exposing his frat-boy antics to the voters.

Hooray for Dorks!

Cedar Rapids ★★★½

(USA, 87 min.)

Dir: Miguel Arteta; Writ: Phil Johnston

Starring: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Alia Shawkat.

Meet Tim, a dorky insurance sales representative from Brown Valley, Wisconsin. Played by Ed Helms, Tim is so awkward, bumbling, and socially inept that he could be ripped from the cast of The Office. “I used to stare at you in class and imagine what you’d look like with your clothes off,” Tim says to his lover, and former teacher, Miss Vanderhei (Sigourney Weaver), “Did you ever think like that about me?”

         “No Tim,” she replies, “You were twelve.”

Welcome to Cedar Rapids, a comedy that, like Tim, is awkward, offbeat, and fun.

Tim’s relationship with Miss Vanderhei might be the best thing going for him at the beginning of the film. Maybe it seems a bit too good, since Tim thinks they are practically engaged, while Miss Vanderhei insists that they are just having fun. Otherwise, Tim is a bit of a loner and he is also the human doormat at the wood-panelled office of Brown Star Insurance. Tim finally lands a big break, however, when the star salesman at Brown Star is discovered hanging in his bathroom with his belt around his neck and his trousers around his feet. This unfortunate death leads Bill (Stephen Root), the CEO of Brown Star, to send Tim to the all-important insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to defend Brown Star’s win of the prestigious “Double Diamond” award for insurance excellence.