'Goodbye Solo' Draws Rave Reviews

Opening in limited release this weekend, Goodbye Solo depicts the improbable friendship between an earnest Sengalese cab driver and a bitter White conservative southerner in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The film quietly garnered accolades after premiering at the Venice Film Festival last August and then continued to impress audiences elsewhere, making its way through the festival circuit in Toronto, London, Vienna, and Portland.

The official description offers more details:
"One man‘s American dream is just beginning, while the other‘s is quickly winding down. But despite their differences, both men soon realize they need each other more than either is willing to admit. Through this unlikely but unforgettable friendship, Goodbye Solo deftly explores the passing of a generation as well as the rapidly changing face of America."

As of posting this, the film is in excellent standing with the critics, with an impressive 90 average on Metacritic and a staggering 100% Tomatometer score at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average critical rating of 7.9/10. Granted, these scores are tabulated from a relatively small pool of reviews, but to say the least, they don't come poised out of the starting gate looking much better than this.

My buddy Roger Ebert especially credits director Ramin Bahrani, declaring:

Bahrani is the new great American director. He never steps wrong. In "Goodbye Solo," he begins with a situation that might unfold in a dozen different ways and makes of it something original and profound. It is about the desire to help and the desire to not be helped.

A.O. Scott of The New York Times furthers this praise:

What each one [of the characters] takes from the other is not spelled out and does not need to be. Because grace is also what defines Mr. Bahrani’s filmmaking. I can’t think of anything else to call the quality of exquisite attention, wry humor and wide-awake intelligence that informs every frame of this almost perfect film.

The aforementioned reviews as well as those written in the trades (namely, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety) after the film's showing in Toronto also offer praise for cinematographer Michael Simmonds' artistic framing of rugged and rural North Carolina. Lighter laudations are also given to leads Red West and Souleymane Sy Savane.

Consider this the first live-action film of the year to earn a serious spot on this year's Oscar radar. Goodbye Solo is now playing in limited release.

Umm... Seriously?

I delayed posting this bit of news for as long as I possibly could, but I have come to terms with the fact that it is potentially relevant to an Oscar race some point in the future.

Variety reports (along with absolutely everyone else) that the Farrelly Brothers have found their three leading men for their upcoming comedic biopic about The Three Stooges. Before I lapse into a repetitive stream of ughs, I should probably let you know who... ugh. Too late. It has begun.



That's right.

Sean Penn = LARRY.

Benicio Del Toro = MOE.

Jim Carrey = CURLY.

I feel the ughs coming back again, so I'll be brief. Let me just point out the most obvious problems with each of these casting choices. With Penn and Del Toro, they've chosen two of the most un-funny actors to ever grace the streets of Hollywood to play two of the funniest human beings to ever breath the air on God's green earth (if you credit that sort of thing to God, of course). And then there's Jim Carrey... I'll admit the man knows how to tickle a funny bone, but he'll be a 6 foot scrawny and lanky type playing the 5 foot-5 inch semi-obese and stocky Curly. Carrey is reportedly prepared to gain 40 pounds for the role, which should just barely get him up to a healthy weight for a man of his size. The physical discrepencies here outrank the also recent madness of casting she-giant Anne Hathaway as the quaint and not even 5-foot songstress Judy Garland.

This sure-to-be mess of a film opens sometime next year.

Oscar 2010 - Schedule Announced

Variety brings word that the Oscar ceremonies in 2010 will take place on Monday, March 7th. The push into March gives ABC plenty of room for their telecast of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The rest of the official dates:

Dec. 1: Official Screen Credits forms due

Dec. 28: Nominations ballots mailed

Jan. 23 Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

Feb. 2: Noms announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Feb. 10: Final ballots mailed

Feb. 15: Nominees luncheon

Feb. 20: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

March 2: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

March 7: Academy Awards on ABC.

I'm already quivering with anticipation. But I suppose that's the whole point of this site, eh?

346 days left until the Oscars! Woo-hoo!

Early Reviews: 'The Hurt Locker' and 'Green Zone'

Aint It Cool News has scored two more early glimpses at two upcoming potential Oscar contenders and war films.

The first is for Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker and is brought to us by AICN's very own Quint. He doesn't offer much to indicate the film's chances with Oscar, though overall, he found it to be an unsettling and effectively stirring experience:

All in all, Bigelow, Boal and the rest of the team crafted a very entertaining movie that puts character first, but also gives you a real impression of what our troops are dealing with in the Middle East. The tension is real and works for every scene… hell, I got tense during regular scenes, expecting an unseen explosion to take out one of the guys, which I assume was something very much intended.

Another reviewer gives his take on Paul Greengrass' upcoming Green Zone starring Matt Damon. He praises the movie for its depth and complexity, and singles out Damon as well as Amy Ryan for their acting chops. Though he does find the film to be perhaps a bit too cerebral of an exercise:

Greengrass is always a first rate director and the movie plays like BLACK HAWK DOWN with an incredibly intricate political mystery at its core. It’s a lot to take in: action movie, mystery, political and social commentary. And I will probably have to go see it again to absorb all it was throwing at me.

Not surprisingly, Green Zone is shaping up to be a much stronger finished product than The Hurt Locker. The comparison to Ridley Scott's work in Black Hawk Down for Greengrass is especially promising. Greengrass has already proven his directorial prowess with a nod for United 93 in 2006 without a matching nod in the Best Pic category (a sure sign of a strong director), and indeed, Ridley Scott performed the same feat with 2001's Black Hawk Down. My opinion of and faith in Paul Greengrass are both exorbitant, so I have no doubts that Green Zone will at the very least be a prime example of his typical riveting direction skills. As for The Hurt Locker, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I sense a dead-on-arrival.

Future Oscar Win... Calling it RIGHT NOW

HARVEY WEINSTEIN...


BIOPIC...


JUDY GARLAND...


AND THE WINNER IS....................



MISS ANNE HATHAWAY

Early Reviews: 'Public Enemies,' 'The Boat That Rocked,' 'The Time Traveler's Wife,' 'Monsters vs. Aliens'

The always amazing folks at Ain't It Cool News are hosting some preliminary (perhaps anecdotal) reviews for a handful of upcoming Oscar-buzzed entries:

❖ Two reviews of Michael Mann's upcoming Johnny Depp vehicle Public Enemies seem to split pretty much right down the middle. The first describes the piece as "incredibly entertaining" though bemoans the under-use of Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. The second review pretty much rips the film to pieces, citing claustrophobic framing, dull cinematography, a noticeable lack of purpose, and uneven storytelling. The reviewer goes so far to call the movie a "s@#* sandwich" and "boring as f@#*." OUCH. I didn't see Public Enemies having much pull in the major categories, but I'd still place my bets on some success in technical races.


Underused?!?! Consider us f@#*ing done professionally!!!

❖ A certain Simon B. also offers a tepid take on the much-anticipated British comedy The Boat That Rocked. Simon had some fun and appreciated the leading performances but ultimately felt that the film "fails to be much more than a brief lesson in rock music’s journey to mainstream radio."

❖ Meanwhile, a review of the long-delayed The Time Traveler's Wife implies an underwhelming finished product. But who didn't see that coming?

❖ And finally, AICN's very own Capone "goes sci-fi wild" over the upcoming 3D animated Monsters vs. Aliens. In sum, he had a blast, was wildly wowed by the use of 3D, loved the characters and voice-acting, and even detected a "devilish undercurrent" that elevated the material above typical children's animated fare.


I'm 'bout to pop off! Pop off of your movie screen, that is!

I do wonder how far this 3D filmmaking trend will extend. Imagine No Country for Old Men. Javier Bardem pointing that air gun of his right in your face? How brilliant would that have been? But seriously, will 3D filmmaking be forever attached to animated adventures, big budget action flicks, and occasional tween sensation movie concerts, or will 3D find itself in the every day film as well? The Rachel Getting Married or Revolutionary Road types? Only the future, I suppose, holds the answer...

Time Mag Tests 'Avatar'

A recent Time Magazine feature on 3D filmmaking includes a few very promising words about James Cameron's upcoming jaw-dropper/ground-breaker sci-fi revolution Avatar. The Article's author Josh Quittner offers:

I couldn't tell what was real and what was animated--even knowing that the 9-ft.-tall blue, dappled dude couldn't possibly be real. The scenes were so startling and absorbing that the following morning, I had the peculiar sensation of wanting to return there, as if Pandora were real.

Cameron wasn't surprised. One theory, he says, is that 3-D viewing "is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2-D viewing doesn't." His own theory is that stereoscopic viewing uses more neurons. That's possible. After watching all that 3-D, I was a bit wiped out. I was also totally entertained.

I find it equal parts amazing, eye-rolling, and hilarious that James Cameron is concocting neurophysiological theories about the effects of 3D filmmaking. But I suppose the King of the World™ has a presumed PhD in neurosciences, or in anything he damn well pleases for that matter.

First Look: Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland'

Tim Burton's 2010 retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic fairytale/drug-trip Alice in Wonderland is by far my most anticipated project of next year. The film stars Burton's typical players Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and wifey Helena Bonham-Carter as the Red Queen (aka the Queen of Hearts), as well as Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Alan Rickman as the opium junkie Catepillar, "creepy thin man" Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat.

If all of that weren't cause for some serious excitement, the lovely and marvelously talented British fledgling actress Mia Wasikowska will be playing Alice herself. Who is Wasikowska you ask? She has had limited exposure in the US but was absolutely staggering as troubled teenage gymnast and therapy patient Sophie in HBO's heart-wrenching series In Treatment. Trust me, this little lady has a massive talent.

A massive talent that will no doubt anchor Alice in Wonderland, the first glances of which have appeared in the latest issue of Disney's exclusive quarterly magazine and brought to us by the Tim Burton Collective News Blog:







Check out all of the scans HERE. Artistically, I'm seeing major Oscar potential for this film, and perhaps an unlikely acting nod for one of the supporting players? We'll have to wait and see! Alice in Wonderland hits theaters in wondrous 3-D form on March 10, 2010.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

Click HERE if you dare...

A new cast. A new story. And back on TV. I actually didn't mind the first one, quite enjoyed the second one, and reveled in the pop glory of the theatrically-released third installment. So it's more likely than not that I'll be watching.

The Tree of Life + Dinosaurs = Two Movies?? Huh!??!

AICN has uncovered some more details about Terence Malick's upcoming The Tree of Life prominently featuring massive CGI dinosaurs and being released on IMAX screens. It seems that the very unconventional Malick is unconventionally releasing two separate films this year that are supposed to act as companion pieces. One will be The Tree of Life, and the second will be an IMAX release depicting the "birth and death of the universe."

That's right, we'll be getting two new Malick movies in the next year or so: the first is THE TREE OF LIFE (which one source tells me is "massive"); the other will be an "IMAX-only" feature depicting the birth and death of the universe. It's important to note that these films are not narratively connected; to the best of my knowledge, they're thematically complementary pieces.

This is all sounding completely bizarre, and I'm guessing more details will soon be unveiled to clarify things further. I still want to know where the dinosaurs are going to land (I'm assuming, and hoping, that it'll be in the IMAX film). But leave it to Terrence Malick to completely shake up this year's awards circuit like this!

Tree of Life + Dinosaurs = Huh?!?

The folks at Ain't It Cool News have validated a bizarre bit of info, that Oscar-winning visual F/X supervisor Mike Fink is currently designing dinosaurs for Terrence Malick's next film The Tree of Life.

Fink was quoted in Empire Magazine, saying:

We're just starting work on a project for Terrence Malick, animating dinosaurs. The film is The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. It'll be showing in IMAX - so the dinosaurs will actually be life size - and the shots of the creatures will be long and lingering.

I really don't know what to think about this. Until now, The Tree of Life sounded like Malick's most accessible and Oscar-friendly project to-date. Even if the dinosaurs act purely as an artistic statement as opposed to a literal plot device, the film is becoming a tough sell. And IMAX?? Really?? That would imply that the dinosaurs play a much larger role than I'm suggesting, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully the result of this attenuating lunacy will still be something immensely profound.