CANNES 2012 REACTIONS: Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy"

It seems like the competition slate is going rather wonky in the head as of late, doesn't it? "Holy Motors" blew the hinges off this festival in a fantastic and much necessary way, and "Cosmopolis" is still wrapping at the door for a shot at the action. Now Lee Daniels has his moment with "The Paperboy", his follow-up to "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire", and the reception is rather understandably divided. What else can you expect, since the film itself seems divided at first fight between kinky sex-pot and... well, I honestly don't know what. All I know is that I'm interested enough to put this on the radar.

Guy Lodge (In Contention): "Kidman, relishing the chance to allow most of the character to the surface for a change, is more sexually strident and earthily funny than she’s been since “To Die For,” but in her subtly brokered exchanges with Efron, smartly avoids patronizing Charlotte as a gone-to-seed Lolita. Gray, meanwhile, adds another spacily timed, implication-heavy, hazily sad character sketch to her growing gallery of striking miniatures – you’d say it’s a performance in search of a more coolly accommodating movie, but the ballsy, bonkers, sporadically dreadful but obnoxiously alive one Daniels has made thrives on all the conflicting textures it can get."

Oscar 2010: Presenters Go In Pairs

From the way this looks, I'd say we're looking at a decent stab that the shortest Oscar telecast in a while. Perhaps it won't actually put people to sleep. On the other hand, this is an odd bunch, completely devoid of Tina Fey or Steve Martin. Such a shame, but there's that open space for Best Supporting Actress. Maybe they'll make a surprise appearance, but nothing is set. I just know that this will be a difficult ceremony to sit through if The King's Speech sweeps as many believe it will. I'm praying for an upset.

1. Art Direction (Tom Hanks)
2. Cinematography (ditto)
3. Supporting Actress (?)
4. Animated Feature (Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis)
5. Animated Short Film (ditto)
6. Adapted Screenplay (Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin)
7. Original Screenplay (ditto)
8. Foreign Language Film (Russell Brand, Dame Helen Mirren)
9. Supporting Actor (Reese Witherspoon)
10. Original Score (Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman)
11. Sound Mixing (Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson)
12. Sound Editing (ditto)
13. Makeup (Cate Blanchett)
14. Costume Design (ditto)
15. Dcumentary Short Subject (Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams)
16. Live Action Short Film (ditto)
17. Documentary (Oprah)
18. Visual Effects (Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law)
19. Editing (ditto)
20. Original Song (Jennifer Hudson)
21. Director (Hilary Swank, Kathryn Bigelow)
22. Actress (Jeff Bridges)
23. Actor (Sandra Bullock)
24. Picture (Steven Spielberg)

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Lead Actress

I don't really think in a way that can be deemed as rational, as my brother keeps telling me of my fascination with Cougar Town. Of the nominees for Best Actress, the one I think is least deserving of recognition is Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole, and this is for a few reasons. The least important reason is that she's been pretty much absent from awards contention for the past few years, and her return feels a little awkward. There's a coldness to her performance, and it comes off as a bit forced if you ask me. It's still great, but less so than the other nominees. That's the critical perspective, and somehow that perspective can't take apart Emma Stone's performance in Easy A. Somehow her mannerisms in the film came off to me so radically that they brought me to tears with her. Don't call me pathetic!

Unfortunately, Emma Stone isn't nominated this year, which leaves a field of mistresses to sleep with deal with. Michelle Williams is an actress I have been observing rather closely, because I feel she's got the sort of talent that could explode across the screen in spectacular fashion. Somehow, and this has been nagging on me, she doesn't quite do that in Blue Valentine. She comes extremely close, and the raw intensity of her performance does warrant a nomination, but I can't really go any further for her yet. Her and Kidman are in something of the same boat, albeit in completely different ways.

The rest of the actresses here deserve to be here 100%, and it'd be so difficult to pick one out of the bunch if it hadn't been made so obvious already. Natalie Portman's iconic performance in Black Swan topped of the tragic tale of fragility and duality in a way that never once feels forced or exaggerated. She manages the transition from innocent child to sensual being of destruction so flawlessly, and that's not even to speak of the subtle nuances to the performance aspect of it. The physical brutality of the ballet world pushes the actress to emphasize every move in a way she wasn't capable of before. Any performance she gives from here on out will be better because of what she learned here. That's definitely worthy of reward.

The only actress with any hope or chance of beating Portman, though I pray that doesn't happen, is Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right. She's definitely at the point in which she's just waiting for the day she gets her award. I would've said this was her year before I saw Black Swan, and it's still worthy of note how she manages to make the character so believable in a way Julianne Moore didn't quite achieve. Perhaps that was just the way the characters were formatted, but you're definitely put on Bening's side by the end of the film, and there has to be a reason for that. Topping everything off, Jennifer Lawrence is the breakout star of the year, no matter what case you make for Hailee Steinfeld or Andrew Garfield. Lawrence shows a maturity beyond her years in this role, and if there's a film with such a solid ensemble this year, I'd say it was Winter's Bone.

1. Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
2. Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
3. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
4. Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
5. Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

Will & Should Win: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Potential Upset: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Should Have Been Nominated: Emma Stone (Easy A)

For Your Anticipation: That's A Spicy Meatball

I didn't have the heart to ever even consider seeing Just Go With It. There are a few actors that I consider omens of death for a picture, and among them are Vince Vaughn, Keanu Reeves, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Adam Sandler. The only Adam Sandler film I've ever truly enjoyed, and in fact loved, was Funny People, and that was spearheaded by Judd Apatow. I don't care for anything else he has ever done, because he's not the slightest bit interesting. I make a notion of avoiding him. As for Jennifer Aniston, I never saw what people saw in her. She is the second weakest of the Friends crew, in my humble opinion, right below Ross. The only reason I would ever see Just Go With It is the mysterious appearance of Nicole Kidman. Nobody knows what she's playing in the film, but it's the main and only draw for critically minded cinephiles.

Film Review: Rabbit Hole

In the post-2010 scramble to see all the movies I have missed, most times I am only mildly affected by a film. Exit Through the Gift Shop, spectacular and brilliant as it may be, didn't seem to change my life as much as it has changed others. 127 Hours was inspirational and powerful, but it was hindered by the fact that I knew what was going to happen from the moment it started. Everyone has made such a big fuss about the crucial arm-cutting scene, and they're starting to think that that's all the film is about. It makes it impossible to go into it with the unsuspecting mindset that you don't know what will happen. The film that really blew me away, far more than I expected it to, was Rabbit Hole from director John Cameron Mitchell.

Sometimes it is the most simple and mundane of plots that truly grab you, not to belittle the extreme and heartbreaking trials the film presents. The focus is on Becca and Howie Corbett, a married couple who are still recovering over the traumatic and shocking loss of their child, Danny. As they struggle through their grief, Howie befriends somebody who's been at their focus group for a grand total of eight years, and Becca starts meeting with the teenage boy who was driving the car that accidentally killed young Danny. Becca gets some guidance from her mother Nat, who also went through a similar tragedy.

For Your Anticipation: Does It Ever Go Away?

One of the films that I don't expect to see before the end of the year, but I deeply want to see is Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. I do believe that Kidman is a great actress, but she hasn't been given a truly fantastic role in a while. On the same level I absolutely love Aaron Eckhart, and I think he may be one of the most unsung heroes of The Dark Knight. What endears me to this film, besides the actors, is the subject matter. It's a really delicate topic that they're dealing with (The loss of a child), and it crushes me that I'll most likely not have a chance to see it this year. Take a look at a clip from the film below, and let me know what you think in the comment section!

"Rabbit Hole" Poster

Theatrical Trailer: Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole has been off my radar for some time now, and now that it's back, I'm not entirely sure about it, but I've been hearing good things. This doesn't look like the sort of film that would crack the top ten, but it definitely has a chance in the acting categories. Check it out.