Looking for "Somewhere"

I feel like one of the films that I overlooked when listing the ones I was most highly anticipating this December was Somewhere. It felt like a film that I was simply shoving aside, which is something I didn't mean to do, because it is one of the films I'm most looking forward to at the end of this year. Something that I find so endearing about it all is that it doesn't even factor at all into the awards race this year. Nobody ever had any delusions that it would, but nobody thinks it's a bad film either. It's an intimate drama that's been made for the simple purpose of being enjoyed. It feels like people don't ever push for that sort of thing enough anymore. I might just be giving an excuse for why critics haven't placed it as an awards contender, but that's not what I've picked up. At the very least Quentin Tarantino appreciates it, so it's worth a chance. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at Sofia Coppola's production.

3 To See In December

We're finally getting to the end of the year, and whatever hasn't been seen by the critical masses will soon be unveiled. It's definitely a worrying time of year, especially this year when we still could use more truly spectacular films to fill up the major slots in the Oscar competition. I'm still not sold on The Fighter, because I just can't shake my general dread that comes with the name of Mark Wahlberg. The actor does good whenever he's playing an edgy sort of character like the one he had in The Departed, but when he takes on a sympathetic character, he falls flat. On top of that, I'm just unsure that the premise will be something that's truly captivating.

Personally, I wish that the three films I'm most looking forward to were more commercial fare, but with most of the great limited release films still to be seen, I have to put my confidence in them. Still, I am going to be checking out some of the big budget films like TRON: Legacy, which looks like a success in terms of visuals and music, but could likely fail in most other areas. Voyage of the Dawn Treader doesn't look as bad as it did before, and I'll check it out on general principal. I'd like to see what they do with better visuals and a shorter runtime. The Tourist really doesn't look too interesting anymore, but depending on how critics react, I may see it for Johnny Depp's performance. For the record, I'm also highly anticipating Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Jim Carrey in I Love You Phillip Morris, but you just can't fit everything into your list. For that reason I've decided that next year I'm going to be putting up an extended version of this list at the start of each trimester, showcasing everything I'm most anticipating in that given time period.

3. Another Year

In some ways, Mike Leigh's new drama is the first and last film out of the gate in terms of Oscar consideration. It debuted at Cannes to spectacular reviews and was the sole standout of the festival, whereas other films failed to captivate audiences. Another Year seems like your standard Mike Liegh drama, focusing on the everyday lives of slightly more than everyday people. A great handful of reviews have definitely caught my interest, but the film has recently been jumping in and out of the Best Picture race. The critical adoration has been almost universal, so I'm not sure why it's having so many problems. I think that once the film officially hits then people will take notice, but it doesn't hit until the last day of the year. So it's going to be a long wait.

2. True Grit

This is actually the only real contender in the Oscar race that has yet to be seen, and I'm not exactly sure why that is. It may be that the Coen brothers are simply trying to save the excitement until release, or it may be that the film isn't as good as what the famous duo usually bring out. I'm tempted to believe the latter, because the trailers pose this film as more mainstream and commercial than their films of the past, and that may work against them. It really depends on how well they convey the story and the emotion of it all. I personally don't believe it will do too well in the acting categories, but with some luck, it could do especially well in the Best Picture race. I don't think it will steal the spotlight, but it will get some attention.

1. Black Swan

I know that this won't be the film that takes home the top prize at the Academy Awards this year, and it's going to be an uphill battle for the film to even get nominated. It's very much a genre film, and that's the sort of picture that I take the most interest in. The film isn't going to get raves as big as The Social Network or The King's Speech, but I don't think anyone will be able to deny that they found it intriguing. The trailer for the film was so strange and captivating and when it came out, it was all anybody could talk about. It was disturbing and visionary, and it made me hope the film would be playing at Telluride by the Sea, which I consider something of a loss. Darren Aronofsky is one of the major contenders for a nomination in the director race for the same reason as Christopher Nolan. They both display distinct and powerful visions in front of their audiences. That and the amazing cast they've put together place Black Swan as the film I've been anticipating most this fall.

Venice Film Festival: And The Winner's Are...

Golden Lion (Best Film): Somewhere
Silver Lion (Best Director): Alex de la Iglesia (A Sad Trumpet Ballad)
Special Jury Prize: Essential Killing
Coppa Volpi (Best Actor): Vincent Gallo (Essential Killing)
Coppa Volpi (Best Actress): Ariane Labed (Attenberg)
Osella (Best Screenplay): A Sad Trumpet Ballad

Marcella Mastroianni Award (Best Young Actor or Actress): Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Osella (Best Cinematography): Silent Souls
Special Lion for Overall Work: Monte Hellman

European Cinema Award: The Clink of the Ice
Leoncino d’Oro (Golden Lion Cub) Prize: Barney’s Version
Queer Lion (Best Gay Film): In the Future
Brian Award: The Kisses Never Given
UNICEF Award: Miral

Well, you can't say Quentin Tarantino doesn't know how to surprise us. I doubt anybody could've guessed that Somewhere would go away with the coveted Golden Lion Award at this year's festival. Does this radically change things in terms of the Oscar race, placing it back in the running? Not at all. The film still has the same chances it did before, but now it has a prize to prove that it's no failure. In a year when Tarantino hasn't really done much of anything, I'd say he's made the right choice. I'm surprised Miral went away with anything. Mila Kunis receiving the Marcella Mastroianni award was a welcome surprise. None of these winners stand a huge chance at awards season, but Venice gave them what the deserved, more or less.

Oscar 2010: Post-Telluride Predictions

This weekend a number of things happened that changed the state of the Oscar race considerably. Most, if not all of them, happened at Telluride. However, of the films weakened by their premiere, at the Venice Film Festival the most obvious has to be Miral, from director Julian Schnabel. I never had faith in the film, because I believe that a film's quality should be present in the trailer and not in the name of the man behind it, and I didn't see anything significant. Fortunately enough, Miral wasn't the only card The Weinstein Company had to play.


Lingering just a little longer on Venice, the other film that was revealed not to have as high Oscar prospects as expected was Somewhere. Do not take this at all to mean that the film isn't great. It simply isn't what the Academy is looking for, which I think will work for the better of the film. Often people set up the highest expectations for films with Oscar potential, and those expectations aren't met. Somewhere looks like the kind of film that you can enjoy without worrying whether or not it will strike Oscar gold.


Without a doubt, the biggest hit of Venice so far (as they still have the rest of the week to go) has been Black Swan. The trailer was absolutely stunning, and it put both critics and general audiences behind this film, which is no easy feat. According to the reviews, it lived up to the trailer, and I've heard plenty of nice things said about this film. Problem is, I don't think this is the sort of film that the Academy will be able to wrap their head around. It looks like a genre film and in that way it will be a success and I look forward to seeing it. It probably will earn Natalie Portman a Best Actress nomination, but for now, I'm keeping Black Swan off my predictions for Best Picture.


Passing on to Telluride, the biggest disappointment of the festival would have to be the announcement that Peter Weir's The Way Back would be released in January, thus taking it out of Oscar contention. The film has gotten good reviews, and may have been nominated if people had a little more faith in it. Other than that news, the only film of the festival that even came close to disappointing is Never Let Me Go. That film, more than any other this weekend, really divided both critics and audiences. Some people were deeply touched, while some left the theater with a cold feeling, having gotten nothing from the experience. I have my doubts on this little brit, and am keeping it out in the cold until I see it.


Now getting to the films that truly made the cut, 127 Hours made its surprise premiere, and critics really appreciated it. Despite it spending nearly the entire film in a specific environment, and being a bit shorter than most dramas, playing on the screen for just over 90 minutes, this film seems to put up enough energy to keep it from being just another film. Then, I don't think there's a thing I could say that I haven't already said about The King's Speech. It delivered, and gave Harvey Weinstein something he could put into the ring as Miral failed. We have no trailers or clips for it yet, but we're still highly anticipating the opportunity to see it.


Finally, we got some confirmation on a few things that were a little uncertain of after Cannes. Critics have clearly gotten behind Another Year, and it seems like now it's a sure thing for a nomination. As for Biutiful, the consensus is still that the film isn't all that special, but Javier Bardem's performance in it is amazing. So I'll be surprised if he is not nominated for Best Actor this year. So for now, I'm filling out the rest of my Best Picture list with four films that have yet to be formally released and reviewed: The Social Network, True Grit, Hereafter, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Next stop is Toronto this Thursday.

Venice Film Festival: Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere"

At this moment, in Venice, it's raining like a war has ended. Water washing away all former sins, pointing the way to something beautiful. That's a metaphor, hopefully for the films this year. We've had several disappointments, and now it's time to move forward into something better. This morning, Sofia Coppola's new drama, Somewhere, premiered at Venice, and the critical word on the film is everything that I, and not anyone else, could have hoped for. Right now, they're saying that the film isn't a gargantuan failure, nor is it likely to be a huge awards contender. It's simply a nice, great movie, and I'm happy about that, more than anything else.

Guy Lodge from In Contention says, "The director will, inevitably, take some flak for making a third consecutive film about the alienating side effects of celebrity and privilege – but as with Woody Allen and Upper East Side intelligentsia, or Mike Leigh and Britain’s Tetley-swilling middle classes, this is world she knows and feels, and if she feels a responsibility to keep circling back to it in her work, then she should do so."

Meanwhile, Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood reports on the plot, "When his ex-wife dumps Cleo (Ell Fanning) on him for a week, Marco (Stephen Dorff) comes to life. He loves playing fantasy dad: Chloe can call room service at the Marmont to get anything she wants; he plays cards and Guitar Hero with her, takes her to Rome, and flies her via helicopter to play craps in Vegas. What happens after she leaves is key. Significantly, we feel for this guy, who could be utterly obnoxious, but is in a lot of pain. He’s a recent movie star, still adjusting, and Dorff admits to understanding his isolation away from a movie set. This is the role Dorff has been waiting for; it’s a real breakthrough for both him and Fanning."

Ultimately, Somewhere sounds like the nice lighthearted sort of film that isn't weighed down by Oscar potential. It doesn't have anything on its back, and I can't wait to see how it pays off.