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The Thin Red Line (1998)
Masterpiece of Cinema Comes To Blu-ray Today
THE THIN RED LINE, directed by Terrence Malick and co-directed by God, will be released on Blu-ray from Criterion in all its HD glory and with extras today. When I saw it the first time in a theatre back in 1998, I knew that it was one of the greatest films ever made - a spiritual work of art that has no equals. A great war film about peace (an oxymoron?) and a celebration of all forms of life on earth - humans, animals, and plants. Beautiful cinematography, haunting music, creative editing, and the most original use of multiple narrators ever used in cinema. The fact that the great company Criterion is releasing it on Blu-ray is icing on the cake and I will cherish the extras even though (not surprisingly) there will be no audio commentary from Malick, which would have ruined the mythos of the film anyway. Malick, like Kubrick before him, lets his films do the talking and leaves them open to interpretation by the viewer. If all world leaders, heck, if all people on our planet would watch and absorb this film, the world would be a better place. From 1998 on, every time I have watched THE THIN RED LINE, I have been given proof that God exists and through Him, art like this can be made and appreciated by all of us.
The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010)
Changes For The Better...and Worse
The 82nd Academy Awards will be remembered as the first time in many years that the Oscars featured ten Best Picture nominees and clips from all ten nominees were presented separately spread throughout the broadcast. However, let's face it, not much changed as only AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER had a chance to win. Also, ever since the SAG Awards have been announced before the Oscars, the acting awards have become very predictable since the acting branch's votes naturally match the SAG votes nearly every time. This year's Oscars were also simplified for the public like most movies these days to a high concept pitch, in this case, it was billed as James Cameron vs. his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. Regardless of any changes to the Oscars this year, they were guaranteed to have a good ratings year because of the presence of AVATAR, the new all-time box office champion. It didn't matter that the Best Picture field was expanded to ten nominees or who produced or directed this year's show, it was guaranteed to do better than it has in recent years.
The biggest change I noticed was the remodeling of the not very old yet Kodak Theatre, the seating looked different and was changed from red to blue. My favorite change (and one I hope will remain this way) was dropping the performances of the Best Original Song nominees and putting that award much earlier in the show. For years, so much time has been devoted to this music award at a movie award show while in the past the Best Picture nominees (the biggest and most important award) would be lucky to get a 30 second clip each while each song would be performed in its entirety. My least favorite change was dropping the lifetime achievement Oscars and Thalberg award to a private ceremony simply because it was felt that the show was slowed down by lengthy tributes to old people - not my opinion by the way. I wouldn't mind the show going over three hours by paying homage to great contributors to cinema like Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, and Gordon Willis. Besides, let's face facts, they will be remembered for impacting the history of film a lot longer than Oscar winners like Mo'Nique! Another big change I noticed was having the presenters say, "the winner is" rather than "the Oscar goes to" for the first time in years. At first, it seems less appropriate, but on second thought, considering how many awards have been virtually "won" (and purchased) by relentless campaigning, maybe saying "winner" is more accurate. I am glad that the In Memoriam tribute was kept and I loved the tribute to John Hughes whose body of work has endured and will not be forgotten. However, some things never change: the obviously written and read jokes by the hosts and presenters, lame song and dance numbers (Neil Patrick Harris' show opening song and the choreographed dances to the Best Original Score nominees highlighted by doing the robot to UP!), and the awesome awkward reaction shots of actors not laughing at jokes and of actors not having anything to do with the film that just won an award.
Other highlights for me were: *Elinor Burkett rudely cutting off fellow winner Roger Ross Williams (MUSIC FOR PRUDENCE) to steal the short speech time! *The nervous young actresses who either flubbed their lines on stage (Miley Cyrus & Zoe Saldana) or coughed really loud (Kristen Stewart) while presenting *The hurry to present Best Picture by Tom Hanks without naming the ten nominees again, possibly an attempt to end the show at exactly 9pm Pacific/Midnight Eastern or because by then everyone knew that THE HURT LOCKER was going to win? Maybe they shouldn't have let Ben Stiller hog so much airtime dressed as a Na'vi or they should have cut the endless butt-kissing introductions of the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees by fellow actors.
The Lovely Bones (2009)
Another triumph for Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson's film of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is another showcase for his talent for mixing great storytelling with magical special effects. Its mix of the real and the fantastical is similar to Heavenly Creatures. The mixed reviews and lackluster box office I expect of it only confirms my belief that most people are too shallow and have too little taste to appreciate great art and large ambition when they go to the movies.
Why did I love The Lovely Bones? Let me count the ways: STORY: A seemingly dark subject matter (the murder of a teenager) it is actually a story about coping with death, spirituality, a belief in the afterlife, karma, and redemption. ACTING: Saoirse Ronan follows through on the great potential she showed in her Academy Award-nominated performance in Atonement - she absolutely commands the screen in The Lovely Bones and I cannot imagine this film being made without her ethereal beauty and soul. Stanley Tucci is restrained, unrecognizable, and evil incarnate as Mr. Harvey the serial killer. His performance is every bit as mesmerizing as Anthony Hopkins in The Silence Of The Lambs or Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men. CINEMATOGRAPHY: The photography of Andrew Lesnie is breathtaking and I don't only mean the look of the "in-between". The lighting and angles used are gorgeous throughout the film. EDITING: The Lovely Bones is a tour-de-force of editing magic. From the use of match cuts to the glorious cross-cutting between the setting of the plates for dinner at the Salmon home and the murder of Susie in the cornfield dungeon to the unbelievable Hitchcockian suspense when Susie's sister Lindsey searches Mr. Harvey's house for evidence to the pas de deux between Mr. Harvey and the detective (Michael Imperioli) - staring eyes playing peek-a-boo through the doll house - to the scene when Susie enters Mr. Harvey's home and we see her visit the places where each of his victims were left behind, this film is an editing handbook for aspiring filmmakers.
More random thoughts: I loved the period detail, not just the obvious hair and clothes and glimpse of The Partridge Family on television and rotary phone but the numbers marked on the bottom of Susie's school books (I forgot how they were like that!) and the magazines in the mall bookstore and in-joke advertisement on the store window for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings books which were popular at that time... I liked the use of Paul McCartney's "Another Day" on what would be the last day of Susie's life but I did not like the new age-ish song used in the scene when Susie is about to join Mr. Harvey's other victims and cross into Heaven, I would have preferred instrumental music there...Neither Mark Wahlberg or Rachel Weisz look like Saoirse Ronan and they are supposed to be her parents - that kind of thing distracts me...some people may feel that Susan Sarandon's perpetually drunk grandmother's entry into the story is a flawed change in tone, but it is a plot necessity considering that the Salmon children's mother moves out and their father later is beaten near to death...the beating of Susie's father may seem a far-fetched plot twist but I think it is clearly meant to be a lesson in not taking an eye for an eye, instead letting God and fate do the punishing...instead of Mr. Harvey predictably being caught as he rolls the safe containing Susie into the junk pit, audience satisfaction may have been lost with the film's ending but I think that even in the 1970s, could someone be arrested using evidence obtained during a break-in? Instead, his comeuppance comes not by being impaled by the hanging icicle or by being pushed over the cliff by the girl in the parking lot (as I believed was about to happen) but by losing his balance after the icicle falls and bouncing violently off the side of the cliff and tree branches
In conclusion, The Lovely Bones is a film I thought I would respond to and did. I know that many will unfairly compare it to What Dreams May Come and feel it is far inferior to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, I feel that it is a haunting cinematic ode to transcendence through the eyes of a teenage girl who only wanted to experience her first kiss before being tragically murdered and further proof that Peter Jackson is one of the most visionary filmmakers working today.