I tend to remain skeptical about adult-oriented animated fare getting nominations in the animated category. Persepolis was lucky to come out during a year where there were few decent animated "family movies". And it has a young girl as a protagonist (at least until she grows up) to help smooth it into the category. This one seems more strictly-for-grownups which seems a hindrance.
On the other hand, might it qualify for Best Documentary as well? A hat trick of Animated, Documentary, and Foreign nominations would be quite a coup...
The Official Review Thread of 2008
The comparison to MH and BD had more to do with the cultural, or even philosophical, point of view these films have in common, less the actual "movies" they turned out to be. WwB is definitely better.
I don't know about best animated feature – it's a category I'm not that emotionally involved in. But it has a good chance of being Israeli official entry for the foreign category. Although self declared as documentary, it was rightly nominated for best feature film in the upcoming Ophirs (the Israeli Oscars) with a decent chance of winning. And with Boufort's nomination last year (they seem to like Israelis whining about the Lebanon war), and maybe even as a damage control after the omission of Persepolis, it may be a contender.
And why hesitate? I'm as frivolous as the next guy. I'm a member here, after all.
Edited By Uri on 1221554599
I don't know about best animated feature – it's a category I'm not that emotionally involved in. But it has a good chance of being Israeli official entry for the foreign category. Although self declared as documentary, it was rightly nominated for best feature film in the upcoming Ophirs (the Israeli Oscars) with a decent chance of winning. And with Boufort's nomination last year (they seem to like Israelis whining about the Lebanon war), and maybe even as a damage control after the omission of Persepolis, it may be a contender.
And why hesitate? I'm as frivolous as the next guy. I'm a member here, after all.
Edited By Uri on 1221554599
Thanks for the review, Uri. I've been very curious about the film since the Cannes buzz started accumulating. A friend who just got back from Telluride loved it, but I haven't had time to grill him on it. Your personal take on this personal film (from what it sounds like) is much appreciated.
I hesitate to ask, but I can't resist in the end, especially when you compare it to a Mighty Heart and Blood Diamond, only more arty: Oscar prospects?
I hesitate to ask, but I can't resist in the end, especially when you compare it to a Mighty Heart and Blood Diamond, only more arty: Oscar prospects?
Yes, yes I know – the following may contain some spoilers (though I guess one should go to see this movie knowing "what happened in the end" – it's a piece of history one should know about).
Watching Waltz with Bashir was a unique experience for me. In a way, it was the closet a film correlated to actual events in my life. I was there too. Dror Harizi, the guy Folman goes to when he wants to know what Israeli soldiers actually saw during the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, I served with in the same company at one time (we jokingly called him "Hazarziri", meaning "Piggy", behind is back). A few tanks from our battalion were stationed in strategic points surrounding those refugees' camps as part of the Israeli army backup operation which enabled the Christian troupes to go in and do what they needed to do (you see, they were our allies, and they had to have some outlet for all their raged, followed the killing of their leader Bashir Jumaiel. This is what friends are for). Dror was one of those unfortunate people who were eye witnessing those horrid events. Later he was a key witness for the Kahan Committee which investigated those events, and there were many people, even in our battalion, who referred to him as some kind of a rat for telling what he saw. Luckily for me, I couldn't see the actual events from where I was stationed (probably few meters away from where Ari Folman was), at the bottom of a nine story high building at the outskirt of the camps, on top of which all the high ranked officers, (who later claimed they knew nothing of what was going on in real time), had the best seat in the house with all their binoculars and the day like lighting provided for the Christians operating inside, complimentary of the Israeli artillery. So yes, when it comes to that horrible night, the film tells my story too.
And then there's Ronny Dayag's story. For twenty years we served closely together during our reserve duty. He is one of the most seemingly detached, apathetic and indifferent people I'd ever I met. He's not really – I like him a lot – but I guess being a very closed, remote and reserved person was a major factor in the mechanism which enabled him to go through what happened to him in Lebanon. I first met him a couple of years after the war, knowing about his "swimming" reputation, but somehow we all knew it was an issue one doesn't talk about. I never asked him about it and he certainly never spoke about it voluntarily, so having the chance to see his story reincarnated on screen was a very poignant and moving experience for me. And it came totally out of the blue for me, since it had nothing to do with Folman's story – it seems he stumbled upon it while researching for his film, and couldn't let it go for it's really an amazing story. This segment would make an amazing short film on its own.
As for the film itself – there's no denying it's an expertly made, striking and powerful piece. Yet. I must say I found it extremely self indulging. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's the first Israeli major artistic (certainly cinematic) treatment of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Maybe if it were the third or fifth or tenth one I would look at it more empathically for what it is – a very personal voyage of someone who's kind of a peer of mine. But I did look at it in the context of Israeli cultural, social and political self retrospective. And this film strikes me as an act of exorcism, with the horrors of what happened on that mid September night back in '82 being relegated to a demon one should address in order to go on with one's life. And while it got the predictable response here (the bleeding hearts embraced it as sensitive and brave, right wingers looked at it a sucking to the enemy), it does reflect the inherent Israeli approach to the conflict here, which in itself reflects the usual Western take on the current "civilizations clash" we're going through. No matter were one stands politically, it seems the hazards of the "other" are usually seen – no, used – as a catalyst for the protagonist's (whether in a movie or a book, whether in real life personal or national conductings) actions, emotions and believes. Mighty Heart, anybody? Or maybe, Blood Diamond? Waltz with Bashir may be more arty, but it's not that different.
And I could vomit when Folman's was told by his friend, that obnoxious psychologist, that he, being the child of Holocaust survivors, was casting himself as the Nazi in the story, with the Palestinians being the Jews. Not only it corresponded with that beloved Israeli notion (we are special since we were fortunate to be the ultimate victims of them all, weather we use it as an excuse for our wrongdoings or as a burden which make us more morally committed), it also demonstrates not only a colonial self indulgent, but technocratic film makerish one as well. And thinking about it, in a way, using this flashy, "look at me" cinematic technique while addressing this issue, was just this from the start.
Edited By Uri on 1221551987
Watching Waltz with Bashir was a unique experience for me. In a way, it was the closet a film correlated to actual events in my life. I was there too. Dror Harizi, the guy Folman goes to when he wants to know what Israeli soldiers actually saw during the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, I served with in the same company at one time (we jokingly called him "Hazarziri", meaning "Piggy", behind is back). A few tanks from our battalion were stationed in strategic points surrounding those refugees' camps as part of the Israeli army backup operation which enabled the Christian troupes to go in and do what they needed to do (you see, they were our allies, and they had to have some outlet for all their raged, followed the killing of their leader Bashir Jumaiel. This is what friends are for). Dror was one of those unfortunate people who were eye witnessing those horrid events. Later he was a key witness for the Kahan Committee which investigated those events, and there were many people, even in our battalion, who referred to him as some kind of a rat for telling what he saw. Luckily for me, I couldn't see the actual events from where I was stationed (probably few meters away from where Ari Folman was), at the bottom of a nine story high building at the outskirt of the camps, on top of which all the high ranked officers, (who later claimed they knew nothing of what was going on in real time), had the best seat in the house with all their binoculars and the day like lighting provided for the Christians operating inside, complimentary of the Israeli artillery. So yes, when it comes to that horrible night, the film tells my story too.
And then there's Ronny Dayag's story. For twenty years we served closely together during our reserve duty. He is one of the most seemingly detached, apathetic and indifferent people I'd ever I met. He's not really – I like him a lot – but I guess being a very closed, remote and reserved person was a major factor in the mechanism which enabled him to go through what happened to him in Lebanon. I first met him a couple of years after the war, knowing about his "swimming" reputation, but somehow we all knew it was an issue one doesn't talk about. I never asked him about it and he certainly never spoke about it voluntarily, so having the chance to see his story reincarnated on screen was a very poignant and moving experience for me. And it came totally out of the blue for me, since it had nothing to do with Folman's story – it seems he stumbled upon it while researching for his film, and couldn't let it go for it's really an amazing story. This segment would make an amazing short film on its own.
As for the film itself – there's no denying it's an expertly made, striking and powerful piece. Yet. I must say I found it extremely self indulging. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's the first Israeli major artistic (certainly cinematic) treatment of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Maybe if it were the third or fifth or tenth one I would look at it more empathically for what it is – a very personal voyage of someone who's kind of a peer of mine. But I did look at it in the context of Israeli cultural, social and political self retrospective. And this film strikes me as an act of exorcism, with the horrors of what happened on that mid September night back in '82 being relegated to a demon one should address in order to go on with one's life. And while it got the predictable response here (the bleeding hearts embraced it as sensitive and brave, right wingers looked at it a sucking to the enemy), it does reflect the inherent Israeli approach to the conflict here, which in itself reflects the usual Western take on the current "civilizations clash" we're going through. No matter were one stands politically, it seems the hazards of the "other" are usually seen – no, used – as a catalyst for the protagonist's (whether in a movie or a book, whether in real life personal or national conductings) actions, emotions and believes. Mighty Heart, anybody? Or maybe, Blood Diamond? Waltz with Bashir may be more arty, but it's not that different.
And I could vomit when Folman's was told by his friend, that obnoxious psychologist, that he, being the child of Holocaust survivors, was casting himself as the Nazi in the story, with the Palestinians being the Jews. Not only it corresponded with that beloved Israeli notion (we are special since we were fortunate to be the ultimate victims of them all, weather we use it as an excuse for our wrongdoings or as a burden which make us more morally committed), it also demonstrates not only a colonial self indulgent, but technocratic film makerish one as well. And thinking about it, in a way, using this flashy, "look at me" cinematic technique while addressing this issue, was just this from the start.
Edited By Uri on 1221551987
I still have a feeling that 'WALL*E' will grab the lion's share of critic's awards.
...
I just saw 'Burn After Reading' and here is what I know:
1) I haven't laughed this hard all year. It's basically a dark ass Looney Tunes cartoon with John Malkovich as Daffy and George Clooney as Bugs, except when Brad Pitt is also Bugs. Beyond anything else after a slow start, I laughed consistently throughout. The Coen Brothers keep this tightrope act perfectly choreographed and George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Frances McDormand give expert caricatured performances.
2) It's basically 'No Country for Middle-Aged Idiots'. Just like their Oscar winner, it speaks volumes about the great What Next? that occurs in the change of life. All the characters are looking for new affirmation by way of new partners, new artistic ventures, or just a new glance in the mirror. They're all going to die one day but Anton Chigurgh isn't in the picture. It's just a quizzical loneliness that awaits them. Everybody in this movie is literally followed by a man in a car for something that they have done...they cannot escape their pasts and live in the now. Really, who can? The only person in the movie who has that je ne sais quois is Brad Pitt's Chad, a genuine Can Do person amidst a sea of nay-sayers. I think the movie says that this is youth, this is hope, and something to be missed later one.
3) I fucking know it's a metaphor for Iraq. I haven't figured out the specifics yet but I know it is. Especially in Brad Pitt's character's role.
4) A lot of people are going to hate it for probably any one of five reasons that I will not get into here. About three of these reasons I will defend right now: "It serves as a metaphor for the Iraq war." When I figure out exactly how it is a metaphor for the Iraq war (or just war in general), I'll let you know. Of the other two, one is that the movie literally just ends. It is a bit curt in conclusion but as I'm a bigger fan of ending while the getting is good as opposed to dragging on, I personally won't complain...
5) Where's the heart? The movie concludes on an especially vicious note that we are saved by a quick cut to (let's just say) something else as it is summated. Where is the heart in this movie? As I stated earlier, this is a movie about middle-age and What comes next, and the Coens have created a carousel of desire in these characters' lives that despite being asinine is real enough to not have to be outwardly touching to linger. I would have preferred them take it enough to heart to not pop the balloon but there is a cartoonish artistry to this film that I really appreciated.
...
I just saw 'Burn After Reading' and here is what I know:
1) I haven't laughed this hard all year. It's basically a dark ass Looney Tunes cartoon with John Malkovich as Daffy and George Clooney as Bugs, except when Brad Pitt is also Bugs. Beyond anything else after a slow start, I laughed consistently throughout. The Coen Brothers keep this tightrope act perfectly choreographed and George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Frances McDormand give expert caricatured performances.
2) It's basically 'No Country for Middle-Aged Idiots'. Just like their Oscar winner, it speaks volumes about the great What Next? that occurs in the change of life. All the characters are looking for new affirmation by way of new partners, new artistic ventures, or just a new glance in the mirror. They're all going to die one day but Anton Chigurgh isn't in the picture. It's just a quizzical loneliness that awaits them. Everybody in this movie is literally followed by a man in a car for something that they have done...they cannot escape their pasts and live in the now. Really, who can? The only person in the movie who has that je ne sais quois is Brad Pitt's Chad, a genuine Can Do person amidst a sea of nay-sayers. I think the movie says that this is youth, this is hope, and something to be missed later one.
3) I fucking know it's a metaphor for Iraq. I haven't figured out the specifics yet but I know it is. Especially in Brad Pitt's character's role.
4) A lot of people are going to hate it for probably any one of five reasons that I will not get into here. About three of these reasons I will defend right now: "It serves as a metaphor for the Iraq war." When I figure out exactly how it is a metaphor for the Iraq war (or just war in general), I'll let you know. Of the other two, one is that the movie literally just ends. It is a bit curt in conclusion but as I'm a bigger fan of ending while the getting is good as opposed to dragging on, I personally won't complain...
5) Where's the heart? The movie concludes on an especially vicious note that we are saved by a quick cut to (let's just say) something else as it is summated. Where is the heart in this movie? As I stated earlier, this is a movie about middle-age and What comes next, and the Coens have created a carousel of desire in these characters' lives that despite being asinine is real enough to not have to be outwardly touching to linger. I would have preferred them take it enough to heart to not pop the balloon but there is a cartoonish artistry to this film that I really appreciated.
"How's the despair?"
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Precious Doll
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Waltz with Bashir (2008) Director: Ari Folman
This is without a doubt the animated film to beat at the film critics awards later in the year but a Oscar nomination for Best Animated film is far from assured.
In what must be a film first, Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary based on the experiences of the director and his friends' involvement as soldiers in the Israeli war against Lebanon in 1982.
It's not a particularly political film as the subject matter has more to do with repressed memory and the effects of war on soldiers then the actual politics of the events it depicts.
The animation is similar in style of Linklaters' A Scanner Darkly and even the interviewees that appear in the film are animated.
A true original that may be a bit too tough (and sexy) for the Academy's taste.
Edited By Precious Doll on 1221468755
This is without a doubt the animated film to beat at the film critics awards later in the year but a Oscar nomination for Best Animated film is far from assured.
In what must be a film first, Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary based on the experiences of the director and his friends' involvement as soldiers in the Israeli war against Lebanon in 1982.
It's not a particularly political film as the subject matter has more to do with repressed memory and the effects of war on soldiers then the actual politics of the events it depicts.
The animation is similar in style of Linklaters' A Scanner Darkly and even the interviewees that appear in the film are animated.
A true original that may be a bit too tough (and sexy) for the Academy's taste.
Edited By Precious Doll on 1221468755
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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anonymous1980
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HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Cast: Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Seth MacFarlane (voice), John Hurt.
Dir: Guillermo Del Toro.
This film is pretty much a really fun summer blockbuster flavored with art house auteur sensibility. Sufficed to say, I really loved it. It's better than the first one. Though it's not quite a masterpiece, the visuals are amazing, the action thrilling and the generous sprinkling of tongue-in-cheek humor makes for an amazing good time at the theater. It's really too bad they opened this BEFORE The Dark Knight. It deserved better treatment and box-office.
Oscar Prospects: Deserves noms for Makeup, Art Direction, Costume Design and Visual Effects.
Grade: B+
Cast: Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Seth MacFarlane (voice), John Hurt.
Dir: Guillermo Del Toro.
This film is pretty much a really fun summer blockbuster flavored with art house auteur sensibility. Sufficed to say, I really loved it. It's better than the first one. Though it's not quite a masterpiece, the visuals are amazing, the action thrilling and the generous sprinkling of tongue-in-cheek humor makes for an amazing good time at the theater. It's really too bad they opened this BEFORE The Dark Knight. It deserved better treatment and box-office.
Oscar Prospects: Deserves noms for Makeup, Art Direction, Costume Design and Visual Effects.
Grade: B+
Watched 'Baby Mama' in the video store I work at. So beyond mediocre. There is almost nothing to recommend. I kept watching hoping there would be some kind of stakes or comedic daring but nay. It's like watching an episode of 'Mad About You'. It has the most vanilla soundtrack I've ever heard and the laughs come from You Go, Girl! moments that are so played out. I don't think there will be another movie this year where I just couldn't bring myself to care. And people can't just dismiss this film without paying tribute to Tina Fey. She's fine and dandy but desperately needs better material because there is nothing really past her Mary Tyler Moore-in-sweatpants persona...which is admittedly darling as hell. I love '30 Rock' so there's some pleasure to be had there but also some pain. Every once in a while there'll be a joke about an ex-boyfriend who is married, adopted two Katrina kids, and got into a bike accident that made his penis bigger, or Steve Martin rewarding her with five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact after a job well done...but...well...Lemon out.
"How's the despair?"
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anonymous1980
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WALL*E
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Kathy Najimy, John Ratzenberger, Sigourney Weaver (voices), Fred Willard.
Dir: Andrew Stanton
PIXAR has done it yet again. This is further proof that it is above and beyond any animation studio in Hollywood today. Though the main characters are robots, this is probably one of the sweetest, most touching and most moving love stories ever captured on film. Add to that plenty of laughs, eye-popping visuals and thought-provoking anti-consumerist satire and the result is one of the best films of 2008, certainly the best 2008 film I've seen so far this year.
Oscar Prospects: A shoo-in for the Best Animated Feature Oscar win. Also possible: Original Screenplay, Original Score, Original Song ("Down to Earth"), Sound, Sound Editing.
Grade: A
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Kathy Najimy, John Ratzenberger, Sigourney Weaver (voices), Fred Willard.
Dir: Andrew Stanton
PIXAR has done it yet again. This is further proof that it is above and beyond any animation studio in Hollywood today. Though the main characters are robots, this is probably one of the sweetest, most touching and most moving love stories ever captured on film. Add to that plenty of laughs, eye-popping visuals and thought-provoking anti-consumerist satire and the result is one of the best films of 2008, certainly the best 2008 film I've seen so far this year.
Oscar Prospects: A shoo-in for the Best Animated Feature Oscar win. Also possible: Original Screenplay, Original Score, Original Song ("Down to Earth"), Sound, Sound Editing.
Grade: A
--Sabin wrote:a sweet and unlikely tale of bromosexuality, which is basically one or two rungs away from homosexuality.
Sounds right up your alley.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1241382321
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I would love to champion 'Pineapple Express' as a hilarious movie that features a sweet and unlikely tale of bromosexuality, which is basically one or two rungs away from homosexuality. James Franco's character is very much in love with Seth Rogen's. It's not prompted by the script, nor does it forward the plot, but there it is something slightly more than undercurrent to their love. Unfortunately, 'Pineapple Express' is a fairly excruciating movie that features a sweet but unlikely tale of bromosexuality and one of the most lazily constructed films of the year. Editing choices beyond belief. A couple of fairly amusing performances but all things considered, fewer messes this year will be bigger.
...however, there is a DGG-esque final scene where the entire movie is recapped that has more laughs than anything preceding it.
...however, there is a DGG-esque final scene where the entire movie is recapped that has more laughs than anything preceding it.
"How's the despair?"
Just saw Chris and Don: A Love Story, a sweet, funny, poignant documentary about the relationship between Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy. There's a lot in this documentary for film buffs, as Isherwood was very much a part of the Hollywood set starting in the 1940s. I laughed out loud when Bachardy, now in his 70s, refers to the "vacuous beauty" of Charlize Theron.