Throwing In the Towel on the Oscars

After watching the annual Academy Awards show every year of my life, I am hereby done. Throwing in the towel. For good.

Why, you ask? Did you see last night's show? All the things that have always been "wrong" were in evidence and then some:

- Poor judgement for shunting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to another night.

- Cowardice for not allowing performance comic Sacha Baron Cohen to play his merry pranks on camera. What would have been the highlight of the night was completely shut out.

- Taking the easy way out with host Billy Crystal who, though he is sweet and easy to take, is no Ricky Gervais.

- So much self-congratulating it makes you sick.

- Huge production numbers that do nothing but hurt the flow of the show and reduce the time available for acceptance speeches.

There were a few bright spots including wins by Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer, a comic focus group (from the Christopher Guest Ensemble featuring the wonderfully daffy Fred Willard), and a beautiful rendition of "It's A Wonderful World" by jazz singer Esperanza Spalding.

A few weeks back, I declared that I was not going to watch. Then, I ended up watching. Old habits die hard.

But last night's snooze fest was the clincher.

Goodbye, Oscar! I will be watching the Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards. Anything but you.

Today's Deep Mythos

There are two archtypal questions that have come to define Western culture in the past 200 or so years:

- Can a man (or woman) intentionally use science to bring the dead back to life?

- Can a man (or woman) survive death and "come back" for an eternal life?

The first question stems from the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley in 1818. The second comes from the novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker in 1897.

Bookending the 19th Century, Shelley and Stoker gave us stories that have reverberated in our imaginations, echoing ancient themes about the boundaries of human innovation and of life itself...and what comes after.

Is it any wonder then that each new generation of filmmakers is drawn to these stories which are rooted in our psyche?

Recently, my son Kevin, a budding filmmaker, asked me what I thought of Branagh's version of Frankenstein with Robert DeNiro as the Monster. While I did not care for the casting choice for the Creature, I did admire director Branagh's over-the-top vision for the film.

Today, I read that film director Danny (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) Boyle is mounting a stage production of Frankenstein, starring Jonny Lee Miller, in the UK.

And as for Dracula, I love what Francis Ford Coppola did with Stoker's tale, casting a highly unlikely Gary Oldman as the Count, but delivering the most ripe and lavish Dracula ever.

Next to zombies, vampires are as popular in film as ever. The Twilight books became successful films. And Italian filmmaker Dario Argento plans a 3D version of Dracula soon.

Should we just put a stake in these stories and put out a moratorium on any more film versions? In my view, absolutely not. These stories reflect questions that go very deep into our wiring. We must explore them. We must ask...and follow where the questions lead us.

Posted by Terrence Seamon on Wednesday February 23, 2011.

Bernard Herrmann's Centennial

One of the greatest American composers of the 20th Century was Bernard Herrmann. As 2011 is his centennial year, I want to celebrate the man and his music.

Here are some favorites from his marvelous music for movies.

Jason and the Argonauts - One of the first films I saw as a kid that featured Herrmann's music.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - One of the loveliest scores ever to come out of Hollywood.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Can music take you on a ride into outer space? You bet it can.

Mysterious Island - William Stromberg conducts the MSO in this wild track called The Balloon.

White Witch Doctor - Hold on to your pith helmet when you hear this one!

On Dangerous Ground - Brace yourself for "Death Hunt," a ferocious piece performed by Esa Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

North By Northwest - Herrmann's fandango for Hitchcock's classic.

Obsession - "Giving it everything he's got" sums up Herrmann's ravishing score for this DePalma thriller.

Taxi Driver - One of Herrmann's final scores featuring a sweeping jazz sax solo.


Posted by Terrence Seamon on February 5, 2011.

It's Awards Time

This is the time of year when various film industry organizations hand out awards for the best in movies for the previous year. I love awards season! But an annual frustration occurs too when movies that I really liked get snubbed at the awards. For example, director Christopher (The Dark Knight) Nolan's Inception, which I thought was the Best of the year as an overall film. Second place would go to the Coen Brothers' True Grit for taking a great American story and spinning it beautifully to life. Third place would go to David Fincher's The Social Network which chronicles the birth of facebook.

Will it go the way I'd like it to? Probably not. It's likely that the King's Speech, an historical bio from the UK, will sweep the awards at Oscar time. It's a good little film, the kind that Academy voters tend to swoon for.

So, let me take this opportunity to give out the Terrys, my own award to the movies and the artists who make them.

Best Film: Inception

Best Director: Christopher Nolan (runner up: the Coens)

Best Music Score: Hans Zimmer for Inception (runner up: Carter Burwell for True Grit)

Best Actor: Colin Firth for The King's Speech

Best Actress: Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit

I still haven't seen The Fighter or Toy Story 3. So I have some catching up to do.

By the way, here is an excellent new blog devoted to film music: http://musicatthemovies.wordpress.com/

This blog entry is dedicated to the memory of legendary film composer John Barry who died a few days ago.

True Grit

Yes, it has been months since my last posting here. I've been waiting for a good enough reason. Today I found it.

I just saw the new film from the Coen brothers, True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges as one-eyed US Marshall Rooster Cogburn and an all-star cast. It is the best film of 2010, in my view.

If I gave out awards, I'd give the following to this extraordinary retelling of an American classic Western:

- Best Score by Carter Burwell

- Best Screenplay adapted from a book

- Best ensemble of actors including the young phenom Hailee Steinfield as the avenging 14 year old Matty Ross, Matt Damon as a stalwart Texas Ranger, Josh Brolin as the hunted killer Tom Chaney, and Barry Pepper as outlaw chief Lucky Ned Pepper.

- Best directors

- Best picture

My niece came along to see the film and had never seen a Western before. She loved True Grit and asked me what other Western is as good. I'm still thinking about that one.

Go see it.

Inception

Whoever it was that said Inception is like "James Bond Meets The Matrix" was right on the money. Except that such a comparison only goes so far. And film-maker Christopher Nolan's grand dream epic goes so much farther.

What a movie! For most of it, I was breathless. I couldn't even manage a "Whoa!" during the many Whoa-deserving scenes.

I won't even try to sum up the labyrinthine plot that has something to do with invading Cillian Murphy's dreams to plant an idea there that will change the business plans of his energy company. I'll just say that Inception boasts a huge and impressive cast headed by the always excellent Leonardo DiCaprio and the sadly gorgeous Marion Cotillard, supported by Ellen (Juno) Page, Joseph (Brick) Gordon-Levitt, Tom (Bronson) Hardy, and Ken Watanabe. And Tom Berenger, for goodness sake!

Composer Hans Zimmer's pounding pulsating score is one of his very best!

I think I may have just seen the Best Picture winner of the year.

Posted by Terrence Seamon on July 22, 2010

Pandorum

When Pandorum came out in theaters a year or two ago, I remember thinking, "I've got to see that one." But I never did.

Until last night. Thanks to my sons, they sat me down, with takeout food (excellent Vietnamese dinner from Nha Trang Place Jersey City) and beer (Exit 4 from Flying Fish) to watch Pandorum.

Excellent!

An intense and terrifying spaceship thriller starring Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, and German actress Antje Traue (who would make an excellent Lisbeth Salander), I was riveted throughout as director Christian Alvart kept me guessing as to just what the heck was going on.

And I loved the ending.

For some reason, when Pandorum ran in theaters, it tanked. The critics didn't like it. And audiences passed on it.

If you like Alien, The Descent, and similar sci-fi/horror films, this one is for you.

Posted by Terrence Seamon on July 13, 2010