Movies Dearz

Though my time at this year's AFI Fest presented by Audi (which ran November 3-10 in Los Angeles) was cut short by the untimely death of a close friend that required me to travel, I was able to see what are shaping up to be several of this year's major awards contenders. I missed screenings of a few other ballyhooed upcoming releases including Shame, My Week with Marilyn and Luc Besson's The Lady, but the following gems I was able to catch at their LA premieres were more than satisfying.

Carnage: I despised the Broadway/LA production of the award-winning play, God of Carnage, upon which Roman Polanski's star-studded movie is based and approached it with trepidation. Imagine my surprise, then, to find the film a vast improvement over its source material. The movie is tighter (it runs a lean 80 minutes), less literal/pretentious in its staging, and -- most importantly for a comedy -- funnier. Polanski wisely adds an opening depiction of the playground violence that instigates the initially-civilized meeting of two sets of parents played by Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz (a particular standout) and Kate Winslet, as well as a delightful denouement featuring a much-discussed hamster. Carnage is scheduled for release in LA and New York on December 16 and will expand nationally in January.


Melancholia: From controversial writer-director Lars Von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Antichrist) comes what is probably his most hopeful film to date, despite the fact it culminates in the apocalypse. Kirsten Dunst, who was honored as Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her performance here, stars as a woman suffering from clinical depression so inconsolably that not even her lavish wedding to True Blood's Alexander Skarsgaard brings relief. She does however find an unusually comforting emotional (and possibly even sexual) connection to a recently discovered planet, Melancholia, that may be on a collision course with Earth. Von Trier employs an all-star cast (including Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt and a chilling Charlotte Rampling), evocative imagery and Wagner's prelude to his opera Tristan und Isolde to spectacular, haunting effect. The movie is now playing in Los Angeles and is available through Video on Demand, although it should be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated.

We Need to Talk About Kevin: The fearless Tilda Swinton plays grieving, persecuted mother to a teenaged son who slaughtered several schoolmates in Lynne Ramsay's superbly crafted, deeply unsettling adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel. A Bad Seed for the 21st century, it raises provocative questions about nature vs. nurture when it comes to the development of sociopathic children. As Swinton said at a post-screening Q&A session, We Need to Talk About Kevin is "the play Euripides didn't have the balls to write." I consider Swinton a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination as the searching Eva, with her fellow nominees likely to include Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs, Viola Davis in The Help, and either Kiera Knightley in A Dangerous Method or Dunst. Swinton's co-star Ezra Miller is also a potential nominee for his frightening performance as Kevin. The film will open theatrically in December.


The final day of AFI Fest 2011 featured the North American premiere of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's motion-capture epic, The Adventures of Tintin, as well as award presentations. The Audience Award for best film in the festival's Breakthrough section went to the lesbian-themed With Every Heartbeat, which I reviewed here last week. It is encouraging to see many mainstream film festivals this year honoring GLBT films, with Weekend serving as another example. Our congratulations go out to Alexandra-Therese Keining, writer-director of With Every Heartbeat, and all the filmmakers spotlighted at this year's AFI Fest.

Reverend's Ratings:
Carnage: A-
Melancholia: B+
We Need to Talk About Kevin: A-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

The trailer for Clint Eastwood's latest epic, J. Edgar, shows Leonardo DiCaprio as the equally respected and reviled founder of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, holding the hand of his #2 and confidante, Clyde Tolson (handsome Armie Hammer), in the backseat of their limousine. While historical evidence of a long-rumored romance between the two men is scant, the new film clearly entertains the rumors. The truth may be revealed in Hollywood tonight, when J. Edgar has its world premiere during the opening night gala for AFI Fest 2011, presented by Audi. It will open in theaters nationwide on November 11.

J. Edgar won't be the first movie to at least allude to questions about Hoover's sexuality. In 1991, Oliver Stone's JFK featured Tommy Lee Jones giving a mincingly-gay performance as Clay Shaw (a.k.a. Clay Bertrand), a New Orleans businessman accused of taking part in a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy that involved Hoover's FBI and the CIA. The film also alleged that a ring of early-1960's call boys existed to discreetly serve political power players, including Hoover.

The new movie was written by openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for his excellent script of 2008's Milk. Black has been a busy boy lately, having also penned the stage play 8, about the continuing battle in California over marriage equality. 8 had its world premiere in September at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In a recent Out magazine interview, Black said of his work on J. Edgar: "To the conservative right, Hoover was a hero. Of course, in the gay community, you hear he was gay and a cross-dresser. I was curious about where the truth lies. Here is a guy who was arguably the most powerful man in the United States in the 20th century... The truth was often more heartbreaking, more horrible than what people think."


Judi Dench, as Hoover's seemingly manipulative mother, and Naomi Watts also headline the film's all-star cast. DiCaprio may seem an unusual choice to play the title character, even with prosthetic make-up. Black defended the casting, saying "Hoover was a pretty good-looking guy in 1919! He was very fit... they called him 'Speedy.' It's not a huge stretch."

What is known about Hoover's relationship with Tolson is that the unmarried Hoover named the man he described as his "alter ego" as recipient of his estate upon Hoover's death in 1972. Tolson also received the American flag that draped the casket at the end of Hoover's funeral, and is now buried near Hoover at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. Whether Eastwood and Black's J. Edgar reveals anything more remains to be seen. Still, it may emerge as one of the biggest gay-interest movies of 2011, if only due to the pairing of photogenic DiCaprio and Hammer.


Now in its 25th year, the AFI Fest annually spotlights several GLBT-interest films and/or filmmakers. Other screenings in this vein between now and November 10 will include the world premiere of With Every Heartbeat (a.k.a. Kyss Mig), a lovely, sincere domestic drama from Sweden about two women (one of them engaged to a man) who unexpectedly fall in love with each other during a family gathering; an evening with gay auteur Pedro Almodovar, this year's guest artistic director, which will include a screening of his Law of Desire as well as conversation with Almodovar and a yet-to-be-revealed "special guest" (could it be Antonio Banderas?); and Wim Wenders' 3D dance spectacle Pina.

Though I'm not a fan of its source material, I am looking forward to the fest's screening of Carnage. Based on the excessive, inexplicably acclaimed play God of Carnage, the usually-restrained Roman Polanski directs a dream cast (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly) in the film. I'm also excited about the Los Angeles premieres of We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring GLBT fave Tilda Swinton as mother to a sociopathic son, and Lars von Trier's apocalyptic Melancholia. Watch for my reviews of these awards contenders in my festival wrap-up report here next week.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

By the closing night of Los Angeles's AFI Film Festival November 11, oddball filmmaker and Guest Artistic Director David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) had filmgoers reciting "I love AFI!" along with him during his endearingly earnest endorsement statement, shown before each of the fest screenings. While not everyone loved closing film Black Swan (reviewed here in advance on November 5), there were enough celebrity appearances, parties with open bars and (best of all) free tickets to all the movies to keep attendees happy throughout the fest's seven days.

I was only able to take in a handful of the 60+ films shown, but each was a gem. Here are my more detailed reactions to them:

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: Speaking of oddball filmmakers, Lynch wasn't alone: obsessive auteur Werner Herzog introduced and responded to questions following the screening of his latest documentary. Following his awful Bad Lieutenant sequel/re-imagining last year, it was great to have Herzog on more secure cinematic ground. In this case, he actually goes underground into France's remarkable Chauvet Cave... and he takes the audience with him courtesy of 3D. Watching this film is truly the next best thing to actually being there, as rock overhangs, stalactites and fossils extend out of the screen. The cave, discovered only in 1994, also houses a collection of highly accomplished drawings estimated to be 32,000 years old. They depict now-extinct mammoths, wooly rhinos, cave bears and lions, as well as an occasional human form and at least one artist's well-preserved handprints. Herzog goes a little off course at times when he asks philosophical questions such as "What constitutes humanness?" and during a postscript about irradiated, albino crocodiles. The movie shouldn't be missed, though, especially since the Chauvet Cave has since been restricted to limited scientific explorations. Reverend's Rating: B+


Rabbit Hole: The audience of the packed-to-the-rafters LA premiere of this domestic drama, based on the Tony-nominated play by David Lindsay-Abaire (who also wrote the excellent screen adaptation), struck me for its broad demographics. There were older, more mature "theatre types" likely familiar with the material; more than a few gay men who would claim to be fans of either Nicole Kidman or Aaron Eckhart, who star, or the film's director, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus); and a number of younger film and/or theatre students. There was also a significant turnout courtesy of festival sponsor Clarisonic. The plot, about a married couple grieving the accidental death of their 4-year old son 8 months prior, is inherently engrossing as well as achingly authentic, powerfully moving and surprisingly funny at times. Kidman will likely be among this year's Best Actress nominees, and Eckhart has a shot in the Best Actor category. Mitchell (who looks positively elfin and all of 12 years old in person) is also an award candidate for his lovely, sensitive direction. Reverend's Rating (despite some critical — yet understandable — remarks about God in the film): A-

Chico & Rita: A stunningly animated love story about a pair of Cuban musicians who forge an enduring, affecting relationship despite personal differences, political unrest and international separation. Seven years in the making, the movie (which I pray receives a theatrical release and future awards consideration) features excellent use of light and shadows; a great depiction of 1940's, Capitalist Cuba; a magnificent, period score that includes both standards and original songs; and "cameos" by musical greats Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Tito Puente, Nat King Cole and Desi Arnaz. The film has a melodramatic vibe that can be excessive despite being proper to the cinematic milieu, historically speaking. I was also reminded stylistically of Ralph Bakshi's films of the 1970-80's, especially his American Pop. Not to be missed by animation, music and history buffs, or anyone who appreciates a good love story between people separated by distance and/or time. Reverend's Rating: A-


Precious Life: It was just announced that this extraordinary documentary is one of 15 currently under Academy Award consideration. The film provides a gripping, intimate perspective on the ages-old conflict between Jews and Palestinians via the plight of little Muhammad Abu Mustaffa. Born without an immune system to Palestinian parents, Muhammad is in need of a delicate bone marrow transplant that can only be performed with the technical expertise found in an Israeli hospital. Journalist Shlomi Eldar (who states at the outset, "I don't like hospitals, and I don't like hospital stories") would find himself inexorably drawn into the situation, ultimately befriending the principals in addition to directing and narrating the movie. The suspicion and skepticism that Muhammad's parent, Ra'ida and Faozi, hold toward the Jews, who are ultimately funding and providing their son's care even as the Israeli military bombards Gaza with missiles, serves as a microcosm of the ongoing strife. Precious Life is powerful stuff. Reverend's Rating: A-

Audience Awards in four categories were presented at AFI Fest's conclusion. Of the films I saw, only Chico & Rita was an award contender, in the World Cinema category, but it was beaten by the New Zealand entry, Boy. The other winners were Hamill (Breakthrough Award), Bedevilled (New Auteurs Award), and LittleRock (Young American Award), about which I heard considerable buzz following its fest screening. Indeed, my only gripe about AFI Fest is that each film is shown only once (although the four Audience Award recipients were screened a second time on the fest's final day, after they were announced as the winners). Since most of the movies are shown concurrently, there is no way for one to catch all of the festival entries. Also, only a handful of them were screened for critics beforehand.

As a festival for the people, though, with many free tickets generously provided through the support of sponsor Audi, AFI Fest is hard to beat. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

The American Film Institute's now annual (and free, thanks to presenting sponsor Audi and other supporters) festival AFI Fest kicked off last night in Hollywood with the world premiere of Edward Zwick's Love & Other Drugs. Alas, critics were denied admission to the rom com starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, reunited for the first time since Brokeback Mountain five years ago. However, I look forward to attending several other fest screenings between now and November 11 and I've already gotten an advance look at its closing film, the imperfect but still terrific Black Swan (more on that one below).

Despite advance reports that Jake and Anne both show plenty of skin in Love & Other Drugs, there is more GLBT interest behind the scenes of various AFI Fest offerings than on the screen, although Black Swan and Heartbeats, the second film by I Killed My Mother writer-director Xavier Dolan, are notable exceptions to this. The current buzz is that Colin Firth, who lost the Best Actor Oscar last year for his gay turn in A Single Man but headlines festival entry The King's Speech, is virtually a lock to win the golden guy this year. Similarly, Natalie Portman, who gives an amazing performance as a psychotic ballerina with lesbian longings in Black Swan, and GLBT fave Nicole Kidman, as a mother grieving the death of her young child in Rabbit Hole (screening this Sunday), are running neck-and-neck for Best Actress among Academy Award prognosticators.


Rabbit Hole, by the way, is directed by John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus fame. Other noteworthy filmmakers debuting movies at AFI Fest include John Sayles (Amigo); Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams, in 3D no less); George Hickenlooper (Casino Jack), who unexpectedly passed away just last week; and actor Diego Luna of Y tu Mamá También fame making his directorial debut (Abel). If they don't represent enough star power behind the camera, David Lynch is serving as the festival's first-ever Guest Artistic Director. Lynch will be presenting a selection of personal favorites, among them the sexually charged classics Sunset Boulevard, Lolita and Rear Window.

Despite having polarized critics and audiences — understandably so — at this year's Cannes Film Festival, I highly recommend Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan to more adventurous filmgoers. Aronofsky is one of the best and most intelligent directors working today, as evidenced by his previous films Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and The Wrestler. His "psychosexual" take on gay composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's classic ballet Swan Lake, starring Portman, has already gotten his leading lady into hot water with her orthodox Jewish father, according to recent news reports. Portman doesn't appear nude in the film, but does have a heated masturbation scene and gets hot 'n heavy with both Vincent Cassel, who plays her demanding choreographer, and company rival Mila Kunis.


The cast of Black Swan, which also includes Barbara Hershey, is excellent, with the exception of a miscast Winona Ryder. I couldn't buy Ryder as an aging prima donna in her brief scenes and it doesn't help that, unlike Portman, we never see Ryder dance. I was riveted by Portman, though, who makes an award-worthy impression that is underscored by her spectacular, increasingly passionate dancing (choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, who also plays the Prince in the Swan Lake scenes). Matthew Libatique's photography and Andrew Weisblum's keep-the-audience-on-the-edge editing are also excellent. The film is scarier than I anticipated and, while some of its "Boo, gotcha!" moments are predictable, at least a couple of them made me jump out of my seat. The Nutcracker, it ain't! Black Swan is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide beginning December 3.

Click here for more information about AFI Fest, running now through November 11, or to attempt to secure any remaining free screening tickets.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

The 2009 movie awards season kicked into high gear the past two days with the announcements from four major kudos groups of the results of their annual cinematic honors.

In a rare instance of solidarity, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle both chose Kathryn Bigelow's gritty war drama The Hurt Locker for Best Picture and Best Director.

They also agreed on the supporting acting races, bestowing honors on Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) and Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire). In the lead categories, LA went for Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Yolande Moreau (Séraphine), while their Gotham counterparts chose George Clooney (for both Up in the Air and his vocal turn in Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Meryl Streep (for Julie & Julia but not It's Complicated).


The Hurt Locker also placed strongly in the nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics' Choice Awards with eight nods. But it was Inglourious Basterds and Nine that lead the pack with ten nominations apiece. Joining these three in the Best Picture race is Avatar, An Education, Invictus, Precious, A Serious Man, Up and Up in the Air. Winners will be announced on January 15 in a live ceremony scheduled to be broadcast on VH1 with Kristin Chenoweth hosting.

Meanwhile, the American Film Institute has revealed their own top ten for '09. The AFI Awards for film go to Coraline, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker, The Messenger, Precious, A Serious Man, A Single Man, Sugar, Up and Up in the Air. On the TV side, such Movie Dearest faves as The Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family and True Blood were recognized. Click here for a special video tribute to all the AFI Award winners.

For a quick look at all the winners/nominees, see the comments section below. And the gold derby will continue to race on later this week with the nominations for the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.