Friday, February 22, 2013
The 85th Academy Awards air Sunday night on ABC.
Every year we watch the Oscar nominees and presenters trot down the red carpet to sit through a night where we expect them to accept their victory or defeat with equal aplomb. As laypeople, we judge their designer dresses, make up and hair, their speeches and bemoan or cheer those who win as confusing or richly deserved. We all look forward optimistically, hoping these awards will further our favorite actors, directors and other filmmakers' careers. Whether they do or not, we are always in for a mix of boredom, surprise, pretension and earnestness. Is this year going to offer anything we don't already expect? Let's take a look at the nominees, and my take on who will walk away with what…Patch is holding a virtual Oscar party you can …
Join us at 7 p.m. Sunday to discuss the 85th annual Academy Awards in a Patch live chat with Cinema Siren.
Who will hit the red carpet in style? Is Ben Affleck still being punished for Gigli? Who's going to take the Best Picture award home? Join area Patch columnists and editors as we chat about the Oscars starting at 7 p.m. Sunday. [Find more details about Sunday night's award show, including what channel it airs on locally by clicking here.] Expect a bit of snark, a few jokes, some questioning of the Academy's choices, and more. Put on your finest — or just your pajamas — and accompany us virtually to the red carpet at 7 p.m. and the awards at 8:30 p.m. for some Oscars live chat fun. Enter your email address in the Cover It Live box above to get an email reminder for the live chat and don't miss a minute. For a look at all of this year's …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Inspired by a trip this weekend to London to see 'Macbeth,' performed by James McAvoy, Cinema Siren showcases her favorite films influenced by the Bard.
LONDON — Cinema Siren is writing from London this week, and preparing to see James McAvoy in Macbeth at Trafalgar Transformed. A fan of his work for years, I jumped at the chance to see a new and exciting version of the play put together by the famous British stage director Jamie Lloyd with production design by Soutra Gilmour, who won the 2012 Evening Standard award for Best Design. It got me thinking about the many cinematic versions of Shakespeare's work in film history. Shakespeare never goes out of style, as witnessed by the recent release directed by Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus in 2012. Joss Whedon is about to release a home movie version of Much Ado About Nothing (no kidding, it was filmed at his house) on June 7, starring his usual …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Great acting makes you join in their crusade.
The film makers want to ask you, "Will you join in their crusade?" After much promotion and fanfare, a new musical film interpretation of Les Misérables is opening nationwide. For you non-"Mis" folk, the story is of Prisoner 24601 Jean Valjean, who breaks parole, is hunted relentlessly by Inspector Javert and encounters various troubled and impoverished characters in post-revolutionary France. Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, it is beloved by generations of musical theatre fans. The musical version of the movie was a risky undertaking, but now promises a huge pay-off to the studio, cast, and crew, thanks largely to a career topping job by several of the lead actors. The endless marketing about the actors singing live has also …
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The holidays are a great time to get a head start on Oscar viewing!
December is Oscar time. Filmmakers need to get their movies under the wire so they'll be in contention for this year's awards. Consequently this month is a weird mix of crowd-pleasing mediocrity and painfully long masterpieces that mix horribly with a need for fluff. But what is a movie lover to do? Gotta see them! Having only viewed two of these films (Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook), I'm as in the dark (as it were) as you all are about how truly great these movies are, and how they measure up to each other as far as acting and scripting are concerned. All I know is what I hear, and I'm hearing a lot. All the critics associations are putting together their lists of bests, and they all influence how the Oscars go. So far, these are …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Cinema Siren's top picks for 2012.
Last year I offered my top 10 Christmas cartoons for the first time. As an animation art gallery owner of 25 years, and an animation historian, I have been studying and enjoying them a long time. What an uproar I caused! I got a veritable avalanche of emails about the cartoons I "couldn't possibly overlook." While I stand by all last year's excellent offerings, I do have some amendments this year. Here is the list with some considered additions and subtractions. The cartoons listed below are all classics and are wonderful opportunities for holiday viewing with friends and family. You can enjoy them while chomping down highly caloric peppermint bark, or swilling down highly spiked eggnog! #10. Arthur Christmas - 2011 Such a new movie…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Review of latest James Bond film.
In its 50th year, there is much at stake for the Bond franchise. So many great movies, producing such a cultural icon, they want to create a movie worthy of release in the anniversary year. Something mediocre or forgettable just wouldn't do (ahem, Moonraker, I'm talking to you…). They have their past and their future to think of. They don't want to be asking "Will Bond live to die another day?" By showing due respect to its pedigree, adding some exciting new elements, featuring a great script, acting, and production design, Skyfall rises to the top as one of this year's best films, Bond or otherwise. Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) helms the story wherein a madman (of course) winds up with the hard drive that reveals …
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Time for a living dead history lesson.
So you say you love zombies. Maybe you routinely use the quote: "They're coming to get you, Barbara," and you've dressed up three years in a row for the local Zombie Walk. And yet…you've never heard of Lucio Fulci, the Italian director who made three of the best zombie movies ever. When I saw the new Angelika Mosaic Theatre featured an onscreen viewing of The Walking Dead season premiere, I figured it was time for a living dead history lesson. Welcome to the "School of Rot." For the first time in Cinema Siren column history, I asked a zombie expert, my friend Douglas E. Winter, to help pick 10 movies that are perhaps less known by late-coming fans of the undead, yet required viewing for any true zombiephile. Doug is the horror critic and …
Friday, October 5, 2012
Panoramic vistas take your breath away.
PARIS — This week, Cinema Siren is writing from France, land of unpasteurized cheese, Jerry Lewis obsession, well-behaved dogs in restaurants and a great appreciation of auteur film directors. I'm here for the opening of a Star Wars toy exhibit at the Louvre that involves some film art friends of mine. Nowhere would there be a better place to speak of the gorgeous piece of animated film-making that is Frankenweenie than where there is in fact no literal translation for "director's cut," because it wouldnt occur to the French that there would be any other version of a film. Tim Burton is really the very definition of auteur, in that he has a very clear vision for his film-making, a recognizable stylistic stamp that fans embrace and revere…
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Cinema Siren interviews Mike Birbiglia.
Those who live in the Washington area can rightly claim Mike Birbiglia as their own. He was inspired to take up stand-up comedy while studying screenwriting at Georgetown University. He has risen to the top of his career, selling out shows all over the globe, and releasing numerous successful recordings. Now, the feature film adaptation of his critically-acclaimed one-man show, "Sleepwalk With Me", which won this year's Best of Next award at Sundance Film Festival, is coming to a limited number of big screens near us. The movie is the true story of how Birbiglia discovers he has rapid eye movement behavior disorder — a serious and rare type of sleepwalking — how he deals with it, his romantic relationship of eight years, and the …
Chris Munchak
12:56 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Only one day away! I think all of your predictions are spot-on. Kind of tired of Anne Hathaway myself, but who can say she doesn't deserve her recent accolades? Good luck, Oscar nominees! more ›