CIFF announces winners; honors Mackie with tribute

October 15, 2011 by

The Chicago International Film Festival, headed by founder and artistic director Michael Kutza, last night announced the winners of this year’s competition.

In the category of International Feature Films, the Gold Hugo was awarded to “Le Havre” (Finland/France) a depiction of illegal immigration by acclaimed director Aki Kaurismäki. The Silver Hugo went to Mohamed Diab’s “Cairo 678” (Egypt), a film that addresses sexual harassment.

Olivia Colman earned the Best Actress award for her role in “Tyrannosaur” (UK) and Maged El Kedwany won Best Actor for “Cairo 678.”The jury gave the Best Screenplay prize to Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj for “The Forgiveness of Blood” (US/Albania).

Look for the book this month; the movie comes out in May.

Top honors among the documentary contenders were bestowed on Mila Turajlic for “Cinema Komunisto” (Serbia) and Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel” (US).

Additionally, the festival recognized French film director and producer Claude Lelouch’s 50 years as a filmmaker by giving him a special Silver Hugo. Actor Anthony Mackie scored the Artistic Achievement award on Saturday at the festival’s annual Black Perspectives tribute.

For more info on other documentary winners, as well as New Directors, the Founder’s award, After Dark, Short Films, Intercom and the Chicago award, visit the fest’s site. The Audience Choice award will be announced on Oct. 24.

Anthony Mackie is being honored tonight at CIFF.

Meanwhile, since my last post, I have been in cinephile heaven, watching movies galore, including:
“From One Film to Another,” Claude LeLouch, France

“Wild Bill,” Dexter Fletcher, UK

“Nobody Else But You,” Gérald Hustache-Mathieu, France

“Diana Vreeland: The Eye has To Travel,” Lisa Immordino Vreeland, US

“Into the Abyss,” Werner Herzog, US

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Johnnie To, Hong Kong

I talked with Lisa Immordino Vreeland this morning and she’s lovely. Now I’m off to toast Anthony Mackie. Here’s hoping he’ll be sleeveless despite the chilly wind. 😉

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Sun, screenings, superb restaurants at Chicago Film Fest

October 12, 2011 by

I’m hoping the glorious weather lasts here in Chicago.

Of the film fest’s plethora of titles, I’ve seen “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lynne Ramsay, “A Dangerous Method” by David Cronenberg,“Rabies” by Aharon Keshales,“Patang” by Prashat Bhargava,“My Week with Marilyn” by Simon Curtis and “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

Looking forward to tonight’s “Nobody Else But You,” a mystery by Gérald Hustache-Mathieu.

And of course I’m finding time to eat well in a city jam-packed with passionate chefs. More later …

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‘The Last Rites of Joe May’ kicks off CIFF

October 6, 2011 by

The Chicago International Film Festival, the oldest competitive film festival in North America, starts tonight at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park with “The Last Rites of Joe May,” a neo noir.  The fest, now in its 47th year, runs through Oct. 20.

Writer/director Joe Maggio’s film stars Chicagoan Dennis Farina (“Get Shorty,” “Snatch,” “Midnight Run,” “Law & Order”), Jamie Anne Allman, Meredith Droeger, Ian Barford, Chelcie Ross and Gary Cole.

Farina was a Chicago cop before becoming an actor.

In “The Last Rites of Joe May,” Farina, who was a Chicago cop for 18 years before becoming an actor, plays a sixtysomething short-money hustler looking to make a comeback after a battle with pneumonia. The film is “steeped in colorful characters and the neighborhood flavor of the city,” said Mimi Plauché, CIFF’s head of programming.

This year’s fest features 143 feature-length films (narrative and documentary), representing 55 countries, and 52 short films. There are also panels, parties, discussions and tributes.

I’m most interested in the After Dark competition, described by the fest as follows: “From H.P. Lovecraft to high-voltage chases in the streets of Seoul, South Korea, not to mention psycho killers using unconventional methods to inflict mayhem, these films will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

I will be posting more about the fest next week!

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A Film Noir Blonde fave: Rolling Stones rock the big screen

October 5, 2011 by

I always thought Mick Jagger hit the nail on the head when in “Some Girls,” he says, “American girls want everything in the world you can possibly imagine.” I’d be good with that, as would most femmes fatales. I can’t wait to hear the song again later this month at The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live In Texas, a one-night in-theater concert.

This rare, never-before-seen concert was captured live in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18, 1978. The show will be broadcast to more than 300 theaters nationwide at 7:30 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The event will also include an exclusive 20-minute interview with Jagger filmed in August 2011 where he reflects on the fabled 1978 U.S. tour, which is believed among many fans to be one of the band’s greatest tours and strongest musically.

“Fort Worth was an amazing night in a blistering hot July,” said Jagger. “Watching it now, the band was really intense and focused, but we were also having a blast with the fans who were really getting into the show and the new tracks from Some Girls.”

Digitally re-mastered to HD with Cinema Surround Sound, this legendary footage includes a mixture of classic Stones hits such as “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Tumbling Dice,” paired with blues numbers and Chuck Berry covers, as well as songs from the Some Girls LP including “Beast of Burden” and “Miss You.”

Presented by NCM Fathom, More2Screen and Eagle Rock, tickets for The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live In Texas are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

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Free stuff: Win Criterion Jean Vigo set and CIFF T-shirt

October 4, 2011 by

Tomorrow is the 77th anniversary of French filmmaker Jean Vigo’s death, at age 29. As part of the poetic realist movement of the 1930s, Vigo influenced both film noir and the French New Wave. The winner of October’s reader giveaway will receive a copy of Criterion’s new DVD release of The Complete Jean Vigo.

(The winner of the September reader giveaway is Ashley B., congrats to her and thanks to all who entered!)

This set includes all of Vigo’s titles, described by Criterion as follows: “À propos de Nice,” an absurdist, rhythmic slice of life from the bustling coastal city; “Taris,” an inventive short portrait of a swimming champion; “Zéro de conduite,” a radical, delightful tale of boarding-school rebellion that has influenced countless filmmakers; and “L’Atalante,” widely regarded as one of cinema’s finest achievements, about newlyweds beginning their life together on a canal barge. These are the witty, visually adventurous works of a pivotal film artist.

You can see a clip and learn about the special features here.

The winner will also receive a T-shirt from the Chicago International Film Fest, which runs Oct. 6-20.

To enter the October giveaway, just leave a comment on any FNB post from Oct. 1-31. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month and announced in early November. Include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you if you win. Your email will not be shared. Good luck!

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Honey, your October horoscope is here …

October 1, 2011 by

Rita Hayworth

Rachel McAdams

Fate reigns supreme in film noir, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love us some zodiac fun. Hope your October is full of frighteningly good times. And happy birthday, Libra and Scorpio! A special shout-out and remembrances to A-list Libras Clive Owen (Oct. 3), Kate Winslet (Oct. 5), Carole Lombard (Oct. 6), Rachel McAdams (Oct. 7), Elmore Leonard (Oct. 11), Rita Hayworth (Oct. 17), Viggo Mortensen (Oct. 20), Catherine Deneuve (Oct. 22) and mold-breaking Scorpios Julia Roberts (Oct. 28) and Truman Capote and Louis Malle (both Oct. 30).

Libra (September 24-October 23): An investment pays off in a surprising way, which is especially lovely if you happen to be celebrating your birthday. It’s good to be a material girl, no? The world of money and finance can be navigated, just stick with it, even if it’s not your cup of tea. A friend may approach with an idea for a shared adventure and your artistic eye takes it to another level.  Prepare for excitement! On the work front, be daring, especially on 5th – you may be on the cusp of a major innovation. On the romantic front, let yourself be wicked – as often as possible!

Scorpio (October 24-November 22): Sometimes Scorpio has a tendency to be jealous. For the most part, that’s a tendency to be curbed. However, jealousy can stem from a need to protect yourself. So, if the feeling flares up, don’t automatically dismiss it. Instead, let yourself feel and really examine it – is it specific to the present situation or could it be triggered by something in your past, maybe your distant past? What are your stories around this emotion? As you explore, you will gain strength and confidence, making you even more irresistible than usual. Be ready for heady romance midmonth and perhaps some terrific birthday surprises near the end of the month. [Read more…]

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Wendell Corey astonishes as a doofus turned dangerous

September 30, 2011 by

The Killer is Loose/1956/Crown Productions, UA/73 min.

Michael Wilmington

By Michael Wilmington

Budd Boetticher, who didn’t direct nearly as many films as he should have, made a lot of them in the ’50s. And in 1956, he directed both a classic Western (“Seven Men from Now”) and a neglected semi-classic low-budget noir, “The Killer is Loose.”

Joseph Cotten plays a dedicated if disgruntled LA cop, Rhonda Fleming is his unwisely feisty wife, Alan Hale and John Larch are fellow fuzz, and, very memorably, Wendell Corey is the escaped bank robber who blames Cotten (correctly) for the death of his wife during his arrest.

Corey was a dependable, if often unexciting, sidekick and secondary guy in the ’40s and ’50s. In 1947’s “Desert Fury,” he plays John Hodiak’s right-hand crook, another great noir role. Corey gives an astonishing performance here as the psychotic vengeance-seeker – playing the character not as the usual cold-blooded, relentless Lee Marvin or Jack Palance type, but as someone you’d probably trust.

Wendell Corey plays the psycho as a polite, trustworthy type.

He’s a polite, preoccupied, considerate, somewhat clumsy, nice-enough-acting doofus, not at all maniacal or dangerous-appearing. He’s also seemingly unstoppable, as he breaks out of jail and moves inexorably toward Cotten and Fleming and their home in the suburbs, killing everyone in his way.

Corey’s loose killer and his last disguise, which in some ways anticipates Norman Bates’ mother in “Psycho,” are both absurd and scary.

The movie, like a lot of Boetticher, is immaculately well executed, the work of an extraordinary genre-bending talent. By the way, Lee Marvin had one of his all-time best heavy roles in Boetticher’s above-mentioned gem “Seven Men from Now.” In that movie, it was hero Randolph Scott who was the relentless pursuer, out to avenge his wife.

The cinematographer of “The Killer is Loose” was Lucien Ballard, Boetticher’s good friend and great collaborator. Ballard, an ace at both Westerns and noirs, shot this movie the same year he lit Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killing.”

MGM Limited Edition Collection, available from online retailers. No extras.

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fffashion L.A. shows work of eco-conscious designers

September 29, 2011 by

About 300 guests attended last Thursday’s fffashion L.A., a fur-free fashion show, at Wonderland nightclub in Hollywood. Organizers call it a showcase of “cutting-edge fashions that are friendly to animals and the environment.”

The show is a project of Born Free USA, a nationally recognized leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. The group is the U.S. affiliate of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation, founded by “Born Free” stars Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna.

The band 8mm performed before the show. Here a few runway highlights; you can see more photos here.

KissinCussin two-piece, Donna Salyers faux fur vest, Tea Tree Designs jewelry

 

Sherri Hill dress

 

Dalia MacPhee gown

 

Ashley Cook ensemble; Imoshion bag

x

Juliette Beavan, frontwoman of the band 8mm, modeled in the show. She wears a black Sherri Hill dress.

Photos courtesy of Bliss Media

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‘Mulholland Dr.’ takes us through shiny dreams and devastating nightmares

September 28, 2011 by

Mulholland Dr./2001/Universal, Studio Canal/145 min.

Let’s face it, reality sucks. So, on second thought, let’s not face it.

David Lynch

Instead, pluck an image from your fantasy du jour, then jump into your limousine, Lamborghini roadster or sedan chair and head to “Mulholland Dr.” for poolside cocktails with your dear chum writer/director David Lynch.

Or just put your feet up and watch the movie. This terrific neo-noir mystery is a story within a story within a story within a story about Hollywood, its shimmering promise and dark secrets, its cut-throat power and caustic pain, and its huge cast of heroes, hopefuls, heavies and hangers-on. The film is also a visual poem and Lynch’s highly personal, surrealistic imagery resonates long after you see it.

Lynch’s Tinseltown reminds me of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s valley of ashes in “The Great Gatsby,” the famous Hollywood sign, like the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, set amid wild delight and staggering decadence.

Lynch’s detractors complain that his motifs – portals and shadowy rooms, lurking danger beneath an innocent exterior, secret languages, nightclub singers and stages, for example – are shallow gimmicks that Lynch leans on from film to film. (His other work includes: “Eraserhead” 1977, “Blue Velvet” 1986, “Wild at Heart” 1990, the TV series “Twin Peaks” 1990-91, “Lost Highway” 1997, “Inland Empire” 2006).

Nevertheless, in each film, Lynch creates a unique cinematic world that takes your breath away with its striking beauty, sly humor, intense characters and uncommon depth. In “Mulholland Dr.” Lynch invites us into a shiny dream as well as a devastating nightmare. Though it’s a contemporary setting, there are so many retro references that the story almost feels like a period piece.

In part one, we meet golden girl Betty Elms (Naomi Watts), a young actress who’s just arrived in Hollywood. Sweet, perky and hopeful, Betty has a retro-chic apartment to live in and an audition set up for a role in a major movie. Just in case she needs to borrow a cup of sugar, her charming landlady Coco (Ann Miller, in her last movie role) is ready and waiting to help.

Laura Elena Harring

Ann Miller

Nothing throws this girl, not even finding a stranger using her shower. This particular mystery woman calls herself Rita (Laura Elena Harring) because she can’t remember her own name or anything else about her life. Arrestingly beautiful, with raven hair and ravishing features, Rita appears to be on the run from some nefarious mobsters but she doesn’t know why, natch.

Nor does she have any idea why she has a key and $50,000 in her handbag, which the girls hide in a hatbox. (Well done! If you’ve picked the right frock and got your lipstick on straight, why bother to carry cash?)

Betty decides that Rita needs to retrace her steps in order to regain her identity. But first Betty must prepare for her audition. Rita helps her rehearse and the next day Betty wows everyone in the room, including her debonair co-star Jimmy Katz (Chad Everett). Afterward, Betty is whisked away to meet edgy young director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), who’s casting a flick called “The Sylvia North Story.”

Later, over coffee at a diner (Lynch always loves a diner), Rita remembers the name Diane Selwyn; this leads them to an apartment where they make an unsettling discovery. That night, Rita has a few tricks up her sleeve for Betty – first a seduction, then a visit to a strange, nearly empty dive bar called Club Silencio, where Rebekah Del Rio, playing herself, performs a stunning a capella rendition of Roy Orbison‘s “Crying.” When they return home, Rita uses her key to open a box and Betty disappears.

Watts, Lynch, Harring and Theroux

There are several subplots involving a fantasy creature in a diner parking lot; a hitman (Mark Pellegrino) who steals an address book, then casually kills three people; and slick-suited heavies (including Dan Hedaya as Vincenzo Castigliane) pressuring Kesher to cast unknown blonde actress Camilla Rhodes (Melissa George) in his movie. Oh, and Kesher’s wife (Lori Heuring) is sleeping with the pool guy (Billy Ray Cyrus).

In part two, Lynch rejiggers this world. The glossy, fun-filled days and Betty’s wholesome aspirations are gone, replaced by pitch-black, sinister nights, acts of betrayal and quests for revenge.

“Mulholland Dr.” – whose abbreviated title may be a tribute to Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Blvd.” – deserves high praise, for its look, its performances, its humor, its risks, its weirdness. Angelo Badalamenti (he has a cameo as gangster Luigi Castigliane, a man who takes espresso extremely seriously) contributes a stellar soundtrack and Peter Deming’s cinematography, with bright light and saturated color, is a treat.

Most of all, though, Lynch’s direction is superb. So is the acting. Watts easily shifts from fluffy and fierce, graceful to gritty. Similarly, Harring makes a fluid transition from lost soul to lady in charge. Though the plot is sometimes thorny, the actors are breezy and believable.

To think that Renée Zellweger received a Best Actress Oscar nom for “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and Watts didn’t make the list is baffling. (Halle Berry won that year for “Monster’s Ball.” The other contenders were Sissy Spacek for “In the Bedroom,” Nicole Kidman for “Moulin Rouge” and Judi Dench for “Iris.”)

Lynch was nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Ron Howard won for “A Beautiful Mind,” which also won Best Picture. At Cannes, however, “Mulholland Dr.” received the Palme d’Or for best direction. (Lynch shared the honor with Joel Coen for “The Man Who Wasn’t There.”)

Don't want to keep Clive waiting ...

Of all that’s been written about “Mulholland Dr.” critic Stephanie Zacharek sums it up best: “‘Mulholland Dr.’ is the most womanly of David Lynch’s movies. … It’s wily and sophisticated, stylized like an art deco nude, and suffused with so much feline glamour and beauty and naked eroticism that its chief aim seems not to be to dazzle us with its typically Lynchian plot twists, but to seduce us into its sway and keep us there. This is a movie with hips.”

Speaking of seducing, I must dash back to my fantasyland. I’m meeting with my agent so I can sign that $3 million book deal. Then, I’m off to dinner and dancing with Clive Owen at the Stork Club. Ta ta!

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‘Mulholland Dr.’ quick hit

September 28, 2011 by

Mulholland Dr./2001/Universal, Studio Canal/145 min.

Two parallel stories and a bizarre tangle of story threads – by turns sumptuous and sinister – courtesy of visual poet David Lynch. A bright young actress (Naomi Watts) comes to Hollywood to pursue her dreams.

With talent, perseverance and a bit of luck, she’ll soon be the toast of the town, right? Think again, doll. Exciting work from an excellent cast, particularly from Watts and co-star Laura Elena Harring.

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