Kate Wins Two and Mickey Gets a Second Chance

A happy Kate Winslet with her two Golden Globe Awards, photo uploaded on Flickr by beastandbean

Kate Winslet absolutely deserved both Golden Globe Awards. Her performances in Revolutionary Road and The Reader were screen perfection. She won best actress for Revolutionary Road and best supporting actress for The Reader. Winslet was the embodiment of these two very different women.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, photo uploaded on Flickr by robiffic

Loved seeing Mickey Rourke win best actor for The Wrestler. He was that character. There were countless scenes in that film that ripped my heart apart. One that stands out in my mind was when he was working in the deli. His interactions with the customers were priceless.

Others include when he was playing video games with the kids in his trailer, the autograph signing convention, every time he adjusted his hearing aid, and the opening scene in the trailer park where Rourke's character lived.

I loved Rourke's acceptance speech. Rourke thanked his dogs because they were the only friends he had while he was living a life of loneliness on the fringe of Hollywood.

I have heard interviews with Rourke where he says that so many things about the character resonated with him.

Also loved that Bruce Springsteen won best song for The Wrestler. Springsteen said that Rourke called him, described the character he was playing, and asked if he would write a song for the film. Springsteen said, "I told Mickey that I knew guys like that." Love Bruce Sprinsteen. Always have.

Rourke also thanked the director for taking a chance on him. Rourke said that Darren Aronofsky had a hard time getting financing because he was playing the lead. But Aronofsky stuck with his choice forcing him to make the film on a very low budget. Good call Mr. Aronofsky.

Slumdog Millionaire, photo uploaded by beast and bean on Flickr


Best picture and director went to Slumdog Millionaire. The director, Danny Boyle got all choked up while giving his speech. They won two other awards as well. This is a great film that takes you right into the slums of Mumbai and the undying love of a man for a woman.

Waltz With Bashir won for best foreign film. The director, Ari Folman, gave a perfect speech in light of the recent incursion by Israel into Gaza. He said,"Four children from members of my crew were born during the making of this film. I only hope that when they are old enough to see my film, it will all seem unreal and foreign to them because they have never seen anything like it in their life time."
Waltz With Bashir, photo uploaded by guido castillo on Flickr

Surprisingly, Vicky Christina Barcelona won for best comedy. I am happy, but was not expecting it. This is a great film with the sexy Javier Bardem. This film takes you to the heart of Barcelona, passion, lust, and adventures in travel. The film made me think of a spontaneous affair I had with a sexy lawyer in Mexico one summer while I was in college. Even if you never had an affair while traveling, go see this film. It will make you want to hop on a plane for Spain.


Vicky Christina Barcelona, photo uploaded on Flickr



Sally Hawkins won for best actress in a comedy for Happy Go Lucky. Just loved this film. Mike Leigh usually makes such dark and creepy films. Granted, there are a couple of creepy moments, but nothing like you normally see in one of Mr. Leigh's films. I especially like the flamenco dance instructor. God, I thought I would never stop laughing.




Sally Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky, photo uploaded on Flickr




Lastly, Madmen won. I was hoping it would win. If you haven't seen this series on AMC, I highly recommend it. Madmen takes place in the 1960s at an advertising firm. This, my friends, was the beginning of the massive influence advertisers have had on the world. We live in a society of the spectacle.

I have written reviews for the movies above, except Happy Go Lucky. Check December 2008 archives if interested. A review of Vicky Christina Barcelona can be found in August 2008 and an addendum to the post in September 2008. But I must warn you, the review is more about my affair with a sexy lawyer in Mexico while traveling for the summer.

I have absolutely no complaints about the choices the Hollywood foreign press made last night. They were all perfect in my humble opinion.

Movie Review: Revolutionary Road

April and Frank, poster uploaded on Flickr by clemato

This film will resonate on many different levels with everyone who sees it. And I hope those who see it, who maybe loathe their husbands , like Kate Winslet's character does, have the courage and strength to run away as fast as they can. Do not settle for 2 or 3 martinis every night, or a trip to the jewelry store for another piece of bling, or a trip to a psychiatrist for happy pills, or empty meaningless affairs. Hit the road and run run run far far away.

Cocktail hour in suburbia, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

The scene that is in all the trailers for the film showing April (Kate Winslet) taking out the trash reminded me of a story a friend of mine told me. I once asked this friend why she left her marriage.

Trash day in suburbia, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

She said, "one morning I woke up and took the trash can out to the street. I looked down the street at all the other trash cans and homes with well-manicured lawns and realized at that moment this was not the life I wanted."

She left her husband and their mid-western life behind and moved to Laguna Beach, California. She never looked back.
April staring vacantly out the window Emma Bovary-like, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

Anyway, this movie had many Madame Bovary moments for me. The only difference is that April really loved Frank (Leonardo Di Caprio) in the beginning. Another difference would be Emma Bovary's desire for a show house and show things to prove her worth in society. April does not seem to care about material things or the status quo, in fact she rebels against it.


A defiant April, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

Kathy Bates plays the real estate agent who sells the lovely home on Revolutionary Road to April and Frank. Her crazy son, with a PhD in mathematics, is the wisest man in the film. He sees right through the frustration in April's life.

Sam Mendes directs this film. He also directed American Beauty. An excellent choice since both show nightmare suburban lives. Different decades, but nightmares all the same.
April and Frank, photo posted by cine fanatico on Flickr

Adapted for the screen by Justin Haythe from the book by Richard Yates. Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio give award winning performances. Kathy Bates is great as the real estate agent. Her crazy son John (Michael Shannon) is only on the screen for a short time,, but an award winning appearance in my humble opinion. This is the first time Kate Winslet has worked with her husband, Sam Mendes.

April looking lovingly at Frank when they first meet, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

On a personal note, I came very close to a life like April's while I was living in New Zealand. My ex-fiance is a wealthy real estate developer who owns half of downtown Wellington. I am so glad I had the strength to board that plane that flew me far far away and on to new beginnings.

If interested in my narrow escape, please feel free to read my post on October 11, 2007, An Open Letter to Doris Lessing.
April Wheeler, photo posted by clemato on Flickr

Movie Review: The Reader

Photo of poster uploaded on Flickr by Clemato

Kate Winslet's performance as Hanna makes this film a memorable experience. Her vacant stares are anything but vacant and will haunt you long after you have left the theater. The subject matter is much more than just an affair with an older woman, albeit this love affair impacts the young man throughout his life. It is more a morality play and a philosophical question of German guilt.
Hanna and Michael (David Kross), photo posted by Clemato on Flickr

Bruno Ganz, who plays the professor, actually includes Karl Jaspers' The Question of German Guilt as required reading for his young law students, including Michael Berg, Hanna's lover. The professor also requires his young law students to attend a trial for low level guards from the concentration camps.

While watching the trial scenes, I tried to make a decision as to what I would have done if I were in Berg's position. It is not an easy question. I guarantee you will be torn apart by this film.

Kate Winslet as Hanna, photo posted by Clemato on Flickr


The young Michael Berg, David Kross, gives a stunning performance. And Ralph Fiennes, as usual, gives the performance he should, reserved, yet multi-layered if you look deep into the philosophical questions this film poses.

It is based on a book by Bernhard Schlick, adapted for the screen by David Hare, and directed by Stephen Daltry. I highly recommend this film.

One last thing, on a personal note, I fell in love with Bruno Ganz in the Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire and I am still in love with that man. So sexy.
Bruno Ganz, photo posted by blue elephant on Flickr