Gas Panic!

Howdy!

            On Saturday night, I rented out ‘Felon’ directed by Ric Roman Waugh a really gripping and gritty prison movie about Wade Potter (Stephen Dorff) who is convicted of 1^st degree murder for trying to protect his family from a burglar.  After taking the rap for another criminal to protect himself inside, only to backfire, Wade is convicted for 3 years and must struggle to win the battle inside prison and also keeping his family together on the outside.

            The film isn’t as good as ‘Shawshank Redemption’ or ‘ Escape from Alcatraz’ or the TV series ‘Prison Break or Oz’, but it is up there and certainly worthwhile watching.  The plot is simple, but believable, but what draws the audience in is the characters.  Stephen Dorff plays Wade Potter,a man with two different sides to his character.  In the 1^st Act, Wade is a family man living the dream with his girlfriend Laura (an honest portrayal by Marisol Nichols) and their son Michael.  They have raised the funds for a new company and they are planning their wedding day.  Unfortunately, when he kills the burglar, he is sanctioned to he maximum-security wing controlled by ‘Lost’ Harold Perrineau, a brutal and aggressive guard who uses the prisoners for gang fights in the prison yard.  For Wade, his character changes dramatically. Wade becomes part of the prison set-up and his interaction between his cell-mates is ruthless and brutal.  Val Kilmer (also excellent) built like a tank plays John Smith, who was sentenced to life due to murdering the killers and their families for the death of his wife and daughter.  Kilmer and Dorff have great chemistry together and Kilmer’s character acts as a mentor with a great attitude and nature towards Dorff and the bond between them is like father and son during the course of film.             

The cinematography is great almost like a 3^rd person view giving you the impression that you are actually part of the prison set-up and the director makes use of good close-ups to draw you into the plot.  Most of the shots are hand held, which adds to the intensity of the drama.  The film is a survival story and does offer a lot of violence and strong language, which can cause offence.  The low budget film factor adds to the impact of the film and after watching the making of, you find the director took a lot of the gang related stories in prison and based them in his film.

            Also, here’s some facts from the Guardian website about the winners and losers or the Oscars: 

(Website - http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/01/oscars-winners-losers-speeches)

Most memorable speeches:

Most gushing 
Sally Field spawned a thousand parodies, gushing "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" after winning the best actress award for Places in the Heart in 1985. "You like me, you really like me" became the catchphrase.

Longest Greer Garson forgot the rules at the 1943 Oscars and subjected the audience to a seven-minute ramble after winning best actress for Mrs Miniver.

Shortest Working on the assumption that brevity is the soul of wit, Alfred Hitchcock (Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award, 1967) and Joe Pesci (best supporting actor, Goodfellas, 1991), made do with a simple "thank you".

Most unfortunate Tom Hanks (best actor, Philadelphia, 1994) offered a tribute to his gay former drama teacher, inadvertently outing him in the process.

Most filled with love Cuba Gooding Jr exclaimed "I love you" 14 times when accepting the best supporting actor award in 1997 for Jerry Maguire; the last three were delivered over the top of the orchestra, who had begun playing to cut his speech short.

And the Oscar doesn't go to ...

• Citizen Kane may be one of cinema's greatest achievements but it was not considered good enough to win the 1942 best picture award. That went to How Green Was My Valley, a drama about a Welsh mining town.

• Brawn triumphed over brains in 1977, with Rocky knocking out critical successes Network, All the President's Men and Taxi Driver

• Academy voters had proved largely immune to Martin Scorsese, so it was little surprise in 1991 when his mob saga Goodfellas lost to Dances with Wolves

• Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece, Pulp Fiction, proved de trop for Academy voters in 1995, who opted instead for saccharine comedy-drama Forrest Gump

• It was a groundbreaking Hollywood portrayal of a gay relationship but that wasn't enough to carry Brokeback Mountain to Oscar success. Voters for the 2005 awards opted instead for Los Angeles ensemble drama Crash.

The big winners

Ben-Hur (1959) 
(starring Charlton Heston)
11 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Titanic (1997) 
11 Oscars, 14 nominations.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 
11 Oscars, 11 nominations.

West Side Story (1961) 
10 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Gigi (1958) 
9 Oscars, 9 nominations.

The Last Emperor (1987) 
9 Oscars, 9 nominations.

The English Patient (1996) 
9 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Gone With The Wind (1939) 
8 Oscars, 13 nominations.

From Here to Eternity (1953) 
8 Oscars, 13 nominations.

On the Waterfront (1954) 
8 Oscars, 12 nominations.

My Fair Lady (1964)
8 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Gandhi (1982)
8 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Amadeus (1984) 
8 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Cabaret (1972)
8 Oscars, 10 nominations

The sore losers

Samuel L Jackson is probably not the only unsuccessful nominee to have let out a discreet swearword when the decision was announced. But thanks to a well placed microphone, his reaction to losing out to Martin Landau in the 1995 best supporting actor category - a furious "Shit!" - became public knowledge.

When the academy awarded the 2004 best actor prize to Sean Penn, fellow nominee Bill Murray made no secret of his displeasure, refusing to clap and wearing the sort of expression that would have made his grouchiest characters proud.

A grim-faced Eddie Murphy made a swift exit midway through the 2007 Oscars after losing out to Alan Arkin in the best supporting actor category. His absence became all the more obvious when Jennifer Hudson, who appeared alongside Murphy in Dreamgirls, won best supporting actress later in the evening.

Posthumous Oscars

Heath Ledger, who died last January following an accidental overdose, is tipped for the best supporting actor award for his performance as the Joker in Batman film The Dark Knight. If he wins, he will join 13 others, all men, who have won Oscars after their deaths. Here are five of the best known.

Sidney Howard who adapted Gone with the Wind for the big screen, was killed in a tractor accident shortly after finishing the script. In 1939, the film won 10 awards including a first ever posthumous Oscar for Howard.

There have been seven nominations for dead actors, but Peter Finch is the only one so far to have to received a posthumous Oscar for a performance. He won the best actor award in 1977 for playing an ageing TV anchorman in media satire Network.

Following his death in 1991, lyricist Howard Ashman was nominated for three separate songs in the Disney cartoon Beauty and the Beast, winning an Oscar for the title track.

Two years after his death, Walt Disney won an award at the 1968 Oscars for animated short Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day to add to the 25 he amassed during his lifetime.

Producer Sam Zimbalist, who died during the making of Ben-Hur, received a posthumous award when the 1959 epic won best picture at that year's Oscars.     

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

On Sunday night, I got the chance to watch the Terry Jones directed, ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’, and it’s a film, which I love from the opening titles to the end credits.  The movie dealt with a lot of controversy from religious and political groups and it was / is accused of being blasphemous and disrespectful to Jesus and God, but personally I felt it wasn’t an attack to any religious figures, more a satire / comedy on the way some religious people follow their leaders without really thinking about it.

The movie's plot is about the life of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), who is a poor Jewish boy born in Nazareth on the same day as Jesus.  Years later, Brian is now a young man who has grown hating the Roman occupation of his country while working at the local Arena. One day Brian attends one of Jesus' sermons and among the crowd he notices Judith (Sue Jones-Davies), a woman who leads him to the rebel group "People's Front of Judea".  Brian joyfully joins the rebels, but the missions given to him do not exactly end in the best way for the group. Things get complicated for Brian when after a bizarre series of circumstances, he ends up being confused with a messiah, and with this he gains a considerable amount of devoted followers.

As always, the Pythons are simply superb in their portrayal of the many characters of the movie. Graham Chapman only plays three characters this time, but he is Brian and as our main character he perfectly portrays the naiveté of the young idealist man.  John Cleese is also excellent in the many characters he plays, especially as the leader of the People's Front of Judea.  Director Terry Jones himself appears as, among others, Brian's mother, making a remarkable character with his peculiar voice.  You can't single out one actor as the best in the film, but Michael Palin's performance as Pontius Pilate is easily one of the funniest of the movie.  Finally, Eric Idle gives the icing in the cake as he sings the Python's most famous song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

There are so many scenes to choose, which stand out, but a few personal favourites include Brian writing out his slogan "Romans go Home" and is taught a spelling lesson by the Centurion on how to write it properly.  Another hilarious moment is when Brian shouts to the crowd that they're all individuals. They answer in unison: "yes, yes, we are all individuals" - and then this bearded fellow (think Eric Idle) pokes his head out and calmly states: "I'm not." That is just brilliant!  The rivalry between the `People's Front of Judea' and the `Judean People's Front’, is just so funny and finally, ‘Biggus Dickus’, the dialogue from that part of the film is so funny to watch.

This is without a doubt one of the best comedic films of all time. It challenged how far you could go in films and influenced a generation. Truly, the Pythons did for comedy what the Beatles did for music.

Cheers folks,

The Meaning of Soul

Over the weekend, I had the guilty pleasure of watching Todd Phillip’s (Old School) remake / reimaging of the 70’s TV show ‘Starsky and Hutch’ on BBC 3.  Recommended for fans of the original series or nostalgia enthusiasts. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson star as the title characters. Two of Hollywood's most famous odd couples that have united together for a number of projects over the years are usually always likable in their films and here nothing changes.  Owen Wilson uses his sarcastic quips to his advantage, coming across as the smoother of the two, whereas Ben Stiller is the bumbling and self-conscious idiot who is both over-protective and over-zealous

 The premise of the film is two mismatched cops: David Starsky is a strict, by-the-books cop, while Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson is more laid-back and doesn't mind crossing the line of the law every once in a while. They're brought together on a case involving murder and cocaine. With assistance with their inside man Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), they are determined to bust the biggest case Bay City has seen, while some bickering and clash of ideas ensues.

Vince Vaughn plays Reese Feldman, the villain in the film. He’s a rich playboy, drug dealer who creates an undetectable cocaine mixture with his associate Jason Bateman, who are both very entertaining. Snoop Dogg was also enjoyable as Huggy Bear.  Personally, not a fan of his music, but he delivered some laughs and for once wasn't a completely pointless character.  Amy Smart who played Holly in the film along with Carmen Electra who played Stacy were both good as Starsky & Hutch's love interests and great to look at on screen.  I never watched the original series, so I can’t compare them to David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser (the original Starsky and Hutch) although they did make an appearance at the end of the movie, which was cool to see.  Although, the most important element of the film is the red and white classic 1976 Ford Gran Torino.  Quality looking car!

The result is a very goofy, entertaining flick that never tries too hard and never falls too hard either.  This is the sort of movie that you just sit back, forget your worries, and watch a couple of clowns bumble their way through the '70s.  It's not the kind of movie you'll be talking about after you see it - just a simple popcorn flick. ‘Starsky and Hutch’ is well made and funny - a surprisingly simple movie that is everything it pretends to be. 

Cheers!