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 1st 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 1st 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 3rd 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.
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