Word: cinemae
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Pedants who complain that Academy Awards don't really honor the year's best work in cinema because they ignore little, independent art-house movies--and hey, did you know that French toast isn't really from France?--must come to terms with what they have wrought now that the Academy has indeed honored a bunch of little, independent art-house movies. The result is a dull, nonglamorous contest with, alas, little prospect for Oscar-night silliness. Secrets & Lies' Brenda Blethyn is a wonderful actress, but don't expect her to show up dressed like Geena Davis...
...already a much admired star when Star Wars was not even a gleam in Lucas's eye. His portrayal of Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he was awarded a Best Actor Oscar, stands as one of the truly great performances in cinema, and his work in films as diverse as Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Cromwell (a personal favorite) is outstanding. But in my mind's eye he will always be dueling Darth Vader as the Millennium Falcon, unhindered by the tractor beam, prepares to soar into space. And I'm glad...
...Evita about Eva Peron, or is it about Madonna's efforts to get our attention again [CINEMA, Dec. 16]? Isn't Madonna's intensive campaign for the role--agreeing on only a $1 million fee for a major production that cost $60 million, lobbying and negotiating with every key person--enough evidence to prove the latter? Madonna identifies herself with Eva Peron, but in what ways? Only in being able to manipulate others to satisfy her hunger for power. Why doesn't Madonna run a charity and help the poor, as Eva did? One wonders why Evita was made...
Probably all three. He cites the non-narrative, almost abstract films he made as a student at the University of Southern California 30 years ago as touchstones for the kinds of films he'd really like to make--pure cinema--and plans to make once he's done with what he calls "this theatrical thing" or "this theatrical immersion." That's a reference to his 25-year career as a commercial filmmaker, which he makes sound as if it were merely a phase he's going through, like a teenage girl shoplifting nail polish. Some phase: after writing and directing...
Though a security guard had to pull students off of over-packed shuttles yesterday morning, nary a line formed to enter Hilles Cinema, as only about 15 students attended the forum...