"Animal Magnetism"

It'll be in the August issue of Live Design but you can read the first part of my article on the award-winning design of War Horse online.

Hell's multiplex: the UA Court Street Stadium 12

Remember that Brooklyn Heights-set horror movie The Sentinel (1977), where the doorway to hell was located in a genteel brownstone? Hell has been relocated a few blocks, to the dreaded UA Court Street Stadium 12 multiplex, hated by discerning moviegoers. I know enough to avoid it (and most multiplexes) on weekends, but yesterday's noon jaunt to see the (eh) Super 8 was a nightmare of slowpoke ticket-taking and molasses-paced concession sales that made me 15 minutes late for the movie. Irritated I wound up in an argument with the theater's manager, who couldn't care less about consumer complaints and just wanted to refund my money and get me out of there. And so after a few choice words I left, never to return.

The nicer Cobble Hill Cinemas was glad to have me, and as it happened it was discount day, so I paid $3 less than I would have at UA...Hell. UA's slightly more convenient location has obliged me to patronize it these past six years, despite terrible reviews, cretinous, nachos-stuffed audiences to match the staff in intelligence and girth, and two smoky fires started by malfunctioning popcorn machines, or malfunctioning employees. Want proof of the decline of customer service, basic worker competency, and pride in one's profession? Look no further.

Popdose: A Blu-ray Superman set

I have it on DVD, but the new Blu-ray incarnation of the five-year-old "Superman Anthology" leaps past it in a single bound. Or something.

Weekend at BAMcinemaFest

Staycationing cinephiles in the vicinity of the five boroughs are advised to trek over to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the BAMcinemaFest begins tonight. Propelled by a favorable review in Film Comment I saw the opening film, the British-made Weekend, last week and it's a keeper, a finely wrought gay romance...well, that's limiting. Yes, it's about two men inching their way toward some sort of commitment beyond a one-night stand, and an audience (gay or straight) underserved by the usual cliche-ridden love stories has reason to cheer a more serious one, not that the film lacks humor (or heat). This one digs deeper, and while not a suspense picture per se it builds considerable tension of a kind as the tentative, sort-of out lifeguard Russell (Tom Cullen, below in frame) hooks up with Glen (Chris New), a garrulous, probing artist...on the last weekend before Glen is to leave for Portland for a two-year fellowship. Andrew Haigh's film suggests Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise but the stakes are in their own way more urgent; a subtle sub-theme of the movie is how England's baleful surveillance culture (represented by security cameras around Russell's housing estate) deforms lifestyles, presenting another hurdle for the two very different men to overcome. A stimulating and rewarding start to what promises to be an excellent festival, Weekend is slated for fall release, but the filmmakers are trekking to Brooklyn to screen it...and so might you to see it.

Tonys time, V. 2010-2011

A chipper telecast almost disguised the fact that this was the most predictable crop of winners in recent years, with a few personal disappointments (Bobby Cannavale can console himself with his Drama Desk, and I don't get the Norbert Leo Butz love this time) but few surprises in the lot, not even in the design categories (which were shoehorned in more gracefully than usual), not that I'm complaining about my War Horse peeps. Congrats to Nikki M. James for shaking up her category with her supporting win but even that was part of a Book of Mormon tide (which, to be fair, did not carry away its lead actors). The 2011-2012 Broadway season begins on Tuesday with the opening of the most anticipated musical of last season, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark...and let me just say that if you enjoyed the ballad on tonight's telecast, those sweet and simple moments are few and far between.

The Summer issue of Cineaste, online and on sale

We warm up the season with a full slate of web offerings, including my own joint review of the MGM MODs The Black Sleep and Queen of Blood, and a terrific coffee table book, MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot. Great stuff in the magazine, too, including Godzilla. Who can refuse the Big G?

Live Design: End of 10

The 2009-2010 Broadway season, that is, with six new shows, in ascending order of quality. (Pictured is The Normal Heart). The 2010-2011 seaon begins June 14 with the opening, at last, of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which I see on Friday.

In other news I saw myself, sevreral times, at the Drama Desk Awards, which Ovation is televising in highly truncated but enjoyable form. Best times to watch for me: at the 46-minute mark, during the Newsical number about an hour in, and at the end under host Harvey Fierstein's credit. Closest I'll get to being a star.

Popdose: MODs (and Rockers)

Manufactured-on-demand DVD-Rs bring John Lennon in Richard Lester's How I Won the War and Hold On! to light. Gotta love Herman's Hermits.

New York Theater News: Reviewing a revue

A tuneful Cy Coleman tribute, The Best is Yet to Come, now at 59E59 Theaters. David Burnham and an unmasked Howard McGillin are pictured.

Live from the Drama Desks

And there I was, at Table 1 (Table 1!) last night, in the presence of an august nominee who was a bit peeved not to win. But so it goes. Look for me when the show is telecast (with judicious edits, natch) on Ovation beginning June 4.

And the winners were...my personal favorites were Bobby Cannavale, sensational in The Motherf**ker in the Hat (pictured), and 12-time nominee Derek McLane, finally winning for his ship-shape Anything Goes set design. "My son always asks why I don't win one," he remarked.

The show itself was a far more opulent affair than in recent years, with welcome one-stop carousing and celebrating at the Hammerstein Ballroom and its Manhattan Center environs and actual musical performances. Not much eating, however, as nominee Colin Quinn rather devastatingly pointed out from the dais ("three ziti in a red sauce you call dinner?"), to catcalls from the staff. (It must be said that the red velvet cupcakes and brownies at the afterparty went down a treat.)

So, a good time was had by all, with the possible exception of a few nominees. Best gaffe went to presenter Christian Siriano, who referred to "The Mechanic of Venice," which then became a running gag. (And not a bad idea; Jason Statham, call your agent.) And I had nice chats with special award honoree Reed Birney and Book of Mormon nominee Andrew Rannells, who may not have won but comported himself with style and charm. I'm glad I voted for him.

Popdose: Diabolique and I Saw the Devil

After too long an absence I return to Popdose with a pair of thrillers on Blu-ray, both guaranteed to make your heart leap into your mouth.

Cineaste: Stake Land

My bite-sized take on a new horror movie.

New York Theater News: Intelligent Homosexual's Guide

It takes almost as long to say the title of Tony Kushner's new play as it takes to see it. Is it worth the effort? Well, it's no Angels in America, but what is?

Mormon converts Tony

Tony nominators are believers, too, with 14 nominations going to The Book of Mormon and another 12 to the long-shuttered Scottsboro Boys musical. But it looks like Daniel Radcliffe will be sticking close to us Drama Desk voters--he didn't make Tony's cut (nor, alas, did the wonderful but woefully overlooked Aaron Tveit, star of Catch Me If You Can). On the other hand, the equally bygone Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (pictured) got a set design nod for Donyale Werle...were the nominators reading Live Design?

Mormon, Porter excel at Drama Desks

The Book of Mormon and the revival of Anything Goes bowled over the Drama Desk nominations committee this year, with The Merchant of Venice taking play honors. I must catch up on a few shows before voting. The big night is May 23.

Popdose: Tron x 2

The sci-fi saga hits Blu-ray. Does it compute?

New York Theater News: High

Whatever you do, don't spend Easter with Kathleen Turner at the godawful High, which Lord have mercy is closing today.

Kaneto Shindo at BAM

In a year marked by too many passings it's nice to report that a great filmmaker, Japan's Kaneto Shindo, will turn 99 next Thursday and has a new film out. And it's even better to report that there's a chance to acquaint yourself with the work of this underacknowledged maverick. Beginning tonight the Brooklyn Academy of Music is hosting a retrospective of his work, which will then tour. I know him from his horror films Kuroneko and the especially the great Onibaba--it was the Criterion disc of that jolting 1964 film (which knocked my movie group for a loop in 1999) that got Benicio Del Toro interested in Shindo, and the actor is the patron of this festival.

A couple of weeks ago I spent the morning at BAM watching two of his films, 1952's Children of Hiroshima, a mournful but clear-eyed reminiscence of the atomic bombing (especially poignant in light of the recent tsunami and subsequent events) and 1960's The Naked Island, an unusual survival story focused on a family of four eking out an existence on a barren outcropping in the sea, filmed so observantly it was mistaken for a documentary by The New York Times. Both are thoroughly gripping; Island, a movie without dialogue, has a stall frame that chilled me to the bone. (Shindo's wife, Noboku Otowa, starred in many of his films, unforgettably in Onibaba and this one, pictured, where having to carry large buckets of water up steep, sunbaked hills many times must have tested the union). A most welcome series that, hot on the heels of BAM's "De Palma Suspense" retro, is making trips to Brooklyn a necessity for cinephiles.

Live Design: The "It's Showtime!" edition

"Six shows running at once!"--Max Bialystock, The Producers. Including the four-star, four-letter-word filled smash The Book of Mormon, pictured.

Popdose: Women on the Verge

Robin Wright may be The Conspirator in Robert Redford's new film, as Michelle Williams goes west in Meek's Cutoff.

Popdose: The Unsung Sidney Lumet

A look at some of the less familiar chapters from a career highlghted for me by 1975's Dog Day Afternoon.

Popdose: Insidious and more

No fooling--Insidious, from the makers of Saw, gets things bumping in the night. Plus, Hilary Swank is The Resident, and the phantasmagorical Santa Sangre, both on DVD.

Popdose: Tangled on DVD/Blu-ray

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your home theater system...

Popdose: Frankenstein Live Onstage at the Movies

"It's alive!"...or was at least live at BAM last week. Let me explain. I'll throw in a "Bluview" besides.

Live Design: All aboard Priscilla

Down but not out from a bothersome sinus infection I rebound with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as Ellen Lampert-Greaux reviews Arcadia.

Popdose: The Man from Nowhere on Blu-ray

The Korean megahit explodes onto Blu-ray...who will survive and what will be left of them?

The Spring issue of Cineaste, online and on sale

The new issue is up for buying and browsing. Including: my review of the Warner Archive DVD-R of The World, the Flesh and the Devil with Harry Belafonte and just two other people.

Live Design: Broadway and Treasure Island

Shiver me timbers! A seaworthy play of Treasure Island here in Brooklyn, plus two new plays on Broadway. "Yo ho ho back to the theater we go..."

Popdose: Jane Eyre and The Boys

Plus some Monsters. All in all a busy week. Congratulations to my friend Rosemary Rotondi on a job well done on the Boys in the Band doc Making the Boys, for which she was senior archival researcher. "A good month," she commented--Inside Job, which she also worked on, won the Oscar.

And, bonus, Popdose on when aliens attack.

Popdose: Burlesque on DVD/Blu-ray

There are worse things than fumbling the national anthem at the Super Bowl or tabloid crackups, Xtina. There is Burlesque.

And the winner was...

...me, with 17-24, not great (I think my personal best was 22) but enough to win my Oscar pool in a year where no one film dominated, except perhaps Inception in the below-the-line categories. Tom Hooper's win and Roger Deakins' loss were sore points, mitigated by the shut-out of the overrated and overnominated True Grit and the near-checkmating of the puzzlingly embraced Black Swan. The King's Speech beating out The Social Network means more bleating and posturing from the near-dead Harvey Weinstein (that he's recutting the film to earn a yet more lucrative PG-13 after his bold no-cuts stance on Blue Valentine is outrageously schizophrenic hypocrisy) but it's not a Crash/Brokeback Mountain fiasco.

Otherwise a nice night to be out again with my peeps (first time since 2008) and no major complaints about the elegant and dark-toned, to the point, pro forma telecast, which did fit in more names than usual for the In Memoriam tribute (sorry, Tura Satana!).

My losses: Best Director (grrr), Animated Short, Live Action Short, Cinematography (double grrr), Costume Design, Score, and Sound Mixing.

My Oscar ballot

You'll find one up at Popdose. As for my picks:

Picture: The King's Speech

My Preference: The Social Network

Actor: Colin Firth

Actress: Natalie Portman

(My Preference: Annette Bening)

Supporting Actor: Christian Bale

Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo

(My Preference: Amy Adams)

Director: David Fincher

Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

Original Screenplay: The King's Speech

(My Preference: The Fighter)

Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

Foreign Language Film: In a Better World

Documentary Feature: Inside Job

Documentary Short: Strangers No More

Animated Short: Day & Night

Live Action Short: Na Wewe

Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland

Cinematography: Roger Deakins

Costume Design: The King's Speech

Editing: The Social Network

Makeup: The Wolfman

Original Score: Inception

Original Song: "We Belong Together"

Sound Editing: Inception

(My Preference: Unstoppable)

Sound Mixing: The King's Speech

(My Preference: Inception)

Visual Effects: Inception

Popdose: Thelma and Louise on Blu-ray

Twenty years later and on the road again with Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. That Thunderbird never looked better.

Live Design: Other Desert Cities

Visit with Linda Lavin and the actress formerly known as Stockard Channing (all that work, sigh) today through Feb. 27 at Lincoln Center.

Popdose: Animal Kingdom on DVD

Meet Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver...but don't get too close...

Popdose: Unknown quantities

Liam Neeson in a new thriller, and an emotional rollercoaster for the characters in Mike Leigh's Oscar-nominated Another Year.

Popdose: I Spit on Your Grave

Twice...on DVD.

Popdose: John Williams, Woody Allen

Two items of note this week (this week, sigh): A tribute to John Williams on his 79th birthday, with my two cents on his score for The Fury, and my review of the new Blu-ray of 75-year-old Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

Popdose: Loser Oscar Nominees

Or why Way Back co-star Ed Harris isn't smiling. "Best Makeup?"

Remembering John Barry

Popdose recollects. I wanted to write something more heartfelt than a couple of comments--he was my favorite living composer, though he had been silent for 10 years--but as you may have guessed something happened in the chasm between posts. And that something is that we welcomed my son, Ryan, on Jan. 15. He's as delightful as his big sister Larissa but integrating another member into the household has been challenging. What this means for the blog (a hair under five years old now) and my writing/reviewing career in general I can't say, though long-time browsers will note the falloff that occurred when I became a first-time parent. With two to corral, well, we'll see...but in any event enjoy the YouTube links I provided. Barry was a legend, and his death leaves me even more reflective as I contemplate my new arrival and all he brings.

Popdose: Top 10s for 2010

"Put me on this list or I'll murderalize ya," growls Fighter star Mark Wahlberg. You got it, pal.

Centennial + 1 celebration

Delighted to update this year-old post. TCM celebrates Luise Rainer, 101 and still going strong, tonight.

Popdose: Notable DVDs in 2010

In which I assess the state of the market, and tick off a few worthwhile releases, but mostly just spotlight the cover art from the Warner Archive's welcome release of The Green Slime.

Popdose: Bitter Feast on DVD

Yum yum! A new foodie horror film from Larry Fessenden and company (The House of the Devil, I Sell the Dead).

OFCS winners announced

The Online Film Critics Society continues the coronation of The Social Network. An OFCS win, Oscars likely--what more could Mark Zuckerberg want? Maybe not the attendant bad press, but $50 billion from Goldman Sachs and the Russkies should salve the pain.

Popdose: The Gloom-O-Meter

In which I take the emotional temperature of several so-called "holiday" movies, including a pair of particularly downbeat Ryan Gosling titles, Blue Valentine (pictured) and All Good Things. Cheer up, mister!

The National Film Registry strikes back

...with The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, and Saturday Night Fever all making the grade this year. Does this mean George Lucas can't tamper with future Empire incarnations anymore?

OFCS nominees announced

That would be my peeps at the Online Film Critics Society. Social Network, Toy Story 3, etc. Glad to see A Prophet (pictured) up there for best film not in the English language; in any language it's tops.

Popdose: Lead reads

New books that can still be picked up in plenty of time for Christmas--why not give the gift of Hammer horror this season?

Popdose: Remembering Blake Edwards

Days of wine and roses, and glow in the dark condoms, with the director of Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Pink Panther, and Victor Victoria.

Popdose: Awards season smackdown

In which I review the reviewers' picks of the year, slap around Black Swan (pictured), and remember the forgotten Jim Carrey. And more, for Popdose.

Live Design: The year ends

Not with a bang, but with a couple of whimpers, only one truly rewarding. Pictured are Jeffrey Wright and Mos in John Guare's A Free Man of Color.

Cineaste: Previewing History, Final Episode

This is the end, as TCM's Moguls and Movie Stars reaches its climax, which airs Dec. 13 at 8pm EST. Goodbye, Jack Warner, hello, Roger Corman.

Cineaste: Previewing History, Part 6

TV is the thing this year, as Hollywood confronts the menace of the box in Episode 6 of TCM's Moguls and Movie Stars, which begins airing next Monday (12/6) at 8pm EST.

Popdose: The Sorcerer's Apprentice on DVD

Rabbit out of a hat: A Nicolas Cage/Jerry Bruckheimer/Jon Turteltaub collaboration that isn't horrible, thanks to a strong supporting role played by New York.

The Winter edition of Cineaste

It's on sale and online. Amidst my Moguls and Movie Stars dispatches: A considered takedown of the Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes (pictured), an interview with Waiting for Superman director Davis Guggenheim, Red Desert and von Sternberg on DVD, and much, much more.