Beliefnet Movie Awards

Posted on March 5, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Congratulations to Beliefnet judges and community members for selecting an outstanding group of winners for the Beliefnet movie awards.

Judges

Best Spiritual Film: The Road
Best Inspirational Film: Precious and Up (Tie)
Best Spiritual Documentary: ‘More Than a Game’

People’s Choice
Best Spiritual Film: The Blind Side
Best Inspirational Film: Precious
Best Spiritual Documentary: Earth

And check out the gallery of lessons from Oscar-nominated films, too!

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Awards

List: Winter Sports

Posted on February 10, 2010 at 3:49 pm

In honor of the Olympics, take a look at these classics about winter sports competitions:

The Cutting Edge A spoiled figure skater (named Kate as in “Taming of the Shrew”) and a working class hockey player team up in this romantic comedy on skates starring Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney. This was the first screenplay by “Michael Clayton’s” Tony Gilroy.

Miracle Sportscaster Al Michaels unforgettably called out “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” as the 1980 US Olympic hockey team beat the Russians. They then went on to win the gold medal. And so the team, the last group of amateurs sent by the US to play ice hockey, has been known ever after as the “Miracle on Ice.” Kurt Russell plays coach Herb Brooks and this movie shows us that the real story is better than a miracle because it is about a team that succeeded through heart and hard work and commitment. If it is a miracle, it is in the “God helps those who help themselves” category. Be sure to watch the documentary, “Do You Believe in Miracles?” as well.

Ice Castles A young figure skater on the brink of becoming a champion loses her sight in an accident and has to start all over. Melissa Manchester sings the hit theme song, “Through the Eyes of Love.” The remake, starring Taylor Firth, will be out on DVD this week.

Cool Runnings One of the biggest long shots in history was the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 winter Olympics. Yes, Jamaica is a tropical country and no, Jamaica does not have any snow. But a fast start is important in bobsledding and it does have sprinters. The actual footage of the real team’s crash is featured in the film. And while a lot of it is fictional, the grace and panache of the team is based on the real story. And they will be back for the 2010 games.

Downhill Racer Robert Redford plays an arrogant skiier who clashes with his coach (Gene Hackman) in this film, which captures the focus of the athletes and the exhilaration of the sport, filmed on location in the Alps.

Sonja Henie: Queen Of The Ice and It’s a Pleasure Real-life gold medalist Sonja Henie went on to become the highest-paid performer (we won’t say “actress”) in Hollywood for her very successful series of skating films. No one paid any attention to the plots even then, but the skating scenes hold up well and the documentary about her life as an athlete and performer is worth seeing.

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Contest: Emma and Cranford

Posted on February 5, 2010 at 4:34 pm

This is a very special contest with not one but two utterly delectable DVD sets, both series based on classic books and both originally shown on PBS.

Emma (2009) is based on the novel by Jane Austen (already filmed with Gwyneth Paltrow and adapted for “Clueless” with Alicia Sliverstone). It is the story of a rich and beautiful young woman who gets into trouble when she tries to arrange the lives of those around her. This luminous new version stars Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller, with Michael Gambon as Emma’s father.

Cranford This gorgeous collection includes both the original miniseries and the sequel, Return to Cranford. Both are based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novels set in the mid-1800’s. The title town is a small traditional English village and the story is a gentle but candid look at the lives of the women in particular as they deal with love, loss, and changes large and small. Sisters Deborah and Matilda Jenkyns (Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench), and their young and slightly more worldly relative Miss Smith (Lisa Dillon) are the kind and understanding center of a community that is sometimes gossipy or prejudiced. Part of its charm is seeing the town adapt to modern ideas and technologies that are both thrilling and terrifying, like the techniques of the new town doctor and the coming of the railroad. The wonderful cast includes Imelda Stanton and Francesca Annis.

TO ENTER: Send an email to moviemom@moviemom.com with Emma/Cranford in the title and answer this question: Who is your favorite Jane Austen character and why? Three winners will be randomly chosen from all eligible entries received before midnight eastern time on February 12. (Legal blah blah below)

The Best of 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009 at 8:00 am

It’s so hard to decide! But at the moment anyway, here are my top films of the year, including three films based on books for children that became movies primarily for adults:

Up in the Air The perfect timing of this story of downsizing and dislocation adds additional resonance to the canny script and graceful performances in this story of a man who learns that staying unconnected is not as easy as he thought or as comfortable as he hoped.

Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak’s spare, poetic, and deeply wise book has been lovingly unfolded into a movie about the child who lives in all of us, brave and fearful, generous and needy, angry and peaceful, confident and insecure, adventuresome and very glad to come home.

Precious Brilliant performances from Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patten, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe make this brutal and disturbing story of an abused girl transcendent.

Fantastic Mr. Fox The screen is filled with enticing details, but it is the performances that keep us connected to what is going on. The story of a thieving fox is based on Roald Dahl’s book for children, expanded by director Wes Anderson and his co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach into a complex and engaging tale of the struggle between civilization and the call of the wild.

500 Days of Summer The best romance of the year is this bittersweet story of love and loss starring the marvelous Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The out-of-order structure means that by the time we see those first, early moments of heady connection, we can tell that the sweetness of those initial feelings will become almost unbearably poignant.

District 9 It has cool and creepy giant insect-looking aliens and there are very cool sci-fi weapons and shoot-outs and chases and space ships and a super-cool giant insect-robot thing, and it is very exciting and scary and sometimes extremely gross (but in a cool, sci-fi way). But, like all great science fiction, it is in aid of speculative allegory. The interactions between humans and aliens all the more powerful for being understated, taken for granted, and filmed in an intimate, low-key fashion that makes it feel like a documentary.

Coraline In the grand tradition of Alice, Dorothy, Milo, and the Pevensie children, Coraline enters a portal to a magical world that is both thrilling and terrifying, one that will both enchant her and demand her greatest resources of courage and integrity. And it will teach her that she does being given whatever she wants is not what she thought — that what she thinks she wants may not be what she wants after all. The creepier it gets, the more mesmerizing the visuals, ravishingly grotesque and dazzlingly inventive.

Up Pixar makes it look easy. Just write a brilliant story about endearing characters and tell it with outstanding voice talent and stunning visuals. This one makes it 10 out of 10 for Pixar. It is the story of a journey involving a grouchy old man, an earnest little boy, an exotic bird, some talking dogs, and a zillion balloons, and it begins with a brief, almost-wordless introduction that is the sweetest on-screen love story of the year.

Star Trek Audiences should be set to stun with this splendid reboot of the 40-plus year old “Star Trek” series. By boldly going where many, many have gone before, J.J. Abrams of television’s “Lost” and “Alias” has managed to make a thoroughly entertaining film that respects the fans but stands on its own.

An Education In this story of a teenage girl who becomes involved with an older man, Danish director Lone Scherfig perfectly captures London just as it is about to move from the drab, stiff-upper-lip, world of post-WWII deprivation to the brash and explosive era of mods and rockers, Carnaby Street and the Beatles, Twiggy, “The Avengers,” and Joe Orton. All of this nicely parallels what is going on with the main character, based on a brief memoir by journalist Lynn Barber.

Runners up: “The Hurt Locker,” “The Damned United,” “Passing Strange,” Anvil: The Story of Anvil, “Cold Souls,” “It Might Get Loud,” “Sugar,” “Julie & Julia,” “Sin Nombre,” “The Princess and the Frog,” and “In the Loop” — and yes, “The Hangover.”

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MPAA to Revise Rules

Posted on December 19, 2009 at 10:34 am

Following my phone meeting with Joan Graves and Marilyn Gordon of the MPAA and the FTC’s report (citing my article) criticizing the motion picture industry, the MPAA has informed me that it will be making some changes to its rules after the first of the year. While they did not give me any details, I believe that the new rules will improve the alerts on “green band” trailers. As I reported in September, the MPAA made an unannounced change in April of this year, switching the “green band” language that begins most movie trailers from the unambiguous “approved for all audiences” to the meaningless “approved for appropriate audiences.” They may also address some other concerns in the FTC report, including the marketing of promotional tie-ins for children that market PG-13 movies, un-rated DVD versions of previously rated movies, and some response to the FTC’s finding that “In its review of marketing plans and ad placements, the Commission found explicit and pervasive targeting of very young children for PG-13 movies,” including specific attempts to disguise the level of violence in the marketing campaign.
I am hopeful about their willingness to address the concerns I raised and I will provide the details of the MPAA’s new rules as soon as they are available.
On a related note, the LA Times’ Patrick Goldstein has a very good point to make today about the MPAA’s poor judgment in giving the new Meryl Streep movie, “It’s Complicated” an R based not on a scene of pot smoking by people in their 50’s but because there are no bad consequences.

Apparently, everything would’ve been fine if only the characters had been killed in a gory car crash because their reflexes were slightly impaired after sharing the joint, which surely would’ve served as a stern warning to kids not to ever touch the evil weed.

…

It’s another outrageous example of the lunatic priorities of the MPAA, which claims to serve the interests of parents but actually dances to its crazy drummer, happily handing out PG-13 ratings to unbelievably violent movies like “Terminator: Salvation” while whipping out the R rating at the first sign of a few naked breasts or, God forbid, an unsheathed penis. In Rob Marshall’s upcoming film, “Nine,” Daniel Day-Lewis smokes non stop through the entire film, but since it’s only cancer-causing tobacco, the MPAA had no problems giving the film a PG-13 rating. That’s a travesty. If you’re going to restrict kids from seeing a movie because of pot smoking, you certainly should apply similar standards to heedless cigarette smoking.

The R rating for “It’s Complicated,” which hits theaters Christmas Day, is especially ludicrous. It would be one thing if we saw Kristen Stewart smoking weed in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” since the movie is right in the sweet spot for teens and tweeners. But if the MPAA is really sticking up for families everywhere, it hardly seems to be a parental concern that impressionable kids are going to be flocking to see a romantic comedy featuring actors who are — in the case of Streep and Martin — even older than some of their grandparents.