Horton Hears a Who

Posted on December 15, 2008 at 8:00 am

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Mild peril, no one hurt
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie.
Date Released to Theaters:	March 14, 2008
Date Released to DVD:	December 16, 2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B001DPHDCY

They finally got Dr. Seuss right in this warm-hearted and heart-warming story of the elephant who is “faithful 100 percent” and the world on a little speck of dust that he rescues.

Jim Carrey provides the voice of Horton, an elephant with a gentle soul who teaches the jungle animal children. When a frail plant is carelessly trampled underfoot, he stops to pat it carefully back into the ground. And when he hears a tiny voice coming from a dust mote, he races after it to tenderly place it on a clover. He finds a way to communicate with the voice, which belongs to the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell). Each is surprised to find out that there is a world beyond the one he thought of as everything there was.

Holiday Movie Moments

Posted on December 14, 2008 at 11:19 pm

I love Kris Rasmussen’s list of favorite holiday movie moments from Idol Chatter. Some of my favorites are included and I was especially happy to see one most people overlook, the Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn movie “Holiday:” Made by the same team behind the classic “The Philadelphia Story,” it is a rare chance to see Grant show off his acrobatic skills.

Tribute: Van Johnson

Posted on December 12, 2008 at 6:18 pm

Van Johnson, one of the best light comedian/song and dance men of the 1940s-50s, died this week at age 92. His boyish, All-American good looks made him a popular choice for musicals, romantic comedies, and some dramatic roles as well. He was so well known as the ideal boy-you-wish-lived-next-door performer that Cole Porter included him in the lyrics of his song “Give me a Primitive Man.”

Johnson could play a lead but he was better as a wise-cracking wingman for Gene Kelly in Brigadoon and Henry Fonda in Yours, Mine and Ours. My favorite Van Johnson performances include In the Good Old Summertime, opposite Judy Garland in the musical pre-“You’ve Got Mail” remake of “The Shop Around the Corner,” about the two warring music store employees who don’t know that they are real sweethearts through an anonymous letter exchange. I also love the neglected gem “Wives and Lovers,” which has a wonderful scene where he watches with combined fascination and horror as his daughter makes her lunch. Johnson was not the best singer, dancer, or actor but he was fun to watch because he was so comfortable and natural on screen and always looked like he was having a good time.

And I love this little dance number from “I Love Lucy.”

Broadcast Film Critics Announce Nominees

Posted on December 9, 2008 at 9:29 am

The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the group behind the Critics Choice Awards, the first awards broadcast of the year and the one that has recently been a good predictor of the Oscars. This morning we announced our nominees. As I consider my votes, your thoughts are welcome!
BEST PICTURE
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler
BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
BEST ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale – Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep – Doubt
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin – Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
James Franco – Milk
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Vera Farmiga – Nothing But the Truth
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Kate Winslet – The Reader
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant – Milk
BEST WRITER (Original or Adapted Screenplay)
Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire
Dustin Lance Black – Milk
Peter Morgan – Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley – Doubt
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)
Dakota Fanning – The Secret Life of Bees
David Kross – The Reader
Dev Petal – Slumdog Millionaire
Brandon Walters – Australia
BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Wanted
BEST COMEDY MOVIE
Burn After Reading
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Role Models
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Adams
Recount
Coco Chanel
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Christmas Tale
Gomorrah
I’ve Loved You So Long
Let the Right One In
Mongol
Waltz With Bashir
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
I.O.U.S.A.
Man On Wire
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Standard Operating Procedure
Young At Heart
BEST SONG
“Another Way to Die” (performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, written by Jack White) – Quantum of Solace
“Down to Earth” (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman) – Wall-E
“I Thought I Lost You” (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele) – Bolt
“Jaiho” (performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar) – Slumdog Millionaire
“The Wrestler” (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) – The Wrestler
BEST COMPOSER
Alexandre Desplat – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood – Changeling
Danny Elfman – Milk
Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard – The Dark Knight
A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire

(more…)

Best of the Best from Blogs About Movies

Posted on December 8, 2008 at 8:00 am

One of my very favorite movie critics is writer/speaker Desson Thomson, whose wonderful new website has an archive of reviews, blog posts, clips from his NPR commentaries, and contact information for groups who’d like to have him do a presentation or workshop. Be sure to read his thoughtful post on the way the faces tell the story in “Refusenik,” a documentary about dissident Jews in the Soviet Union.
Film blog He Shot Cyrus has a “best of” compilation from other movie blogs that is a terrific introduction to some lively and insightful writing about movies just for the pure love of it. It includes a link to the marvelous series on “triple crowners” (performers who have won an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy) from pseudonymous blogger J.J. (NOTE: Some strong language and mature content)
LAMB stands for the Large Association of Movie Blogs and is a great place to go to get acquainted with the range of voices and resources.
Two movie blogs I read regularly are Christian Toto’s What Would Toto Watch? and Keith Demko’s Reel Fanatic. And I never miss the witty and illuminating reviews from my friends Willie Waffle, Dustin Putman, and Brandon Fibbs.
Enjoy!