What to see this weekend

Do you want to see...

A female lead?

-The Last Five Years 

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-The Boy Next Door
-Jupiter Ascending

Written or co-written by a woman? 

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-The Boy Next Door
-Jupiter Ascending

Directed by a woman?

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-Jupiter Ascending

Review #41: Elaine Stritch: Shoot me

Release Date: April 19, 2013
Director: Chiema Karasawa

Logline: The uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.

Review

I didn’t know much about Elaine Stritch before watching this film, all I knew was that she was Jack’s mom on 30 Rock and the lady who swore on the Today Show. By the end of the film, I had completely fallen in love with her.  She is a legend for a reason and that reason is her rare ability to be difficult and absolutely enchanting at the same time. She had amazing talent, she spoke her mind, and she didn’t wear pants – can you get any better than that?

This is one of my favourite documentaries that I’ve ever seen. It lets us observe Stritch’s daily routine as she struggles with alcoholism and diabetes while preparing for performances, but also tells the story of her successful and interesting career.  It’s heartbreaking to see her so frail and sick but also completely full of joy as we see her determination, gratitude and spark shine through.  Her relationship with her pianist Rob is also a real highlight. If you love inspirational ladies, this is a movie for you.

At the time of filming, Elaine was 87 and although she was still successfully performing, her age and health issues were taking their toll. My favourite moment of the film came when she forgot her lyrics in the middle of a show. What could have been an embarrassing turned into a moment of honesty, hilarity and magic. She showed that mistakes are the perfect opportunity to find a laugh and I love that.

Other things I learned from Elaine

• It’s okay to use a paper bag as a purse
• Sometimes you have to date someone simply because they’re much too attractive to leave behind (this happened to her with JFK)
• Know what you want and go for it
• Even legends get scared sometimes
• Speak your mind and be confident that what you have to say matters
• Everybody’s got a sack of rocks
• The key to happiness is accepting and respecting yourself

Portrayal of Women: Obviously this is a movie celebrating the life of a woman and her many accomplishments. I love how it perfectly demonstrates how wonderful Elaine was even though she wasn't necessarily nice all the time. The film captures her complexity as a performer and as a woman in a compelling way.

Sisterhood Moment: I'm sure we've all thought of the benefits of chewing food and spitting it out as a way to curb weight gain. 

I can’t recommend this documentary enough. You can’t truly appreciate Elaine’s feistiness until you see her in action. She was often described as a force of nature, and that’s a fitting description.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Bay's English Muffins




IMDb - Elaine Stritch Shoot Me (7.5)
Wikipedia - Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
Rotten Tomatoes - Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (98%)

Review on the Side: Wild

Release Date: December 19th, 2014
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Writer: Nick Hornby (Based on the novel by Cheryl Strayed)
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests.

Last night I cleaned my kitchen. Took a nice hot bath. Made cup of tea. Got in my PJ's, with blankies and my puppy on the couch, ready for snuggles. Then I turned on this movie and was unable to look away.

I highly recommend anyone else who wants to watch this film to do the same. Not only was it a nice Sunday night, this movie is highly deserving of your focus and attention. And you will probably also need something to snuggle.

Wild follows the story of Cheryl Strayed as she hikes across the west coast of the United States via the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a story of her learning to deal with her past, as the journey on the hiking trail reflects the journey her life took to get to this point. You might even call the hike the b-plot because the "flashbacks" are really the focus of the film.

There is really something wonderful about the relatability of Cheryl in this film. Women are so often portrayed as either strong and cold, or weak and flirtatious. This is as close to the female "every-man" as I've seen on screen. Her character reflects the way people are composed of contradictions. She's a character full of love, compassion, and empathy, but also makes selfish and impulsive decisions. She struggles to deal with things that are hard to deal with. She doesn't have the answers. She has to make hard mistakes to figure out who she is. So rarely are women given the opportunities to see those stories told on film, even though this one made for one fantastic film.
Reese Witherspoon is vulnerable and raw, but also optimistic. She brings so much dimension to this already complex character. Laura Dern is undeniably charming, as she often is on screen. Her moments in the film are brief but haunting. I've always felt like she was an underrated actress. I think Jean-Marc Vallee brought out some quality performances from the cast.

So yes, I highly recommend Wild. It fits somewhere outside the normal convention of film. It's a drama that isn't agonizing. It's a female-driven film that doesn't dwell in romance. It's a biographical memoir told in an unconventional way. This is what I like about independent films. Sometimes going just a few steps outside of the 'expectations box' can lead to wonderful things.
(X-post from Sarah Does Movies)

Rating: 4.5/5
IMDb - Wild (7.3)

87th Annual Academy Awards - The One Where They Forgot about Women

This week the prestigious annual Oscar nominations were revealed for the 2014 year in film.

In the past, there has been commentary about the quality of roles for women, and the lack of representation for women in the writing and directing categories. The awards have always been drama-heavy, almost creating it's own genre of Christmas released biopics. If we are being honest about what happens behind the curtain, then we can be honest about the way studios intentionally create "Oscar-dramas" then campaign to leverage wins. Thank Harvey Weinstein for that.

Last year was fortunate to have women nominated for writing, and Jennifer Lee won for her role writing and directing the animated feature Frozen. Several of the Best Picture nominees, like Her and Gravity actively featured women. A few years ago Katheryn Bigelow even won for Best Director. Against men! I know, pick your jaw up off the floor.

Unfortunately this year's crop are some of the least diverse awards in years. The writing categories snubbed some of this years talent, like Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and Ava DuVernay and Paul Webb for Selma. Ava DuVernay was also ignored in the Best Director category. This Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic should be the kind of film the Academy falls in love with, like last year's 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture Winner). Instead the general notion is that Selma was snubbed, only being nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song. Although not as favorited as Selma, some felt Angelina Jolie was deserving of a Best Director nomination for Unbroken. 

Best Picture

American Sniper

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Achievement in Directing

Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman

Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel

In the Acting categories we saw Jennifer Aniston get overlooked for her groundbreaking role in Cake. She's an actress I often dismiss for the "Rachel" typecast, but Cake turns her into a broken down, suicidal woman dealing with chronic pain. Both Amy Adams for Big Eyes and Emily Blunt for Into The Woods were considered front runners early on that got overlooked. While Julianne Moore and Marion Cotillard gave excellent performances, to be blunt, no one saw them. It's hard to get excited about a movie that didn't even make it to theaters. For a comparison, 4/5 of the Best Actor nominees were from Best Picture nominated movies. 1/5 of the Best Actress nominees were. 

Actress in a leading Role

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Actress in a Supporting Role

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Laura Dern (Wild)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

While Rosamund Pike picked up a Best Actress nom for Gone Girl the film was snubbed in all other categories. Similarly, Wild picked up acting nominations for Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, but nothing else. Both films should have been contenders for Best Picture. Interestingly, both films were produced by Witherspoon's newly founded production company Pacific Standard. Perhaps the takaway for her is that good movies aren't enough, political lobbying is needed for the win.

Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper (Jason Hall)

The Imitation Game (Graham Moore)

Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)

The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten)

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)

Original Screenplay

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo)

Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

Foxcatcher (E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)