24 March 2009
Harvey Milk
This 1984 Academy Award winning documentary by Rob Epstein (The Celluloid Closet) is a stirring testament to civil rights campaigner Harvey Milk and a superb companion piece to the recent Gus Van Sant film Milk. However The Times of Harvey Milk delves much further into the political and social significance of what Milk did and what he stood for. Milk was an openly gay man who campaigned on behalf of all minorities. Combining an abundance of archival footage and insightful interviews, Epstein reveals how Milk’s presence in City Hall allowed the “little people” of San Francisco to finally feel connected to the political process.
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DVD review | Tagged: Academy Awards, documentary, Gus Van Sant, Harvey Milk, Milk, Rob Epstein, The Celluloid Closet, The Times of Harvey Milk | 
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Posted by Thomas Caldwell
24 February 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
Go straight to the list of Award winners
Who would have thought that getting a host who was not a comedian would make such a difference to the Academy Awards ceremony? Hugh Jackman on first glance may not have seemed like an obvious choice but when you realise that he comes from the old-school showman song and dance tradition, it makes perfect sense. Jackman’s funny, warm and self deprecating opening set the tone for a ceremony that was fun, light and mostly free of awkward moments.
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4 Comments | Film awards | Tagged: Academy Awards, Dustin Lance Black, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, Mickey Rourke, Milk, Penélope Cruz, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader | Permalink
Posted by Thomas Caldwell
19 February 2009
Dev Patel as Jamal and Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar from Slumdog Millionaire
As promised in my piece about the Academy Award nominees, here are my predictions for who I think will win the major awards and who I think should win the awards this Sunday night. If this year is like any other year then I will be way off the mark, but that’s not going to stop me from still having a go.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Reader and Milk are really the two most deserving films nominated but given the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire and it’s current winning streak at other awards then I think it is going to be the film that takes home the prize.
Predicted to win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should win: The Reader or Milk
Would annoy me if it won: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and frankly, despite initially liking it, the fuss over Slumdog Millionaire is starting to really turn me against it.
Also nominated: Frost/Nixon
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4 Comments | Film awards | Tagged: Academy Awards, Danny Boyle, Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, Milk, Penélope Cruz, Revolutionary Road, Sean Penn, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader | Permalink
Posted by Thomas Caldwell
29 January 2009
Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz in The Reader
The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards have recently been released and like most critics and film buffs that I know I am far more interested and excited by the outcome than I like to admit. The Academy Awards are notoriously political, conservative and populist, and are rarely a barometer of good quality filmmaking. In just the past ten years two extremely average films (Shakespeare in Love and Crash) and four popular good-but-not-that-great films (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) have won the Best Motion Picture of the Year award. But then again, American Beauty very much deserved its win and I was also pleased when Million Dollar Baby won. The last two years have actually seen awards go to deserving recipients across the board and giving the top prize to The Departed and No Country for Old Men made me think that the standards have lifted at the Academy.
I’ll post another piece closer to the time with my notoriously inaccurate predictions about who will win and who I think should win, but for now I thought I’d share my thoughts about the actual nominations.
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9 Comments | Film awards | Tagged: Academy Awards, Changeling, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Wrestler, WALL·E | Permalink
Posted by Thomas Caldwell
27 January 2009
Harvey Milk (Sean Penn)
Milk is a civil rights film about Harvey Milk, a prominent American gay rights activist in the 1970s who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Harvey’s story of overcoming bigotry and prejudice to inspire others and effect change evokes the better-known stories of African American civil rights activists who fought different types of persecution. As a member of the gay and lesbian community Harvey faced particular challenges. Police brutality, fear of violence, death threats, suicide and anti-homosexual hysteria fuelled by the religious right were all aspects of Harvey’s life. Milk is also a fascinating examination of the political process and it is a lot of fun witnessing Harvey’s transformation from hedonistic hippy into a slick, media savvy orator.
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Comments Off on Film review – Milk (2008) | Film review | Tagged: Danny Elfman, Gus Van Sant, Harvey Milk, James Franco, Milk, Paranoid Park, Sean Penn | Permalink
Posted by Thomas Caldwell
