Filmtalk

I'm breaking the blogging silence because I have too many recent thoughts on film to keep quiet anymore. In the new version of my website (coming soon! really!), I plan on devoting an entire section to film essays and reviews. This is more or less a preview, I suppose.

I generally don't talk about many Oscar specifics because I usually haven't managed to see all of the nominated work by the time of the ceremony. It used to be because I was stranded in the rural midwest with little access to quality first-run movies, and now has become the plight of the working mother who rarely gets to the theater. This time around I had only seen The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine (loved and liked, respectively). I was uninspired by most of the nominations, though. The one good thing about not being familiar with award show movies is that it's a nice primer on what to check out next. The Oscars, however, rarely give me anything that I a) don't already have on my list, and b) have any interest in whatsoever.

In that respect, the Independent Spirit Awards generally come through a little more successfully. This year, I added many titles to my must-see list from their nomination list. I noticed, though, that most of the awards simply went to the most financially successful films (i.e., Sunshine, which, yes, I liked, but did not feel to be a really great film). Coincidence, hopefully. But a bit disappointing when many rely on the Spirit Awards to stand up against the cash-driven big studio system.

I think there was still plenty of that rebellious spirit evident at these awards though. Worth quoting, winner of best foreign film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: "Follow your own voice. Don't make a film by committee. There's a simple way to get that done: downscale the budget. When you work on a small budget the people you are working with are not in it for the money. They're fine with being exploited as long as you're exploiting yourself."

Although - hurray for Scorsese, huh? Blogger Tom Hall sums it up nicely.

In related news, I am rejoicing in my new Netflix subscription, which is finally allowing me to catch up on my movies. Recently: The Illusionist (lovely), The Notorious Bettie Page (interesting), and Brick (fantastic, and deserving of a forthcoming full review.)

I have all sorts of things planned for my film section once the new website is launched. Those of you who always skipped over my cinematic ramblings may start cringing now. But look on the bright side - at least soon they'll be quarantined in their own, airtight column and that much more easily avoided. And you can enjoy my rambling on all other topics in peace.