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Commentary: The two sides of race at the Oscars
What does it mean that a virtually all-black movie made the final cut of 10 for the best picture Oscar this year and would surely have made the traditional cut of five? “Precious’’ has no white stars. Its nominated director and screenwriter are black, as is the author of its source material (in case you haven’t heard, it’s “based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire’’). The movie tells the story of an overweight, illiterate teenager, pregnant with her second child (both of which are her missing father’s). It’s grim and, up to a point, sad.
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Bullock wins best actress Oscar for portraying Memphian Tuohy in 'Blind Side'
Sandra Bullock paid her dues in Hollywood for more than 20 years. She was rewarded Sunday, winning the Best Actress Oscar for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy, a tough white Memphian who adopted a black child in “The Blind Side.” Bullock had repeatedly said she didn’t think she was going to win, although the 45-year-old actress was a heavy favorite. “Did I really earn this, or did I just wear y’all down?” she said after accepting the golden statue from Sean Penn.
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Beat Beifuss at the Oscars: Will this critic be thrashed?
If front-runner Sandra Bullock wins the Oscar tonight for Best Actress, as expected, will she be the first performer in Academy Awards history to be rewarded for portraying a Memphian? That seems to be the case, according to local Academy expert Charlie Lambert, a cinephile who has seen each of the 1,214 movies that has been nominated for one of the "big six" Oscars since the "Academy Awards of Merit" first were presented in 1929.
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Oscar night: 'Blind Side' role suits Memphis actress well
A lot of Memphis women have a rooting interest in "The Blind Side," which tonight vies for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress.
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'Elvis,' again: Hit made-for-TV biopic now out on eagerly awaited DVD
Long-sought by fans, "Elvis", the first movie about the king of rock, made its overdue DVD debut Tuesday, on the Shout! Factory label. The sympathetic ABC made-for-TV movie became one of the highest-rated films ever when it aired on Feb. 11, 1979, less than 18 months after the singer's shocking death at the age of 42. The disc (list-priced at $19.98) offers the full 148-minute "theatrical" version, and includes a commentary track.
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Filmmaker Spike Lee to speak at University of Memphis
Producer, director, writer, actor and provocateur Spike Lee will give a free public talk on the image of black America and the politics of film and media at 7:30 p.m. March 17 in the Michael D. Rose Theatre at the University of Memphis. Lee’s Oscar-aftermath talk is perfectly timed for a movie season that has seen much debate about the portrayal of black characters in three of this year’s Best Picture nominees, “The Blind Side,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and “District 9.”
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Movie Capsules: Now showing
Capsule descriptions and starred mini-reviews by The Commercial Appeal movie writer John Beifuss.
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Movie Review: 'The White Ribbon' a tale of innocence lost on eve of war
A tale of "strange events" set in a small German village on the eve of the First World War, "The White Ribbon" — a nominee for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film — is a typically engrossing mystery — or should that be anti-mystery? — from Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke.
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Movie Review: Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' a somewhat-tired spectacle
The director is ready for the naysayers. As Alice herself says in the film, speaking for the auteur: "This is my dream. I'll decide where it goes from here." Another line is an encouragement from Burton to himself, and to his fans: "You're mad, bonkers, off your head — but I'll tell you a secret: All the best people are."
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News in the Arts: Sivad inspires festive takeoff on art, culture
Memphis has long enjoyed a variety of unique cultural celebrations, from Africa in April to Memphis in May. Now, a group of local film fans and pop-culture enthusiasts have organized a festival dubbed "The Sivads of March." The event will serve as a public tribute to the late Watson Davis, the Malco ad executive who, as Sivad, "the Monster of Ceremonies," was host of the "Fantastic Features" horror movie program on WHBQ-TV Channel 13 from 1962 to 1972.
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Movie Capsules: Now showing
Crazy Heart (R, 112 min.) As "Bad Blake," a broke, alcoholic country singer-songwriter nicknamed "the Wrangler of Love," Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges brings all his four decades of deceptively casual charm and unpretentious smarts to what is proving to be his signature role. Adapted by debuting director Scott Cooper from a novel by Thomas Cobb, the film is something of an anomaly on the current movie landscape.
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Film Review: 'Last Station' stopped in its tracks
The Oscar-nominated performances of doubtful Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer and unlikely Best Actress Helen Mirren are the best reasons to see "The Last Station," a chronicle of the final days in the life of Leo Tolstoy, the famed author of such Russian masterpieces as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina." Adapted from a 1990 novel by Jay Parini, the movie falls well short of its lofty ambition.
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Thebloodshoteye.com: Variety reviews McCarthy's 'Cigarette Girl'
Good news for Memphis moviemaker Mike McCarthy: Tuesday (Feb.23), he earned a mixed but helpful review from Variety, the show business Bible, for his latest movie, "Cigarette Girl," on the occasion of its screening for buyers at the European Film Market at the prestigious Berlinale, or Berlin International Film Festival.
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News in the arts: Oscar party benefits 'home away from home'
In a contest for Best Local Charity Event, a likely nominee would be the annual Oscar Night America Party, a black-tie gala that benefits Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. This year's ninth annual party -- one of 50 such events officially sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- begins at 6 p.m. March 7 (Oscar night) at Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison. Tickets are $100 each.
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With few notable exceptions, 2009 films ignored African-Americans
Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood issue features Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe on the inside, and not among the nine white ingenues on the cover. Whatever progress American society may be making, too few black films are released to provide the diversity that would make a more inclusive gallery of starlets a matter of course. With the notable exception of Sidibe’s “Precious,” nominated for best picture and best director, the roster of 2009 movies reflecting African-American life was thin and unimpressive.
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Film Review: "Blood Don't Sign My Name" could be good teaching tool
Sincere and nicely produced on a modest budget, “Blood Done Sign My Name” chronicles a relatively little-known tragedy of the late civil rights era: The 1970 Emmett Till-like murder of a young black Vietnam veteran accused of the “crime” of flirting with a white woman. As one character points out, the victim, Henry Darrow (A.C. Sanford), survived the Viet Cong only to be beaten and killed in his own hometown.
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Locally filmed "A Fine Step" has lots of horsepower
The producers of "A Fine Step," a film now shooting in Shelby County, weren't expecting snow and ice for their first weekend in Memphis. The winter weather had the crew scrambling to make the best of a tough situation. But the movie's star -- a proud and strikingly tall, dark and handsome newcomer -- rolled with the changes like a pro. Cast in the film's heroic lead role is a debuting motion-picture performer named Substituto -- a 5-year-old champion Paso Fino stallion.
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