This week is light for big releases, but it does offer one of last year’s big surprise Oscar Winners, and a classic that just turned 60. If you like barely memorable romantic comedies, this is a good week for older titles, and if you like a film that sticks with you for days on end, there’s at least one great documentary worth watching. Check out this week’s releases below…

New:

• The Darkest Hour: Each Christmas there’s usually some kind of film meant to be counter-programming – an exploitation film that’s an alternative to the big Oscar Hopefuls and family films. In 2011, that film was The Darkest Hour. It features Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby among others as a group of friends who go to Russia for a vacation, only to face an alien invasion/end of the world type situation. Unfortunately modern bad films/ B-movies aren’t so cheap that you can laugh at all of them. If this film had some rubber suit monsters, it might be more entertaining. Alas.
• Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life: Werner Herzog‘s documentary about the Death Penalty is profoundly effecting, though many might view it as propaganda. Perhaps we’re in a culture where there is no such thing as non-partisan documenting. Even if the maker comes to the subject matter with no agenda, and only comes to a conclusion at the end, it will be seen as a statement. But this is one of those films that cuts deep and makes you think about your beliefs, so it’s highly recommended for that.
• The Iron Lady: Though I wasn’t crazy about The Help, when Meryl Streep won Best Actress for this – for this – over Viola Davis, I was shocked and puzzled. The Iron Lady is a terrible Bio-pic about Margaret Thatcher, with Streep playing her in a film that covers her run of England through to her more recent years, where she may be suffering from dementia. It used to be that you could call something like this a TV movie of the week and everyone knew what you were talking about, but those don’t really exist any more. But this is a TV movie of the week, and it says nothing interesting about one of the most fascinating leaders of the 20th century – it exists solely to win Streep awards. In that it was successful.

Classics:

• Bounce, Kate and Leopold: Director’s Cut, Don Juan DeMarco, and The Truth About Cats & Dogs: I don’t know what about this time of year has unleashed these odd romantic comedies, but here we are. Of this lot, I’d say that Don Juan DeMarco is the best as it features a younger Johnny Depp and a bloated Marlon Brando in a reasonably charming little romantic comedy about the role of fantasy in love. And then in Bounce, that’s Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow in a film that tries to be as thoughtful meditation on death and romance. The others are forgettable.
• A Streetcar Named Desire: This was the film that launched Marlon Brando and Elia Kazan into prominence, and through this they became two of the most important artists in the 20th century. Based on the Tennessee Williams play, the film stars Vivian Leigh as Blanche DuBois, who is a delusional woman at odds with her brother in law Stanley (Brando). Though the play may have been neutered for its cinematic run, you watch Brando in this and you see that sometimes words are secondary. Brando is dangerous and sexy and rough and indelible. He is cinema. It’s a truly great performance, and well worth picking up to see what movies could only intimate sixty years ago.

What are you purchasing this week?

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In a year with a number of great movies, The Oscars mostly went for comfort food over bold decisions, but what else is to be expected at this point? It’s hard to be upset with a voting block that has – time and time again – picked nice and safe and maybe a little political over most of the films that tend to matter. When you look back at 1999, who still thinks American Beauty was the best of that year? And so – as expected – The Artist won big.

It’s usually easier to see the times that the Academy gets it right (say, the first two Godfathers, Annie Hall, No Country for Old Men) as happy accidents than view their picks as in any way definitive. And it’s much easier to watch the awards as a pageant for the famous. Speaking of nice and safe, Billy Crystal only sparked discussion when he trotted out one of his old impressions (Sammy Davis Jr.) for a joke that would have been better if it was funny. But from the opening montage of Crystal appearing in a number of the nominated films, there was a sense of confusion about what to do or say with this year in cinema. That happens when your front runner (and winner) is a black and white silent film that’s only grossed $30 Million so far (which is less than the grosses for the remake of Arthur and A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas), and the biggest films of the year were Harry Potter, Transformers, Twilight and Hangover sequels. Only one of the nominees had grossed over $100 Million domestic (The Help), so they went with a gay joke involving George Clooney and a motioned captured Crystal as Tintin.

Crystal returned to the jokes he’d done before as host – like the musical number – and watching Crystal’s heavily made up face served as a sad reminder of what fuels this town. It’s exactly what you liked before, only less so and covered in flop sweat. Still, for a ceremony that tends to go on and on, it should be said that the awards this year moved at a brisk clip.

It also started with one of the more notable upsets, as Robert Richardson won for Hugo – a prize that was supposedly going to go to either The Artist or Tree of Life. This gave a sense of hope that the Oscar prognosticators might have been wrong, and that The Artist was no longer the lock. And when The Girl With Dragon Tattoo won for editing, there was a hope that the metrics and analysis would also be off on some of the bigger prizes. Alas.

As with any year, there were the awards that seemed deserved, and there’s no arguing that A Separation is a worthy best foreign film winner. It’s hard to argue against Christopher Plummer getting the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award (and his work in Beginners was great), and Bret McKenzie’s win for his Muppets song made for one of the best moments of the night. And with these awards it’s good to enjoy those brief moments of good choices.

Though most of the presenters’ jokes fell flat (as is always the case), the videos had some good moments (though the montage of film seemed less focused than most youtube pastiches). Christopher Guest was commissioned to do a jokey sketch about test audiences from the past criticizing what happens in Wizard of Oz, and seeing his whole crew (Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Bob Balaban and Jennifer Coolidge) making jokes about monkeys was a bright spot, as was Brad Pitt reminiscing about War of the Gargantuans.

But as the show progressed, it moved toward the inevitable and The Artist started picking up awards. The most obnoxious was Ludovic Bource’s win for best Score, if only because it used a huge chunk of Bernard Herrmann’s work for Vertigo, and the composer didn’t thank him. It was expected, but after the early upsets I was hoping for just one more.

The best speeches – it turned out – were by the people who said little to nothing. The sight of Octavia Spencer as a blubbering mess was more endearing than the list of people she reeled off, while Jim Rash won the night by striking a sexy pose in mockery of Angelina Jolie. Woody Allen – as has been his custom since he was first nominated – didn’t bother to come, which moved things along nicely.

Perhaps the biggest and most disappointing upset of the night was held nearly for last when Meryl Streep won for The Iron Lady over Viola Davis. Though it was in the cards, the downside to The Iron Lady‘s two wins mean that more people might actually see the movie. Like so many Oscar winners, Streep’s award seemed to be not for the movie itself so much as the idea of Streep.

But it also points out what is the most important part of winning Oscars now: Campaigning, and having Harvey Weinstein in your corner is worth more than greatness. His company was the biggest winner of the night, and it’s the only way to explain how Michel Hazanavicius won over such great directors as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Alexander Payne and Woody Allen. It’s harder to be upset that Jean Dujardin triumphed over George Clooney – the only other “real” contender for best actor when it was evident that Gary Oldman never stood a chance. But when Natalie Portman addressed him you could hear the collective world thinking “oh yeah, The Professional” in response. Dujardin’s win seems to suggest he’ll show up in at least three American movies and then fade into a trivia question, but still – it was his night.

By the time The Artist was crowned best picture, all one could do is enjoy that James Cromwell had taken to the stage, and move on to something else. In year where cinema is quickly moving from 35mm film to digital, movie stars can’t open pictures, and the industry busies itself with sequels/prequels/reboots and board game adaptations, the academy chose to honor a film that tells the fake history of itself. Like Slumdog Millionaire or The King’s Speech before it, this win now anoints it as something that will be watched in the future only by people who like watching Oscar winners or film students.

What was your favorite win of the night?

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The award season is getting close to wrapping up, and – as expected – Michel Hazanavicius‘s The Artist is continuing to sweep. Its latest victory was at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts film awards, where it walked away with seven prizes, including best film, director, screenplay and best actor for Jean Durjardin‘s lead performance. Meryl Streep‘s win for The Iron Lady was the only upset of the usual winners (beating Viola Davis), but Octavia Spencer  for The Help and Christopher Plummer for Beginners were also awarded, which goes with most of the major awards to date. Check out the full list…

At this point, the winners for the Oscars seem on lock. Davis will likely have a stronger chance in America, simply because Streep playing Margaret Thatcher was going to have a higher pull in England, and it appears the only drama in the night will be the best Actress and Actor awards. George Clooney could sneak in there as the winner, but The Artist is proving unstoppable, and it seems that Dujardin will trump Clooney – who can lick his wounds by already having one Oscar (on top of, you know, being George Clooney).

Currently The Artist is playing on 808 screens nation-wide and has made $24 Million, and may expand once it wins some of those Oscars. That said, it seems unlikely this will do the business of The King’s Speech (which made $135 Million), as it already has a DVD and Blu-ray release date of April 24.

Here’s the full list:

BEST FILM

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Drive
• The Help
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

BEST ACTOR

• George Clooney – The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin – The Artist
• Michael Fassbender – Shame
• Brad Pitt – Moneyball
• Gary Oldman – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

BEST ACTRESS

• Berenice Bejo - The Artist
• Viola Davis – The Help
• Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
• Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin
• Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

BEST DIRECTOR

• Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
• Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
• Martin Scorsese – Hugo
• Tomas Alfredson – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Arthur Christmas
• Rango

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne – The Descendants
• Tate Taylor – The Help
• George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides of March
• Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball
• Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
• Kristin Wiig, Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids
• John Michael McDonagh – The Guard
• Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady
• Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• George Harrison: Living In A Material World
• Project Nim
• Senna

RISING STAR AWARD

• Adam Deacon
• Chris Hemsworth
• Tom Hiddleston
• Chris O’Dowd
• Eddie Redmayne

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO FILM
John Hurt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
• Jim Broadbent – The Iron Lady
• Jonah Hill – Moneyball
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Ides of March
• Christopher Plummer – Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Carey Mulligan – Drive
• Jessica Chastain – The Help
• Judi Dench – My Week With Marilyn
• Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
• Octavia Spencer – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• My Week With Marilyn
• Senna
• Shame
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• We Need To Talk About Kevin

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• War Horse

BEST DEBUT BY A BRITISH DIRECTOR, WRITER OR PRODUCER

• Richard Ayoade – Submarine
• Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw – Tyrannosaur
• Joe Cornish – Attack the Block
• Ralph Fiennes – Coriolanus
• Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, Sarah Brocklehurst – Black Pond

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• Incendies
• Pina
• Potiche
• A Separation
• The Skin I Live In

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• The Artist
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• My Week With Marilyn
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• The Iron Lady
• My Week With Marilyn

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The Artist
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• War Horse

BEST FILM EDITING

• The Artist
• Drive
• Hugo
• Senna
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

BEST SOUND

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

• Ludovic Bource – The Artist
• Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Howard Shore – Hugo
• Alberto Iglesias – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• John Williams – War Horse

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• War Horse

BEST SHORT ANIMATED FILM

• Abuelas
• Bobby Yeah
• A Morning Stroll

BEST SHORT FILM

• Chalk
• Mwansa The Great
• Only Sound Remains
• Pitch Black Heist
• Two And Two

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David Frankel will once again join forces with his The Devil Wears Prada star Meryl Streep for his upcoming film Great Hope Springs. According to THR, Springs is a comedy that will focus on a couple and their long running relationship. Who will play Streep’s significant other? That info hasn’t been released but it needs to be someone extremely talented. Jack Nicholson are you up for this?

Great Hope Springs “centers on a middle-aged couple who after thirty years of marriage attend an intense counseling weekend to examine the intimacy issues that are threatening their marriage.” The script was written by Vanessa Taylor, and was previously on The Black List.

The movie is a Mandate Pictures production and the studio expects filming to begin in August of this year. Streep is currently shooting the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady in London. This morning we got our first look at her in the premiere role and she definitely looks the part.

After nearly 40 years on the big screen, Streep is still a busy lady. We can’t wait to see who else will join the cast. They need to bring out the big guns for this one.

What do you think of the Streep and Frankel joining forces — again?

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Meryl Streep is at it again. The Oscar winning actress is set to receive more critical acclaim after she appears in the upcoming film, The Iron Lady. It’s a biopic that centers on Margaret Thatcher, which means it’s politically driven and has some strong material. Over at Deadline, they got first dibs on the premiere photo of Streep as Thatcher and it’s eerie. Check out the full sized photo below…

The Iron Lady tells the story of the woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and insightful portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

Jim Broadbent co-stars as Thatcher’s husband Dennis. The screenplay was written by Abi Morgan and the film will be directed by Phyllida Law, who also helmed Mamma Mia! The production is in its second week of shooting in London and according to Streep, “I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses – I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own.”

What do you think of Streep as Thatcher? Is she a good fit?

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I know a lot of actors and actresses who say that “they won’t do web shows,” as if it’s beneath them or something. Well it’s not beneath Meryl Streep so I think everyone else can just shut up for a moment. Being known as the number one actress working today doesn’t stop Academy Award winner Meryl Streep from doing fun guest appearances on the premiere of Lisa Kudrow‘s new web series, Web Therapy. Streep plays Camilla Bowner, a famed sexual orientation therapist, who is a bit “simple” and is currently seeking her own therapy sessions with Fiona, the online NY therapist played by Kudrow.

This week Streep appeared for the the first time on Lisa Kudrow’s online series “Web Therapy.” Check out a clip from the first show below…

Go Lisa Kudrow for scoring such an impressive first guest! This is a great way to get you show known! And despite it just being made by people with big names it looks quite funny actually. I’ll definitely be tuning in to see the next episode later today.

The show premiered on November 8th with Kudrow and Streep facing off. Streep will have two more episodes on the show which will be available on November 10th and 12th on LStudio.com.

Will you be tuning in? Do you think this was a good move for the Streeper?

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What would happen if the Queen of Daytime, joined forces with the greatest actress alive and America’s sweetheart? Would the world implode? I guess we’ll find out with the upcoming comedy from Sex and the City director Michael Patrick King. The project is currently untitled but it will star Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, and Sandra Bullock.

The film will be set in the world of “home shopping” and center on three characters who were written specifically with Winfrey, Bullock, and Streep in mind. Seriously, they’ll pretty much be playing over exaggerated versions of themselves in the movie. The story will follow the women as they maneuver around marketing, marriage, and media. As if they don’t all know a little something about that.

Now that Winfrey’s talk show is in its final season, she could spare a few months to shoot a feature film. The movie will be produced by Scott Stuber and distributed through Universal Pictures.

We wonder who they’ll get to play the husbands of these women? They’re all very strong and opinionated. They’ll need some men who won’t disappear into the background when sharing a scene.

What do you think of the premise and the cast of this film?

Source: Coming Soon

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Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep will be teaming up for a project together called August: Osage County. If the title sounds familiar it’s because it’s a feature adaptation of the play of the same name. Both actresses have previously appeared on the Broadway stage and are definitely capable of handling the material.

According to a report from Deadline, Roberts and Streep have been confirmed as the stars of The Weinstein Company’s big screen adaptation of the Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play. The project has won more than its fair share of accolades and now these two Oscar winning actresses will try their hand at it.

The story for Osage County centers on a family in turmoil thanks to their drug addicted matriarch. Streep will play the mother in question, Violet Weston while “Roberts will play Barbara Fordham, the oldest daughter in the family. While mom’s problems and her penchant for revealing family secrets is a big issue, Barbara is melting because her husband is cheating with a college student. They are brought together when Violet’s husband goes missing and all three of their daughters come home to rally around mom.”

As you all know whenever families get together after years apart the sh*t always hits the fan and that’s exactly what will happen here. John Wells will direct the film from a script written by the playwright.

What do you think of Roberts and Streep playing mother and daughter?

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This movie is too good to be true. Everytime Meryl Streep teams up with Stanley Tucci magic happens. Whatever those two have, they should bottle it and sell it at a ridiculously high price — I’d buy it! According to THR, the Oscar winning actress and the Oscar nominated actor will reunite for the mother-daughter comedy, Mommy & Me co-starring Tina Fey.

Sony Pictures has picked up the film that puts a spotlight on the thorny and funny sides of mother-daughter relationships. The main storyline is being kept under wraps but it’s safe to say that Streep will be playing Fey’s mother. Not only is Tucci on board to direct Mommy & Me but he’s also an executive producer along with Steve Buscemi and Joshua Astrachan. As in actor Steve Buscemi!

At the moment it’s unclear if Tucci will also appear onscreen or stay behind the scenes for the movie. He’s previously starred opposite Streep in The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia. Come on Tucci, make lucky number 3 Mommy & Me. Those two have amazing chemistry…best friend chemistry.

What do you think of the cast and crew of Mommy & Me? Are you interested in seeing the film?

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Meryl Streep continues to dominate the actress market in Hollywood by taking on the most intriguing roles. According to THR, the Oscar winner is looking to star in a biopic for her next project. She’ll appear as one of the most well known women in world history. She’s landed the lead in Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady based on the controversial and long-governing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The Iron Lady “tells the story of a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and insightful portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.” The screenplay was written by Abi Morgan.

At the moment Jim Broadbent in is talks to play Thatcher’s husband Denis in the production that’s being co-produced and co-financed by Pathe and Film4. Streep is no stranger to the biopic genre and knows a thing or two about playing powerful women on screen. If only the rest of the actresses in Hollywood could follow suit and demand such a high grade of material.

What do you think of Streep playing Margaret Thatcher? Do you think she can pull it off?

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Last fall, director Wes Anderson did what most people considered the impossible. He adapted the short Roald Dahl story of Fantastic Mr. Fox and turned it into a feature length film. Instead of taking the ever popular route of using CGI, he decided to bring the characters to life with stop motion animation. He also got an A-list cast led by Oscar winners George Clooney and Meryl Streep to voice Mr. Fox and his long suffering wife. So the question is does Fantastic Mr. Fox deserves a spot in your DVD collection?

The Players:

• Director: Wes Anderson
• Writers: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
• Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson

The Plot:

Mr. Fox (Clooney) is an animal that’s wild by nature but forced into a life of domestication when his wife Felicity (Streep) announces that she’s pregnant with their first child. Fox reluctantly agrees to give up his shady ways to become a family man that she and their son can be proud of. Unfortunately after years of living on the straight and narrow he begins to get the itch for mischief and makes a plan to rob the meanest, nastiest and ugliest farmers in the valley, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. With his careless antics in full swing everyone he loves ends up in danger causing him to finally grow up and change his foxy ways.

The Good:

• Behind the Animation: In the DVD Extras there are two amazing behind the scenes featurettes that give us an inside look at how the film was made. You see how far Anderson and his crew went to make things happen, for example the director showed video of himself acting out certain scenes and sent them to the animators so they could match up the movements he wanted with the puppets. It’s really interesting to see how everything thing was made from the various sets to fur on Mr. Fox’s face.
• Behind the Direction: Wes Anderson went above and beyond critical expectations with Fantastic Mr. Fox. Even though the characters are puppets, their movements and emotions appear tangible and somewhat human. The vocal performances match up perfectly with what we see on screen and that’s due to Anderson’s vision of making them as life-like as possible.
• From the Script to Screen: The original Fantastic Mr. Fox story isn’t that long and with this DVD extra you get to hear from the writers themselves on how they adapted it for film. They approached it from a trilogy stand point, which is an interesting concept that Anderson expands on during the segment.

The Bad:

• None: The movie was great and the behind the scenes material is amazing.

Overall:

After seeing Fantastic Mr. Fox in theaters a lot us walked out thinking, “How did they do that?” This DVD answers that question in spades. You see the production crew, eat, sleep, and breathe this movie and at one point you even catch Wes Anderson doing storyboards in his robe. This DVD is definitely worth the money.

Rating: 10/10

The Fantastic Mr. Fox DVD is on sale now, and don’t forget to check out ScreenCrave’s full review of the film.

Trailer:

Are you interested in buying Fantastic Mr. Fox on DVD?

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Although I was a bit surprised to see Sandra Bullock take the Oscar last night (she did do a fine job in The Blind Side, but I was rooting for new-comer Carey Mulligan or my favorite Helen Mirren), I will say she gave one damn fine speech, one with a bit of humility, a few jokes, acceptance of her peers, a message to the mothers of adopted parents and then a WHOLE lotta talk about making out with the Streeper.

I may be totally behind but I got a littler bit confused when Bullock mentioned for the third time what a great kisser Meryl Streep was, so I did a little digging and I found what I was looking for, a photo of what looks like Bullock forcing her face on Streep’s as they tied at the Critic’s Choice Awards. What I’m sure was a tiny peck turned into a whole lot of gossip with the wrong (or right depending on your preference) angle and a stop in time…

Well Bullock, way to make lemon’s out of lemonade, face the gossip rags and even get a few good laughs from Streep and the audience as you win your first Oscar. Well done! And you got to make out with Meryl Streep to boot… not bad lady, not bad!

For those of you who may have missed Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech or would like to hear it again, we have it for you right here…

Further Reading:

• List of Oscar Winning Films – Best Director Winners
• List of Oscar Winning Films – Best Picture Winners
• List of Oscar Winning Films – Best Original Screenplay
• List of Oscar Winning Films – Best Adapted Screenplay

What do you think of Bullock’s way of tackling her kiss with Streep head on?

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