Half Glass Beats Full

February 24, 2015 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Ulalume |

The full glass (The Ritz Bros. photographed by William P. Gottlieb)

In the wake of the banal, humour-free and self-aggrandizing gang-bang that is the Academy Awards, we are reminded of a scene from Tropic Thunder in which Ben Stiller, conversing with Robert Downey Jnr., regrets the failure of his dramatic film, Simple Jack.  Stiller complained that  “I did the work.”  Downey points out the tactical error of going Full Glass instead of Half Glass, adding “Ask Sean Penn, 2001, I Am Sam.  Remember? … Went home empty-handed.” Downey cited Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump and Peter Sellers in Being There as examples of acclaimed or Oscar-winning half…

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Oscars – the people aren’t right

February 23, 2015 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | FILM, Ulalume |

Kevin Marc is as shocked as us at some of the Academy's choices...

It is timely, in this awards season, to recall that Aristotle suggested the three bad forms of governance were tyranny, oligarchy and democracy.  With these matters in mind, let us roam at random over some of the choices (for best picture) of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. To judge film awards, you presumably have to have clear criteria and then see everything.  This is not feasible or even sensible.  To make an appraisal, you have to be a ‘stakeholder’ in the proper sense of the word – in other words, be completely disinterested.  This is not feasible or…

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The Candidate

February 20, 2015 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | American Politics, Drama Film, THUMBNAIL REVIEWS |

(Dir. Michael Ritchie) (1972) Before he signed on as that perennial emblem, Bastard Dad, in the shrill and leaden “comedy series”, Everybody Loves Raymond, Peter Boyle did some interesting stuff: Joe, Taxi Driver, and in particular, his role here as a political Svengali to neophyte golden-boy Robert Redford in his against-the-odds shot at the California Senate race. Fascinating depiction of a modern campaign’s trajectory, with strong performances by supporting players Boyle, Allan Garfield as a bumptious PR guy, Melvyn Douglas as the candidate’s former Governor Father, and Don Porter as the formidable Republican opponent seeking yet another term.  Highly watchable,…

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What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

February 18, 2015 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Classic Film, Drama Film, THUMBNAIL REVIEWS |

(Dir. Robert Aldrich) (1962)   I’ve written a letter to Bobby, With grotesques he was deeply in love, “Bob, which of Joan or dear Bette Was easiest for you to shove?” On piano, you drafted big Victor The Warners said “Buono, he’ll do”, I’ve written a letter to Bobby Saying “What a stew”; I’ve drafted a notice to Bobby Telling him he’s through.   [TVC note: for all the Grand Guignol of her later performances, TVC considers Bette Davis an authentic star and pretty good actress to boot – e.g. All About Eve, Dark Victory, Of Human Bondage, Now Voyager, The Little…

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Eugene Onegin

February 16, 2015 | Posted by Peter Jakobsen | Opera, Ulalume |

Painting by Ilya Repin, 1899

Tchaikovsky’s great opera (1879), with a libretto largely lifted from Pushkin’s epic poem, is a snow-filled but overheated saga of frustrated amour.  TVC has never seen a live performance and has no plans to visit Russia in order to do so.  The 1988 Decca DVD, directed by Peter Weigl with Sir Georg Solti conducting the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, reveals one of the enduring problems with opera as film as opposed to the Opera House.  It sounds good and it looks good but, alas, not at the same time. The film treatment, while a little static, soars above the…

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