Tuesday Top Ten: MADONNA Day!

Madonna then'ish and now'ish.

Has anyone hogged more mental, academic, celebrity, music, sexual and pop culture real estate combined than Madonna over the last 25+ years? I think not. We salute the Queen today on her birthday. August 16th ought to be an international holiday. Make it happen, citizens of earth.

So herewith two top ten lists and one of them is catered specifically to The Film Experience so as to make this post more at home! Madonna has had a problematic journey with film, aside from three indisputable highlights: time capsule 80s comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), the wondrous super quotable documentary Truth or Dare (1991) and her Golden Globe win as Evita (1996). Will she be able to add a fourth success to that list when her Oscar-seeking directorial effort W.E. (2011) comes out? [All previous posts on W.E.]

Two+ Lists If You Continue...

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Foreign Oscar Track: Israel and Norway

Two more countries, neither of which have ever won the Foreign Film Prize in Hollywood, have announced their finalists lists.

We'll take Norway first since it's less popular with Oscar (5 nominations) and because I stand humbly before you to say I was wrong. My conjecture about what might be submitted -- other than the new Joachim Trier -- was quite wobbly. The three finalists are not the biggies from the Amanda awards but Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. august) which we briefly discussed, Anne Sewitsky’s Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig) and Jens Lien’s Sons of Norway (Sønner av Norge). While Trier has the highest international profile, that doesn't always equate with submission choice. Happy Happy is a very frisky marital comedy (I ♥ the trailer) and Sons of Norway is a punk rock coming of age film that even features a cameo from Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten. Neither of the trailers are subtitled and both feature nudity but if you want to see them they're here: Happy Happy and Sons of Norway.

Award winning filmmaker Joseph CedarIsrael, which has been nominated nine times (and thrice consecutively in recent years), just announced the nominees for their Oscars, the Ophir Awards.  This is always the list they pull from for their Best Foreign Language Film submission so it's probably going to be the 13 times nominated (whew) frontrunner Joseph Cedar's Footnote which played at Cannes winning the Screenplay award but garnering somewhat mixed reviews. It's about feuding father and son professors at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Writer/director Joseph Cedar, who was actually born here in New York City, was previously nominated for the soldier drama Beaufort (2007). 

But if there's a dark horse submission it'll be one of these four: Yossi Madmoni's Restoration, Nadav Lapid's Policeman (Ha-Shoter) Marco Carmel's My Lovely Sister or Maya Kenig's Off White Lies... all of which are more difficult to find info on then the Norwegian films at this point.

Slowly Evolving Oscar Foreign Film Pages Are Here.

Curio: When Madonna Was Breathless

Alexa here. Madonna turns 53 today. Her profile seems relatively low-key lately; sometimes I feel like I'm reading more about Lourdes than her mom.  But this bit of kitsch I saw for sale on etsy the other day brought me back to the days of the Madonna media juggernaut.

That's right, a set of Dick Tracy and Breathless Mahoney dolls from 1990.  Yes, I am old enough to remember seeing this movie in the theater. A month prior to its release I had tickets to Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour and alas, she canceled because of throat issues (later memorably documented in Truth or Dare).  At the time, Madonna called Dick Tracy the "best movie I've ever been in." After lining up to see it opening night I strongly disagreed, and not just because I was still stung by her concert cancellation.  This was Warren Beatty telling a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. 

Madonna Marble!There are quite a few Dick Tracy curios up for sale now, including an opening night t-shirt (that acted as your admission ticket for midnight screenings), marbles, and a scarf.  

It's hilarious to see this tie-in merchandise so long after a film has come and gone. You can see how strong the studio backing was, how high hopes were for a franchise.  And today, I'd probably rather watch Filth and Wisdom than sit through Dick Tracy again. 

Thoroughly Modern

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True Blood 4.8 "Spellbound"

Possessing Ghosts. Confused Mediums. Witchy Necromancers. Restless Werewolves. Angry Humans. Ambivalent Vampires. Horny Shifters. Horny Sookie. True Blood is hugely crowded this year. And busy. There's as many plot elements as characters.

You dropped something.

True Blood Season 4 has thrown a lot of balls in the air but remarkably the only one it seems to have dropped is the one it needed to (were-panthers). All hell broke loose on Sunday night's episode so now the show is not only juggling but juggling while running at vamp speed. 

"Spellbound"
"Did I do that?" Jessica asked over the bloody body of Bill's guard Bucky after Jason saves her from self-immolation (see last week). Yup. Another thing for her to cry those bloody tears about. In many ways, Jessica is the most human of all the characters this season, continually plagued by self-doubt, regret and romantic confusion. She thinks about her actions and their affect on people. Like Hoyt.

Poor little-boy Hoyt... 

Please love me!

Or is it... Cruel big-man Hoyt?

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