Curio: Orphan Elliott on Film

Alexa here. I've been following the work of Mat Hudson, a.k.a. Orphan Elliott, for some time.  Mat is an illustrator and designer living in the state of Washington.  He does some of the finest pop culture illustrations out there; if you love Gogol Bordello, Martin Starr, or Buffy, his work will be right up your alley. He also does marvelous film portraits and posters, and has a bit of an obsession with David Lynch.  You can buy prints here.  When I saw that he posterized Cassavetes' Gloria, I knew I had to buy one.  

David

Woody

Gloria poster

The Body Bale

The good folks over at /Film published this neat infographic on Christian Bale's body created by /Film reader Matt Ellerbrock.

The weight information is priceless but there's something very wrong with the chart: Bale is wearing clothes in half the photos. Plus there's no American Psycho (2000). No overview of The Body Bale, in sickness and in health, is complete without it.

American Psycho (2000). lbs: Oh, like it matters.

You're welcome.

When Bale wins the Supporting Actor Oscar on February 27th, do you think he'll finally stop this dangerous yoyo'ing for art? Normally we're all for suffering for your art but Bale takes it so far it's more like torture for art's sake which is way less glamorous than traditional respectable "suffering". Bale will return to buff form for one last go at Batman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) but as of right now he's filming Zhang Yimou's The 13 Women of Nanjing (2011). We'd like to say that he's already in peak shape again but since he's playing a war refugee struggling heroically to save schoolchildren we suspect the weight loss continues. Nevertheless we're excited for the film since Zhang Yimou makes frequently excellent movies .

Best of 2010: Honorable Mentions

Before we begin, new readers take note: This is but the beginning of The Film Experience year-in-review kudos. It goes on for some time because we're giddy and OCD like that when it comes to recognizing great work. The "Film Bitch Awards" title is misleading and an old joke from college. We don't look down at the movies through our noses, but look up at the silver screen in reverie.

Here's a quick overview of well-loved films outside of the top ten (make that a top thirteen, coming tomorrow). Don't we all ♥ more than ten films a year?

Best Documentaries
I don't include documentaries in my top ten -- a personal quirk since they're a different artform with wildly different goals -- but if I did include them, please note that the Kimberly Reed's trans identity essay Prodigal Sons [Netflix Instant Watch] and the Chinese migration family drama Last Train Home, both released theatrically in 2010, would be in the mix. They might be the two best docs I've seen since Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man which you'll understand is the highest compliment I can pay them. I was also intrigued by Catfish, but then I saw it long before it was possible to have it "spoiled."  It's arguably exploitative take on online relationship and virtual identity works whether it's staged or real. And the scene that gives the film its name? Wow.

Exit Through Joan's Gift Shop

Quite by accident I saw more documentaries this year than I ever have. The two other true keepers among the batch were laugh-out-loud goodies: Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work which both stare straight at the lunacy of celebrity and artistic success, one with twinkling eyes and amused disbelief, the other with trembling lip and defiant survival.

Movie I Feel Bad About Missing
I shan't bore you with the details but please know that I did try to see Dogtooth -- most people I trust have urged me to see it -- but was thwarted in my attempts. One for the future. For what it's worth I also missed: For Colored Girls,  Robin Hood, and the French romantic comedy Heartbreaker which was an international hit, finishing in the top 100 globally. How did I miss that one? Grrrr.

The Movies I Can't Count
There is an argument out there that in this new millenium, theatrical release is more or less meaningless and shouldn't be a factor in year-end honors. But, without some sort of structure, how can there be community in movie discussions?

Click to read more ...

Director's Guild Big 5. Plus Trivia!

If you click on over to the Best Director page that we've had up for awhile, you'll see this Oscar prediction awaiting you.

It's the exact DGA nominee list for Best Director (just announced). This isn't The Film Experience blowing its own horn so much as the obvious: This is the shortlist. In order for anyone else to pull an Oscar nomination on January 25th for Achievement in Direction, they'll have to either: K.O. David O. Russell as he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee; cut those thespian marionette strings that Tom Hooper is gracefully pulling; sue David Fincher for capturing zeitgeist in a bottle before they could; break the legs of Darren Aronofsky's ballerinas; or invade Chris Nolan's Oscar dream. Before it even happens!

Any one of those things will be very difficult to do.

Click to read more ...

I Link You Phillip Morris

Link Almighty?
How the Link Stole Christmas?
Ace Ventura: Link Detective?

• Towleroad Jim Carrey Black Swans himself for Saturday Night Live
• In Contention is Jim Carrey on the rise again? It's a good question.
• My Life as a Blog interesting piece on great acting and how we (generally) define it. Plus more praise for Jeon Do-yeon in Secret Sunshine (2007) and that's always worth rubber-stamping.
• Cinema Blend Trent Reznor to score The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The Fincher collaboration continues.
• EW the Coen Bros pick their favorite westerns on such criteria as "good hat brims"
• Scanners best shots, opening and ending of the year
• /Film Wicked film in the works. But not the one we were waiting for, damnit.
• Brown Okinawa Assault Incident has a list of indelible fashion moments in 2010 films from The Runaways to I Am Love to Never Let Me Go. Fun/interesting.
• Roger Ebert a little more detail on the NSFC awards as well as an official statement about the MPAA and the Blue Valentine controversy and such.
• In Contention BAFTA's rising star list. Go Tom Hardy (though I wonder why he wasn't nominated last year? That's when we honored him.

Finally, you should check out StinkyLulu's 5th annual Supporting Actress Blog-a-thon if you haven't yet. Each year, Stinky's enthusiams for "actressing at the edges" provides an interesting eclectic look at a broad swath of performances from their passionate fans. The blog-a-thon often feels quite personal so I respond to it that way in turn. Thus, it was most interesting to read about roles and performances that I... 

a) didn't personally care for (Patricia Clarkson in Shutter Island) 
b) didn't see but am now curious about (Anne Hathaway in Valentine's Day)
c) hadn't thought twice about until the interesting write-up (Tammy Blanchard in Rabbit Hole) or
d) obsess over on account of the film.

Regarding the latter, you know I'm talking about Black Swan which as you can imagine hogs quite a bit of the blog-a-thon being an actressy effort. Mila Kunis gets more writeups than I've ever seen anyone get in these parties and Julian at Movies and Other Things made me giggle with this bit on Barbara Hershey.

She refrains from extremes, ...never dipping into Mommie Dearest-like histrionics. I don’t think she cares if Nina uses wire hangers for her clothes...

Hee. True enough, Julian. But she sure does care if Nina eats cake. "WELL, IT'S GARBAGE NOW!"