bilingual | zweisprachig

A good friend of mine watched “The Dark Knight” yesterday and sent me and another friend an email about how he didn’t really like it and couldn’t understand the hype and raving reviews. I just sent off my reply and felt like sharing it with more than just the two people to whom the email was addressed.

By the way, we all write each other such mails nearly on a daily basis, of course always about different films, music, or topics; and most certainly not always this long. Come to think of it, we should consider publishing those on the regular. That shit is priceless. (Hey, if you’re reading this, let me know what you think of that.)

So here goes, completely unabridged, unedited, and with unchanged orthography—email style!

(NB: The views and opinions laid out in the following paragraphs are entirely my own. Fuck you if you don’t like ‘em. I can only quote the Joker: “Why so serious?” But kudos if you disagree and speak up. Let’s talk it out.)

well, since you asked… (warning, longish ramblings to follow. i couldn’t stop myself.)

for one, i never really liked christian bale. can’t really say why, though. maybe because he always plays these really weird characters (american psycho, machinist, equilibrium, batman, etc). or maybe it’s because the dude is from wales. no idea. his recent outburst on that movie set didn’t exactly highten my view of him either. the guy has come off as a full-blown arrogant prick for a while now. but whatever… (i, too, was really bothered by his deep voice in “TDK.” wtf?!)

for another, i have never seen a batman film. TDK was my first and will also be my last. i’m not into those comic-book-superhero-vs-supervillain movie adaptations AT ALL (except for the proper ones like “Sin City;” mind you, i don’t have anything against comic books, just movies that are based on them).

i only watched it because of Heath. i had seen the trailer and was immediately blown away by his performance. the man had recently died, which was the first time i had ever heard of the film and probably the only reason why i watched the trailer in the first place. to be perfectly honest, i probably would have never seen the flick if Heath hadn’t died, even if i had heard the same arguments about his “stellar performance” that have been floating around ever since. basically, i was a gawker who wanted to see the film that ultimately killed a man. fortunately, i had seen the trailer before and knew that i was in for a treat (from an actor, not a movie).

with all of that being said, i don’t particulary like the movie as a whole (now that i’m giving it some thought, which i hadn’t bothered to do before). apart from being a comic adaptation, it’s one of those blockbuster-(action)-sequel-flicks (number six or seven in a franchise) that serve no other purpose than the commercial one. i simply despise those movies out of principle. it’s narrow-minded, i know. but fuck you, that’s how i roll. (o; it’s just my way of making a selection in this vast jungle that is the movie industry. james bond, harry potter, matrix, or lord of the rings are just a few examples of movie series that i wouldn’t piss on even if they were on fire.

sure, there were some great scenes in TDK that didn’t have the Joker in them; the camera work was pretty solid throughout; and i even liked the idea of the hero being pushed so far that he’s on the verge of becoming a villain himself. but overall, the story was lame, the film was too long, and there were too many different storylines, iirc.
that whole cliché-moral-dilemma scene (the one with the ships in the harbor; convicts on one, law-abiding citizens on the other; on both ships there’s a detonator to blow up the other one) was just plain bad. the love triangle between chris bale, aaron eckhart, and maggie gyllenhaal?? bitch, please! and why did such fine actors as aaron and maggie “sell out” to such a film? i still remember how i literally yelled at my tv (“what the fuck?! oh come ooonn! jeeesuusss!”) when the half-faced (or two-faced) aaron eckhart just stepped out of his hospital bed and went apeshit on everybody. btw, it was only now (after having typed the word “two-faced”) that i realized he was supposed to be the same character that tommy lee jones played in an earlier film. that tells you a lot about my knowledge of batman.

and to be even more honest, i have no clue why everybody is praising Heath to high heavens now that he’s dead. don’t get me wrong, i’ll be the first to admit that he delivered an astonishing, once-in-a-lifetime performance as the Joker. one that i will surely remember for the rest of my life. but why everyone suddenly considers him the finest actor of his generation, i will never understand. sure, i knew him, saw some of his films, and was even downright shocked when i caught the news of his death. but he was never on my radar of people that i was going to keep an eye on (not that i have any authority on seeing and acknowleding every acting talent that crosses my path, but still…). and there’s a reason.

because, let’s face it, he was in a bunch of shit movies playing shit characters. maybe he acted well, but certainly not so well that i’d put him at the top of his entire generation of actors (although i could very well be just an ignant motherfucker). almost everything (with maybe the exceptions of The Four Feathers and Monster’s Ball) that he did before Brokeback Mountain was crap. certainly the movies themselves were. and since then, he had only been in a handful of other films. but all of a higher quality than the stuff before “the gay one.” so, even if it sounds rude, he just got a huge bag of pity (germanism alarm!) handed to him by the yellow press. they just love stories like his. “young actor (accidentally?) kills himself while at the top of his game professionally. leaves ex-fiancée and child behind.” on a humane level, it’s undoubtedly a cruel story. but don’t make him a saint “just” because he did extremely well during his last job and died afterwards. it reveals more about the people who are spreading these stories than about the man himself.

nevertheless, due to his sudden death at such a young age and his mind-blowing Joker (which will always be his legacy), he’ll forever be the James Dean of our generation. i have no doubts about that. whether that’s a good or a bad thing remains to be seen/discussed.

in short, TDK is mediocre at best when it comes to “cineastic” quality. (it would be very interesting to debate whether “cineastic quality” was one of the Nolan brothers’ intentions.) but it is quite entertaining, i have to admit. probably due to its fast pace. the 150 or so minutes just flew by. Heath, on the other hand, is amazing in it and had far too little screen time. i remember thinking “when’s the joker gonna have another scene?” when i watched it in september or so. i’d gladly re-watch the film just to witness that unique on-screen aura again.

alright. nuff said. sorry for the ramified commentary.
(believe it or not, i just wasted 90 minutes of my life for that. what is wrong with me?)

Cheeri-Os,
r

Let’s hear it, folks. Tear me a new one. I’d love to indulge in this topic.

In a couple of hours, the Oscars will once again be awarded for the past year in (mostly) Hollywood film. So, just like last year, I want to jump on the bandwaggon and offer up my two cents on the nominees: whom I’d give the Oscars to and who I think will ultimately get them. You can find a complete list of nominations at IMDb. Tomorrow, I will then comment on the final outcome and be a little more elaborate about my own votes (I just don’t have that much time right now as the show’s going to start in about half an hour).

For the first time in the ten or so years I’ve watched the awards show live on TV, I’ve actually seen almost every movie that’s been nominated. Of course, this isn’t so hard this year because many films have received multiple nominations.

Motion Picture
My vote: Milk
Academy will give it to: Slumdog Millionaire

Lead Actor
My vote: Mickey Rourke
Academy will give it to: Sean Penn

Lead Actress
My vote: Anne Hathaway
Academy will give it to: Kate Winslet

Supporting Actor
My vote: split between Heath Ledger and Michael Shannon
Academy will give it to: Heath Ledger

Supporting Actress
My vote: Marisa Tomei
Academy will give it to: Penélope Cruz

Director
My vote: David Fincher
Academy will give it to: David Fincher

Original Screenplay
My vote: Frozen River
Academy will give it to: Happy-Go-Lucky

Adapted Screenplay
My vote: Doubt
Academy will give it to: The Reader

Cinematography
My vote: Slumdog Millionaire
Academy will give it to: Slumdog Millionaire

Editing
My vote: Slumdog Millionaire
Academy will give it to: Benjamin Button

Art Direction
My vote: Revolutionary Road
Academy will give it to: Benjamin Button

Costume Design
My vote: Benjamin Button
Academy will give it to: The Duchess

Makeup
My vote: Benjamin Button
Academy will give it to: Benjamin Button

Original Score
My vote: WALL-E
Academy will give it to: Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song
My vote: No idea. If at gunpoint I’d have to say WALL-E
Academy will give it to: Slumdog Millionaire (the one with M.I.A.)

Sound
My vote: The Dark Knight
Academy will give it to: Benjamin Button

Sound Editing
My vote: WALL-E
Academy will give it to: Slumdog Millionaire

Visual Effects
My vote: Benjamin Button
Academy will give it to: Benjamin Button

Animated Feature
My vote: WALL-E
Academy will give it to: WALL-E

Foreign Language Film
My vote: Vals Im Bashir
Academy will give it to: Vals Im Bashir or Entre Les Murs

Documentary Feature
My vote: Man On Wire
Academy will give it to: Trouble The Water (maybe Man On Wire)

Documentary Short
I haven’t the faintest (haven’t seen any of them).

Animated Short
My vote: Presto (without having seen the others)
Academy will give it to: Presto (because Pixar always gets it)

Live Action Short
Same as Documentary Short

Charlie Kaufman turns 50 today. Happy fucking birthday. And instead of expecting presents from us, he is the one handing out gifts. The man has got a new movie coming out in a few weeks: “Synecodche, New York.” This time, he did not only write the screenplay, but he also directed it. As a matter of fact, it is his debut as a director.

He already screened the film at various festivals, including Cannes, to much acclaim from critics and audiences alike. After five reviews, it has got an 80% on the Tomatometer, and it is bound to get better.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the trailer…

And here it is in better quality. WP does not allow the embedding of Yahoo videos, so a link will have to suffice.
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809873025/trailer

Expect more regular posts again here at bilingual. So be sure to come back.

Okay. So the show is over and I’m actually quite pleased with the results, which I haven’t always been in the past few years. And it’s not because I was right with some of my predictions (cf. my previous post) but because the Academy actually took a step forward this year and took some “risks,” so to speak.

Here’s IMDb’s nice and concise list of nominees and winners again.

So where were my predictions right and where was I way off, I wonder…

Best Picture

My personal favorite, No Country For Old Men, received the trophy and not my Academy prediction, There Will Be Blood. (I guess what they say about the Berlin Film Festival is true after all: If you take a Bear home from Berlin, you ain’t gonna make it big at the Oscars.) I’m truly very happy for the Coen Bros for finally having their great talents be recognized. Big kudos from across the pond, guys.

Actor in a Leading Role

Well, nothing needs to be said here. This was clear as daylight from day one. The trophy went to Daniel Day-Lewis (as wished and predicted), a true actor who did a fantastic job, a man who does not even take credit for his own work when he holds a damn Oscar in his hands.

Actress in a Leading Role

In contrast to the Leading Actor award, this one was a major surprise. I don’t think “anyone” honestly had Marion Cotillard on their list, not even Marion Cotillard herself. Brave choice. It’s just a bit sad for the wonderful Julie Christie, who was my prediction. Ellen Page (who was my wish) on the other hand has many more nominations ahead of her and at least one win is surely going to be among them.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Just like the Lead Actor, this category has always been clear. Javier Bardiem got the golden boy for his stunning performance, as hoped for and predicted. Nicely done.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Tilda Swinton took home the trophy. In all honesty, I did not see that coming (I had predicted Cate Blanchett or Ruby Dee). Ms. Swinton seemed a bit startled herself, too. Again, kudos to the Academy for making a statement.

Directing

My dying wish, the decision I had to make with a gun point blank in my face, came true: the Coens got the Oscar for best Directing. Outdoing Paul Thomas Anderson again. My surprise prediction (Julian Schnabel) did not come true, of course. There were enough other surprises already.

Original Screenplay

Both my own favorite and prediction pulled through. Diablo Cody got the thing for Juno. Here’s another real artist who’s got a great future ahead of her if she doesn’t sell herself out. Which she won’t. No way.

Adapted Screenplay

The Coen boys did it again (as hoped). This was actually their first Oscar of the night. When they announced it I was happy and a bit disappointed at the same time because I deemed all chances for a Best Picture Oscar to be gone. My prediction for this one had been Paul Thomas Anderson.

Sound Mixing

No Country didn’t get it, as hoped, but The Bourne Ultimatum did, as somewhat expected.

Animated Feature Film

For me, this was the one real disappointment of the night because both my hopes and predictions were with Persepolis. Only one time during the night did the Academy go really popular/commercial, and this was it. Ratatouille got the Oscar. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a bad film. But compared to Persepolis, it’s not even worth mentioning. The high level of art and story of that little French film was superior to any animation film from last year. Period. But still kudos to the Academy for not having nominated The Simpsons Movie.

Animated Short Film

I was actually happy that Peter and the Wolf received the Oscar simply because I’ve seen that gem already. I cannot quite remember when and where, but I know I have.

Cinematography

This went to Rober Elswitt for There Will Be Blood, which is very justified. Although The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would have been, too.

Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum. Seeing that this was the only action film among the nominees in this category, it might not be such a bad decision because in order for an action film to work, its editing needs to be of the highest quality.

Art Direction

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I can see where they get the idea to vote for his.

Costume Design

Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Quite justified, I must say. Although strong consideration should have been given to Across the Universe with its sometimes freakishly weird outfits that are out of this world. But when it comes to Costume, the Academey tends to give the nod to the “oldest” film, in terms of the year it’s set in. So Elizabeth wasn’t a real surprise.

Makeup

This went to La môme (or La vie en rose, as the international “English” title goes). This was a bit of a surprise, judging from the few minutes of footage that I have seen of this film. But I’m just glad that Norbit didn’t get it.

Original Score

… went to Atonement, the only Oscar this film got out of seven nominations.

Original Song

I loved this. Although Disney’s dumb-ass flick Enchanted had three (!!) “songs” nominated in this category (and of course performed during the ceremony), the Oscar went to the utterly wonderful song “Falling Slowly” from the very independent film Once (sung by the leading actors of the film Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová). When called up on stage to receive the award, the two of them gave very heartfelt acceptance speeches. The show’s host, Jon Stewart, even brought Markéta Irglová on stage again after the commercial brake because she got cut off before by the orchestra just as she had wanted to start talking. These two speeches alone were worth staying up all night (mind you, I’m nine hours ahead of L.A. time).

Sound Editing

… went to The Bourne Ultimatum again, resulting in three Oscars for the movie. There Will Be Blood only received two!

Visual Effects
… went to The Golden Compass. Personally, I don’t like visual effects in movies, but I suppose there’s no way around an Oscar category for these. This movie is still the best choice out of the three, though.

Foreign Language Film

This one went to Austria for Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters). Good choice, I have to admit, especially since it’s the second German-language film in a row, after last year’s win by Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others). I thought either 12 or Katyn would get it.

Documentary Feature

Taxi to the Dark Side. I was just happy about this, that’s all.

Documentary Short

Freeheld. I don’t really know anything about the films in this category, but I thought it a bit ironic that the nod to a piece about a dying lesbian police officer, who is refused to give her pension benefits to her life partner, was announced via satellite by young soldiers stationed in Iraq.

And last but not least…

Live Action Short Film

Le mozart des pickpockets. Again, I know nothing about the works in here, but the title sure seems nice.

As mentioned at the beginning, tonight’s show was really a good one. Which is mostly thanks to a really great year in the world of filmmaking. Many true artists received trophies tonight. Granted, many true artists were already nominated. But this just goes to show that either the Academy went a step forward by not nominating commercial, popular “blockbusters,” or the filmmakers themselves went a huge step ahead in putting better stories on screen, made by better people.

A lot of the films were independent productions and finally got the recognition they deserve. In the Original Screenplay category, female nominees outnumbered male ones. I believe this is a first in Oscar history. The Coens were extremely humble in their speeches. The only two words that Ethan said each time he was up at the mic were “Thank you.” You just gotta love these guys.

During the acceptance speech for Best Picture, they didn’t say a word and just let their co-producer Scott Rudin speak. (After all, they were just on stage right before accepting the Directing Oscar.) Rudin, at the end of his speech, dedicated the award to his partner Brian (I forget his last name) by saying, “Honey, this is for you,” clearly stating that he is gay. This went out live on national, conservative, American, network television (ABC) at primetime. What a great move. If the Oscars would’ve been broadcast on super-conservative FOX this year, this would’ve been even better.

It was a great event full of welcome surprises and only few disappoinments. And I cannot say it enough, most of the people who took home a Golden Boy tonight were those who are genuinely truthful to their art and craft: Ethan & Joel Coen, Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, Diablo Cody, Glen Hansard, and Markéta Irglová. This of course does not mean that those who didn’t get an Oscar are not “truthful to their art.” One really worthy candidate who got passed over was Paul Thomas Anderson.

That shall be the first half-assed “analysis.” Maybe there’ll be more as all of this settles in and the world wide talk gets going.

Oh yes, I’m not going to discuss Jon Stewart’s skills as a host. The films matter, not the show in itself.

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I’ve just been sitting here wanting to write something but not knowing what to write about. Then it dawned on me: the Oscars will be awarded tomorrow. Of course, being the film freak-aficionado that I am, I will gladly join in the discussion of predicitions about who’s going to take home a golden statuette and who’ll walk home empty-handed.

Due to the fact that my personal favorites and the actual recipients will greatly differ, I’m going to offer two sets of different predictions—one list of whom I myself would give the Oscars to and one for what I believe the actual winners will be; in each case with a short explanation.

First of, have a look at the list of nominees at IMDb. This way, I only have to give winners for each category and don’t have to list all nominees. Plus, links to the individual movies are collected there as well, i.e. I can save some time on this post.

Best Picture

My Oscar goes to… (haven’t seen Atonement yet) No Country For Old Men because it had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Although I would be extremely happy if Juno got it; highly unlikely, though.

The Oscar will go to… There Will Be Blood simply because it’s such a massive epic and the Academy digs that.

Actor in a Leading Role

My Oscar goes to… (this is hard to judge because I have only seen two of the five performances so far) Daniel Day-Lewis because he really carried the film in a way the other four (probably) didn’t. Plus, he simply moved me.

The Oscar will go to… Daniel Day-Lewis for the same reasons.

Actress in a Leading Role

My Oscar goes to… (this is even harder to judge because I’ve only seen wonderful Ellen Page thus far) Ellen Page (o: because she is Juno and because I want to be sitting on the steps in front of the house singing “Anyone Else But You” with her.

The Oscar will go to… Julie Christie because she simply deserves the damn thing.

Actor in a Supporting Role

My Oscar will go to… Javier Bardem because he scared the living bejesus out of me whilst staying very quiet himself. Did you see those eyes when he strangled the cop at the beginning of the film? Holy fuck, friendo!

The Oscar will go to… Javier Bardem because the Academy just doesn’t want to fuck with this guy. He’ll come after them.

Actress in a Supporting Role

My Oscar will go to… I can’t judge at all because I haven’t seen a single one of them. But I would like to see Cate Blanchett or Amy Ryan get one.

The Oscar will go to… Ruby Dee or Cate Blanchett.

Directing

My Oscar goes to… It’s a full-fledged tie between the Coen Bros and Paul Thomas Anderson. I cannot decide and I would not want to, but if I absolutely had to, it’d be the Coens.

The Oscar will go to… Julian Schnabel because that’ll be the surprise of the night.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

My Oscar goes to… Diablo Cody for Juno because of the way I felt at the end of the film and because of the dialogs. Also, I’m very happy that three (and a half) of these nominees are indie productions.

The Oscar will go to… Diablo Cody for Juno because it’ll be just like with Little Miss Sunshine last year: a respectable indie film is nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay, but the Academy doesn’t have the balls to give a Best-Picture trophy to an indie flick, so it’ll get the one for the script.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

My Oscar goes to… the Coen Bros for No Country For Old Men because the movie is all about the story, unlike There Will Be Blood, which is all about the character of Daniel Day-Lewis.

The Oscar will go to… Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood because he won’t get one for directing and because the Academy doesn’t want to acknowledge the achievement of the other three films besides No Country.

Sound Mixing

My Oscar goes to… No Country For Old Men because of those harrowing sounds of the stun gun and the rifle with the home-made silencer on it. It always sent shivers down my spine when that thing went off.

The Oscar will go to… I have no clue, but probably it will go to 3:10 to Yuma or The Bourne Ultimatum

Animated Feature Film

My Oscar goes to… Persepolis for the visual pleasure of the film and the courage of the filmmakers.

The Oscar will go to… Persepolis for much the same reasons and because they don’t want Pixar to win every single time they’re nominated.

As far as all the other categories are concerned, I honestly cannot judge them. You’ll just have to make due with this. I’m curious as to how often I actually was right. Only time will tell. We’ll find out tomorrow night.

If you want, comment about your predictions. I’m curious!

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Here’s a short excerpt from an interview done by Entertainment Weekly with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s chief economist Jack Kyser (wow, what a job title; his business card must be gigantic):

What’s the cumulative effect of the writers’ strike so far?
Right now the impact of the lost wages [of WGA members and below-the-line workers], when you apply that ripple factor, it’s about $1.4 billion.

No, this is not a typo. One point four billion fucking American Dollars of losses to the industry and L.A. economy since the writers went on strike on November 2^nd of last year. Just for how long would the big-shot production companies have been able to pay their writers under new contractual terms with this kind of money, instead of letting it come to the most momentous strike in Hollywood history? And just how much extra money would they have earned instead of lost?

While you’re at it, read the entire EW interview linked to above. There is more information of this kind in there.

The striking writers have their own “cost counter” over at their strike blog. They’ve got an estimate of $750 million in losses for the L.A. economy. Though it is only half as high a number, it still makes me shake my head. Part of me wishes these shenanigans would go on for the entire year. But then the other part of me would die from series/serious withdrawal.

But I think it is starting to look like the AMPTP and the WGA won’t come to terms ever again. This whole situation is going into the direction of the United-Artists approach. Each studio is going to make individual deals with the writers. Period. Just like in the good old days of Hollywoodland when motion pictures from the big studios still deserved to be called “films.”

Long live the independent film!

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The nominations for this year’s Academy Awards are out [complete list]. I am especially thrilled that my favorite movie of 2006, Little Miss Sunshine, got four nominations, one of them for Best Picture. But I doubt that it will win that category because indie productions never get a Best Picture Oscar. An award for Best Original Screenplay is far more likely.

Daily Cartoon

Sasha Frere-Jones offers a very nice "interpreation" of Pedro Almodovar’s Volver on his blog (one & two). This is funny stuff.

Some surprises, some not-so surprises at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, which just ended a couple of minutes ago. Among the winners were Martin Scorsese (director, The Departed), Sacha Baron Cohen (actor comedy/musical, Borat), Eddie Murphy (supporting actor, Dreamgirls), Forest Whitaker (actor drama, The Last King of Scotland; he had tears in his eyes), Helen Mirren (several times), Dreamgirls (comedy/musical; not Little Miss Sunshine to my disappointment), Babel (drama).

TV shows were not as important. Zach Braff did not win for his performance on Scrubs. Kiefer Sutherland did not receive an award for 24, Hugh Laurie won instead for House (which is just as good) and his acceptance speech was fabulous.

Have a look at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s website for the complete list.

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Great match between Maria Sharapova and Camille Pin. Sharapova almost got kicked out of the tournament by the French and she forgot there is no tie-break in the last set at the Aussie Open. When it was 6-6 in the third, she actually wanted to play a tie-break. In her defense: it was over 40°C/104°F on the court.

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Daily Cartoon (January 16)

Endlich mal wieder was auf Deutsch.

Am Montag ist Yvonne De Carlo im Alter von 84 in Los Angeles gestorben. Ihr kennt sie bestimmt noch als Lily aus The Munsters.

Carlo Ponti, Produzent von Filmen wie Doctor Zhivago und La Strada, ist am Dienstag in Genf gestorben. Er wurde 94 Jahre alt.

Wie schon früher mehrmals erwähnt, Thomas Pynchon wird gerade durch alle kulturellen Medien gereicht. Gestern gab es in "Kulturzeit" einen Beitrag über sein neues Buch, der doch reichlich interessant war. Auf der Internetseite kann man auch das Gespräch zwischen Moderator Ernst A. Grandits und Literaturkritiker Denis Scheck ansehen.

In nächster Zeit werde ich versuchen, wieder vermehrt deutsche Beiträge zu veröffentlichen. Die Ideen sammeln sich, sie müssen nur noch zu Papier gebracht und dann abgetippt werden.