Sports fans rejoice! This is going to be a great month - the Super-Bowl is right around the corner (2/5), and after that we’ve got the NBA All-Star weekend (2/26).

Every fan lives the game in a different manner. There are solid fans who watch the game, get sucked into it for a few hours and then carry on with their lives; and then there are the die-hard fans, who support and cheer for their team in rain, snow or hail, yell at the players (or at their TV), and take everything personally.

Let’s try to make a distinction between the types of die-hard fans out there. Luckily, there are quite a few movies to back-up these fan theories. So let’s kick-off:

The Amorous Fan: Fever Pitch

A man who is in love with his sports team, meets a woman and falls in love with her - creating a strange love triangle that cannot successfully exist. People around him start telling him that he needs to grow up and choose the real-life love; he tries to explain that since childhood his team has always been there for him, and that’s also true love. And why does he even need to choose? Can a romantic relationship overcome the lack of attention given when the game is on?

The Obsessed Fan: Big Fan

What happens when you become obsessed with your team? When your whole life revolves around the players, and your happiness is measured by the team’s success? Paul is a genuine die-hard Giants fan, and Football is the sole comfort and passion in his mundane life. But after an encounter with his most admired player leads to a bad incident, the star gets suspended from the team. Although Paul is hurt, physically and ego-wise, he still decides that he must protect his team’s chances of winning, by any cost necessary, even at his own expense.

The Naïve Fan: Sixty Six

Bernie Rubens is a 12 year-old kid and a huge England team supporter. It’s 1966 and the World Cup tournament is upon us. In every house in Britain, every TV is tuned in to see England’s matches. Bernie is extremely excited, until he realizes something: His Bar-Mitzvah falls on the same date as the World Cup Finals, and if England qualifies – no one would come. Now Bernie faces a dilemma – should he root for his beloved team, or hope they lose so he will have a proper Bar Mitzvah celebration?

Sixty Six is a bittersweet & offbeat film about a boy’s coming of age, his passions and hopes, and his relationship with his complicated family, which has its own share of problems, neurosis and misfortunes.

The Over-Enthusiastic Fan: Celtic Pride

Mike and Jimmy are true Boston Celtics fans. It’s game six in the NBA playoffs, the Celtics are playing against Utah, and the Jazz’s trash-talking big-ego superstar is killing their team. The duo decide to sabotage Utah’s chances in Game seven by compromising their star player; but after they can’t get him drunk enough, they decide to kidnap him and hold him hostage, tied up in their apartment until the end of the game - but they discover this is easier said than done with such a character… This sports comedy was written by the future-reviver of the “buddy” genre, Judd Apatow.

The Peacemaker: Gmar Gavi’a / Strangers

Soccer has always been a universal language. It allows people from different backgrounds to bury the hatchet for a single moment in time, despite their cultural differences or disputes, and bond over a team or the love of the game.

Gmar Gavi’a (Cup Final) shows the connection between an Israeli reserve soldier, who gets kidnapped during the Lebanon war, and his Palestinian captors that hold him hostage. At the same time the 1982 World Cup is played, and despite being enemies, two foes find a mutual ground & understanding while listening to the games and supporting Italy’s team.

Another defrost of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through football can be seen in Strangers, only this time it is illustrated within a love affair during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The Psychopath: The Fan

If you just recently started watching movies over the past few years, you might accidentally characterize Bobby De Niro as the caring parent or the goofy/semi-tough in-law/gangster/pirate. But for those who knows his track-record, De Niro has some creepy roles carved onto his belt, and he has been known to portray some true psychopaths. The Fan is a fine example – when a devoted fan’s love for his favorite baseball player crosses all borders and becomes an obsession, and more gravely – becomes personal.

The Mentee: Looking for Eric

Whenever you watch how the legendary Eric Cantona played, the word ‘magician’ comes to mind. Or in his own words: “I am not a man – I am Cantona”.

The Know-It-All Fan: Eddie

Whoopi’s big mouth gets her in trouble again, this time as a dedicated Knicks fan who has an opinion about every play her sucky team executes. When she becomes the team’s coach as part of a publicity stunt, she realizes what every devoted fan refuses to acknowledge – that coaching on the court is a tad harder than yelling advice from the stands. A humorous take on every fan’s opinion that he knows better.

The Heroic Fan: Sudden Death

Jean-Claude Van Damme wants to bond with his kids, so he decides to take them to a hockey game – the NHL Stanley Cup finals, no less. The vice president is going to attend the game; unfortunately, so are some terrorists. They rig the arena, take hostages and hand over an ultimatum that will expire at the end of the game (unless it goes into overtime and sudden death mode…)

Van Damme transforms from a spectator to a hero, as he races against the game clock that’s winding down. Sudden Death is an exciting action flick that holds you in suspense, with an unforgettable scene where JCVD takes the ice and has to join the championship game as the goalie.

The Hooligan: The Football Factory / The Firm / Green Street Hooligans

Hooliganism is mainly mentioned with British football fans (and do not dare to call it ‘soccer’). The team’s adoration is a good reason to come and hang out with their mates, sing football songs, unify around their team’s goals (literally) and form a sports comradeship; but hooliganism is also about getting pissed, fight the other teams’ fans, and vandalize an occasional facility from time to time.

In Britain the hooligan packs are well-organized and are called “firms”, and every football club that respects itself has one. Londoner director Nick Love’s Football Factory describes Chelsea fans, while his other movie The Firm depicts the life of a West Ham supporter; but the ultimate hooligan film is Green Street, which revolves around the West Ham firm and their hatred towards their nemesis – Milwall (which apparently everyone in these movies hate).

These are all good portrayals of how the inside of a rough hooligan pack works, about their honor and pride, principles, friendship & unlimited love for their team, and mainly for their firm.

Technorati Tags: Sports fans, Fever Pitch, sports team, FeverPitch, Nick Hornby, soccer, Baseball, Big Fan, Football, Sixty Six, World Cup, Celtic Pride, Boston Celtics fans, NBA playoffs, Judd Apatow, Gmar Gavi’a (Cup Final), The Fan, Bobby De Niro, La Gran Final (The Great Match), Looking for Eric, Eric Cantona, Eddie, Sudden Death, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Whoopi Goldberg, NHL Stanley Cup finals, The Football Factory, The Firm, Green Street Hooligans, Nick Love

Popularity: 1% [?]

Once again Liam Neeson veers towards tough hero territory, this time fighting for survival in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. While surviving a hostile environment is no small feat, Mr. Neeson is not alone in his efforts to live another day – here are some other notable survival attempts:

Cloverfield

Having your farewell party crashed could be rather unpleasant. Having your farewell party crashed by a gigantic deadly creature is even worse, as was discovered by the heroes of this fast moving fake documentary.

The Descent

In this tense tale about women in danger, six friends find themselves confined to a cavern, having to survive not only the quickly deteriorating conditions, but also some of the uninviting former residents, who turn out to be less than friendly.

Buried

Ryan Reynolds’ character must fight for survival not on Iraqi soil, but rather under it, while in almost total  isolation from the outside world, except for his cellular phone. His captivity must have paid of, since this independent thriller was critically acclaimed.

The Stand

Surviving an apocalypse can be conceived as a mere starting point for a much more meaningful struggle – the one of good versus evil, as seen in the atmospheric mini series, based on a Stephen King book.

Deliverance

In one of the essential films of the 70s, the escapades of four friends on a canoe trip in Georgia serve director John Boorman as means to depict the bleak consequences of a culture clash.

Dead Set

Contrary to popular belief zombies and celebrities aren’t mutually exclusive, as evident in this biting satire about reality show contestants whose motivation not to be eliminated just increased tenfold.

Black Adder Goes Forth

When trying to survive the day to day dreads of war, dark humor can be a useful tool, and this witty rendering of military life during World War I is one of the finest examples of such use. Oddly enough, Richard Curtis who wrote this series went on to write its polar opposite, War Horse.

Battle Royale

Adolescence is a tough period to survive, but hardly so much so as in the future dystopia shown in this controversial cult film, where teenagers must fight each other to the death on a remote island.

Eight Below

Humans aren’t the only ones whose survival stories deserve a filmed account. The real heroes of this sentimental survival story are eight dogs stranded in Antarctica, awaiting rescue by their loving handler.

The Grey

Looks like the conditions are at their worst for poor Liam Neeson and his crew. Sure, they’ve survived an air disaster and the forces of nature, but what about the pack of dangerous animals that surrounds them?

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Oscar nominees were announced yesterday and surprisingly, Hugo leads with 11 nominations, ahead of The Artist with 10. A bit behind are Moneyball and War Horse with 6 nominations each, and The Descendants with 5. Life is never only black and white, so I’ve decided to mention at least one reason why each of the 9 movies nominated for best picture should win, and at least one reason why it shouldn’t. I did list them from worst to best (in my opinion anyway) so I won’t appear completely spineless:

Best Picture – Back to the Past (6 period films)

9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Why should it win? Because it’s based on a book by Jonathan Safran Foer who is a really great writer. It’s an ambitious and stylized movie that benefits from a fantastic performance by Max Von Sydow.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because it’s extremely kitsch and feels incredibly self-important. It’s an exploitive movie in the sense that it tries to milk the viewer’s tears for a tragic historic event (9/11).

8. The Artist

Why should it win? Because it’s an imaginative, clever and stylized homage to the silent film era; it’s a love letter from director Michel Hazanavicious to cinema in general and to Hollywood in particular (Hollywood will probably repay the love letter with an Oscar in return).

Why shouldn’t it win? If a silent black and white film that was made in the 21st century will win the Oscar it could set a dangerous precedent: Next year we’ll be seeing Moving images that were produced on revolving drums or a movie that will be shown in a Kinetoscope (both inventions that came before the silent film era)…

7. Hugo

Why should it win? Because it’s magical, beautifully shot and naive in a good way. As the cliche goes, this movie is suitable for both children and adults alike. And as a bonus Hugo co-stars Sacha Baron Cohen.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because it’s a bit too long, and a bit too sad considering that kids are its main target audience.

6. The Tree of Life

Why should it win? Because you get to admire the guts Terrence Malick has, creating such a non-communicating movie (long sequences of exploding galaxies and quarreling dinosaurs come to mind). It’s also beautifully shot and directed.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because after you have rejoiced at the sight of people following 10 minutes of solar systems, you realize that you’re in for an uneasy viewing experience: a family with young children who are suffering under the hand of their abusive father.

5. War Horse

Why should it win? Because you just can’t be cynical about this movie, even if you try. It’s moving, nostalgic and even a bit uplifting. It’s kind of strange in the sense that it feels like a family oriented movie despite scenes of soldiers being executed and horses being shot in the head. Seems like Spielberg may have had some sort of an unlikely and impossible combination between E.T and Private Ryan in mind, and somehow it works.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because it’s basically a love story between a young man and a horse.

4. Midnight In Paris

Why should it win? Because after almost giving up on Woody Allen (When You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Whatever Works and Scoop were all bad or mediocre), this movie brought many to believe in him again. It’s witty, clever, nostalgic and magical.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because Woody Allen doesn’t really care about the Oscars, he’s received many of them and one more wouldn’t really make him happy or even happier. He couldn’t care less whether he’ll get the Oscar this year or if Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 will (He didn’t even attend the Golden Globes ceremony).

3. The Help

Why should it win? Because it has a fantastic ensemble cast of female actors, all of them giving excellent performances; and also because it’s an uplifting movie that carries an important message in the spirit of Martin Luther King.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because the only reason the hilarious Bridesmaids wasn’t nominated for best picture is the fact that it had a scene of a woman pooping in the sink. Although no one from the female ensemble cast of The Help poops in the sink, one of them poops in a pie (poop = no Oscar).

2. Moneyball

Why should it win? Because many who don’t know a thing about baseball were still captivated throughout the entire film; Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill both give memorable performances, the dialogue is witty and cynical, the story fascinating and the pacing - perfect.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because Moneyball presents baseball as a game of numbers and not as a game of people; players are being traded as if they were objects.

1. The Descendants

Why should it win? Because it has a very intelligent and mature outlook on death, responsibility and loss; it manages to be emotional and moving and at the same time also very funny. The acting by every single actor in the movie is top notch.

Why shouldn’t it win? Because it’s a heartbreaking movie and our heart is a fragile organ.

Since there are still plenty of important categories, but only limited internet space, I’ll refer briefly to the other notable Oscar nominations:

Best Actor – Friendship on the Line

The two best performances this year belonged to the two buddies – George Clooney and Brad Pitt. While Clooney already won an Oscar (for best supporting actor), Pitt is still Oscar-less. Maybe if Clooney wins he’ll give up his Oscar and give it to Pitt - Oscars arrive every year, but true friends are sure hard to come by.

Should be: Brad Pitt or George Clooney

Will be: George Clooney

Best Actress – The Usual Suspect

When portraying Margaret Thatcher, it feels as though Meryl Streep decided to take on the role she played in Julie and Julia - Julia Child, and make her passionate about politics and leadership instead of cooking and food. And so, in The Iron Lady we have Meryl Streep playing Julia Child playing Margaret Thatcher. Is it an Oscar worthy performance? I think so.

Should be: Meryl Streep

Will be: Meryl Streep

Best Director – Payneful Decision

In The Descendants Alexander Payne constructed a wonderful movie that doesn’t have one unnecessary moment in it. He brought the best out of all the actors in his film, and created a beautiful and most of all humane movie. In The Tree of Life Terrence Malick directed an ultra-stylized, offbeat and ambitious (many would say pretentious) film. I don’t think he deserves the Oscar for it, but since it’s his first movie in six years, the Academy might grant him the reward as an incentive to keep making movies.

Should be: Alexander Payne

Will be: Terrence Malick

Best Original Screenplay – Wiig VS. Woody

Bridesmaids was outrageously snubbed, and wasn’t nominated for best picture or for best actress (Kristen Wiig gave a star making performance there). Winning the Oscar for best original screenplay would be the only just compensation for the horrid injustice. Midnight in Paris is the first brilliant Woody Allen film in years, and can also be regarded as a worthy candidate.

Should be: Bridesmaids or Midnight in Paris

Will be: Midnight in Paris

Best Adapted Screenplay – Alexander the Great (and Aaron Sorkin the greater)

Moneyball’s screenplay was written by one of the best screenwriters alive today – Aaron Sorkin. Just like in The Social Network, Moneyball also totes a witty, cynical and clever script that made me become fascinated about a subject that doesn’t really interest me (Baseball. I’m not really into Facebook either, and was also captivated by The Social Network). The Descendants also has a great script by Alexander Payne, but not as sharp as Moneyball’s.

Should be: Moneyball

Will be: The Descendants

Best Animated Movie – The Chameleon

After we surprisingly found out that The Adventures of Tintin wasn’t nominated, we were left with only one serious candidate in this category. Rango is funny, visually stunning, and witty. It’s great for a family outing, and great for fans of Westerns who can appreciate the many references to the classics of the genre.

Should be: Rango

Will be: Rango

Best Foreign Movie – Israel VS. Iran (Part 1?)

Winner of the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, Footnote is a psychological and clever movie about an ego clash between a father and his son, a clash between traditional and modern, between two methods of thinking, between two brilliant and eccentric professors. It is overwhelming proof that Israeli cinema has more to offer than just war movies. A Separation, which will probably be the winner in this category, is also a good and powerful drama, but a bit too slow for the average movie goer. Are the Americans going to give the Iranians an Oscar and take out their nuclear program? It’s a give and take I’m willing to accept.

Should be: Footnote

Will be: A Separation

Technorati Tags: Oscars, nominees, Hugo, The Artist, Moneyball, War Horse, The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer, Max Von Sydow, silent film, Hollywood, Michel Hazanavicious, Sacha Baron Cohen, The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick, War Horse, Spielberg, Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen, The Help, Bridesmaids, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, The Iron Lad, Alexander Payne, Kristen Wiig, Aaron Sorkin, Rango, Footnote, A Separation

Popularity: 1% [?]

Welcome to Sundance, where every filmmaker’s dream can come true. 10 days of a unique film festival, a place where small-scaled, intimate & offbeat movies can get meaningful screening time and recognition, and their creators can start dreaming big. All of the movies shown at Sundance are independent, without the funds and the backing of a big studio. The festival does not discriminate in its entries, screening fictional dramas, documentaries and shorts, from the US and abroad; and big budget studios come to shop around and fish for the next big hit, hoping to spread their wings over future great film prodigies. For 10 days in snowy Utah, a film-buff fest is happening, shining with vivid colors of freshness and originality.

Over the past years we see a lot of these “small” movies get not only rave reviews and wide acclamation, but also receive growing recognition from the more “mainstream” institutes, even within the Academy Awards. Movies like Precious, Winter’s Bone, The Cove, Frozen River and many more have received Oscar nods over the past years; world-wide audiences became familiar with these films and their once-unknown talented actors (like Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa Leo, Ryan Gosling etc.) became big movie stars. For example (and also for future trivia) – even Vin Diesel, known mostly for his action-packed movies, was introduced in the festival with his own first feature film, Strays. The ones who make their first steps in the movie world at Sundance, could be the ones making the next big Hollywood blockbusters a few years from now.

Here is a review of some of the major films that have highlighted the Sundance festival over the past 10 years. The list doesn’t solely include the Grand Jury prize winners, but rather movies that were the most interesting and left us with the best lasting impression.

How does a guy cope with transforming his way of living and re-evaluating his personal commitments? L’Ultimo Bacio (The Last Kiss), an Italian romantic drama, follows this stage in life and the dilemmas ensuing within a group of Italian friends in their late twenties.

Carlo finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant, and that his life is about to take a 180 degree turn - its his time to settle down with his loved one, start a family and find stability. Although on the surface he appears ready for this new challenge, deep down inside he is hesitant and considers indulging himself with one last fling. He confides with his mates, who are facing different crossroads themselves. As a dramatic buddy film about adulthood, this movie doesn’t necessarily paint relationships and human & moral dilemmas with pretty colors. A few years later, Zach Braff made an American version of this film, with a slightly more Hollywood-ish ending.

This delightful fairytale-like movie from New Zealand about a girl’s coming of age, tells the story of a young Maori girl, who dares to defy the cultural traditions of her tribe. Pai was born to a strong Maori family line, a direct descendant of her ancestral tribe leaders. However, she cannot succeed her grandfather as the tribe’s chief, a role reserved only for men. Pai struggles against her family and her tribe for the fulfillment of her destiny as a leader in the upcoming times of crisis.

A standard day depicted in the movie - Morgan Spurlock enters a McDonald’s restaurant; he orders a meal – Big Mac, fries, coke; he has only 4 rules of thumb – eat three meals a day at McDonald’s, eat only from McDonald’s, try everything from the menu, and most importantly – whenever asked if he would like to super size his meal, he must reply ‘yes’.

Morgan tried this diet for a whole month, while preserving his normal lifestyle. He wanted to see the impact of everyday McDonald’s nutrition on his health, and consequently, at some point of the filming he was in real life-threatening danger. Super Size Me is a thought provoking and controversial documentary, with a witty twist of humor.

An intriguing stylized crime drama, and one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s best, back when he was still a well-respected actor in indie films and before transforming into a (well-respected) actor in big-budget movies. Brick is a clever and witty neo-noir film, but instead of shady offices and dark corners of the city, this movie occurs in the shady corners of the school and in the darker parts of suburbia. JGL is caught up in a murder investigation of his ex-girlfriend, which gradually leads him to discover a web of schemes and intrigues that hide underneath the surface; only in this case, the femme fatale and the amateur shrewd detective are teenagers.

Ryan Gosling has played in three of the most significant movies that came out this year – The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love and Drive. He is known as a multi-dimensional actor, and rightfully so; but everyone has to start gaining attention somewhere, and for him, the official quality stamp for his performances was given for Half Nelson.
Gosling is a dedicated teacher at a Brooklyn school, educating students who come from a rough background. His life and relationships are in turmoil, and he has a big skeleton in his closet – he is, to some degree, a drug addict. When one of his students, a young African-American girl, accidentally discovers his dark secret, they begin to form a supportive friendship. But events that happen to each of them start to deteriorate both their lives.

Half Nelson depicts a situation that only an indie movie can address properly. Although it hasn’t won any awards at Sundance, this film is well-worth mentioning, and its leading actor received his praise at the Academy Awards when he was nominated for an Oscar for his role.

This intimate musical drama, set in present day Ireland, shows the embroidering relationship between a daydreaming street musician and a hard-working & talented immigrant, a relationship based mainly on the love of creating and making beautiful music.
Director John Carney and lead actor Glen Hansard played in the same rock band – The Frames, and used some of their material in the film’s wonderful soundtrack, including the award winning song “Falling Slowly”. Both musicians and first-time actors – Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (who were romantically involved in real life) – proclaimed they would never act again in a fictional movie, so this is a good chance to see them in this mesmerizing sweet film.

Some people look for an adrenaline rush and try to live on the extreme, others defy restrictions and go against the rules. Philippe Petit, a high-wire artist, has found a way to combine both thrills – he would exhibit his art & perform his stunts on high-altitude landmarks (not necessarily with authorization). Towards 1974 he had already set his eyes on the World Trade Center – and aimed to be the first man to walk on a wire stretched between the Twin Towers’ rooftops, at the height of 1,368 feet.

Man on Wire documents, through recent interviews and rare archive footage, the efforts and difficulties faced towards completing his mission – from formulating the idea and assembling a team to actually sneaking into the World Trade Center. Spoiler - At the end of it all, Petit managed to perform one of the greatest stunts in history.

Asperger Syndrome is a disorder that makes it difficult to communicate and understand everyday social situations, or to decipher human emotions and reactions, such as facial expressions, sarcasm and non-verbal gestures. Nevertheless, people with Asperger live, work and build their lives like everyone else. Mozart and the Whale was a moving film that addressed Asperger; Adam is another unique example.

Adam’s (Hugh Dancy) pre-determined organized routine has been shattered – his father, who took care of him, died. Adam also lost his job. Now he has to try to adjust himself to the unfamiliar through the difficulties imposed by his Asperger Syndrome. Beth (Rose Byrne) has just moved into Adam’s apartment building, and her life is also a mess following a hard breakup. The two find each other, and this seemingly-impossible relationship blossoms slowly as they support one another but also face more distinctive difficulties than most couples do.

A crime drama from the land down under. A heroin overdose, a violent crime spree, armed robbery and drug dealing - all these are combined to form a tense and bleak crime film, where the young “J” gets unwillingly exposed to the life of his grandmother and relatives – a family of gangsters. A police detective is trying to salvage J and make him testify against his gangster family. This highly-acclaimed Australian film has slowly and steadily gained its well-deserved attention.

The tag line simply says it all – “I want you/I need you/I love you/I miss you/Like Crazy” – its all about the craziness you feel when you can’t be with the one you love, leading to contemplation if the affection is strong and meaningful enough to be worthy of the trouble & agony.

Anna and Jacob fall in love; they spend a romantic summer in Los Angeles together, madly in love. But Anna is on a student visa to the US, and when she returns briefly to England, she finds out she can’t come back to L.A. anymore. The couple starts their struggle to allow Anna re-entrance to the country, while trying to maintain a long-distance relationship, with all its difficulties, reflections and frustrations. And they miss each other, to be honest, like crazy. Can love be strong enough to overcome all the barriers in front of them? This anticipated romantic drama is coming out in wide release at the end of this month.

So after all these great movies of the past years, Sundance truly is a film festival to look forward to. Hopefully this year’s festival will bring a fine crop of good unique films, which we will be hearing about in the coming years, after their first test drive at Sundance. Great things (and films) are ahead of us.

Technorati Tags: Academy Awards, Alfred P. Sloan Prize, Directing Award for a Documentary, Documentary, Drama, Grand Jury Prize, Grand Jury prize winners, Half Nelson, Hollywood, independent films, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Like Crazy, Man on Wire, Morgan Spurlock, romantic drama, Ryan Gosling, Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Super Size Me, The Last Kiss, Whale Rider, World Cinema Audience Award, World Cinema Jury Prize

Popularity: 1% [?]

Happy birthday Steven Spielberg!

This week the acclaimed director celebrates his 65th birthday, which marks the climax of a very busy year: The release of no less than 2 films he directed (The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse), the airing of the highly anticipated TV series Terra Nova that he produced and more…
But has Spielberg lost the magic touch? Does the symbolic retirement age of 65 means it’s also time for him to retire? Some of his recent works received bad reviews, and although financially he still manages to make a lot of money, some wonder if we are seeing the decline of one of the greatest directors of our time.

5  of Spielberg’s best:

Saving Private Ryan (1998)
One of the most acclaimed films of this auteur, Saving Private Ryan has gained both the love of the critics and the audience. It was nominated for several Oscars and won five (including best direction), and rocked the box office with the highest profits for 1998.
This ensemble cast war drama probably doesn’t need introduction, but for the few who did not see it: it’s a captivating story about an heroic mission of a group of soldiers in WWII, who go out to search for another soldier in order to take him home.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
According to Rottentomatoes, E.T. is the 2nd most acclaimed film by Spielberg (right after Jaws). There’s no wonder: it’s a heart-warming classic delight for children and adults alike. It tells the story of an alien creature, E.T., mistakenly left behind on earth. When a young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), finds E.T. and hides him in his home, both their worlds are changed forever.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
This was the ultimate adventure film of the 80s. The groundbreaking special effects and furious, extremely fast pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor.  The 2 sequels were fine but not as enjoyable, and the 3rd, a more modern incarnation… well, we’ll come back to it in the 2nd part of this post.

Band of Brothers (2001)
So far we’ve discussed movies, but can Spielberg also create great TV shows? Band of Brothers is the definite proof that he can.
The 10-part HBO television miniseries focuses on Easy Company, a group of American soldiers in World War II, tracking their experiences from the beginning of boot camp to the end of the war.

Schindler’s List (1993)
Spielberg’s dramatic masterpiece, the one that got him into the hall of fame of Academy Awards with his first two Oscars, for direction and for best film.
Based on a true story, this is an epic drama of World War II Holocaust survivors and the man who unexpectedly came to be their savior. It is wondrously evocative, visually stunning, and emotionally stirring.

5 of Spielberg’s worst:

Terra Nova (2011)
Such an anticipated show with such an intriguing premise and such a disappointment at the end.
Terra Nova is a Sci-Fi series, depicting a futuristic world in which humans exhaust almost all resources. To solve this, they travel back in time to the dinosaurs’ age to start over. Sounds good, and from the first episode it is clear that a lot of money was spent on special effects. But unfortunately the story gets more vague from one episode to the next, not to mention that the characters are simply boring…

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The basic ingredients stayed the same: an exciting and humorous adventurer going on a race against time to defeat a master villain. This time… something in this combination is simply not working. The plot has some embarrassingly bad moments… I mean, come on… alien crystal skulls…???
What’s even more disturbing are the rumors of a 5th title in the series. Seriously, didn’t we have enough? Not to mention Harrison Ford will be celebrating his 70th birthday next year - maybe it’s time for him to think about retirement as well…

Hook (1991)
A moral dilemma: I saw Hook as a child and remember it very fondly. When researching for this post I have found out this is one of the worst-reviewed Spielberg films: it gets only 29% at rottentomatoes. Apparently, most critics felt it was “A clumsy mishmash of a comedy“, “a would-be blockbuster that no one likes” and “Bottom of the barrel Spielbergiana“. Well, I’ll have to go with the majority…

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
This is not such a bad film per say. It is not boring or silly or tasteless. But on the other hand, when you compare this film to the early adventure films that Spielberg made – like Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park etc., Tintin is clearly inferior. The characters are too thin and one-dimensional (pun intended…) and ten minutes after you exit the cinema you won’t remember a thing.

The Lost World – Jurassic Park (1997)
The first film was fun, exciting, had a good tight story and decent performances combined with great special effects. This sequel only has the great special effects. Apparently Spielberg wanted to have some mindless fun after finishing the heavy-headed Schindler’s list. Unfortunately the result was not as fun for the viewers.

So as we have seen, the recent years have seen a relative decline in the quality and popularity of Spielberg’s work. Perhaps the problem is, he failed to transform his 80s kitsch style, to a more contemporary sophisticated/witty kitsch, that works nowadays.
However, I would not jump to conclusions and say that his career his over: it is Spielberg after all! In the coming year he has two very interesting projects, that might gain back the audiences’ favor:

Lincoln (2012) – This historical drama about the 16th president during the civil war might just be the Schindler’s List of this decade. With actors like Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and Sally Field as his wife, this movie simply screams for Oscars.

Robopocalypse (2013) – Based on a highly acclaimed Sci-Fi novel, this film will deal with an uprising of the robots against human society. Hugely budgeted, the film got a convenient slot in the peak of summer 2013, which means the studios feel it can be a big hit. Let’s just hope it will be more like Minority Report and less like Tintin.

And if, after all you’ve read you still think we need to have a replacement for Spielberg in order for him not to ruin such promising projects, I feel I have a worthy successor:  J.J. Abrams. He showed us in super 8 that he has the same touch for sentimentality and kitsch (Like in E.T.), and in Star Trek that he can pull of an exciting and fast adventure (Like Indiana Jones).

Technorati Tags: Steven Spielberg, The adventures of tintin, War Horse, Terra Nova, Saving Private Ryan, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Band of Brothers, Schindler’s List, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Hook, The Lost World- Jurassic Park, Lincoln, Robopocalypse

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