God at Sundance 2010

I did a similar post prior to the 2007 festival, and thought I would key in on this topic again this year.

Sundance Film Festival will be January 21-31. Just this week they have announced their 2010 line-up.

Below are the primary films that seem to deal most specifically with religion in their central plot/documentary themes.

U.S. Documentary Competition

Bhutto (Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O'Hara) - deals with the controversial Muslim figure, Benazir Bhutto, the recently deceased former prime minister of Pakistan.

12th & Delaware (Directors: Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing) - The directors of Jesus Camp take on the topic of abortion in American town.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Holy Rollers (Director: Kevin Tyler Asch; Screenwriter: Antonio Macia)- A young Hasidic Jew is (Jesse Eisenberg, pictured right) is lured into becoming a New York Ecstasy dealer.

Sympathy for Delicious (Director: Mark Ruffalo; Screenwriter: Christopher Thornton) - A newly paralyzed DJ (Orlando Bloom) seeks out the world of faith healing on the streets of LA, and discovers he can cash in on his gifts.

Invictus by William Earnest Henley

Clint Eastwood's upcoming film, Invictus, is based on the story of Rubry player Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mendela's leadership to unite his divided nation with a sense of national pride.

The film's title, Invictus, is inspired by the poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley. Invictus meaning "unconquered" in Latin was written from a hospital bed as Henley struggled with his health relating tuberculosis as well as having an amputated limb.

This poem was first published in 1875.

Invictus
by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow'd.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Selling the Smell of Faith Hill

You might remember a post I did earlier in the month, "Celebrity Fragrance Industry & 50 Cent's Power."

Faith Hill Parfums is released by the French fragrance company Coty Beauty who already releases a Tim McGraw fragrance. Other celebrity scents by Coty include Shania Twain, Halle Berry, Kylie Minogue, Isabella Rosellini, Desperate Housewives, Celine Dion, David & Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Moss, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Well, it seems like everywhere I look there are adds for this new scent, whether it's on the back of my wife's Real Simple magazine or Walmart ads or on the department store shelves.

But perhaps we notice it more, because when I first saw an ad, I said to myself...well doesn't the smell have a name?

And with it's generic branding as simply "Faith Hill Parfums" I have wished I had been involved in the marketing plan for this project, and I would have suggested that rename the scent Glitter Boots by Faith Hill.

Glitter Boots would be on every one's Christmas wish list!

End of November Best Actress Predictions

It's time to update my last update to this year's best actress race.

Since my last update of this category in September buzz has shifted slightly, although the central front runners have stayed the same those waiting in the wings are adjusting.

Tier 1, My Current Predictions

1. Carey Mulligan, An Education
2. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

3. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

4. Helen Mirren, The Last Station *New*
5. Marion Cotillard, Nine ▲

Tier 2, Ladies in Waiting

6. Abbie Cornish, Bright Star ▼

7. Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

8. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side *New*

9. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart *New*
10. Audrey Tautou, Coco Before Chanel

Tier 3, Holding On

11. Hilary Swank, Amelia ▼
12. Penélope Cruz, Broken Embraces
13. Michelle Pfeiffer, Chéri

14. Tilda Swinton, Julia
15. Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Stoning of Soraya M ▼

Off the list from my last predictions: Charlize Theron, The Burning Plain; Michelle Monaghan, Trucker; Emily Watson, Within the Whirlwind.

Most Recent Predictions: Best Supporting Actress (10/25/09); Best Actor ( 11/27/09): Best Supporting Actor (10/26/2009)

End of November Best Actor Predictions

My last best actor predictions where in September.

The best actor landscape has changed somewhat over the past couple months, most notably with Jeff Brides entering the scene and a release of a few more of the films with viable candidates.

Tier 1, My Predicted Nominees

1. George Clooney, Up In The Air

2. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart *New*

3. Morgan Freeman, Invictus

4. Colin Firth, A Single Man ▲

5. Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine

Tier 2, The Maybes

6. Matt Damon, The Informant! ▼

7. Viggo Mortensen, The Road

8. Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

9. James McAvoy, The Last Station *New*

10. Hal Holbrook, The Evening Sun *New*

Tier 3, The Maybe Maybes

11. Ben Foster, The Messenger *New*

12. Tobey Maguire, Brothers *New*

13. Johnny Depp, Public Enemies

14. Ben Whishaw, Bright Star ▼

15. Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes

Out from last predictions: Peter Sarsgaard, An Education; Ethan Hawke, Brooklyn's Finest; Sean Penn, The Tree of Life; Hugh Dancy, Adam; Clive Owen, The Boys Are Back.

Where is Rev Billy Talen & The Church of Stop Shopping

Have you heard of Rev Billy? No, not Billy Grahm the renowned evangelist, but Billy Talen, who's "stage name" is Rev Billy.

As part of an activist movement, he uses a choir, revival meetings, and huge theatrics to tour and protest shopping, sweatshops, environmental harm, and the Iraq war.

The stop shopping message of Rev Billy are demonstrated in Morgan Spurlock's 2007 documentary What Would Jesus Buy? which highlights a bus tour Billy and his Stop Shopping choir takes across America. Stops along the way include the Walmart headquarters, the mall of America, and unique Disney Land ambush.

My favorite term Billy uses in this film is what he calls the Shopocalypse. There's definitely some comedy here.

I'm not necessarily the "activist type" but I appreciate some aspects of Rev Billy, even though I also think he's a little crazy. I value his creative style of activism, I think if more activist thought of creative ways of getting their message across using entertainment, I think more people would listen. I also think his emphasis on understanding the consequences of our deal-seeking behavior is valuable.

So with that, as I was out with my family doing some "black-Friday-lite" shopping (no early morning door busters or running over people with shopping carts to get flat screen TVs or anything), I found myself thinking "Where is Rev Billy today?"

Well, Rev Billy unsurprisingly shuns Black Friday and instead calls his "followers" to celebrate Buy Nothing Day. Rev Billy's website says him and his "congregation" will be singing and preaching at Macy's in New York City today.

Below is a picture I found of Rev Billy at Macy's this morning, from an environmental activist who also showed up at Macy's this morning at the New York dept chain.

So, not sure if Rev Billy had any impact over the early morning shoppers? I sort of doubt it. But it's good to see that Billy and his team aren't taking the day off or backing down from the cause.

Happy Black Friday! (or Buy Nothing Day which ever you choose)

The Messenger & Contemporary War Films

Have you had a chance to see a preview for the film The Messenger. The film tells the story of the people who deliver the news to the next in kin about the death of their family members in war.

The film stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as the messengers delivering this news, as well as staring Samantha Morton & Jena Malone.

I haven't seen this movie yet, but it peaks my curiosity. To think of having a job where you deliver families the worst news imaginable. To do with dignity and control and detachment.

In the film, Ben Foster disregards some of these expectations for detatchment, and certainly seems to present a unique humanity in this role.

I'm interested in this story because one of the things that has been on my mind a lot recently is the military. I think it's been on my mind because it doesn't seem like it's on many other people's minds.

When I hear stories about the War in Iraq, or hearings about Tony Blair's decisions to go to war with Iraq and join US forces, or about Barack Obama's plans for Afghanistan, I have recently been thinking of the soldiers.

In recent months, I have been exploring some ideas about peace and reflecting on Veterans Day and the sacrifice and strain on families that is exhibited as we have a war going on 9 years has been on my mind.

So, I appreciate when media attempts to capture these stories.

The box office grosses for contemporary films about the middle east and war have been relatively dismal, even this years critically acclaimed film The Hurt Locker's widest release was 535 theaters and do date only has 16 million dollar world-wide gross.

Yet, I think the fact that these films keep on being made and they keep not being watched tell me something. It tells me that there are people who realize these stories are important. Whether they have a pro-war or anti-war sentiment there are a lot of people who are interested in telling these stories. They're important.

Yet, at the same time, in the same way that most people ignore the war, hardly discussing, thinking, or adjusting their behavior as a country at war, we also seem to ignore these films.

Perhaps it's a message that doesn't resonate. Perhaps it's a message we want to ignore.

I don't expect box office explosions, or even an explosion of critical awards for this film, it might be too small relative to some of the other behemoths we will see squished into the film season for the month of December, but I hope Hollywood keeps on presenting stories about soldiers in war.

The war is real. There are so many stories. We should seek out these stories rather than ignore heroism, heartache, internal struggle, dedication, honor and acts of will.

Thanksgiving, Community & Asking

There is something very communal about Thanksgiving. Historically as a celebration of harvest and giving thanks to God, it is a celebration done not in a vacuum, but something done together.

I've been asking myself, 'Why turkey?' And, I'm sure there's some historically significant reason we Thanksgiving is "Turkey Day," but I have to think that part of it is simply this...the time and effort required to cook a turkey would be wasted unless there are people to share in the task.

A couple years ago I mentioned here about how in my mind, no film has dealt with the topic of Thanksgiving better than Peter Hedges' film Pieces of April.

A significant portion of the plot of this touching film is that April (Katie Holmes) is trying to redeem a broken relationship with her family by hosting Thanksgiving dinner for her family, but despite all her efforts, a broken over begins to spoil her perfect plans. As a result, April has to illicit the support of her neighbors.

This film so appropriately illustrates the idea of community that is central to the historical and present concept of Thanksgiving.

One of the greatest challenges of our current time is to search for ways to build community in a society that is naturally tending towards isolation and independence.

And so, it seems natural this time of year to discuss the need for community.

Here's the twist. Instead of discussing our great need for giving as an expression of our thanks and our gratitude, I think we also need to think about receiving and asking.

That's right. Asking.

I think we would be foolish to say that we have everything under control. I think we all have needs, I know for me, sometimes it's even a struggle to identify "what do I need" because I feel so blessed by all that I have...hence the thankfulness we often express this time of year.

But I also know that I need community, and community is not formed as part of a one way street, and in order to even have the opportunity to give, sometimes we also have to open ourselves up to receive.

Perhaps this is the year you ask for help, the year you express a need to others. Let people help you. Whether you need to ask a neighbor to help shovel your drive because of arthritis, you need to borrow an egg for your holiday baking, you're not sure if you'll be able to pay the electric bill this season, or you need someone to talk some things over with...maybe this year you need to ask?

Let people into your life. If you have a need, express it.

In the same way you long to serve and help others who need a helping hand, there are quiet people all around you who might be long to hear you simply ask.

The Informant! Some Thoughts

I realized that I started this post a month ago, and never finished or published! It's okay! Better late than never!

This post could contain a few spoilers, but nothing major.

Why does the title for The Informant! have a exclamation mark in the title? I don't fully understand, but whatever!

Speaking of questions, why hasn't this movie been more popular? Sure, it's grossed over it's small (for Hollywood) budget of $21 million, but you'd expect a Matt Damon/Steven Soderbergh picture to do better.

Is it too serious? Hardly.

Is it too heavy? Hardly.

Was there adequate advertising? Maybe, I saw ads (did you?)

But yet, it was kind of a box office dribble.

This movie is fun, it's goofy. It's light hearted white-collar crime. It's the type of movie that is entertaining that you enjoy watching...the type that I feel like will be a DVD success because it's definitely home-viewing-friendly.

Matt Damon's chances at an Oscar nomination for this film intrigue me...his role is comical and non-dramatic, more goofy in an understated performance. I won't complain about a nod, but I won't hold my breathe.

I'm not really sure why Melanie Lynskey was casted at the spouse of Mark Whitacre, her performance is underwhelming.

This real-life story of Mark Whitacre is not Erin Brokovich, nor told in a Brokovich style. I'm sure friends & family of Whitacre are not so overjoyed since Whitacre is portrayed as an absolutly nutty schemer.

Beyond the performance of Matt Damon (or Fatt Damon as I call him in this film), I was so pleased with the appropriate, unique and tone setting score by Marvin Hamlish.

If you ask me, the real scene stealers in this film are the surprisingly enjoyable pair of Scott Bakula and Joel McHale who play the FBI agents investigating/working with Whitacre (Damon).

Reel People: Helen Mirren is Sofya Tolstoy

The film is The Last Station written and directed by Michael Hoffman, based on the novel The Last Station by Jay Parini.

Sofya Tolstoy

Sofya Tolstoy (or Sophia Tolstaya) is famous primarily for her marriage to Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, author of such classics as Anna Karenina and War And Peace.

Sofya, the daughter of a physician was introduced to Leo in 1862, she was 18 and Leo Tolstoy was 34.

The couple became formerly engaged in September of that year, and married a week later in Moscow.

One of the stories surrounding their marriage is that Leo Tolstoy presented Sofya with his diaries on the night before their marriage, and these diaries contained the stories of Leo sexual exploits prior to their marriage.

When Sofya wasn't barring children and tending to the family (the couple had 13 children, 5 of which did not survive into adulthood), she was also helping Tolstoy with his literary work. This included copying manuscripts for her husband. It is said she copied War And Peace seven times beginning to end. She also helped document and keep Leo's diaries.

In the middle of her life, Sofya became interested in photography and took over a thousand pictures documenting the family and the decline of tsarist Russia.

After some years of strained relationships between the couple and arguments over Leo's desire to give away all their private property, Leo left Sofya abruptly in 1910 (Leo was 81, Sofya was 66). Leo left with one of their daughters and their family physician Duchan Makovicki, and died years later in railway station.

Sofya was kept from him in this time. She died in 1919.

The Last Station

Hoffman's film tells the story of the final days of Leo and Sofya's life based on the biographical novel.

Alongside Helen Mirren, Christopher Plumber plays the part of the age Leo Tolstoy. Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy are said to have strong roles in this film, as one of Leo's trusted followers and a private secretary of Leo respectively. McAvoy's wife Anne-Marie Duff plays the Tolstoy's daughter Sasha.

Will Helen Mirren's portrayal of Leo Tolstoy's wife earn her critical attention and even an Oscar nomination/win for portraying this Real (Reel) Person?

A Little About The 15 Documentaries on Oscar's Radar

The Academy Awards documentary branch has announced their shortlist for documentary contenders for this years award. The list of 15 includes some of this years most raved about and publicized documentaries (Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, Anvil! The Story of Anvil,and Tyson.

The 15 Contenders for Best Documentary Feature. The List will be widdled to 5 by nomination time.

The Beaches of Agnes, Agnes Varda: An autobiographical documentary (Les Plages d'Agnès) about and directed by the french director Anges Varda.

Burma VJ, Anders Ostergaard: Out of Denmark, this film tells the story of Burmese protest in 2007 by thousands of Monks.

The Cove, Louie Psihoyos: This highly publicised activist documentary tells the story of secret dolphin killings in Japan.

Every Little Step, James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo: The story of real life dancers in a revival of the musical A Chorus Line.

Facing Ali Pete McCormack: George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and 8 other boxing rivals pay homage on film to Mohammad Ali.

Food, Inc. Robert Kenner: Exploratory film about the corporatization of the food industry and the attempt to create affordable food for the consumer and this film examines the potential harm inherent to the business of food.

Garbage Dreams Mai Iskander: A story of three teen boys who live in a garbage village on the outskirts of Cairo where they people of the town make money pre-conservation movement recycling the trash they collect.

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders Mark N. Hopkins: Four aid workers with the organization Doctors Without Borders show their own struggles and challenges in the war zones of Liberia and Congo.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith: Ellsberg released pentagon papers that lead to the end of the Vietnam war and Nixon's presidency. Declared the most dangerous man in America by Nixon's security adviser, the film explores his act of truth telling and the role it had in America.

Mugabe and the White African Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey: A film about discrimination of a white family, particularly farmer Michael Campbell, and his fight against Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe as he challenges government land redistribution.

Sergio Greg Barker: A film about the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a Brazialian UN diplomat and humanitarian who died alongside members of his staff in Baghdad in 2003.

Soundtrack for a Revolution Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman: A film that tells the story of the music through the American civil rights movement. The film features music and performances by The Roots, Joss Stone, John Legend, Wyclef Jean and others.

Under Our Skin Andy Abrahams Wilson: A personal expose about Lyme Disease and an accusation about the way it's danger is being covered up by the health system and a warning of a large epidemic.

Valentino The Last Emperor Matt Tyrnauer: A film about the life of 77 year-old Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, ffeaturing interviews from Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Claudia Schiffer.

Which Way Home Rebecca Cammisa: A documentary about unaccompanied children from Honduras and El Salvador who are traveling through Mexico to immigrate illegally into the United States.

An Education: Thoughts on Women, Higher Education, Marriage and Career

Hello strangecultureblog.com readers. My husband invited me to share a few of my thoughts about the wonderful film called An Education. RC shared his thoughts earlier this week, which you can catch up on here. I can’t promise my posts will be as insightful or as robust as RC’s, truly, I cannot compete with his language genius, but I will do my best to be concise and not ramble.

Before I delve in to my post, I warn you, this does contain spoilers to An Education! You were warned...

First off, I adored this movie. The story line manages to be both heavy and light-hearted while giving viewers a look at the tension hanging between a 16/17 teenage girl's academic education, and her life education.

What struck me most about the film were the changing attitudes surrounding Jenny's (Carey Mulligan) academic pursuits as her romantic relationship with the older, financially well-to-do David (Peter Sarsgaard) became more serious - both from the perspective of Jenny and her parents.

From the beginning of Education viewers realize how important Jenny's admission into Oxford to read English is. Jenny's Dad obsesses over her studies and the amount of money he has devoted to her academic pursuits, just so Jenny can go to Oxford, for which he will pay even more money. Jenny pours over her books and delights in her studies, especially her musical pursuits playing cello.

Enter David. Older, wealthy from his naughty stealing, and endlessly charming, wise to all things cultured and somewhat handsome (Peter Sarsgaard just doesn't do anything for me, but I will give him a somewhat handsome nod).

Jenny spends more time with David than with her Latin dictionary, her grades slip. David woos Jenny and her parents and eventually proposes marriage to Jenny during the last semester of her Senior year of High School. All the while, Oxford seems a lot less important to both Jenny and her parents - David can financially take care of her and, therefore, there is no need for her to continue her studies. As the viewer, I found myself getting really frustrated at Jenny's ignorance and quick desire to throw away her academic pursuits to be a wife, and her parent's desire to upload their "financial obligations" to David.

While Education takes place in the 1960s, in many ways, I think the tension surrounding the desire of increased higher education for women and marriage/family has not changed much in 2009. As a college-educated woman who married at 21 and now has a young daughter, I find myself no longer desiring to complete that MBA I always wanted, and trying to rush out of my office as quickly as possible to get home to care for my family. In fact, most of the women I work with have their Master's or Doctorate's Degrees, successful careers and are now starting families and want to quit their 9-5 so they can stay at home, or just work part-time, to focus on being a mommy.

And you have to ask yourself, why did I work that hard, and invest so much money into an education I don't desire to use anymore? And then I wasn't so frustrated at Jenny for thinking that Oxford seemed less appealing compared to traveling and caring for her husband.

Don't get me wrong, I am a major advocate for women being educated - I am forever grateful for my awesome higher education. I just think that women have historically, and will continue to face a unique tension between their work/life balance that is completely unique to them as a mother or wife. And I greatly appreciated the presence of this tension in An Education.

So what do you think?

The Tuohys, Drive by Service, and Thoughts on Giving

The movie The Blindside and the story of Michael Oher and his relationship with the Tuohy's has got me thinking.

The last couple months of the year with the holidays in full force, people are often very tuned into the idea of giving and serving others.

This is good - I make no complaint. There may even be reason to suggest this time of year might even warrant a higher degree of service and giving.

Yet, sometimes I think we often check the box when it comes to giving of ourselves, time, and resources. We say "check" I did my good deed.

And I suppose checking the box by donating a little food to food pantry, giving an old coat to a local charity, and buying a toy for a less-well-off child is not to be scoffed at, especially when done in mass numbers.

Yet, I know for certain that most people can give more.

And yet, part of the reason we don't give more is because we typically only give out of the excess, giving in a way that doesn't really effect us. We grab the food out of the pantry that we don't really like or have no assigned intentions of using.

We may give to people in need around the holidays, but not to the point that we alter the way we celebrate.

And it's in this attitude, that we often do "drive by service."

It's fast, it's efficient, and it's done.

I think that is part of what is compelling about the story of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy who's story of sacrifice is compelling, almost too big to be true, and it's real.

When the Tuohy family invite Michael Oher into their home and eventually into their family, they make a big commitment. They opened themselves up to something going utterly wrong, they took on cost. And not just financial cost, but surely a cost of some of their time, their energy, and their peace.

I think giving out of the excess is meaningful, but that giving with sacrifice is beautiful.

I think we have that opportunity in our current times more than ever.

That is what makes stories like we see in story of Sean & Leigh Anne Tuohy truly touching.

I think we want to give like that. I want to give like that.

Pictured above is the Sean Tuohy, Michael Oher & Leigh Anne Tuohy played in the movie the Blindside by Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron & Sandra Bullock. Photo from Go Memphis.

Quinton Aaron on Biggest Loser & The Blind Side Box Office Expectations

So, it seems like marketing for The Blindside is pretty heavy, and Sandra Bullock's name is popping up in magazines, newspaper blurbs, and of course the many trailers for this film.

And in fact, when I say many trailers, I mean many trailers. The past couple weekends if I'm watching a college football game, there is a variety of commercials, and some specifically tailored to a college football crowd, discussing Michael Oher and his college football turned professional football career (University of Mississippi & Baltimore Ravens).

Yet I was surprised tonight watching Biggest Loser (a favorite of mine) to see a Quinton Aaron (who plays the part of Michael Oher) doing his own market-appropriate promoting. In the little mid-episode commercials Aaron with the background of a gym discusses how he lost almost 100 pounds to play the film role and discussed the benefit of healthier living.

There was also a brief snippet of interview with Sandra Bullock talking about how "the story of Quinton Aaron is equally as fascinating to that of Michael Oher" or something of that nature.

Unfortunately, there aren't more details in the little snippet about Quinton Aaron's life, but it was intriguing to me to see again, another form of direct emotional marketing for this film.

Obviously, this film has a lot to contend with, and can expect not to be number one at the box office with the much anticipated Twilight sequel New Moon coming out (speaking of which, if Entertainment Weekly does another Twilight oriented cover in the next three months I will have no choice but to boycott this publication).

Yet, with a strong marketing campaign, a compelling story, and Sandra Bullock I think we can expect this film to be one of the most financially successful sports themed movies ever.

In fact, if enough women can drag there men away from watching football on the weekend to see a movie about football over the weekend, I think it could potentially be the most financially successful sports themed movie ever, it would just have to beat Waterboy's $161 million dollars.