Review: The Accidental Tourist (1988)

I know I should go on with the Best Supporting Actor movies, but I think I can have a break, and this movie is so great that I decided to watch it again.
It about a travel-book writer (William Hurt), who has to deal with the death of his only child, a broken marriage and an annoying family. But with the help of a quirky Muriel (Geena Davis), he might be able to go on with his life.
I've always enjoyed the works of Lawrence Kasdan. I especially love his directings, for instance Body Heat and The Big Chill. This time he reunited with his Body Heat stars, William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.
The brilliant and humorous screenplay was based on Anne Tyler's novel, and the writing for this movie is truly unique: it creates weird and colorful characters (including a neurotic dog), the scenes and situations are wonderfully written, there are neither dull nor soappy moments, even though the material had the danger of these in itself.
The performances are all flawless: the best acting is given by William Hurt, who always gives charismatic performances, but this time he's beyond fantastic. His characterisation of an emotionally empty person, who holding onto a woman is simply perfect and should have earned him an Oscar nomination over the overrated Tom Hanks in Big.
Kathleen Turner is also exquisite in her role of Macon's wife, Sarah, who's much more willing to go on with her life. I really appreciated this performance, but every time I see Turner I think about her cameo role as Chandler's father on friends. And that makes me laugh so hard.
Geena Davis won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance itself is not a typical Oscar-worthy one, but she gives a very heartwarming and funny performance and she has some great lines ("I've got a shotgun and I'm pointing it at your face"), which makes you fall of your seat. She's not only a comfort to Macon, but also to the audience, because she seems to be the only sane person around. So Oscar deserved, because she was the best of the nominees, but she's not one of the best winners. I think Davis's performance was a bit of a preview for Helen Hunt's in As Good as It Gets. Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that these movies have strong resemblances.
I have to mention the wonderfully subtle acting of the Leary siblings: Rose (Amy Wright), Porter (David Odgen Stiers) and Charles (Ed Begley Jr.) are so funny with their minimal acting that it's simply unbelievable. They are really unforgettable.
One thing I forgot to mention: the very catchy score made by John Williams. It's so brilliant that it should have earned an award to Williams. Or is it just me who liked it?
Ok, so I really recommend The Accidental Tourist, if you want to have a delightful experience. Best Picture nod deserved.
My Grade: 8.5/10
Nominations: Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress (Geena Davis, WON); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Original Score
My wins: Supp Actress, Score and maybe even Screenplay

My Top 6 favorite actors ever

I just felt like posting this montage which tell you who my all-time favorite actors are. I love them all nearly equally. So they are:

Who are your favorite actors ever?

Best Supporting Actror-reviews: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

So, I'm just going to be as neutral as I can be. Not I can't, this is one of the best films, I've EVER seen. I'm really serious. I haven't reviewed a 100% real masterpiece on the blog since Dodsworth.
The Best Picture snub is ridiculous. Come on, Hello Dolly gets nominated and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? doesn't, is this fair? No, it is definitely NOT. And it's mostly pathetic because this movie received the most nominations that year (after Anne of the Thousand Days). So I keep asking: why? Why? WHY??!!
The story is to do with a marathon dance contest during the great Depression in the USA. A young man (Michael Sarazzin) takes part in it with his sharp-tongued partner (the brilliant Jane Fonda).
As Gloria, Jane Fonda gives the performance of her career. Her character is dangerous, mysterious, desperate, but determined at the same time. Fonda was really worthy of that Academy Award that year, so I think if it wasn't for the also magnificent Dame Maggie Smith and Fonda's "Vietnam Case", she would have won. But Dame Maggie's win was just as justified.
However, Michael Sarazzin disappoints. He has his moments and he's very good in some scenes, I just don't felt that his performance could match the brilliance of his co-stars.
About the co-stars: Susannah York was a 100% worthy of that nomination, but not the win, because... I don't know. It's a typical nomination-but-no-win achievement. Enough said, but I should also add that her shower scene was just unbelievable.
Red Buttons gives a heartbreaking performance and I feel that he was robbed of a nomination. And so was Bonnie Bedelia. I think their characters were teh closest to the audience (at least to me), I really felt sorry for the both of them and rooted for them througout the whole movie.
And of course, there's Gig Young. He's simply terrific and very-very worthy of that Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He did what every supporting actor should: make a great impression (check), give an unforgettable performance (check), have a great screen presence (double check) and never threaten the leading performances (check). So overall, he's brilliant.
And I haven't talked about the late Sydney Pollack's directing: if he had one masterpiece during his career (I don't count Tootsie which is beyond a masterpiece), this is it. The scenes (escpecially the so-called "derbys") have such a strong and depressing atmosphere which is going to haunt you for a long time. The way he portays this despereate period of history is not only artistic but also terrificly worked out. He's so in charge of the story, the pace and everything that it really leaves you impressed.
I think my grade won't be a surprise.
My Grade: 10/10
Nominations: Best Director; Best Actress (Jane Fonda); Best Supporting Actor (Gig Young WON); Best Supporting Actress (Susannah York); Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design
My wins: Best Director, Supporting Actor, Screenplay and Actress (tied with Maggie Smith, because for me it's Maggie, but I just can't deny Fonda's brilliance)

P.S.: Did you watch the movie? If so, how did you like it?

A change

The next entry will be about They Shoot Horses, Don't They instead of Sayonara, because I found it and I just cannot wait to see it. Here are the links for both films so that we can discuss it and that way my blog will be much more interactive.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?:
Sayonara:
OMG this blog is gonna be like a book club with 55-year-old housewives. There's one movie to watch for Friday and then we discuss it. LOL XD

Latest Best Supporting Actor-winner seen: Going My Way (1944)

Gosh, this movie was definitely a pleasant surprise! Most definitely. I'm not saying that I wasn't (very) prejudiced, but Going My Way entertained me and at times moved me.
It's about a young priest, Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) who goes to a run-down parish to help the old priest Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). Of course they have difficulties at first, they never see eye to eye, but they develop a friendship.
Ok, if you see The Bells of St. Mary's before this movie (like I did), then you'll understand why I was afraid to watch Going My Way. Thank God, they're quite different. There's way less singing in Going My Way, it's less soappy and it's much better.
However, I don't think that this movie was the Best Picture of 1944, because Double Indemnity owned that year. The directing award was not deserving either, because I would have expected more of Leo McCarey, the guy who directed one of the best films ever, The Awful Truth.
Again: the screenplay award should have gone to Double Indemnity. But this does not mean anything bad, because it's very humorous and lacks (yes it does) sentimentality, it's just great as it is and you don't want to kill some of the characters because they are so annoying (maybe the young couple, but they have limited screentime). So the writing was a great achievement.
Bing Crosby: sometimes I felt that some scenes were made so that he could sing and his fans could orgasm, but apart from that he gives a very entertaining, funny and lively performance, which might have been deserving of the Oscar. I'not certain at the moment though.
And now the most important thing in this entry: Barry Fitzgerald. Considering his age, I thought that this was a career-achievement award. Maybe, but the performance was one of the most deserving ones in history. I might have been a little too impressed, but he was so moving, funny and a tiny bit heartbreaking as the old pastor of St Dominic's that I remained speechless. You feel for this character who believes that he's useless and too old. However, I have to admit that his voice was a bit distracting in the beginning. About his two nomination-thing: I think that he was more of supporting, or maybe a co-lead with Bing Crosby. I don't know. I stick to supporting at the moment.
Ok, to sum up, Going My Way was a really pleasant surprise and a delightful experience. A should-see one.
My Grade: 8.5/10
Nominations: Best Picture (WON); Best Director (Leo McCarey, WON); Best Actor (Bing Crosby WON; Barry Fitzgerald); Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald, WON); Best Writing, Original Story (WON); Best Writing, Screenplay (WON); Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Editing; Best Original Song ("Swinging on a Star", WON -> Which was that?)
My wins: Best Supporting Actor and maybe Best Actor for Crosby

P.S.: The next one will be Sayonara, hopefully. Not 100%, but quite certain.

A new mission

Now, I'm going to discover probably the least popular category: Best Supporting Actor. It's not as versatile as Best Supporting Actress, not as debatable as Best Actor, not as exciting as Best Actress, but I give it a try. so from now on I'll mostly review Best Supporting Actor winners and in the end I will make a ranking of all the winners. I'm planning to rewatch the ones I've already seen to make it better. So at the moment my #1 ever is Timothy Hutton and my #72 is Cuba Gooding Jr. I'm not going to tell you how many winners I've already seen, so join me on this trip and let's try to discover this category that's not been talked about as much as the others. Are you in?

Latest Oscar-winner seen: Laura (1944)

I did not think that I would write this down: I was a bit disappointed. I had very high expectations and this movie did not live up to them. I really liked it, but I really don't understand the big fascination towards it. I mean it had everything: great story, magnificent dialogues, terrific performances and an unbelievably beautiful Gene Tierney.
It's about an inspector (played by Dana Andrews) who falls in love with the ghost of the dead woman (Gene Tierney), whose mysterious death is investigated by him. We also get to know an obsessed "supporter" of Laura (Clifton Webb), the two-faced fiancé of Laura (Vincent Price) and his aunt (the brilliant Judith Anderson).
So it has the terrific story, I especially loved the ironic one-liners of the magnificently flamboyant Clifton Webb ("Have you heard of science's new triumph, the doorbell?"). So the screenplay is really one to die for, it really deserved that nomination, but I think that Double Indemnity owned that category.
The acting is also terrific: Dana Andrews (a really underrated actor) creates a very complex and mysterious character, I really liked his performance. Same for Vincent Price, although he could have had more screentime, I wanted to see more of him.
Judith Anderson is chilling again (OK, not as much as in Rebecca), her scene where she explains to Laura why SHE should marry Vincent Price is just priceless. In my opinion, she was just robbed of the nomination. 1944 was a very weak year for Best Supporting Actress, she really could have been honored in some way.
But I haven't mentioned the two very best performances: Clifton Webb is just brilliant, his nomination was richly deserved, but I'm not sure about the win. I mean he was really great but I have to be more familiar with his competition.
Gene Tierney gives her career-best performance: she's beautiful, desirable, mysterious, loveable, I was certainly seduced by her. A nomination would have been justtified.
The direction is also great in mixing the various genres, it was really worthy of the nomination.
I'm saying so many good things, but still it was a tiny bit disappointing. I really
enjoyed it, it was full of unforgettable scenes, but sometimes it really slowed down and it was boring. I don't regret telling the truth because that's what I felt.
The cinematography award was deserved though.
My grade: 7.8/10
Nominations: Best Director (Otto Preminger); Best Supporting Actor (Clifton Webb); Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Cinematography (WON); Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White

If I picked the winners...

I'm in a very "picky" mood, so I'm going to do another IIPTW entry.
The next category in Best Actress and the decade is the 1960s. This was a very good period for the winners and I'm deeply satisfied with the most of them.
So my picks are:
1960: Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment
1961: Sophia Loren in Two Women
1962: Anne Bancroft in The Mircale Worker
1963: Patricia Neal in Hud
1964: Anne Bancroft in The Pumpkin Eater
1965: Julie Christie in Darling
1966: Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967: Dame Edith Evans in The Whisperers (this is a very less-known movie, it's posted on Youtube watch it, Dame Edith is worth it)
1968: Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter
1969: Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The category is Best Director and I stay with the 1960s. I'm super-pissed that most of these directors failed to win the award, because they created iconic and artistic movies (I mean Fellini losing to West Side Story, come on).
1960: Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho
1961: Federico Fellini for La dolce vita
1962: David Lean for Lawrence of Arabia
1963: Federico Fellini for 8 & 1/2
1964: Michael Cacoyannis for Zorba The Greek
1965: John Schlesinger for Darling
1966: Michelangelo Antonioni for Blowup
1967: Mike Nichols for The Graduate
1968: Anthony Harvey for The Lion in Winter (no, not Stanley Kubrick)
1969: John Schlesinger for Midnight Cowboy

P.S.: I did not seem to find a good picture for Best Director. Shame on me.

If I picked the winners...

The first category is Best Supporting Actress and the decade is the 2000s. Just a personal note: I think the picks in this decade were very unfair, there were only 3 deserving winners out of the nine and I say the win of Cruz this year was tolerable. But apart from that? Very weak picks.
So my picks for each year:
2000: Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock
2001: Helen Mirren in Gosford Park
2002: Meryl Streep in Adaptation (hard to choose between her and Julianne)
2003: Shohreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog
2004: Virginia Madsen in Sideways
2005: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (Michelle Williams was very close)
2006: Adriana Barrazza in Babel
2007: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
2008: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler
[2009: Mo'Nique in Precious (I don't think that anyone can be better, but I wait)]

Let's stay with this decade and the category is Best Actor in a leading role. These winners were a tiny bit more deserving. But there were only 4 deserving winners and two of the actual recipients were really mediocore (Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington).
So my picks are:
2000: Tom Hanks in Cast Away (I'm a big Hanks-hater, but I was certainly impressed)
2001: Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom
2002: Adrien Brody in The Pianist
2003: Bill Murray in Lost in Translation
2004: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
2006: Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2008: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

So do you agree? Or don't you? Do you think that my picks are just awful and I can go to hell? Or do you think they are fair?
P.S.: Will you forgive me for uploading the same picutre I did for the 2000 Smackdown? I just love Marcia so much. :-)

Latest Oscar-winner seen: The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Well... Yummy. This was a very oscary movie, a typical piece from the 30s. It was not the greatest film, I've ever seen but I certainly enjoyed it even though it had some really big mistakes.
It's about the famous French writer, Emile Zola (played by Paul Muni) and his involvement in the infamous Dreyfus affair.
Let's just say: it did not deserve to win Best Picture at all. The competition was so much stronger that Zola just pales in comparision with them. The Good Earth and the magnificent Awful Truth (which is my win and one of my all-time favorites by the way) were just much-much better. But this does not mean that The Life of Emile Zola was awful, actually I really enjoyed it. The screenplay was a bit sentimental and slow, the story really slows down sometimes and I just wanted to see something interesting, in some scenes it was so apparent that the writers were short of great ideas. But they provided Paul Muni with some damn good monologues.
By the way Paul Muni: he really deserved an Oscar for this performance (it was much-much better than his mediocore work in The Story of Louis Pasteur). At the beginning his performance was quite bad actually, he was not very convincing as the young Zola, but that lasted for 10 minutes or so. But after that he's so great, I was so impressed by his big speech at the court, that I decided to pick him for my win.
Joseph Schildkraut was very convincing and moving as Dreyfus. He had very limited screentime, but he managed to create a believable character, for which you really care and you actually feel sorry for that man. Although I really thought he was very good, I feel that Ralph Bellamy gave a better performance in The Awful Truth (see that movie please, it's so great).
And I nearly forgot to mention Gale Sondergaard (the first Supporting Actress winner), who gave a good performance, which should have received a nomination. As the desperate wife of Dreyfus she was very moving.
The technical part was also great and I have to mention one scene for the ages: when to people are waiting for the verdict in the rain and we see plenty of black umbrellas. It's just unforgettable.
Ok, to sum up I enjoyed The Life of Emile Zola, but it was not really worthy of such acclaim.
My grade: 7.5/10
Nominations: Best Picture (WON); Best Director (William Dieterle); Best Actor (Paul Muni); Best Supporting Actor(Joseph Schildkraut WON); Best Writing, Screenplay (WON); Best Writing, Original Story; Best Assistant Director; Best Music, Score; Best Art Direction; Best Sound;
My wins: Best Actor (Paul Muni) for now because I haven't seen Robert Montgomery who's said to be great.