SDP 24: What Else But the Oscars?!?

Episode 24 of The Same Dame Podcast gives you the chance to remember who and what the hell the Oscar nominees are before the ceremony. The episode was recorded on Oscar announcement day, 2/02/10, and only Chris knew what the nominees were. Listen to Jeremy try to remember who all embarrassed themselves in "Nine" and find out if he knows that Peru is a country. It doesn't get any better than this, folks.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode.

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SDP 22: 2009! Films! Top 10! Guests! More!

On 01/19/10, Jeremy and Chris discussed their top 10 films of 2009 with microphones on and ended up with episode 22 of The Same Dame Podcast. And that's not all—they also give out some special awards and welcome some very special guests to reveal their favorite films.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode.

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Jeremy's Top 10 Films of 2009

It's no secret that many good movies came out in 2009. These were the best:


1. Du Levande (You, the Living)
The best US-released film of 2009 was actually made in Sweden a couple years ago, but it's lost none of its absurd magic since it premiered. Following a mosaic of characters around a modern city with perfectly composed, surreal vignettes, Roy Andersson's touching, peculiar, utterly distinct masterpiece catalogues loneliness, dreams, the human condition, love and how fleeting it all is. Andersson isn't afraid of any subject matter as he delivers sly stone-faced gags and rich emotions of all sorts through his remarkable imagery. It's not my fault if this description doesn't do the film justice—the only way to know it is to see it.
(Get the new US R1 DVD (slightly cropped from 1.66:1 to 1.78:1) or stream it on Netflix (in the correct aspect ratio—don't ask me…).)

2. The White Ribbon
There's a palpable, thick feeling of dread present throughout Michael Haneke's chilling story of a small town that experiences a series of horrible, mysterious crimes. Haneke slowly studies different manifestations of authority, shame and trauma through the eyes of the town's young school teacher, building toward a series of scenes that are horrifying in their subtle implications. Haneke already made the best film of the decade in "Caché," and he continues to astound.
(Now playing in theaters. You can pre-order it, but don't miss it in theaters.)

3. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino never gives us what we expect, but always gives us something to think about and something deliciously entertaining. His ensemble war revenge comedy epic turns genres and icons on their heads with exceedingly smart writing and taut direction. Supporting actor nominee though he may be, Christoph Waltz commands every scene he's in as the cool, calculating, witty, sleazy Nazi villain Hans Landa. And yet, in the ultimate credit to Tarantino and the rest of his cast, Waltz isn't even in the film's best scene, a masterfully built-up extended set-piece of suspense in a basement tavern. In a world of films that simply kill time between their big set pieces, Tarantino wows us with classic moments in every scene.
(Now on Blu-ray and one- and two-disc DVD editions.)

4. A Serious Man
Fill a blender with The Book of Job, Jefferson Airplane, Kafka, Hebrew mythology, simmering anti-semitism and collegiate ethics, and you might not get something so gloriously existential and funny as "A Serious Man," but Joel and Ethan Coen sure did. Michael Stuhlbarg plays a man who is tested in his faith, resilience and moral certitude, and finds himself struggling to maintain his character while facing the meaningless barrage of life. I'd tell you whether he succeeds, but I wouldn't want to spoil one of the most brilliant closing sequences of all time (the final shot may even top the Coens' "Barton Fink!").
(Available on DVD and blu-ray, although the Columbia Record Club may have already sent you one if you didn't do anything.)

5. Sugar
The path we expect to travel isn't always clear, and won't necessarily take us where we think we're going. "Sugar" is about realizing that. The film follows a Dominican baseball player as he leaves his small town to work his way up from the minor leagues in America, but writer/directors Ana Boden and Ryan Fleck recognize that things more often than not don't go according to the script. Boden and Fleck soak in the atmosphere of three very different locations, and Algenis Perez Soto touchingly plays a young man who goes from being the star of his small town to a foreigner in a strange land where he doesn't speak the language.
(Hey, this one is also on DVD and blu-ray.)

6. Up
Even if you don't take its brilliant opening montage into account, "Up," is full of clever gags, exciting action-adventure and great characters. It only gets better once you consider one of the decade's most poignant moments of filmmaking, which depicts our main character's life from young boy to old man. It captures the joys and heartaches of an ordinary life full of ordinary missed opportunities and re-adujusted dreams, recalling King Vidor's "The Crowd." This one sequence elevates the entire whole film by establishing a solid understanding of a character's mindset. It's clear that director Pete Docter and co-director Bob Peterson are two more fine storytellers working at Pixar.
(Jesus, Disney. I'm not going to link to the single-disc edition when it costs the same as the "Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + BD Live" version and only a buck and a half less than the two-disc DVD edition.)

7. Police, Adj.
Corneliu Porumboiu can do more with a simple camera pan or a character exiting or entering the frame than most filmmakers do with 100 shots. The Romanian writer/director followed up the hilarious "12:08 East of Bucharest" with another deft study of the comedy and tragedy of human nature, about a policeman who doesn't want to bust a teenager for marijuana possession. The film is all about meanings and interpretation, of language and of law, and attempts to leap—or maybe fall down—the gulf between what we say and what we feel.
(This one isn't out on DVD, blu-ray or Netflix yet, and isn't playing in many theaters—though I must say the transfer I saw doesn't do the 35-mm print justice. But in many areas you can get it on-demand via the ol' cable companies.)

8. Jerichow
The postman always rings twice, but the UPS man pushes the bell with a stick as he starts to run away. German writer/director Christian Petzold updates a familiar old story to modern times, and finds different dynamics between the characters, different targets for their desires and even a different place for the beginning, middle and end. Expertly shot and acted, this film makes the story as fresh as it's ever been.
(You can stream this one on Netflix or get the DVD.)

9. We Live in Public
As Bernstein told us in "Citizen Kane," "It's no trick to make a lot of money if all you want to do is make a lot of money." Josh Harris, the subject of Ondi Timoner's documentary, made plenty of money as an Internet pioneer, then blew it all on bizarre, elaborate, technological art projects. In many ways, Harris foresaw the future of tweets and status updates and people broadcasting away their privacy, but he acted them out with odd experiments like a closed community where everyone was recorded and broadcast, or a site that delivered constant streaming video of his life with his new wife. The character study that emerges depicts a mad genius high on his ego and hellbent on self-destruction.
(This film has yet to have much of a theatrical release, but you can pre-order the DVD.)

10. The Hurt Locker
Here is an action film that grabs you not just by showing tense, dangerous situations, but by viscerally relaying the experience of those situations. Even when the film's psychological overtures play off key, Kathryn Bigelow has so masterfully captured the in-the-moment terror of diffusing bombs in Iraq—the suspicious neighbors who could be civilians or insurgents, the IED that could blow at any moment—that this film will stand as one of the few that truly places its audience in a war.
(You can still catch this in some theaters thanks to an Oscar-time rerelease, or you can stay at home like a sissy and watch the DVD or blu-ray.)

11 Tied for Eleventh:
"Bright Star"
"The Brothers Bloom"
"The Beaches of Agnes"
"The Class"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"The Headless Woman"
"In the Loop"
"Lorna's Silence"
"Revanche"
"Still Walking"

Honorable Mention
"Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
"Burma VJ"
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
"The Cove"
"Il Divo"
"An Education"
"Food, Inc."
"Goodbye Solo"
"Hunger"
"The Hangover"
"I Love You, Man"
"The Informant!"
"Knowing"
"Moon"
"Summer Hours"
"Sita Sings the Blues"
"Star Trek"
"Tulpan"
"Three Monkeys"
"35 Shots of Rum"
"Where the Wild Things Are"

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I just threw up in my mouth

If this turns out to be true, I will have officially lost faith in everything and everyone. And I quote:

In what is surely the most bizarre rumour to emerge from this year's Berlin film festival, it is whispered that Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are preparing a remake of Taxi Driver, their 1970s tale of a man who stood up, saw clearly and shaved his hair into a mohawk. Only this time, it transpires, they may have a fresh passenger on board – Lars von Trier could be riding shotgun.

In fact, to keep myself from any violent activity, I propose a fun game - mostly to Jeremy, but it's open to others who are interested in joining in. Like a children's therapy session, we're going to come up with pictures expressing how we feel about this news/rumor/harbinger of doom. I'll start:

UPDATE: That's it, Jeremy. It's been days, and you've greatly disappointed me. And the world. Not a single visual?* Shame! Well, time's up. Thankfully, though, the story turned out to be false.

(But that won't stop Jesus from giving them the finger.)

*Unless you were the one who posted the advertisement for free overnight prescriptions, in which case well done.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day 10: Our Only Friend, the End

It's over! In our Sundance Day 10 super-special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast, recorded 01/30/10, we talk about films that won awards, especially the ones we managed to miss!

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Nine: Predicting the Winners with 100-Percent Vague Accuracy

In our our Sundance Day Nine super-special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast, recorded 01/29/10, we talk about potential winners in each of the four competition categories. Films we saw today include "happythankyoumoreplease," "The Kids Are All Right," "Boy," "The Temptation of St. Tony," "Four Lions," "Winter's Bone" and more.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Eight: Swarms of Penises!

Recorded 01/28/10, our Sundance Day Eight special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast includes reviews of World Dramatic Competition highlight "The Man Next Door," "Blue Valentine" starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, "Women Without Men" and "Life 2.0." Plus, Jeremy watched part of a film/performance-art hybrid that featured a swarm of penises. For reals.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Seven: In the first threesome of their lives, Chris & Jeremy welcome a special (female!) guest

Recorded 01/27/10, our Sundance Day Seven special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast features a very special guest. Amber Wilkinson from EyeForFilm joins Chris and Jeremy to discuss her thoughts on this year's festival, Utah beer and whatever random subjects happen to come up. Films mentioned include "Winter's Bone," "Bran Nue Dae," "Animal Kingdom," "3 Backyards," "The Man Next Door," "Sympathy for Delicious," "Abel," "Joan Rivers—A Piece of Work," "Contracorriente (Undertow)" and "Four Lions."

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Six: A "Howl"-ing good festival! (Not really, but get it?)

Recorded 01/26/10, our Sundance Day Six special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast is full of surprises. In an ironic twist, vegetarian Jeremy loves "Catfish," "Howls" at Louis C.K. and scoffs at "Skateland." Meanwhile, Chris falls back off the wagon after taking "Russian Lessons" and declaring, "The Imperialists are Still Alive!"

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Five: "The Killer Inside Me," Baesd on a Book by Tobias Funke

Recorded 01/25/10, our Sundance Day Five special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast features reviews of Michael Winterbottom's "The Killer Inside Me," the surreal "The Temptation of St. Tony," Pulcini and Berman's "The Extra Man," "My Perestroika," "Hesher," "Holy Rollers" and more. And Chris works on his wrist exercises.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Four: Lourdes, Jack Goes Boating, The Runaways and The Mormon Proposition

Recorded 01/24/10, our Sundance Day Four special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast features reviews of Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut, "Jack Goes Boating," Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes," "8: The Mormon Proposition" and "The Runaways," starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in the story of the all-girl rock band.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Three: Welcome to the Rileys, Please Give, Waiting for Superman, Night Catches Us, Family Affair, Many More

Recorded 01/23/10, our Sundance Day Three special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast features discussions of Nicole Holofcener's "Please Give," Davis Guggenheim's "Waiting for Superman," "Welcome to the Rileys" starring James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo," "Family Affair," "Night Catches Us" and more.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day Two: Bold Frenchies, Uneven English Speakers and a Great Doc Premiere

Recorded 01/22/10, our Sundance Day Two special daily edition of The Same Dame Podcast features reviews of Gaspar Noé's "Enter the Void," Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet," last night's documentary premiere "Restrepo," US Dramatic Competition entry "Douchebag" and Sam Taylor-Wood's"Nowhere Boy," about John Lennon's adolescence. (John Lennon was in The Beatles!)

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP Sundance Mini-Podcast Day One: Spike Cuts it Short

Recorded 01/21/10, Our Sundance Day One special edition of The Same Dame Podcast looks at the changes at this year's festival, including the first-ever shorts program to play as part of opening night. Spike Jonze was there!

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode, every night during the festival, provided we don't collapse in a heap of exhaustion.

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SDP 21: Big, Blue and Ready for You

Recorded 01/15/10, episode 21 of The Same Dame Podcast is full of reviews. Six, in fact: "Avatar," "Sherlock Holmes," "Up in the Air," "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," "Nine" and "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." Plus the Conan-Leno free-for-all and the inexplicable Spidey reboot.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode.

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Oh My God Glenn Beck Was Right

Seriously, doesn't Obama have advisors to make sure he avoids this kind of stuff? (WARNING: The linked story contains some spoilers if you aren't caught up through season five of "LOST," although the quote below is safe.)

TV viewers want President Obama to get “Lost” [see what they did there?—J] after reports that the State of the Union address may be moved to Feb. 2. No one seems to have told the White House that the highly anticipated premiere of "Lost’s" last season (according to ABC) is set for the same date.

I am deeply concerned sniff about the direction our country is going. Despite my right eye's efforts to hold it back, a single tear emerges. I mean, after that inverted closing title, anything could happen. And the floodgates are open. And we're just letting some guy who is racist against whites, Australians, Koreans, Iraqis and Others TAKE IT AWAY FROM US? My wet, bloodshot eyes ignite with crazed fire. AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICES THESE THINGS??!???!??!!!

This raises an even deeper issue: Is there anything that could justifiably preempt the LOST season six premiere? I mean, if aliens attacked the world killed 500 million people, then it might be worth considering a postponem—nah, nevermind.

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Papyrus Speaks!

The font Papyrus has written an open letter to the director who elevated it to an all-purpose font. From main titles to subtitles, I think we all now know where to go first for our typographic needs.

Goodness knows I’ve worked hard the past 26 years to make a name for myself. And it’s felt great coming to the aid of New Age spa owners, suburban party planners, and young couples looking to save money by making their own wedding invitations. But only now, by appearing in your movie, have I been given mainstream, high-level recognition as a serious typeface. And for that, I thank you.

Read the whole thing. (Tip: Jim Emerson)

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Holy fucking shit

An official Season 6 promo. Followed by a change of pants.

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Brawlers, Bawlers and BASTERDS: The Golden Globe noms are in

Since Jeremy was too much of a pussy to stay up til 6:30 in the morning to see the juicy announcement of the always-curious Golden Globe nominations, I get to take it upon myself to issue a full report. And by "full," I mean "half," since about half of these movies haven't even been released yet. (You know what HAS been released, Hollywood Foreign Press? "You, the Living." Shit yeah it has. And it's foreign, just like you.)

The most deserving honors went to Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," which DID, in fact, get nominated for Best Picture and Best Director despite falling a bit out of the awards-season consciousness in recent weeks. In the process, it settled a gentlemanly wager between myself and Jeremy, which he won. Bravo, Mr. Mathews - your faith in the HFPA served you well. Tarantino's dizzyingly inventive bit of cinematic ecstasy will be going up against expected nominees like James Cameron's "Avatar" (which we'll see Thursday night and review shortly thereafter), the Oscars' newest cuddly favorite, "Up in the Air," Lee Daniels' overwrought but well-acted awards-bait "Precious" (I'm not typing that full fucking title, even if what I'm writing in these parentheses is significantly longer) and Kathryn Bigelow's excellent "The Hurt Locker," which has been cleaning up this awards season. Critics and award-givers just can't get enough of it. It's like a drug or something. (You know what else is like a drug? WAR. WAR IS A DRUG. That's what "The Hurt Locker" told me, anyway. It was very subtle.)

The big wild card coming into December was whether or not Cameron's well-documented risks (financial, technological, etc.) on "Avatar" would pay off, either in box-office receipts or end-of-the-year prestige. We'll see the numbers a few weeks from now, but early acclaim has been rolling in, and the Golden Globes lend added credibility. What will be really interesting to see is whether or not it can break the Academy's unofficial embargo on nominating science-fiction films for Best Picture. You wanna know what the last sci-fi movie to get an Oscar BP nod was?

I'll give you a second to guess.

...

It was "E.T."

That was 27 years ago. No sci-fi in the top category since then. No "Children of Men." No "Minority Report." No "Brazil." No "Dark City" or "The Matrix." No "Terminator 2." No "Being John Malkovich" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." No "The Iron Giant" or "WALL-E" or "Akira." No "Gattaca" or "12 Monkeys" or "Solaris" or "Aliens" or, yeah I'll say it, "Primer." Not even something barely sci-fi like "The Truman Show." (And yes, I'm differentiating between sci-fi - which is science-based - and fantasy/horror like "Lord of the Rings," "Field of Dreams," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Sixth Sense," "Benjamin Button," "The Green Mile," "Babe," etc.) With ten nomination slots open this year, you'd have to think "Avatar" could finally end that streak.

Or they could just nominate "Precious" ten times.

Personally, I've been awaiting "Avatar" with equal levels intrigue and apprehension - because, as great and consistent as Cameron was in his sci-fi, pre-"Titanic" days, I wasn't sure if this was going to be an honest-to-God comeback for him, or just two-and-a-half hours of wanking off to his pet technologies. I've been burned by George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis one too many times over the last decade to be blindly optimistic. But let's hope for the best, shall we?

Anyway, back to the task at hand. This year's Globes did not disappoint when it came to a pair of charming traditions. The first - and my favorite Globe tradition - is to always nominate at least one movie for Best Picture that no one particularly likes, or at least that no one loves, but which may come with some imaginary prestige. (Or not.) Often, these are very, very bad movies. It's almost like the HFPA dares itself to fuck with those silly Americans by seeing what random movie they can get away with nominating. Case in point: "Bobby," the recent remake of "The Producers," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Man on the Moon," "Across the Universe" (even though I personally liked it), "Legends of the Fall," and, yes, "Patch fucking Adams."

This year, the HFPA actually outdid itself in this regard, nominating both "Nine" (whose existence I find philosophically absurd considering the source material) - directed by Rob Marshall (ugh) - and Nancy Meyers' "It's Complicated" in the BP Comedy/Musical category. The two movies, unseen by Jeremy and I as of yet, have scored a robust 26 percent and 33 percent, respectively, on the Tomatometer. Other nominees for Best Comedy/Musical are "The Hangover" (though, unfortunately, no supporting actor nod for Zach Galifianakis), "(500) Days of Summer" and "Julie & Julia."

The HFPA, of course, overlooked the most hilarious movie of the year, "Death in Love."

(What? That was a serious drama? Rats!)

The second Globe tradition continuing this year is that, due to an amendment in the HFPA's bylaws, it must give Meryl Streep an acting nomination for every movie in which she appears. (Think I'm kidding? She was nominated for "Mamma fucking Mia.") This year, that means she's going head-to-head against herself in Best Actress - Comedy/Musical for "Julie & Julia" and "It's Complicated" - which also, I must add, beat out the Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man" (among others) for a Best Screenplay nod. Hey, I'm not making a value judgment for a movie I haven't seen - I promise. I'm just presenting the facts here, folks.

Other nominations of note include the great Jeff Bridges for Best Actor in the upcoming "Crazy Heart," Carey Mulligan for lead actress in "An Education," relative unknown Michael Stuhlbarg for Best Actor (Comedy) in the Coens' stunning "A Serious Man" and Matt Damon in one of his most fascinating performances in "The Informant!" - which also features my favorite score of the year, for which Marvin Hamlisch was given a Globe nod as well.

And, as expected, Christoph Waltz is up for supporting actor - and an almost certain win - for his diabolically brilliant performance in "Inglourious Basterds."

And, as if it even needed to be stated, the Golden Globes once again overlooked one of the four greatest dramas in the history of television, LOST, in the Best TV Drama category. But hey, at least a daringly original and rapidly evolving show like "House" got honored. (Man, that crazy doctor keeps me on my toes. I never know what he's going to do next!)

Only 49 more days til LOST!!

Click here for the full slate of Golden Globe nominations.

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SDP 20: Mooning Over New Moon (Maybe—Listen to Find Out!)

Recorded 11/29/09, episode 20 of The Same Dame Podcast sadly focuses too much on a film by the name of "New Moon." But don't fear! There are also reviews of "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "An Education," "Precious" and "2012." And in lieu of any news worth reporting, Jeremy and Chris tell increasingly offensive jokes sure to drive away the few listeners they have.

And if you're wondering why THIS one took so long, Jeremy's belief that he found a workaround to Soundtrack Pro's shittiness proved false.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast (via iTunes if you like) so you won't miss our next thrilling episode.

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