Unscenely

"I am not daydreaming"

[aslowandendlessdrizzle]

Look into my eyes so you know what it’s like to live a life not knowing what a normal life’s like.

[veronikazakonjsek]

[georgeorsonwelles-deactivated20]

[unscenely]

Tony Leung wins the Best Actor award at the 2000 Cannes film festival for ‘In the Mood For Love’.

"I was terribly lucky this year. And that’s all it is, luck."

[thefilmfatale]

BOYHOOD

There’s something infinitely interesting about capturing the growth of a person over a period of time, and who better to tell a story like this than Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight's Richard Linklater? In Boyhood, Linklater follows 6-year-old Mason (Ellar Coltrane) through the ups and downs of his childhood, all the way through adolescence, a 12-year project that yielded fascinating insights about coming-of-age. Boyhood premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and also stars Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. The film will be released in US theaters on July 11, 2014.

[thefilmfatale]

First look at Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender in Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth

[cinemagal]

Camelot! Camelot! Camelot!

It’s only a model.

[unscenely]

The Wind Rises

Hayao Miyazaki | 2013

Miyazaki’s final bow is also the most atypical of all his works: based on a true story, featuring an adult protagonist, and with no fantasy elements in sight. But the story of Jiro Horikoshi, an aircraft designer in pre-WWII Japan, is still buoyed by Miyazaki’s imagination through the device of dreams. Dream sequences, of flight, of invention, and of escape, filter through the film: there’s Jiro’s dream-apprenticeship with the Italian plane designer Caproni, his dream to design the most beautiful aircraft, and then at last, his dream to hang on to love. Reality intervenes frequently–through disaster, war, and illness–but it’s always kept at arm’s length, though perhaps too diplomatically at times. The animation is somewhat functional, but real beauty is still saved for the dream sequences and those moments of flight–both in the air and in pure, quiet affection–when the film, and Miyazaki, allow themselves to rise, gently and movingly. B+

[nightinghale]

[unscenely]

“I remember when I played the character in Doubt. It was a character that not a lot of black people embraced. Because they didn’t like her. I think a lot of women face that, in general. A lot more than men. Black women really face it. We are always overly-sanctified in movies. Overly-nurturing, overly-sympathetic. And to find that place where you’re “messy” is very difficult. It’s even difficult to negotiate it with a director on set. When you’re coming from a place of being a trained actor and you understand human behavior, and you understand that it’s your job to create a human being, that when people sit in the audience they just need to connect the dots. They need to be able to say this is a person that’s driven by needs and this is what drives them. And it’s hard to create that human being because there’s so many facets of your personality they want to stifle because of this [gestures to the skin of her arm].”

— Viola Davis [watch]

[starkiness]

at the set of Her (2013)

[unscenely]

American Hustle

David O'Russell | 2013

American Hustle bills itself as a fun film, with exclamation marks!  It’s not that it isn’t, but a few things get in the way of this. Chief among them is the storyline: con artists Bale and Adams being forced by the Police to help sting corrupt politicians is an elaborate double heist whose details become too convoluted, distracting from the fun(!) and getting in the way of the far more interesting personal drama between the protagonists. And it’s all for a finale with far less payoff than promised by the escalating stakes. This is despite the film’s technical proficiency (including stellar costuming and production design), a very snappy script, and a cast firing on all cylinders which really elevates the film (excepting the hilariously miscast Lawrence and especially considering the splendid Adams). The end result is solid but uneven, and for all one wants to get carried away by the, yes, fun, it’s clear that the filmmakers are having more of it than the audience ever could. B

[swedishfishrule]

[unscenely]

The day after..

A very good night overall, with a great, if slightly predictable, set of winners. Ecstatic and thrilled for Lupita and 12 Years A Slave. So happy for Cate, who remains classy as fuck, and probably cemented herself as the follower of Meryl's Oscar path, if not her acting legacy. Warmly pleased for Her, which is likely to have a lot of longevity and whose win is more consequential than most. Unimpressed by McConaughey's charmless preaching, and polite bemusement at Leto. It's weird how little contention there was with virtually all the categories apart from Best Picture, which was also the only place the two frontunners were going head to head. But the spread of wealth between the two is a fitting tribute to one of the closest races for Best Picture ever. The ceremony itself (and Ellen's hosting) started strong, but waned in energy through the night. Ellen's interactions with the crowd became increasingly laboured, and the show only had nonsensical montages to throw up periodically. The 'Heroes' theme was rather unsubtle and unimaginative, making it clear the ceremony would never reach the recent highwater mark of the 2008 Oscars (at Hugh Jackman's helm). In a word, it was inoffensive; neither disastrous nor inspired in any way. Which is just as well; it will at least be remembered as a night and year where the Academy mostly did right, by itself and by history.

[delevingned-deactivated20151023]

The cast and crew of ‘12 Years a Slave’ celebrate after winning the Best Picture award onstage during the 86th Annual Academy Awards

[unscenely]

And..

This time, Unscenely officially stans* for:

Lupita Nyong'o in Best Supporting Actress

The Act of Killing in Best Documentary Feature

12 Years a Slave in Best Picture

*would really, really like them to win (and will be heartbroken if they don't).

[unscenely]

2013 Oscar Predictions

Unscenely predicts:

Picture: 12 Years a Slave Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave Original Screenplay: Her Cinematography: Gravity Costume Design: The Great Gatsby Film Editing: Captain Phillips Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club Music (Original Score): Gravity Music (Original Song): ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen Production Design: The Great Gatsby Sound Editing: Gravity Sound Mixing: Gravity Visual Effects: Gravity Animated Feature Film: Frozen Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Changed my Life Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty Short Film (Live Action): Heium Short Film (Animated): Get a Horse!

EDIT: 22/24! (personal best, and probably never to be repeated)

[unscenely]

Frozen

Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck | 2013

Disney Animation Studios finally usurps Pixar post-millennium, in the popularity stakes if not the quality ones, with a princess-with-powers-gone-wrong storyline. The (almost) two leads and the antagonist ambiguities are atypical, as is the subversion of what ‘true love’ is. Given both its source and its target audience, this is very important and should not go unnoticed. The effects in service of this suit the film well, with Elsa’s ice castle being a particular highlight. The humour is enjoyable, but the charm it creates is more pleasant than memorable. More definitively unimpressive, however, are the actual songs–which seemingly ape tunes from Wicked–and the characters–who, in both writing and design, cannot quite carry the film’s message with conviction. The combined result is a film that feels less of an accomplishment in and of itself and more a waypoint in its creator’s (incremental) progress. B–

[blu-screens]