For your consideration …

1. Favorite classic Disney?

2. Favorite film from the year 1939?

3. Favorite Carole Lombard Screwball role?

Don’t have one, unless you count To Be or Not to Be which I don’t because it did not really ever descend into pure screwball zaniness.

4. Favorite off screen couple? (It’s ok if it ended in divorce.)

No brainer ….

5. Favorite pair of best friends? (i.e: Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford)

Josephine Baker and Grace Kelly – Not sure if they were the ‘BESTEST’ of friends, but ever since an encounter in NYC early in Grace’s career, they remained dear friends until the end of Josephine’s life. At the time of Baker’s death, Princess Grace secured her burial in Monaco.

6. Favorite actor with a mustache?

7. Favorite blonde actress?

8. Favorite pre-code?

9. Which studio would you have liked to join?

10. Favorite common on screen pairing that SHOULD have gotten married?

William & Myrna

11. Favorite I Love Lucy episode?

12.  Out of these actresses which one do you like best: Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Greer Garson, Grace Kelly, or Katharine Hepburn?

I can only pick one? Shucks – I guess I will have to go with Grace Kelly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Well I’ll a little cheat … the photo below is of Grace Kelly AND Audrey Hepburn

13. Shadowy film noir from the 1940’s or splashy colorful musicals from the 1950’s?

14. Actor or actress with the best autograph (photo preferred).

15. A baby (or childhood, or teenage) photo of either your favorite actress or actor (or both, if you’d like).

Joan Fontaine

However after taking a look at these lovely stills and the talent behind them, I might very well give this 3D-CG extravaganza a shot.

FILM DESCRIPTION (courtesy of UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

From the creators of Despicable Me and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic youth who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Audrey, the girl of Ted’s dreams. Rob Riggle will play financial king O’Hare, and beloved actress Betty White will portray Ted’s wise Grammy Norma.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is the third feature created by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Hop). http://www.theloraxmovie.com

You can see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in cinemas starting March 2nd.

SYNOPSIS

SILENT HOUSE is a uniquely unsettling horror thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah, a young woman who finds herself sealed inside her family’s secluded lake house. With no contact to the outside world, and no way out, panic turns to terror as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house. Directed by filmmaking duo Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, SILENT HOUSE uses meticulous camera choreography to take the audience on a tension-filled, real time journey, experienced in a single uninterrupted shot.

 

SILENT HOUSE is a based on the Uruguayan film “La Casa Muda.”

I never saw or heard of the Uruguayan predecessor, but by looking at these brief images I can tell that it is pretty atmospheric. Generally this is not a film that I will flock to the theater to see  but it looks like Elizabeth Olsen will become the Olsen sister best known for her acting.

ANTHONY MACKIE

EDUCATION: New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, North Carolina School of the Arts, The Julliard School

A little more love never hurt anyone, right? I was debating whether to put the ‘spotlight’ on Mr. Mackie, as his career now seems to gaining a little more steam in recent years several years of treading the boards.

A star of stage and screen, the Julliard-trained Anthony Mackie‘s feature film début was in 2002 in the Eminem project 8 Mile, followed by a lead role in the 2003 independent film Brother to Brother; for the latter role he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for ‘Best Debut Performance.’

ANTHONY MACKIE stars in MAN ON A LEDGE

He first caught my notice in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me (2004), in which he played a man who resorts to an unconventional means of generating income. According to his CV, also in 2004, Mackie had small roles in Jonathan Demme’s remake of The Manchurian Candidate, and Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.

2005 saw only one film credit – the forgettable teaming of Samuel L Jackson and Eugene Levy in The Man.

The following year notable roles included appearances in We Are Marshall and the critically acclaimed Half-Nelson, co-starring Ryan Gosling.

Over the past 5 years, his roles have increased not only in frequency but also profile: Eagle Eye, best-picture of 2009 The Hurt Locker, Notorious [the biopic Notorious, playing rapper Tupac Shakur], The Adjustment Bureau (with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt), Real Steel (with Hugh Jackson) and the comedy What’s Your Number?.

I wanted to highlight one release during this period: in 2010, he starred in the drama set in the 1970′s Night Catches Us, which also stars Kerry Washington. But by briefly reading the synopsis, it looks kind of interesting.

This year, he already has one film in release (Man on a Ledge), one film in the can (the lead in Bolden!, based on the life of New Orleans cornetist and jazz musician Buddy Bolden), and two more on the horizon – Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Gangster Squad, co-starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin.

Phew! In putting this list together, I see that it is quite impressive – Mr. Mackie sure has crafted a very diverse career for himself – and I have not even mentioned the stage work!

I guess the next step is a few more standout lead roles. If Bolden! or any of these 2012 releases prove very successful, that may very well be what puts him over the top.

* will hit cinemas in the U.K. next Friday (2/10)

If none of these titles tickle your fancy, what will you be doing cinema-wise?

Please share your comments below….

P.S. Okay I will admit that looking at the hi-res image for The Woman in Black kind of creeps me out!

Like I did with Sundance, I have reviewed the films and marked off the ones that piqued my interest; because this list is pretty exhaustive, I decided to highlight the narrative and documentary feature competitive categories. For the other categories (not in competition), I simply listed which films looked interesting to me. Please refer to the website for descriptions, etc.

CATEGORY: NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon (also screenplay)

SYNOPSIS

Malcolm and Sofia, two determined teens from the Bronx, are the ultimate graffiti-writers. When a rival gang buffs their latest masterpiece, they must hatch a plan to get revenge by tagging an iconic NYC landmark, but they need to raise $500 to pull off their spectacular scheme. Over the course of two whirlwind, sun-soaked summer days, Malcolm and Sofia travel on an epic urban adventure involving black market spray cans, illicit bodegas, stolen sneakers, a high stakes heist, and a beautiful, stoned girl whose necklace is literally their key to becoming the biggest writers in the City.

Starlet, directed by Sean Baker (also co-wrote)

SYNOPSIS

STARLET explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway), and 85 year-old Sadie (Besedka Johnson), two women whose worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates, Melissa and Mikey, while taking care of her Chihuahua, Starlet. Sadie, an elderly widow, passes her days alone, tending to her flower garden.

CATEGORY: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

The Source, directed by Jodi Wille & Maria Demopoulos

SYNOPSIS

It’s 1971 and communes and new religions are on the rise. The Source Family are an “Aquarian tribe,” a secretive but outlandish group of 140 beautiful young people who stroll Los Angeles in colorful robes, devotees of “Father Yod,” a controversial restaurateur-turned-spiritual leader with fourteen wives and his own psychedelic rock band.

The Family lives in a mansion and operates a popular restaurant on the Sunset Strip, serving vegetarian cuisine to musicians and movie stars, pioneering a national trend. But their radical lifestyle instigates the authorities. Their demise is dramatic and painful, but Yod’s spirit lives on.

Welcome to the Machine, directed by Avi Zev Weider

SYNOPSIS

Upon becoming the father to triplets, filmmaker Avi Zev Weider explores the nature of technology. Woven together with expert interviews and portraits of people who have intimate relationships with technology, WELCOME TO THE MACHINE reveals that all discussions about technology are ultimately about what it means to be human.

CATEGORIES: HEADLINERS/NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT/DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

(HEADLINERS) Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with some major and rising names in cinema.  (NARRATIVE) High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW. (DOCUMENTARY) Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW.

• Hunky Dory (Narrative)

• $ELLEBRITY (Documentary)
• The Announcement (Documentary)
• Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (Documentary)

CATEGORY: EMERGING VISIONS

Audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape that demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking.

•  Black Pond
• Eating Alabama
• The Last Fall

CATEGORY: 24 BEATS PER SECOND

Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.

• Charles Bradley: Soul of America
• Sunset Strip

CATEGORY: SX GLOBAL

A diverse panorama of international filmmaking talent, including premieres, interactive documentaries and shorts.

• Italy, Love it, or Leave it 

CATEGORY: FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Acclaimed standouts and selected previous premieres from festivals around the world.

•  The Comedy

As someone who loves cinema, it is always a fun task to take a look at what is going on at the leading edge of the film industry. Last year, this is where Attack the Block generated a great deal of buzz.

So what do you think? Are you interested in any of the films? Do you plan on going to SXSW?

* All photos, synopses courtesy of South by Southwest (SXSW)

SYNOPSIS

Alma is a small-town teen with a big imagination. Horny and looking for love, she has only her lively imagination and a kindly phone sex operator to ameliorate her frustratingly lonely and chaste life. But Alma’s active fantasy world and even more active libido only seem to get her into trouble. After a titillating yet awkward encounter with school heartthrob Artur promises to literally make Alma’s dreams come true, she is instead shunned by her catty classmates and saddled with a particularly unkind nickname. Suddenly a social outcast, Alma is desperate to just move out of town and on with her life… if only growing up were ever that simple.

You can catch the trailer here (Word of warning: the film contains mature content).

Turn Me On … will hit US cinemas in limited release starting March 30th. I plan on attending a sneak peek of the film later this month and will have something posted by then.

It stars Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Jim Broadbent and Ewan McGregor. What amazed me about this film all those years ago was that I principally knew of Horrock’s work as the ditzy-headed Bubble in the classic Absolutely Fabulous. As a consequence I did not know she could sing, much less mimic classic lounge singers the way she did in this film. It was quite impressive.

Laura (Horrocks), known as Little Voice (LV for short) is a shy, retiring young woman who lives with her mom, Mari (Blethyn), but primarily keeps to her room, listening to records of singers of yesteryear – including Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich. There is a sentimental attachment to the music as the records she plays are those of her beloved late father. In stark contrast, Mari treats her daughter with great indifference; most of her energies are focused on more amorous pursuits. In fact it is one of her recent conquests, Ray (Caine) who at once hears her magnificent voice and decides at once to exploit her talents for commercial gain. We then see her career’s fortunes rise and fall (as per the play’s original title). But do not be alarmed, it is a tender, sweet and ultimately triumphant story.

For those of you who do not mind a spoiler-ish scene from the film, there is a clip from the film that shows her full range on display available on YouTube.

According to ‘The WIKIPEDIA” the following songs were performed by Horrocks herself:

• “The Man that Got Away”
• “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)”
• “Over the Rainbow”
• “Chicago”
• “Big Spender”
• “I Wanna Be Loved By You”
• “Sing As We Go”
• “Falling in Love Again”
• “Get Happy”

I think my personal  favorite scene is early on when Ray discovers that LV has pipes:

FACT: I love to cook (and bake). So I often look forward to watching how the actors in films throw down. As you can imagine, it is not  the most authentic portrayal of the culinary arts in actions. But the results are (of course) something to marvel at.

That got me thinking further about food and their representation in motion pictures. Thanks to some intrepid research on the Chowhound website, I was able to compile a list of pretty yummy offerings. You may also want to check out this article on the Gastronomica website; it has a wonderful comprehensive list.

Among of my favorite films:

• LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
  
• BIG NIGHT
  
• UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
  
• SOUL KITCHEN

On my must see list:

• Chocolat
• Mostly Martha
• Fork Over Knives
• Food Inc.
• Ratatouille – I saw about 30 minutes of it and then my niece and nephew had a meltdown in the theatre. We had to leave the cinema. I have yet to see the rest of the film. Although I will admit that the idea of a rat being a master chef is not necessarily the most appetizing of prospects.

Honorable mentions: Waitress, Soul Food

Guilty Pleasure: No Reservations

While I have not seen Mostly Martha, I have seen the English language/ U.S. version No Reservations starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart. I watch this on repeat viewings for two wonderful reasons: 1) great NYC shots and 2) Aaron Eckhart.

(Dis)honorable Mention: Eat Pray Love.

Not the best film that I have seen in recent memory, but this is about the best pizza I have seen; brought me right back to Italy!

What are some of your favorite films featuring food and cooking?

Like I did last Monday, here are a collection of articles and other bits that I have seen around the web that I thought some of my readers might be interested in.

1. SUNDANCE 2012 COMES TO A CLOSE

The list is too long to put together is a single post so I respectfully defer to the Sundance Press Office for the full list of award winners of the festival.

2. THE GREY STRIKES GOLD

Liam Neeson’s latest action-adventure outing, The Grey, topped the box office this weekend with an estimated $20 million in receipts.

(A VIDEO BONUS): THAT SPEECH FROM TAKEN

Liam Neeson is a great sport:

3. OUCH!

In his review of One for the Money, Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek Magazine asks who are Katherine Heigl’s fans?

4. OSCAR ROUNDTABLE 2012

Very entertaining panel this year; but a little off on its prediction (3/6 to be exact) of who would be in contention for the original Golden Boy of Hollywood.

5. TERMINATOR-R?

For those who care, Terminator 5 will be rated-R.

6. THE OLD TEAM IS BACK TOGETHER

After the winning Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright and Co. are teasing fans with a Twitter pic of the project they are working on.

7. MEET THE MOMS

Check out the gallery of mums-to-be for the upcoming film What to Expect When You are Expecting.

Have a great week everyone!