Every month ClashMusic.com will be bringing readers a neat digest of the hottest happenings in the film world, based on (and taken from) our comprehensive film section in the magazine.
So, over to film editor Ben Hopkins for the latest in the line of cinema…
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Award season rolls on
The award season juggernaut rolls on relentlessly, with the unveiling of the Oscar winners coming soon after the BAFTAs.
Looking back the BAFTAs, it’s hard to spot too much cause for complaint; Slumdog Millionaire’s flurry of awards was well deserved, everyone loves Mickey Rourke again and the fact that Benjamin Button was reduced to a trio of technical awards seems like an apt balance for the film’s triumph of craft over narrative.
As with all award ceremonies inconsistencies occur, most notably with the Best British Film award that somehow encompasses nominees whose success was built on audaciously jaw-dropping artistry (Hunger), an audacious and jaw-dropping lack of artistry (Mamma Mia!) and a fine balance between cleverly refined filmmaking and mass popularity (Slumdog). The winner was sky-scrapin’, tightrope walkin’ documentary extravaganza Man on Wire – somehow the Best British Film, but not even chosen to contend with Slumdog in the main Best Film category.
Elsewhere, it was good to see Steve McQueen receive recognition for the Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a debutant filmmaker, while the Orange Rising Star Award went to Noel Clarke, an obvious yet deserved winner following a public vote.
And yet the funniest encounter of the whole affair was the video that followed Terry Gilliam’s Fellowship award, as it repeated several of his most famous clips time and time again. Doh!
No such mistakes eased into the ultra professional, ultra glossy celebration of tears and triumphs that is the Oscars. Given the mainstream media’s coverage, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the event is some sort of surreal, elaborate fashion show given that most reports paid more attention to the frocks than the flicks. But that’s the natural consequence of contemporary culture’s pursuit of gloss over substance and a series of awards almost entirely free from controversy. Maybe Mickey Rourke can feel hard done by, but there was little surprise and little to grumble about by way of Slumdog’s bucket full of gongs, Kate Winslet’s first Best Actress prize and posthumous recognition for Heath Ledger.
I’ll leave you with a penny pinching tip. If you’ve kept a ticket purchased at Vue to one of a selection of this year’s winners prior to February 22, you can grab yourself a freebie – more info on which can be spotted right HERE.
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In this month’s magazine
Get your mitts on shiny copy of this month’s Clash (issue 36, Prodigy cover) to catch the highlights of the film section:
> Steve Barron made every great music promo of the 1980s (except for Ghostbusters, obviously), scored a goal at Wembley and has recently released intriguing cult indie hit Choking Man. Check out his thoughts on being the first to see Michael Jackson’s dance moves and a photo of him hanging out with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the section’s lead feature.
> Our film reviews tackles Benjamin Button (good, but not that good), teacher / student drama The Class, more teacher shenanigans from Steve Coogan in Hamlet 2, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep tackle religion in Doubt while Woody Allen follows a couple of duds with the infinitely superior Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
> DVDs under the microscope include the harshly ignored wannabe Oscar contender Gomorrah, the stars of Life on Mars in Tuesday, a mention of an “illegal consignment of catnip” in our look at RocknRolla and The Fall, a visual treat from Losing My Religion promo maker Tarsem.
> Music! You love Arcade Fire, but will you love their new DVD Miroir Noir? Find out here. You won’t love Anvil, but can their metal documentary really be the new Spinal Tap? Plus an oldie but a goodie from The Supremes and Brighton hip-hop shenanigans in South Coast that, incidentally, can be purchased exclusively from HERE.
> There’s more! Walter Salles chats about Linha de Passe and On The Road, plus The Good, The Bad, The Weird is mostly good and weird.
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A fresh batch of trailer goodness
They’re like entertaining adverts, but without providing the desire for Michael Winner to meet a Death Wish style ending.
Watchmen (pictured, top) needs no introduction, and we can bring you three clips from the film (out March 6):
More Watchmen updates can be found HERE.
> Like films and retro football? Then The Damned United should be right up your street: Click for more.
> And great news for Wilco fans as the band will release a new concert DVD entitled Ashes of American Flags in April. Catch a sneaky peak right HERE.
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Lost film obscurity of the month: The Puffy Chair
Many films never get the audience that they deserve. So, each month Film Digest will uncover one worthy of your time and yet almost entirely unknown. One of the lesser-known films from the unappealingly named mumblecore scene, The Puffy Chair sounds ludicrously dull – a man attempts to deliver a reclining chair to his father as a gift, only to find his road trip hindered by his demanding girlfriend and oddball brother – but it’s suitably quick-witted and touching to be worthy of being rediscovered. And the soundtrack is indietastic too, with contributions from Death Cab For Cutie, Spoon and Matt Pond PA.
Watch the trailer below…
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Finally… in the magazine next month
March 5 brings another issue of Clash and another month of film activity, so head to the film section to find interviews with Steve McQueen and Surveillance director / David Lynch’s daughter Jennifer, a wealth of reviews including Chess Records biopic Cadillac Records and Generation Kill, and the new series from the fine folk behind The Wire.
