I loved Crash, anvils and all. I'm glad Matt Dillion got a nom.

Recently watched movies include: Broken Flowers and while I liked most of it, the ending was LAME. I didn't expect that. Also watched Lord of War--which was also lame. I DID expect that.

I've seen a clip of the sex scene from Underworld Evolution online. I'm going to a matinee tomorrow while Owen's at the sitter.

I really need to get that Val Lewton DVD set.

Guess what I got for xmas.

I particularly love "Curse of the Cat People" because it's so very peculiar.

It is that. And both you and Matt are correct that (a) it has a sinister undertone and (b) nothing much happens. It's a very short movie, and the very first directorial credit for Robert Wise. He was interviewed before he died about it, and they ran it after his death this fall on TCM. He had an amazing career. I know the auteur theorists had a low opinion of him, but he did so many cool movies! Shit, he was an editor on Citizen Kane. He did The Haunting! Curse of the Cat People! Worked with Val Lewton and Orson Welles! Cool noirs too.

Hipsters just couldn't forgive him for Sound of Music.

I usually read this blog for the comics content, but this post makes me want to run and see both movies, even more than usual.

“Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing.”

Holy carp that line gives me chills just thinking about it. What an incredible movie.

Someone asked about the Best Picture and Director noms, and I just read this on Yahoo:

It was the first time since 1981 that the same five movies were nominated for directing and best picture.

“Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing.”

I'm still pissed I missed meeting Harper Lee last fall.

I'm getting a Hoffman/Huffman vibe for best actor and actress.

Shit, he was an editor on Citizen Kane. He did The Haunting! Curse of the Cat People! Worked with Val Lewton and Orson Welles! Cool noirs too.

Hec (and any other interested parties), for Robert Wise, if you haven't, you really need to see THE SETUP. It's in one of the noir box sets that's out there, but it's probably also in a stand alone somewhere, and it's just amazing. Basically a real time story about a boxing match that's supposed to be fixed.

Scorcese co-commentaries with I want to say Wise, but I'm not 100% sure it was Wise (definitely Scorcese, though). I think they were done separately, but it's still interesting.

TKaM is probably the best book-to-film adaptation ever. On the commentary, the director points out that the only big added scene was the one after Atticus put the kids to bed, and Scout asks Jem about their mother. As the oh-so-sad-to-listen-to questions continue on, the camera pans out to Atticus sitting on the porch, listening just as we are. Peck's face is just heartbreaking to watch.

I'm getting a Hoffman/Huffman vibe for best actor and actress.

I'm down with the Hoffman part. I haven't seen Transamerica so I shouldn't judge but I'm really pulling for Reese Witherspoon. I just loved her so much as June Carter Cash.

Some of Wise's credits.

As an editor:

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
My Favorite Wife (1940)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

As a sound editor:

Top Hat (1935) (sound effects editor) (uncredited)
The Informer (1935) (sound effects editor) (uncredited)
The Gay Divorcee (1934) (sound effects editor) (uncredited)

As a director:

The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Haunting (1963)
Two for the Seesaw (1962) (Robert Mitchum & Shirley Maclaine?)
West Side Story (1961)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) (another cool noir)
I Want to Live! (1958) (great noir/melodrama)
The Set-Up (1949) (as Frank notes, a classic noir/boxing film)
Blood on the Moon (1948) (Western Noir! No really, it's good)
The Body Snatcher (1945)
The Curse of the Cat People (1944)