happy-go-lucky Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I have a theory that whether you find Poppy in Happy-Go-Lucky utterly annoying or a joy and an inspiration offers an interesting insight to your personality. I once declared in a fit of hyperbole that anyone who didn't love Happy-Go-Lucky or The Brothers Bloom was not anyone I wanted to associate with. I might have also insinuated such people didn't have a soul. And while those statements were rather hasty, I stand by my theory about Poppy, played by Sally Hawkins Maybe you sympathize with Eddie Marsan's angry and needy driving instructor character and think she should have done more to help him. Maybe you think Poppy is another insipid incarnation of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Or maybe you just like structured plots. Me, I was totally happy to trip along with Poppy on her adventures, no matter how nonsensical or ill-advised.

Welcome to Girls on Film -- not as skin-laden as the Duran Duran song, but a new Cinematical column full of female-centric musing, rants, love, and aggravation.

There are two ways you can go with an introductory post -- you can either jump in randomly, or try for something all-encompassing. I was set on the latter, but the challenge is not just stating the obvious. We know that women struggle behind the camera, and we know what they get offered in front of it. But as much as gripes and arguments about women in film are necessary to improve the Hollywood landscape, they're only as good as the moments of praise and adoration. If we can't appreciate the good that's present today, and for that matter, was present yesterday, this cycle will never end because eyes set completely on the future never see the perks of the present.

It's a bad habit that pops up in any part of life -- so much energy is expended on the fight, and it's so easy to fall into an aggravation-filled rant, that we often forget the good. In the world of cinema, it's everywhere. We rant, rightly so, about remakes and sequels, but also forget when they transcend their mundane brethren to become a worthy feature. (The first Fly is wonderful, but can you imagine Hollywood without the remake?) When it comes to women, so much energy is thrown down the toilet ranting about talented women selecting crap -- Sandra Bullock's next dumb comedy, or another romcom about girls fighting over boys (I'm looking at you, Bride Wars) -- that we rarely chatter on about the good. And, if you follow that whole Law of Attraction thing, focusing on the absence is bad, but focusing on the good that's there brings more of it.

Milk
Sean Penn won an Academy Award for his portrayal of openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, and Dustin Lance Black won another for his script, which focused on Milk's activist years in the 1970s. "It's a minor miracle of sheer film making joy and determination," wrote James Rocchi, "and one of the best American films of 2008." With deleted scenes and mini-features "Remembering Harvey," "Hollywood Comes to San Francisco," and "Marching for Equality." Also on Blu-ray. Buy it.

Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.

Let the Right One In
My top pick from last year is a dramatic thriller about vampires and young people, old souls and eternal fears, yearning for the unobtainable and the inevitable pains of loving another person. Director Tomas Alfredson takes a traditional tale -- the youngster who is picked on and the new friend who helps -- and rubs in a touch of supernatural, a touch of the old world, and a touch of heart on the sleeve, wrapping it in beauty and agony. Also on Blu-ray. Buy it.

Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.

Transporter 3
I have no easy defense of my love for Jason Statham as Frank Martin in the Transporter films. Suffice it to say that the action -- fights, car stunts, people stunts -- keeps me occupied, the plots are not hard to track, and I like the interplay between the main character and Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand). In this episode, Jeroen Krabbé as the bad guy is a nice bonus. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.

Also out: Cadillac Records, Role Models. After the jump: a bounty of Indies on DVD, more Blu-ray Picks, plus Collector's Corner.

A little positivity has gone a long way for Mike Leigh. Since Happy-Go-Lucky premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2008, it's charmed audiences worldwide, and earned an impressive 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It seemed destined to win it all, or at the very least -- a Best Film nod at this year's British Academy Film Awards (also known as the BAFTAs). Nope! Think again!

The Hollywood Reporter posts that the film will not be in the running for a nomination in the Best Film category this year, nor will Mike Leigh be on the list for Best Director. A long list was sent to voting members, and while flicks like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Wrestler, and The Dark Knight were present, Poppy's happy-go-lucky attitude was not. The small bone that the film will most likely get is a nod in the Best British film category. That's it.

We complain about all the Oscar rules, but man -- it's a lot more annoying when one of the most highly regarded British films this year couldn't even be on the long list for Best Film at a British awards ceremony. I would get all ranty about this, but that behavior is most certainly anti-Poppy. So, I'll just wish the powers that BAFTA be find themselves locked in a car with Scott sometime.

Which year-end lists are really worth caring about? What films got a boost from the Broadcast Film Critics and Golden Globe nominations, like Happy-Go-Lucky, and which ones got lost in the shuffle? What's Iron Man doing on the AFI Top Ten Films List, anyhow? And what long, epic films are perfect for enjoying with a turkey sandwich on Boxing Day? Joining James this week to talk about all these topics and more is Kris Tapley of the weblog In Contention. You can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

So it's now the time of year where critics across the country vote for their favorite films, and the first two major groups out of the gate are Los Angeles and New York. The other day, LA critics surprised most by naming WALL-E the best picture of 2008, while NY -- who just voted this morning -- have picked Milk to be their favorite of the year. Sean Penn was named best actor by both groups, as was Man on Wire for best documentary. Noticeably absent on both lists are buzzed-about films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Doubt and Gran Torino.

NY gave Slumdog Millionaire the cinematography award, Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky) the directing award, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days the best foreign language award and WALL-E received the best animated flick. The biggest snub out of NY was supporting actor, which went to Josh Brolin for Milk and not Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (LA picked Ledger). Not sure what my brothers and sisters in NY were thinking there; Brolin was good, no doubt, but nowhere near Ledger. Check out the full lists for both after the jump.

The Italian films Il Divo and Gomorra hogged the spotlight at Saturday's announcement of the European Film Award nominations, with five nods apiece, including best picture. "But wait," you might be saying if you're not European. "Why do the European Film Awards matter to me? I'm not European!"

They matter because you love foreign films, that's why. OK, and also because the EFAs often presage the Academy Awards. Recent EFA best picture winners have included such Oscar-scented titles as The Lives of Others, Talk to Her, Amelie, and Dancer in the Dark. Gomorra -- which is apparently about skinny underwear models who shoot guns at the beach -- has been submitted as Italy's Oscar hopeful and now seems like a surefire nominee, thanks to its EFA attention. The other EFA best picture nominees are The Class (France's Oscar submission), Waltz with Bashir (Israel's submission), Happy-Go-Lucky (whose star, Sally Hawkins, has generated Oscar buzz), and The Orphanage (which was eligible for Oscar consideration last year).

In the director category, the EFA nominees are Laurent Cantet (The Class), Andreas Dresen (Cloud 9), Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir), Matteo Garrone (Gomorra), Steve McQueen (Hunger), and Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo). Also of note: Toni Servillo is named in the best actor category for two performances -- Il Divo and Gomorra. You'd think those were the only two films Italy made this year.

Most of the EFA-nominated films either have U.S. distribution lined up or are already playing here. Success at the awards, to be handed out in Copenhagen on Dec. 8, will increase their visibility in American theaters and may also help their chances at the Oscars. The complete list of nominations is here.

Success Stories:
Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax)
Religulous (Lionsgate)
Ballast (Alluvial/Required Viewing)

One Brit edged out another, as RockNRolla, Guy Ritchie's zippy yet utterfully forgettable "return to form" Brit crime flick, narrowly claimed the #1 spot among limited releases, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. To my mind, though, Mike Leigh's much riskier Happy-Go-Lucky ($20,000 per screen at four theaters) is the surprise winner in the independent world, with a strking lead performance by Sally Hawkins as a preternaturally cheerful schoolteacher who sounds as though she could set teeth on edge as easily as she warms hearts. I'm curious but wary. The film will expand wider on Friday; if you've seen it, is it a tonic for difficult times or a passive aggressive form of torture?

Speaking of possibly unpleasant experiences, I'm also surprised by the excellent returns for Larry Charles' Religulous. The doc has earned more than $6.7 million in just two weeks; A. J. Schnack of All these wonderful things points out that it's the first doc since Michael Moore's Sicko "to score back-to-back multi-million dollar weekends." I grew tired of Bill Maher's smirking, self-righteous ridicule years ago, but perhaps I'm in the minority. If you've seen the doc, are you a big fan of Maher? Or is it the subject matter that made it a must-see?

Lance Hammer's Ballast deserves a big hand. Not only did Hammer write and direct a highly-praised drama, he decided to take on distribution duties as well, opening it at a single Manhattan theater the weekend before last. The earnings were not stunning, but very respectable for picture without stars. It expands to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Philadelphia and St. Louis before the end of October, according to indieWIRE. Will you check out Ballast if it opens near you?

Today I leave Toronto to head home to Seattle, leaving James Rocchi behind to see the fest through to its exhausting end. It's been a decent fest overall, not great but good. I saw a several films I enjoyed here, including Burn After Reading, Goodbye Solo, and 35 Rhums, as well as a couple of fun midnight picks with JCVD and Detroit Metal City.

I missed being able to see a lot of films I really wanted to see, due to schedule conflicts and the lack of a cloning machine at our hotel that would allow me to be multiple places at once (or at least, the ability to see far enough into the future to foresee which of two films screening opposite each other will be wretched).

It seems that lots and lots of people who attend this fest (I'm talking normal people, not those of us crazy or masochistic enough to work in any aspect of the film business) want very, very much to attend the big parties, and seem to think if they can't get in, they're missing something fun or perhaps even life-altering. There's always a gaggle of scantily clad girls and hipsters hovering around the entrance of these events, hoping to finagle a way to crash the party.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Happy-Go-Lucky (click image to enlarge), directed by Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Secrets & Lies). The film, which premiered in Telluride and is currently screening at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, stars Sally Hawkins as an eternally optimistic teacher living and working in North London. Apart from the exclusive clip we debuted on Cinematical earlier in the week, Kim had this to say about the film: "All in all, I quite liked Happy-Go-Lucky; it's certainly one of Leigh's more mainstream-friendly films, and will appeal to moviegoers beyond the dress-all-in-black, gloom-and-doom cinephile crowd, while still retaining enough of the Leigh touch to satisfy most of the purists."

Happy-Go-Lucky will arrive in theaters with a smile on October 10.