Daily Loaf

Last year’s critical darlings continue their march to DVD and Blu-ray with Frost/Nixon leading the April 21 slate of releases. Ron Howard directed this excellent adaptation of Peter Morgan’s Tony award-winning play recounting the historic television interviews of disgraced former president Richard Nixon by British TV gadfly David Frost. Though Howard does his usual, slick job with the film, it’s the acting that’s the ultimate draw. Frank Langella dominates the film, big and grand as Nixon but still granting the ex-prez a touching humanity he is often denied. (For example: Dan Hedaya’s hilarious but lightweight caricature in Dick.) Michael Sheen plays Frost as an Austin Powers-lite figure that grows into an able foil for Langella’s outsized Nixon, and supporting turns by Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell are uniformly excellent. The only real weakness to Frost/Nixon is that it plays a little fast and loose with the history, but hey, this is Hollywood after all.

Geeks unite!There’s a new X-Men box set! More after the break …

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If Mickey Rourke wins Best Actor tonight, and if his acceptance speech is even half as funny (or a sixteenth as profane) as his Independent Spirit Awards speech yesterday, then we’ll have an Oscar moment to cherish right up there with the Jack Palance one-armed pushup. I’m rooting for Sean Penn myself, but I’d be happy to see Rourke win just to see what he will say.

The Wrestler also won Spirit awards (the indie-film Oscars) for best picture and best cinematography, and Oscar nominees Melissa Leo and Penelope Cruz won Spirits for best actress and best supporting actress — which may augur well for them tonight. (There’s buzz about a Leo upset.)

The NY Times' David "Carpetbagger" Carr does his man-on-the-street thing.

If you haven’t already done so, check out our Oscar contest blog, our live-blog headquarters and our posts  about a might-have-been-an-Oscar-winning film in this year’s Gasparilla International Film Festival.

And for your further Oscar edification, here are some stories (and predictions) worth checking out before the show:

On EW.com, Dave Karger’s provocative speculations about the ten biggest possible upsets — good fodder for your last-minute Oscar-pool votes

In the NY Times: A.O. Scott’s grouchy assessment of the awards’ irrelevance — and, on the other hand, David Carr’s view that, In Times Like These, “there’s nothing quite like gathering around something warm and sparkly when the darkness seems to be intruding at every turn.” (And you’ve got to check out his inimitable Oscar vlog, The Carpetbagger and his awards predictions delivered on location in Times Square, where he  tries valiantly to find anyone else who’s interested in the subject.)

In the Tampa Tribune, Jeff Houck’s clever suggestions for Oscar-nominee food pairings for your awards-party buffet: Samosas for Slumdog, the Piledriver for The Wrestler, and Baby Ruth Brownies for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. (Yes, believe it or not, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an Oscar nominee for Best Makeup, and if you know Hellboy, you’ll know why the Baby Ruths.)

On VF.com, Annie Leibovitz’s gorgeous photos of award-winning actor/director teams, including a haunting shot of Heath Ledger and Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan. See two shots after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Note: If you haven’t done so already, make sure you enter our Oscar contest for a chance at free dinner and a movie from Creative Loafing. And don’t miss our live-blogging of the show itself, starting 7 p.m. on Sunday night, right here on The Daily Loaf.

Now, we continue our countdown to Oscar night with a look at a major award up for grabs on Sunday. (Yesterday was Best Supporting Actress.) Today, we break down:

BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Richard Jenkins, The Visitor; Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon; Sean Penn, Milk; Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Vegas odds: Rourke is even money, with Penn fractionally behind. Early fave Langella has fallen to 8-1, but even that far outpaces dark horses Pitt (20-1) and Jenkins (50-1).
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The wait is over. Joe and I return to the studio for our fourth Reel Projections podcast, 20 minutes of windbagging about the best films of the year (most of which we didn’t see), the biggest moneymakers and my utter lack of preparation for the show. Special Listener Bonus: another appearance by singer/songwriter Clint Eastwood.

Don’t call it a comeback: Tired of hearing about Mickey Rourke’s return to form in critics’ darling The Wrestler? Well, you’ve got company, ’cause apparently so is Mickey.

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New on DVD/Blu-ray: Mamma Mia!, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Third Man.

Cinemablend has a cool little interview with Mickey Rourke talking about his new film, The Wrestler.

The Horror! Stephen King’s 10 best movies of 2008. It’s a pretty respectable list, with the exception of Tropic Thunder, which would have been total shit save for Robert Downey Jr.’s performance.

AFI has also released its top 10 films of the year, with all the usual suspects accounted for. However, one surprise was Wendy and Lucy, which I hadn’t heard of ’til now. I dutifully found the trailer and can attest that it looks like a seriously heartbreaking piece of filmmaking. A check of the film’s official website doesn’t have it coming to Florida (at least not through March 26). Which kinda pisses me off, because if I’m going to watch a Depressing Important Film, it sure would be nice to see it on the big screen with a bunch of other people to share my tears with instead of alone, in my room, wearing my pj’s and feeling like an emotional basket case. One more thing: The dog better not fucking die. (Trailer follows the jump.)

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Let’s dispense with the news (save that for Friday) and just recap some of the things we have to be thankful for in the world of cinema this year:

The career resurgence of Robert Downey Jr. (see Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and the currently filming Sherlock Holmes).

What looks to be a major comeback by Mickey Rourke:

The Dark Knight wasn’t just the best superhero film of the year (and possibly all time). It was a piece of magnificent filmmaking that transcended its genre.

The Man in the Hat was back. OK, not everybody thought the movie was so hot, but Harrison Ford in a fedora brings a tear to my eye.

That when I’m at work, I’m within a 10-minute drive of Tampa Theatre, and when I’m home, it’s just over 10 minutes to the Beach Theatre, the two movie-house jewels of the Bay area.

Speaking of Beach Theatre: Its screening of Blade Runner: The Final Cut.

Speaking of Tampa Theatre: Its screening of the sing-along The Little Mermaid.

That I get to come to work and blog about movies.

And one sappy, non-movie-related note of gratitude: That I got to hang out for eight months with Emily Reddy, frequent contributor to WMNF and the new associate producer for WPSU in State College, Pa. I’d say “Go Nittany Lions,” but I can’t.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.