The fantastic flying books of Mr Morris Lessmore
Nominated this year at the Academy Awards: Best Animated Short Film…..an entrancing wordless film about “people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favour….a poignant humorous allegory about the curative powers of story”. Award-winning illustrator William Joyce used miniatures, computer animation & 2D animation.
Academy Awards
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/84/nominees.html
The Academy Awards take place 26 Feb. The list of 9 films nominated as Best Picture has some good films for Fiction to Film courses, Children’s Lit and other social issues courses:
The Artist – Silent film; the relationship between an older silent film star & a rising young actress as talkies take over.
The Descendants – Family issues & land rights issues vs big business in Hawaii.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer. Directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot; The hours; The reader – all nominated for Best Director or Best Picture). A boy loses his father in 9/11 and discovers a key in a vase that inspires him to search New York for information, meeting many people along the way.
The Help – Based on the Book by Kathryn Stockett. A young female journalist decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of black maids who worked for white families in 1960s USA.
Hugo – Based on the book The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Directed by Martin Scorsese. A boy living alone in a Paris station tries to repair a broken mechanical man.
Midnight in Paris – Written & directed by Woody Allen. A writer travels back in time to 1920s Paris and meets artists & authors of the day.
Moneyball – Biographical drama. A manager of a baseball team uses a non-traditional approach to assemble a competitive team.
The Tree of Life – Examines the origins & meaning of life using a man’s childhood memories mixed with imagery of the origins of the universe & life on Earth.
War Horse – Based on the book by Michael Morpurgo & the stage play – a moral epic that exposes the madness of war. A young man joins the army after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry in WW1; the extraordinary life of the horse is depicted as he moves through the war.
Brief summary of each film with photo: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16703165
At the movies with David & Margaret
Top 100 films from 2011: Viewers’ Choice Poll
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/viewerspoll/
Here are the first 10:
1. Black swan 2. Midnight in Paris 3. True grit 4. Red dog 5. The guard 6. Drive 7. Harry Potter & the deathly hallows (Pt 2) 8. The tree of life 9. The ides of March 10. Bridesmaids
Some interesting upcoming films:
Chronicle: (in cinemas now). Three high school students get superpowers and have a lot of fun, until one starts to misuse his powers. Excellent for 15yrs + spec fiction.
World War Z: Directed by Marc Forster; stars Brad Pitt (not as a zombie I hope). Based on the book by Max Brooks (son of Mel). An employee of the U.N. travels the world trying to stop the outbreak of a deadly zombie pandemic.
The Lorax: 3D film based on the environmentally-themed book by Dr Seuss; release date March. Voice of Danny DeVito as the Lorax.
Les Mis (release date Dec 2012): Film adaptation of the amazing musical. Stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe & Anne Hathaway. Can’t wait! http://www.lesmis.com/news/article/an_update_on_the_les_mis_film_for_2012
Freddie Mercury biopic: Will probably start filming this year, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie. Awesome! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336
One for the money: For fans of the Janet Evanovich books! The first film about Stephanie Plum the bail enforcement agent; starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara & Debbie Reynolds(as Grandma). Out soon!
The Dark Knight rises: Directed by Christopher Nolan. Set 8 years after the events of the previous film. Former hero Batman returns to battle a terrorist.
And of course the highly anticipated 2 films The Hobbit (to be released Dec 2012 & 2013). Directed by Peter Jackson; stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo. Also includes LOTR stars Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving. Already I feel like a second breakfast!