In Contention

Tag: All About Steve

  • Bullock calls for real comedy

    Sandra Bullock in All About SteveIt’s not like one needed a further reason to hop on the “We Love Sandra Bullock” train in this of all weeks, but the actress obligingly provides one anyway in this highly enjoyable Guardian interview with John Patterson. Speaking of the genre that has become her bread and butter over the years, she offers these rather forthright words:

    Usually comedy is only available to us ladies in the romantic comedy. That’s why I hate romantic comedies. I want to make comedic-comedies – let’s get back to being funny!

    There are so many things to like about this statement, only one of them being that it’s absolutely true. She may have predictably made her Oscar breakthrough by crossing over to “respectable” middlebrow drama, but Bullock is one of our most gifted screen comediennes, possessed of wit, timing and physical performance ability surplus to the requirements of the lame comedic vehicles she is usully given.

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  • SANTA BARBARA: Bullock receives the American Riviera Award

    Sandra Bullock at the 25th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival“It” girl of the year, Sandra Bullock, was feted here in Santa Barbara last night.  The two-hour celebration of her career, a Q&A moderated by Pete Hammond with clips of her work thrown in here and there, was, to be perfectly honest, one of the better tributes I’ve seen, culminating with Forest Whitaker’s presentation of the American Riviera Award to the actress.

    The award is given to an actor or actress who has made an indelible mark on American cinema, and regardless of the prescience of festival director Roger Durling’s choice (the invitation was extended back in September, before anyone would have dreamed Bullock would be the frontrunner to win the Best Actress Oscar), it’s an undeniable pick given Bullock’s status in the industry.

    Hammond began his introduction by noting the annual Quigley poll, which charts the success of movie stars and “is usually dominated by male actors,” he said.  “Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr.,” he said.  “But guess who’s at the top?”

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  • 2/4 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper in All About Steve• China censors Oscar nominations announcement due to documentary short nominee. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Dave Karger and Missy Schwartz run the numbers on the Best Picture and Best Actress categories. [Oscar Watch]

    • Jeffrey Wells ponders the possibility of the home video release of “All About Steve,” starring Razzie-nominated actress Sandra Bullock, hurting her Oscar chances. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

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  • ‘Transformers,’ ‘Lost’ lead Razzie nods

    Transformers: Revenge of the FallenI don’t really have much time for the Razzie Awards, since I think they’re a pretty lazy execution of a great idea. By all means single out the year’s artistic underachievers for censure, but why pick such easy targets as Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers?

    If I ran the Razzies, I’d use them to reprimand the really embarrassing projects that fell way short of expectations and/or potential. Pound for pound, is “All About Steve” really a worse film than “Amelia,” which escaped humiliation by virtue of its prestige? Call it schadenfreude if you will, but I’d take more pleasure in the Razzies if they aimed a little higher.

    Anyway, for those of you who enjoy them, this year’s noms are after the cut. The most obvious talking point is the Worst Actress mention for Sandra Bullock. No, Streepoholics, it doesn’t damage her Oscar chances.

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  • ‘At the Movies’ reboots

    The new iteration of “At the Movies” debuted this weekend with A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips.  The duo tackled Shane Acker’s “9,” the Sandra Bullock comedy “All About Steve,” Guillermo Arriaga’s “The Burning Plain” (with a rather swift and wrong-headed assessment from b0th, I feel) and Mike Judge’s “Extract,” among others.  Here’s an online exclusive that I rather enjoyed, the two critics discussing the films that hooked them and made them realize there was more to the medium than entertainment value:

  • MONDAY CENTS: ‘Destination’ Labors to another victory

    All About Steve*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Labor Day is known as the end of the summer season and the void it causes at the multiplexes is the underline to that point. This year was no different as “The Final Destination” repeated at the top of the chart with $15.4 million over the four-day period. Even with an extra day, that’s still a 44% drop from last week, but as you’ll see with “Halloween II,” it could have been a lot worse. The film’s running total has passed $50 million, which means that Warner Bros. is scrambling to invent 5D technology to make the naming of the fifth film more convenient.

    Second place goes to “Inglourious Basterds,” which could very well be number one when actual figures are released tomorrow. Another $15 million takes the cume to $95.2 million and earns the film a place in the top 10 success stories of the summer. Revisionist World War II films are now totally in vogue and “Harold and Kumar Inadvertently Join the Third Reich” is currently on the fast track.

    Third place goes to our first debut of the week, “All About Steve,” starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. To those who thought I was low-balling the film last week I just want t0 say: “Good call.”  Despite a staggering 5% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, the film managed to sucker $13.9 million worth of lonely women and whipped men to the theater. Personally, it’s a rule of mine to avoid films that have a lame pun for a title.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Halloween’ suffers ‘Final’ cut

    The Final Destination*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    When it comes to a death match, would anyone bet against death himself? Two high profile horror franchises released their latest installments on the last weekend of the summer and the winner is “The Final Destination.”

    $28.3 million is a new high for the series and proves the value of 3D, at least as far as body parts flying out of the screen are concerned. There’s no other explanation as to why these movies would continually improve since they are, quite literally, the exact same plot done again and again with only the most minor of tweaks. Now the only interesting thing about the series is trying to guess what they’ll call the next movie. “The Real Final Destination: Honest”?

    “Halloween II” could only muster up $17.4 million for third place, which is a steep drop from the original film’s showing, most likely because everybody hated that movie. Rob Zombie seemed to offer nothing but more of the same and if uncomfortable glasses and flying body parts coming straight at me aren’t in the equation, then there’s nothing else to say.

    It’s interesting that the Weinsteins chose to release this only one week after their other big summer film and against competition they should have known they would lose to.

    Sandwiched between those two is Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” A respectable 48% drop to $20 million for the weekend and $73.8 million so far means that Tarantino and his film have to be taken a little more seriously by Oscar. I mean, it’s got World War II subject matter, a return-to-form director, critical and public approval, Mike Myers. Three of those four things, the Academy can’t resist.

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