2008 Holiday Card
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Random comments about 2008 Yes, as 2008 ends, I still find myself in election withdrawal. Yay, Obama. Yay, Phillies. No far flung trips this year, and I warned you last year that you may see images of Italy for years to come. Instead, I was consumed by the election, catching up on the joys of reading, great TV (see below), theater (August: Osage County, The Little Dog Laughed, In the Heights), as well as getting introduced (finally) to the wonders of hi-def TV (just in time for the Olympics), Blu-ray, PS3 and Wii. And of course, film. In alpha order, here are my favorite film experiences of 2008. Australia—Forget Kidman and Jackman. The real star of this film is the 13 year old Aboriginal kid, Brandon Walter. Yes, I know this got mixed reviews, but I love Baz Luhrman. Get past the schmaltzy first half hour and enjoy the sweeping romance/comedy/drama from Down Under. Boy A—Heartbreaking and moving performance by Andrew Garfield who plays a twenty-something released from prison having spent most of his life in juvenile prison and is given new identity and life as he attempts to integrate back into society. Never got wide release, but compelling for the performance and social commentary. Burn After Reading—The entire cast, playing a bunch of nincompoops, seems to have a blast in this dark, zany, very funny and entertaining farce by the Coen Brothers. JK Simmons is especially outstand- ing in trying to make sense of the craziness. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button—A deliberately paced technical marvel from David Fincher, I’m still a bit weirded-out by the premise of aging in reverse, but extremely well-executed and worth seeing for the performances by Pitt and Blanchett. The Dark Knight—Enough has already been said about the spectacular Heath Ledger and this fantastically dark Batman sequel. Amazing. Frost/Nixon—An enthralling and gripping verbal boxing match. Langella becomes Nixon. Nixon is endlessly fascinating. Iron Man and Tropic Thunder—I’m lumping these two together because of Robert Downey, Jr.’s great performances. Though initially skeptical about his casting as a superhero, Downey is pitch perfect in Iron Man, which was surprisingly one of the most entertaining, well-told stories of the year. And in Tropic Thunder, the trailer snippets of Downey’s black-face did not spoil one of the funniest movies of the year. And Cruise’s cameo is a blast. Kung Fu Panda—Hoorah for animation. The details of Chinese architecture, landscape, food and culture are exquisite and add to the fun tale. Milk—A powerfully moving film aided by timing to become a politically important film as well. Personally, I’ve been moved by the Harvey Milk story since I was a teen and Sean Penn is amazing in the role with a fantastic supporting cast including James Franco and Emile Hirsch. If you haven’t seen the 1985 Oscar-winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk, rent it. A great companion piece to Milk. Slumdog Millionaire—Dickens + Who Wants to Be A Millionaire meets Hollywood + Bollywood. The most entertaining, exhilarating, and well-told film of the year in my book. Another spectacular perfor- mance by the little kid who portrays the youngest Jamal. Tell No One—A terrifically complex thriller/suspense/mystery that stunningly ties every single loose end together in the end—an incredibly satisfying movie-going experience. The less you know, the better. Wall*E—Not sure how Pixar continues to do it. Visually stunning, charming, beautiful and intimately human story starring robots. Simple story well told. Takes animation to a whole different level. Another winner. Young@Heart—Uplifting, life-affirming documentary about a group of senior citizens singing rock/pop songs from Bowie to James Brown to Sonic Youth. The Wire—Wow. So gripping, I practically watched all five seasons in one fell swoop. Some of the best television EVER made. Other shows that got me hooked include Dexter, Mad Men, and Summer Heights High. Others that struck my fancy: American Teen, Mongol, Revolutionary Road, Son of Rambow, The Orphanage, W., The Wrestler. Still in the queue: Doubt, Happy-Go Lucky, Gran Torino, The Reader, Vicky Christina Barcelona, The Black Balloon. Enough rambling for now. Drop me a line at [email protected] and if you find yourself in LA, please come visit! Florence at dusk Ed Hu, 2009
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Annual holiday card and movie list
Transcript of 2008 Holiday Card
Random comments about 2008
Yes, as 2008 ends, I still find myself in election withdrawal. Yay, Obama. Yay, Phillies. No far flung trips this year, and I warned you last year that you may see images of Italy for years to come. Instead, I was consumed by the election, catching up on the joys of reading, great TV (see below), theater (August: Osage County, The Little Dog Laughed, In the Heights), as well as getting introduced (finally) to the wonders of hi-def TV (just in time for the Olympics), Blu-ray, PS3 and Wii. And of course, film. In alpha order, here are my favorite film experiences of 2008.
Australia—Forget Kidman and Jackman. The real star of this film is the 13 year old Aboriginal kid, Brandon Walter. Yes, I know this got mixed reviews, but I love Baz Luhrman. Get past the schmaltzy first half hour and enjoy the sweeping romance/comedy/drama from Down Under.
Boy A—Heartbreaking and moving performance by Andrew Garfield who plays a twenty-something released from prison having spent most of his life in juvenile prison and is given new identity and life as he attempts to integrate back into society. Never got wide release, but compelling for the performance and social commentary.
Burn After Reading—The entire cast, playing a bunch of nincompoops, seems to have a blast in this dark, zany, very funny and entertaining farce by the Coen Brothers. JK Simmons is especially outstand-ing in trying to make sense of the craziness.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button—A deliberately paced technical marvel from David Fincher, I’m still a bit weirded-out by the premise of aging in reverse, but extremely well-executed and worth seeing for the performances by Pitt and Blanchett.
The Dark Knight—Enough has already been said about the spectacular Heath Ledger and this fantastically dark Batman sequel. Amazing.
Frost/Nixon—An enthralling and gripping verbal boxing match. Langella becomes Nixon. Nixon is endlessly fascinating.
Iron Man and Tropic Thunder—I’m lumping these two together because of Robert Downey, Jr.’s great performances. Though initially skeptical about his casting as a superhero, Downey is pitch perfect in Iron Man, which was surprisingly one of the most entertaining, well-told stories of the year. And in Tropic Thunder, the trailer snippets of Downey’s black-face did not spoil one of the funniest movies of the year. And Cruise’s cameo is a blast.
Kung Fu Panda—Hoorah for animation. The details of Chinese architecture, landscape, food and culture are exquisite and add to the fun tale.
Milk—A powerfully moving film aided by timing to become a politically important film as well. Personally, I’ve been moved by the Harvey Milk story since I was a teen and Sean Penn is amazing in the role with a fantastic supporting cast including James Franco and Emile Hirsch. If you haven’t seen the 1985 Oscar-winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk, rent it. A great companion piece to Milk.
Slumdog Millionaire—Dickens + Who Wants to Be A Millionaire meets Hollywood + Bollywood. The most entertaining, exhilarating, and well-told film of the year in my book. Another spectacular perfor-mance by the little kid who portrays the youngest Jamal.
Tell No One—A terrifically complex thriller/suspense/mystery that stunningly ties every single loose end together in the end—an incredibly satisfying movie-going experience. The less you know, the better.
Wall*E—Not sure how Pixar continues to do it. Visually stunning, charming, beautiful and intimately human story starring robots. Simple story well told. Takes animation to a whole different level. Another winner.
Young@Heart—Uplifting, life-affirming documentary about a group of senior citizens singing rock/pop songs from Bowie to James Brown to Sonic Youth.
The Wire—Wow. So gripping, I practically watched all five seasons in one fell swoop. Some of the best television EVER made. Other shows that got me hooked include Dexter, Mad Men, and Summer Heights High.
Others that struck my fancy: American Teen, Mongol, Revolutionary Road, Son of Rambow, The Orphanage, W., The Wrestler. Still in the queue: Doubt, Happy-Go Lucky, Gran Torino, The Reader, Vicky Christina Barcelona, The Black Balloon. Enough rambling for now. Drop me a line at [email protected] and if you find yourself in LA, please come visit!
Florence at dusk Ed Hu, 2009
