The Copa really heated up with the second round of group play this week. There are some pretty exciting story lines (success of the Americas) and some pretty pathetic ones as well (ahem, France). Probably the most disappointing trend is how poorly the African nations are performing. Not only does it look like this will be the first knockout stage without a host country, it is very possible this will be the first knockout stage with out a country from the host continent. I’ll break it all down group by group – but first here are my updated power rankings. Two teams have been eliminated (Cameroon and North Korea), so the list is down to 30. The numbers after the team are their rank in my last go around.

1. Argentina (3)
2. Brazil (4)
3. Netherlands (2)
4. Spain (8)
5. Germany (1)
6. Portugal (17)
7. Uruguay (14)
8. USA (12)
9. Chile (11)
10. Paraguay (9)
11. Serbia (20)
12. Italy (6)
13. England (5)
14. Switzerland (15)
15. Japan (13)
16. Ghana (7)
17. Mexico (21)
18. South Korea (10)
19. Denmark (23)
20. Slovenia (22)
21. New Zealand (26)
22. Ivory Coast (18)
23. South Africa (19)
24. Greece (31)
25. Australia (30)
26. Algeria (32)
27. France (16)
28. Slovakia (24)
29. Honduras (29)
30. Nigeria (28)

Group A – Everyone was saying that France had scored an easy draw when they found themselves in South Africa’s group. Well, they have managed to blow it. Weak leadership has found les Bleus in complete meltdown mode scoring zero goals in the first two matches and earning themselves a #27 ranking. Although they aren’t completely out of it, they need a win with a blow out margin, which just doesn’t seem possible from this squad. While it is just as much of a long shot, South Africa still has a chance to go through. If they manage to defeat France and can pull a combined goal differential of 5 (goals they score minus goals France score plus the goal differential of whoever wins the other game), they will be through. It is a long shot, but I am pulling for them. What seems far more likely is that Uruguay and Mexico will go through with a draw or with one team winning by a close margin. I’m picking Uruguay who made short work of the South African team that Mexico struggled against.

Group B – As evidenced by my ranking, this group is all about Argentina. The big fear coming in was Maradona – but things seem to be going superbly between the players and him and his tactics have been sound. They should defeat Greece easily and advance through on 9 points. Just think, Messi hasn’t even started to score yet. I’m giving the second place nod to South Korea who didn’t look completely awful against Argentina. I don’t see them beating Uruguay in the Round of 16, but they can surely handle Nigeria who just needs to go home.

Group C – USA! USA! If you had given me this scenario at the beginning of the Cup, I would have taken it in a second. Yeah I know we should be on 4 pts but I’ll take controlling our own destiny (forgive) against Algeria any day. We just need to win – and we can win – and we will win. The craziest part of this group is the England story. Who would have thought they would find themselves on 2 pts with a measly 1 goal scored? I am predicting a draw against Slovenia, which would see England exit. If that happens – or even in the more likely event England beats Slovenia – and we beat Algeria, the USA would advance as winner of our group. The irony is that we still might have to play Germany if they come in second in Group D. Don’t count out Slovenia, though. They advance with a win or a draw – and if they draw and we draw, then so do we!

Group D – There is no doubt that Germany was the big scary team after round 1, but Serbia (with the help of an over zealous referee) made das Hermans look not so tough. Still, all the Germans have to do to advance as group winners is beat Ghana and hope Serbia doesn’t make up a 3 pt goal dif. Seems quite likely. Ghana might be the highest ranked African squad, but I’m afraid that just isn’t going to be enough to beat the Germans. That means Ghana needs to pray to the Soccer Gods that Australia holds Serbia to a draw (or defeat). It is possible but not likely. I see Serbia advancing in 2nd and the Socceroos heading home.

Group E – The Dutch have not been the most convincing team on the pitch, but they have gotten it done and are the first team to clinch a berth in the Round of 16. Sorry Cameroon. Eto’o got his goal but no one else showed up. We’ll see if they have a little African pride on show in their final game. The big game of the group is Japan vs. Denmark in a battle for 2nd (or a possible but very unlikely 1st). Denmark has the momentum but Japan advances on the draw with a point better goal dif – which they might need as these two squads could be pretty evenly matched.

Group F – No South American team has lost a game in this Southern Hemisphere Copa and Paraguay is another team playing very well. With their final game against New Zealand, they look very likely to take their group. The Kiwis played valiantly against Italy (and Slovakia), but the fun stops here for the rugby nation. While Italy has looked far from superior as cup holders, they are certain to get their shit together to beat the very disappointing Slovakia and advance from the group as runners-up – setting them up for an exciting showdown with The Netherlands.

Group G – Not quite the “group of death” many had hoped for, the group has at least provided some very entertaining matches. North Korea played 135 minutes of very admirable football, but it all came crashing down in the second half against Portugal. I can’t wait to see the news reports that the feed cut out in the middle of the match back in Pyongyang and the newspapers the next day reported a win. It would take a complete miracle for Ivory Coast to make up the 9 pt goal differential with Portugal, so it is pretty much curtains for them as well. What a shame. That leaves a huge final match between Brazil and Portugal. They aren’t just playing for pride either as the loser (or Portugal in the event of a draw) will likely face Spain in the Round of 16. Who knows, maybe Portugal will come out with the guns still blazing. Regardless, this should be a great match.

Group H – The final group presents the most interesting scenarios. Chile holds the pole position and is the only team to “control their own destiny” – but they have to play Spain. Where it gets confusing is if Spain beats Chile and Switzerland beats Honduras. That puts all three teams on 6 points and it comes down to the margins of victory for Switzerland and Spain. Suddenly Chile’s position doesn’t look so good if they lose and either of those margins is more than a point. In one scenario it would even come down to a coin toss! If Spain does lose or draw, then they are likely out – which would be an even bigger shocker than England or France. Honduras needs to win by a big margin and hope Spain do as well if they have a shot to advance. I see Switzerland beating Honduras – but who knows by how much. This group will come down to the wire.

Here are my personal power rankings for each of the 32 competing national teams after watching each game in the first round of group play. These rankings are based on a number of factors including quality of play, strength of squad, results of first game, opposing team, potential, and more. The number next to each team is their Official FIFA Ranking going into the tourney.

I’ll give some more explanation on the next go around, but I just wanted to get these out there now. Germany is pretty obviously everyone’s choice for numero uno – but they definitely did look the best. I was most impressed by the play through the midfield by Mesut Özil, a complete unknown to me coming in. While some of the faves had poor first games (Spain, France, Portugal), they are by no means out of it and with the talents on their squads could still go all the way. I thought the USA looked great – but with the strength of Germany, we need to really show up against Slovenia Friday to make a play for the group win.

Here are my rankings. Check out my Statistics Companion if you want some more numbers thrown your way.

1. Germany (6)
2. Netherlands (4)
3. Argentina (7)
4. Brazil (1)
5. England (8)
6. Italy (5)
7. Ghana (32)
8. Spain (2)
9. Paraguay (31)
10. South Korea (47)
11. Chile (18)
12. USA (14)
13. Japan (45)
14. Uruguay (16)
15. Switzerland (24)
16. France (9)
17. Portugal (3)
18. Ivory Coast (27)
19. South Africa (83)
20. Serbia (15)
21. Mexico (17)
22. Slovenia (25)
23. Denmark (36)
24. Slovakia (34)
25. North Korea (105)
26. New Zealand (78)
27. Cameroon (19)
28. Nigeria (21)
29. Honduras (38)
30. Australia (20)
31. Greece (13)
32. Algeria (30)

It took a bit longer than I hoped, but I’ve put together a whole slew of statistics on each of the 32 teams competing RIGHT NOW in South Africa. The idea is to have this handy while watching the Copa for a quick reference on each player’s international and club experience. There are bound to be a number of errors in this thing. Let me know if you find any that should be fixed.

Download the PDF (460KB)

Been a while since I posted a music vid but I’ve been crushing on this clever diddy from the Black Keys. Gotta love the film stock and the album is SOLID.

Much love rock+bacon

Wow! It is really here. At long last. The World Cup kicks off one week from today when South Africa hosts Mexico. Where are YOU going to be?

Check out these great posters (and the links on the side) commissioned for the Copa and count the seconds until 7:00AM PST.

thx Matt

This year’s LAFF has been moved from its recent Westwood home to the considerably more interesting Downtown Los Angeles. Theaters include The Downtown Independent, The Orpheum, and the Regal 14 at LA Live. This should be a good opportunity to check out some interesting venues. Here’s a look at a few highlights, beginning with the flicks I’m going to try to hit. Lemme know if you are interested in joining.

MANDRILL – This raucous Chilean spy actioner was one of my favorite films at the awesome Fantastic Fest last Fall. I would definitely be into seeing it again if we had a good crew.
Screens Tues 6/22, 7:45pm, Regal & Sat 6/26, 10pm, Independent

TINY FURNITURE – This NYC Indie by Lena Dunham was the darling of this year’s SXSW.
Screens Sat 6/19, 7:30pm, Regal & Mon 6/21, 10pm, Regal

THE TILLMAN STORY – I missed this Afghan War docu at Sundance but it has been lauded as one of the year’s best. It is directed by Amir Bar-Lev who directed My Kid Could Paint That and co-produced the Sundance hit Katrina docu Trouble the Water.
Screens Sat 6/19, 9:35pm, Regal & Sun 6/20, 1:30pm, Independent

AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT LEVON HELM – Jacob Hatley’s docu about The Band drummer/vocalist got some great write-ups at SXSW.
Screens Sun 6/20, 7pm, Regal & Fri 6/25, 9:45pm, Regal

MONSTERS – This sounds like a pretty interesting indie sci-fi about a pair battling across an alien infested swath of land between Mexico and America.
Screens Weds 6/23, 10:15pm, Regal & Sat 6/26, 7pm, Independent

PARADE – LAFF has a few good Japanese offerings this year including this Tokyo drama from Isao Yukisada.

GOLDEN SLUMBER – Another of LAFF’s Japanese offerings is this absurd sounding adventure by Yoshihiro Nakamura.

UDON – Filed under ones that got away, this 2006 comedy by Katsuyuki Motohiro revolves around Japan’s famous noodle. It is presented by LA Times’ Jonathan Gold.

DOG SWEAT – This film, shot clandestinely in Iran, is a verite examination of current Iranian society.

THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS – Expect this 6/23 FORD THEATER screening of the Star Wars creator docu to be a raucous time.

ANIMAL KINGDOM – David Michod’s Australian crime drama was a big hit at Sundance. It is well worth checking out in its LA premier.

THE RED CHAPEL – Another Sundance flick, this docu takes you into North Korea with a group of Danish absurdist political street performers.

DOWN TERRACE – I’ve mentioned this British indie a few times since its Fantastic Fest unspooling. It bodes well that it made the LAFF program as well.

FOUR LIONS – This British Office style terrorist comedy was one of the first flicks I reviewed at Sundance. It certainly has its funny moments.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN – Davis Guggenheim’s public school Sundance docu is currently known as WAITING FOR because of Time Warner’s reluctance to allow them to use “Superman” in the title. Pfff

PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE – It’s not every day you get a chance to see this Tim Burton/Paul Reubens classic on the big screen. Reubens is scheduled to to be there in person.
Screens Sat 6/26, 1pm, The Orpheum

A few of us have been singing the praises of JFT (Jose Francisco Torres) for months and months and he is finally going to get a really great chance to shine for the USA in South Africa. He play 45 minutes against Turkey last Saturday and his performance was stellar. 723FootballFilms put together this little clip of every touch. Here’s a vote for a starting spot come June 12 in Rustenberg.

Via TheFinalThird

Just wow. I have no problem calling this my favorite advertisement of all time. Huge soccer stars, World Cup, Kobe, and a sick sick concept.

Can you name everyone?

Jump to find MY LIST OF STARS and see BEHIND THE SCENES

Don’t get mad at me Seattle film fans – I just heard someone on iW refer to your wonderful fest that way and couldn’t help but repeat it. With 260 features, SIFF is the biggest fest in the country. It is a great opportunity for NWers to see the movies making the fest rounds from the previous year and to catch some otherwise hard to find foreign films. SIFF’s website format makes it hard to weed through the multitude of titles (just put the director under the damn title), but here is what caught my eye in the quick look I took at the program.

The Sentimental Engine Slayer – Wow I somehow missed hearing about this one when it prem’d at Rotterdam and then played at Tribeca, but this is the debut feature from Omar Rodriguez Lopez (yep, of The Mars Volta fame) who wrote, directed, and stars in this tripped out sounding film. Peep the trailer and move this one to the top of your list.

Farewell – Christian Carion’s French Cold War spy thriller is his follow up to 2005’s Joyeux Noel.

Leaves of Grass – Coming off an acclaimed premier at SXSW, this pot growing drama from Tim Blake Nelson screens as part of a Tribute to Ed Norton that includes screenings of 25th Hour, Fight Club, and American History X (what… no Death to Smoochy?).

American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi – This is the first I have heard of Sebastian Doggart’s (a former Project Runway producer) political docu that delves deep into the career of Condoleeza Rice as “a woman whose pursuit of power has both destroyed her values and hurled America into a perilous new direction.”

The Milk of Sorrow – This challenging sounding Peruvian film by Claudia Llosa was nom’d for the Foreign Language Oscar.

The Dancer and the Thief – Fresh off his fantastic performance in the Foreign Language Oscar winning The Secret in Their Eyes, Ricardo Darin stars as a reformed thief in veteran filmmaker Fernando Trueba’s post-Pinochet era romantic-thriller. This screens as part of a New Spanish Cinema program at the fest.

Skeletons – This British black comedy by Nick Whitfield about skeleton extractors (like the ones in closets) has a decisively Gondry-esque surreal sound to it and might be worth a gander.

Micmacs – I’ve mentioned it a number of times and I am still looking forward to catching the latest from Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Ondine – Neil Jordan’s (The Crying Game, Interview with a Vampire) Colin Farrell starring mermaid story never quite caught hold after its Toronto prem – but it hung around long enough to play at Tribeca last month and again at SIFF.

This Way of Life – Call me fascinated with New Zealand, but this documentary about a family living in New Zealand’s Ruahine Mountains and their struggles with modernity sounds incredibly interesting. Just check out the trailer.

The Trotsky – Jay Baruchel stars as the young Canadian reincarnation of the Socialist revolutionary in this Jacob Tierney comedy hit from Toronto.

Down Terrace – I’ve heard nothing but good about this British gangster flick which screened way back at Fantastic Fest.

Life During Wartime – Paul Reubens and others star in Todd Solondz’s (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness) latest dark comedy.

Under the Mountain – You may think Jonathan King’s New Zealand based film will be a fresh take on the youth adventure genre, but it is snores-ville as evidenced by its unimpressive reception at Fantastic Fest.

JAPANESE FLICKS

RoboGeisha – Get ready for wacky as you delve into Noboru Iguchi’s wild world of genital weaponry.

Air Doll – Hirokazu Kore-eda (Still Walking, Nobody Knows, After Life) returns with this odd tale of a man and his doll.

K-20: The Fiend with 20 Faces I was no big fan of this big budget action flick starring Takeshi Kaneshiro back at Fantastic Fest.

Kanikosen I don’t know much about the Japanese director who goes by Sabu (Unlucky Monkey), but this film about Japanese-Russian relations in the early days of the 20th century takes place on a crab canning ship and sounds suitably wacky.

ASIAN TOUR

Bakal Boys – This Filipino docu-drama tells the story of the young metal divers in the heavily polluted Manila Bay.

Little Big Soldier – Jackie Chan’s latest action comedy takes place in way ancient China.

At the End of Daybreak – There aren’t a whole lot of movies that make it here from Malaysia. This noir-ish drama could be interesting.

City of Life and Death – You might remember this stylish Rape of Nanking drama from my Toronto write-up way back in September

Mundane History – Thai filmmaker Anocha Suwichakornpong’s first feature sounds like an impressive exploration of art and life.

SUNDANCE HITS

Quite a few of Sundance’s best narrative films are making their NW premier at SIFF – including the official fest fave, Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone. One of my personal faves, Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil will be playing as a midnight film along side one of the less popular midnighters, the Adrian Brody + Sarah Polley starrer Splice. The John Lennon as a young man Nowhere Boy is playing – as is the James Franco as Allen Ginsberg Howl. Two more flicks that I caught, Cyrus which stars John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, and Marisa Tomei and the Jesse Eisenberg orthodox Jew ecstasy smuggling movie I enjoyed, Holy Rollers.

SUNDANCE DOCS

There are also some great Sundance docs at the fest – including one I am still excited to see, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Restrepo which won the Docu Grand Jury prize will be there, as will the other big war docu The Tillman Story. The Oath, about a Guantanamo detainee won a special cinematography prize and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work had a whole lot of buzz. A couple domestic topics, 8: The Mormon Proposition about California’s anti-gay Prop. 8 and the Davis Guggenheim directed public school expose Waiting for Superman are both playing. Finally, one film I enjoyed about Chinese domestic migration Last Train Home is also on the bill.

For more on these Sundace flicks, check out my Sundance Wrap from earlier this year.

I’m dealing with dial up – so here are some lo-res thoughts on today’s World Cup Preliminary Roster announcements.

For more info, visit these links at SBI: USA’s 30 Man Roster | Int’l World Cup Prelim Roster Day | What’s next for Davies?

Charlie Davies – The big news is that Charlie Davies was deemed unfit for the USA squad. It is a shame but it was always a long shot. The fact that he still isn’t cleared from his club team Sochaux made it an easy decision. While all USA fans are sad to see him fall short, he is only 23 and he’s gonna be a force in USA soccer for the next 8 years for sure. All things considered, I’m really not all that upset – especially with the way Edson Buddle has been playing (alongside Landon Donovan no less).

USA Squad – Thank god Gooch is there! While his rehab hasn’t finished in time to get him back on to the field with AC Milan, it looks like he should be able to lead the USA backfield onto the field in South Africa – we might be in real trouble if he isn’t. It was a toss up between a number of midfielders with Kyle Beckerman getting the short end. This is probably because Robbie Rogers is more dangerous at attacking from the left – a skill that will prove very necessary if DeMarcus Beasley has a weak camp. Only one of those two will likely go and my money is on Beasley. I thought that Conor Casey would get the call over the injured Brian Ching (do you really want to see either of them enter the game in late important minutes?) but apparently Ching is expected to be fit. I’m assuming he makes the 23-man squad since he made this list. Eddie Johnson, huh? Well he won’t likely go. Remember, Bob Bradley has to cut 7 more players before June 1!

Here’s my guess at the Cut List:
Definitley gone: Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall, Eddie Johnson, Robbie Rogers
Bubble (3 of 4 will be gone): Alejandro Bedoya, Sasha Kljestan, Robbie Findley, Herculez Gomez
Bob Bradley also has the option of dropping his 7th Defender (likely Clarence Goodson or even Jonathan Bornstein) and then keep one of those last 4. Sasha and Gomez seem the most likely to make it – but it is going to come down to who plays best over the next few weeks.

England – It is cool to see Joe Cole make the squad, but I don’t think he’ll make the cut to 23. It is too bad Carlton Cole didn’t nab a striker spot as he is a rising young talent and the experience would have done him a lot of good – especially since Emile Heskey is over the hill. Scott Parker won’t make it and Tom Huddlestone might not either, but Fabio Capello should definitely take Adam Johnson. The young right winger has been on fire for Manchester City. It is interesting to see Jamie Carragher come out of National Team retirement. Shows you England is really hurting at defense. Finally, Wayne Bridge is a bitch. John Terry shacked up with his girl and so he protests by not going to the World Cup?! Dude, you gotta get your priorities straight.

Brazil – While I’m not surprised Ronaldinho didn’t make the squad, it is still a shame. But the real shame is the exclusion of young striker Pato. Regardless, Brazil is going to be really, really hard to beat.

Argentina – Lisandro Lopez is an amazing player and they should have taken him – simple as that. But this team is stacked! Messi, Tevez, Kun Aguerro, Diego Milito, and Higuain… gimme a break!. The real question is if super-douche Maradona can get them to play like a team.

France – How do you not take Karim Benzema? If he had stayed at Lyon instead of being a $30M bench warmer at Real Madrid, he would have made the squad. Still, Le Bleu has the personnel to be pretty nasty.

Spain – Wow… I don’t see where you can cut 7 players. Spain is definitely the team to beat.

29 days to the Copa!!

VCFest – now known as the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival – begins today at a variety of sites across LA. Here is a quick look at a few of the notable films on the fest’s slate:

The People I’ve Slept With – USA
Quentin Lee and Koji Sakai team up for this rollicking sex and identity comedy starring Karin Anna Cheung. This film serves as the fest’s U.S. Centerpiece.
Screens Sat 5/1 7:00pm at DGA

Bodyguards and Assassins – Hong Kong
VC’s closing night film is a big budget HK historic actioner directed by Teddy Chan. The film takes place in the wild west that was Hong Kong in 1906 and stars such notable HK actors as Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Simon Yam.
Screens Thurs 5/6 7:00pm at The Aratani (in Little Tokyo)

She, A Chinese – China
This film from female filmmaker Guo Xiaolu looks to be an interesting character piece about identitiy and gender roles in modern China. It is preceeded by the short film Let Fly by UCSB Film grad Laurie Tsou. Congrats Laurie!
Screens Sun 5/2 4:00pm at Sunset 5.

VC’s Digital Posse – USA
Speaking of UCSB Film grads, VC’s popular Armed with a Camera shorts program is back and includes the short film Slip and Slide by Ms. Emily Lu. A collection of 10 other short narratives and docus screen along side. Pretty cool.
Screens Weds 5/5 8:00pm at The Aratani (in Little Tokyo)

Clash – Vietnam
If you enjoyed 2007’s The Rebel (which I loved), then you might want to catch this actioner directed by The Rebel‘s 1st AD Le Thanh Son and starring The Rebel stars Johnny Nguyen and Veronica Ngo.
Screens Sun 5/2 7:00pm at DGA

Beijing Taxi – China
Female director Miao Wang has put together a modern day portrait of China’s capital from the perspective of three taxi drivers in the days preceding the 2008 Olympics.
Screens Sun 5/2 6:30pm at DGA

The Taqwacores – USA
Straight from critical acclaim at Sundance, Eyad Zahra’s story of a Pakistani-American punk rock and identity makes its LA debut at VC.
Screens Fri 4/30 10:00pm at DGA

Last Train Home – China
I was a big fan of this Chinese migration documentary at Sundance.
Screens Sat 5/1 3:30pm at Sunset 5

The Chinese Connection – Hong Kong
Don’t miss this free outdoor screening of the 1972 Bruce Lee classic. It screens in the Madang Courtyard (Western & 6th) on Friday 4/30 at 8:00pm.

Villon’s Wife – Japan
Tadanobu Asano and Takaku Matsu star in Kichitaro Negishi’s highly decorated drama set in 1947 Tokyo.
Screens Fri 4/30 7:30pm at Sunset 5 and Weds 5/5 4:30pm at Downtown Independent

The Mountain Thief – Philippines
This interesting sounding narrative explores the poorest of the poor who live in Manilla’s largest dump. Writer/Director Gerry Balasta went so far as to cast the actual inhabitants, teaching them how to act in the process.
Screens Sat 5/1 12:30pm at DGA and Sun 5/2 5:00pm at DGA

Adrift – Vietnam
“Bui Thac Chuyen’s seductive and atmospheric rumination on sexual awakening as modern day Vietnam enters a social and moral crossroad.”
Screens Weds 5/5 7:00pm at Downtown Independent

Red and White – Indonesia
This historical drama set against Indonesia’s 1947 struggle for independence boasts the highest budget of any Indonesian film and is said to have some pretty impressive battle scenes.
Screens (for FREE) Fri 4/30 5:00pm at DGA

Hope you can make some screenings.

Ever wonder how Mega Man, Simon Belmont, Link, Samus, or the dude from Contra would fair in the Mushroom Kingdom? Well the awesome folks from Exploding Rabbit want you to find out. Each character has different powers that change as they power up. It is a great idea and will hopefully lead to more. Check it out

via GeniusTown

The competition lineup of 16 films for the upcoming 63rd Cannes Film Festival was released today. Here is a quick look at the titles that will be vying for the prestigious (and usually disappointing) Palme d’Or.

Outrage by Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano returns to his roots with this new crime drama in which he also star. Trailer (in Japanese)

Another Year by Mike Leigh
I wasn’t a huge fan of Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, but Leigh is a great filmmaker and I’m sure this film starring Lesley Manville and Jim Broadbent will be of the utmost quality.

Tournee by Mathieu Amalric
Amalric is probably best known as the star of Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (he was also in Quantum of Solace). He takes a turn behind the camera in this movie about American burlesque dancers in Paris.

Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men) by Xavier Beauvois
I know very little about actor/director Beauvois. This film centers around a 1996 murder of French monks in Algeria.

Hors la loi (Outside the Law) by Rachid Bouchareb
This movie is about the Algerian struggle for independence following WWII. It should be familiar territory for the French-born Bouchareb. His 2006 film Indigenes (Days of Glory) is about Algerian forces in WWII. That film won the acting prize at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Fair Game by Doug Liman
Okay so Jumper was nothing special but Liman also directed Swingers and Go. This political thriller stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. Can you guess who plays who?

Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man) by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Tough to find much about the film from the Chad-born Haroun.

Housemaidby Im Sang-soo
Ooh, a Korean horror film in competition at Cannes oughta be pretty good.

Poetry by Lee Chang-dong
Lee’s 2007 film Secret Sunshine won an acting prize at Cannes. This movie is about a Korean woman in her 60s who develops an interest in poetry. Sounds exciting.

Copie Conforme (The Certified Copy) by Abbas Kiarostami
Kiarostami is possibly Iran’s most famous filmmaker. He won the Palme d’Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. He returns with this romantic drama set in Italy and starring Juliette Binoche.

You, My Joy by Sergei Loznitsa
I got nuthin…

Biutiful by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
Inarritu (Babel) returns with his first all Spanish film since Amorres Perros. It is also his first film not written by Guillermo Arriaga – so expect more cohesion (maybe). The film stars Javier Bardem.

La Nostra Vita by Daniele Luchetti
Luchetti is a protege of Italian director extraordinaire Nanni Moretti.

Utomlyonnye Solntsem 2 (Burnt by the Sun 2) by Nikita Mikhalkov
This is Mikhailov’s sequel to the 1994 Cannes Grand Prix and Foreign Language Oscar winning Soviet epic Burnt by the Sun.

La Princesse de Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier
This looks to be a 16th century French costumer. Tavernier is most famous for his 1986 film ‘Round Midnight.

Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
This Thai director has received a ton of awards over his rather short filmography. 2002’s Blissfully Yours won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes. 2004’s Tropical Malady won a Cannes jury prize. 2006’s Syndromes and a Century was highlighted at both Venice and Toronto.

We will surely be hearing more about these films as the fest approaches.

South by Southwest’s official name may be the SXSW Music and Media Conference, but according to iW’s Eugene Hernandez, the film side of things took over center stage this year with an explosion. I was unable to make it, but I’ve been pouring over the titles in the couple weeks since and here is what caught my eye and had people talking.

COMPETITION WINNERS

TINY FURNITURE – The big Narrative Jury Prize was won by 23 year old Lena Dunham for her very well received semi-autobiographical offbeat New York comedy. Check out the trailer at the site.

BROOTHERHOOD – Will Canon’s college frat thriller won the Narrative Audience Award, claimed some of the very highest critics’ marks, and scored international distribution. Congrats guys.

MARWENCOL – This Docu Jury winner is about a man who creates a 1/6 scale WWII era village in his back yard. It is directed by Jeff Malmberg, who you probably remember as editor on 2008 Paris Hilton hit The Hottie and the Nottie.

WAR DON DON – This heavy duty looking docu about the International Criminal Court system (with a focus on Sierra Leone) won the prize for Docu Jury runner-up. Trailer here.

FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE – The Audience Docu Award went to this inspirational story of a group of disabled musicians. Looks pretty amazing from the trailer.

PREMIERES

ELEKTRA LUXX – This movie about a porn star quitting the biz features Joseph Gordon Levitt, Timothy Olyphant, and Emmanuelle Chriqui (as a porn star – but not the title porn star). Even more interesting, this is the second film in a trilogy (the first is titled Women in Trouble) by Sebastian Gutierrez, screenwriter of Snakes on a Plane.

COLD WEATHER – It seemed everyone was a big fan of this Atmospheric looking crime drama by young director Aaron Katz. I mean if Jason Reitman digs it, it has gotta be good.

LEAVES OF GRASS – Ed Norton stars as identical twins in actor/director Tim Blake Nelson’s pot growing comic thriller. I’ve been hearing very good things about this one which is set for a late summer release.

CARGO – This low budget Swiss sci-fi thriller had a good deal of buzz – mostly because there aren’t a lot of low budget Swiss sci-fi thrillers. However the critics have been pretty underwhelmed. The movie seems to have quite a few similarities to Sunshine – just check out the trailer. It is bound to be the best Swiss sci-fi thriller trailer you watch this week.

DOCUMENTARIES

PELADA – This competition docu is about some soccer fans that traveled the globe looking for the untold stories of the game. Check out the official site which includes the trailer. Looks amazing!!

SATURDAY NIGHT – James Franco directs a docu about hosting SNL. With behind the scenes action rarely captured, I’m pretty excited to catch this one.

THUNDER SOUL – It sounds like people loved Mark Landsman’s docu that tells the story of a 1970s high school band that became a funk sensation.

AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT LEVON HELM – Jacob Hatley’s docu follows The Band great as he reemerges into the spotlight after 25 years in the shadows.

THE THORN IN THE HEART – This charming looking partially animated docu by Michel Gondry about his school teacher Aunt premiered at Cannes and opened in NYC last Friday. Trailer

HEADLINERS – Like most fests, SXSW has a special out of competition section for hot titles from studios or indies that might not be making their premiers. The section featured Sundance holdovers The Runaways, Cyrus, Four Lions, and Get Low (Winter’s Bone and a number of others screened in the “Festival Favorites” section while Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and Enter the Void were in with the Midnighters). Here are a few non Sundance notables:

MICMACS – It has been five years since Jean-Pierre Jeunet gave us A Very Long Engagement (his follow up to Amelie). This film promises to offer another glimpse into his comic-romantic whimsy.

KICK ASS – Most of the pre-fest buzz was for this SXSW opener directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust). By now you’ve probably seen the ads for this comic book action comedy starring the dream team duo of Nic Cage and McLovin. It hits theaters April 16.

MACGRUBER – It’s hard not to be excited about the latest SNL spinoff starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Val Kilmer (as villain Dieter Von Cunth). The film – which only cost a surprising $10M – drops April 23.

MR. NICE – Bernard Rose’s interesting sounding British crime comedy stars Rhys Ifans alongside Chloe Sevigny. The film had the critics relatively happy.

WHAT ELSE?

MARS – Mumblecore in space! Mark Duplass stars in Geoff Marslett’s (yep, that’s his name) rotoscoped love comedy sci-fi. Trailer.

CHERRY – This film in the “Emerging Visions” category had many people talking. It’s a witty looking college sex comedy written and directed by unknown TV director Jeffrey Fine. The trailer looks great.

MONSTERS – One of the quick sales at the fest was this cool sounding sci-fi road movie by Gareth Edwards.

CENTURION – Screening as a SXSW/Fantastic Fest midnight surprise, this Roman-Brit epic is directed by Neil Marshall. As a bit of a fan of Marshall’s, I’m excited to hear that the film retains some of Marshall’s B-movie charm that made both The Descent and Doomsday such fun. It also stars Bond girl ultra-hottie Olga Kurylenko. Trailer.

Apologies for so much time in between posts. Watch for a Tribeca preview and look ahead at the Summer fests soon enough.

The Oscars crash down on H.wood tonight in what has been called one of the least contentious contests in years. Is the script already written or will there be some twists and turns? I’m expecting Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to be a great team but what about the rest of the show? We’ll find out soon enough. Until then, here are my picks for what will win the statues.

Best Pic – Avatar
Should it win? Yes. Even though there are 10 noms this go around, only 2 of them are really in contention. Most odds makers have money on The Hurt Locker but I think its early peak and late controversy will cost it the win. The Hurt Locker would have won 6 or 7 years ago in the indie-friendly awards climate but it just feels like the year of Avatar to me.

Best Director – James Cameron
Should he win? Yes, though I won’t be completely surprised if the academy splits and gives Bigelow this one. The question is, are we talking about a director in the classical sense of directing actors or in the Cameronian sense of inventing new technologies and creating an entire world? Every movie is a collaboration but Cameron helmed his production through incredibly complex waters and deserves the award.

Best Actress – Sandra Bullock
Should she win? No way. Even though she did speak with an accent, Bullock’s character was straight off the shelf. It wasn’t until the films last few scenes that we actually started to get some sense of the character’s motivations. Is that Bullock’s fault? No, the movie isn’t very good. I loved Carey Mulligan in An Education and she gets my pick – but this has been dubbed the year Bullock gets her statue so whatareyagonnado?

Best Actor – Jeff Bridges
Should he win? Yep. Bridges is one of those actors who becomes his character right down to his every subtle movement and Bad Blake is a character with Oscar written all over him. I don’t even remember what Jeremy Renner looks like. If I had to go for someone else my pick would be for Colin Firth who embodies those same qualities and whose character in A Single Man was good enough to win most other years.

Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique
Should she win? Yes. She was crowned before any of her competitors’ films were released and she stayed on top throughout. A Vera Farmiga upset is the only one that wouldn’t be a travesty.

Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Waltz
Should he win? Hell yea. Is there anyone who didn’t come out of Inglourious thinking, “Who the hell was that guy and why don’t we just give him the Oscar now?” Best. Nazi. Ever.

Best Original Screenplay – Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker
Should he win? Sure. But mostly because I am picking Avatar to win the main cats. It is pretty close between Boal and Tarantino and I would be pretty happy to see Quentin take the stage and get what he deserves for a film I enjoyed a lot more.

Best Adapted Screenplay – Reitman and Turner for Up in the Air
Should they win? No. This is maybe the toughest category of the big guys. Both Geoffrey Fletcher’s script for Precious and Nick Hornby’s An Education script were great. But how can you not vote for the four-tet behind the almost completely overlooked In The Loop? A gigantic surprise win for them would be fantastic.

Best Foreign Language Feature – The White Ribbon
Should it win? NO! I am sorry to say I have only seen a couple of these noms but France’s A Prophet is good enough to win a best picture award regardless of language and I was certainly no fan of The White Ribbon. It seems unlikely that it will be upset in this category though as it won Palme d’Or (also over 2nd place A Prophet) and has been a critical darling. Ugh.

A quick run down of the rest of my predictions: After the jump

World soccer teams take to the field today in celebration of the countdown reaching double digits. 99 days to the Copa Mundial!!

This anthem is pretty sick.

Artist MADSTEEZ has completed one of the sickest mural’s I’ve ever seen and what’s best, it is all soccer! Even better – it’s in LA! I gotta go see this thing with my own eyes.

Thx Addy

The torch may have been extinguished, but before the post-Olympic hangover really kicks in, I’d like to share a few of my favorite memories from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. You won’t find anything on this list about NBC’s atrocious coverage (though NPR has a great article). Al Michaels’s daytime drinking might have been a fun diversion, but Costas’s constant head movement and witticisms grew old very quickly. You also won’t find anything here about choke artist John Shuster and his despicable performance for USA Curling. And I certainly have nothing good to say about Ice Dancing. No activity that involves twizzles should be an Olympic sport. While there might have been those few lows, overall the games were incredibly enjoyable – and successful for Team USA. Here are the moments I will remember most:

Hannah Kearney Gets Team USA Going
The first gold medal for the USA came in the Women’s Freestyle Moguls on the first full day of competition. Canada’s Jennifer Heil had laid down a killer run and everyone was thinking Canada might break their home gold drought on day one. But along came Hannah Kearney who threw down an absolutely perfect run and took the gold away with ease. Canada only had to wait one day for Alex Bioldeau to win the men’s turn down the bumps. They went on to win 14 golds on their home soil, topping the gold chart with 4 more than their closest competitor.

Sven “Drama” Kramer
Say it so it rhymes. I was truly touched when Dutch speed skating star Sven Kramer jumped into the crowd after winning the 5000m and hugged his family. Then a few days later, Kramer made headlines again when he asked NBC’s Andrea Kremer if she was stupid for not knowing who he was (video here). But the icing on the cake was in the 10,000m (Kramer’s best event). While setting a time that would assure him the gold, Kramer made an illegal lane change on the insistence of his coach and was DQ’ed! The worst part is that Kramer knew it was wrong but made the move anyway. Kramer came back and won a Bronze with Holland in the Team Pursuit a few days later.

The Glory of Curling
Anyone who has watched much of the games with me knows how bitten by the curling bug I have become (especially when it comes to Brit-Skip Eve Muirhead). I had heard it was a great game but really had no idea just how complex and exciting it is. It is often dubbed “chess on ice” because of all the strategy that goes into planning your shots out many throws in advance. But the huge element necessary in curling but not in chess is execution. After you figure out what you want to do, you still gotta be able to do it. I had a whole lot of fun watching and am hoping it starts to get some more non-Olympic TV coverage… especially the women’s UK team.

Canada Has Trouble Making Ice
One of the funniest moments came a few days in when speed skating was delayed because of problems with the surface of the ice. Three ice surfacing machines (notably not name brand Zambonis) malfunctioned at the Richmond Oval and it took “chief ice maker” Mark Messer over an hour to get it right. And here I thought it was Canada that invented ice.

Shaun White Simply Dominates
Love him or hate him, the guy is truly amazing. The first run White threw down was good enough to win him the gold (hell his prelim run was probably good enough) – but he still came back and laid down the sickest half pipe run ever seen in competition. There really isn’t anyone who can even get close to what he is doing.

Cross Country Wipeout Medalist
During a prelim run in the women’s Individual Sprint race, Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic took a really nasty tumble into a gully. During the coverage, the NBC team showed the crash over and over again, deriding the fact that she was given a delayed start time. She went on to complete all three 1.4km heats and win the bronze medal. After the race, it was revealed she had broken four ribs and suffered a collapsed lung. Just imagine breaking four ribs and suffering a collapsed lung and then running 3 miles at medal pace!

Big Face and Funny Hat
Sticking with cross country, a quick word has to be said for NBC’s wonderful Nordic commentary team of Big Face and his pal Funny Hat (aka Al Trautwig and Chad Samelka). Al has an incredible voice which you can hear in the video above (you also might remember him as NBC’s gymnastics announcer) and Chad is surely quite knowledgeable – but more importantly… look at those guys! Al’s face in enormous! Just compare him to Chad. And those mitts! He looks like he is going to strangle that poor microphone. And come on Chad… just what is the deal with that hat?

Kim Yu-Na!
Incredible. While her free skate was glorious, it was Kim Yu-Na’s short program that won her both the gold medal and the hearts of millions around the world. Women’s figure skating is always one of the main things to be remembered from the winter games and Kim Yu-Na’s performance was simply one of the best ever.

USA’s Hockey Run
The only undefeated team coming into the final, Team USA hadn’t even trailed by a point in the tournament. As we all know, that ended 12 minutes into the final versus Canada (after defeating them in prelims). But for USA fans, it is hard to say there was any moment in the Olympics more exciting than when Zach Parise buried a goal with 24 seconds remaining in regulation to even the score at 2-2 and force Canada to a sudden death overtime. It may have ended up being Canada’s night, but really who can complain about that performance? It is almost worth it to lose and not have to feel bad about how devastated Canada would have been. Almost.

37!
What an Olympics! The USA jumped out to an early lead in the medal count on day one and never relinquished that lead. That is an incredible achievement and the first time since 1932 we have won the overall count. We also set a record for most medals ever won by anyone! Congratulations Team USA. What a fantastic showing!

One of my faves from this year’s Sundance was the street art docu Exit Through the Gift Shop. I pondered in my Twitch review the validity of some of the factual aspects of the film. The film’s premier this week at the Berlin Film Fest finds both IndieWire’s Eugene Hernandez and the NY Times’ Manohla Dargis also pondering the same thing. While I think Dargis is off the mark in suggesting that Banksy and Thierry Guetta (aka Mr. Brainwash) might be one and the same – there is no doubt that some elements comprise more than meets the narrative eye.

…Or maybe not. Maybe every piece of the story is exactly how it is portrayed in the doc. Is it really so hard to believe that Banksy took over the editing duties from the schizotron Guetta and was able to put together this fascinating piece of documentation? Maybe it is simply hard for us to believe that someone as subversive as Banksy would do anything that straight forward. How can we trust a man who won’t even show his face?

Regardless, the real story here is how successful the film is at documenting the movement. Just imagine if cameras were rolling when Cézanne and Pissarro were first experimenting together with impressionist landscapes – or when Duchamp and Man Ray were questioning art’s very definitions. Exit Through the Gift Shop gives us exactly this look at the rise of street art – even if Guetta’s/Banksy’s lens is a bit greased up.

Long time favorite email forwarder and contributor Goemon finally has his own outlet for web-scoured hilarity. Follow his tumbls at Goemoney and prepare for a guaranteed good time.