Draxblog III

Translation, Shranslation

Nothing wrong with this article. Except the title, which completely changes its point.

Oscars: No Surprises

81st Academy Awards ended just as they had been predicted - another set of predictable and overrated winners that are going to be forgotten in few years time. The only "surprise" was, of course, Sean "Milk" Penn beating Mickey "The Wrestler" Rourke, and only for those without a clue about Hollywood politics. 

The greatest winner - Slumdog Millionaire - is, on the other hand, right film for these times. Uplifting, rags-to-riches populist story, just like those Hollywood used to make in 1930s in order to give hope to impoverished masses during Great Depression.

More Ego-Boosting

After some googling, I discovered that my movie reviews are used a reference on couple of Wikipedias.

Article about Dog Day Afternoon on English Wikipedia uses my review, while Croatian Wikipedia article about American Beauty article extensively quotes my English review.

My Name Appeared in Print

My review of 1964 film Seven Days in May was used as a reference in a 2003 book War and Film in America: Historical and Critical Essays by Marylin J. Matelski and Nancy Lynch Street.

 This is not the first time my name appears in printed publication, yet it is the first time it appears in a book. I found this by discovering Google's new book search engine.

Although I admit that this discovery might amount to nothing else than a temporary boost of my ego, there are definitely worse ways to start a month.

The Real Oscar Travesty

The biggest disappointment of the whole 78th Academy Awards was not in the films that won or were "robbed". The biggest disappointment was in the film that wasn't even considered for the award, like this one.

 
And here is one interesting blog post about it.

Few Oscar Thoughts

I rarely tend to agree with Roger Ebert. His spirited defence of Crash from the assault of disgruntled Brokeback Mountain fans is one such rare occurences.

 

Another Bond Girl

I caught small, but precious amount of time to end my blogging pause - longest so far.

I simply couldn't resist the temptation to offer my comment on this news. I think that the producers made a mistake and doomed their franchise.

If there is a lesson to be made from recent (and even classic) Bond films, it is in inability of established and already known actresses to function in the roles of Bond girls.

 

Bad, Bad Omen

 
Few nights ago Croatia experienced a torching which had little to do with Ante Gotovina. Its consequences, however, are likely to be much more important than random acts of vandalism.

Few days ago Croatian public was informed about Croatia finally "returning to the world cinema map" by being used a location for expensive Hollywood productions. First such film was supposed to be Omen 666, remake of legendary 1976 horror film. To make things even more delightful to Croatian public, the director is John Moore, Irishman best known for Behind Enemy Lines, action spectacle praised for "telling the truth about last war" - in other words, portraying Serbs as evil genocide-loving scum that should be wiped out by US military might.

This kind of credential, however, didn't help Moore or production when some of the details came to light. The shooting was supposed to last five days and Diocletian's Palace in Split and various nearby sites with ancient Roman architecture were supposed to be used for locations. The scenes shot were supposed to be set in Israel.

Production company apparently received all the necessary permits from Croatian Ministry of Culture and other relevant institutions. However, local authorities and Catholic Church weren't informed. They also expressed disgust after learning that one of locations is going to be Manastirine - ancient Roman cemetery near Solin, town which used to be ancient Salona, capital of Roman province of Dalmatia (which used to cover most of former Yugoslavia in ancient times).

Manastirine also features some ancient Christian graves. That was enough for fundamentalists to call this production a sacrilege. According to them, use of such sacred object for "Satanistic films" is unacceptable.

Their protests came to nothing and the sets were already been brought to cemetery. They stood there until Saturday morning, when they were burned. Police so far didn't release any official statements, but, according to Slobodna Dalmacija, the fire was "result of torching".

Today's Slobodna Dalmacija now reports about production "being pulled from Split" and "Hollywood leaving Croatia". So, another great Croatian dream is supposed to end in nightmare of vandalism and violence.

On the other hand, producers' decision to leave is quite understandable. Nobody should risk someone's life or health for something most likely to be instantly forgotten as just another pointless Hollywood remake.

 

RIP Moustapha Akkad (1935 - 2005)

Few days ago, a year after Theo van Gogh's murder, came another remainder that the real world is much uglier than Hollywood likes us to believe. In today's world talented filmmakers continue to become victims of demented ideology.

I hope that Croatian state television will pay proper homage by airing The Message or Lion of the Desert.

The More Things Change...

Paris suburbs riots happen to be one of the most underreported stories in Croatian and world's media. I too didn't blog as much about it as I would have liked.

However, before I gather enough time and inspiration, I would love to remind the readers of certain film made ten years ago dealing with the scenario very much like the one currently playing out in Paris.