The Bowdoin Orient

It's hard to believe, but after four years of writing for the Orient the time has come to say goodbye. This humble space has been my stomping ground for whatever was on my mind and I enjoyed it greatly. If you've made it through for all that time, I sincerely thank you for putting up with me.

Hollywood is not kind if you're a film fan. In the studios' minds, it is acceptable to deliver a couple dozen good films a year and churn out depressingly average movies with recycled plotlines and product placement up the wazoo the rest of the time.

Thanks to the pre-frosh, it's a dry weekend on campus. Snow is inexplicably still in the weather forecast. What's a Bowdoin student to do? Head over to the student film fest, of course.

We're back from break and already there are numerous worthy cinematic options playing in our area. The spring is usually known as downtime for film, but it's actually a great opportunity to go down a less trodden path and find more satisfying independent and foreign-produced fare.

Scorsese finally did it. After five tries and the endless indignation of his fan base, Martin Scorsese won Best Director on Sunday night and the crowd instantly stood to applaud him.

The Oscars are coming Sunday at 8 p.m. As your film critic, here are my predictions for the Academy's winners and my personal ballot for the year. Winners are marked with an asterisk.

Now that all you freshmen have experienced your first legit Maine snowstorm, you may be feeling a little cabin fever. But catch youself before you exclaim: "I went to college in a frigid wilderness!" As (most) upperclassmen know, the stretch of Maine around Casco Bay, from Portland to Brunswick, has a surprisingly large number of artistic venues, including independent cinemas. Here's a sampling of the best places to check out.

Perhaps this year's biggest cinema story, and my favorite, is the three Mexican directors?Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Guillermo del Toro?who have been dubbed the "three amigos." All produced major films achieving widespread critical success in America. "Children of Men," "Babel," and "Pan's Labyrinth," respectively, rank among the year's best.

Though we may be through with the past, the past isn't through with us. With "Volver," Pedro Almodóvar has returned. In this film, Spain's premier director of films like "All About My Mother" and "Talk to Her" makes a star vehicle for Penélope Cruz. While it may not be the apex of his career, Almodóvar won't disappoint you here. "Volver" literally translates to "return" in Spanish, and this idea haunts the film.

The holiday season is here with a raft of films, many vying for year-end awards. I've always found it funny how critics attempt to set up films for viewers before either one of them has seen it. For one, it lets the Hollywood buzz machines receive undue power. More importantly, it takes away the excitement of word-of-mouth. You decide you want to check out the film, instead of being told by the box office or awards groups. So over winter break, with a month to sleep, relax, and pursue your interests more fully than is often possible at Bowdoin, check out those films that interest you. It doesn't matter if they're mainstream or art house, just let your own curiosities draw you to the theater.

Oscar season. This inevitable end-of-the-year Hollywood ritual has begun. From now until the end of February, ads in the trade magazines, on TV and in-theater previews will barrage viewers and Academy members alike. But they will ask for nothing more than your consideration. Filmmakers like Christopher Guest know that all too well. Under Guest's watch, no one is free from potential lampooning.

You won't find this film on IMDb. This week, I went to my first film at the Frontier Café +Cinema+Gallery. I recommend you check it out if you haven't done so already. Great open space, lots of healthy food options, and quality events programming, there's something for everyone. This month, Frontier is screening the film "My Friend, My Enemy," a enthralling documentary about a group of Israeli and Palestinian girls who met at a peace camp in America in the summer of 2000. By 2003, when the film was shot, the deeply entrenched societal conflicts of the region had divided the friends in more than just location.

Martin Scorsese sure knows how to have a kick-ass time. After a few years of unsuccessfully trying to win Oscars, Scorsese returned to his roots: violent men inhabiting mean streets. It seems to work for him. With "The Departed," he has made a more confident, self-assured film than his previous epic, award-begging vehicles "Gangs of New York" or "The Aviator." Ironically, this film is now a prize contender.

"The Illusionist" represents a troubling genre for film reviewers like myself. No real, probing discussion of a movie can ever be complete without involving the ending, but this movie is a prime example of the plot-twist picture, and everyone knows how much audiences do not like those moments spoiled. One shouldn't be surprised, perhaps, that things aren't what they seem; the title is explicitly about illusion, after all. But to divulge what happens then is clearly out of the question, and even remark that there is a plot twist will likely send some of you lovely readers into moans of "Oh, he spoiled the movie for me!"

It should come as little surprise that I am not a fan of blockbusters. Sure, sometimes I'm in the mood for the sheer escapist spectacle that only Hollywood can provide. Most of the time, however, the contrived plots, hackneyed performances, and general lack of artistic vision are as enticing as a bucket of yuck, and I keep as far away as possible.

Denzel and Spike are at it again, but this time there's less fun to go around. With "Inside Man," Spike Lee abandons the unorthodox cinematography exemplified in previous films like "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing," and delivers a mainstream effort that does not offer anything particularly unique.

"And the Polar Bear goes to..." The Second annual Bowdoin Film Festival will take place Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium, Sills Hall. And even if the idea of seeing Bowdoin's resident film critic judging the competition doesn't thrill you to the core, the idea of seeing young filmmakers in action should.

It's around this time of year, after the Oscars have passed and the depressing repetitiveness of the current slate of movies seems inescapable, when studios announce their slate of films for the coming year. And most of their release dates are far in the distance, but at least this will give us all something to look forward to as we trudge through Mel's continuing descent toward insanity in "Apocalypto" and Mr. Scientology himself in "MI:3," with MI now standing for Maximum Irritation.

The world is turned upside down! A masked avenger wants to make things right! Natalie Portman shaves her head! "V for Vendetta," the new action film that opened last week, fits the same mold as books like "1984" and films like "Blade Runner" in its futuristic take on the problems of the current world. This film is primarily concerned with the lack of political activism for worthy causes like combating racism and other hatreds.

Top 10 of 2005: 1.) Brokeback Mountain? Not only the best film of the year, but also a landmark film sociologically, as it tells the story of two cowboys in the 1960s who are in love but unsure of how to act out their emotions in a society that will not allow them to be together.

For a very long time this is a tribute I feel I was meant to write. Almost as long as I have loved film, Meryl Streep has been my favorite actor, the grand dame of cinema, not to mention arguably the best actress of all-time. Her consistency time and again, not to mention awe inspiring range and versatility on screen still find ways to surprise me.

Last week's Academy Award nominations included "Darwin's Nightmare," "Murderball," and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." Never heard of these movies? Well, that's probably because they're documentaries. Although the documentary is one of the oldest genres of film, it still suffers from a lack of exposure. Few docs, with the exception of films like "Fahrenheit 9/11" or "March of the Penguins," get wide distribution, and thus never reach audiences that may be interested.

The Oscars just can't quit Jake and Heath. In this year of critically acclaimed politicized cinema, the Oscar nominations, which came out this Tuesday, sent a strong message of support for "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's film about two cowboys repressing their love. It received the most nominations of the field with eight, a point of note as, since 1980, the film receiving the most nominations won the Oscar for best picture all but four times.

Finally, a best picture frontrunner that's actually fully deserving of the title. In this year of highly politicized cinema, from "Good Night and Good Luck" to "Munich," "Brokeback Mountain" one-ups all of these films, delivering a powerful, human drama that breaks down barriers for the depiction of homosexuals in cinema. It would be no small feat for this film to reach a mainstream audience with such a message, but that is exactly what is happening.

Hollywood always did love a formula, so did you really expect it to change it for its most lucrative season of the year? As per usual, this summer will abound with sequels, remakes and blockbusters just waiting to be bestowed with your hard-earned cash, and most of these films will make it at least past the $100 million mark. But there are also some prestige pictures and smaller independent dramas that may be more worth your time. And then there are always the surprises every summer (á la Napoleon Dynamite). Here's a sampling of films most likely to tickle your fancy, whatever that fancy may be. So read them over, choose wisely, have fun, and may the force be with you!

Oh, baby. In a late awards-season surge, Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby emerged as the big winner of the 77th Academy Awards Sunday night, garnering Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Director (Eastwood) and Best Picture. This was the second award for Eastwood in direction and Swank in lead actress. This intimate film in classical Hollywood style clearly captured the hearts and minds of voters, beating out The Aviator in all of its major battles.

Million Dollar Baby?A story of love and loyalty where even shadows illuminate and silence speaks poetry, Eastwood's masterpiece finds beauty in simplicity and completely won me over.

Best Picture: The late surging Baby might take this from The Aviator, or then again, it might not.

What do you get when you add together a buddy road trip, wine, romance and meticulously created characters courtesy of one of the best directors working today? Why that would be a scrumptious, Oscar nominated glass of Sideways of course.

It's the end of another year in Hollywood, and the Oscars are here again. Prada and Armani may still be wrapping red-carpet stars in their latest rags while host Chris Rock practices comedy in a tux, but something feels off.

Once again the season of good tidings is upon us, and as usual Hollywood is giving audiences mass-market presents, such as Meet the Fockers and Ocean's 12, as well as it's annual attempts at Oscar glory. Although neatly wrapped prestige pictures like Kinsey, Ray, and Finding Neverland have already been released, studio and independent prestige pictures will be arriving every week until the end of the year. The producers of these films, of course, have their usual goal in mind: receiving critics' accolades and Golden Globe and Oscar attention. But more importantly, which will best satisfy your winter movie cravings?

Maria Full of Grace, Joshua Marston's new film starring the revelatory Catalina Sandino Moreno, is a film that takes great pleasure in silence, for it knows the understanding that comes with silence is far greater than what words can express. This Sundance Film Festival hit has the authenticity of a documentary, which, combined with Moreno's phenomenal performance, carries the viewer further than one would think possible.

Kill Bill: Vol.2 ushers in a return to form for director Quentin Tarantino. He has made a powerful and surprisingly maternal film that seethes with a passionate love and mastery of cinema evident in every frame; he knows what he is doing and he knows exactly how to present it to the audience.