So an entertaining film comes out about a woman who bucks up against societal norms in the early seventies, puts career over family, and still comes out a winner — sounds like someone’s flirting with Oscar! Strangely, it doesn’t earn a single nomination.

“Secretariat,” a movie about the horse who won more awards than Al Gore, will not be in the starting gate at the Oscars, February 27. What could be the problem? It opened the weekend after the “Social Network,” so it wasn’t like the Academy of ADHD Artists had time to forget about it. It wasn’t that it didn’t have a good enough campaign team working behind it either. Disney pitched it right alongside “Toy Story 3,” a long-shot which actually made it into the Best Picture category, a rare occurrence for a cartoon.

Diane Lane put in an undeniably Oscar-worthy performance that recalls some of the most glamorous actresses of a Hollywood’s golden age. She played Secretariat’s owner, Penny Tweedy, with the poise of Grace Kelly, the brash of Katherine Hepburn, and the warmth of Donna Reid. John Malkovich should have been a shoe-in, with one of his quirkiest characters to date, as the trainer Lucien Laurin; a role that recalled some of the greater comedic sidekicks from the heyday of Disney like Don Knotts, Tim Conway, and Buddy Hackett

Perhaps the PG rating made it into a film that no one in the Academy bothered to watch. After “The Blind Side” took two nominations last year, the members of the Academy became aware of the disturbing trend of solidly entertaining family pictures that are uplifting and not vulgar. Perhaps a few more jokes about cleaning out the stables could have won a PG-13 rating and a couple seats in the Kodak Theater. (more…)

Anyone who pays attention to the movies knows that Hollywood loves to mine the same ideas over and over again. Whether via sequels, remakes or reboots, the big-studio machinery will take hold of nearly any idea that clicks with viewers and immediately find a variation of it to throw into theatres as quickly as possible.

Even though it’s not a sequel, “Secretariat” enters the marketplace this weekend cut squarely from the mold of last year’s surprise smash hit “The Blind Side.” Take a true story about a sport that even women can love, spotlight the warmth and importance of family amid struggles, add a feisty female into the lead role and stir.

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You can’t blame Disney for making the effort here; after all, “Blind Side” grossed more than $250 million in the US alone and scored a Best Actress Oscar for its star, Sandra Bullock. But thankfully, Disney has improved on that film’s Lifetime-movie tendencies and delivered a film that is more impressively shot, compellingly written and richly performed than its predecessor – resulting in a film that should easily make a run for Oscar gold come winter.

Since “Secretariat” is named after the famed 1973 Triple Crown-winning horse, the film centers on the equine’s owner, Penny Chenery, and her quest to keep the steed after her father dies and the temptation exists to sell the horse off quickly to settle his estate’s massive tax problems. In time-honored Oscar-baiting tradition, Penny (perfectly played by Diane Lane in a career-best performance), Penny tells everyone that her daddy didn’t raise a quitter, and soon she’s teamed up with eccentric trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich in a rare role that doesn’t rely on an insane amount of swearing). (more…)

One of the nifty things about living in Santa Monica, California is watching Hollywood celebrities mince about Main Street, in their half-hearted attempt to remain incognito. In the past 3 months alone, I’ve been treated to Diane Lane and Josh Brolin in a heated tiff outside our inedible raw food joint, Helen Hunt furtively picking a boogie while idling in her Prius – and Carl Weathers. Carl Weathers, EVERYWHERE.

But arguably the most satisfying sighting in my nearly 16 years by the beach, happened just last week in the back of a corner health food market called One Life.  I stopped in for a tuna on whole wheat, queuing directly behind the legendary Tim Robbins in some stretchy bike shorts, a wool skull cap and open-toed sandals.  So COOL! 

However, Tim seemed distracted.  He kept looking towards the front of the store where an exotically stunning  woman was shopping, next to who appeared to be her boyfriend.  Mind you, I was 3 feet from Timmy and he’s a good 6 foot 5, so he had no trouble looking directly over me, clearly ogling the girl and making that “woo” face consistent with a fella on the prowl. ( In hindsight, I’m pretty sure he was trying for one of those camaraderie moments with me, where complete strangers bond over how hot a chick is.  But I wasn’t 100% sure, so I didn’t engage). (more…)

Something must be seriously wrong with “Killshot,” the straight-to-video flick starring the resurgent Mickey Rourke. The movie features not just Rourke, but rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Diane Lane, Rosario Dawson and Thomas Jane – reputable actors, all.

And it’s under the direction of John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”), working from an Elmore Leonard story. And it still rocketed past every movie theater save one in Arizona earlier this year, netting a measly $18,000?

The film, heading to DVD May 26, deserved a better fate. (more…)

The movie business is not generally kind to women when they pass the age of 40, and Julia Roberts (now 41) is learning that lesson the hard way. The former Pretty Woman has returned to the big screen this weekend in Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity (Universal), and one prominent blogger wrote this headline:

Duplicity soft: Julia’s Comeback? Audiences Say Go Back

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star in the fun, smart DUPLICITY, from writer/director Tony Gilroy

Roberts’ last starring role was in 2003’s Mona Lisa Smile ($63.8M domestic), and since then she has become a full-time Mom. Overall, she has 8 movies on her resume that have reached $100M in the US with her as a lead (I’m not including the Ocean’s Eleven franchise). Her most successful string of movies started in 1997 with My Best Friend’s Wedding ($127.1M cume) and ended with her Oscar winning performance in Erin Brockovich ($125.6M cume). During that span, she starred in 6 movies, generating an average of $115M in domestic box office.

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