Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2012

There hasn’t been a closer Oscar race in years. After SAG muddied the waters with its Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), Best Actress (Viola Davis) and Best Cast awards (The Help), there are still no frontrunners in all three major categories. Will gold go to the beloved The Artist? Will Clooney best handsome Frenchman Dujardin? And will Meryl finally triumph again against Davis, who is looking for her first statuette? It’s fitting, then, that this year’s Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2012 are as hard to call. Will the animation award go to the redoubtable Pixar (La Luna), the U.K.’s surreal A Morning Stroll featuring a chicken and zombies or the phantasm of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore? The two Canadian shorts, Sunday and Wild Life, are heavily metaphorical, artsy submissions. The Live Action program includes Pentecost, Ireland’s witty, religious catch-22, God or Football?; North Ireland’s The Shore, revisiting the ‘Troubles’ through divided friends; the German-Indian drama Raju; Norway’s bittersweet Tuba Atlantic, wherein a man with six days to live attempts to contact his estranged brother; and Time Freak, where an inventor creates a time machine that takes him all the way back to yesterday. Check them out and vote with your heart here; there’s just no way of telling. Opens Feb. 10. 3/4 stars —Dan Loughry

Private Romeo
Starring Matt Doyle, Seth Numrich, Hale Appleman

An unconventional, queer take on Romeo and Juliet set at an all-male military high school, writer/director Alan Brown’s fourth film begins as eight cadets read from the Bard’s text in class. The drama soon permeates (and queers up) the entire campus. Like a minimalist, less flamboyant and overtly queer Baz Luhrmann, Brown has his cast—including Numrich and Doyle from New York’s Lincoln Center production of War Horse—act out scenes from the play, fall in love, sing, scrap and make YouTube-esque video clips. Artful, graceful and different, this would make Derek Jarman proud. The most conventional, disappointing aspect of Private Romeo is the fact that its actors are obviously aged out of high school. Perhaps they pass as grad students or freshly minted Ph.D.s, but high schoolers? No. Nonetheless, they’re handsome and keep straight faces despite the theatricality of the material—no mean feat. In fact, the ensemble collectively won Outfest’s Outstanding Actor honor last year. Theatrical on so many levels, be sure to catch this one in an actual movie theater. It demands it, truly. As would the Bard. Opens Feb. 10. 3/5 stars —Lawrence Ferber

Thin Ice
Starring Greg Kinnear, Billy Crudup, Alan Arkin 

Kenosha, Wis., insurance agent Mickey Prohaska (Kinnear) is always angling for a sale. He’s a pretty weak salesman, but he suffers from delusions of grandeur regarding his abilities and success. When Mickey sells a policy to Gorvy (Arkin), a high-maintenance, daft old man, he comes across an old violin that may be worth $25,000. However, gaining possession of the fiddle from Gorvy proves treacherous, particularly when a twitchy ex-con locksmith (Crudup) noses in on Mickey’s scheme and potential windfall. Originally titled The Convincer, writer/director Jill Sprecher’s (Clockwatchers) very welcome third feature is in the vein of the Coen brothers’ darkly comic noir capers—albeit less grim and gory than the likes of Fargo and No Country For Old Men. Kinnear is amusing as the both loathsome and likeable weasel, whom we know will suffer for his would-be sin. Arkin, Crudup and Bob Balaban (as a rare violin dealer) seem to be having a good time as they make Mickey’s life tumultuous. Not to give anything away, but there’s a final reel twist that would make David Mamet proud—and perhaps hook you into buying a DVD/digital download later down the line. Opens Feb. 17. 3/5 stars —Lawrence Ferber

Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston
Starring Liza Minnelli, Anjelica Huston, Billy Joel

A true American original, with matinee idol looks and celebrity friends, Halston epitomized everything 1970s. This entertaining documentary about the man who changed American fashion is part time-capsule, part nostalgia and almost all fabulous. Director Whitney Smith (badly) interviews Halston’s friends, models and associates—from confidante Liza Minnelli to co-conspirator Ming Vauze. He uncovers Halston’s archives and uses excellent archival footage and TV/film clips to nimbly tell of Halston’s rise and fall. Ultrasuede features revealing anecdotes that celebrate Halston’s influence and how his innovative designs changed the way people dressed. Smith chronicles Halston’s multiple achievements, from his stunning interior designs and his marketing of perfume and carpet to his trip to China, all of which testify to his legacy. Yet Ultrasuede basks perhaps too much in the decadent decade. A chunk of the film reminisces about Halston’s hangout, Studio 54, but most of these digressions are amusing. While Smith’s on-camera antics, such as interrupting his subjects, are annoying (and unprofessional), he certainly has affection for the period and the person. Ultrasuede is ultimately as luxurious and as synthetic as the title material. Opens Feb. 10. 4/5 stars —Gary M. Kramer