Rendition is torture on the nerves

In theaters Friday: The Other Boleyn Girl, Semi-Pro
New on DVD: 30 Days of Night, Beowulf, Goya’s Ghosts, The Darjeeling Limited

The highlight of the 80th Academy Awards was easily when host Jon Stewart called Best Original Song co-winner Marketa Irglova, the tenderhearted star of Once, back on stage to give her acceptance speech after being unceremoniously axed by LSU graduate Bill Conti and his subterranean orchestra. Irglova’s speech about hope was the most moving of the entire night, and it made lackluster speeches by Joel and Ethan Coen look at best shallow and at worst egotistical.

But maybe I’m being too harsh on the Coens because I think P.T. Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is a film with more depth and more resonant themes than their Best Picture Winner No Country for Old Men. I also think Cate Blanchett got robbed of a Best Supporting Actress win with the confounding choice of Tilda Swinton instead. Here’s the deal: I really liked Michael Clayton, and I liked Swinton in her small role, but I can name five actresses right now who could have played her part of a conniving attorney just as well. Let’s see: Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Frances McDormand, Angelina Jolie, oh yeah, and Cate Blanchett. I can’t think of one actor, male or female, who could have played Bob Dylan circa 1966 like Blanchett did, and that’s why she should have been recognized.

Get ready for a big old can of worms to be cracked open, but I really didn’t like Diablo Cody winning Best Original Screenplay. Sure parts of Juno were funny and others sentimental, but, call me crazy, I just think Best Original Screenplay should be given for something that is more original, and not to a movie that bases 90% of its humor on a string of pop culture references from the 1970s and ’80s. Hey you guys, remember ThunderCats? Ha ha. Remember “hamburger phones”!? Isn’t mentioning old stuff hilarious!?

Then again this is the year Herbie Hancock won a Grammy for Album of the Year for a covers record, so go figure. These are the times.

Think your favorite movie or actor got the shaft this year? You’re not alone. EW ranks the greatest Oscar snubs of all time right here.

This just in: The Ukraine needs to get out more. Want to know what their favorite movie over there is? Get ready to have your mind blown. Ready? I’m apologizing in advance. Seriously, this might ruin your day. Are you sure? OK, click here. Told you.

I just caught Rendition on DVD. Directed by Gavin Hood, who rumor has it may be in Louisiana at some point this year to film a few scenes for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the film examines all facets of “extraordinary rendition” which the CIA uses to arrest, detain and interrogate suspected terrorists without due process of the law. It is a touchy subject for sure, and it is the first time I’ve seen a realistic demonstration of water boarding. After watching Rendition, I would question the judgment of anyone who says the simulated drowning technique is not torture. As shown here, at least, it is horrific, and I doubt it is any more pleasant in real life.

Overall I like it, and I can’t understand this film’s failure at the box office. It has star power — Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Arkin, Meryl Streep — it couldn’t be more timely, and it treats the debate over torture and intelligence-gathering with the respect and due diligence it deserves.

The plot begins with a suicide bombing and the death of a top CIA agent. Then, while flying home from an engineer’s conference in South Africa, Witherspoon’s Egyptian-born husband is apprehended and questioned in connection with the bombing. While he is tortured and questioned by those seeking revenge, Gyllenhaal has a crisis of belief in his agency’s agenda and Witherspoon pleads her case to Arkin’s senator and Streep’s CIA director to free her husband.

This is an intense film that reminded me of David Cronenberg’s recent work. But if you can watch 24 week after week, the torture seen here is no worse than that. Gyllenhaal really doesn’t bring much to the table here we haven’t seen before, but watching Arkin and Streep turn the screws is fun, and this is Witherspoon’s first quality role since beaming as June Carter in 2005’s Walk The Line.