Revolutionary Road
*** out of ****
Undoubtedly countless people were eagerly awaiting the return of America's most famous screen couple: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The two's first time together was in Titanic, which ended up being the biggest film of all time. They waited twelve years to work together again, and they made sure that the film they decided to do was as different from Titanic as possible. However, in Revolutionary Road, something does hit an iceberg and sinks.
DiCaprio is Frank, and Winslet is April. The setting is sometime in the 1950's. In the first scene, the two meet at a party and instantly connect. The very next scene is years later, after they got married and had kids and moved into the suburbs. They are no longer a happy couple. Frank has a boring job that he hates and admits that he doesn't even understand what he does. April is miserable as a stay-home mom. They bicker constantly and grow farther and farther apart. To ease the tension, April suggests they embrace the dream they had before they got married and move to Paris. Frank loves the idea and the two start packing to move. For about two months, they are in a state of euphoria, where they are the happiest they've been in years, or at least pretending they are happy. They explain to their kids that they'll be taking a boat to travel across the ocean. But, an unintended pregnancy and a big promotion for Frank suspend their plans permanently, sending them immediately back into the funk they were in before. Soon, both of them are engaged in adultery and talking about abortion.
By far the best part of the film is John Givings, played by character actor Michael Shannon. His mother Helen sold the couple their house and stops by almost everyday to pay a visit. Kathy Bates plays Helen as the stereotypical '50s old lady, always finding the positive and striving to keep everyone happy. She is embarassed by her son John, who was a successful mathematician until he went insane and was put in a mental institution. She convinces April to meet John so that he might become well. John pokes his nose into their business and asks probing questions, ultimately revealing precious truths these characters don't want said aloud. Shannon plays the character as such an uninhibited psychopath that he actually strangely reminds me of Heath Ledger's Joker. He does the most he can with his limited screen time and makes himself the most memorable part of the movie.
Revolutionary Road is a very dark film that has many glaring flaws. DiCaprio, usually a very entertaining actor to watch, gives an unusually mixed performance that sometimes feels stiff and reminds the audience that he's reading from the script. Strangely, the kids are largely absent from the film, appearing in only a few scenes when they should have been closer to the focus. The beautiful score and lighthearted costumes and sets mask the ugly nature of the plot. Instead of starting out as a happy couple and then descending into madness, they start off more or less as miserable as they end up. When there is a very tense and emotional fight before the title is even shown, there is something tragically wrong with the pacing of the film.
But amazing performances from the entire cast (especially Winslet and Shannon), impeccable direction by Sam Mendes, and some very emotional scenes raise the movie above the mess it could have easily become. I think the reunion of the two biggest stars in the world could have been a slightly happier occasion, but one guesses that the filmmakers were not interested in showing the happiness of suburban life; quite the opposite, actually. (Also, I find it funny that this is the movie in which DiCaprio and Winslet DIDN'T get on the big boat, and yet bad things happened anyway.)
I would recommend this movie to people who like dramas and fans of the stars.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z6kDo1OFzE
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Wrestler ***1/2
The Wrestler
***1/2 out of ****
If someone had told you they were making a serious dramatic movie about professional wrestling, what would you imagine it to be like? I would imagine that it wouldn't be very good, as wrestling in movies should be limited to comedies. But leave it to auteur Darren Aronofsky to change my mind, as he has created a masterpiece about a laughable subject, and revived the dead career of his star Mickey Rourke in the process. The Wrestler plays out like a 2000's version of Rocky, with wrestling replacing boxing and a has-been replacing the underdog.
Rourke is Randy, real name Robin, stage name The Ram. Whatever you call him, he's a loser. He's a professional wrestler who was a huge celebrity in the 80's but has now lost all his fans and money. His daughter, played with biting ferocity by Evan Rachel Wood, hates him and cut him out of her life long ago. He hangs out at a strip club and has a slightly creepy realtionship with Cassidy, an aging stripper. Cassidy serves as our Adrian, although there are obvious changes between the two characters. But like Rocky kept going into the local pet store to tell jokes to Adrian, Randy goes out of his way to impress Cassidy, telling her stories of epic matches and paying her extra for personal lap dances. Cassidy is played to perfection by Marisa Tomei, who gets naked for most of her screen time but manages to do all of her acting through her face as she struggles to accept this customer as someone she may care about.
After a particularly brutal match, Randy has a heart attack and collapses in the locker room. This prompts him to retire from wrestling, at least for a little while, and starts working full time at the local supermarket. It is surprising to see him interact with people, as he has all the charm and prescence of a celebrity as he talks with compelte strangers behind the meat counter. But when someone recognizes him as The Ram from the 80s, he loses control and starts yelling, causing a huge scene.
The wrestling matches are the highlight of the film, not because they're great action sequences or similar to climactic boxing matches, but because of how bad they are. The wrestling looks very fake, because, of course, it is. We see that all of the fights are heavily choreographed beforehand and the winner chosen far in advance. The shaky camerawork helps to make the film look like a documentary, as the wrestlers who pretend to hate each other in the ring actually are very good friends who trust each other not to hurt them. There's even a joke made about how gay they all look.
This film is truly haunting because it feels so real. Randy loathes everything about himself, yet can't seem to break away from the nasty brute he knows he is deep down. In the ring is the only place where he feels alive and has purpose. Even Cassidy is seen getting rejected by younger men, and the strange hurt on her face lets us know that she and Randy are cut from the same cloth, yearning to leave but unable to. This is an exceptional film that will find its place in history next to the Italian Stallion.
I would recommend this film to people who like dramas, violent sports movies, and of course, wrestling.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0
***1/2 out of ****
If someone had told you they were making a serious dramatic movie about professional wrestling, what would you imagine it to be like? I would imagine that it wouldn't be very good, as wrestling in movies should be limited to comedies. But leave it to auteur Darren Aronofsky to change my mind, as he has created a masterpiece about a laughable subject, and revived the dead career of his star Mickey Rourke in the process. The Wrestler plays out like a 2000's version of Rocky, with wrestling replacing boxing and a has-been replacing the underdog.
Rourke is Randy, real name Robin, stage name The Ram. Whatever you call him, he's a loser. He's a professional wrestler who was a huge celebrity in the 80's but has now lost all his fans and money. His daughter, played with biting ferocity by Evan Rachel Wood, hates him and cut him out of her life long ago. He hangs out at a strip club and has a slightly creepy realtionship with Cassidy, an aging stripper. Cassidy serves as our Adrian, although there are obvious changes between the two characters. But like Rocky kept going into the local pet store to tell jokes to Adrian, Randy goes out of his way to impress Cassidy, telling her stories of epic matches and paying her extra for personal lap dances. Cassidy is played to perfection by Marisa Tomei, who gets naked for most of her screen time but manages to do all of her acting through her face as she struggles to accept this customer as someone she may care about.
After a particularly brutal match, Randy has a heart attack and collapses in the locker room. This prompts him to retire from wrestling, at least for a little while, and starts working full time at the local supermarket. It is surprising to see him interact with people, as he has all the charm and prescence of a celebrity as he talks with compelte strangers behind the meat counter. But when someone recognizes him as The Ram from the 80s, he loses control and starts yelling, causing a huge scene.
The wrestling matches are the highlight of the film, not because they're great action sequences or similar to climactic boxing matches, but because of how bad they are. The wrestling looks very fake, because, of course, it is. We see that all of the fights are heavily choreographed beforehand and the winner chosen far in advance. The shaky camerawork helps to make the film look like a documentary, as the wrestlers who pretend to hate each other in the ring actually are very good friends who trust each other not to hurt them. There's even a joke made about how gay they all look.
This film is truly haunting because it feels so real. Randy loathes everything about himself, yet can't seem to break away from the nasty brute he knows he is deep down. In the ring is the only place where he feels alive and has purpose. Even Cassidy is seen getting rejected by younger men, and the strange hurt on her face lets us know that she and Randy are cut from the same cloth, yearning to leave but unable to. This is an exceptional film that will find its place in history next to the Italian Stallion.
I would recommend this film to people who like dramas, violent sports movies, and of course, wrestling.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Oscar Nominations, Part Two
Ah yes, Oscar season is here once more.
The nominations were announced early Thursday morning and by lunchtime, the whole world knew that Batman had been defeated. But they also found out that Oscar got it right on a few other notes.
Here are the technical nominations this year.
Best Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
I bought the entire Slumdog Millionaire album, so am ecstatic to see it here. People who haven't seen the film can't even imagine: it combines traditional Indian music with modern pop rhythms for a very energetic sound throughout. (Those who saw Pineapple Express and were disappointed to not hear "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. will be happy to find it here.) I also have a couple tracks from WALL-E, and it is definitely better than regular cartoon music, as it is brimming with emotion and character. The other three nominees are typical dramatic fare. Defiance's score slightly resembles the score of Schindler's List.
Best Original Song
"Down to Earth," WALL-E
"Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire
"O...Saya," Slumdog Millionaire
As I said before, I have all three of these songs in my iTunes and am absolutely thrilled that they are going to be performed live at the ceremony. My prediction is for "Down to Earth," since for some odd reason, whenever a film has multiple nominations in this category, it tends to lose.
Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Oddly, the same five movies as my Best Picture predictions, and a haunting reminder of what could have been. This category usually coincides with the winner for Best Picture, but The Bourne Ultimatum took home this surprising and well-deserved Oscar last year. So, my money is on The Dark Knight, as penance for not giving it the top spot.
Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Part of me is surprised Cloverfield isn't nominated here, since that film depended entirely on unique camerawork, but it did come out last January, so it's gone from voters' minds, I guess. I remembered something strange: three years ago, Batman Begins received only one nomination, for Cinematography. So it's only natural that The Dark Knight is nominated here. My guess is that since it didn't get a Best Picture nomination, the Academy is going to give it as many awards as possible in other categories, so I'm going to guess Dark Knight to win here too.
Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hellboy's only nomination, undoubtedly for Ron Perlman's makeup, which is much improved from the first film. The Dark Knight's makeup is mostly Heath Ledger's creepy clown face as the Joker, which made him completely unrecognizable. For Benjamin Button, however, the makeup made Brad Pitt age in reverse, from a child in an old man's body to an old man in a teenager's body. Cate Blanchett also aged several decades for her role. I can see any of these three winning here.
Best Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road
These are interesting picks: Australia's costumes are from the '40s of the title country, Revolutionary's costumes evoke the '50s, and Milk shows the '70s. The Duchess is Victorian England and Benjamin Button is the South from the '20s to present day. Usually the most glamorous of the costumes win, so my money's on The Duchess.
Best Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
I view this category as very similar to Costume Design, since the two have to be consistent to make the setting believable. Three of the nominees are the same. Changeling shows Los Angeles in the '20s, while The Dark Knight brings Gotham to life from Chicago. I'm unsure who will win here; all of them are very artsy looking.
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Iron Man vs. Batman vs. Reverse Aging Man. It's nice to see that Iron Man wasn't completely ignored by the Academy, with two nominations. All of these films have amazing and very believable special effects. But for now, I'm thinking it will go to Benjamin Button because it put Oscar-quality special effects in a non-blockbuster.
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
I honestly don't know why they insist on giving out two Oscars for sound, and I still don't really know the difference between the two. Usually they both go to the same film anyway. It's awesome that The Dark Knight is nominated here, but legendary sound designer Ben Burtt created all of the robotic sounds from WALL-E from scratch. When you watch the final film, he basically made half of the finished product himself. He will win this award easy.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
Ditto, WALL-E. Did I mention Ben Burtt was also the voice of WALL-E, before he put it into a computer and roboticized it?
Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Bolt and Kung Fu Panda are really cool films, but neither of them even comes close to WALL-E. Pixar has proven once again that they're at the top of the world, and Oscar will reward them duly once again. My only complaint is that it couldn't be a Best Picture contender.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
I wish I knew more about these films. I know The Class won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which is a huge award. Waltz with Bashir is animated, and a sort-of documentary, so it could win simply for being so unique.
Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Man on Wire seems to be the favorite to win here, despite its simplistic story. Trouble the Water is about the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and it could possibly win because of its relevance.
Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
Sorry, I don't know anything about any of these nominees. Where can you even see short documentaries? On TV?
Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Nada.
Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
Presto is the manic Pixar film that was shown in theatres before WALL-E. It's Looney Tunes-esque and incredibly hilarious, and I hope it wins along with its feature-length counterpart. I don't know anything about any of the other nominees.
That's all of them! Later I will post my winners predictions for all the categories, once the buzz starts rolling and I know more about all of the nominees.
Go to www.apple.com/trailers for movie trailers of all the feature films mentioned here.
The ceremony will be live on Sunday, February 22nd at 7:00 pm on ABC.
The nominations were announced early Thursday morning and by lunchtime, the whole world knew that Batman had been defeated. But they also found out that Oscar got it right on a few other notes.
Here are the technical nominations this year.
Best Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
I bought the entire Slumdog Millionaire album, so am ecstatic to see it here. People who haven't seen the film can't even imagine: it combines traditional Indian music with modern pop rhythms for a very energetic sound throughout. (Those who saw Pineapple Express and were disappointed to not hear "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. will be happy to find it here.) I also have a couple tracks from WALL-E, and it is definitely better than regular cartoon music, as it is brimming with emotion and character. The other three nominees are typical dramatic fare. Defiance's score slightly resembles the score of Schindler's List.
Best Original Song
"Down to Earth," WALL-E
"Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire
"O...Saya," Slumdog Millionaire
As I said before, I have all three of these songs in my iTunes and am absolutely thrilled that they are going to be performed live at the ceremony. My prediction is for "Down to Earth," since for some odd reason, whenever a film has multiple nominations in this category, it tends to lose.
Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Oddly, the same five movies as my Best Picture predictions, and a haunting reminder of what could have been. This category usually coincides with the winner for Best Picture, but The Bourne Ultimatum took home this surprising and well-deserved Oscar last year. So, my money is on The Dark Knight, as penance for not giving it the top spot.
Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Part of me is surprised Cloverfield isn't nominated here, since that film depended entirely on unique camerawork, but it did come out last January, so it's gone from voters' minds, I guess. I remembered something strange: three years ago, Batman Begins received only one nomination, for Cinematography. So it's only natural that The Dark Knight is nominated here. My guess is that since it didn't get a Best Picture nomination, the Academy is going to give it as many awards as possible in other categories, so I'm going to guess Dark Knight to win here too.
Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hellboy's only nomination, undoubtedly for Ron Perlman's makeup, which is much improved from the first film. The Dark Knight's makeup is mostly Heath Ledger's creepy clown face as the Joker, which made him completely unrecognizable. For Benjamin Button, however, the makeup made Brad Pitt age in reverse, from a child in an old man's body to an old man in a teenager's body. Cate Blanchett also aged several decades for her role. I can see any of these three winning here.
Best Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road
These are interesting picks: Australia's costumes are from the '40s of the title country, Revolutionary's costumes evoke the '50s, and Milk shows the '70s. The Duchess is Victorian England and Benjamin Button is the South from the '20s to present day. Usually the most glamorous of the costumes win, so my money's on The Duchess.
Best Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
I view this category as very similar to Costume Design, since the two have to be consistent to make the setting believable. Three of the nominees are the same. Changeling shows Los Angeles in the '20s, while The Dark Knight brings Gotham to life from Chicago. I'm unsure who will win here; all of them are very artsy looking.
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Iron Man vs. Batman vs. Reverse Aging Man. It's nice to see that Iron Man wasn't completely ignored by the Academy, with two nominations. All of these films have amazing and very believable special effects. But for now, I'm thinking it will go to Benjamin Button because it put Oscar-quality special effects in a non-blockbuster.
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
I honestly don't know why they insist on giving out two Oscars for sound, and I still don't really know the difference between the two. Usually they both go to the same film anyway. It's awesome that The Dark Knight is nominated here, but legendary sound designer Ben Burtt created all of the robotic sounds from WALL-E from scratch. When you watch the final film, he basically made half of the finished product himself. He will win this award easy.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
Ditto, WALL-E. Did I mention Ben Burtt was also the voice of WALL-E, before he put it into a computer and roboticized it?
Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Bolt and Kung Fu Panda are really cool films, but neither of them even comes close to WALL-E. Pixar has proven once again that they're at the top of the world, and Oscar will reward them duly once again. My only complaint is that it couldn't be a Best Picture contender.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
I wish I knew more about these films. I know The Class won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which is a huge award. Waltz with Bashir is animated, and a sort-of documentary, so it could win simply for being so unique.
Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Man on Wire seems to be the favorite to win here, despite its simplistic story. Trouble the Water is about the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and it could possibly win because of its relevance.
Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
Sorry, I don't know anything about any of these nominees. Where can you even see short documentaries? On TV?
Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Nada.
Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
Presto is the manic Pixar film that was shown in theatres before WALL-E. It's Looney Tunes-esque and incredibly hilarious, and I hope it wins along with its feature-length counterpart. I don't know anything about any of the other nominees.
That's all of them! Later I will post my winners predictions for all the categories, once the buzz starts rolling and I know more about all of the nominees.
Go to www.apple.com/trailers for movie trailers of all the feature films mentioned here.
The ceremony will be live on Sunday, February 22nd at 7:00 pm on ABC.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Oscar Nominations, Part One
As most of you know, the nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning, and I was one of the few non-professional people watching it live on TV. By now, most people have heard the nominations and are talking about it, so it's my turn to speak my piece.
First of all, I want to express my extreme displeasure that The Dark Knight was not nominated for Best Picture or Director. I was aware that such nominations would be long shots and difficult to acheive, but the Academy made a profound mistake in ignoring it. Ten years down the line, people will not remember The Reader or Frost/Nixon, but they will remember-and will still be watching- The Dark Knight. It is a profound film that was not only an exceptional action story, but changed the entire genre of superhero movies. The general public will be very angry and I expect some people will boycott the Oscars this year because of it. But, I'm not one to complain, so I will say no more of it.
Even though I'm mad about that, it is the Oscars, and there are still lots of reasons to celebrate. Despite its Best Picture snub, I am PSYCHED that The Dark Knight managed to get eight nominations, including Best Supporting Actor- Heath Ledger. I am PSYCHED that Slumdog Millionaire got ten nominations, as it totally deserves them all. I am PSYCHED that WALL-E got six nominations, including Best Animated Feature. I am PSYCHED that Richard Jenkins got his first nomination. I am PSYCHED that Amy Adams got nominated for Doubt. I am PSYCHED that Kate Winslet got nominated, and in a surprising turn too! I am PSYCHED about the Best Original Song category, which has the opening and closing songs from Slumdog Millionaire, and the closing song from WALL-E, all of which I already had in my iTunes library. I am PSYCHED that Presto got nominated for Best Animated Short Film. I am PSYCHED that one film- Benjamin Button- got thirteen nominations and has a chance to break the record for most awards ever won.
Today marks the start of my one-month high as I officially begin my obsession with the Oscars, and it won't go away until after the ceremony is over.
Now I'll present the nominations in all the major categories to compare them to my predictions. This is not my winners predictions. (That will come later.) This is just to see how close I was, and my thoughts on the results. (I didn't get all five nominations right in any category!) If I have a prediction for the winner, I'll give it, but at this point, it's not worth much, and will probably change later.
Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Four out of five correct. Obviously, I put in The Dark Knight instead of The Reader, and I think most people were surprised by its inclusion here. I knew Dark Knight was the most vulnerable of my predictions, but if I had to replace it, I would have said Doubt or Revolutionary Road, not The Reader. At this point, Slumdog Millionaire seems set to win, and with Batman gone, I hope it does.
Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Four out of five correct. Well, I was right that Director and Best Picture would square up, I just had the wrong movie. Obviously, I put in The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan instead of Daldry. Experts said that even if Dark Knight didn't get in the Best Picture race, Nolan was a shoo-in here. I didn't agree with that, but it did give me hope. Hope...gone. At this point, my money's on Boyle.
Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Four out of five correct. I put in Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino instead of Pitt. Benjamin Button was a very quiet character, and also a very easy part to play, so I thought the Academy would give it to the much louder, and the much more entertaining Eastwood. Oh, well. They redeemed themselves by giving Jenkins a nomination, my personal favorite here. At this point, I'd say it's between Penn and Rourke for the win.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Three out of five correct. Like I said in a previous note, I'm always surprised by this category. I was right about them nominating an actress for an indie film no one's seen; but I said Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky and Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long, when they actually gave it to Leo for Frozen River. (Who the hell is she?) I actually did think Winslet would get nominated for The Reader, but for Supporting Actress. Her entire performance is in flashback, which would have given her the supporting nomination, but the fact that she's the female lead and that it's an amazing performance (and apparently better than her turn in Revolutionary Road, which failed to get nominated) got her an upgrade. At this point, it's all up in the air for the winner. I'm thinking somewhere between Hathaway, Streep, and Winslet.
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Four out of five correct. I said David Kross for The Reader instead of Shannon, and honestly, I don't think anyone knew who would take that last spot. I left Revolutionary Road off of my predictions altogether, which I see now was a mistake. I applaud the Academy for nominating Ledger posthumously, and for a popcorn movie, and he is currently set to win, although a Hoffman upset win isn't unthinkable.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Four out of five correct. Technically, I guessed all the nominees, it's just that Kate Winslet got a lead Actress nomination instead of here. Tomei took the spot she occupied on my list. Adams' nomination puts Doubt at four acting nominations (and five with its screenplay nomination), and not in the Best Picture race. It's one of the very few films to do that, but I'm happy this exceptional cast all got nominated. At this point, the race is completely open, and I can see any of the nominees potentially winning.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Four out of five correct. I was right in that all Best Picture nominees got a screenplay nomination, so I put down The Dark Knight instead of The Reader. I'm thinking Slumdog Millionaire is the favorite to win here.
Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL-E
Two out of five correct. (Yikes!) In my predictions, I said that I might be way off. Instead of Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, and In Bruges, I said Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor, and The Wrestler. I think I'm happier with these results, especially having two comedies nominated. I again applaud the Academy for nominating WALL-E here. I'm thinking Milk will take home the award, since first-time screenwriter Dustin Lance Black worked for years on it, interviewing the real Harvey Milk's friends and beating out several other scripts.
That's it for now. My next entry will feature all the other nominations, which I consider the technical awards, and my thoughts on them.
Go to www.apple.com/trailers for movie trailers of all the films mentioned here.
First of all, I want to express my extreme displeasure that The Dark Knight was not nominated for Best Picture or Director. I was aware that such nominations would be long shots and difficult to acheive, but the Academy made a profound mistake in ignoring it. Ten years down the line, people will not remember The Reader or Frost/Nixon, but they will remember-and will still be watching- The Dark Knight. It is a profound film that was not only an exceptional action story, but changed the entire genre of superhero movies. The general public will be very angry and I expect some people will boycott the Oscars this year because of it. But, I'm not one to complain, so I will say no more of it.
Even though I'm mad about that, it is the Oscars, and there are still lots of reasons to celebrate. Despite its Best Picture snub, I am PSYCHED that The Dark Knight managed to get eight nominations, including Best Supporting Actor- Heath Ledger. I am PSYCHED that Slumdog Millionaire got ten nominations, as it totally deserves them all. I am PSYCHED that WALL-E got six nominations, including Best Animated Feature. I am PSYCHED that Richard Jenkins got his first nomination. I am PSYCHED that Amy Adams got nominated for Doubt. I am PSYCHED that Kate Winslet got nominated, and in a surprising turn too! I am PSYCHED about the Best Original Song category, which has the opening and closing songs from Slumdog Millionaire, and the closing song from WALL-E, all of which I already had in my iTunes library. I am PSYCHED that Presto got nominated for Best Animated Short Film. I am PSYCHED that one film- Benjamin Button- got thirteen nominations and has a chance to break the record for most awards ever won.
Today marks the start of my one-month high as I officially begin my obsession with the Oscars, and it won't go away until after the ceremony is over.
Now I'll present the nominations in all the major categories to compare them to my predictions. This is not my winners predictions. (That will come later.) This is just to see how close I was, and my thoughts on the results. (I didn't get all five nominations right in any category!) If I have a prediction for the winner, I'll give it, but at this point, it's not worth much, and will probably change later.
Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Four out of five correct. Obviously, I put in The Dark Knight instead of The Reader, and I think most people were surprised by its inclusion here. I knew Dark Knight was the most vulnerable of my predictions, but if I had to replace it, I would have said Doubt or Revolutionary Road, not The Reader. At this point, Slumdog Millionaire seems set to win, and with Batman gone, I hope it does.
Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Four out of five correct. Well, I was right that Director and Best Picture would square up, I just had the wrong movie. Obviously, I put in The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan instead of Daldry. Experts said that even if Dark Knight didn't get in the Best Picture race, Nolan was a shoo-in here. I didn't agree with that, but it did give me hope. Hope...gone. At this point, my money's on Boyle.
Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Four out of five correct. I put in Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino instead of Pitt. Benjamin Button was a very quiet character, and also a very easy part to play, so I thought the Academy would give it to the much louder, and the much more entertaining Eastwood. Oh, well. They redeemed themselves by giving Jenkins a nomination, my personal favorite here. At this point, I'd say it's between Penn and Rourke for the win.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Three out of five correct. Like I said in a previous note, I'm always surprised by this category. I was right about them nominating an actress for an indie film no one's seen; but I said Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky and Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long, when they actually gave it to Leo for Frozen River. (Who the hell is she?) I actually did think Winslet would get nominated for The Reader, but for Supporting Actress. Her entire performance is in flashback, which would have given her the supporting nomination, but the fact that she's the female lead and that it's an amazing performance (and apparently better than her turn in Revolutionary Road, which failed to get nominated) got her an upgrade. At this point, it's all up in the air for the winner. I'm thinking somewhere between Hathaway, Streep, and Winslet.
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Four out of five correct. I said David Kross for The Reader instead of Shannon, and honestly, I don't think anyone knew who would take that last spot. I left Revolutionary Road off of my predictions altogether, which I see now was a mistake. I applaud the Academy for nominating Ledger posthumously, and for a popcorn movie, and he is currently set to win, although a Hoffman upset win isn't unthinkable.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Four out of five correct. Technically, I guessed all the nominees, it's just that Kate Winslet got a lead Actress nomination instead of here. Tomei took the spot she occupied on my list. Adams' nomination puts Doubt at four acting nominations (and five with its screenplay nomination), and not in the Best Picture race. It's one of the very few films to do that, but I'm happy this exceptional cast all got nominated. At this point, the race is completely open, and I can see any of the nominees potentially winning.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Four out of five correct. I was right in that all Best Picture nominees got a screenplay nomination, so I put down The Dark Knight instead of The Reader. I'm thinking Slumdog Millionaire is the favorite to win here.
Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL-E
Two out of five correct. (Yikes!) In my predictions, I said that I might be way off. Instead of Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, and In Bruges, I said Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor, and The Wrestler. I think I'm happier with these results, especially having two comedies nominated. I again applaud the Academy for nominating WALL-E here. I'm thinking Milk will take home the award, since first-time screenwriter Dustin Lance Black worked for years on it, interviewing the real Harvey Milk's friends and beating out several other scripts.
That's it for now. My next entry will feature all the other nominations, which I consider the technical awards, and my thoughts on them.
Go to www.apple.com/trailers for movie trailers of all the films mentioned here.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Defiance **
Defiance
** out of ****
You can count on Edward Zwick to deliver a solid action/drama period piece. Usually. It seems he's made so many that he thinks it's easy. Defiance can be at times exciting, violent, even heartbreaking. What the movie has in it is good; it's what the movie lacks that makes it less than great.
Daniel Craig is probably the best part of the movie. He is clearly taking roles very different from James Bond to try to avoid being typecast, and I think it's working. He sports a very un-Bond-like red leather coat and a Yiddish accent, and plays the character at first out for revenge, then heartbroken and trying to be a firm leader.
Craig is Tuvia Bielski, and Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell play his younger brothers Zus and Asael, respectively. As the movie opens, the Nazis are sweeping through Belurussia killing or taking away all the Jewish people. The parents of the three brothers are killed, and they later receive news of their wives' and even childrens' deaths. They immediately run into the woods to hide and come across many other people doing the same thing. At first they are reluctant to stay with them all, but soon they recruit many more people to join them, even breaking into a ghetto and evacuating everyone out of there and into the woods. There, they build their own homes and create a community where everyone works and helps out everybody else when needed. Tuvia, at first seen as a great leader the likes of Jesus Christ, soon gets sick and his reluctance to kill other people makes his leadership questioned. At the beginning of the movie, he finds the man who killed his parents, storms into his house during their dinner, and kills him and his two sons. After that, he fights back but doesn't want to kill anymore.
The film opens and the action starts very abruptly. By the time Tuvia shoots his parents' killer, the film has been going for maybe ten minutes and we have to assume he is some sort of soldier who kills people all the time. We never get to know any of the characters, and the relationship between the brothers is revealed later on. Tuvia and Zus do not like each other, and Zus eventually leaves to join the Soviet army. But the audience is not given a good reason why he does this; the two just start fighting randomly.
The film does seem to have more virtues than faults: it has some moving scenes, several good performances, and some violent and exciting action scenes, especially the climactic bomb raid, chase and battle in the woods. But when the movie is over, the viewer reflects back and realizes that for all of the important and weighty topics the film covered, it offered nothing new about the Holocaust, war, or even brotherhood. Hollywood's recent slew of Holocaust films doesn't help, and this one will simply fade away with all the rest.
I would recommend this film to people who like war movies, and fans of Daniel Craig.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYZ2oYDSKHA
** out of ****
You can count on Edward Zwick to deliver a solid action/drama period piece. Usually. It seems he's made so many that he thinks it's easy. Defiance can be at times exciting, violent, even heartbreaking. What the movie has in it is good; it's what the movie lacks that makes it less than great.
Daniel Craig is probably the best part of the movie. He is clearly taking roles very different from James Bond to try to avoid being typecast, and I think it's working. He sports a very un-Bond-like red leather coat and a Yiddish accent, and plays the character at first out for revenge, then heartbroken and trying to be a firm leader.
Craig is Tuvia Bielski, and Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell play his younger brothers Zus and Asael, respectively. As the movie opens, the Nazis are sweeping through Belurussia killing or taking away all the Jewish people. The parents of the three brothers are killed, and they later receive news of their wives' and even childrens' deaths. They immediately run into the woods to hide and come across many other people doing the same thing. At first they are reluctant to stay with them all, but soon they recruit many more people to join them, even breaking into a ghetto and evacuating everyone out of there and into the woods. There, they build their own homes and create a community where everyone works and helps out everybody else when needed. Tuvia, at first seen as a great leader the likes of Jesus Christ, soon gets sick and his reluctance to kill other people makes his leadership questioned. At the beginning of the movie, he finds the man who killed his parents, storms into his house during their dinner, and kills him and his two sons. After that, he fights back but doesn't want to kill anymore.
The film opens and the action starts very abruptly. By the time Tuvia shoots his parents' killer, the film has been going for maybe ten minutes and we have to assume he is some sort of soldier who kills people all the time. We never get to know any of the characters, and the relationship between the brothers is revealed later on. Tuvia and Zus do not like each other, and Zus eventually leaves to join the Soviet army. But the audience is not given a good reason why he does this; the two just start fighting randomly.
The film does seem to have more virtues than faults: it has some moving scenes, several good performances, and some violent and exciting action scenes, especially the climactic bomb raid, chase and battle in the woods. But when the movie is over, the viewer reflects back and realizes that for all of the important and weighty topics the film covered, it offered nothing new about the Holocaust, war, or even brotherhood. Hollywood's recent slew of Holocaust films doesn't help, and this one will simply fade away with all the rest.
I would recommend this film to people who like war movies, and fans of Daniel Craig.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYZ2oYDSKHA
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Films of 2008
I don't know about you, but whenever I go to the movie theatre, I keep my ticket stub; have for years now. I'm not entirely sure why I do this, I guess I just want to remember what I've seen. I put them in a disorganized pile in my top drawer whenever I come home. There's quite a few of them; they span a few years and I usually try to see a movie every week. Out of curiosity, I dug out a large stack of them and sorted through them, and found that they're more or less in chronological order; the older ones are on the bottom of the pile. I pulled out all of the ones from 2008 and organized them.
I saw 37 movies in a theatre last year.
Knowing there are 52 weeks in a year, this means I missed quite a few weeks, but I still think that's an incredible number and proves once and for all that I really do have no life. If anyone else keeps their stubs, I'd like to hear your number to compare.
Just for fun, I went through them and picked out my 10 favorites and my 5 least favorites. (Half as many least-favorites because I tend to avoid films I think I won't like.) This isn't necessarily a top-10 list because I didn't see every movie that came out; consider it a top-10 list of the movies that an ordinary college kid thinks is worth spending ten bucks to see. Again, this is just my opinion based on the films that I saw.
"Top 10"
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
This film received almost no advertising because of the title and the fact that the film is so full of explitives, crude humor and sexual situations that it is almost completely unsellable as a product. But, look past that, and you will find one of Kevin Smith's best films, and further reason why Seth Rogen should be a bona fide movie star. It delivers probably the most belly laughs of any film this year, more than the hilarious Tropic Thunder and definitely more than the dull Pineapple Express, also with Rogen.
9. Wanted
One of the surprise action films of the summer, a big hit, and proof that James McAvoy needs to be in a lot more movies. Angelina Jolie is sizzling as the hot sidekick, and Morgan Freeman is simply one of the best actors alive, and brings his usual best to the table. With Matrix-like slow-mo and tons of brilliant, bloody fight scenes, this was one of the best action films of the year.
8. Burn After Reading
An insane plotline and hilarious characters mark the Coen brothers' followup to their dismal, Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men. George Clooney, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand are all perfect and hilarious in their respective roles, but Brad Pitt is the highlight as the inept gym worker who tries to blackmail Malkovich's character out of useless CIA information. If only he had a larger part in the movie; if he had, he could be up for an Oscar.
7. Get Smart
This was a great summer for movies, as hit after hit was released. This opened opposite The Love Guru with Mike Myers, and this creamed it, and rightfully so. An update from the '60s sitcom, Steve Carell steps outside of his Office role to deliver something different yet still very funny that only he could really pull off. An uproarious comedy that also manages to have exciting action sequences, a rare feat.
6. Iron Man
This movie started off the summer with a bang and rebooted Robert Downey, Jr.'s dead career. Ironically, a comic-book superhero that few people know of and no one cares about made one of the biggest hits of the summer, and will spawn not only a sequel, but an entire franchise based on the Avengers superheroes. It's one of the most entertaining superhero movies ever, if not one of the most unique.
5. Quantum of Solace
Shut up, naysayers. I'm convinced that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever because he makes his character so real: he has brains but also acts irrationally, he has emotions but chooses to hide them. This was a very worthy sequel to the amazing reboot Casino Royale, and sets up the conflict for the next few Bond films. Bringing on Marc Forster as director was a risky move but ultimately paid off. Can't wait to see where this franchise goes next.
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
A hit, but mostly among kids. This seems to be largely ignored by the older kids and adults. Well, it shouldn't be. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the greatest fantasy films I've ever seen, and is on its way to being a classic. This one was even better, despite the fact that the book was a very simple (and boring) story. Adding on complex elements and new action scenes, Andrew Adamson breathes this tale into life with startling clarity, humor, and excitement. If you haven't seen these movies, see them. The poor performance of this film compared to the first film caused Disney to dump the franchise. If it continues down this path, they may not make any more Narnia films.
3. WALL-E
Two years ago, I saw Cars, and while I liked the film, it failed to really impress me the way the earlier Pixar films had done. Last year, Ratatouille was a huge disappointment and a bore to sit through. With WALL-E, Pixar had something to prove, and they did all that and so much more. Returning to the spirit that made Toy Story and Finding Nemo such huge successes, this film is one of the greatest animated films ever made because it is unique in its execution, has a strong environmental message, an exciting and believable storyline, and oh yeah, those cute little robots. An amazing achievement from any standpoint.
2. Slumdog Millionaire
This is a relatively new release, but it makes it on my list by sheer giddiness. If this film doesn't make you smile at some point in time, you have no soul. Who would have thought that a small indie film with an entirely unknown, and foreign cast, could have such a large impact on American audiences? This is exactly the kind of films we need in these hard times: films that give us hope and show us that even in the face of brutality, love and happiness can be found.
1. The Dark Knight
Absolutely, without a doubt, the best superhero movie ever made, and by far the best film of the year. Nothing else even comes close. The follow-up to Batman Begins, which made a splash but didn't really turn heads, exceeded all expectations, in quality of film and quantity of audience...and ticket sales. The second-highest grossing film of all time actually gave Titanic a run for its money, and has another shot to break the record-it's being rereleased this month after the Oscar nominations are announced. Heath Ledger's incredible turn as the Joker is only the beginning. The script is brimming with sometimes almost unbearable tension, amazing action sequences and visual effects (like Harvey Dent's Two-Face), and stellar performances all around. (Ledger is getting all the attention, but don't forget the dark knight himself, Christian Bale; Maggie Gyllenhall, who is so much better than Katie Holmes; the magnificent Gary Oldman; the tragic hero-turned-villain Aaron Eckhart; the always-brilliant Michael Caine; and the aforementioned best actor alive, Morgan Freeman.) The biggest film of the decade is one of the few films of the decade that can truly be described as epic.
"Worst 5"
5. Australia
Arguably one of the biggest disappointments of the year, this was supposed to be the 21st-century version of Gone With the Wind. Instead, we got a silly love story that's structured all wrong, featured weird fantasy elements, too many unncesessary references to The Wizard of Oz, and a terrible performance from Nicole Kidman. This film simply should have been better.
4. The Golden Compass
Why did people like this movie? A confusing and bogus story follows a little girl who doesn't act at all like a little girl through various adventures in a fantasy world. I can't even remember half the movie; it made no sense. I remember Christopher Lee showed up in one scene, Daniel Craig showed up in two scenes, and all of the good actors were only voices for talking animals. Should have been dumbed down for kids or left on the bookshelf.
3. 10,000 B.C.
Roland Emmerich proves once again that he makes the stupidest movies in Hollywood. This film features creatures that are a few million years misplaced and a script that is a few writers misplaced. An obvious knock-off of other cheesy films, this belonged in the dollar cinemas.
2. Vantage Point
A relatively good idea for a film and a really good cast is ruined by a muddled script and way too much repitition. The structure of the film has it start over from the beginning five times, and often right as something exciting is about to happen, so there's an exciting event at the beginning, and then nothing happens until the end, when all hell breaks loose and nothing that happened in the rest of the film makes any sense.
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A psychopathic serial killer in London at the turn of the century, who brings people into his barber shop and then slits their throats and uses their meat for pies in the pie shop downstairs. Given that it's directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, this film should have had just the right amount of weird and been on just this side of a good movie. But, they made it a musical. Absolutely awful adaptation that is Depp's worst excuse for a Jack Sparrow rip-off.
I saw 37 movies in a theatre last year.
Knowing there are 52 weeks in a year, this means I missed quite a few weeks, but I still think that's an incredible number and proves once and for all that I really do have no life. If anyone else keeps their stubs, I'd like to hear your number to compare.
Just for fun, I went through them and picked out my 10 favorites and my 5 least favorites. (Half as many least-favorites because I tend to avoid films I think I won't like.) This isn't necessarily a top-10 list because I didn't see every movie that came out; consider it a top-10 list of the movies that an ordinary college kid thinks is worth spending ten bucks to see. Again, this is just my opinion based on the films that I saw.
"Top 10"
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
This film received almost no advertising because of the title and the fact that the film is so full of explitives, crude humor and sexual situations that it is almost completely unsellable as a product. But, look past that, and you will find one of Kevin Smith's best films, and further reason why Seth Rogen should be a bona fide movie star. It delivers probably the most belly laughs of any film this year, more than the hilarious Tropic Thunder and definitely more than the dull Pineapple Express, also with Rogen.
9. Wanted
One of the surprise action films of the summer, a big hit, and proof that James McAvoy needs to be in a lot more movies. Angelina Jolie is sizzling as the hot sidekick, and Morgan Freeman is simply one of the best actors alive, and brings his usual best to the table. With Matrix-like slow-mo and tons of brilliant, bloody fight scenes, this was one of the best action films of the year.
8. Burn After Reading
An insane plotline and hilarious characters mark the Coen brothers' followup to their dismal, Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men. George Clooney, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand are all perfect and hilarious in their respective roles, but Brad Pitt is the highlight as the inept gym worker who tries to blackmail Malkovich's character out of useless CIA information. If only he had a larger part in the movie; if he had, he could be up for an Oscar.
7. Get Smart
This was a great summer for movies, as hit after hit was released. This opened opposite The Love Guru with Mike Myers, and this creamed it, and rightfully so. An update from the '60s sitcom, Steve Carell steps outside of his Office role to deliver something different yet still very funny that only he could really pull off. An uproarious comedy that also manages to have exciting action sequences, a rare feat.
6. Iron Man
This movie started off the summer with a bang and rebooted Robert Downey, Jr.'s dead career. Ironically, a comic-book superhero that few people know of and no one cares about made one of the biggest hits of the summer, and will spawn not only a sequel, but an entire franchise based on the Avengers superheroes. It's one of the most entertaining superhero movies ever, if not one of the most unique.
5. Quantum of Solace
Shut up, naysayers. I'm convinced that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever because he makes his character so real: he has brains but also acts irrationally, he has emotions but chooses to hide them. This was a very worthy sequel to the amazing reboot Casino Royale, and sets up the conflict for the next few Bond films. Bringing on Marc Forster as director was a risky move but ultimately paid off. Can't wait to see where this franchise goes next.
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
A hit, but mostly among kids. This seems to be largely ignored by the older kids and adults. Well, it shouldn't be. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the greatest fantasy films I've ever seen, and is on its way to being a classic. This one was even better, despite the fact that the book was a very simple (and boring) story. Adding on complex elements and new action scenes, Andrew Adamson breathes this tale into life with startling clarity, humor, and excitement. If you haven't seen these movies, see them. The poor performance of this film compared to the first film caused Disney to dump the franchise. If it continues down this path, they may not make any more Narnia films.
3. WALL-E
Two years ago, I saw Cars, and while I liked the film, it failed to really impress me the way the earlier Pixar films had done. Last year, Ratatouille was a huge disappointment and a bore to sit through. With WALL-E, Pixar had something to prove, and they did all that and so much more. Returning to the spirit that made Toy Story and Finding Nemo such huge successes, this film is one of the greatest animated films ever made because it is unique in its execution, has a strong environmental message, an exciting and believable storyline, and oh yeah, those cute little robots. An amazing achievement from any standpoint.
2. Slumdog Millionaire
This is a relatively new release, but it makes it on my list by sheer giddiness. If this film doesn't make you smile at some point in time, you have no soul. Who would have thought that a small indie film with an entirely unknown, and foreign cast, could have such a large impact on American audiences? This is exactly the kind of films we need in these hard times: films that give us hope and show us that even in the face of brutality, love and happiness can be found.
1. The Dark Knight
Absolutely, without a doubt, the best superhero movie ever made, and by far the best film of the year. Nothing else even comes close. The follow-up to Batman Begins, which made a splash but didn't really turn heads, exceeded all expectations, in quality of film and quantity of audience...and ticket sales. The second-highest grossing film of all time actually gave Titanic a run for its money, and has another shot to break the record-it's being rereleased this month after the Oscar nominations are announced. Heath Ledger's incredible turn as the Joker is only the beginning. The script is brimming with sometimes almost unbearable tension, amazing action sequences and visual effects (like Harvey Dent's Two-Face), and stellar performances all around. (Ledger is getting all the attention, but don't forget the dark knight himself, Christian Bale; Maggie Gyllenhall, who is so much better than Katie Holmes; the magnificent Gary Oldman; the tragic hero-turned-villain Aaron Eckhart; the always-brilliant Michael Caine; and the aforementioned best actor alive, Morgan Freeman.) The biggest film of the decade is one of the few films of the decade that can truly be described as epic.
"Worst 5"
5. Australia
Arguably one of the biggest disappointments of the year, this was supposed to be the 21st-century version of Gone With the Wind. Instead, we got a silly love story that's structured all wrong, featured weird fantasy elements, too many unncesessary references to The Wizard of Oz, and a terrible performance from Nicole Kidman. This film simply should have been better.
4. The Golden Compass
Why did people like this movie? A confusing and bogus story follows a little girl who doesn't act at all like a little girl through various adventures in a fantasy world. I can't even remember half the movie; it made no sense. I remember Christopher Lee showed up in one scene, Daniel Craig showed up in two scenes, and all of the good actors were only voices for talking animals. Should have been dumbed down for kids or left on the bookshelf.
3. 10,000 B.C.
Roland Emmerich proves once again that he makes the stupidest movies in Hollywood. This film features creatures that are a few million years misplaced and a script that is a few writers misplaced. An obvious knock-off of other cheesy films, this belonged in the dollar cinemas.
2. Vantage Point
A relatively good idea for a film and a really good cast is ruined by a muddled script and way too much repitition. The structure of the film has it start over from the beginning five times, and often right as something exciting is about to happen, so there's an exciting event at the beginning, and then nothing happens until the end, when all hell breaks loose and nothing that happened in the rest of the film makes any sense.
1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A psychopathic serial killer in London at the turn of the century, who brings people into his barber shop and then slits their throats and uses their meat for pies in the pie shop downstairs. Given that it's directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, this film should have had just the right amount of weird and been on just this side of a good movie. But, they made it a musical. Absolutely awful adaptation that is Depp's worst excuse for a Jack Sparrow rip-off.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Reader **1/2
The Reader
**1/2 out of ****
The Reader is a good film, but I just can't work up a lot of enthusiasm for it. It features wonderful performances from the goddess Kate Winslet and the newcomer David Kross. However, the story is very strange and the film goes on too long.
David Kross is 15-year-old Michael Berg, living in Germany in the late 50s. One day, while walking home during a downpour, he becomes very sick and a strange woman comes to his aid. Turns out, it's Kate Winslet with a German accent. She walks him home, and he is bedridden for months. When he gets better, he finds the woman-whose name is Hanna Schmitz-and is surprised to find himself drawn to her, a woman over twice his age. He develops a crush, and being the teenage boy that he is, starts following her around until she decides to sleep with him. Their relationship takes off from there, every day Michael coming to her apartment and reading to her from various books before having lots of sex, which Hanna insists on. During the few months they are together, he reads to her The Odyssey, Huck Finn, The Lady With a Little Dog, and Lady Chatterley's Lover. The relationship falters when Michael starts becoming attracted to girls his own age, but soon Hanna moves away without any explanation, leaving Michael heartbroken.
Fast forward eight years, Michael is a law student in a special seminar. His teacher takes his class to watch a war crimes trial uncovering newly discovered facts about the Holocaust. In a shocking turn, Hanna is one of the defendants on trial for murder. Michael watches her intently as she admits to being a Nazi guard working at one of the prison camps, but never makes his prescence known to her. The film is said to be about the Holocaust, but this is not the case. Those events are never seen and only ever discussed. Those scenes are some of the most poignant in the film and one wishes the rest of the film was more like them. She is declared guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
From there, the story jumps forward again, showing Ralph Fiennes as a grown-up Michael, and Winslet in heavy makeup growing older and older. Giving anything away after this point would be spoiling, which I am firmly against, but the story goes on, much longer than it needs to. Kross is a wonderful actor and his character Michael wears his emotions on his sleeve, so the audience can see the suffering on his face. Fiennes, however, plays him much more restrained and mature, and therefore, is a much less interesting force in the story. Once Kross' scenes stop and Fiennes' start, the audience starts caring less. Because of this, the film drags on and suffers badly from overlength, despite that it is barely longer than two hours.
Winslet is one of the bravest actresses in the business, and gets completely naked in several scenes in the movie, which distracts from the story when it should add to the drama. It definitely shows that their relationship is purely sexual in nature, and therefore not really love. Winslet is known for getting naked for a lot of her performances; in my opinion, she should pick and choose those nude moments carefully, as they often define an actress' career. This film had a lot of sex and nudity, much of which was not needed to tell the story. Winslet maybe should have chosen to cover up, but that doesn't diminish from the emotional power of her performance.
I would recommend The Reader to mature audiences that like quiet dramas and romances. Everyone else would probably be bored.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kifRQG_M-Do
**1/2 out of ****
The Reader is a good film, but I just can't work up a lot of enthusiasm for it. It features wonderful performances from the goddess Kate Winslet and the newcomer David Kross. However, the story is very strange and the film goes on too long.
David Kross is 15-year-old Michael Berg, living in Germany in the late 50s. One day, while walking home during a downpour, he becomes very sick and a strange woman comes to his aid. Turns out, it's Kate Winslet with a German accent. She walks him home, and he is bedridden for months. When he gets better, he finds the woman-whose name is Hanna Schmitz-and is surprised to find himself drawn to her, a woman over twice his age. He develops a crush, and being the teenage boy that he is, starts following her around until she decides to sleep with him. Their relationship takes off from there, every day Michael coming to her apartment and reading to her from various books before having lots of sex, which Hanna insists on. During the few months they are together, he reads to her The Odyssey, Huck Finn, The Lady With a Little Dog, and Lady Chatterley's Lover. The relationship falters when Michael starts becoming attracted to girls his own age, but soon Hanna moves away without any explanation, leaving Michael heartbroken.
Fast forward eight years, Michael is a law student in a special seminar. His teacher takes his class to watch a war crimes trial uncovering newly discovered facts about the Holocaust. In a shocking turn, Hanna is one of the defendants on trial for murder. Michael watches her intently as she admits to being a Nazi guard working at one of the prison camps, but never makes his prescence known to her. The film is said to be about the Holocaust, but this is not the case. Those events are never seen and only ever discussed. Those scenes are some of the most poignant in the film and one wishes the rest of the film was more like them. She is declared guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
From there, the story jumps forward again, showing Ralph Fiennes as a grown-up Michael, and Winslet in heavy makeup growing older and older. Giving anything away after this point would be spoiling, which I am firmly against, but the story goes on, much longer than it needs to. Kross is a wonderful actor and his character Michael wears his emotions on his sleeve, so the audience can see the suffering on his face. Fiennes, however, plays him much more restrained and mature, and therefore, is a much less interesting force in the story. Once Kross' scenes stop and Fiennes' start, the audience starts caring less. Because of this, the film drags on and suffers badly from overlength, despite that it is barely longer than two hours.
Winslet is one of the bravest actresses in the business, and gets completely naked in several scenes in the movie, which distracts from the story when it should add to the drama. It definitely shows that their relationship is purely sexual in nature, and therefore not really love. Winslet is known for getting naked for a lot of her performances; in my opinion, she should pick and choose those nude moments carefully, as they often define an actress' career. This film had a lot of sex and nudity, much of which was not needed to tell the story. Winslet maybe should have chosen to cover up, but that doesn't diminish from the emotional power of her performance.
I would recommend The Reader to mature audiences that like quiet dramas and romances. Everyone else would probably be bored.
You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kifRQG_M-Do
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