Movie madness, part 1: The Hobbit, All is Lost, Sense and Sensibility and Affliction

Lucky for all of you, I have the next three days off and plenty of movies to watch. You can thank me later. Before I launch into my astute and hilarious observations, I would like to acknowledge the passing of actor, Peter O'Toole, who starred as Henry II in The Lion in Winter (with Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins among others) and as T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia which is one of the few movies that I can watch more than once. He never won a competitive Oscar, even though he was nominated several times.

It has been absolutely freezing this past week, and I know most of the country has been experiencing the same thing. The funny thing is, this is how winter is supposed to be in Minnesota, and yet, we all act like it's a huge surprise, and act so put-upon. It's funny, really. Bring it on, bring on the -20 air temp, that's what I live for, because it's a dry cold after all.

12/14/13 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 2013, not yet nominated

All year I waited for this weekend since this time lat year (the timing of my birthday and some of the biggest movie releases always seems like a personal treat just for me). I think Peter Jackson's decision to make The Hobbit into three separate films released over three years was cruel; one because it's making for three very long movies, and two, because it's too long to wait. I read that the justification for making three films instead of the original two was because he was given access to some previously unreleased archival material of J.R.R. Tolkien and he felt compelled to use it. I try not to be an absolute literalist when it comes to moving books to films, but some of the additions just seem like overkill (you really can have too many Orcs). I think this is what happens when CGI meets Peter Jackson, he just can't help himself. Having said that, and I felt obliged, I did like the film. Jackson and his team create the most incredible universe, the sets are magnificent, and New Zealand isn't too shabby. Of course, you have to give credit to the great man himself, J.R.R. Tolkien, for creating a world that is so real and so believable that you're almost sure there was such a thing as hobbits. This is a movie that is best seen on the big screen, although I'm not convinced you need 3D. I'm fairly certain will be nominated for several Oscars, including makeup, art direction, cinematography, original score and possibly best song for "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran, which was really great (stay until the end). Before you see this episode you may want to re-watch "An Unexpected Journey". Clear your bladder and plan for lunch or dinner after the show.

12/14/13 Sense and Sensibility, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1995

In all fairness, I should disclose the fact that if Emma Thompson starred in a bacon commercial, I would watch it and probably love it, even though I haven't eaten bacon in over 25 years. This is another Jane Austen fix, and Emma Thompson won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (she acts, she writes, she directs, although she did not direct here, Ang Lee did). Sense and Sensibility revolves around a recently widowed mother, Mrs. Dashwood (Gemma Jones) and her three daughters, Elinor (Emma Thompson), Marianne (Kate Winslet) and Margaret (Emilie Francois). The women are displaced from Norland Park after Mr. Dashwood dies and is forced by inheritance laws of the time to leave the estate to his eldest son from his first marriage. The younger Mr. Dashwood is rather nondescript, kind of milquetoast, but his wife, Fanny Dashwood, is greedy, manipulative and a little too much for her husband. As with Pride and Prejudice, Austen's female characters are in search of husbands, and that is where the fun begins. Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman are eventual suitors for Elinor and Marianne. There is the usual introduction to love interest, separation from love interest, misguided affections, and peripheral characters who add levity and social commentary. The movie is beautifully filmed, with a wonderful score. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, winning for the Best Adapted Screenplay. Personally, I prefer the story of Pride and Prejudice and the interplay of the Bennett family and their antagonists, but this is very enjoyable, and if you like Austen, well, you've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, you will enjoy it.

12/14/13 Affliction, Best Supporting Actor, 1998

I was not very familiar with the story line for Affliction, and somewhere along the way, whatever I thought it was about, got twisted, so when I watched the movie set in a small New Hampshire town, I had no clue what was happening. What a nice surprise. Nick Nolte plays Wade Whitehouse, a part-time police officer and part-time driver who has some emotional issues tied to his father's abusive behavior throughout his whole life. His drunken father is played by James Coburn, and he was fabulous, and before I read that he won the Oscar for his role, I thought he was surely at least nominated. Nolte was also nominated, but did not win; and it makes sense, Nolte's character would not be as tortured and angry if it was not for the way he grew up under his father's iron fist and short temper. The two are perfect together. There should be some kind of award that recognizes screen chemistry like they shared. Sissy Spacek co-stars as Wade's understanding girlfriend, Margie Fogg, who unfortunately for Wade, eventually sees Wade for the troubled and violent man his father is and leaves him. There are several things happening in the movie, and I think the story-telling may be the weakest part here, I felt like something was missing. It's part mystery, part slice of life in a small-town (having friends who grew up in small-town Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or the Dakotas, you kind of get that is what it's like when everyone knows everything), that microscope that can be a blessing and a curse. Willem Dafoe co-stars as narrator and Wade's younger brother, Rolf. You get the feeling that there may be more of a relationship story that is developed in the book by Russell Banks, but it was hard for me to make it work in my head. Nolte is so good in this role, he's vulnerable, weak, and not very successful in his attempt to outrun the legacy of his father. Perhaps an extension of his role as Wade Whitehouse is seen in Warrior, a mixed martial arts film from 2011 where he played Paddy Conlon, the alcoholic father to Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton's characters. Warrior also garnered Nolte an Oscar nod, and it's a movie worth seeing.

12/15/13 All is Lost, not yet nominated 2013

I have to say that I would not be much of a survivalist, in fact, truth be told, I'd be total crap. Mainly because I don't like getting dirty, being wet (without good reason) or eating cold food out of a tin. I like my comforts, although I don't think I'm spoiled (my car is 13 years old and has manual locks and windows, and my cell phone is 4 years old with a  1" x 1" screen, and my beloved TV is from 1996). So, watching Robert Redford fight the elements and nature all on his own is amazing to me, even if it's just a movie. There is so much buzz about this film and Redford's performance I just had to see it as soon as it was available here in flyover country. There were only four of us in the theater on this sunny Sunday morning, so in that regard it mirrored the loneliness of Redford and the Sea. The notable things about All is Lost are there is no dialogue (Redford reads some lines in the beginning of the film and he makes some spontaneous utterances, but that's it) and he is the only person in the film, so who would he talk to anyway? In some ways it reminds of The Old Man and The Sea, man versus nature for his very survival. I've always been more of a Paul Newman fan than Robert Redford, but I do like Redford as well. I wish I knew more about sailing, because I think some of the things that happen make more sense if you understand boats and how they work and what can go wrong; it's not necessary to go out and sail in America's Cup, though. The character, who is not given any name, is sailing out in the Indian Ocean when his yacht hits a container that must have fallen off of a cargo ship, and he gets a hole. He doesn't waste time pitying his luck, he goes about inspecting the situation and taking care of it. That's how he meets almost every situation, never rolling in despair for too long. Perhaps that's what it was like after The Electric Horseman came out in 1979. There is talk about Redford being nominated for Best Actor, and I would say that's an easy call, whether he will win or not, that's a bit tougher. After 'critically' watching hundreds of Oscar-winning films, I still cannot say how it works, what moves voters to vote the way they do. Here is why he might win: he is all by himself, he has no actors to play off of (like Nolte and Coburn), it's him and the sea, the elements and his yacht, which seems to be fighting him. That's amazing, and he does it with virtually no words spoken, and he's 77 years old. Here is why he might not win: 12 Years a Slave and Chiwetel Ejiorfor, an amazing true life story with a strong, yet vulnerable character in Solomon Northup, and a strong supporting cast. Also, Redford has won before, although not for acting (as Director of Ordinary People). I think All is Lost will be nominated for several Oscars including: Best Actor, Best Film, Sound Editing, Film Editing, and Best Original Soundtrack. Even though the movie does not have big action scenes and special effects like Thor, I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. You really get a sense of how big the ocean is and how little the Man is on his broken yacht, especially during the storms that roll in and conversely, when the yacht and later the lifeboat are just bobbing in the open space.

And for a little break, Silk, a BBC series that follows the chambers of a firm of barristers, the office politics, a collection of strange, sometimes violent cases. I'm still trying to decide if I love the series, I do like ther Rumpole of the Bailey series with the gruff and lovable Leo McKern, and Cavanaugh, Q.C. with John Thaw. I am also wrapping up Series 3 of Wallander; poor Wallander, unlucky in love and not always that lucky in police work. There is supposed to be a Series 4, but I have not seen that available yet. I've got several other movies to get to between now and next week, including Pocahontas, American Beauty, Sophie's Choice and What Dreams May Come. Stay tuned.