Two More Winners from 2012

Anna Karenina, 12/22/12, Best Costume Design, 2012

I’m sure there is something morally askew when you hope a movie wins so you can write some wise-guy review. So sue me. Visually, I thought the movie was stunning, and it was nominated for Best Production Design, Cinematography and Best Costume Design. It won for Best Costume Design. It had Kiera Knightley (Anna). It wasn’t enough to save the movie. I suppose it was extremely naïve to think that this movie would be anything less than a total downer, but I’m often confused for Little Mary Sunshine. The set designs were very interesting, the main scenes took place in a theater, using the stage, the backstage area, etc. as places to have the action (representing, I assume, the artifice and theatrics of Anna’s life with Karenin (Jude Law) and their ‘circle’ of family and friends). I also thought some of the symbolism was trying too hard; while Anna and her crowd live in this staged environment; Levin (Stivia’s friend – Anna’s brother) lives in the country in a ‘real’ house, toiling amongst the workers on his estate. Anna’s affair with Vronsky takes place in both the real world and the artificial one. Jude Law plays Karenin with a severe detachment and coolness that can be easily identified with Tsarist Russia. There were quick costume changes and shifting of scenery which seemed really cool at first, but then got to be annoying and a distraction. The costumes were glorious and almost took on a life of their own; I kind of wish they had. Joe Wright directed the movie; he also directed Atonement with Kiera Knightley. He certainly likes those passionate love scenes. As you can tell from the above lines, it’s very hard to give a synopsis of the movie, without giving away significant plot points, but I would like to try and explain why I did not thoroughly enjoy it. It was too long and drawn out, pretentious in its forced symbolism and metaphor, and I only liked Levin and Kitty, and if Anna had not jumped in front of the train, I was going to push her. This is a movie that I would rate ‘eh’, as in ‘eh, I don’t care’.

Paperman, 11/4/12, Best Animated Short, 2012

This was in theaters with Wreck-It Ralph and the minute it finished I knew it would be nominated for an Oscar (I didn’t know it would win, I’m not that good). I knew from other shorts that I have seen that short films with little or no dialog tend to be very popular because the emphasis is on images to tell the story, and there is more likelihood of universal appeal. Paperman tells the familiar story of boy sees girl, boy is smitten by girl, boy tries to find girl and through the magic of animation, and a very persistent paper airplane, finds girl. It’s simple and whimsical, and lacked any of 21st century cynicism. I have not seen the other nominees, but I was very happy this won. I hope it’s available on the DVD release of Wreck-It Ralph.

Goldfingaaaaaaaaaaaa

If you watched the Oscars this past Sunday, then you know exactly what I am talking about: Dame Shirley Bassey singing 'Goldfinger' in the 50th anniversary tribute to James Bond films. It was a performance that I won't soon forget, mainly because I cannot get that hook out of my head, complete with dramatic arm gestures. It was only fitting that Adele won for the newest James Bond opening song. Without further ado, here is the first round of reviews for the 2012 winners. Goldfingaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Skyfall, 11/10/12, Best Original Song, Best Sound Editing, 2012

I was lucky enough to see Skyfall in the theaters on the big screen. Admittedly, I am not a huge James Bond fan in that I haven’t seen all the movies and probably don’t remember much of the ones I have seen; to me, they are in the moment movies, you don’t necessarily need to remember all the details for later, but you enjoy them while they’re happening. That’s how I feel about Skyfall, it was a lot of fun, with explosions and chases and great scenery, and an outstanding James Bond theme song by Adele. She won the Golden Globe, the Grammy and the Oscar for the song (and probably a dozen other awards); the song lyrics make more sense once you see the whole movie (as opposed to in the beginning). I don’t know if it just that Adele is so amazing, but it kind of didn’t seem fair for the other songs to have to compete with her. Javier Bardem will probably go down as one of the best Bond villains because he was creepy and evil and had this twisted enjoyment of being a bad guy. The movie ‘introduces’ Miss Moneypenny and shows Bond as more vulnerable than I think we’re used to, but it’s Daniel Craig and you know he’ll be just fine. This is the 50th anniversary of James Bond movies and I look forward to the next 50 (give or take), especially if Adele can sing all the songs.

Brave, 1/27/13, Best Animated Film, 2012

This is the only category where I actually saw all of the nominated films and I was not sure who would win. I kind of thought Frankenweenie might win because it was black and white, the writing was very clever and there were literary and historical references inserted subtly throughout the movie (enough to make me want to watch again and see what I missed the first time); but it wasn’t necessarily for younger kids and the subject matter (death and a lot of scenes in the cemetery) might have put a lot of people off from watching it. ParaNorman dealt similarly with death, with Norman being able to see dead people, including his grandma who takes up her seat on the couch. I liked ParaNorman too, and really enjoyed the special features on the DVD that talked about how the animation was done, from creating the molds, the scenery and the facial expressions. Wreck-It Ralph was fun to watch and you felt like you really were in the world of video games and the behind the scenes look at what Pac-Man did in his off time. I thought this might have the best chance at the Oscar. Pirates! Band of Misfits was probably my least favorite; it just seemed like it went on too long. But the winner was Brave, the story of a Scottish princess who is way too liberated for her parents when she decides to compete for her own hand in marriage (thus avoiding an arranged marriage and being required to give up her independence). It is one of the rare, really rare, movies (live action or animated) with a strong heroine (two if you include her mother), and I’m guessing that may be why it won. I think there’s enough action and pseudo-scary stuff that boys will like it too, but also encourage girls to pursue their dreams (although maybe not turn their mothers into bears).

Lincoln, 12/29/12, Best Actor and Best Production Design, 2012

I’m just going to say, at the risk of some controversy, that Lincoln was the Best Picture and Sally Field should have won for Best Supporting Actress as Mary Todd Lincoln. However, that did not happen. I will get used to that disappointment because Daniel Day-Lewis won as Best Actor for his embodiment of Lincoln. Lincoln won for Best Production Design; the sets were marvelous and seemed very realistic and 19th century, but I don’t know it could beat out The Hobbit or Anna Karenina. There has been a lot of criticism about some of the historical inaccuracies in the film, and I just don’t care, I loved it. Steven Spielberg and company pulled together a compellingly true story from American history with a powerful cast and brought it to life. Historical ‘misses’ aside, I told a friend of mine that her son (13) should watch the movie to get an idea of the debates that were held around ending slavery, even among those on the side of abolition; how it wasn’t just ‘let’s end slavery’, but there were different rationales and perspectives and justifications. If I was teaching, I would even use the historical inaccuracies as ways to start discussions in class (alas, I gave up the honorable profession before I even started, although many of my friends find me unbearably pedantic). Keeping the story together is the glue known as Daniel Day-Lewis. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a movie of his that I haven’t like (I didn’t quite get My Beautiful Laundrette or The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I’m not even sure I remember them); he is transcendent in his roles, embodying the characters, whether they are real or fictional. He brought a degree of humanity to one of our favorite and best loved presidents (so beloved we refuse to retire the penny, because Abe would be left with only the five dollar bill, and Lincoln and Jefferson would be on two forms of currency). He found a voice for a man nobody alive has ever heard speak; a man who gave some of the most important speeches in history, not just American history. Day-Lewis’s Lincoln has a most complex, yet seemingly very loving, relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field). A lot of people don’t like her; I’m not one of them, and I thought she showed everyone the juxtaposition of Mary Todd Lincoln’s fragility with her strength and belief in her husband (real or fictional, I do not care, she demonstrated those emotions). I believed was Mary. Tommy Lee Jones was up against some good competition in the Best Supporting Actor category (I thought Alan Arkin or Robert DeNiro would take it), but he was grumpy, passionate and savvy about the situation unfolding before him as Thaddeus Stevens. He got a lot of crap for the wig he was wearing, but, hello, it was the 19th century and perhaps he was more interested in the job at hand than his brown tresses. See this movie, discuss this movie and revel in the acting talent on the screen.

Oscar night 2/24/2013 as it happened

It's Oscar night, and I feel pretty prepared this year; I haven't seen everything, but I have seen a lot more in anticipation of tonight than in previous years. If I had one more week, I would knock out another three or four films, but that's not the case, but I'm excited anyway. The goal isn't to write any complete reviews, just capture the night and perhaps initial reactions as to whether I agree or disagree with the winners. There's nothing scientific about it, just what I liked and didn't like. The opening ceremony is about to start; we'll see how Seth MacFarlane does. I am looking forward to Adele's performance, and I'm sure she'll knock it out of the park. This opening sequence is killing me. He doesn't seem very comfortable up there, and he isn't very funny so far; the William Shatner bit is annoying, except for mentioning that he wishes Amy Poehler and Tina Fey would host (me too). Ok, the opening is almost over.

Octavia Spencer (who won last year in The Help) is presenting the Best Supporting Actor: I'd like Tommy Lee Jones or Alan Arkin to win, but I think it will go to Robert DeNiro. Christoph Walz won for his role in Django Unchained, he also won for Inglorious Bastards. I haven't seen Django Unchained yet, but I do want to see it. It has a great cast.

The winner for the Best Animated Short was Paperman, the only short I have seen so far (it opened for Wreck-It Ralph), and I thought it might win because it was pretty universal and flowed really well. The others looked good, so I look forward to seeing those in some fashion. The Best Animated Film is a tough one, I have seen all of the nominees. Brave won; that surprises me, to be honest, but it's nice to have a film with a girl as a main protagonist. If you haven't seen the other nominees, you should check them out. I liked ParaNorman and thought Frankenweenie was very interesting with some references (maybe a little unsettling for little kids).

Life of Pi just won two visual awards, cinematography and visual effects. I haven't seen this one either, but it does look stunning, and to think it was all done in a huge water tank. I was pulling for The Hobbit, because I thought that was stunning and Middle Earth was amazing. Well, that means I don't have to write a review of Prometheus since it didn't win its only nomination. Whew. It wasn't horrible, just far too complicated to try and explain.

Oooh, costume design. Anna Karenina won. I thought it might because it was a beautifully looking film. If you are at all prone to depression, do yourself a favor and skip it. Hair and makeup - you have to pick The Hobbit, seriously. Ugh. Apparently not. Les Miserables just won. I don't know, I'm thinking that dwarves and Orcs and such should be taking home Oscar right now.

They just did a tribute to James Bond. It is hard to believe that this one movie franchise and character have been around for fifty years. That's just crazy. Did you see Skyfall? I liked it a lot, and I'm hoping (and I think she will win) that Adele wins. She can do know wrong and it's a great song. Anyway, Dame Shirley Bassey just sang "Goldfinger" or as I like to say 'Goldfingaaaaaaa'. Man, she has a big voice, and the trumpet was just hot.

The Live Action Shorts can be really tough to find, but the nominees look good. Curfew just won; I was hoping for the film about the Afghani boys because I read an article about it and sounded really interesting. Best Documentary Short Subject (another category that can be hard to track down, but they are usually worth the search). Inocente won, and it's about a young girl who is an artist and homeless (I was trying to do some more searching online about it and the databases kept crashing); those are the stories that need to get made and it's always so powerful when they get told on a stage like the Oscars.

Seth MacFarlane's jokes are really hit and miss.

The documentaries are coming up, and I really hope that The Invisible War wins. What just happened? Searching for Sugarman won, and I know a little about the story, and it's really cool, but I am really disappointed that The Invisible War didn't win. I just watched that today, and if you have not seen it, you should, the stories of those women and men who served our country will break your heart. It is very powerful (as is 5 Broken Cameras, which I also have already seen).

Best Foreign Language film, another category where I am really lacking in any context, but have a soft sport for Kon Tiki (Norway) and A Royal Affair (Denmark). We'll see......Austria's entry, Amour won; that looks really good.

They are now doing a tribute to movie musicals and Jennifer Hudson just knocked my socks off. What a voice. Hmm, maybe a song with Shirley Bassey and Adele? What would that be like? Crazy brilliant, I think. I don't think it's fair to the cast of Les Miserables to make them sing after her. One Jennifer Hudson to the entire cast of Les Miserables, still doesn't seem fair.

It's 9:07 Central time and they have only given out one acting award after 90 minutes. This doesn't bode well for those of us who have to get up early in the morning.

Two sound awards were just given out, with three winners. Les Miserables won for Sound Mixing; and there was a tie for Sound Editing with Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall winning. I did think Skyfall would win with all the stuff happening, you know, the explosions and such.

Wow, Christopher Plummer really looks old, I don't mean that in a bad way, but he looked really young (really is probably a little too emphatic) in Beginners from last year. He is announcing the Best Supporting Actress (I hope it's Sally Field, she was Mary Lincoln). I really want to see The Sessions and hope I get it from the library soon. Jackie Weaver has been nominated twice in the last several years, but is always up against really tough competition. Oh boo, Anne Hathaway just won. Bummer. I'm sure she was great (can't bring myself to see the movie yet, Les Miserables), but I really think that Sally Field embodied Mary Todd Lincoln and was such a part of Lincoln's struggles and who he was. Insert sad face. I actually just turned off Anne's breathy thank you speech.

Argo won for Best Film Editing. That was a really good movie, very suspenseful, even though I knew how it turned out. I enjoyed the other movies that were also in this category.

Ooh. Adele is on. Amazing. The other nominees can just be grateful they even got nominated.

Lincoln won for Best Production Design; I loved the movie and I think the sets were great, but I still somehow think that Middle Earth got the shaft again, I mean, it was THE SHIRE for goodness sake.

They just announced the winners of honorary lifetime Oscars, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award. Jean Hersholt was in Grand Hotel.

The In Memoriam piece is coming up; weird, but I enjoy this part because it reminds us of those who have made movie history. They never give us enough information on what they did, especially if it was from a long time ago, but it always makes me run to Wikipedia. Ernest Borgnine, Jack Klugman (12 Angry Men), Celeste Holm (All About Eve), Michael Clarke Duncan, Charles Durning, Tony Scott, Hal David, Nora Ephron (Silkwood, When Harry met Sally), Ray Bradbury, Robert Sherman (Mary Poppins), Marvin Hamlisch, were among the honored and remembered tonight.

The Life of Pi is sure cleaning up tonight. I think that came out of nowhere, at least it seems that way, because I don't think it was really on the radar. Oooh (that is my standard response now whenever Adele is up), Best Original Song goes to Skyall. Whoo hoo. I love her speeches, this should be good. She was so emotional.

We are closing in on hour 3 and six awards to go. I should have taken work off tomorrow. Poor planning on my part, although I just can't justify taking a day off because I'm a wimp and can't stay up past 9:00.

This is the writing award. Argo won for best adapted screenplay.I'm pulling for Moonrise Kingdom in the original screenplay category; it's not for everyone, but I liked the quirkiness and found the characters endearing. Django Unchained and Quentin Tarantino just won for Best Original Screenplay. I really like how he totally acknowledges and recognizes the contributions of the actors and what they bring to the film. And he seems to really enjoy the process as well. I don't like everything he does, but you can't deny he is passionate about films.

Best Director will go to Steven Spielberg or Ang Lee, I think. Let's see......Ang Lee, the same man who brought us Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain wins for Life of Pi. He really is a great director (except for the whole The Hulk debacle).

I hope Jessica Chastain wins (I like Jennifer Lawrence, too, but I really like Jessica Chastain). Emmannelle Riva is probably a sentimental favorite, and I wouldn't object to that at all. Jennifer Lawrence won, Silver Linings Playbook. Damn, I need to see that movie (I did like her in Winter's Bone, which is a totally different type of role). She is very refreshing and real; boy I hope that doesn't change, she could be fun to watch for a long time.

Meryl Streep is presenting for Best Actor (she won last year for Iron Lady, I still think Glenn Close or Viola Davis should have won). Joaquin Phoenix looks like such a tortured soul. And Daniel Day-Lewis won for Lincoln. He was amazing. It was such a great movie and he is so incredible. He looks really choked up, but now he's showing some Irish humor. He is a true artist, check him out in My Left Foot or In the Name of the Father. He doesn't make a lot of movies, but when he does, you can almost bet he's going to win an award.

The Best Picture is finally up, presented by Jack Nicholson. He's pretty funny. I still have to see Chinatown. The FLOTUS is co-presenting for the Best Picture. I don't know if that has happened before. Argo wins the big one. It is a great movie of an event that I remember very clearly, an act of great heroism.

That's it, that's all there is. Time for bed. More detailed reviews of the winners will be coming soon.

Bruce Willis to the rescue - when hours seem like days

The Last Picture Show, 2/9/13, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, 1971

The Last Picture Show is based on a novel by Larry McMurtry, which I have not read. There isn’t any big event that is the focal point of the movie, no asteroid about to strike, no battle, no championship at stake, just life happening in small town Texas in the 1950s. The director, Peter Bogdanovich , filmed the movie in black and white, and it really works and adds this air of authenticity and atmosphere to the story. Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges) are friends and seniors in high school. Their mentor/father figure, Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson, winner of the Best Supporting Actor) owns the café, the movie theater and the local pool hall. He’s gruff and tough, but has a soft spot for the boys and the younger, Billy, who never speaks and has the role of the town ‘mascot’. Duane is dating Jacy, played by Cybill Sheperd in her first movie role. Jacy is well above Duane’s social level and that becomes a problem for the young couple. Jacy is quite, um, less than virtuous and honorable and isn’t very likeable at all. Sonny embarks on a relationship/affair with the wife of the football coach, played by Cloris Leachman, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. If you are familiar with Leachman’s work on Mary Tyler Moore or several Mel Brooks movies, you may be very surprised by this performance. You can feel her pain and anguish at her life and it’s a touching portrayal. Ellen Burstyn and Eileen Brennan round out the very strong female roles. You have to be patient with the movie and let it unfold and kind of draw you into the characters and the setting, but it pays off. You won’t always like the characters, in fact you might really hate one or two, but that’s life sometimes, I suppose. I think it’s definitely worth a watch. The DVD I borrowed from the library contained a documentary on the making of the movie which was almost as interesting as the movie itself. It had interviews with most of the cast (except Timothy Bottoms, which I thought was odd) and Bogdanovich; he talked about his choice to film in black and white and some of the other scenes.

The Hours, 2/16/13, Best Actress, 2002

First let me say that I think this movie had a great cast, most films would kill to have a cast like this one: Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman and Ed Harris. Second let me say that I am probably in the minority, but I hated this movie. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I just didn’t care. There were about three places in the movie that I almost just turned it off. By the time it got sort of interesting, it was too late. I would have preferred to watch a movie on the life of Virginia Woolf and learn more about her and her husband, Leonard Woolf and her struggle with mental illness and her writing. However, that’s not what this was, and I was so depressed afterwards, I had to lighten it up with The Last Boy Scout with Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. Seriously. Nicole Kidman won the Best Actress award for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf, and she is virtually unrecognizable under the makeup, which seemed quite drastic. I don’t even want to write anymore. Save yourselves and watch The Last Picture Show instead. It may not make you laugh out loud, but I don’t think it will make you consider walking into oncoming traffic.

Cowboys and Ice Cream Men

City Slickers, 2/2/13, Best Supporting Actor, 1991

I had a good feeling about this movie as it opened in Spain for the running of the bulls and there is Mitch (Billy Crystal) in his Mets ball cap, scrambling to evade and avoid the bulls and their horns. I think I had more laughs in the opening 10 minutes than I have had in most ‘funny’ movies. If you don’t know the premise of the movie, three friends go on adventures or trips together and for Mitch’s 40^th birthday, they go out on a cattle drive. They are joined by several other ‘city slickers’, including a father/son dentist team; two brothers who make ice cream (similar to Ben & Jerry’s); and a single woman whose friend backed out of the trip at the last minute. They are going to be whipped into shape on this adventure by the very frightening Curly, played by Jack Palance (who won for Best Supporting Actor). Palance may be most familiar as the voice of Ripley’s Believe it or Not (although I didn't remember this role, but his part in Shane as the baddie). And he is great here, adding a certain gravitas to the silliness of Mitch and his friends (Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby). What I liked most about the movie is the mix of thigh-slapping humor, heart-warming humor, and just the kind of laughs you find every day when you’re joking with your friends. There are also some ‘serious’ moments, like the birth of Norman, a calf, who almost steals the show, and the result of Cookie's runaway wagon. If you closed your eyes and just listened to the movie and the soundtrack, you would swear you were listening to the score How the West Was Won or Rio Bravo or Gunsmoke; it really captures the feeling of an old time Western. I’m glad they didn't mess around and try to be cutesy and put in strictly contemporary music; it would have taken something away from the feeling. The movie was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel who wrote A League of Their Own and Parenthood (and many others) two movies I like a lot, especially A League of their Own. The movie is rated PG-13, I’m assuming it’s because of the occasional locker room humor, mild sexual references and some swearing; I think that’s probably pretty accurate, there are things you probably don’t want to be explaining to your 8 year old (or your friend’s 8 year old). But if you don’t have kids, don’t be turned off because the movie isn't rated R, the grown-ups I was watching it with were laughing as hard as the 13 year old. A trivia note (I had to do some extra research, so I totally missed this), Jake Gyllenhaal plays Billy Crystal’s son in his first movie role (thank you Wikipedia and Netflix). Just a note to my friends: if you get me a cattle drive for any milestone birthday, I will disown you.

I am the greatest

OK, not really, but I was trying to get your attention. I was quoting Muhammad Ali, who features in today's review.

When We Were Kings, 2/2/13, Best Documentary, 1996

This movie focuses on the 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire. I would not describe myself as a boxing fan, and yet I find that I have watched many movies and documentaries about boxing; I think it’s more about the narrative that surrounds the boxers than the boxing. I think that is definitely true for this movie, which uses contemporaneous footage combined with interviews from roughly 20 years later. I like this style of making a documentary because it uses ‘real-time’ footage, no need for re-creations or re-enacting, but you have the benefit of time passing that allows for reflection and historical perspective. There are interviews with Ali who is engaging, smart, funny and has some really interesting things to say about African-American culture in America (this was filmed less than 10 years after many watershed civil rights events), visiting Africa, other fighters, including George Foreman; George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, notable writers who were at the fight and share their thoughts two decades after the fight; there is some footage of Foreman, but not even close to Ali’s screen time. There is so much more to this documentary than the fight, which gets about 15 minutes of screen time, like the fact the Zaire was once the Belgian Congo and had thrown off Belgian colonial rule in exchange for a homegrown dictator. Mailer, in particular, tells the story of the violence and torture that was in the air during that time. There is also a very clear difference in how Foreman and Ali are treated, and treat, their African hosts. Ali, with his gregarious and open personality, seems instantly beloved by the Zairians, talking, joking with them, learning about their life in Africa; Foreman ‘seems’ (you never really know how editing plays a part) to be disinterested in his hosts and their culture, bringing his German shepherd with him (the commentary indicates that the Belgians had used German shepherds during the colonial days, so this was seen as offensive). In addition to the fighters, there is also Don King, a commanding figure who still generates hearty discussion, and the great musicians that made the journey, including B.B. King and James Brown. What I kept thinking about as I watched the movie was how funny and articulate Ali was, and the things he was saying almost 40 years, could be said today to kids and education, drugs, even eating right. He certainly could be a divisive and outspoken person, but just from the documentary, I don’t think you can doubt his sincerity, even if you disagree with him. Muhammad Ali may be one of the best known Americans in the world, and this movie gives a brief insight into why. It didn't occur to me until the movie was almost over that it was the beginning of African-American History Month, but it was a fitting way to start. If you like boxing, Ali or Foreman, history, or a good story (especially if you don’t know how the fight ends), then you should watch this movie. Spike Lee makes an interesting point about how kids today don’t know anything about history, not just what happened 150 years ago, but what happened 20 years ago. This movie is one step in the right direction.