It's an honor just to be nominated

Since 2009 I have tried to see all the nominated films, in all categories. Sometimes it takes a few years, but it's going pretty well. It's usually the short films and documentaries that take the longest (of course there are several I am delaying intentionally, like Avatar. This year I probably did the best job of getting the main films done before the Oscars, but I still fell short. Oh well, 2013 is a new year. Below are some of the nominees that I have seen recently. I think out of all the movies I have seen this past week, I would say the must see is A Better Life.

A Better Life, 3/16/13, Nominee for Best Actor, 2011

A Better Life is set in current day Los Angeles and is the story of a father and son struggling to make it economically and as a family. The father, Carlos, played by Demian Bechir who was nominated as Best Actor, is an illegal immigrant working hard as a gardener. His son, Luis, is your typical teenager, resentful of parental controls, embarrassed by his dad (weren’t we all?) and trying to find his place in the world of gangs and drugs and the work ethic of his dad. There is a lot happening in this movie, and I really don’t want to ruin any of it; there were parts of the movie where I found myself yelling at the television in disbelief. In light of the discussion we are having in this country around immigration, it frames the conversation in a very personal way. It doesn’t provide answers (at least not for me), but gave me something to think about. If you take away the immigration storyline, it’s also the age old story of rebellious teen and protective father who cannot communicate with one another, it could be an Irish-American family in Chicago, an Italian-American family in New York; it really is universal. I don’t know if Demian Bechir should have won the Best Actor compared to all the other actors, but I do think he (and the movie) was better than The Artist. It was a great performance. It was a very good movie, and I highly recommend seeing it. 
Flight, 3/16/13, Nominee for Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay 2012

I honestly don’t know if anyone could have beaten Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor this year, but it is going to be fun to watch the rest of the movies to find out. Denzel Washington is good, just plain good, it doesn’t matter what movie he’s in, he makes it better. Flight is definitely worth a watch for his performance as the rest of the cast. Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an airplane pilot with some severe addiction issues. The story follows Whitaker as he miraculously pilots his plane through incredible circumstances and the aftermath of the crash and his addictions. He’s a hard guy to like, really, because he is so arrogant and pretty much refuses any responsibility for what he did or does.

The Master, 3/9/13, Nominee for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress 2012
I have to say this: you can have great performances and still have a crap movie. The Master is proof of that. Ugh. What a painful movie. I kept hoping Joaquin Phoenix’s character would die from alcohol poisoning, but I was not that lucky. I don’t know if I am madder that it was so bad or that I paid for it on pay-per-view instead of waiting for the library to get it. I don’t know how to explain it, so I won’t. I don’t even know if the performances were that great (although I really do like Amy Adams – please see her in Junebug; at some point she will win an Oscar). So, my gift to you – skip this. Watch Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt and Phoenix in Walk the Line instead.


Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, 3/10/13, Nominee for Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects (Snow White and the Huntsman) 2011

These are two very different takes on the Snow White story, Mirror, Mirror is lighter and comedic while Snow White and the Huntsman is dark and moody and has more action. Lily Collins is Snow White and Julia Roberts is the Evil Queen in Mirror, Mirror, while Kristen Stewart plays Snow White and Charlize Theron is the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Huntsman. I thought both movies were visually appealing and the costumes were really well done. I don’t know if I would recommend either of them, but if you must, if you want something light, then Mirror Mirror is the ticket. If you’re looking for something more Middle Ages and you like Chris Hemsworth (who plays the Huntsman), you’d be better off with SWATH. I do think you can live your life to the fullest if you see neither.