12/24/13 Pocahontas, Best Original Song, Best Original Musical Score, 1995
I think this was the second time I saw Pocahontas because apparently it didn't stick the first time. Pocahontas tells something resembling the story of the Jamestown settlement in the new colony of Virginia, and the meeting of the English settlers and the Powhatan Indians. I must have been doing my best imitation of a crab-ass while watching this, but I didn't care (and I should care, I majored in American history for crying out loud and love that part of the country) about Mel Gibson prancing around the Virginia forest as John Smith (actually an animated John Smith). It's always nice to see strong female characters in film, animated or otherwise, but this movie didn't do anything for me. The requisite 'bad guy' Governor Ratcliffe (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) was so-so is greedy and has come to Virginia to find gold; John Smith comes to help fight the "savages" only to fall in love with one of them, Pocahontas (Irene Bedard). Pocahontas won for Best Original Song and Best Original Musical Score beating out Randy Newman for the Toy Story soundtrack and "You've Got a Friend in Me" and I think that was a mistake. I'd be willing to guess more people know "You've Got a Friend in Me" compared to "Colors of the Wind". There are a lot better animated films out there (I think even the animals were pretty lame) and if you want a strong female character, check out Brave or Jasmine in Aladdin (don't get me wrong, Pocahontas is great character, the vehicle doesn't do her justice).
12/25/13 Saving Mr. Banks, not yet nominated, 2013
There is pretty much universal agreement that Saving Mr. Banks will receive a few Oscar nominations, so I feel safe in reviewing it and joining the crowds in praising the movie. Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of how Walt Disney brought our beloved Mary Poppins to the screen. We learn that Disney (Tom Hanks) pursued P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) twenty years for the film rights to Mary Poppins. Hanks plays Disney with an ebullient determination, he believes in the world he has created where dreams come true. Travers is portrayed as a woman fighting to control everything that she possibly can; she is very tightly wound and doesn't break into a smile very often, so when she does, you feel like she means it. There is a whole childhood full of reasons why she must be in command and those are shown to us in flashbacks. Normally I have little patience for flashbacks because they can be used as a crutch and detract from the story, but in this case, I think they keep the viewer interested and emotionally invested in the story of Mrs. Travers (as she insists on being called, not Pam or Pamela). Travers grew up in Australia and idolized her father played by Colin Farrell; her father had a bit of a romantic spirit and shared that with his daughter; he also had a drinking problem which played havoc with his career as a banker and his marriage. Travers' view of Mary Poppins seems to differ greatly from Walt and his creative team's, they see the whimsy and potential for fun while Travers has a more serious take. This makes for some pretty funny scenes (there are real tapes made during these working sessions that were used as reference). Thompson is so restrained in her portrayal, I felt like I could see her as Travers struggling to keep a lid on her emotions and protect this woman she created. I thought she was marvelous, and one of my favorite moments of the film comes in the second half of the film and she shows her humanity showing some empathy and encouragement for her chauffeur, played by Paul Giammatti. You get the feeling she doesn't do that very often, so it probably means a lot.While I think this was a fabulous film, telling the story of one of the most beloved film characters and the making of the movie, this is not for little kids, it is not actually Mary Poppins. While there is no violence and hardly any swearing, there are some very heavy moments, including an attempted suicide. I don't know that kids need to see that. I went the my movie-viewing friends and Esteban who is 14 actually liked it a lot more than he thought he would (we usually go see super hero movies, so this was a bit of a risk). It is a fabulous movie and very eye-opening, and it made me love Mary Poppins even more.
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Movie smorgasbord - American Beauty, Sophie's Choice, American Hustle
It's a good thing that movies have no caloric value or I would be in huge trouble. It has been seven days and over 15 movies so far. These weren't puff pieces, either, so I hope my reviews do them justice, especially because I liked these movies.
12/18/13 American Beauty, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, 1999
Let me start this one off this way: prior to watching American Beauty I marked it as 'not interested' on my Netflix, meaning, please do not show this movie to me ever again. After watching it, it is now rated with 4 stars (5 stars is saved for movies that make me cry). So, the list giveth and the list taketh away, and it finally giveth. When this movie came out there was nothing about it that intrigued me, and even for the first 45 minutes or so, I didn't want to like it and was writing the review in my head that was funny and sarcastic, and then damn it all, I started to like it. I think I was being too literal or something, but then Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) took a turn and then it all clicked into place. Lester Burnham is suffering through what seems to be a terrible midlife crisis or slump that is not helped by his control-freak wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening) or his distant and morose daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). Spacey plays Burnham in a way that is hard to describe, but it works and I found myself cheering for him to do something outrageous, and then I cheered when he didn't and showed humanity to some of the other characters. The disdain between Lester and Carolyn is palpable. The dynamic of the Burnhams is changed when their new neighbors move in and the son, Ricky develops an infatuation with Jane (Ricky sells pot and makes videos). Ricky's dad, played by Chris Cooper, is a retired Marine Corps colonel who is very strict, domineering and homophobic; needless to say, expect some conflict. The performances of some of the main characters verges on caricature, but not too far, and once I figured that out (sorry if I'm a little slow), that's when it started to get funny; there were moments when it seemed like a Coen brothers movie. There is a lot going on in this movie, so much that Wikipedia has sections on the symbolism, etc. and I did not quite see the end coming the way it did, and you'll just have to watch it for yourself. If you have not seen it, I definitely recommend it (if you start watching and are like, um, no, give it to at least the one hour mark, if you're not convinced, then turn it off, you're hopeless).
12/18/13 Murder on a Sunday Morning, Best Feature Documentary, 2001
Murder on a Sunday Morning follows the case of Jacksonville, Florida versus Brenton Butler for the murder of a tourist. Brenton was fifteen at the time, and his two attorneys are featured as they lay out their strategy for his defense, their counter-arguments to the evidence provided by the sheriff's department and the prosecution. The passion of his two public defenders, Ann Finnell and Patrick McGuinness, and their work to disprove the prosecution's case. It is interesting to watch them walk through their theories and then put them to the test in the examination and cross-examination of the witnesses. There is no attempt to show both sides of the story or get the prosecution's perspective, this is clearly a film that is focused on Brenton and his defense. We don't get a lot of time with Brenton himself because he is incarcerated during the filming, but we get glimpses of his family and his extended support system. There is a lot right with the way the justice system is supposed to work in this country, and Finnell and McGuinness represent that and those who may not have a voice. It's not quite two hours long and I think it's worth watching (I had apparently watched it several years ago, but didn't remember enough of it to write a review from memory, so if I can watch it twice, you can watch it once). Think of it as food for your brain during this holiday season.
12/21/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1975 AFI, #33
Some of you may remember that a couple of weeks ago I tried to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but was foiled by a faulty disk. But, you can't get an hour into a movie and then just give up, so I rearranged my Netflix queue and bumped it to the top of the list. Jack Nicholson (Best Actor) stars as RP McMurphy ("Mac"), a criminal who has been sent to a mental hospital for his anti-social behavior. McMurphy meets doctor and head nurse, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher who won Best Actress), and they are not all that amused by his antics and attempts to liven up the ward. The other patients are somewhat amused by McMurphy's questioning of authority, but a little nervous by his flaunting of the rules. Mac builds special bonds with two patients, Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif, who may be familiar to newer audiences from his role as the Doctor in Deadwood) who stutters and is painfully shy; and "Chief" (Will Sampson) an American Indian whom everyone believes to be deaf and mute, but Mac persists in talking with him and engaging him in his plots. The whole cast is terrific to watch, including Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd as two of the patients. We learn through one scene that most of the patients are voluntary committals, compared to Mac who has been sent for observation to determine his future sentence and location. Nurse Ratched is played so subtly and controlled by Louise Fletcher, especially in comparison to the raving and energetic performance by Nicholson. It's a great juxtaposition of two characters, and 'the establishment' versus 'the counter-culture/anti-authoritarian movement'. There are some comedic moments, but overall I would say it's a drama, and the ending is bittersweet. I have not been a Jack Nicholson fan (meaning I don't run out to movies just because Jack Nicholson is in it) and I think he sometimes plays the same character, and that could be just in later movies, but here, he is spot on. I hope Hollywood is not dumb enough to try and re-make this movie when they run out of ideas in the near future, because the actor who is unlucky enough to play Mac is setting himself up for almost sure failure. Nurse Ratched is a frequently referenced character, especially when someone is authoritarian, controlling and unfeeling, but I wonder how many people have seen the movie. Well, now I have. Not only did One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest win the five major categories at the Oscars, it is also number 33 on the American Film Institute's 100 Best Films and it is on the National Film Registry's list of films that should be preserved. If that doesn't make you run out to rent this movie, then we probably shouldn't see each other anymore.
12/22/13 Sophie's Choice, Best Actress, 1982, AFI #91
I tried to watch Sophie's Choice a long time ago and could not get into it, it wasn't what I expected and it moved too slowly for me, so I gave up. The list has a way to bring things back around and that's what happened here. I tried to have a different mindset and let the movie unfold slowly, it was hard, I have to be honest; I think what made it hard was that I knew something was going to happen, and I wanted it to happen. In this case, anticipation was not my friend. Sophie's Choice is set in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, and Stingo (Peter MacNicol) has relocated from the South to Brooklyn where he aspires to be a writer. He moves into a room in a large Victorian house and meets his new neighbors, Sophie Zawistowski (Meryl Streep), a Polish Catholic survivor of Auschwitz and her star-crossed lover, Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline), an American Jew with a troubled emotional and mental history. The story as it is told in 1947 is about the relationship and friendship of the trio as well as their conflicts. As Stingo learns more about Sophie, on whom he develops a crush, and her life in Poland, the story goes into flashbacks, and the truth about Sophie's past starts to reveal. Meryl Streep won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Sophie and solidified her reputation as a mistress of dialects and languages (many may not remember her role in the 1978 television miniseries Holocaust as James Woods' gentile wife - the whole series is powerful and I highly recommend it). Sophie and Nathan have a complicated and combustible relationship that is passionate one minute and then torn apart the next minute. Poor Stingo is caught in the middle and not sure exactly what is happening between his friends. The pieces start to come together over time as he learns about both Nathan and Sophie's past. It is a powerful movie and Streep is undeniably wonderful; Kline plays manic pretty well (this is a notch lower than his over-the-top performance in A Fish Called Wanda) and Peter MacNicol's character of Stingo and Jozef Sommer as the older Stingo and narrator, are sympathetic storytellers. The end of the movie was not totally unexpected and yet it kind of was.
12/22/13 American Hustle, not yet nominated, 2013
My friends and I made a date to see American Hustle when we saw the preview at Bad Grandpa (yeah, I know). Of course the clips they show were the laugh out loud moments (I mean, Bradly Cooper with his hair in curlers and Christian Bale in a bad combover). American Hustle is getting a lot of buzz for its interpretation (it's not a strict representation of the events) of the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s (another event I vaguely remember from the news as it happened) and for the acting of Bale, Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Bale and Adams are Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser and they are con artists. Bradley Cooper is Richie Di Maso, an FBI agent who has great career aspirations and he busts the two of them, and they kind of have to work for him. This is a little bit of The Sting mixed with Sopranos-lite. Jennifer Lawrence is Irving's wife who is a little on the wacky side. She and Amy Adams are going to be making good movies for a long time to come (probably not the prediction of the century, but I wanted it on record). Most of the story involves Di Maso's desire to make the bust of his career, which means getting politicians to fall for his scam; and that's where things get a little complicated. Jeremy Renner is Camden Mayor, Carmine Polito, the first target of the sting, and Elisabeth Rohm is his wife, Dolly (that's Elisabeth Rohm from Law and Order - I tell you this because we did not realize it until the movie was over and you should pay attention because she was really good). American Hustle was directed by David O. Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook. The movie has some interesting twists and it behooves you to follow the bouncing ball; it is fun watching it unfold. The score is full of songs from the 1970s, some well known, others obscure, but you can't help dancing in your seat. I liked the movie a lot, but for some reason I can't say I loved it; it may have been the length, I couldn't feel my legs when it was over after 2 plus hours.
12/18/13 American Beauty, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, 1999
Let me start this one off this way: prior to watching American Beauty I marked it as 'not interested' on my Netflix, meaning, please do not show this movie to me ever again. After watching it, it is now rated with 4 stars (5 stars is saved for movies that make me cry). So, the list giveth and the list taketh away, and it finally giveth. When this movie came out there was nothing about it that intrigued me, and even for the first 45 minutes or so, I didn't want to like it and was writing the review in my head that was funny and sarcastic, and then damn it all, I started to like it. I think I was being too literal or something, but then Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) took a turn and then it all clicked into place. Lester Burnham is suffering through what seems to be a terrible midlife crisis or slump that is not helped by his control-freak wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening) or his distant and morose daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). Spacey plays Burnham in a way that is hard to describe, but it works and I found myself cheering for him to do something outrageous, and then I cheered when he didn't and showed humanity to some of the other characters. The disdain between Lester and Carolyn is palpable. The dynamic of the Burnhams is changed when their new neighbors move in and the son, Ricky develops an infatuation with Jane (Ricky sells pot and makes videos). Ricky's dad, played by Chris Cooper, is a retired Marine Corps colonel who is very strict, domineering and homophobic; needless to say, expect some conflict. The performances of some of the main characters verges on caricature, but not too far, and once I figured that out (sorry if I'm a little slow), that's when it started to get funny; there were moments when it seemed like a Coen brothers movie. There is a lot going on in this movie, so much that Wikipedia has sections on the symbolism, etc. and I did not quite see the end coming the way it did, and you'll just have to watch it for yourself. If you have not seen it, I definitely recommend it (if you start watching and are like, um, no, give it to at least the one hour mark, if you're not convinced, then turn it off, you're hopeless).
12/18/13 Murder on a Sunday Morning, Best Feature Documentary, 2001
Murder on a Sunday Morning follows the case of Jacksonville, Florida versus Brenton Butler for the murder of a tourist. Brenton was fifteen at the time, and his two attorneys are featured as they lay out their strategy for his defense, their counter-arguments to the evidence provided by the sheriff's department and the prosecution. The passion of his two public defenders, Ann Finnell and Patrick McGuinness, and their work to disprove the prosecution's case. It is interesting to watch them walk through their theories and then put them to the test in the examination and cross-examination of the witnesses. There is no attempt to show both sides of the story or get the prosecution's perspective, this is clearly a film that is focused on Brenton and his defense. We don't get a lot of time with Brenton himself because he is incarcerated during the filming, but we get glimpses of his family and his extended support system. There is a lot right with the way the justice system is supposed to work in this country, and Finnell and McGuinness represent that and those who may not have a voice. It's not quite two hours long and I think it's worth watching (I had apparently watched it several years ago, but didn't remember enough of it to write a review from memory, so if I can watch it twice, you can watch it once). Think of it as food for your brain during this holiday season.
12/21/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1975 AFI, #33
Some of you may remember that a couple of weeks ago I tried to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but was foiled by a faulty disk. But, you can't get an hour into a movie and then just give up, so I rearranged my Netflix queue and bumped it to the top of the list. Jack Nicholson (Best Actor) stars as RP McMurphy ("Mac"), a criminal who has been sent to a mental hospital for his anti-social behavior. McMurphy meets doctor and head nurse, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher who won Best Actress), and they are not all that amused by his antics and attempts to liven up the ward. The other patients are somewhat amused by McMurphy's questioning of authority, but a little nervous by his flaunting of the rules. Mac builds special bonds with two patients, Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif, who may be familiar to newer audiences from his role as the Doctor in Deadwood) who stutters and is painfully shy; and "Chief" (Will Sampson) an American Indian whom everyone believes to be deaf and mute, but Mac persists in talking with him and engaging him in his plots. The whole cast is terrific to watch, including Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd as two of the patients. We learn through one scene that most of the patients are voluntary committals, compared to Mac who has been sent for observation to determine his future sentence and location. Nurse Ratched is played so subtly and controlled by Louise Fletcher, especially in comparison to the raving and energetic performance by Nicholson. It's a great juxtaposition of two characters, and 'the establishment' versus 'the counter-culture/anti-authoritarian movement'. There are some comedic moments, but overall I would say it's a drama, and the ending is bittersweet. I have not been a Jack Nicholson fan (meaning I don't run out to movies just because Jack Nicholson is in it) and I think he sometimes plays the same character, and that could be just in later movies, but here, he is spot on. I hope Hollywood is not dumb enough to try and re-make this movie when they run out of ideas in the near future, because the actor who is unlucky enough to play Mac is setting himself up for almost sure failure. Nurse Ratched is a frequently referenced character, especially when someone is authoritarian, controlling and unfeeling, but I wonder how many people have seen the movie. Well, now I have. Not only did One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest win the five major categories at the Oscars, it is also number 33 on the American Film Institute's 100 Best Films and it is on the National Film Registry's list of films that should be preserved. If that doesn't make you run out to rent this movie, then we probably shouldn't see each other anymore.
12/22/13 Sophie's Choice, Best Actress, 1982, AFI #91
I tried to watch Sophie's Choice a long time ago and could not get into it, it wasn't what I expected and it moved too slowly for me, so I gave up. The list has a way to bring things back around and that's what happened here. I tried to have a different mindset and let the movie unfold slowly, it was hard, I have to be honest; I think what made it hard was that I knew something was going to happen, and I wanted it to happen. In this case, anticipation was not my friend. Sophie's Choice is set in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, and Stingo (Peter MacNicol) has relocated from the South to Brooklyn where he aspires to be a writer. He moves into a room in a large Victorian house and meets his new neighbors, Sophie Zawistowski (Meryl Streep), a Polish Catholic survivor of Auschwitz and her star-crossed lover, Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline), an American Jew with a troubled emotional and mental history. The story as it is told in 1947 is about the relationship and friendship of the trio as well as their conflicts. As Stingo learns more about Sophie, on whom he develops a crush, and her life in Poland, the story goes into flashbacks, and the truth about Sophie's past starts to reveal. Meryl Streep won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Sophie and solidified her reputation as a mistress of dialects and languages (many may not remember her role in the 1978 television miniseries Holocaust as James Woods' gentile wife - the whole series is powerful and I highly recommend it). Sophie and Nathan have a complicated and combustible relationship that is passionate one minute and then torn apart the next minute. Poor Stingo is caught in the middle and not sure exactly what is happening between his friends. The pieces start to come together over time as he learns about both Nathan and Sophie's past. It is a powerful movie and Streep is undeniably wonderful; Kline plays manic pretty well (this is a notch lower than his over-the-top performance in A Fish Called Wanda) and Peter MacNicol's character of Stingo and Jozef Sommer as the older Stingo and narrator, are sympathetic storytellers. The end of the movie was not totally unexpected and yet it kind of was.
12/22/13 American Hustle, not yet nominated, 2013
My friends and I made a date to see American Hustle when we saw the preview at Bad Grandpa (yeah, I know). Of course the clips they show were the laugh out loud moments (I mean, Bradly Cooper with his hair in curlers and Christian Bale in a bad combover). American Hustle is getting a lot of buzz for its interpretation (it's not a strict representation of the events) of the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s (another event I vaguely remember from the news as it happened) and for the acting of Bale, Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Bale and Adams are Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser and they are con artists. Bradley Cooper is Richie Di Maso, an FBI agent who has great career aspirations and he busts the two of them, and they kind of have to work for him. This is a little bit of The Sting mixed with Sopranos-lite. Jennifer Lawrence is Irving's wife who is a little on the wacky side. She and Amy Adams are going to be making good movies for a long time to come (probably not the prediction of the century, but I wanted it on record). Most of the story involves Di Maso's desire to make the bust of his career, which means getting politicians to fall for his scam; and that's where things get a little complicated. Jeremy Renner is Camden Mayor, Carmine Polito, the first target of the sting, and Elisabeth Rohm is his wife, Dolly (that's Elisabeth Rohm from Law and Order - I tell you this because we did not realize it until the movie was over and you should pay attention because she was really good). American Hustle was directed by David O. Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook. The movie has some interesting twists and it behooves you to follow the bouncing ball; it is fun watching it unfold. The score is full of songs from the 1970s, some well known, others obscure, but you can't help dancing in your seat. I liked the movie a lot, but for some reason I can't say I loved it; it may have been the length, I couldn't feel my legs when it was over after 2 plus hours.
Movie madness, part 2: What Dreams May Come, Aliens, Animation shorts galore
Another screen legend has departed, Joan Fontaine who starred in Rebecca and won an Oscar in Suspicion, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Fontaine's older sister is Olivia de Havilland, who starred as Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind. After my two main movie selections from the last couple of days, I probably should have stuck with the classics.
12/15/13 What Dreams May Come, Best Visual Effects, 1998
I remember when this movie came out, and something about just didn't interest me or make me want to see it. This little project of mine forces me to overcome (or try to overcome) those prejudices. However, I am going to say I was right and curse my list. Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra star as Chris and Annie Nielsen who suffer the accidental deaths of their children in a car accident. Annie has an incredibly hard time in moving on and falls into a very severe depression. Chris helps Annie cope, he also has a fatal accident (I don't think this is really spoiling anything, the whole movie is based on death and the hereafter). Chris goes to what may be Heaven and must address his own demons and questions. Okay, anything else may give something important away. I found the movie far too preachy and uneven. I don't mind movies that slip in a message here or there, but I appreciate subtlety; this movie wouldn't know 'subtle' if Noah Webster himself provided the definition. The movie won for Best Visual Effects, and I will say it is a visually powerful film, full of bursts of color and shadows. Other than that, I thought it was heavy-handed and kept wishing for it to end.
12/16/13 Aliens, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1986
Two and half hours? TWO AND A HALF HOURS? I almost filed a complaint with Amnesty International until I acknowledged that this punishment was self-inflicted. I assumed that the sequel was also directed by Ridley Scott, and I was looking forward to it after the debacle that was What Dreams May Come. But, no, James Cameron, a man who can't stop himself from cinematic excess, directed. Again, I cursed my list. I read where some of the actors were sent to military training school to prepare for their roles. I think the time and money would have been better served for acting classes. I felt bad for Sigourney Weaver, who was the only bright spot, and her young charge, Carrie Henn, who played Newt. I actually think time stopped as I watched; I looked at the little counter as the movie played, and it never seemed to progress, I was rooting for the aliens. Damn.
12/17/13 Collection of Animated Shorts from 1979 - 1990
I have VHS tape that has this great collection of animated shorts, most of them are Oscar winners and a few are nominees. I've had it for probably 20 years, and have watched it several times over the years. It's great. I saw it on Amazon.com in DVD form, and I may have to upgrade. Don't let the animation part fool you, many of these shorts are really not suitable for kids (Creature Comforts may be the exception).
Special Delivery, 1978 One of several entries from the National Film Board of Canada, and this is probably my second favorite after Creature Comforts. The story line reads like a Coen Brothers film. It revolves around a series of misunderstandings involving a husband and wife and the postman. To say much more will spoil the surprise. I like the animation style, but I'm not sure how to describe it, kind of like watercolors, maybe? It's not claymation or stop-motion.
Every Child, 1979 This was a short that was promoting UNICEF's declaration of the rights of the child and tells the story of a child being passed from home to home, unwanted, until the baby is found by two homeless people who love the child. I supposed it would sound horribly crass to say I didn't like it, but I didn't. I think the message is great and because like many animated shorts, there really isn't any discernible dialog, it can be easily understood by anyone. I found the sound track/sound effects terribly annoying, and maybe that's where it lost me, like nails on a chalkboard.
The Fly, 1980 is an animated short that follows the brief adventures of, you guessed it, a fly. The perspective is from the fly. I'm not sure there's a lot more I can tell you. It's interesting animation, black and white (does that mean flies can't see color?).
Crac, 1981 is another animated short from Canada, although this time not from the National Film Board of Canada. It also uses a technique similar to the one in Special Delivery, like watercolors, they swirl around and the transitions are very 'flowy' (I should learn some more technical terms), and the music is really wonderful. It looks like it is set in Quebec or some other part of French Canada (that's my history majoring showing, sorry, I'll put her away), and it seems like the story is following a family, but it is actually following the life of a chair that has seen and been a part of the family history (kind of like a velveteen rabbit), and then becomes part of an art installation. It's a lovely piece, and makes you look at the old family furniture in a different way.
Tango, 1982 I am honestly not sure what is going on in the film, something tells me there is a deep philosophical point to be made, but I'm too tired to figure it out. There is some Tango music being played and various characters come in and out of a room, first one, then two, then more, all doing different things. The animation is stop motion. It's kind of cool. The director is Zbigniew Rybsczynski, a Polish director, who worked with a lot of artists during the early days of MTV(when they actually showed videos).
The Great Cognito, 1982 nominee Will Vinton, the man behind the singing raisins commercial, directed and produced this claymation short. The Great Cognito is an impressionist who can change his face into other people or even things. It's a neat example of claymation, but I found it a little annoying after three minutes.
Sundae in New York, 1983 Fans of former New York mayor, Ed Koch, and of New York City, will love this. An animated Ed Koch sings and dances a variation of "New York, New York"; it's not actually Koch, but it's still pretty funny.
Charade, 1984 is probably how some games of charades go: one team can raise an eyebrow and guess the book, movie, song and another team can gesticulate and dance like the Bolshoi Ballet and the team will not guess in a million years. It is hilarious as the off-screen voices yell out their answers (I think it's sad that I actually guessed some of the clues). Of course, the British voices make it even funnier, as they politely don't guess the answers.
The Big Snit, 1985 nominee A married couple are playing Scrabble when the husband cannot think of a word; tired of waiting, the wife goes off to vacuum, and his mind starts to wander. In the midst of him watching tv and her cleaning, they miss the alert that there is an imminent doomsday type of explosion. They get into an argument because he's not playing, but he is sawing, an annoying habit, to be sure, and she shakes her eyes (shake shake shake). They reconcile and start hugging, blissfully unaware of the disaster that has occurred. I liked this one better than the winner, Anna and Bella
Anna and Bella, 1985 tells the story of two sisters, Anna and Bella who are best friends, worst enemies. The short follows them as children, through teenage years, adulthood and as elderly women. There are some significant things that happen, and I'm sure it's poignant, but I didn't care for it.
A Greek Tragedy, 1986 follows three Greek Caryatids, female figures that provide support in Greek architecture instead of columns. It's very humorous as they occasionally tire from their labor, they laugh, they dance. Nice use of mythology.
Your Face, 1987 nominee I love Bill Plympton and this is one of his great works, I think. It's got a creepy, funny song and his trademark animation, which features the morphing of the man's face.
The Cat Came Back, 1988 nominee Mr. Johnson is silly enough to open his door and bring in a stray cat (don't ever do that), only to find it is devilish and mischievous indeed. Every time Mr. Johnson tries to get rid of the cat, it comes back (but you probably figured that out, didn't you?), the funny parts are the different and politically incorrect ways he tries to get rid of it. Even in death, the cat will not go away. Careful, you may find yourself humming the song.
Technological Threat, 1988 nominee The threat of robots taking over our jobs is not a new idea in movies or books, but it is given a new look in this short.
Balance, 1989 I have seen this short at least a half-dozen times and I find it so interesting, there are so many potential interpretations, sociological, political, etc. Five figures balance on a square floating in space, they all understand what they need to do to balance and not fall off. They fish and when one figure seems to land a big one, the other figures rush to the other side to get back in balance. Of course, this paradise cannot last forever, and when one of them finds a box and brings in to the platform, the previous order begins to disintegrate. Materialism at its worst.
Creature Comforts, 1990 What can I say? I can watch this over and over and over, and I have. Nick Park (of Wallace and Grommit) assembled a top notch cast of zoo animals and interviewed them on their thoughts of captivity and life in general. I love the Brazilian jaguar, who just wants more space; the family of polar bears and turtles, and all of them, really. It just makes me laugh.
12/15/13 What Dreams May Come, Best Visual Effects, 1998
I remember when this movie came out, and something about just didn't interest me or make me want to see it. This little project of mine forces me to overcome (or try to overcome) those prejudices. However, I am going to say I was right and curse my list. Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra star as Chris and Annie Nielsen who suffer the accidental deaths of their children in a car accident. Annie has an incredibly hard time in moving on and falls into a very severe depression. Chris helps Annie cope, he also has a fatal accident (I don't think this is really spoiling anything, the whole movie is based on death and the hereafter). Chris goes to what may be Heaven and must address his own demons and questions. Okay, anything else may give something important away. I found the movie far too preachy and uneven. I don't mind movies that slip in a message here or there, but I appreciate subtlety; this movie wouldn't know 'subtle' if Noah Webster himself provided the definition. The movie won for Best Visual Effects, and I will say it is a visually powerful film, full of bursts of color and shadows. Other than that, I thought it was heavy-handed and kept wishing for it to end.
12/16/13 Aliens, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1986
Two and half hours? TWO AND A HALF HOURS? I almost filed a complaint with Amnesty International until I acknowledged that this punishment was self-inflicted. I assumed that the sequel was also directed by Ridley Scott, and I was looking forward to it after the debacle that was What Dreams May Come. But, no, James Cameron, a man who can't stop himself from cinematic excess, directed. Again, I cursed my list. I read where some of the actors were sent to military training school to prepare for their roles. I think the time and money would have been better served for acting classes. I felt bad for Sigourney Weaver, who was the only bright spot, and her young charge, Carrie Henn, who played Newt. I actually think time stopped as I watched; I looked at the little counter as the movie played, and it never seemed to progress, I was rooting for the aliens. Damn.
12/17/13 Collection of Animated Shorts from 1979 - 1990
I have VHS tape that has this great collection of animated shorts, most of them are Oscar winners and a few are nominees. I've had it for probably 20 years, and have watched it several times over the years. It's great. I saw it on Amazon.com in DVD form, and I may have to upgrade. Don't let the animation part fool you, many of these shorts are really not suitable for kids (Creature Comforts may be the exception).
Special Delivery, 1978 One of several entries from the National Film Board of Canada, and this is probably my second favorite after Creature Comforts. The story line reads like a Coen Brothers film. It revolves around a series of misunderstandings involving a husband and wife and the postman. To say much more will spoil the surprise. I like the animation style, but I'm not sure how to describe it, kind of like watercolors, maybe? It's not claymation or stop-motion.
Every Child, 1979 This was a short that was promoting UNICEF's declaration of the rights of the child and tells the story of a child being passed from home to home, unwanted, until the baby is found by two homeless people who love the child. I supposed it would sound horribly crass to say I didn't like it, but I didn't. I think the message is great and because like many animated shorts, there really isn't any discernible dialog, it can be easily understood by anyone. I found the sound track/sound effects terribly annoying, and maybe that's where it lost me, like nails on a chalkboard.
The Fly, 1980 is an animated short that follows the brief adventures of, you guessed it, a fly. The perspective is from the fly. I'm not sure there's a lot more I can tell you. It's interesting animation, black and white (does that mean flies can't see color?).
Crac, 1981 is another animated short from Canada, although this time not from the National Film Board of Canada. It also uses a technique similar to the one in Special Delivery, like watercolors, they swirl around and the transitions are very 'flowy' (I should learn some more technical terms), and the music is really wonderful. It looks like it is set in Quebec or some other part of French Canada (that's my history majoring showing, sorry, I'll put her away), and it seems like the story is following a family, but it is actually following the life of a chair that has seen and been a part of the family history (kind of like a velveteen rabbit), and then becomes part of an art installation. It's a lovely piece, and makes you look at the old family furniture in a different way.
Tango, 1982 I am honestly not sure what is going on in the film, something tells me there is a deep philosophical point to be made, but I'm too tired to figure it out. There is some Tango music being played and various characters come in and out of a room, first one, then two, then more, all doing different things. The animation is stop motion. It's kind of cool. The director is Zbigniew Rybsczynski, a Polish director, who worked with a lot of artists during the early days of MTV(when they actually showed videos).
The Great Cognito, 1982 nominee Will Vinton, the man behind the singing raisins commercial, directed and produced this claymation short. The Great Cognito is an impressionist who can change his face into other people or even things. It's a neat example of claymation, but I found it a little annoying after three minutes.
Sundae in New York, 1983 Fans of former New York mayor, Ed Koch, and of New York City, will love this. An animated Ed Koch sings and dances a variation of "New York, New York"; it's not actually Koch, but it's still pretty funny.
Charade, 1984 is probably how some games of charades go: one team can raise an eyebrow and guess the book, movie, song and another team can gesticulate and dance like the Bolshoi Ballet and the team will not guess in a million years. It is hilarious as the off-screen voices yell out their answers (I think it's sad that I actually guessed some of the clues). Of course, the British voices make it even funnier, as they politely don't guess the answers.
The Big Snit, 1985 nominee A married couple are playing Scrabble when the husband cannot think of a word; tired of waiting, the wife goes off to vacuum, and his mind starts to wander. In the midst of him watching tv and her cleaning, they miss the alert that there is an imminent doomsday type of explosion. They get into an argument because he's not playing, but he is sawing, an annoying habit, to be sure, and she shakes her eyes (shake shake shake). They reconcile and start hugging, blissfully unaware of the disaster that has occurred. I liked this one better than the winner, Anna and Bella
Anna and Bella, 1985 tells the story of two sisters, Anna and Bella who are best friends, worst enemies. The short follows them as children, through teenage years, adulthood and as elderly women. There are some significant things that happen, and I'm sure it's poignant, but I didn't care for it.
A Greek Tragedy, 1986 follows three Greek Caryatids, female figures that provide support in Greek architecture instead of columns. It's very humorous as they occasionally tire from their labor, they laugh, they dance. Nice use of mythology.
Your Face, 1987 nominee I love Bill Plympton and this is one of his great works, I think. It's got a creepy, funny song and his trademark animation, which features the morphing of the man's face.
The Cat Came Back, 1988 nominee Mr. Johnson is silly enough to open his door and bring in a stray cat (don't ever do that), only to find it is devilish and mischievous indeed. Every time Mr. Johnson tries to get rid of the cat, it comes back (but you probably figured that out, didn't you?), the funny parts are the different and politically incorrect ways he tries to get rid of it. Even in death, the cat will not go away. Careful, you may find yourself humming the song.
Technological Threat, 1988 nominee The threat of robots taking over our jobs is not a new idea in movies or books, but it is given a new look in this short.
Balance, 1989 I have seen this short at least a half-dozen times and I find it so interesting, there are so many potential interpretations, sociological, political, etc. Five figures balance on a square floating in space, they all understand what they need to do to balance and not fall off. They fish and when one figure seems to land a big one, the other figures rush to the other side to get back in balance. Of course, this paradise cannot last forever, and when one of them finds a box and brings in to the platform, the previous order begins to disintegrate. Materialism at its worst.
Creature Comforts, 1990 What can I say? I can watch this over and over and over, and I have. Nick Park (of Wallace and Grommit) assembled a top notch cast of zoo animals and interviewed them on their thoughts of captivity and life in general. I love the Brazilian jaguar, who just wants more space; the family of polar bears and turtles, and all of them, really. It just makes me laugh.
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.
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.
A little of this, a little of that - Purple Rain, Finding Neverland
Dang it's cold. Jack Frost is covering most of the country this weekend, and Minnesota is no exception (Minnesotans take a sick pride in how cold it gets here, just sick I tell you; it's a strange game of one-ups manship). This translates into guilt-free movie watching, because what else can you do? I mean, besides clean and watch football. This movie-watching mission that I have been on for over a year has its ups and downs. Some movies are hard to watch, as in they are really terrible, the subject matter is difficult, or they are literally hard to watch because the DVD won't play. These are 21st century/first world problems.
This weekend was intended to be a variety of films and I was kind of excited to watch all of them (well, maybe excited is an overstatement). So, let us begin.
12/7/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay 1975
I really wanted to like this movie, and I was well on my way until about half-way through the DVD stopped working. I wish that would have happened with another movie, damn it. I haven't given up, but I wanted you to know that I tried.
12/7/13 Purple Rain, Best Original Song Score, 1984
Color me clueless but I have never understood the magic or mystique of Prince. I realize I may be treading on Minneapolis hometown pride, but I stand Buckeye strong. It might be easy to say that I am an old fuddy duddy, but I was 17 when Purple Rain was released and I didn't get it then. I was excited to see the First Avenue club on film, I pass it on my walk every day; and I wanted to see Minneapolis in the years between Mary Tyler Moore and when I moved here. It wasn't enough. The acting is dreadful, although to be fair, it wasn't nominated for any acting awards. The movie was terrible, and my heart would not have been broken in this DVD stopped playing. Curse my luck. The music is fine if not a little self-indulgent. In the 1980s I was much more into Progressive Rock and now my tastes have changed, but not enough. Sorry. Feel free to take my place in line the next time Prince has one of his events at Paisley park. Peace out.
12/7/13 Finding Neverland, Best Original Score, 2004
This was such a nice treat after suffering through Purple Rain. I remember when the movie came out, and didn't pay much attention, but it shows up on my list, and now I have to pay attention. Finding Neverland tells the story of J.M Barrie and his friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family and the inspiration for Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays Barrie and Kate Winslet is Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a recently widowed mother of four boys. Barrie and the boys forge a bond and they serve as his creative muse. One of the boys, Peter, proves to be a bit of challenge as he is still dealing with the death of his father and is far too serious for a boy fo his age. The movie is based on real events and is called 'semi-autobiographical', and I'm not really sure what the distinction is here. Depp employs a Scottish brogue, and I'm not an expert, but it sounded good to me. Winslet doesn't disappoint although I would not say the role was a huge stretch (she was awesome in The Reader and Mildred Pierce). I really did enjoy the film and if you are looking for something to watch with the family over the holidays, I totally recommend Finding Neverland, I think the kids will enjoy the fantasy scenes that may engage their imaginations. The other parts of the story may not keep their attention (especially if they're younger), but it's worth a try. The movie won for Best Original Score, beating out Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Passion of The Christ.
12/7/13 The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, nominated Best Documentary, 2009
I bumped this movie up in my queue after I finished watching Hearts and Minds the 1974 winner of Best Documentary. Ellsberg, through his role at the RAND corporation, came to possess documents that showed the American people were being lied to about the Vietnam war. The documentary has the benefit of 30 years of hindsight and more information (Nixon's resignation, Watergate, etc.) and provides insight into the evolution of Ellsberg's personal philosophy, from supporting the war to being willing to go to jail for opposing the war and releasing what came to be known as The Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg's fight to release the documents is cited as one of the most important First Amendment cases in American history. As I was watching this, I couldn't help but draw my own comparisons between what Ellsberg did and how he (and the newspapers) published the information and what Edward Snowden did. There are recorded excerpts of President Nixon calling Ellsberg a traitor and pretty much calling for his head on a silver platter. Ellsberg worked with different papers around the country to get the documents published, and when those avenues were diverted, he also worked with Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska to make them public. It was all very cloak and dagger stuff. The most striking difference between Ellsberg and his friend Tony Russo were willing to go to jail for what they did, and Snowden fled the country. That is a big difference to me, but other than that, I found it hard to separate the two actions, even though I wanted to, it seems easier for me to reconcile and even cheer what Ellsberg did, but I cannot do the same for Snowden. The Most Dangerous Man in America lost the Academy Award to Inside Job which was about the financial crisis and the corruption of people in the financial services industry, which was an incredible documentary as well.
12/8/13 Wallander, Series 2, 2010
What can I say? I just finished The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell, a Kurt Wallander mystery and was in the mood to depress the hell out of myself some more, so I watched Series 2 of Wallander, which stars Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I don't know why I keep reading the books and watching the shows, perhaps it touches my inner Scandinavian, morose and somber. Like anything based on a book, the episodes vary greatly from the books; I understand why they make changes to the storylines, combine characters, change timeframes, but it annoyed me for The Fifth Woman episode. Mankell infuses the books with some subtle and not so subtle social commentary, changes in Sweden, immigration, the Europeanization that was beginning to come to Sweden (some of the books are set in the 1990s); Wallander is morose, serious, and surprisingly sensitive. If you want to see early Branagh, check him out in Henry V, it's almost 25 years since it was released, but he is superb.
This weekend was intended to be a variety of films and I was kind of excited to watch all of them (well, maybe excited is an overstatement). So, let us begin.
12/7/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay 1975
I really wanted to like this movie, and I was well on my way until about half-way through the DVD stopped working. I wish that would have happened with another movie, damn it. I haven't given up, but I wanted you to know that I tried.
12/7/13 Purple Rain, Best Original Song Score, 1984
Color me clueless but I have never understood the magic or mystique of Prince. I realize I may be treading on Minneapolis hometown pride, but I stand Buckeye strong. It might be easy to say that I am an old fuddy duddy, but I was 17 when Purple Rain was released and I didn't get it then. I was excited to see the First Avenue club on film, I pass it on my walk every day; and I wanted to see Minneapolis in the years between Mary Tyler Moore and when I moved here. It wasn't enough. The acting is dreadful, although to be fair, it wasn't nominated for any acting awards. The movie was terrible, and my heart would not have been broken in this DVD stopped playing. Curse my luck. The music is fine if not a little self-indulgent. In the 1980s I was much more into Progressive Rock and now my tastes have changed, but not enough. Sorry. Feel free to take my place in line the next time Prince has one of his events at Paisley park. Peace out.
12/7/13 Finding Neverland, Best Original Score, 2004
This was such a nice treat after suffering through Purple Rain. I remember when the movie came out, and didn't pay much attention, but it shows up on my list, and now I have to pay attention. Finding Neverland tells the story of J.M Barrie and his friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family and the inspiration for Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays Barrie and Kate Winslet is Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a recently widowed mother of four boys. Barrie and the boys forge a bond and they serve as his creative muse. One of the boys, Peter, proves to be a bit of challenge as he is still dealing with the death of his father and is far too serious for a boy fo his age. The movie is based on real events and is called 'semi-autobiographical', and I'm not really sure what the distinction is here. Depp employs a Scottish brogue, and I'm not an expert, but it sounded good to me. Winslet doesn't disappoint although I would not say the role was a huge stretch (she was awesome in The Reader and Mildred Pierce). I really did enjoy the film and if you are looking for something to watch with the family over the holidays, I totally recommend Finding Neverland, I think the kids will enjoy the fantasy scenes that may engage their imaginations. The other parts of the story may not keep their attention (especially if they're younger), but it's worth a try. The movie won for Best Original Score, beating out Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Passion of The Christ.
12/7/13 The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, nominated Best Documentary, 2009
I bumped this movie up in my queue after I finished watching Hearts and Minds the 1974 winner of Best Documentary. Ellsberg, through his role at the RAND corporation, came to possess documents that showed the American people were being lied to about the Vietnam war. The documentary has the benefit of 30 years of hindsight and more information (Nixon's resignation, Watergate, etc.) and provides insight into the evolution of Ellsberg's personal philosophy, from supporting the war to being willing to go to jail for opposing the war and releasing what came to be known as The Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg's fight to release the documents is cited as one of the most important First Amendment cases in American history. As I was watching this, I couldn't help but draw my own comparisons between what Ellsberg did and how he (and the newspapers) published the information and what Edward Snowden did. There are recorded excerpts of President Nixon calling Ellsberg a traitor and pretty much calling for his head on a silver platter. Ellsberg worked with different papers around the country to get the documents published, and when those avenues were diverted, he also worked with Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska to make them public. It was all very cloak and dagger stuff. The most striking difference between Ellsberg and his friend Tony Russo were willing to go to jail for what they did, and Snowden fled the country. That is a big difference to me, but other than that, I found it hard to separate the two actions, even though I wanted to, it seems easier for me to reconcile and even cheer what Ellsberg did, but I cannot do the same for Snowden. The Most Dangerous Man in America lost the Academy Award to Inside Job which was about the financial crisis and the corruption of people in the financial services industry, which was an incredible documentary as well.
12/8/13 Wallander, Series 2, 2010
What can I say? I just finished The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell, a Kurt Wallander mystery and was in the mood to depress the hell out of myself some more, so I watched Series 2 of Wallander, which stars Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I don't know why I keep reading the books and watching the shows, perhaps it touches my inner Scandinavian, morose and somber. Like anything based on a book, the episodes vary greatly from the books; I understand why they make changes to the storylines, combine characters, change timeframes, but it annoyed me for The Fifth Woman episode. Mankell infuses the books with some subtle and not so subtle social commentary, changes in Sweden, immigration, the Europeanization that was beginning to come to Sweden (some of the books are set in the 1990s); Wallander is morose, serious, and surprisingly sensitive. If you want to see early Branagh, check him out in Henry V, it's almost 25 years since it was released, but he is superb.
Wonder Boys and Wonder Years
I should really stop trying to plan my weekends, especially my long weekends, mainly because they rarely turn out as I expect. This isn't always a bad thing, just an observation. Or maybe, this did turn out as I planned and I don't realize it. Out of the roughly 12 hours of movies I watched this weekend, only one has actually won an Oscar; one was given an honorary Oscar; one has not even officially been nominated; and the other collection has not been nominated at all. What, you may ask, was I thinking? Well, all will be clear shortly. I will start from the beginning.
11/28/13 Wonder Boys, Best Original Song, 2000
Wonder Boys stars Michael Douglas, Robert Downey, Jr., Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes and Rip Torn, and you have probably never heard of it. It takes place in a university setting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Michael Douglas plays Grady Tripp, a writing professor, who has had one very successful novel and not much else since. Robert Downey, Jr. is Terry Crabtree, Tripp's editor-in-waiting. Tobey Maguire is one of Douglas's students, James Leer, who has a very active and creative imagination, and regularly makes up stories about his existence (almost Gatsby-like, except Leer is downwardly-mobile). The movie covers a weekend at the university's creative writing event and follows Tripp as he deals with the apparent end of his marriage, his affair with the university's chancellor (Frances McDormand), his years long writer's block and James Leer's incredible creativity. There are a few running gags (the unfortunate passing of the dog, Poe; the circumstances surrounding Tripp's car) that are funny, and there are some pretty humorous scenes. It's a great opportunity to see Robert Downey, Jr. pre-Iron Man and he and Douglas have a few witty exchanges. But overall, I really didn't care. I do not know why, but there is something that really bugs me about Tobey Maguire. I cannot explain it, I just do not find him compelling to watch, or at least not long enough for a two-hour movie. Bob Dylan won the Oscar for "Things Have Changed", and it seemed to go well with the story. I've never been a huge Dylan fan, at least not of his singing, so I'll just leave it there.
11/29/13 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, honorary Academy Award, 1937, 34 on AFI 100
I am sure I have seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs before, but I don't think I have ever enjoyed it or appreciated it as much as I did this last time. This was Disney's first attempt at a full-length animated feature, it had not really been done by the other studios before either; the short-form was the norm. The animation is really good; the backgrounds are pretty static, but the moving characters or features are full of incredible detail, from water droplets to melting candles to the expressions on the animals.These were all hand-drawn. There is everything for a good story here (especially for kids): scary stuff (kids do like to be scared occasionally, especially when there is a 'happy' outcome), physical and verbal humor, dwarfs, fun songs and a happy ending. Visually the movie is colorful and easy to watch. The dwarfs are such a piece of the American consciousness and lexicon, we call people 'Dopey' or 'Sleepy' or my favorite, 'Grumpy' (I'm convinced that Thoren Oakenshield is Grumpy reincarnated). 'Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go', who doesn't sing that occasionally, in mock derision of having to work in the 'mines'? The DVD I got from the library had a special features disk and that included a 'making of' featurette that helps place Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in an historical context and animation context. We all probably watched this as kids, but I am definitely glad I watched it again as an adult. So, do yourself a favor, and watch it over the holidays, and whistle while you work.
11/29/13 Philomena 2013, not nominated (yet)
Oscar time is fast approaching and I am frightfully behind on current movies. It may be my good fortune that many potential nominees aren't released until this time of the year and I am able to 'catch up' as it were. There has been some buzz that Dame Judi Dench will be nominated for her role in Philomena, and that was reason enough to get dressed and leave the house on Friday to go sit in a theater. Philomena is based on a true story and stars Judi Dench as Philomena Lee, who as a young Irish woman who was forced to give up her young son for adoption in the 1950s. Around her what would be her son's 50th birthday, Philomena decides that she wants to look for him; her daughter, who up until this point did know she had an older brother fully supports her mother and gets journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) to help with the search. Stephen Frears (The Queen, The Grifters, Prick Up Your Ears and more) directed and Coogan co-wrote the screenplay. The circumstances that surround what happened to Philomena and girls like her have been very well-documented and I think it's very easy to think this is a cut and dried matter, but Philomena's own struggle to come to terms with what happened and move on and forgive shows that it is not that easy. Martin Sixsmith actually tries to advocate for her and gets very angry on her behalf. Dench and Coogan work so well together, and it really is the two of them on screen for the majority of the time (you could almost make this a two-person play which could be quite interesting). Dench breaks your heart and then lifts you up with her spirit. I do not want to give away too many plot points because the movie just came out in the US, and hopefully this is enough to get you to see it. It's a people film, no special effects, no big musical numbers, just a true story with likable characters.
11/29/13 Now You See Me 2013, not nominated
Now You See Me is a fun movie with a pretty decent cast (Midwest restraint keeps me from saying awesome) including Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jesse Eisenberg. It's described as a 'caper film' or a 'heist film'. Four magicians/illusionists/mentalists are brought together to pull off some crazy mind-blowing tricks/stunts/illusions around the country. There is some good action, dialogue, and a few twists and turns along the way. I only mention it here because it's entirely possible it will be nominated for an Oscar for sound editing/mixing or editing. It was a nice way to wind down the evening and while the story had a lot of things going on, it didn't tax my pretty low emotional reserves. This would actually be a fun movie to watch with friends while eating pizza (I was eating turkey, and honestly, I don't think I need to see another piece of turkey for several months) and trying to figure out what's the next move or how they did this or that.
11/30/13 - 12/1/13 7 Up series through 56 Up, 1964 - 2012, not nominated
If you are interested in documentaries, either you are already familiar with the Up Series or you should you put them on your list. The Up series began following 14 kids in 1963 from different parts of England and different backgrounds. It originally started as a one-off show, as a way to compare and contrast 14 seven year olds, their thoughts, aspirations, concerns.There were fourteen children who were interviewed, but only four girls (three from the East End), and one boy who was black; the others were white boys from London, Yorkshire and Liverpool. Director Michael Apted turned it into a seven year cyclical event, kind of like the return of the cicadas. I have seen a few of the films in the past, but the library had the box set of all the films and I was compelled to watch all eight films at once (okay, over a period of two days). I was originally interested in the films (I think the first one I saw was 35 Up) was because I thought it was really cool to have this look back over twenty-eight years with different people to see how they had grown, changed, and to see living history (trust me, I wasn't always as much fun as I am today). The benefit of watching all the films so close together is that you don't have to wait seven years and there is more continuity to the stories and lives of the individuals; to be fair, though, Apted intercuts interviews from the previous films, so if you only wanted to watch 56 Up you could and still have a good idea of what happened (I wouldn't, but you could). Watching the interviews with the kids when they are seven years old is very much like talking to any seven year old (or collection of them), some are very creative and full of imagination, some are serious. The children went to a variety of schools: boarding schools, public schools, state schools, etc. As Apted points out in the interview with Roger Ebert in one of the bonus features, the initial film was very intent on showing a liberal/leftist point of view (in the 1960s, England was still a class oriented society). The later films may have a subtext of politics or class struggles, but those come more from the comments of the participants and what is happening in their lives than any 'forced' commentary. In 7 Up the children are very free with their thoughts, they don't self-edit themselves; by 14 Up and 21 Up, the now teenagers and young adults are a little more self-conscious (you can see in their body language they would rather be anywhere else) and reluctant to participate; it seems they were only 'required' to participate in the first two films, everything else was 'voluntary' (I use quotes because you definitely get the feeling that many of them feel like they can't quit the series no matter how unpleasant it is). Because this covers such a long period of time, the participants experience life (the birth of children and grandchildren), death (many lose their parents over the course of filming), marriage, re-marriage, and some show more emotion and feeling than others. One thing that caught my attention around 21 Up was the reluctance that many of the participants had at being interviewed and how they felt that the public who were watching them didn't really understand them, but felt they knew the people. These films were started before the disgusting obsession we seem to have with reality television, and people going on television for the explicit reason to be famous and on the Internet. Several interviewees (Suzy, Nick, Charles and John among a few) mention that they don't like being recognized by the public and feel very uncomfortable. I think it would be very hard to start a project like this today because it would difficult to get such a 'pure' look at the interviewees; people today are so interested in their fifteen minutes of fame, I don't think it would resonate the same way. I hope they are able to carry on with the series; the next one would be 63 Up and if everything is on schedule it would be released in the UK around 2019.
11/28/13 Wonder Boys, Best Original Song, 2000
Wonder Boys stars Michael Douglas, Robert Downey, Jr., Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes and Rip Torn, and you have probably never heard of it. It takes place in a university setting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Michael Douglas plays Grady Tripp, a writing professor, who has had one very successful novel and not much else since. Robert Downey, Jr. is Terry Crabtree, Tripp's editor-in-waiting. Tobey Maguire is one of Douglas's students, James Leer, who has a very active and creative imagination, and regularly makes up stories about his existence (almost Gatsby-like, except Leer is downwardly-mobile). The movie covers a weekend at the university's creative writing event and follows Tripp as he deals with the apparent end of his marriage, his affair with the university's chancellor (Frances McDormand), his years long writer's block and James Leer's incredible creativity. There are a few running gags (the unfortunate passing of the dog, Poe; the circumstances surrounding Tripp's car) that are funny, and there are some pretty humorous scenes. It's a great opportunity to see Robert Downey, Jr. pre-Iron Man and he and Douglas have a few witty exchanges. But overall, I really didn't care. I do not know why, but there is something that really bugs me about Tobey Maguire. I cannot explain it, I just do not find him compelling to watch, or at least not long enough for a two-hour movie. Bob Dylan won the Oscar for "Things Have Changed", and it seemed to go well with the story. I've never been a huge Dylan fan, at least not of his singing, so I'll just leave it there.
11/29/13 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, honorary Academy Award, 1937, 34 on AFI 100
I am sure I have seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs before, but I don't think I have ever enjoyed it or appreciated it as much as I did this last time. This was Disney's first attempt at a full-length animated feature, it had not really been done by the other studios before either; the short-form was the norm. The animation is really good; the backgrounds are pretty static, but the moving characters or features are full of incredible detail, from water droplets to melting candles to the expressions on the animals.These were all hand-drawn. There is everything for a good story here (especially for kids): scary stuff (kids do like to be scared occasionally, especially when there is a 'happy' outcome), physical and verbal humor, dwarfs, fun songs and a happy ending. Visually the movie is colorful and easy to watch. The dwarfs are such a piece of the American consciousness and lexicon, we call people 'Dopey' or 'Sleepy' or my favorite, 'Grumpy' (I'm convinced that Thoren Oakenshield is Grumpy reincarnated). 'Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go', who doesn't sing that occasionally, in mock derision of having to work in the 'mines'? The DVD I got from the library had a special features disk and that included a 'making of' featurette that helps place Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in an historical context and animation context. We all probably watched this as kids, but I am definitely glad I watched it again as an adult. So, do yourself a favor, and watch it over the holidays, and whistle while you work.
11/29/13 Philomena 2013, not nominated (yet)
Oscar time is fast approaching and I am frightfully behind on current movies. It may be my good fortune that many potential nominees aren't released until this time of the year and I am able to 'catch up' as it were. There has been some buzz that Dame Judi Dench will be nominated for her role in Philomena, and that was reason enough to get dressed and leave the house on Friday to go sit in a theater. Philomena is based on a true story and stars Judi Dench as Philomena Lee, who as a young Irish woman who was forced to give up her young son for adoption in the 1950s. Around her what would be her son's 50th birthday, Philomena decides that she wants to look for him; her daughter, who up until this point did know she had an older brother fully supports her mother and gets journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) to help with the search. Stephen Frears (The Queen, The Grifters, Prick Up Your Ears and more) directed and Coogan co-wrote the screenplay. The circumstances that surround what happened to Philomena and girls like her have been very well-documented and I think it's very easy to think this is a cut and dried matter, but Philomena's own struggle to come to terms with what happened and move on and forgive shows that it is not that easy. Martin Sixsmith actually tries to advocate for her and gets very angry on her behalf. Dench and Coogan work so well together, and it really is the two of them on screen for the majority of the time (you could almost make this a two-person play which could be quite interesting). Dench breaks your heart and then lifts you up with her spirit. I do not want to give away too many plot points because the movie just came out in the US, and hopefully this is enough to get you to see it. It's a people film, no special effects, no big musical numbers, just a true story with likable characters.
11/29/13 Now You See Me 2013, not nominated
Now You See Me is a fun movie with a pretty decent cast (Midwest restraint keeps me from saying awesome) including Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jesse Eisenberg. It's described as a 'caper film' or a 'heist film'. Four magicians/illusionists/mentalists are brought together to pull off some crazy mind-blowing tricks/stunts/illusions around the country. There is some good action, dialogue, and a few twists and turns along the way. I only mention it here because it's entirely possible it will be nominated for an Oscar for sound editing/mixing or editing. It was a nice way to wind down the evening and while the story had a lot of things going on, it didn't tax my pretty low emotional reserves. This would actually be a fun movie to watch with friends while eating pizza (I was eating turkey, and honestly, I don't think I need to see another piece of turkey for several months) and trying to figure out what's the next move or how they did this or that.
11/30/13 - 12/1/13 7 Up series through 56 Up, 1964 - 2012, not nominated
If you are interested in documentaries, either you are already familiar with the Up Series or you should you put them on your list. The Up series began following 14 kids in 1963 from different parts of England and different backgrounds. It originally started as a one-off show, as a way to compare and contrast 14 seven year olds, their thoughts, aspirations, concerns.There were fourteen children who were interviewed, but only four girls (three from the East End), and one boy who was black; the others were white boys from London, Yorkshire and Liverpool. Director Michael Apted turned it into a seven year cyclical event, kind of like the return of the cicadas. I have seen a few of the films in the past, but the library had the box set of all the films and I was compelled to watch all eight films at once (okay, over a period of two days). I was originally interested in the films (I think the first one I saw was 35 Up) was because I thought it was really cool to have this look back over twenty-eight years with different people to see how they had grown, changed, and to see living history (trust me, I wasn't always as much fun as I am today). The benefit of watching all the films so close together is that you don't have to wait seven years and there is more continuity to the stories and lives of the individuals; to be fair, though, Apted intercuts interviews from the previous films, so if you only wanted to watch 56 Up you could and still have a good idea of what happened (I wouldn't, but you could). Watching the interviews with the kids when they are seven years old is very much like talking to any seven year old (or collection of them), some are very creative and full of imagination, some are serious. The children went to a variety of schools: boarding schools, public schools, state schools, etc. As Apted points out in the interview with Roger Ebert in one of the bonus features, the initial film was very intent on showing a liberal/leftist point of view (in the 1960s, England was still a class oriented society). The later films may have a subtext of politics or class struggles, but those come more from the comments of the participants and what is happening in their lives than any 'forced' commentary. In 7 Up the children are very free with their thoughts, they don't self-edit themselves; by 14 Up and 21 Up, the now teenagers and young adults are a little more self-conscious (you can see in their body language they would rather be anywhere else) and reluctant to participate; it seems they were only 'required' to participate in the first two films, everything else was 'voluntary' (I use quotes because you definitely get the feeling that many of them feel like they can't quit the series no matter how unpleasant it is). Because this covers such a long period of time, the participants experience life (the birth of children and grandchildren), death (many lose their parents over the course of filming), marriage, re-marriage, and some show more emotion and feeling than others. One thing that caught my attention around 21 Up was the reluctance that many of the participants had at being interviewed and how they felt that the public who were watching them didn't really understand them, but felt they knew the people. These films were started before the disgusting obsession we seem to have with reality television, and people going on television for the explicit reason to be famous and on the Internet. Several interviewees (Suzy, Nick, Charles and John among a few) mention that they don't like being recognized by the public and feel very uncomfortable. I think it would be very hard to start a project like this today because it would difficult to get such a 'pure' look at the interviewees; people today are so interested in their fifteen minutes of fame, I don't think it would resonate the same way. I hope they are able to carry on with the series; the next one would be 63 Up and if everything is on schedule it would be released in the UK around 2019.
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Whiling away the time while staying at home
There is no denying that these are very strange and tumultuous we're living in. Obviously I haven't been blogging too much lately, i...
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There is no denying that these are very strange and tumultuous we're living in. Obviously I haven't been blogging too much lately, i... -
12/26/19 The Two Popes, nominated Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2019 I cannot speak to the accuracy of The ...
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It seems from February until Thanksgiving cinema is a vast wasteland, filled with throwaway movies. I've learned over the eight years of...