Even though I was pretty sure Experimenter would not get nominated for an Oscar but I thought I had some spare time and it was available from the library. I was interested in it because it was about the experiments that Dr. Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) conducted in the 1960s and 1970s about crowd mentality, most famously the experiment where one member of the experiment would deliver electric shocks in increasing volts to the other member of the experiment. Milgram was influenced by the Nazis and how many people said they were just doing what they were told. Participants in the experiment were encouraged, cajoled, instructed to increase the voltage even when the recipient appeared to be screaming in pain. The movie also shows some of Milgram's other experiments. Wynona Ryder is Milgram's wife, Sasha. The movie was okay, there was nothing groundbreaking and the performances were fine. If you are interested in psychological experiments, this is a good movie to check out.
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| Soren Kirkegaard, existenialist, Copenhagen, Denmark |
1/16/16 The Danish Girl, nominated for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, 2015
The Danish Girl is based on the of Lili Erbe (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander). Lili Erbe was previously known as Einar Wegener before Einar began her transition to a female. Lili and Gerda were married painters in Denmark in the early 20th century. Einar poses for Gerda wearing women's clothing and discovers that he enjoys them and feels more comfortable. It starts out as fun and somewhat exciting for both of them as Einar/Lili attends events and fools most people. It soon becomes clear to Einar that something has been 'off' his whole life and only as Lili does he feel normal. Einar begins his transition to Lili and Gerda is remarkably sympathetic, if not a little confused and hurt as Lili pulls away from her. Einar seeks professional help in Copenhagen, but at that time, the homosexual and transgender communities were viewed as sick and degenerate, and Einar was subjected to painful radiation treatments. Einar was the more successful painter, but as Lili she lost her desire to paint, and Gerda began painting portraits of Lili and she became more popular. So popular that she went to Paris for her own showings. Einar 'put' Lili away, but was very melancholy and started to dress as her again and reconnected with an old friend, Hans, who was an art dealer. Eventually, Lili and Gerda went to see a sexologist who was interested in helping Lili transition to being a woman physically. Gerda continued her support of Lili even as they stopped being husband and wife. Eddie Redmayne is subtle and and intense in portraying Lili's internal struggle. Alicia Vikander matches his emotion as she tries to make Gerda strong and understanding and an advocate for her husband and best friend's interests. They are a beautiful couple and the movie is just as beautiful and gorgeous. The costumes and sets were stunning; Copenhagen is one of my most favorite cities in the world, especially around Nyhavn. Redmayne is up for Best Actor, which he won last year for his role as Stephen Hawking; and Vikander is nominated as Best Supporting Actress and based on the nominated actresses I have seen this year, I think she certainly deserves it. I don't understand why she wasn't nominated for Best Actress because she is equal to Redmayne's character in my opinion. The movie is tender and sensitive and a not your standard love story (but it is most definitely a love story).
1/18/16 Ex Machina, nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, 2015
I don't really how to review Ex Machina. It was a movie I didn't really want to see (generally not a fan of science fiction), and as it turned out, I didn't really enjoy the movie. It was okay. Alicia Vikander (who may be one of my new favorite actresses) is Ava, the artificial intelligence humanoid robot who is being tested by Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) a computer programmer on behalf of his employer, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), who is a an eccentric billionaire. Nathan has been brought in to see how close to human Ava is, and in the process he develops an emotional attachment to Ava. Nathan is unpredictable, like a buddy one minute, and a mad scientist the next. Isaac is an actor who can transform himself from a struggling folk musician (Inside Llewyn Davis) to an organized crime boss (A Most Violent Year), and if you didn't know any of those characters was him, you might not know it. He and Vikander are very good, I kind of thought Gleeson was the weakest link, and since the chain only really has three links, I think that impacted my liking of the movie (or not liking it). The story reminded me of a short story that Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein might have written, and something my dad would have read for sure, and I think I would have liked it more as a short film than a feature film. The visual effects are good, I don't think they are superlative, and this is a category that has Star Wars, The Revenant, The Martian and Mad Max. It was good, and the ending was the best part, I think. If you are a sci-fi fan, you will probably like this a lot more than I did.
1/20/16 When Marnie Was There, nominated for Best Animated Feature, 2015
Um, no, no, no. The film has already won one film award this year, the Chicago International Children's Film Festival Best Animated Film of the Year and all I can say is, they probably didn't ask any kids. There is no way I can see most children, including the one I used to be, sitting through this. Maybe if the ideas were condensed into 40 minutes, but not 104. I stopped caring. Actually, that's not true. I never cared. That's not to say there were not some important topics, especially related to children, but I would bet they would be bored before these were made apparent. The topics the film touches on include: juvenile diabetes and how a child copes with being 'different', being an orphan/foster child, feelings of loneliness. I mean, these are pretty important, but blah blah blah. It's a beautifully drawn/animated film, with a lovely song at the end. You'd be better off watching Inside/Out. That's all. Next film please.
1/21/16 Cinderella, nominated for Best Costume Design, 2015
Whew. Nice recovery with Cinderella. I'm not going to recount the story of Cinderella, the story is pretty much the same as it always is, the difference here is it stars Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother, Helena Bonham-Carter as the narrator and fairy godmother, Derek Jacobi as the elderly king and Lily James (Downton Abbey) as a beautiful and sweet Cinderella, all directed by Kenneth Branagh. When this was released in the theater, I was kind of ho hum about it, but after watching the mind-numbing When Marnie Was There the night before, I was hopeful for redemption. I was not disappointed. The movie is a beautiful re-telling of a familiar tale, with gorgeous scenery, fun effects (although not too much), an evil performance by Blanchett but not too over the top and Bonham-Carter is a scene stealer in her few minutes of actually being on screen, costumes worthy of the Oscar nomination and Lily James holds her own as Cinderella. Seriously, I was shocked at how much I really enjoyed the movie. If you are looking for a movie for the kids, I totally recommend this film.
1/22/16 Mad Max: Fury Road, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, 2015
I'm not going to give a detailed synopsis of Mad Max because at the heart of it, it's really not that deep (in my opinion) despite the weight that some people give it. Mad Max is set in a post-apocalyptic world, mostly desert with water and gasoline are king. Charlize Theron is virtually unrecognizable as Imperator Furiosa, a woman hardened by the challenging and dire conditions under which she lives. Tom Hardy is the new Mad Max and he's a loner but gets captured by the War Boys who fight on behalf of Immortan Joe who is quite ghastly. Furiosa tries to help Joe's five wives escape and through a series of circumstances, Max joins them. Mad Max is a great action movie; the stunts and effects are really incredible; some of them look like Cirque du Soleil on acid (and I mean that in a good way). I really couldn't keep track of which wife was which and which bad guy was which, and I finally decided I didn't care, I just wanted to enjoy the movie. The scenery/sets were stunning, not in the same sensitive way that they were in The Danish Girl or Carol, but in a big, bombastic in your face way. It's a movie I would watch again just to see the effects and stunts again. If you're looking for a movie for the blizzard this weekend or for a Friday night where you just want to watch a movie and have a visceral experience, this is a good one (maybe not for the kids). I would be surprised if this takes Best Picture or Best Director, but I would expect it to get a couple of the technical awards.
