I don't really have to recap the plot of The Dark Knight, do I? I'll just remind you this the movie with Heath Ledger in his posthumous-Oscar winning performance as The Joker. The Joker runs roughshod over Batman (Christian Bale), the various mobs/gangs in Gotham City and the police. Michael Caine reprises his role as butler, valet, confidante Alfred; and Morgan Freeman is the resourceful Mr. Fox, the inventor of Batman's suit and other gadgets. I don't have much of a synopsis since I think most of humanity has seen the movie. I liked it when it came out, and I still like it. This really is Heath Ledger's movie; I was looking back at the other nominees for Best Supporting Actor, and in my mind, the only other person close to winning was Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt; I did see Milk with Josh Brolin as Dan White, and I think I watched Revolutionary Road with Michael Shannon as John Givings, Jr., but I'm not 100% sure, but in any event, I don't think there was too much question that it was going to Ledger.
5/14/17 Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2, not yet nominated, 2017
If you are one of the two or three thousand people in the universe who haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2, what are you waiting for? I admit, I did wait a week to avoid the oppressive crowds, but I did see it, in 3D, no less. It is what I think superhero movies should be: action-packed, great effects, funny in the face of danger, and a singable 1970s/80s soundtrack (maybe they should make a sing-along version of this like they did for Moana. Just a thought. When I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 1, my expectations were below sea level; I just went because my brother wanted to see a movie, and it turns out we loved it. My expectations for volume 2 were a lot higher, and I was not let down at all. Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, leader of the ragtag defenders of the galaxy that include Gamora (Zoe Saldana); Rocket, the short, but feisty and technically adept raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper); Drax the Destroyer (David Bautista) who is the brawn in the group, but he can also be quite philosophical; and Baby Groot (who was voiced by Vin Diesel, which I couldn't tell, and I did have to laugh at the deep thoughts that went into the different ways he said "I am Groot" as if it was Hamlet). The Guardians start the film on a job, defending batteries that the Sovereigns (a gold-tinged people with aspirations of perfections, or a belief that they are pretty perfect) need to survive; once they do that, in exchange they get Nebula (Karen Gill), Gamora's sister, to turn in for a bounty. The problems start when Rocket steals several of the batteries and incurs the wrath of the Sovereigns. Yondu (the blue guy who was Quill's mentor for a while) and his crew are in trouble with their community of Ravagers, led by Stakar Ogord (played by Sylvester Stallone), and they take the Sovereigns' offer to capture Quill and the others. This leads to a lot of space chases, and hops or jumps through different galaxies. Their ship crashes and Rocket stays behind with Baby Groot (and Nebula) to fix it, while Quill, Gamora and Drax go off with Ego and Mantis who have appeared to rescue them. Ego (Kurt Russell who still has the best hair in movies) takes them back to his planet and well, to tell you any more if you haven't seen the film, might spoil it. I will leave it here. I did love Baby Groot; he was so cute; but I liked all of the characters, really. I am pretty sure there will be nominations for production design, costume and makeup, sound editing, and I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. The 3D was nice, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the movie without it.
5/21/17 Tanna, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2016
If you are one of the two or three thousand people in the universe who haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2, what are you waiting for? I admit, I did wait a week to avoid the oppressive crowds, but I did see it, in 3D, no less. It is what I think superhero movies should be: action-packed, great effects, funny in the face of danger, and a singable 1970s/80s soundtrack (maybe they should make a sing-along version of this like they did for Moana. Just a thought. When I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 1, my expectations were below sea level; I just went because my brother wanted to see a movie, and it turns out we loved it. My expectations for volume 2 were a lot higher, and I was not let down at all. Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, leader of the ragtag defenders of the galaxy that include Gamora (Zoe Saldana); Rocket, the short, but feisty and technically adept raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper); Drax the Destroyer (David Bautista) who is the brawn in the group, but he can also be quite philosophical; and Baby Groot (who was voiced by Vin Diesel, which I couldn't tell, and I did have to laugh at the deep thoughts that went into the different ways he said "I am Groot" as if it was Hamlet). The Guardians start the film on a job, defending batteries that the Sovereigns (a gold-tinged people with aspirations of perfections, or a belief that they are pretty perfect) need to survive; once they do that, in exchange they get Nebula (Karen Gill), Gamora's sister, to turn in for a bounty. The problems start when Rocket steals several of the batteries and incurs the wrath of the Sovereigns. Yondu (the blue guy who was Quill's mentor for a while) and his crew are in trouble with their community of Ravagers, led by Stakar Ogord (played by Sylvester Stallone), and they take the Sovereigns' offer to capture Quill and the others. This leads to a lot of space chases, and hops or jumps through different galaxies. Their ship crashes and Rocket stays behind with Baby Groot (and Nebula) to fix it, while Quill, Gamora and Drax go off with Ego and Mantis who have appeared to rescue them. Ego (Kurt Russell who still has the best hair in movies) takes them back to his planet and well, to tell you any more if you haven't seen the film, might spoil it. I will leave it here. I did love Baby Groot; he was so cute; but I liked all of the characters, really. I am pretty sure there will be nominations for production design, costume and makeup, sound editing, and I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. The 3D was nice, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the movie without it.
5/21/17 Tanna, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2016
Oh my gosh. I loved this movie. Loved it and want to tell you to get it from Netflix or the library and enjoy it because I don't think there are very many movies quite like it. The film is an Australian production, but was filmed in Nauvhal and Nafe, languages spoken on the island of Tanna, part of Vanuatu. It was also acted by members of the tribes, and (according to the special features) much of the dialog was improvised by the actors based on what would have really happened in a particular situation. The movie was also based on a true story that happened back in 1987 when two young lovers (cue the similarities to Romeo and Juliet) go against their tribal leaders' plan to marry Wawa (a young girl, granddaughter of the tribal Shaman) to a member of a rival tribe, even though the marriage will calm the tense relations between the Yakel people and the Imedin (I hope I'm remembering that right) people. Wawa and Dain (grandson of the chief) run away, and when faced with the hopelessness of their situation, they take their own lives. This senseless loss of life brings the tribes together to re-examine their stance against 'love marriage', and the Yakel chief makes a plea to all to consider the young people and the future of the tribes and their ways. The people featured in the film still live a very basic lifestyle, wearing clothes they make from the vegetation around them, no electricity (when the filmmakers world-premiered the movie here, it was the first time they had ever seen a movie), still honoring the customs of their ancestors. Just on the other side of the island, it's a different world. All of the 'actors' were spectacular, but I was drawn to Wawa's little sister, Selin, who had an infectious personality; she was charming, but vexatious, full of life, and pretty fearless for such a young girl (maybe 8 or 9). I was captivated every time she was on screen. The scenery was breathtaking, there were shots of a volcano, and knowing that it was all natural, no CGI here, made it more spectacular. The music included a lot of vocalizations by Lisa Gerrard, and they fit they mood perfectly. Honestly, I know a lot of people may not even have this film on their radar, and I wouldn't have if it had not been nominated for an Oscar, but I am so glad I did. I found myself just loving this movie for so many different reasons, and eager to write about it (which has not happened in several weeks). There is nudity, but it's not gratuitous, it's just how it is there; I only mention it in case that may be an issue for you. This year's Oscar nominations had a fair number of 'surprises' for me (I only have four movies left to see), and this is one of them.
