Annual trip to see the Shorts - 2020

For the past four or five years my friend and I have gone to one of the theaters in Uptown (Lagoon or Uptown) to watch the Animated and Live Action Shorts. There's usually a lunch involved, some people watching and a few shorts that really stay with us. As soon as the nominations are out, we start planning our day. Here are some of my thoughts.

2/8/2020 Animated Shorts

Oh, where to begin? (slight spoiler alert)  Hair Love (USA) was one of my favorites of the nominated shorts; a little African-American girl is trying to do her hair for a special occasion, but we don't know what it is yet, and she is watching videos online for help. Her father is overwhelmed by the task and almost gives up, until he hears the end of the video and recognizes it as his wife. As he follows his wife's online guidance, the hair is a success. There's more, but you will have to see it for yourself. It's available online or currently in theaters. I liked this for a lot of reasons: it was a sweet story between and father and daughter; the animation had the feel of the cartoons I grew up with (there very well could have been computers involved, but it didn't feel like that); African-American hairstyles have been in the news a lot lately, and not in any good way, but often about punitive actions being taken against people, mostly kids/teenagers, for their hair. This is a positive story on so many levels; and even though it is about an African-American family, the story is universal: fathers and daughters, learning who you are and family. This is my choice to win.

Dcera (Daughter) (Czech Republic) had an interesting, yet creepy, animation style; kind of like papier mache. It's told in a flashback style, and like many of the animated shorts, there is no discernible dialog, so you have to pay attention to the nuances and little moments to figure out what is going on. It's another father-daughter short, and at the heart of it is about not hanging on to anger and resentments because by the time you realize it, it could be too late (full disclosure: I totally know about hanging on to resentments, bitter party of one). It's a sweet story, but really, the animation was a little distracting.
Memorable (France) is about a painter who has trouble remembering what certain objects are or what they do, and seems to be forgetting who is wife is. He begins making little drawings of objects and sticking them on the objects to remind him what they are. Even though he is losing his memory, he shares a very tender moment with his wife (but he doesn't realize it's his wife), telling this woman how much he love his wife. This theme was present in a couple of shorts last year (if I recall correctly), and as dementia and Alzheimer's continues to affect and impact more people, I think we'll see more shorts on the topic. I liked the film and I thought the animation was beautiful.

Sister (USA/China) I didn't really like this short. I didn't care for the animation style, and while I understand the inspiration behind the story (China's One Child Policy), it didn't move me.

Kitbull (USA) was cute and uplifting. It's about a stray kitten who meets a pit bull, they test each other and begin playing (from a distance). The owner of the pit bull is abusive and as the kitten and pit bull become friends, they escape over the fence.

The set also includes shorts that qualified to be nominated. We thought some of these were actually better or as good as the nominated films: Maestro is really short, but clever and fun to watch. The animals of the forest come together to perform (I think it was Bellini???). It was created by Disney animation interns. Henrietta Bulkowski is about a young woman who has a disfigured spine, which makes it impossible for her to stand up straight, and also disqualifies her from going to flight school, her dream. She doesn't take no for an answer and pursues her dream. What happens at the end shows us not to give up our dreams, but also to look inward for our potential and believe in ourselves. The Bird & The Whale used painted glass to create the animation, which creates such a beautiful visual the full length animation Loving Vincent also used this technique). A young whale who can't quite sing the way the adults in the pod can comes upon a caged bird who has survived a shipwreck. They bond and as they fight to stay alive during a horrible storm, the spirit of the bird flies into the whale. Hors piste (which means back country skiing) got the audience to laugh out loud. It was really funny with no deep meaning as far as I could tell. Two rescuers land their helicopter on the top of a mountain, and as they prepare to load their patient, terrible, but funny, things happen. It's ridiculous and impossible and fun. How was this not nominated?

Lunch time at Stella's Fish Cafe. I'm very lucky I did not fall into a food coma. The Bailey's and coffee could have gone horribly wrong.

The Live Action Shorts covered a variety of topics and prompted a variety of feelings. A Sister (Belgium) was probably my favorite; it was suspenseful and intense and had two main characters (both women), the emergency services operator and the female caller. The way the film was edited adds to the tension, with the viewer only seeing and hearing the caller's side, then it switches so we see and hear from the operator's viewpoint, and then it cuts together. I think I held my breath for the last ten minutes. It was so good. Brotherhood (Canada/Tunisia/Qatar/Sweden) provided a different point of view on ISIS and the war in Syria by taking it out of Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan, for that matter, and bringing it to Tunisia in Northern Africa and showing how a family was affected by the war. Mohamed and his family live in the countryside raising sheep and goats. We meet him and two of his sons (who are actually brothers) as they are bringing back the flocks while their mother is at home. When they arrive home, his eldest son, Malek, has returned from fighting with ISIS in Syria and brought a young bride with him. There is clear distance and hurt between Malek and Mohamed because Mohamed does not agree with the strict Islam that ISIS follows and forces on others. The resentment and anger that Mohamed feels manifests itself in a way that once done, cannot be undone. I liked it because of the different story it told with characters I have not encountered yet. I almost felt like I was watching a documentary; I don't know if the actors were actors before or this was their first film, but they were very believable. The Neighbors' Window (USA) (spoiler alert) covered a gamut of emotions, initially making the audience laugh at the protagonists' actions and reactions to what was happening in the apartment across the street. The neighbors have no blinds or curtains on their windows or they choose not to use them which allows Alli and Jacob to watch them having sex. This turns into a preoccupation that neither Alli nor Jacob want to fully admit; they are in part turned on but also regretful that their marriage isn't like that anymore. The voyeurism continues for several months when they notice that the husband from across the way doesn't look very well, and then one night, Alli is looking over and sees the husband being taken away by undertakers. Her curiosity gets the better of her and walks over to the other apartment and meets the wife. As it turns out, they could see into Alli and Jacob's apartment (it wasn't one way glass and yet Alli seemed shocked) and loved how silly the kids were or how one or the other parent would feed the baby. It makes you think about being jealous, but not really having the whole story. I liked it, but I don't think it's the winner. Apparently the film was based true events. Saria (USA) (spoiler alert) made me feel angry and sad and helpless. Saria is also based on a true story about a deadly fire at a home in Guatemala for orphaned and troubled kids in 2017. Saria is the main character, she has dreams of escaping with her sister Ximena to the United States. She has an independent streak which gets her into trouble with one of the 'teachers'. Many of the girls are raped and beaten by guards. Eventually the girls stage a protest as the guards menacingly bang their shields; the boys in the other part of the home jump in and give the girls a chance to escape. Unfortunately this doesn't have a happy ending, in fact, it's quite gruesome. Everyone is eventually caught and forced back to Virgen de la Asuncion Safe Home. The girls were locked up and weren't allowed out for any reason, including to use the bathroom. Some of the girls thought if they started a fire, the guard would have to open the door. That didn't happen and 41 girls died. According to some online reading I did, no legitimate investigations or punishments or changes have been made. The young actors were from another children's home and the lead actress who played Saria, Estefania Tellez, was terrific. I think this will probably win the Oscar. Lastly, Nefta Football Club (France/Tunisia) was a great way to end the collection (unlike last year when it ended with Skin, which won, but was awful and like a punch to the face). There are two story lines happening, one involves two men who are looking for their donkey who seems to have run off; the other involves two brothers, Abdullah and Mohammed, who are trying to get home when they stop along the road and discover a donkey with headphones and some white powder. The eldest realizes what the powder is, but he tells his little brother that it's laundry detergent. It turns out the donkey was trained to stay near its home/owners by listening to Adele, but one of the guys mistakenly puts on Hadele, which was a little rockier than Adele and drove the donkey away. I won't tell you what happens to the white powder, but it was pretty awesome.

Can you say depressing and disappointing? Live and animated shorts marathon.

It was our annual trek to see the Oscar-nominated Live Action and Animated Shorts in Uptown. You may have inferred from the title of this entry that it was a less than uplifting afternoon. You would be correct. The best part of the day was lunch at Stella's and the jalapeno cornbread. Mmmm.

2/9/19 Nominated animated shorts 2018

Bao - Pixar makes its annual stop on the list of nominees, and it's not bad; sometimes I find them cheesy, corny, sicky sweet. This was sweet, but also clever. An unnamed Chinese-Canadian mother is making dumplings for her and her husband, and as she is ready to eat the last one, it sprouts eyes and legs and develops human characteristics. He even brings home a girlfriend and wants to leave home. With his last act of rebelliousness, mother pops him in her mouth and eats him. I thought it was hilarious and awesome and quirky, but sadly it was just a metaphor for her grown up son who has left home. Sigh. I should have known.

Late Afternoon is an Irish entry and the animation style reminded me a little of The Book of Kells, flowy and like chalk drawings. It's about an elderly woman who is clearly dealing with ailments of age, although it becomes clear that it's a form of dementia. Someone is helping her clean and giving her tea and helping to pack. As the day goes on, the woman recalls moments from her youth and when her daughter was young. The woman helping her is her daughter. It was beautifully drawn/animated and was a gentle tribute to all of our parents (okay, to the cynics out there, maybe not all of our parents).

Animal Behaviour - Oh, Canada! I can always count on at least one Canadian entry in this category, and it's usually pretty good. This made me laugh out loud more than once (and seriously, considering how the rest of the day went, that means a lot). It's about a therapy group session featuring animals addressing some of their personal issues and hang ups. Dr. Clement, a dog, facilitates the session with Lorraine the leech, Cheryl the mantis, Todd the pig, Jeffrey the bird and Linda the cat; they all have their own baggage, but nothing compares to Victor the gorilla's anger management issues. Maybe it seems simplistic, but it was fun to watch human hang ups portrayed by animals and then made fun of by Victor. It was clever, and reminded me, content-wise, of Ardman Studio's Creature Comforts, one of my all time favorites. I would love it if this won, but something tells me it won't.

One Small Step is a Chinese-American production that features Luna, a young girl who has aspirations of space exploration. She is being raised by her father or grandfather who is also a shoemaker. He supports her dreams by making or adapting shoes with space symbolism. As so often happens with teenagers (I speak from experience), the gestures you show them when they are small often go unappreciated as they get older, and put away childish things. Luna applies to an astronaut type school and at first is rejected, and moves on from that dream until she is faced with the loss of her father-figure and left with memories. Thus inspired, she rededicates herself to her dreams and finds her success. I love the idea of girl power, especially in the sciences, so I don't want to pooh-pooh that notion, but it seemed a pretty obvious conclusion.

Weekends follows a young boy as he shares his time between his divorced parents; his mother, who is sometimes seen studying an accounting book; his father who seems to be a collector or dealer in antiques. The boy has a lot of fun at his dad's as they rock out in the car, watch fun movies, play with his dad's collection of Japanese swords and armor. At home with his mom, there's a new person in the mix in the form of a boyfriend, who doesn't seem thrilled to have a kid around the house. There's no dialog, but I think the story has universal appeal to adults who have lived through that experience (as adults or kids) and kids who are going through it now. The animation style was similar to Late Afternoon in that it was flowy and almost dreamlike. It wasn't my favorite, but I wouldn't be upset if it won.

Now, on to the live action shorts. Feel free to skip the reviews or the shorts themselves; we'll both be fine, and only one of us will still be scarred from the experience. I never thought I would tell people to stay away from the shorts, but this year, if you don't stay away, then be warned: they are intense.

Madre (Mother) is a Spanish entry; it opens with a woman and her mother coming into the daughter's apartment and being quizzed by her mother. The daughter is frustrated and annoyed at her mother's questions as she seems to be getting ready for a night out with friends, when her phone rings. It's her little boy, calling from somewhere in Spain or France, he's not quite sure. He is supposed to be with his father at the beach, but nobody is sure which beach, and the father is nowhere to be found. You can feel the tension and panic as the mom is trying to help her son keep calm as his cell phone battery is dying. The audience is left with a sense of dread and uncertainty. On its own, I liked the suspense, but among the collection of films, it just added to the sense of dread.

Fauve is a French Canadian film starring two boys, Benjamin and Tyler, out on their own, teasing and testing each other, you know, throwing rocks at each other, pushing one another, and like some adults I know would say, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. They come across what seems like sand, but turns out to be more treacherous and lethal. I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will say after reading some comments from the writer/director, it just felt self-indulgent, and I didn't think end was 'peaceful'. It's available online if you're so inclined to look for it.

Marguerite is another Canadian entry, and I have to say it was by far my favorite and the most uplifting film of the whole afternoon. I think they put it in the middle to give us all a break from the heaviness, but I wish they would have ended the collection with this so we could have all benefitted from its restorative power. Marguerite is an elderly lady who receives regular home visits from a nurse, Rachel. Initially there isn't a lot of dialog, just film of the daily routine: bath, collecting vital signs, etc. Rachel receives a phone call, and based on the over heard conversation, Marguerite asks if it was Rachel's boyfriend. In fact, it was Rachel's girlfriend, which she tells Marguerite. Marguerite registers some surprise, but you can see her processing. Later, Marguerite goes through an old scrapbook, looking at pictures of her and friends from fifty years ago, including a particularly dear friend. It's clear (or it was to me) that Marguerite has feeling of sadness and loss, which she later tells Rachel. It was so different back then. But don't be sad, because what happens next is just beautiful and the best of humanity. Rachel kisses Marguerite and then climbs onto the other side of the bed and embraces her. It's not sexual, it's not gross or inappropriate, it's one human being showing kindness and love to another human being. I hope it wins. 

 

Detainment is based on the true story of the kidnapping and brutal murder of James Bulger, a three year old from Liverpool, by two ten year olds, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, in 1993. The film used police reports and interrogation tapes dialog and background, but it wasn't a documentary. The two young actors were very good, very compelling and believable. I may have been biased against the movie, but I had read prior to seeing the film that James Bulger's mother was circulating a petition to have the Academy remove the movie from consideration because writer/director, Vincent Lambe, didn't consult her or her former husband about creating the film, or inform them about the film at all, and even consider them at all. I read a response from him where he apologized (it hadn't occurred to him to reach out to them) and he felt the movie should be made to look at young offenders and how they are treated (and I may have imposed my own thoughts here, but I thought he wanted to look at how young people turn into murders or how society treats them if they are turned into society). Basically, I was looking for something good to come out of this. I have to say that I didn't find one redeeming quality in this movie at all (do you sense a theme?). We get zero insight into Jon and Robert's home life, except that their parents seem like caring and moral people (if not the case, it wasn't evident in the film). The movie ends with title cards saying they were the youngest ever convicted. This isn't a question of if they did it, but why, and can it be predicted or prevented. I feel like the movie was made on false pretenses.

Skin - Let me start this by saying that five people to the left of me in the theatre walked out about midway through the movie, and the woman directly in front of us was sobbing so hard her body was heaving. Also, somewhere along the way, a friend of mine thought the movie was about tattoo removal, the removal of Nazi tattoos. Um, NO. It definitely involves Nazi tattoos (hint: most things do not end well with people wearing Nazi skin art). The movie could also be called "Reap what you sow". Simply, a family of neo-Nazis goes out for a day of target shooting, and some of them attack a black man, with the only provocation being the guy was smiling at the young, white son of one of them. It goes downhill pretty quickly as the black man is jumped and beaten nearly to death. At first I thought it would end there (which would have been incomplete, but one could hope), but there is revenge to be gotten, or is it retribution? I don't want to spoil it in case you actually want to see it, but I will say a couple of things: I think it does show how hate begets hate, and if you raise your child to be a racist, you can't be surprised when your teachings come to fruition; I might even have 'appreciated' the movie, but the fact that it is set in the current day, and is not fiction in a lot of ways, I guess I didn't need that much reality.

Moulin Rouge times two and Bette Davis in Dark Victory

11/10/18 Dark Victory, 1939
I've been reading a lot of biographies lately of actors, and recently I finished Ed Sikov's book Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis, and became interested in seeing Dark Victory. Davis was nominated Best Actress for her role as Judith Traherne, but lost to Vivien Leigh in a small film called Gone with the Wind. Judith is a spirited socialite who begins to get mysterious headaches. The headaches are diagnosed as something much more serious by Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent). Despite surgery, Judith is getting worse, but Dr. Steele, who later becomes Judith's husband, and her best friend Ann (Geraldine Fitzgerald) decide to keep the news from Judith. Bette Davis had a big personality and so does Judith Traherne who is determined to live as full a life as she can, until she can't any longer. I read about the movie in the biography, so I wasn't surprised by the ending, but I paid a lot of attention, and was really moved by Davis's performance. Even when Davis is over the top, it's hard not to watch, you want to see what she'll do or say. Dark Victory was very good, Davis was at the top of her game, Humphrey Bogart, as Michael O'Leary, has a terrible Irish accent. I wouldn't recommend this as a holiday film, it's a bit of a downer, but perhaps something for the winter nights ahead. (I can't even say I can cross this off a list :( ).

12/1/18 Moulin Rouge, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, 1952

Jose Ferrer stars as Henri de Toulouse-Latrec in this gorgeous film written and directed by John Huston. The opening fifteen minutes of Moulin Rouge are some of the most colorful I've seen. Eye popping. Moulin Rouge is set in 1890s  and early 1900s Paris and centers on Toulouse-Latrec and his melancholy life of one-sided love affairs with prostitutes, a disappointed father and the life long affects of a childhood accident that stunted his growth. Ferrer does double duty as Latrec and his father, and in the days before CGI, Ferrer came up with some unique ways to portray the short painter. Latrec painted scenes of Paris and Parisian life in the cafes and nightclubs and Huston brings them to life. If you're looking for an art history lesson on the Post-Impressionists told through cinema, double this up with Lust for Life about Vincent Van Gogh (Kirk Douglas).


12/1/18 Moulin Rouge!, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, 2001

I didn't realize until I just typed it out that both Moulin Rouge films were nominated for many Oscars, but only won two, and they won the same two awards. That might be a coincidence, but it was no coincidence that I watched (re-watched) both movies on the same day; they were actually packaged together from the library. Serendipity. There is no doubt that the Baz Luhrman-directed film is full of bombastic color and extraordinary costumes and sets, or that I did, in spite of myself, enjoy the soundtrack, but other than that, meh. I understand I am probably in the minority, but I really didn't like the film as a whole, in fact, I vaguely recall falling asleep the first time I watched it. Style above substance works for me in short bursts, but two hours was too much (it felt a lot longer). This version of Moulin Rouge does have a place for Toulouse-Latrec (this time played by John Leguizamo), but focuses on struggling writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor) and his love affair with the lovely, but doomed, Satine (Nicole Kidman), and the motley crew that surround them. I am so disinterested, which is probably why it took two weeks to write this crap of a review. I'll do better.

Down to the wire - my last four films Mudbound, Phantom Thread, The Breadwinner, The Florida Project

It's the day of the Oscars, and I'm done. I couldn't watch another movie if my life depended on it. Having said that, there are only seven movies I have not seen. I'm impressed.
2/25/18 Mudbound, Nominated Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, 2017

I was pleasantly surprised by Mudbound; that's not to say I had any preconceived ideas or expectations, I knew next to nothing about it, except I heard that Mary J. Blige was in it. This is an ensemble movie, I mean, if you take one of the characters away, it could totally change at least two storylines. Mudbound is based on the novel by Hillary Jordan (which I have not read), so I don't know how faithful it is, but it is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, so that should mean something. I like that the stories are told from different perspectives, visually and narration by different characters. The movie is set in 1940s Mississippi, featuring a black family, the Jacksons, who have been working the land as tenant farmers, and a white family, the McAllans, who recently bought the land. The 1940s are only eighty years after the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, and twenty years away from the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and sixty-five years before America's first African-American president; all that is to say, race relations in Mississippi and the rest of the U.S. are tense and often violent. The McAllans are headed by Henry McAllan (Jason Clarke), an engineer, who decides to go into farming, something his father, Pappy (Jonathan Banks, you probably know the face and not the name), left behind. Henry married to Laura (Carey Mulligan), who believed and supported Henry's decisions early on, but later becomes more cynical; Laura does much of the narration (shared with Mary J. Blige's character, Florence Jackson). Henry's brother, Jamie (Minnesota's own, Garrett Hedlund) is very different from his brother, in temperament, interests and life experience. Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan) is the head of the Jacksons and married to Florence; Florence and Hap have several children, the oldest is Ronsel (Jason Mitchell), who has learned to read and write, and will have experiences his parents could never imagine. The movie is told using flashbacks, which sometimes I like and sometimes I don't, but I think it works really well here, because, well it does. Just trust me. In fact, I really don't want to tell you too much because it all ties together, but there are some twists. I was impressed by a lot of things: I thought the cast was terrific; there was a quiet strength from both female leads; Hap had his own strength and dignity as he feels forced into helping Henry McAllan, almost like a slave. That's what it felt like just watching it; Hap didn't have a choice. Jamie brings some humanity and decency, much to the dismay of his father and brother, although as a side-note, several times when Jamie/Hedlund spoke, I could only think of Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday "I'm your huckleberry". Anyway, this is a powerful and relevant film, with some great acting, and the Oscar-nominated song is up there as my top two, and I look forward to Oscar night, because I hope Mary J. Blige sings it and blows everyone away. If you watch the movie, it is at the very end, so don't turn it off until you hear it. There's a lot more to say about the movie, but I feel rushed for time and space, and don't want to give away any spoilers.

2/27/18 The Florida Project, nominated Best Supporting Actor, 2017
After reflecting about The Florida Project and why I didn't like it, and what it reminded me of, it reminded me of the few John Cassavetes films where there seems to be no real idea of where the film is going, dialog that seems improvised, a lot of shouting, and characters I didn't care about. So, that pretty much sums it up. The characters live in a run down Florida motel, near enough to Orlando and the magic of Disney to confuse a few foreign visitors, but not the residents/long term guests. These long-term guests are people struggling to make it every day: low paying jobs or no jobs, trying to raise kids, and just not able to get ahead in life. I think there is a story to tell about this 'invisible population', but I do not think is it. The main character is a little girl, Moonee (newcomer, Brooklynn Prince), who gets into mischief with her young friends, some is probably typical of seven or eight year olds (it's been so long, I don't remember), and some is due to the fact that she has to do a lot of without any responsible adult supervision. The only real adult in her life is Bobby (Oscar nominated Willem Dafoe), the manager of the Magic Castle motel. Bobby does his best to run the motel, but also keep an eye on the kids and to help out the families when he can. Moonee's mother, Halley (another newcomer, Bria Vinaite), is a train wreck; honestly, not a lot to like or admire, and it's amazing that she hasn't lost custody of Moonee - yet. I think this would have been a better movie had it been done as a short because in a short you have a limited amount of time to get your point across, and you cut out extra crap that adds nothing, like the difficult relationship Bobby has with his adult son; either examine it and figure it out, or just leave it out of the movie. It seems kind of lazy to try and try some parallels or comparisons (or get the audience to make inferences): Bobby has a difficult relationship with his son, that is why he tries to help the kids (I don't know if that was the point, but then, if there's no point, cut it out). In 2004, there was a British short that won the Oscar, called Wasp, which focused on a single mom raising three kids in council housing struggling to make ends meet (she feeds her kids raw sugar when she is out of food), and there is a lot of chaos. But, it made it's point and I liked it. I enjoyed the last ten minutes of The Florida Project, my adrenaline was really going, and then it was over. So, I didn't need 90+ minutes of watching Halley be a terrible parent, maybe 45 would have been enough. I think the Best Supporting Actor will go to either Woody Harrelson or Sam Rockwell, both in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

3/3/18 Phantom Thread, Nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, 2017

Phantom Thread would not have gotten any consideration for any awards, and I certainly would not have gone to see it if Daniel Day-Lewis was not in it. That being said, even with Daniel Day-Lewis in this endurance test, I did not want to see this movie at all. And, three hours later (the trailers and commercials were at least twenty minutes) I owe my friend a movie, because this was horrible. It made me want to eat a mushroom omelet (and if you've seen the movie, you get the reference). I am so angry at having spent my time watching a narcissistic, Oedipal, whiny dress designer manipulate and insult his lovers and sister. Jennifer Lawrence had the right idea, turning the movie off after three minutes. Good on you! So, my short take is: this is NOT the best picture, Day-Lewis does NOT deserve the Best Oscar (please see Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel, Esq. or Timothee Chalafant in Call Me By Your Name), Leslie Manville does not deserve the Best Supporting Actress Award for glowering for 130 minutes (Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird, Octavia Spencer in The Shape of Water or Mary J. Blige in Mudbound, and finally, the score was intrusive, and I couldn't wait for moments of quiet. It is mercifully off the list.

3/3/18 The Breadwinner, nominated Best Animated Film, 2017

The Breadwinner is an international production, directed by Irish director Norah Twomey, who also directed Oscar-nominee, The Secret of Kells. I only mention this because I recognized the animation style. It was produced by a couple of Canadian animation studios and Angelina Jolie's production company.  So, with that little bit of background done, The Breadwinner is set in Afghanistan as the Taliban are establishing their reign of terror. Parvana is the middle child of Nurullah, a teacher and amputee (it's mentioned he lost his leg fighting; I assume fighting the Russians during the war in the 1980s) and Fattemah; the family struggles to survive, selling anything they own that might be of value, but also selling reading and writing services. Nurullah is arrested for insolence and violating the rules of the Taliban, including having his daughter, Parvana, out in public. This may seem ridiculous to us, but it was life, and in some parts of the world, still is. Parvana, her elder sister, Soraya and their mother try to figure out how to survive and how to get Nurullah out of prison. Parvana realizes the only way they have a chance is for her to disguise herself as a boy cutting off her beautiful long hair. The little family battles against outsiders, but also a distant family member who sees the only remaining male of the family, baby Zaki, and Soraya as a possible financial boon, try to force the family to leave with him. Parvana is off on her own adventure as "Aatish", the male name she adopted, which means fire, as she uses her new identity and some money to try and get her father released. There is a story within the story as Parvana tells of a young man on a quest to find stolen seeds from the evil Elephant King (there is a subtle change in the animation during these sequences). I don't think The Breadwinner will win, only because there is so much hype around Coca, but I hope more people see it; it might be good to show in schools to help educate kids on another culture, a culture that is often vilified in the U.S. It shows family values, strong female characters, and a different way of life. I would say don't just plop your kid in front of the television and it on because it's animated; watch it together, because there are some upsetting moments as the family is torn apart. Definitely worth watching.

An Outdated Musical, an Animation Classic and a Precursor to Indiana Jones

9/16/17 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment, 1965

Meh. That's really all I can come up with over a month after watching A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum which was directed by Richard Lester (of The Beatles' movies) and starred Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Michael Crawford (later of Phantom of the Opera fame) and Phil Silvers. I don't think it translates very well over fifty years later, not that it was a huge hit in 1965. The bawdy humor seems juvenile and looking for cheap laughs. It's almost like a bad sketch comedy from the late 1960s; there are a lot of incongruities (the whole Buster Keaton story line made no sense, although it was bittersweet to see Keaton in his last role shortly before he died). 

9/16/17 The Snake Pit, 1948, Best Sound Recording

Olivia de Havilland was nominated as Best Actress for her portrayal of a woman suffering from a debilitating mental illness in The Snake Pit. I found de Havilland compelling as Virginia Cunningham, a young woman struggling to understand why she is in a mental institution. We learn a little more about Virginia through flashbacks as her psychiatrist digs into her past to see what triggers her episodes; her husband tries to understand her erratic behavior. Juniper Hill is a place that I hope is in the rearview mirror as far as mental/psychiatric hospitals are concerned: the care was often barbaric, occasionally nurturing and healing, but it's not where you would want to see a loved one. Virginia does seem to get better, although if there was an official diagnosis and treatment plan, I may have missed it. The movie was based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Mary Jane Ward, and the good news is that the film prompted several hospitals to change their policies and procedures. de Havilland was nominated as Best Actress in a Leading Role three times between 1946 and 1949, winning twice. 

9/16/17 Shrek, Best Animated Feature, 2001

Sixteen years later, I still laughed. Fractured Fairy Tales meets the American Top Forty. Shrek (Mike Meyers sounding a lot like Jim Taggart) is an ogre who, like Greta Garbo, wants to be alone, but he is either being harassed by frightened villagers or invaded by displaced nursery rhyme characters. His particular bête noir is Donkey (hilariously voiced by Eddie Murphy), who is very social and very chatty. The remedy to the home invasion is to go to Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) and get him to give Shrek his forest and privacy back. It doesn't go exactly as planned as Shrek becomes Farquaad's champion and agrees to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) who has been locked away in a castle. Shrek fairly easily rescues Fiona, with a little help from Donkey. The three head back towards Duloc, but Fiona is anxious to stop and rest before the sun goes down. It turns out that Fiona, a stereotypically beautiful princess by day, is an ogre by night, and she doesn't want Shrek to know since they were having such a good time together. The wedding to Farquaad doesn't go exactly as planned, which turns out to be a really good thing. All of this might make a good movie, but that would be too predictable. What makes Shrek so fun is it brings all of the fairy tales and nursery rhymes from our childhood to life, in a very twisted way: the Gingerbread Man is interrogated by Lord Farquaad and is tortured by dipping him in milk, causing him to go soft and lose a limb; Pinocchio is turned in for bounty money by Geppetto; the Three Little Pigs have German accents; and so it goes. This is an ideal film that adults can happily watch with their kids; it's funny, but not childish (silly, yes, with some gross humor that kids laugh at, and grown ups want to laugh at). The soundtrack includes songs by Neil Diamond to the Proclaimers to Leonard Cohen; a great way to introduce kids to music that their parents might like, but making it 'cool'. I really needed this movie after this last batch of movies that have been a little challenging to watch and review.

10/1/17 Gunga Din, National Film Registry, 1939

Gunga Din is a mix of comedy, drama and action, featuring two of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Cary Grant as two soldiers stationed in 1880s India, then under British rule. Grant is Sgt. Archibald Cutter who has obtained a treasure map that he is eager to check out with his pals, Sgt. MacChesney (Victor McLagen) and Sgt. Tommy Ballantine (Fairbanks), but Tommy has plans to leave the military and marry Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine, whose sister was Olivia de Havilland). They are joined by Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), their water bearer who longs to be a part of the army in larger capacity. Din joins Cutter on his search for the treasure in a golden temple. Unfortunately, the temple belongs to the Thugee, an indigenous group living in that area, one that is not well disposed towards the British. Cutter is captured and Din goes back to the base to get help from MacChesney and Ballantine, which does not go according to plan. Din does get his chance to show his mettle and prove his loyalty to the British Army and his friends. The movie is based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, and Kipling (Reginald Sheffield) makes an appearance at the end of the film. I was reminded of the Indiana Jones franchise, without the great special effects. Grant reminded me a little of Harrison Ford. I enjoyed the movie, and it may seem strange, but it doesn't seem to as 'dated' as Something Happened on the Way to the Forum, and I don't know how to explain that. I am not what qualified it for the National Film Registry.

A weekend of movies: Suicide Squad, When Harry Met Sally, the original Ghostbusters, Terminator

12/31/16 Suicide Squad, 2016 not yet nominated

Ambivalent, half-hearted, reluctant. There are the words I would use to describe my feelings about watching Suicide Squad. I believe it was while waiting for Batman versus Superman that my brother and I saw the trailer, and he asked me what I thought. I said "I think it's stupid". That may sound harsh, and I may modify it a bit, but not much. Perhaps this gives you an idea of what I thought: around the middle of the movie I said to my friends, "All I can think about is pancakes." My hosts did nothing to help my craving.

Here is what I did like: there were probably more strong, leading female characters than I recall seeing in any other super hero movie, Marvel or DC, including Amanda Waller (Viola Davis channeling her ruthless side); Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn (who was so good I think I recall reading she may get her own stand alone movie), Cara Delevingne as Enchantress (who was terrible, by the way); and Karen Fukuhara as Katana (who intrigued me and I would like to see more). I also liked seeing so many characters with whom I was not familiar, including El Diablo and Killer Croc. I also liked seeing a different aspect of Will Smith's acting as Deadshot, another character I kind of liked. Oh, and as my young friend mentioned, the soundtrack was pretty good.

What I didn't like: a lot of the acting and writing was really not very good, even for a superhero movie. The actor playing Rick Flag, Joel Kinnaman was not great. Jared Leto took a big chance, playing the first Joker incarnation since Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar, and it's hard to judge the portrayal in a vacuum; essentially, he creeped me out and I thought he was more of a distraction to the story line than a bonus.

I only paid a dollar to watch it, so I may have gotten off cheaper than most people, and the only reason I wanted to see it was in case it was nominated for any effects Oscars and in case the spinoff movies are forthcoming.

12/31/16 When Harry Met Sally, 1989

As I was watching this with my friends on New Year's Eve, we were sure this won an Oscar for something, or was on the National Film Registry. It had to be; hell, The Breakfast Club is on the National Film Registry. But no, it's not on any of my lists. We were shocked. We had seen the movie before, but it has been about ten years for me, and unlike a lot of movies, it holds up twenty five years later. The writing from Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal is so good at portraying the relationship between men and women (is there a gay version, because that could be funny too). Reiner directed and kept the movie at a good pace; I never felt we stayed in one place for too long. Billy Crystal as Harry Burns is cynical, sarcastic, jaded, but also hilarious; and Meg Ryan, America's sweetheart, was a good sparring partner as Sally Albright. These two are so perfect together as actors, that as viewers you yell at the screen telling them to figure it out. It was a little bitter sweet watching this though, because Carrie Fisher is Sally's best friend, Marie, who marries Harry's best friend, Jess. We first meet Harry and Sally as they leave college and Chicago and head east to New York. They begin their relationship debating whether men and women can just be friends, or does it have to end in sex, and maybe dating (although, not a necessary component). It follows the pair over several years as they meet at different times before reconnecting as 'friends'. Intercut in the movie are interviews with older people, some of whom have been married for decades, and those scenes are fun to watch. I don't know if Billy Crystal is as appreciated as he should be for his incredible talent; back in the 1980s and parts of the 1990s, he had quite a streak going: movies, hosting the Oscars, live shows. Meg Ryan was no slouch either. Definitely glad I watched it again. And now I would like some pecan pie.

1/1/17 In Darkness, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, 2011 

In Darkness is not the movie to watch if you're looking for whimsy or levity, but director Agnieszka Holland's film about Polish Jews hiding in the sewer system during the Holocaust shows us another story, and a true story at that. In Lvov, Poland, Jews are being harassed, tortured, killed in the streets and those that aren't killed outright, are sent to camps. There is a small group who decide to try and tunnel into the sewer system to hide. As they dig their entrance, they encounter Leopold Socha, a plumber who has a side business stealing and hiding his loot in the sewers. At first he agrees to help them hide if they agree to pay him, but after a while, it stops becoming about business and becomes about humanity, theirs and his. He does this at the risk of his and his family's life, as well as those he is aiding. It is a very hard movie to watch, visually, because so much is 'in darkness', underground, and the topic is very heartbreaking, and for me, it makes me angry and sad, and I felt very tense, until the end. I've only seen three of the nominated films for this year, including the winner A Separation, which I thought was very good, and Monsieur Lazhar which broke my heart. I know a lot of people avoid foreign films in general, and Holocaust movies in particular, but if you can, I recommend watching all three of them (although, not in a row, that's too much). Holland also directed Europa, Europa, another Oscar nominated film set during the Holocaust.

1/1/17 The Night of the Iguana, Best Costume Design, 1964

I love Richard Burton, he could be reading the phone book, and I'd still listen, enthralled, but I could not deal with him, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr in the John Huston-directed The Night of the Iguana. I was telling a friend it was just too much yelling, and he said, it's Tennessee Williams, what do you expect? Burton is a shamed priest who is hiding out in Mexico giving cheap tours, and during the film, he happens to be taking out a nice ladies church group, with a lovely young lady among them. She makes some moves on him, and he struggles against all of his inner demons to control himself. After that, I actually started drifting in and out and could not bring myself to re-watch what I missed (which I usually do). All I could think of was when I watched Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? also with Burton as well as Elizabeth Taylor, and the yelling. Is that what 1950s drama was all about? I'm sorry if I've offended any theatrical sensibilities, but consider this one crossed off the list.

1/1/17 Ghostbusters, 1984 National Film Registry

So, I watched the original Ghotsbusters for the very first time ever. Apparently that just surprises people. I'm sorry, but I didn't love it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I laughed harder at the remake, but that may have been because I really wanted the remake to succeed. Anyway, we s lowly get introduced to the ghostbusting team, which is Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), Peter Venkman (Billy Murray) and Ray Stantz (Dan Ackroyd). Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) seeks the help of the ghostbusters, but gets extra attention from Venkman. Rick Moranis is Louis Tully, kind of a nudgenick, who would love to get to know Dana better, but instead gets possessed by a demon, the Keymaster; Dana is also possessed by the demon, Zuul. The Ghostbusters, plus their new member, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), fight the demons, pretty much destroying the city in the process. There is something about movies like Ghostbusters, The Terminator or When Harry Met Sally, that if you know anything about cultural references, you know something about these movies, they are part of our collective cultural history. If someone says "Who ya gonna call?" You say "Ghostbusters". You might not even know why. I may not have loved it, but I did appreciate finally seeing it, and seeing/hearing the references in their context. And you get a sense of the immense comedic talent on the screen (I did forget to mention Annie Potts was hilarious as the less than helpful secretary, Janine Melnitz). I'm reviewing this because it's on the National Film Registry, because most of you have probably already seen it.

1/2/17 The Terminator, 1984 National Film Registry

I honestly do not remember watching this before, but I did watch Terminator 2, and you would have thought that I would have watched 1 before 2, but I guess not. This is not a great movie; the acting is terrible, it's like a bunch of amateurs, but, like a friend said, it sets the table for the rest of the franchise. Arnold Schwartzenegger is the Terminator of the title, and is his most iconic role (sorry for those of you that thought it was Conan the Barbarian), and he is after Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). Poor Sarah has no clue what's happening, especially after Reese (Michael Biehn) also starts chasing her, but to protect her. Reese and the Terminator have come form the future to prevent something from happening in the future. Does your head hurt? Yeah, don't think about it. Just enjoy the special effects (which do seem a little dated thirty years later), and enjoy this as one of James Cameron's short movies, and less pretentious to boot.

Woody Allen, The Chronicles of Narnia, Love Streams

11/25/16 Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1989 #57 BBC

Crimes and Misdemeanors is one of the few Woody Allen films I saw in the theater; I think the only other one was Scoop, which I saw in Paris (in English, thank god). I remember liking it and the moral questions that Allen raised, and loving the performances by some of my favorite actors: Sam Waterston, Jerry Orbach, Martin Landau and Alan Alda (the rest of the cast is stellar, but I will watch almost anything these guys are in). Martin Landau is Judah Rosenthal, a successful ophthalmologist who has a very big secret; Woody Allen is Clifford Stern, a documentary filmmaker. I found the story about Judah and his secrets and lies (the name of a film by a totally different director, Mike Leigh) more interesting than Clifford's. Judah is having an affair with a flight attendant, Dolores (Anjelica Huston), and while it seems to dying out for him, Dolores wants to tell Judah's wife, Miriam (Claire Bloom). Judah, who is receiving a big award as the movie opens, is scared of Dolores spilling the beans and ruining the myth and illusion that he has created of being the perfect husband and citizen of the world. Judah brings his brother, Jack (Jerry Orbach) into the picture, to 'take care of things'. For a while, Judah suffers pangs of his conscience and feelings of guilt and fear of a different secret coming out. Clifford, who is struggling to make pet documentary film on a Holocaust survivor, takes on the job of doing a documentary on his brother-in-law, Lester (Alan Alda), a successful, obnoxious television producer. Saying that Clifford has zero enthusiasm for his subject is a minor understatement; Lester is everything that Clifford isn't, nor does he want to be. Clifford tries to begin a relationship with Halley (Mia Farrow), Lester's assistant producer. Clifford is about as successful at that as he is at everything else. Clifford's other brother-in-law, Ben (Sam Waterston), is a rabbi who is slowly losing his sight, and is a patient of Judah's. If you are waiting for the boors and bad guys to get their comeuppance, you may be waiting for a long time. If you think that guilt will eat away at Judah like he is in a Dostoevsky story, I hope you're not too disappointed. Sometimes, the good guys don't win. This is more of a drama than a comedy, but it does have its moments, especially when Clifford and Lester share the screen. Ingmar Bergman is one of Allen's influences, and this definitely could have been something that Bergman did, in fact, he probably did (without the Jewish influence), but I cannot come up with a specific movie at the moment.

12/2/16 Mighty Aphrodite, Best  Supporting Actress, 1995

 I was beginning to think I would never get to watch this 1995 Oscar winner by writer/director/actor Woody Allen. The first time I got the movie from the library, it wouldn't play; I think it might have even been a VHS tape, not even a scratched disk. Then it was gone from circulation, and it's in the 'unknown' category on Netflix. But, ta-da, Interlibrary Loan has come into my life and all kinds of things I thought I would never see are now possible. Mira Sorvino won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Linda Ash, a call girl with a heart of gold, or at least acting ambitions. Linda has a baby and gives him up for adoption. Max's adoptive parents are Amanda Sloane Weinrib (Helena Bonham Carter) and Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen); Amanda is an art gallery curator and Lenny is a New York sportswriter. Lenny seems far more obsessed with learning about his new baby's birth parents than Amanda, and he goes to some questionable lengths to do it. In a Woody Allen movie, questionable very often means funny, and that is true here. Allen uses the idea of the Greek chorus to help tell his tale and question Lenny's motives and actions, in a very humorous way, I was reminded of Mel Brooks. F. Murray Abraham is the Chorus Leader, and we also get commentary from Cassandra and Tiresius, both prophets, and others from Greek mythology. I thought it was a clever and unusual way (in films, at least) to break the wall between the audience and the actors. Lenny winds up tracking down Linda and goes on 'dates' with her, but not for sex, to learn more about her, but he doesn't tell her why. I'm not overly familiar with Sorvino's other films, so I don't know if this is a typical performance, but in the context of the film, she was really good; she was funny, she wasn't overshadowed or overpowered by Allen. Allen was not overly annoying, either; sometimes his 'schlemiel' characters can be too much, but not in this case. Being a fan of Bonham-Carter, I did think she was kind of wasted here; maybe 'wasted' isn't the right word, but I didn't get enough. I would love to see her in the type of role that Cate Blanchett played in Blue Jasmine. But anyway, that's a different story. I think this movie has probably been forgotten by a lot of people, but it's worth a look (if you can find it). An interesting tidbit: Dianne Wiest won the Best Supporting Actress the year before in Woody Allen's Bullets over Broadway.

12/3/16 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Best Makeup, 2005

I never read the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis even though a lot of my classmates did. I don't know why, but I just didn't, so in some ways I'm not tied by emotion or nostalgia to them. When I watch the movies or television representations, I just enjoy them for what they are, which are wonderful, fantastic adventures. The movie starts off in war time England, with bombs raining down on London, so families begin sending their children off to live in the country, many times with total strangers. That is the case for the four Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. During a game of hide and seek in the large house owned by the reclusive professor Digory Kirke (Jim Broadbent), Lucy falls through the wardrobe and into the magical world of Narnia. Narnia is made up of fauns, talking animals like beavers, foxes, wolves and a really big lion, Aslan (Liam Neeson). Oh, and the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Lucy comes back from her visit to her skeptical older brothers and sister, until the next time, they all go through to Narnia. The Narnians refer to the siblings as Daughters and Sons of Adam, and it seems that the children may bring with them a changing tide in Narnia, perhaps ridding them of the evil witch. Of course, nothing is as straightforward as that, and there are crazy escapes from the witch's rabid wolves, coming of age for the children as they learn more about themselves and the world they now inhabit, and battle of epic proportions. Neeson was made to be the voice of Aslan, who I think may be one of my favorite characters. Swinton is so fun as Jadis, the White Witch. She totally embraces the role and Jadis's villainous nature, but shows her campy side as well. After watching her in many different movies and roles, I'm convinced she could play any type of role or character she wants. Lewis's Christian theology can be seen in his writings, and much is made of the use of allegory and symbolism in The Chronicles of Narnia, but I honestly cannot intelligently comment on how that comes through in the film, or if it even does. If it did for you, then I missed it. Please don't interpret the previous comments as pejorative or anti-theological; they are not, I just enjoyed the movie as a fun, fantastiscal interpretation of a childhood classic. I think it's a wonderful cinematic experience, with beautiful visuals, very talented actors, and a story that I think a lot of children will enjoy. There were two subsequent movies, but I seem to recall that they were not necessarily as successful at the box office.

12/3/16 Mississippi Burning, Best Cinematography, 1988 

I would love to say that Mississippi Burning is a snapshot from a long ago time, and that we have moved forward in this country to a point where your race is as little a factor in daily life as whether you are right-handed or left-handed. Maybe that is naive or just plain dumb, I like to think that was hopeful. Sadly, as events have played out over the past 18 months, racism in this country is not a thing of the past. Perhaps I will just say I hope things never get as bad as they were in the South in the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum, and civil rights workers, as well as ordinary citizens, were subjected to harassment and violence in pursuit of equality for black Americans.  Mississippi Burning is a dramatization of the murder of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. Gene Hackman (in an Oscar-nominated role) and Willem Dafoe star as the two lead FBI agents looking into the disappearance, later determined to be murder, of three college students trying to register black voters in the deep South. Hackman is Rupert Anderson, born and raised in Mississippi and Dafoe is Alan Ward, a northerner who is by the book and seemingly unaware of how to navigate the social and political minefield they have entered. The movie is as much about Anderson and Ward's relationship as it is about examining the events of the day. The two agents run into a brick wall made of up of corrupt law enforcement and politicians, who may also be Klansman, who have no interest in finding the missing students or getting justice for them. Director Alan Parker (Fame, Birdy, Evita, Bugsy Malone) does not sugarcoat the violence that the black community experienced, or the fear people had in speaking out. There is an element of a mystery story as Ward and Anderson peel back the layers on the onion: who knew what, who did what, where are they in the power structure of the town or the Klan. The cast is comprised of many familiar faces: Frances McDormand and Brad Dourif are Mrs. Pell and her husband, Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (McDormand was nominated for Best Supporting Actress); R. Lee Ermey played Mayor Tilman; Michael Rooker (now in the Guardians of the Galaxy films) played Frank Bailey, a particularly violent man; Darius McCrary, is Aaron Williams, a young man who preaches and tries to encourage his community. It's not an easy movie to watch, but it is very well done and should be seen and used as a platform to discuss the Civil Rights Movement then and now.

12/9/16 Love Streams, 1984, #63 BBC 

I seem to question myself and my chosen hobby of movie blogging when I watch a film that is critically acclaimed, called inspirational, and I can't stand it, don't get it and want to turn it off. Am I missing something? Would I 'get it' if I studied film? These were my thoughts as I slogged through over two hours of (in my opinion) self-indulgent, wandering film-making called Love Streams. The later actor, writer and director John Cassavetes filled all three roles in  Love Streams. For film savants (not me), that should be all you need to know to bow down and be inspired by the lack of pretense, the laying bare of the soul, the raw nature of the main characters, Robert Harmon (Cassavetes) and his sister, Sarah Lawson (Gena Rowlands). Sadly, I am not one of those people, and it didn't resonate with me at all. Harmon is a playboy, writer, who uses women as his muse; he drinks too much, is a reluctant father and unreliable boyfriend/lover. His sister, Sarah, is at the tail end of a divorce, and is not handling it all that well, in fact, previous visits to mental institutions are referenced by her soon to be ex-husband. Sarah takes a trip to Europe to try and get better, but comes back a little more lost, confused and unfocused, and without her daughter, who makes it clear she would rather live with her father. Sarah heads out to California to be with Robert. Sarah goes through manic episodes, and Robert is not all that certain how to handle them, but he is afraid of losing her and upsetting her. As an example, Sarah takes a cab out somewhere, a small farm or something, looking for something cuddly, and comes home with miniature horses and a goat (I think) - all in the cab. It seems the cab driver didn't think any of this was weird. Rowlands' Sarah reminded me of her performance in Woman Under the Influence, also directed by Cassavetes, and the woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown persona. There were a few moments where I felt some compassion, but very few; most of the time I just found the whole thing unbelievable (I know it's just a film), and rambling. These two people are hurting and lost and need each other, but to me, the poor dialog and lack of focus (I'll put that down to the improvisational techniques used) just didn't reach me. This is not the first time, and certainly not the last, that I have disagreed with the BBC 100 list.

Saved by Spider-Man after Blue Velvet and Leaving Las Vegas

11/26/16 Blue Velvet, 1986 #60 BBC

Many people claim this to be one of David Lynch's best films. I'm not expert enough to say that. I will say there were some intriguing moments, well-laid out elements of film noir, but at the end of the day, I really didn't like it. I thought Dennis Hopper's sadistic character of Frank was way over the top; perhaps crazy sadists are like that, I don't know. It did put Hopper back in the public eye. I think Lynch lost me at the beginning when Jeffrey's (Kyle MacLachlan) father is stung (I think) by something and falls down and is then hospitalized with some pretty devastating injuries. It made no sense, and from that point (which was really like five minutes into the movie) I was really skeptical about everything. I'm not a huge fan of Isabella Rossellini who played Dorothy Vallens, the femme fatale and whipping girl of Frank Booth, and object of lust for Jeffrey. I don't think she's a great actress, and she seems to overdo everything here. This was more time than I planned to spend on a movie I didn't like. I don't have the energy to give you anything else. If you like sado-masochism, you'll probably enjoy this.

11/27/16 Spider-Man 2, Best Visual Effects, 2004

"Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can." Spider-Man is omnipresent in the Marvel universe; whenever I go through my comic books looking for photo opportunities, I find that I have a lot of Spider-Man comics, almost more than any other. I think that's because the Spider-Man of the comics and the animated series is fun, filled with action and a wonderful palette of villains. Sadly, I don't think that always translates so well on the big screen (or as well and as amazing as I would like); it might be a case of being spoiled with too many options. Having said all of that, I did enjoy watching Toby McGuire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the second film of this particular franchise. In the story, Peter finds it very difficult to find that work/super hero balance that every masked hero desires. He is falling behind in school, not keeping up with photo ops for The Daily Bugle, or his promises to his friend/girlfriend, Mary Jane (Kristen Dunst). Peter also gets the opportunity to meet one of his heroes, Dr. Otto Octavius/Dr. Ock (Alfred Molina) who creates, and is later taken over by his own invention. Of course, the mad scientist wreaks havoc on New York and Peter's personal life as his beloved Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Mary Jane are threatened. So, Spider-Man is back in action. Not only does Spider-Man have to battle Doc Ock, but he has to fight Harry Osborn (James Franco), who is Peter's best friend, but who has sworn to destroy Spider-Man. The effects and action sequences are great, and still hold up ten years later (so much has changed in visual effects, you never know if they'll look dated). Personally, I don't think McGuire/Parker is as wise-cracking as I would like and what I'm used to, I think Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man got better lines and was more Spidey than McGuire's version. I also think the problem/challenge with introducing new villains all the time (this is true for any super hero movie) is that sometimes so much time is spent on the origin story of the villain, there isn't enough time left for the good stuff; and since there's a new villain all the time, this happens with every new film. I  like origin stories, but sometimes it seems like a vicious cycle. I think that's why I still like the animated versions of the super hero universe, because they are shorter stories, that pack a lot into each episode. This may make sense only to people who watch too many super hero movies and television shows (which is not a bad thing at all).

11/28/16 Leaving Las Vegas, Best Actor, 1995

Sometimes I think there is a reason I didn't see a movie when it first came out. This is one of those times. Nicholas Cage won the Best Actor for his role as Ben Sanderson a writer whose life has been taken over by his alcoholism and desire for self-destruction. Between this movie and Blue Velvet, I kind of found myself wallowing in the cesspool of human frailties. Elisabeth Shue is Sera, a prostitute who forms a not all together healthy relationship with Ben. I almost turned off the movie, which I try not to do, to honor the list, but I was close. The last twenty minutes were some of the best acted and intense scenes I have watched; why I had to slog through the earlier scenes, I'll never know. This is another movie that I do not have the interest to review more in depth or offer any other insight (limited as it is).

Sometimes I just try to get through the list. This entry is an example of that.

Remaining on the list:
Oscar winners: 765
AFI 100: 4
BBC 100: 26
National Film Registry: 500

The BBC 100 list - Goodfellas, His Girl Friday, Meet Me in St. Louis

3/4/16 Goodfellas, Best Supporting Actor, 1980 #92 AFI, #20 BBC, National Film Registry 

 If  you're a fan of Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorcese, The Sopranos or  The Godfather, you have probably seen this movie at least once, but I'm guessing four or five times. I have also seen it a few times, but I wanted to watch it once more before reviewing it. Goodfellas is based on a true story and real life gangsters and is told from the perspective of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), an Irish-Italian associate of the New York mob. Henry starts hanging out with the wise guys as a young kid and is easily drawn into the lifestyle. He gets as close to the inner circle as he could without being a made man. His two closest friends are James "Jimmy the Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in his Oscar-winning role); they are both hot-headed, but Tommy is even more so, losing it on more than one occasion. Tommy is over-the-top, maybe even psychotic. Against a direct order by Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), Henry gets involved in the drug business, and starts using. He brings his wife Karen (Lorraine Bracco) into it as well. Things take an inevitable turn for the worst for the Hills and several of their friends. I like the movie, I like the pacing; Scorcese takes us through four decades, from 1955 through the early 1980s, but it doesn't drag on, or at least it didn't feel that way to me. I do think that if you're going to really follow the different, minor characters, it can be challenging. There are a lot of people moving in and out of the scenes, and most of the time it's not that important, but then when they start getting knocked off, it's handy to know who they are or why they are being whacked. An underlying plot (Hill was not directly involved) was the Lufthansa Airlines robbery at LaGuardia Airport in 1978, which is not gone into in detail, but the repercussions ripple throughout the gang. If you do not know about it, it may be confusing. Of course, maybe not, maybe you pay better attention than I do.

3/5/16 A Woman Under the Influence, 1974, #31 BBC, National Film Registry

I think I should have been under the influence while watching this movie. It may have made the yelling and jumpy story more tolerable. May have, no guarantees. A Woman Under the Influence has been cited as influential, inspiring, groundbreaking, etc., so I finally watched it. I think this may be one of those instances where at the time it was released, 1974, John Cassavetes' film starring his wife, Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, was all of those things. Forty years later, it seemed like a movie of lost opportunities. Gena Rowlands is Mabel Longhetti and Peter Falk is her husband, Nick. Mabel is a housewife and mother of three young children, who seems to be desperately lonely and depressed as she is home alone during the day, while Nick is out with his friends and co-workers during the day, and sometimes during the night when there is an emergency (he is some kind of public works employee). Nick describes Mabel as different, quirky, but he is tolerant and seems to understand her. If the movie was made today, her idiosyncrasies might have been attributed to post-partum depression or another diagnosable mental illness; but Mabel just seems wacky, close to hurting herself or her children, and she is put in a mental hospital. We never see Mabel getting help or treatment, we see Nick playing with the kids (actually getting them drunk on little sips of beer), and then having a party for Mabel's return. There are too many gaps for me, and a lot of shouting and repetition of lines, almost as if they were being improvised. Usually I will check out Wikipedia, but I didn't want to be swayed, and I still haven't looked. I will say that Rowlands was really good and was nominated for Best Actress, losing out to Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Peter Falk was in more of the film that Rowlands, and showed a side that was very un-Columbo-like (some of you may not even be familiar with Falk's role as the wrinkled Detective Columbo). For film buffs, you should probably see this, or you have already; but if you're a casual movie fan, looking for a fun Saturday night movie, this is not it. Sorry.

3/6/16 His Girl Friday, 1940, #50 BBC, National Film Registry

Howard Hawks teams up again with Cary Grant for another comedy classic (Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn), but this time he pairs Grant with Rosalind Russell.  His Girl Friday is set in the world of newspapers, with Grant as Walter Burns, the editor of The Morning Post and Russell is Hildy Burns, his ex-wife, ace reporter, and the person who knows him better than he knows himself. Hildy has returned to town with her fiance, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), insurance salesman. Hildy plans to come to town, say her goodbyes, and head off for her life of domestic bliss in Albany, New York. But with the biggest story in the city going on, the impending execution of a white man for killing a colored policeman, and possible riots, Walter wants his best reporter on the case. After a series of comedic turns, Hildy takes the job, only to find Bruce getting into trouble with a little help from Walter. The verbal exchanges between Grant and Russell are blazing fast and witty, similar to Grant's other movie roles. It is fun to watch. This comedic jousting takes place over the very serious business of race riots, hangings and political corruption. Russell as Grant's sparring partner is well up to the task, as well as the other characters, most of whom are other newspaper reporters or politicians. I am going to say I enjoyed the movie, and then appear to back off of that statement. I did enjoy the movie, I have become a huge Cary Grant fan through this project, but some of the language used to describe the African American population (there are no black actors in the film, unless they are in a subservient role, but I don't think they were) is archaic and offensive, and perhaps it wasn't offensive in the 1940s, but I don't think it was necessary to include in the script. Also, looking at the film seventy years later, in our current political climate, we have not come all that far in race relations. That seems to be my observation after I watch a lot of movies, especially lately. So, having enumerated by concerns and objections, I liked seeing a strong female character and Cary Grant seems to shine when he is paired up with a strong foil.

3/6/2016 Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944, #80 BBC, National Film Registry 

I find that when I watch most musicals, I'm really not interested in the story, since the stories are generally flimsy and just a framework for the songs, and most of the time, I would rather listen to the songs. That's kind of how I felt watching Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien and Mary Astor (The Maltese Falcon). The Smith family lives in St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1900s, leading up to the World's Fair in 1904. The Smith family has four daughters (including Garland and O'Brien) and one son and the story mostly revolves around their different romantic lives. The musical is full of songs, my favorite is "The Trolley Song", hands down. The movie was nominated for four Oscars, for Best Song, Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Best Score, but surprising to me, not Best Costume. The costumes were beautiful, and perhaps it was the cinematography that made them stand out so much. Judy Garland holds a special place in my heart going back to my first encounter with The Wizard of Oz, but my father loved her, and would often play "Judy Garland - Live at Carnegie Hall". She was a special talent. Margaret O'Brien won a special Juvenile Oscar for her work that year, but I found her character of Tootie to be so incredibly annoying, that if she was my sister, I would have pushed her in the river. Oh the drama. I know some people love the big MGM musicals, and if you do, you should watch this. It wasn't my favorite overall, but the music is good.

 

Busch Stadium, St. Louis, with The Arch in the background

3/9/16 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962, #45 BBC, National Film Registry 

The last time John Wayne, John Ford and I spent any time together, I was severely disappointed and confused. I watched The Searchers and was only too glad when it was over. But I knew the Duke and I had seen better days, and I really love James Stewart, so I was quite optimistic as I watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stewart as Senator Ransom Stoddard returns to Shinbone (state unknown) for the funeral of an old friend. Stoddard and his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles) come back after years as Governor, Ambassador and US Senator. Stoddard gives an interview to a young reporter and the editor of the local paper, and the movie takes us back in time to a young, idealistic Stoddard, heading westward to begin a law practice. Unfortunately, his stagecoach is held up by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and his cronies (Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin as creepy and violent villains). Stoddard is brought into town by Tom Doniphon (Wayne) and left in the care of Hallie and her friends, the Ericsons. As Stoddard heals, he decides to make his home in Shinbone, working for the local paper as well as holding classes for all in town who are interested, and begin his law practice. Valance and his pals often come into town, and nothing good ever happens when they do; Valance hounds Stoddard, trying to provoke a response; he doesn't get one from Stoddard, but Doniphon doesn't back down from Valance. Doniphon tries to convince Stoddard, whom he addresses as "pilgrim", to get a gun and be prepared to use it. Stoddard resists, but eventually realizes he cannot reason with Valance. As this conflict is going on, the territory is applying for statehood, and like many western states, there was intense disagreement on statehood: cattlemen often did not want the rules of statehood (see Shane) and could be very violent and aggressive against the farmers, or sodbusters, as they called them. That was the case here, with Valance on the side of the cattlemen and Doniphon and Stoddard and the others of Shinbone, for statehood. Things get even worse after Stoddard and Dutton Peabody, the newspaper publisher are elected by the town to be Shinbone's delegates to the convention on statehood. I definitely felt more engaged and interested in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance than I did with The Searchers. John Wayne's Doniphon is a bit of a complex character, obviously attracted to Hallie, but for some reason, he moves very slowly when it comes to her, eventually losing her to Stoddard; he's clearly a capable gunman, but bides his time with Valance. I did get a little tired of hearing "pilgrim", it got a bit overused, but that's a small complaint. Doniphon and Stoddard were often on the same side of the argument, but they differed in how to resolve it. The supporting characters like Peabody, the doctor, the sheriff and others, added variety and flavor and humor to the violence of Valance. The movie was filmed in black and white, which worked, even though color was available. Wikipedia lists contrasting reasons for this: money or Wayne and Stewart were older in real life than their characters and color film would have highlighted that.

2015 films for Best Actress 45 Years and Brooklyn

I am down to the nitty gritty of the Oscar nominated films; 11 films that I probably will not see in time for the Oscars, although hope springs eternal. I saw the following two films with one of my movie buddies in the same day, our third 'double feature' of the movie season. 

2/13/16 45 Years, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, 2015

As I watched 45 Years all I could think about was that this would be a good television movie, maybe on Masterpiece Theater, but not necessarily a full length film that needed to be seen in the theater.  The titular 45 Years is the 45th wedding anniversary of Jeff and Kate Mercer. The movie opens as Kate returns from a walk along the Broads and brings in the post which contains a letter, in German, for Jeff. The letter reveals that Jeff's girlfriend from over 45 years ago, Katya, has been found buried in the ice in the Swiss Alps. The movie takes place over 6 days, and it is six days of Kate questioning Jeff about his past with Katya, questioning the whole of their relationship, and Tom avoiding as much discussion as he can. This leads up to their big anniversary party. Tom gives a great speech, they dance to the same song they danced to at their wedding, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" by The Platters. While Kate and Jeff give the impression that they could have another twenty years together, the perceptive viewer knows that is not likely. The basis for the movie was a short story, and I think this would have been very good as a short film, as a feature it seemed to drag. I thought that Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling were good, but after watching most of the other nominees (and some non-nominees), I'm not sure she should have been nominated. It didn't strike me as strong of a performance as Brie Larson in Room, Cate Blanchett in Carol or Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn.


2/13/16 Brooklyn, nominated Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2015

I may or may not have seen Brooklyn if it wasn't nominated for three Oscars. I thought it was going to be a sicky sweet romantic movie, but it was not. Saoirse Ronan is Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn. Eilis's sister, Rose, facilitated her emigration through her golf and church connections. Eilis has a rough sea voyage but arrives in Brooklyn to stay at Mrs. Kehoe's (a scene stealing Julie Walters) boarding house with other single, Irish women. The first part of the movie is Eilis getting acclimated and overcoming her extreme homesickness. Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) helps her by enrolling her in bookkeeping classes and hosting dances for the Irish immigrants. She meets Tony Fiorello and they begin a slow courtship culminating in a secret marriage. Things seem to be going well for Eilis and her American dream, too well, because there was still at least an hour left in the movie. Her older sister, Rose, dies suddenly and Eilis heads back to Ireland to comfort her mother, and what is supposed to be a short visit, unexpectedly turns into a longer stay. Perhaps because she was embarrassed that Tony was Italian, or that they married without her mother's permission, Eilis never mentions that she is married, which leads to some confusion with one of the more well-off locals, Jim Farrell (played by the seemingly omnipresent Domnhall Gleeson - also in The Revenant and Ex-Machina, three nominations, two for Best Picture). I enjoyed seeing Eilis transform from a mousy, quiet and insecure young woman to a confident, educated, almost worldly young lady who is now giving advice to young emigrants. There's no question that Ronan is the star of the show, supported by veterans like Broadbent and Walter but also very ably by Emory Cohen as Tony. I don't know if I enjoyed Brooklyn so much because I was comparing it to 45 Years, which I had just seen, or if I would have liked it anyway. Maybe it doesn't really matter. If someone asks, should I see Brooklyn, I would say absolutely. Maybe watch it and Carol for look into 1950s New York from either side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Will it win Best Picture? I don't think so, and I think the Best Actress category is pretty tough with Blanchett and Larson. But I think if Ronan gets the right projects, she will be nominated again.

A shout out to my friend who had to tell the idiots in our row to be quiet - and they were! Seriously, you are not at home and this not your personal theater, so keep your comments until the end.

The Revenant - we may agree to disagree

Twenty-one movies to go; it was supposed to be 20 but I fell asleep during one of the documentaries last night and I have to re-watch it. So far, things look good, but I'll probably miss the foreign films and a couple of big films that I missed in the theater and aren't on DVD until March. But, despite being behind the eight ball, I still fit in a non-nominated movie last week.

1/28/16 Pawn Sacrifice, not nominated, 2015

Pawn Sacrifice is a bio-pic of Bobby Fischer, the chess genius who suffered from severe paranoia. Toby Maguire is Fisher and Liev Schreiber plays his nemesis, Boris Spassky. We meet Bobby as a young chess prodigy with a laser focus on becoming the best chess player in the world, and doesn't let anyone stand in his way, except perhaps himself and his occasionally outrageous demands. When I saw the trailer for the movie, I was very interested in seeing it, but it really didn't live up to what I thought it would be. I'm not sure exactly what that was, but it lacked something. I have mentioned before, but I will say it again, if you are going to use subtitles (99% of Schreiber's dialog, and the other Russian characters, was in Russian) then they should be in a font that can be read on the movie screen as well as on television. Having said that, I missed out on any important tidbits that Spassky and others might have said. I got bored, which is too bad, because I think it's an interesting topic from an interesting period of time for international politics.

1/31/16 The Revenant, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Bests Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, 2015

I'm going to say this now: a lot of people are not going to like this review and disagree vehemently with me, but I did not LOVE The Revenant, nor do I think it's the best movie from this year. Sorry, but I don't. I will say that the cinematography is spectacular; I would love to have some stills from the film, and I will also say that Leonardo DiCaprio is very good as Hugh Glass and Tom Hardy is good as Mumbles, I mean John Fitzgerald. There is very little dialog in the film, comparatively less than the other movies, and that turns out to be a bonus because most of the spoken word is mumbled and unintelligibly. This tells me that the words aren't important, and I could probably have figured out what was happening without any words at all. A very high level synopsis (because it is almost three hours long): Glass and his son, Hawk, are part of a fur trapping party in the Western territories of the US. They are attacked by the Arikara and must flee. Glass is attacked by a bear (I didn't expect them to use a real bear, but there was something that screamed 'animatronic' to me) and almost killed. Fitzgerald wants to leave him, in part because he dislikes Glass's half-Indian son, and he doesn't want to be burdened by the near-dead Glass. As Fitzgerald tries to secretly kill Glass, Hawk sees and tries to stop him, but Fitzgerald kills him. He and Jim Bridger leave Glass half-buried and try to catch up with the rest of the trapping party. Glass comes back from the dead and begins tracking Fitzgerald and Bridger. This is where it gets long. As he hunts Fitzgerald, the Arikara are hunting them. I should mention that it is winter time in the Dakota/Wyoming territory and they are at some altitude. I kind of started to get irritated when Glass tries to hide in the river (it's winter, remember) and gets swept away, down some rapids, and seems to go for at least a few miles. He crawls out of the river and eventually builds a fire. I later asked my two friends, who are outdoor people and camped last year in Ely, Minnesota IN THE WINTER TIME, about hypothermia and frostbite, and they were pretty sure that would be some severe damage. But Glass persists, eating a raw bison heart or some organ, as one does when the drive through isn't available. Later, Glass takes a horse from some French trappers and skedaddles when he is chased yet again. This time, he and the horse go flying off of a cliff and smack into a very tall pine tree; well, Glass does, the poor horse immediately proves gravity exists. It was at that exact moment I looked at my young friend and said "I call bullshit." (that previously would have cost me a couple dollars for his college education, but hanging around with me is priceless) Not only is Glass NOT killed, he actually gets up and is moving around a lot better than when he could barely get on the horse a few minutes earlier. I was using the reclining feature in my seat but I became deathly afraid I would fall asleep, thus sacrificing all of my cool points with said young friend. I really stopped caring. The attraction of the beautiful scenery and any good acting just fell by the wayside. I really don't think this is the best movie of the year; Room is my favorite, but if not that, then Spotlight or The Big Short. DiCaprio is very good and he'll probably take it; Eddie Redmayne is outstanding in The Danish Girl, but I think it's long odds that he would win two years in a row, and I don't think the others are really in contention. So, it's off the list and now moves to the "I don't need to see this again" pile. Onward ho.

Lesson learned: Don't go camping with Leonardo DiCaprio, it doesn't end well.

 

2015 nominees - The Imitation Game, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Judge and more

A little less than two weeks to go and I have 21 movies to watch. I'm hoping to get a few more done in the next week. Wish me luck.

1/31/15 The Imitation Game, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, 2014

If you're counting, The Imitation Game is nominated for 8 awards this year, right up there with Birdman. I was reading a little bit about the movie as I do after I watch it and there is some criticism about different historical aspects of the film. I will say the same thing here that I said about Selma, sometimes things are done in a film to make the narrative flow better or film better or able to fit into a 2 to 2 1/2 hour time frame. I am just going to review the movie and let you make up your own mind (I will probably be doing the same thing when I see American Sniper this weekend).

Anyway, The Imitation Game focuses on the British efforts during the Second World War to decrypt "Enigma" the code used by the Germans. There were many people who worked on code-breaking during the war, but Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) may be the most well-known. The movie uses a two-fold flashback format (I just invented that term), starting in the 1950s, after the war, going back to the Second World War and then back to when Alan was in school. I think it's effective, giving a good framework for the narrative. Turing was a mathematical genius, portrayed as socially awkward as a child and adult; he was also homosexual, which in England was a crime. One criticism about the movie was that Turing's homosexuality was hidden or perhaps close to being written out of the story. I appreciated the way Turing's homosexuality was at the edges of the plot, I thought it added to the tension of the coding process as well as the mystery I felt the director was trying to add. If people watch the movie, and don't know he was gay, it gets revealed slowly; if you watch the movie and do know he's gay, then I think it's still taut because you wait to see how others find out. It also lets the code-breaking be part of the story. The film opens in 1950s Manchester where Turing is living and that is where he has an encounter with the police and we begin to learn about Turing and his time at public school (private school in America) which was torturous. His one lifeline was a friendship he formed with a classmate. Turing applies to join the team of code-breakers, but isn't very impressed with the team he has, so he asks to bring on some new blood via a crossword puzzle. One of the new recruits is Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley in an Oscar-nominated role), who by virtue of being a woman is also a bit of an outcast because she is not able to work with the men directly (it would be unseemly; I think this was mainly due to her parents' conservatism). Joan and Alan become friends and she tries to help translate for him when he has difficulties with his co-workers. The team is under a lot of pressure to crack Engima because Germany was winning the war. Cumberbatch is tremendous; he is a chameleon, last year he was in 12 Years a Slave and The Fifth Estate (as Julian Assange), two very different characters, and now a third (many more really, but math isn't my strong suit). He really humanizes this man who was a mathematical genius, social outcast by virtue of being gay and more than a little awkward, but also passionate about breaking the code. Hopefully, like Selma, The Theory of Everything and American Sniper, people will watch The Imitation Game and learn more about the subject at hand: World War II, code-breaking, mathematics and Alan Turing (in this case). It's been tough to pick my favorite movie; I think I either loved them or loathed them, but this is definitely at the top of the list.

1/31/15 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, nominated Best Visual Effects, 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set years in the future after Rise of the Planet of the Apes with the only recurring characters being some of the apes, including Caesar (played by Andy Serkis). Humans have been killed off by a deadly virus and are in quarantined off areas. A group of humans goes into an area dominated by apes in order to get the power going again. Malcolm (Jason Clarke) is the leader of this small group, but Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) is the leader of the humans back at the compound. Malcolm is not interested in any confrontation with the apes and tries to form a relationship with Caesar. Caesar is a very knowing leader, understanding the real politick of letting the humans accomplish their task or face all out war. Unfortunately, some of his cadre do not agree with his thinking, including Koba, who leads a treasonous attack on Caesar and those loyal to whom and blames it on the humans. I grew up on the original Planet of the Ape film series and the television series, and I think I like how the newer films have not tried to redo the originals, but have used them as a trellis to build their stories. I think I wrote in my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, if I even wrote one, that I would prefer the apes over the people. I enjoyed the movie, it had good action and a good story (the ape-centric story, not human). It's nominated in the Visual Effects category and it's up against Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America 2, X-Men and Interstellar, and those are pretty heavy duty effects movies. Several people over the years have tried to make the argument that actors like Andy Serkis, who wear the body sensors and then their features are computer enhanced, but the actors actually act, should be eligible for Oscar nominations. Serkis was also Golum from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It hasn't happened, but it should and at some point Serkis is going to have to be recognized for his contributions to this performance style.

1/31/15 The Judge, nominated Best Supporting Actor 2014

I wanted to see The Judge when it came out in the theaters, but at almost two and a half hours, I just couldn't do it. But, I was going to see it even if it wasn't nominated for an Oscar, however, Robert Duvall snagged a nomination for his role as Judge Joseph Palmer, a tough judge and a tougher father. His strict hand pushed his middle son away, Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.), a brash defense attorney, who hasn't been home in years. Hank only returns for the funeral of his mother, but is unexpectedly detained when his father is accused of murder. The story is as much about the relationship between the Palmer family (older brother Glen is played by Vincent D'Onofrio and youngest brother Dale is played by Jeremy Strong) as it is about the trial of Judge Palmer. There's a subplot involving Samantha Powell (Vera Farmiga), Hank's ex-girlfriend, that was annoying to me. I think it was the corn pone accent that Farmiga used (the movie is set in a small Indiana town); I don't know if it was an authentic accent, but it did not fit, or maybe it was the blonde hair or the tattoo, something didn't work for me. Duvall was great as the hard-ass judge, still trying to control his adult sons and himself as he undergoes chemo treatment for cancer. As I was writing, I started thinking of another Duvall role where he played the martinet father and Marine as the titled role in The Great Santini. I think Duvall has a chance at the Oscar (certainly over Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke). Overall, I liked the movie, it was nice to see Robert Downey, Jr. do something besides Iron Man (I love Iron Man, but still, it's good to change it up), and he and Duvall go toe to toe. I would love to see D'Onofrio in more roles, he is so great.

2/1/15 How to Train Your Dragon 2, nominated Best Animated Feature, 2014

I remember watching the first How to Train Your Dragon and thinking it was okay, I guess it didn't move my needle the way it did for some people, so I wasn't all that rushed to see the sequel. Curse my list! It wasn't bad, and there were parts where I enjoyed it, but eh, not necessary. Hiccup is back and quite the dragon master. He meets his mother, who left him and his father when he was a baby. I don't know, honestly, I really didn't care enough to pay too much attention. The thing that I kept focusing on was that both Hiccup's parents have Scottish accents and yet Hiccup has none. That bothered me. I'm not sure why this made it and The Lego Movie did not; I thought the The Lego Movie was more creative in its universe and mixing in the human element as well as the story and dialog. I didn't think HTTYD was that inventive. Go see Boxtrolls.

2/1/15 Begin Again, nominated Best Original Song, 2014

Begin Again is a light, no-brainer romantic comedy with a pop music soundtrack. There is nothing wrong with that; I know some people think I'm a snob, and I suppose I am sometimes, but this was a great break after some of the heavy movies I had been watching. Keira Knightley (as Gretta James) and Mark Ruffalo (as Dan Mulligan) star as a songwriter and music producer, respectively. Adam Levine plays Dave Kohl, Gretta's ex-boyfriend. Dave and Gretta go to New York for Dave's burgeoning music career where they become estranged (probably not unpredictably) and Gretta feels homesick. At an open mic night, Gretta is invited by her friend, Steve (James Corden) to sing a song, which she does. This catches Dan's attention and they begin a collaboration. The set up in the movie is a little less direct than that recap just was. The two decide to collaborate on a record using the sounds of the city as well as some non-traditional musicians, or perhaps unexpected is a better word (?). Honestly, those were my favorite parts of the movie; it reminded me of music videos from the 1980s (oh my god, I can't believe I just went down that road; what's next AARP membership?). Gretta has her relationship with Dave and Dan has his complex relationship with his daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and ex-wife (Catherine Keener). I thought Keira Knightley was pretty good as a singer, I guess she had not sung on stage before. Begin Again was directed by John Carney who also directed Once (a movie about which I am ambivalent at best). "Lost Stars" is nominated for Best Original Song (I wonder if Adam Levine will sing on the Oscars).

 2/7/15 Boyhood nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, 2014

WHY??????? Why did this have to be nominated? If you have read the blog, you may recall that I was not a big fan of Linklater's trilogy Before the End of Time cannot come soon enough, or something like that. Well, I'll be danged, he came up with another movie that everyone loves, except me. If you have not read or heard anything about the movie, the big draw is the fact that it was filmed over twelve years, so we see the characters age as the actors age. Yep. People getting older - they made a movie. The movie starts with Mason (Eller Coltrane) aged 6, lying on the grass waiting for his mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette). At home, we also meet Mason's older sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and learn that Olivia is divorced from the kids' father, Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke). We follow the family through Olivia's bad marriage decisions (she's three for three), Olivia going back to school to eventually become a college instructor (or professor, I'm not sure) and Mason and Samantha's journeys as the family gets uprooted several times (I will say, having moved once when I was younger, I think I'm still scarred) and Mason's first loves and difficulties with authority. I did not care, I didn't think any of the characters were likable or admirable, and having been a petulant teenager (some would say petulant adult), I know kids aren't cute and precocious all the time and life isn't a bowl of cherries. I did not need an almost three hour movie to tell me that. I don't mind real life being reflected back at me, and I don't mind high-minded art, but I abhor pretentiousness. My pick for Best Supporting Actress is Laura Dern (Wild)and Best Supporting Actor as I mentioned above is Robert Duvall in The Judge, although Birdman may be the night's big winner.