There's almost no chance I would have sought out "Winter's Bone" if not for the Academy giving out the nomination for best picture. "An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact." (shamelessly stolen straight from IMDB) Wait..no guns, violence, scantily clad nubile women??
Well. It's a great movie and might well walk away with the Oscar in 22 days or so. Jennifer Lawrence has a shot at best actress as well, I suspect, but she would be awfully young to get the nod. Her performance is much different then Portman's but it is compelling. Rather than the tug between good and evil with the vulnerability Portman had to portray, Lawrence plays Ree Dolly and shows great tenacity and courage. She doesn't carry the movie but she more than holds her own.
She needs to provide and protect her family of two sibling children and a mother who's sick, and will continue to be. Her uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) can't or won't help. Everyone is telling her she has to stop looking, but that means no house for the family. With limited choices, she presses on grimly. The poverty of the film is almost violent. I've never been to the Ozarks and, while I hope there isn't this sort of poverty, I'm shaken to think there probably is.
This film is finely crafted with great pace and feel, as well as fine performances that seem completely believable (well at least to me who's never been within two thousand miles of that world.) There is a realism throughout and the film doesn't seem to embellish much. When someone gets beat up you don't see the acts you just see the results. The story is told without the need for slow motion action sequences.
Wonderful film and well worth seeking out.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Kids Are All Right - but is the Movie?
After seven years in the making, "The Kids Are All Right" was screened and extremely well received at the Sundance Film Festival. This is a tale about a long term and loving, but flawed and perhaps fading marriage. Nic, the Doctor and breadwinner (Annette Benning), and the "housewife" Jules (Julianne Moore) are the parents of one child each from the same sperm donor. When the eldest child Joni (Mia Wasikowska) turns 18 she's able to inquire on the identity of her father at the request of the younger brother, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) who is 15. They meet the father and the story follows the cast for the summer.
First I need to say that Laser is a stupid name for a kid. Just plain dumb. I enjoy the performance of Mark Ruffalo who plays the father Paul...but how could he manage to keep a straight face when telling a 15 year old "cool name" when the kid is introduced as Laser. I mean c'mon.
"Hi my name is Laser"
"Oh. Cool my name is Transistor"
"Sweet I think to make me they need to use some of you"
"I think my sister Saser makes too much noise" (a saser is like an ultrasonic rather than light based laser)
OR
"Honey I'm not sure if our son is going to be tormented enough in school. He will be in a minority as the child of Lesbian parents but do you think that's enough?"
"OH! Let's give him a name like Laser. That'll help!"
"Can we give him that 'Kick Me' T-Shirt when he's older?"
Anyway...we move on. Critics LOVED this movie. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 95% based on 200 reviews. So about 7% greater than "The Black Swan" or on par with "True Grit (2010)" or 9% higher than "Inception". I'm glad I'm writing a blog about more than just trying to be a critic. NO WAY is this movie that good. Sorry.
Years ago I went to see "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in the theaters when it was in full release. I went to see it based on critical acclaim. To this day I don't really trust critics. Horrible movie.
"The Kids Are All Right" was entertaining, to a point. A little more comedy would have helped, for me at least. The charming Ruffalo and his relationships with the family could have provided more grist for the humor mill. Instead the comedy is almost like meat in a borderline stew (sorry to any vegetarians) - just enough to keep you interested.
If this wins the Oscar the TV might not survive.
First I need to say that Laser is a stupid name for a kid. Just plain dumb. I enjoy the performance of Mark Ruffalo who plays the father Paul...but how could he manage to keep a straight face when telling a 15 year old "cool name" when the kid is introduced as Laser. I mean c'mon.
"Hi my name is Laser"
"Oh. Cool my name is Transistor"
"Sweet I think to make me they need to use some of you"
"I think my sister Saser makes too much noise" (a saser is like an ultrasonic rather than light based laser)
OR
"Honey I'm not sure if our son is going to be tormented enough in school. He will be in a minority as the child of Lesbian parents but do you think that's enough?"
"OH! Let's give him a name like Laser. That'll help!"
"Can we give him that 'Kick Me' T-Shirt when he's older?"
Anyway...we move on. Critics LOVED this movie. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 95% based on 200 reviews. So about 7% greater than "The Black Swan" or on par with "True Grit (2010)" or 9% higher than "Inception". I'm glad I'm writing a blog about more than just trying to be a critic. NO WAY is this movie that good. Sorry.
Years ago I went to see "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in the theaters when it was in full release. I went to see it based on critical acclaim. To this day I don't really trust critics. Horrible movie.
"The Kids Are All Right" was entertaining, to a point. A little more comedy would have helped, for me at least. The charming Ruffalo and his relationships with the family could have provided more grist for the humor mill. Instead the comedy is almost like meat in a borderline stew (sorry to any vegetarians) - just enough to keep you interested.
If this wins the Oscar the TV might not survive.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Black Swan - Cool Ballet?
To understand "Black Swan", it helps to know the previous work of the director Darren Aronofsky. I didn't while watching the movie but I wish I would have. The movie is very well done and draws more than a few parallels with "The Wrestler". I think both movies speak to the dedication and commitment of performers but obviously from different ends of the "High Brow" spectrum. Just as Aronofsky built a level of compassion to the broken down and out Mickey Rourke, he builds empathy with (Nina Sayers) Portman as she struggles with a quest, not only for perfection but also while discovering a darker side she must include in her dance.
Everything I know about ballet could be written on a really small piece of paper with a rather large crayon. I've seen "Swan Lake" but I was a kid and didn't enjoy it even a little bit. I did see a presentation by the local company in elementary school and it was sorta cool...but that's about it. I mean let's remember this was invented by the French. The French know how to cook and surrender. Anything else is a stretch.
Thank goodness for the "Interwebz". Swan Lake was written by Tchaikovsky and the music is superb. Turns out the most common version shown today is based on a "revival" with minor changes to the score and staging. I won't do the story much justice but, just in case you don't know the outline, the plot summary is:
The movie follows a dancer who is obsessed with perfection and is given the lead in Swan Lake. As she goes deeper and deeper into the part of the Black Swan, and as she discovers more of her darker side, the movie turns into a psychological thriller of sorts. The lines between reality and fantasy start to blur for Sayers. She is overly controlled by her mother, overly threatened by another dancer, overly challenged by an Artistic Director (Vincent Cassel). Does she give the perfect performance?
Very solid performances by Portman, Hershey, Cassel and Kunis. I think Portman will win the Oscar for this one. She's grown into a powerful actress and she's certainly showing that. She shows subtlety and finesse which is a far cry from her stiff work on the Star Wars episodes. If my math is right, she's coming up on 30 years old and I believe we'll see some spectacular roles for her in the future.
For the non technical categories the film got nominations for Actress in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman), Cinematography (Matthew Libatique), Directing (Darren Aronofsky), and finally, best picture. The film is a money maker with a budget in the range of 10-12 million and a box office that will top 100 million.
I have no idea on the Cinematography or Editing awards, so I won't comment. I predict no joy on Best Picture or Directing with a walk up the stairs for Portman as best actress.
In another somewhat surprising rating this is also "R"
Everything I know about ballet could be written on a really small piece of paper with a rather large crayon. I've seen "Swan Lake" but I was a kid and didn't enjoy it even a little bit. I did see a presentation by the local company in elementary school and it was sorta cool...but that's about it. I mean let's remember this was invented by the French. The French know how to cook and surrender. Anything else is a stretch.
Thank goodness for the "Interwebz". Swan Lake was written by Tchaikovsky and the music is superb. Turns out the most common version shown today is based on a "revival" with minor changes to the score and staging. I won't do the story much justice but, just in case you don't know the outline, the plot summary is:
- Woman turned to white swan by curse
- Woman can be saved by the true love of a Prince
- Prince is fooled by the black swan
- White Swan dies because foolish Prince got fooled
The movie follows a dancer who is obsessed with perfection and is given the lead in Swan Lake. As she goes deeper and deeper into the part of the Black Swan, and as she discovers more of her darker side, the movie turns into a psychological thriller of sorts. The lines between reality and fantasy start to blur for Sayers. She is overly controlled by her mother, overly threatened by another dancer, overly challenged by an Artistic Director (Vincent Cassel). Does she give the perfect performance?
Very solid performances by Portman, Hershey, Cassel and Kunis. I think Portman will win the Oscar for this one. She's grown into a powerful actress and she's certainly showing that. She shows subtlety and finesse which is a far cry from her stiff work on the Star Wars episodes. If my math is right, she's coming up on 30 years old and I believe we'll see some spectacular roles for her in the future.
For the non technical categories the film got nominations for Actress in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman), Cinematography (Matthew Libatique), Directing (Darren Aronofsky), and finally, best picture. The film is a money maker with a budget in the range of 10-12 million and a box office that will top 100 million.
I have no idea on the Cinematography or Editing awards, so I won't comment. I predict no joy on Best Picture or Directing with a walk up the stairs for Portman as best actress.
In another somewhat surprising rating this is also "R"
Monday, January 31, 2011
Academy Award Nominees
Yep. My bad. I haven't posted in nine days but I do have a good excuse. I've been watching and reading about some/most of the Academy Award best picture nominees. If for no other reason so I can "Pooh Pooh" the choices made with some knowledge of the movie.
The Nominees are:
Before the nominations were made, I'd seen a measly three of the ten. That's part of the reason I took a short hiatus from the AFI list. I thought "Inception" would be there. It was a great movie with enough plot twists to keep you engaged and it was very enjoyable. I still rave about the movie to many of my friends. I was surprised "The Social Network" made the list. ANYONE saying something like "this is a great movie and will be relevant 20 or 30 years from now!" as they watch it? I mean if you were...then...sheesh. The story is good and the acting is good. It follows the book closely and tells a very interesting story, but didn't really add much. It shouldn't be nominated for best picture. "Toy Story 3" is great. Fine movie and Pixar has made nothing but great movies.
The movies I hadn't seen when the nomination list came out, but have since, are "The King's Speech", "127 Hours" and "The Fighter". First, "The King's Speech". Colin Firth got a nomination for best actor and it was well deserved. He does a great job and for my money plays a difficult part very well. He nailed the stammer and cadence of George VI (listen to a recording of the monarch's speech). Geoffrey Rush was very entertaining and the rest of the cast at least solid and in some cases marvelous. Rush has always been a favorite way back to Elizabeth in 1998. Whether or not the movie should have been nominated for as many Oscars as it was...is a topic for further discussion. Do yourself a favour and at least read the story of George V and his sons The Duke of York (George) and the Duke of Windsor (Edward). It will make the movie more enjoyable. Don't worry much about the R rating. It's for a couple. well a few, F Bombs dropped by Firth as part of the speech therapy. It's incomprehensible this film got an R rating.
Danny Boyle's direction of "127 Hours" is great and the movie is solid, but I think a 16mm black and white student-done version of this tale would still be solid. The story is so compelling it would be a challenge to mess it up, I think. Think of how you could make a poor movie of that story. There is a great style to the film and you can see the touch of the man who made Trainspotting with some quick cuts and unique camera angles.
Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg are both very believable in "The Fighter". I wasn't aware of the story so I didn't catch the many departures from life in the film. The fight scenes are OK at best but, to be fair, since I recently watched "Raging Bull" any fight scenes are going to pale in comparison. The film is gritty in its portrayal of the poor residents of Lowell MA and Melissa Leo is great. I would say that Amy Adams did a remarkable job as well. But the contrast in character from Charlie Wilson's War might have something to do with that.
I'll either watch another of the Oscar Nominees or back to the AFI list in the next couple days.
The Nominees are:
- "Black Swan" Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
- "The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
- "Inception" Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
- "The Kids Are All Right" Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
- "The King's Speech" Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin,Producers
- "127 Hours" Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
- "The Social Network" Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
- "Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
- "True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
- "Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
Before the nominations were made, I'd seen a measly three of the ten. That's part of the reason I took a short hiatus from the AFI list. I thought "Inception" would be there. It was a great movie with enough plot twists to keep you engaged and it was very enjoyable. I still rave about the movie to many of my friends. I was surprised "The Social Network" made the list. ANYONE saying something like "this is a great movie and will be relevant 20 or 30 years from now!" as they watch it? I mean if you were...then...sheesh. The story is good and the acting is good. It follows the book closely and tells a very interesting story, but didn't really add much. It shouldn't be nominated for best picture. "Toy Story 3" is great. Fine movie and Pixar has made nothing but great movies.
The movies I hadn't seen when the nomination list came out, but have since, are "The King's Speech", "127 Hours" and "The Fighter". First, "The King's Speech". Colin Firth got a nomination for best actor and it was well deserved. He does a great job and for my money plays a difficult part very well. He nailed the stammer and cadence of George VI (listen to a recording of the monarch's speech). Geoffrey Rush was very entertaining and the rest of the cast at least solid and in some cases marvelous. Rush has always been a favorite way back to Elizabeth in 1998. Whether or not the movie should have been nominated for as many Oscars as it was...is a topic for further discussion. Do yourself a favour and at least read the story of George V and his sons The Duke of York (George) and the Duke of Windsor (Edward). It will make the movie more enjoyable. Don't worry much about the R rating. It's for a couple. well a few, F Bombs dropped by Firth as part of the speech therapy. It's incomprehensible this film got an R rating.
Danny Boyle's direction of "127 Hours" is great and the movie is solid, but I think a 16mm black and white student-done version of this tale would still be solid. The story is so compelling it would be a challenge to mess it up, I think. Think of how you could make a poor movie of that story. There is a great style to the film and you can see the touch of the man who made Trainspotting with some quick cuts and unique camera angles.
Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg are both very believable in "The Fighter". I wasn't aware of the story so I didn't catch the many departures from life in the film. The fight scenes are OK at best but, to be fair, since I recently watched "Raging Bull" any fight scenes are going to pale in comparison. The film is gritty in its portrayal of the poor residents of Lowell MA and Melissa Leo is great. I would say that Amy Adams did a remarkable job as well. But the contrast in character from Charlie Wilson's War might have something to do with that.
I'll either watch another of the Oscar Nominees or back to the AFI list in the next couple days.
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