200 Movies, 1 Woman, 1 Blog

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011, France/UK/Germany

The best part of this movie were the performances.  Gary Oldman received his first Academy Award nomination for his role, and he deserves it.  While I would have preferred to see him get a nomination for some of his earlier work, I’m just glad to see him finally get recognized by the Academy.

George Smiley (Oldman) was forced into retirement following an incident in Hungary involving Jim Predeaux (Mark Strong).  He is asked to return to British Intelligence (“The Circus”) to investigate a mole.  He is assisted in his investigation by Peter (Benedict Cumberbatch).  The suspects are narrowed down to five top members of British Intelligences, “Tinker” (Toby Jones), “Tailor” (Colin Firth), “Soldier” (Ciarán Hinds), “Poorman” (David Dencik), and “Beggarman” (Oldman).

Admittedly, the movie was a bit slow.  I also had some difficulty keeping all of the characters straight.  Each character referred to other characters by their last name or by their code name, so it was always a bit confusing.  It made the plot quite hard to follow, but I did manage to figure everything out by the end.  The second half of the movie was superior to the first half.  From what I’ve heard, it’s easier to keep track of the plot if you’ve read the book.  I didn’t read the book prior to seeing the movie, so I may have to buy a copy of the book. Has anyone read the book?

Oldman was excellent, but I have to give credit to all of the actors in the movie.  There was a huge amount of talent in this movie.  I really love watching an ensemble cast full of talented actors, because it’s such a joy to see gifted actors working together. Firth was very good, as well. I’ve seen Cumberbatch in a number of supporting roles in the last few years, and he’s always been very memorable to me. He’s a great actor and he always does a lot with limited screen time. I’m sure he will be a household name in a year or two.

I did enjoy the tone of the movie.  There was tension and intrigue surrounding the main mystery of the film.  I had no idea how it would end before it ended, and, despite the slow pace, I remained interested until the very end.  The Cold War era is a very interesting time period, and I do enjoy seeing films that cover the political issues of that era.

The Tree of Life, 2011, USA

I have  a great deal of respect for this film, but I did not enjoy it. Perhaps I’m wrong in this belief, but I feel that an enjoyable film is one that you savour, and not one that you endure. I felt every moment of this film, and I went away from it without feeling any emotional connection to it. I felt very disconnected from it.

Peter Travers claims that the film was “shot with a poet’s eye”. This is probably the most accurate description of the film I’ve read. The cinematography is truly beautiful. But, may I suggest that the film is like imagism poetry? This poetry makes heavy use of image and metaphor to tell its story. Unfortunately, imagism is far from my favourite genre of poetry. It’s a genre I appreciate, but not one that I actively seek out.

The Tree of Life consists of a series of images and moments, and the audience must put them together to determine the meaning of the film. Much of the story takes place in the 1950s. Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt) and Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) are raising three young boys. Mr. O’Brien is strict and bitter, while Mrs. O’Brien is light and carefree. They’re representations of nature and grace, respectively, and the conflict between the two. In the present, Jack (Sean Penn) has been heavily affected by the way both his parents raised him, and by a significant incident that occurred as he was growing up. I got the sense that the entire film was from Jack’s perspective, and that the scenes in the 1950s were his memories.

There was a beautiful sequence about a half an hour into the film depicting the birth of the universe. This was one of my favourite sequences in the entire film. It was beautifully shot. My only thoughts were that it was awkwardly integrated into the film. As in…it wasn’t really integrated at all. But that was consistent throughout the entire film. It was very scattered, which is consistent with my idea that the film was from Jack’s perspective. Memories are not linear; instead, they are scattered. They’re not reliable indications of how events really occurred, because they are coloured through time and reflection.

Chastain received a nomination for her work in The Help, but I’d argue she was more worthy of a nomination for her work in The Tree of Life. She gave an excellent performance.  Pitt played a character very different from any I’ve seen him play before, and I appreciated his performance, as well.

I believe The Tree of Life is worth seeing, and that it is an important film. That being said, I do not ever want to see it again. I’m sure I would have found more enjoyment in the film if I had an emotional connection to it. I felt nothing as I watched it, but this seems like the type of film you either connect with or you don’t.

The Descendants, 2011, USA

I LOVED this movie. I’m hoping it’s a serious contender for Best Picture at the Oscars, because it’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year. I’m hearing that George Clooney will likely win Best Actor, which he absolutely deserves.

When his wife, Elizabeth slips into a coma following an accident, Matt (Clooney) must learn how to be an active parent to his two daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). Alexandra is estranged from her mother, and reveals to Matt that Elizabeth had been having an affair. Matt decides to find the other man in order to get some answers, and journeys all over Hawaii with his family in order to do so.

While the premise of the movie is rather sad, it was actually very funny. The humour is very biting and sarcastic. But it’s also quite tragic and very touching. Alexandra and Matt seem to bond over their search for this man who was sleeping with Elizabeth, and I can scarcely think of a more bizarre way for father and daughter to bond. It made for an excellent film, though.

Clooney is being raved for his performance and he deserves every accolade. To be honest, I’ve often refrained from giving Clooney the recognition he deserves. I’m not sure why. He’s had an excellent career, and he’s a gifted actor. I suppose, when I think of him as an actor, I think of him in his less challenging roles, which really isn’t fair. In this film, he gives a very subtle performance. But it is rich and complex. He perfectly portrays a man aching with grief, who is struggling with an awful discovery at the worst possible time. His attempt to find peace with the situation is heartbreakingly beautiful.

The other characters are well developed too. Even Alexandra’s boyfriend, Sid (Nick Krause) has a few surprisingly deep moments. He’s also the product of much of the humour of the film.

Alexander Payne’s last film, Sideways is a movie that I thoroughly despised when I saw it. I was slightly worried when I first learned that it was a Payne film, but the trailer was so charming that I had to see it. I have the feeling I saw Sideways too early in my life. I was 14 and unable to comprehend a midlife crisis. As an adult, I’m better equipped to emotionally process the complexities of adulthood.

I’m so excited to see Albert Nobbs. It looks delightful, and this film is a passion project of Glenn Close’s, so one can be sure that a lot of love went into the making of it. I think Close has a good chance of an Oscar nomination – or even an Oscar win.

The next few months in film are sure to be exciting. I’m anticipating a lot of time spent in the theatre over the next two months!

The Fighter, 2010, USA

My goal was to watch all of the Oscar nominated movies before the Oscars, but this one was one of the few that I missed. I’m not a boxing fan, so I just didn’t feel the need to rush out to see it. I think boxing is a nasty, violent sport…but this movie wasn’t JUST about boxing. It’s about relationships.

Micky (Mark Wahlberg) is a wannabe boxer being trained by his brother, Dicky (Christian Bale). Dicky has a drug problem and is painfully unreliable. But his onetime success in the boxing ring means Micky relies on Dicky’s talents even though he’s being held back by Dicky’s personal issues. Both Micky and Dicky come from a dysfunctional family run by Alice (Melissa Leo), who acts as Micky’s manager. Alice is angry when Micky enters into a relationship with Charlene (Amy Adams) because Charlene starts to tell Micky that he deserves better than what he gets from his family.

This film is based on the lives of Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. Both men had a working-class upbringing in Massachusetts, where Wahlberg is from. This project came about because of Wahlberg. He has tremendous respect for both men and worked really hard to bring their lives to the big screen. In the film he plays the “straight man” to all of the supporting characters and as a result of that, he did not receive an Oscar nomination. But his movie did get a Best Picture nomination.

Christian Bale and Melissa Leo both received Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively. Within the first five minutes, I could see why Bale won. He was amazing and uncomfortable to watch. I’m not sure if I liked Leo’s performance, though. I feel she did a great job, but I was quite fond of Adams (who also received a nomination), and I loved Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone (edit: I’m a dope. Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress). What does everyone else think?

The boxing scenes were difficult to watch (especially because of my aforementioned dislike of the sport). I knew that they were often unsimulated, so the actors were actually taking punches. I imagine it would have been quite painful to shoot. I really appreciated the cinematography because it would be extremely difficult to shoot a boxing match. It’d also be hard on the actors because they’d have to be punched over and over again, and move and react in the exact same way in order to maintain continuity. The scenes looked fantastic.

This movie didn’t quite feel like the “typical” Oscar-nominated movie. It’s about family and looks at some very difficult issues, but it isn’t really a “feel bad” movie. And, despite all of the dysfunction, it looks at the strength of family and love. Check it out if you’re feeling like something inspiring.

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I’m still working on my current project. I’ve had a very busy week, and haven’t had much time to watch movies in the evenings. I went with my parents to rent movies this afternoon and because I’m not the sort of person to not watch a rental that comes into the house, I haven’t had much time to watch the Lord of the Rings movies. But I am still doing it!

Sunday night’s Oscar telecast kind of sucked. Which is a shame because Oscar night is my favourite television night of the year. But, in an attempt to reach a younger audience, the Oscars have kind of lost their way. I don’t like it. And it seems like most other people don’t like it as well. Therefore, I am creating a list of suggestions for next year’s show. Academy, if you’d like to implement them, I’d love two tickets to the show!

You made a poor choice, sir.

Cut the Best Picture nominees

10 nominees is far too many. As we all know, there are usually two “frontrunners” in the Best Picture race anyway. Sure “it’s an honour to be nominated”, but we all know that most of the movies in the category have zero chance of winning. Therefore, increasing it to 10 dilutes the honour of receiving a nomination. And it makes it hard for film fans to catch all of the nominees.

Go back to 5. Yes, the biggest blockbusters may not be nominated, but people are silly to watch in the hopes of one movie receiving one award.

Stop trying to change your audience!

Don’t resort to gimmicks to try to get the younger demographic. I’m in the young demographic and I freaking hate it! Seeing James Franco in a dress just doesn’t feel like the Oscars – it’s just embarrassing.

While many of my friends do watch the Oscars, many more don’t. An appreciation of the types of movies nominated at the Oscars is something that takes time. Not every 21-year-old is going to “get it”. But give them a few years and they are likely to start appreciating the movies that are nominated, and, as a result, start appreciating the Oscars. Don’t alienate your fan base in an attempt to reach a demographic that just isn’t interested yet.

Hire a comedian

I like James Franco and I like Anne Hathaway. But neither one of them are comedians. They don’t have the necessary mindset needed to come up with jokes on the fly. Therefore, they are heavily dependent on joke writers. And when their jokes receive a cold response, they don’t know how to get the audience back on their side. Conan O’Brien is very good at this. If he tells a bad joke, he’ll often make fun of the joke – or himself. It’s very funny, and often I like it when his jokes bomb because his banter can be funnier than his successful jokes.

While we’re at it, let’s do away with the two host formula. I dislike double monologues. They come across as cheesy, insincere and lame. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are very funny men. But they were terrible when they hosted the Oscars together.

As the resident Conan fangirl, I’m sure you all won’t be surprised when I say that he’s my pick to host next year. Who is your pick?

To be fair, I watch the show regardless of who hosts. If they pick Jay Leno to host next year…well, I’ll have a decision to make. I’ve sworn never to watch a program he’s on, but I love the Oscars, so I might make a (very reluctant) exception. While they may get a few extra viewers if someone like Jon Stewart hosts, generally most people tune in for the awards and not the host. Franco and Hathaway may have brought in a few extra young viewers who like them, but I doubt they’d tune in for the entire show unless they had a prior interest in film.

My history with the Oscars

I’ve been watching the Oscars yearly for about eight years now. I really started watching them when Johnny Depp got nominated for his first Oscar. I’ve talked about being a huge Depp fan and how it introduced me to the world of film. So it makes sense that my introduction to Depp and watching the Oscars regularly happened at about the same time.

Before that I’d always watch pieces of the Oscars but never the entire broadcast. Nowadays, missing the Oscars is inconceivable. When they are on, my arse is in the seat and I am paying attention. So, regardless of whether the Academy takes my advice, they will still have a loyal viewer. Just…try not to screw up too badly next year, m’kay?

During the Golden Globes I liveblogged and live tweeted. It was fun, but a little too busy. This time, I’m just going to live tweet. I’ve set up a Tweet Wally so you will be able to follow along, even if you don’t have Twitter.

Have fun tonight, everyone!

Another night, another Heath Ledger movie that makes me emotional. I’m watching Brokeback Mountain right now. I’ve been longing to watch this movie for months because I haven’t seen it since just after Ledger died. I just never got around to watching it again. I own over 100 movies on DVD and that, coupled with the fact that I also need to watch movies I haven’t seen repeatedly, means that I just never got around to watching it again. One of the major downsides to owning so many movies is that I can never watch my favourites as often as I’d like to. And that it took me 5 minutes to find the DVD.

I saw it in theatres when it first came out and I thought it was wonderful. It’s such a shame it didn’t win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I believe that homophobia is to blame for that. Instead of awarding a movie about a same-sex relationship, they awarded a movie about racism (Crash) in an attempt to preserve their reputation of being a progressive body of individuals. But Crash won’t be remembered…Brokeback Mountain will be.

What I love about the movie is the fact that it appears to be a simple love story, but it really isn’t. It’s complicated, emotional and very deep. It looks at issues like commitment, family responsibilities, and the difficulty of being true to who you are in a society that won’t accept you. Ledger and Jack Gyllenhaal make every moment powerful. They are both tremendous actors. The cinematography and score are fantastic as well.

If you haven’t seen this beautiful movie, please check it out as soon as possible. As much as I love Ledger’s Joker, Ennis is probably my favourite character of his. He created such a deep, moving character. The fact that he portrayed these two very different characters speaks volumes of the talent that he had.

The King’s Speech, 2010, UK/Australia/USA

I finally saw it. After being stuck inside all day yesterday, I was desperate to get out today and see it. So that’s what I did.

And it was wonderful. So wonderful. Yesterday, I was commenting about how bleak many of the Oscar nominated movies are. So bleak, that I cannot bear seeing them again. Imagine my joy after seeing this movie. It’s a genuine feel good movie. And it’s entertaining as hell, too. I know many people don’t see how a period piece about a British royal with a speech impediment can be entertaining, but I assure you, it’s very entertaining.

Prince Albert (Colin Firth) has a stutter and dreads public speaking. His concerned wife (Helena Bonham Carter) takes him to specialist after specialist and he never improves. Naturally, Albert is frustrated and gives up. She drags him to one more specialist – Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Lionel insists on treating Albert at his office, and refers to him as “Bertie”, much to Albert’s chagrin. But Lionel makes it clear that they are equals and won’t let Albert treat him as anything less.

The movie takes place during the abdication crisis when King Edward VIII (played by Guy Pierce) abdicates the throne to marry Wallis Simpson (Eve Best). As a result, we get to see Albert’s deepest anxieties on screen, and Lionel’s reaction to them.

The best parts of the movie were the scenes between Firth and Rush. Both actors were outstanding and I genuinely hope they win Oscars for their roles. They had great chemistry, and both brought great heart to their roles. I felt anxiety as I saw Albert struggle to speak. The scenes they share are often very humourous. I didn’t quite expect the humour to be honest with you. I didn’t think “humour” when I went to see a movie about British royalty. But it’s a very funny movie at times.

After Toy Story 3, this movie is my favourite of the year. I feel like I could watch it again and again. I feel that either The King’s Speech or The Social Network will win Best Picture at the Oscars. I sincerely hope it’s The King’s Speech. It was by far the better movie. I know that The King’s Speech is the more “typical” Oscar movie, which may actually work against it. The Academy members may decide to award the more “modern” movie, particularly because it is not the type of movie that usually wins these awards. Plus, it would help the Oscars garner a “younger” audience of people who wouldn’t necessarily watch them. This is something that’s been attempted in the last few years, and they haven’t been successful yet. With The Social Network, they may find success. Nevertheless, I’m rooting for The King’s Speech.

Winter’s Bone, 2010, USA

Recommended by: Chris

I’m trying to watch as many of the Oscar nominated movies as possible. My original plan was to go see The King’s Speech tonight but the blizzard kind of killed those plans. So I did the second best thing and rented Winter’s Bone.

I didn’t know much about the movie, but I did know that it is being called “the little movie that could” based on its low budget. In some ways, the movie feels like a low budget movie, but the amazing cinematography makes it look far more expensive than it actually was. The movie uses very limited music, which adds to the gritty feel of the movie. It’s amazing how silence can add horror to a scene – often more than “scary-sounding” music can.

Jennifer Lawrence is Ree, a young teenager who is struggling to keep her younger siblings and her mother alive. They have no money and often rely on the charity of their neighbours. Ree finds out that her father, who ran a meth lab, put their house up as bail and if he doesn’t show up for his court hearing, they’ll lose the house. Ree takes it upon herself to find her father in order to save their home.

John Hawkes plays Teardrop, Ree’s uncle. He wasn’t in the movie very much, but he’s a memorable character. He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the role, and I’d say he deserves it. The star of the film is Lawrence, though. She was amazing. The Best Actress category is very strong this year, and she definitely deserves her nomination. If she were nominated in a weaker year, she’d win.

The movie is very bleak, as anyone can tell based on the subject matter. I don’t want to say much more about it, because I think it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible. Everything I knew about it was based on a summary I received several months ago. It’s a depressing movie and very difficult to watch at times. I kept thinking about Ree’s age, and about how I wouldn’t have had the strength to do the things she did when I was 17. Not many people would.

I’ve noticed that this year, maybe more than other years, movies are relying on really horrible, difficult to watch moments. 127 Hours and Black Swan are two of this year’s nominated movies that I know I won’t be able to watch again. I’d probably add Winter’s Bone to that list. A movie can definitely be horrifying and have great replay value, but I haven’t been able to find that in these three movies. That being said, they were all very good. If you can, watch all three.