Archive for February, 2007

My Take on the Oscars

Published
by
nathanshorb
on February 26, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Since I’m an anti-jock, I’m rarely the Monday-Morning Quarterback. On the other hand, being the artsy fart that I am, I’ll be glad to take the role of Monday-Morning Film Critic.

This doesn’t quite fit in in the lunchroom, though. When there was mention of the Oscars at the table of guys, one asked another, “You watch the Oscars?” The other scoffed, “Hell, no!” Others agreed in disgust, making the general consensus quite clear, complaining that everything else on TV was a rerun because of those damn Oscars. I, on the other hand, was disappointed that I wasn’t able to watch them due to lack of adequate reception with the rabbit ears, but I declined to express my interest at the table and kept my mouth shut.

So, instead of offering my opinions in the lunchroom to a bunch of people who could care less and who would be able to respond only with puzzled looks, I turn to you, dear Cyberspace. I confide in you, always there to lend a listening ear…

So here we go…

Alan Arkin as Best Supporting Actor…I love Little Miss Sunshine as much as (or probably more than) the next guy, and Alan Arkin was great. But honestly! How much screen time did he actually have?! And how demanding was that role?! I’m not necessarily upset that he got it, but is it really fair to, say, Jackie Earle Haley?

Was the makeup work in Pan’s Labyrinth really better than Click? Just kidding. But I DO want to watch Click just to see what in the world earned it a nomination. Actually, no, I can pass on that.

Inconvenient Truth winning Best Documentary…I know, I know, it’s an important movie and one of the most successful documentaries ever and blah blah blah. But there’s just something not quite right about a former Vice President making a PowerPoint presentation and getting an award for it. I mean, really…did the Academy even SEE Iraq in Fragments?!?

The Lives of Others winning Best Foreign Language Film…I have no idea what the Lives of Others is like, and I’m sure it’s a charming little movie, but if Pan’s Labyrinth isn’t going to win Best Picture, it should at least win Best Foreign Language Film.

Forest Whitaker winning Best Actor…I’m sure he’s good, but I was rooting for the underdog: the crack-addict inner-city teacher.

Little Miss Sunshine winning Best Original Screenplay…Out of the nominees, sure. But here’s what should have happened: Scorsese finally got his Oscar for directing, no need to give him Best Picture, too. So we give Best Picture to Little Miss Sunshine instead, then give Best Original Screenplay to Half Nelson, which wasn’t nominated, but darn well should have been, and deserved to win on top of it. Little Miss Sunshine is nice, but a wee bit contrived. Half Nelson isn’t, I don’t think, and the layers and layers of depth and meaning that surface in turn are indeed award-worthy.

And there’s my unasked-for two cents.

Notes On A Scandal

Published
by
Neville
on February 23, 2007
in Based on a novel, Drama, England and High School
. 0 Comments

What can’t Judi Dench do? She can play the Queen of England with a fierce, jewel-lined-smile in Shakespeare in Love. She can play the rambuctious, sexually free owner of a dying English theater in Mrs. Henderson Presents. And now she’s playing a sexually frustrated and lonely old school teacher (borderline crazy teacher at that) in Notes on a Scandal, another Oscar-nominated performance. So what can’t she do? Really?

Even though Notes on a Scandal feels like raw material for an ABC Sunday Night Special, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett (also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category) set this film high abovce that status. Told with conviction, a North-Country-meets-The-Talented-Mr.-Ripley-meets-Psycho-meets-What-Ever-Happened-To-Baby-Jane little schoolhouse drama/thriller that eventually creeps you out and makes you chuckle at Dench’s voice over at the same time. Clearly a great DVD rental, if not somewhat unsettling, this movie’s just one of the many in the long line of 2006 that could be called “good films.” And speaking of 2006. Top ten lists you three????

Pan’s Labyrinth

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 5, 2007
in Drama, Fantasy, Spanish Civil War, Thriller, Twist and War
. 0 Comments

Wow. That’s all I could say after watching this one. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into except all I had heard was good and it was a children’s movie? Well, I was wrong on part of that. This is setup like a fairytale, but this is more like something out of Aesop’s Fables where people die and not everything is happy-go-lucky. This isn’t a G-Rated American fairytale like ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pale of water.’

This film takes place during the Spanish Civil War and is centered around a little girl whose mother has just married a fascist army officer. They move out into the country to where the Captain is because her mother is 8+ months pregnant and about to deliver the Captain’s child. He feels like a baby needs to be born where its father is. We soon learn just what a horrible person this father-to-be is as we see him interact with his family, his soldiers and anyone else that gets in his way. This man will stop at nothing.

On the trip, the girl, Ofelia, is reading a book about a fairy princess who finds her way into the human world and is trying to find her way back. In order to cope with the atrocities of her own life, Ofelia projects this story on her own life through her wonderful imagination. This is a very different take on fantasy from what most people are used to. There’s no elves, goblins or ringwraiths in this film.

This is the first time I’ve seen a movie with mythical characters that are good, yet scary looking. I was also physically on the edge of my seat in a couple parts of the movie and I can’t say that happens very often while watching a movie. Many parts of this movie are about discovery and finding out just what will happen next.

I highly recommend this movie to adults looking for a thought provoking imaginative film. Even though it’s unrated, this would definitely receive an R-rating for violence and language. I think the story and morals portrayed are more than worth the objectionable content you might find while watching.

The Departed

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 5, 2007
in Conspiracy, Corruption, Crime, Drama, Remake and Thriller
. 0 Comments

I think Scorsese might finally have something to win him that Oscar he’s been after. The man has had some really great films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Aviator. The guy is good. However, there’s always something else that seems to win. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed and loved this one.

The story is great. It’s about the Irish mob in Boston and the state police who are dedicated to keeping things kosher. You have people playing both sides and some crazy people at the top. Throw in performances from Martin Sheen, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga and you have a wonderful film.

As always with Scorsese, this one is long. It clocks in at 151 minutes, but I wasn’t left with that feeling like I’ve been there forever and am bored to death. I wasn’t ever on the edge of my seat, but attention was kept the whole time. The story starts out with the lives of two boys growing up in Boston. Then we see them as adults and what they’re currently doing. They’re both involved with the police and they’re both involved with the mob.

I’m always a sucker for mob movies. I don’t know why. I guess secretly inside I wish I was tough and people respected me. Scorsese definitely proved himself with Goodfellas, but I think this might be even better. The stories have a much different feel to them and they are in no way the same movie. I really love how you get to know the characters involved and see what happens as their lives unfold. You see bad guys doing good things and good guys doing bad things. Are the bad guys really bad? Are the good guys really good? Ok, maybe I’m taking it a little too far. This isn’t a western.

One thing I noticed right away was the music. There’s a lot of Rolling Stones and some Pink Floyd thrown in there. I really enjoyed it. It’s amazing how much the music can make or break a movie. When it’s good, you usually don’t notice it, but if it’s bad, it can stick out like a sore thumb.

I don’t know what more to say without divulging too much of the plot. I loved this and plan on buying it. I hope you like it too.

Babel

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 5, 2007
in Drama, Multiple story line and Thriller
. 0 Comments

I’m going to start off by saying I thought this movie was mediocre. I think there were some great performances, but overall, it wasn’t tied together well.

First off, this was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. He’s done some great stuff like 21 Grams and Amores Perros. I respect the guy. He does good work. Actors include Gael García Bernal, Adriana Barraza, Kôji Yakusho, Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. These are all great actors.

The story - now here’s where I have the problems. My first impression, from the previews and the “buzz”, was that this was similar to Crash. Maybe I didn’t give this a fair shake, but let me know what you think. The film Crash was about a bunch of different people with different lives, of different races and of different socio-economic classes. All of them resided in the LA area and all of them were connected through one circumstance or another. All of them were important to the story and you got a peak into each one of their lives. The film Babel is centered around an American family and a few other people that are somewhat connected to them and/or the story. During and after the movie was over, I was left with a feeling of, “why did I need to care so much about them?” This wasn’t quite as extreme as in The Fountain when you never found out why it was so important Hugh Jackman’s wife lived, but there was nevertheless something lacking. You find out only a little bit about the American family through snippets of conversation but that’s it. The film is mainly based on the circumstances of what is happening. The circumstances were very important and quite dire, but at the same time I feel there is value to making the audience feel connected to the characters.

The story of the girl and her father in Japan felt very much like a “dangling shad” of a Florida election ballot to me in reference to the plot. The father is connected because of a weapon, but that’s it. His family is also messed up due to the death of his wife but if that whole part of the movie was cut, I don’t think the story would have changed much at all. Their story might have been fulfilling some stylistic element or something, but I think it could have been cut or beefed up in some way. If it had been cut though, I feel like the movie would have been even more lacking because then the story/plot isn’t very unique at all. I felt like there needed to be either something else connecting the Japanese family to the American family or another character and/or circumstance to add to the Japanese part.

As I said before, performances were great, but that doesn’t make the movie great. I think films like Monster and Ray are other examples of that. You may totally disagree with me here, and if you do give me a comment. I’d love to discuss this film with you. I think this this movie had a lot of potential, but it just fell short in my eyes.