Continuing on with 2011's nominees.
'The Artist' (PG-13)
Silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) meets young dancer Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions.
I really haven't seen many silent movies, so this was an experience for me. Heck, the only other (mostly) silent movie I've seen was Mel Brooks' 1976 satire 'Silent Movie', which I thought had it's moments but it mostly just kinda dragged. I saw 'The Artist' after the nominations had come out so I knew about all the hype and acclaim going into it. But with it being silent and in black and white, I didn't really know what to expect. I've seen enough shows and movies that do side jokes to how black and white silent movies were so I knew some of those tropes going into this.
This was a great movie. And honestly, if I hadn't recognized a few of the more well known actors in this movie (such as John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Malcolm McDowell) you could have told me this movie was made in the 1930s and if I hadn't known better I might have believed you. It perfectly recreates that style of movie. In addition to that it's also very funny, has a sweet romantic subplot, and handles the more dramatic aspects of its story well. It introduced American audiences to Jean Dujardin, who since winning the Best Actor Oscar has been in supporting roles in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and 'The Monuments Men'.
This deserved all the acclaim that it had been getting. This is on Netflix and I highly, highly, highly recommend this movie.
OSCARS WON: Best Picture, Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius, Best Actor - Jean Dujardin, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Supporting Actress - Berenice Bejo, Best Original Screenplay - Michel Hazanavicius, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
Silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) meets young dancer Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions.
I really haven't seen many silent movies, so this was an experience for me. Heck, the only other (mostly) silent movie I've seen was Mel Brooks' 1976 satire 'Silent Movie', which I thought had it's moments but it mostly just kinda dragged. I saw 'The Artist' after the nominations had come out so I knew about all the hype and acclaim going into it. But with it being silent and in black and white, I didn't really know what to expect. I've seen enough shows and movies that do side jokes to how black and white silent movies were so I knew some of those tropes going into this.
This was a great movie. And honestly, if I hadn't recognized a few of the more well known actors in this movie (such as John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Malcolm McDowell) you could have told me this movie was made in the 1930s and if I hadn't known better I might have believed you. It perfectly recreates that style of movie. In addition to that it's also very funny, has a sweet romantic subplot, and handles the more dramatic aspects of its story well. It introduced American audiences to Jean Dujardin, who since winning the Best Actor Oscar has been in supporting roles in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and 'The Monuments Men'.
This deserved all the acclaim that it had been getting. This is on Netflix and I highly, highly, highly recommend this movie.
OSCARS WON: Best Picture, Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius, Best Actor - Jean Dujardin, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Supporting Actress - Berenice Bejo, Best Original Screenplay - Michel Hazanavicius, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
'The Descendants' (R)
Based on the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Land baron Matt King (George Clooney) tries to reconnect with his two daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident and it's discovered she was cheating on him.
I remember going to see this in theaters right after I got out of my night class. I had a cold at the time so I sat in the theater with one of my hands awkwardly in front of my nose just so I could breath out of my nose right.
Anyway, this was the first of Alexander Payne's movies that I've seen. Over all I thought it was pretty good with another great performance from George Clooney and nicely balances between light hearted comedy and drama. It was the big screen debut for Shailene Woodley, who has since gone on to 'The Spectacular Now' and will next be seen in the adaptations 'Divergent' and 'The Fault In Our Stars'. Yep, that's all I got for this movie.
OSCAR WON: Best Adapted Screenplay - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Nash
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Alexander Payne, Best Actor - George Clooney, Best Film Editing
Based on the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Land baron Matt King (George Clooney) tries to reconnect with his two daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident and it's discovered she was cheating on him.
I remember going to see this in theaters right after I got out of my night class. I had a cold at the time so I sat in the theater with one of my hands awkwardly in front of my nose just so I could breath out of my nose right.
Anyway, this was the first of Alexander Payne's movies that I've seen. Over all I thought it was pretty good with another great performance from George Clooney and nicely balances between light hearted comedy and drama. It was the big screen debut for Shailene Woodley, who has since gone on to 'The Spectacular Now' and will next be seen in the adaptations 'Divergent' and 'The Fault In Our Stars'. Yep, that's all I got for this movie.
OSCAR WON: Best Adapted Screenplay - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Nash
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Alexander Payne, Best Actor - George Clooney, Best Film Editing
'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' (PG-13)
A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father Thomas (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer.
The trailer for this almost had me in tears. It had a limited release in December 2011 to qualify for awards before being released nationwide in January 2012. The limited release reviews were extremely mixed. Some praised it, others hated it, some claimed it was Oscar bait, others simply thought the book was better. I've never read the book so I can't really compare it to the movie.
The movie...overall was good with great supporting performances from Max von Sydow as a mysterious mute man and Tom Hanks as Oskar's father. But there was one huge thing that greatly hindered this movie: The character of Oskar. This was former 'Kid Jeopardy!' champion Thomas Horn's acting debut, so I won't berate him. But I'll berate this character. This character is insufferable. He's rude, he's annoying, and he's a brat. I know in the movie at one point he does comment that he was tested for Asperger's but that the results were inconclusive. I should be sympathetic towards this character...instead he makes me angry. The final nail in the coffin where I immediately wrote this character off and couldn't buy it anymore was when Oskar tells his mother (Sandra Bullock) that he wishes that it was her in the towers instead of his father. Sorry, not buying it. I could rant awhile over this, but I have six other movies to talk about for this post.
On a final note, I still feel that Max von Sydow should have won Best Supporting Actor over Christopher Plummer (who won for 'Beginners'...I'll talk about that movie some other time).
OSCARS WON: None
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor - Max von Sydow
A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father Thomas (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer.
The trailer for this almost had me in tears. It had a limited release in December 2011 to qualify for awards before being released nationwide in January 2012. The limited release reviews were extremely mixed. Some praised it, others hated it, some claimed it was Oscar bait, others simply thought the book was better. I've never read the book so I can't really compare it to the movie.
The movie...overall was good with great supporting performances from Max von Sydow as a mysterious mute man and Tom Hanks as Oskar's father. But there was one huge thing that greatly hindered this movie: The character of Oskar. This was former 'Kid Jeopardy!' champion Thomas Horn's acting debut, so I won't berate him. But I'll berate this character. This character is insufferable. He's rude, he's annoying, and he's a brat. I know in the movie at one point he does comment that he was tested for Asperger's but that the results were inconclusive. I should be sympathetic towards this character...instead he makes me angry. The final nail in the coffin where I immediately wrote this character off and couldn't buy it anymore was when Oskar tells his mother (Sandra Bullock) that he wishes that it was her in the towers instead of his father. Sorry, not buying it. I could rant awhile over this, but I have six other movies to talk about for this post.
On a final note, I still feel that Max von Sydow should have won Best Supporting Actor over Christopher Plummer (who won for 'Beginners'...I'll talk about that movie some other time).
OSCARS WON: None
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor - Max von Sydow
'The Help' (PG-13)
An aspiring author (Emma Stone) during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett.
Every Friday at Ball State University the University Program Board puts on 'Friday Night Filmworks', showing movies that have already been to theaters but haven't came out on DVD yet. Usually I go if I hadn't seen the movie, and that was the case with 'The Help'. I hadn't seen it, so I decided to walk over to Pruis Hall after work and watch this movie. It was a packed auditorium, and with almost 500 people in attendance and 'The Help' clocking in at almost two and a half hours, it got hot in that place.
But anyway, what did I think of this movie? Honestly it was pretty good, driven by the lead performances of Emma Stone and Viola Davis. The drama never gets too heavy handed, and sometimes it actually is kinda funny. One scene is a but gross, but it's also pretty funny (let's just say it involves a pie). From what I've read about that time period the movie appeared to be a good depiction of how things actually were back then. My only complaint is that the movie is a little too long, but that's a minor complaint to what otherwise was a very good movie.
OSCAR WON: Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Actress - Viola Davis, Best Supporting Actress - Jessica Chastain
An aspiring author (Emma Stone) during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett.
Every Friday at Ball State University the University Program Board puts on 'Friday Night Filmworks', showing movies that have already been to theaters but haven't came out on DVD yet. Usually I go if I hadn't seen the movie, and that was the case with 'The Help'. I hadn't seen it, so I decided to walk over to Pruis Hall after work and watch this movie. It was a packed auditorium, and with almost 500 people in attendance and 'The Help' clocking in at almost two and a half hours, it got hot in that place.
But anyway, what did I think of this movie? Honestly it was pretty good, driven by the lead performances of Emma Stone and Viola Davis. The drama never gets too heavy handed, and sometimes it actually is kinda funny. One scene is a but gross, but it's also pretty funny (let's just say it involves a pie). From what I've read about that time period the movie appeared to be a good depiction of how things actually were back then. My only complaint is that the movie is a little too long, but that's a minor complaint to what otherwise was a very good movie.
OSCAR WON: Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Actress - Viola Davis, Best Supporting Actress - Jessica Chastain
'Hugo' (PG)
Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan (Asa Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father (Jude Law) and an automaton. He also gets in trouble with the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and befriends Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), the goddaughter of the toymaker (Ben Kingsley) who he has been stealing mechanical parts from. Based on the novel 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' by Brian Selznick.
Saw this in theaters after I kept hearing about all the critical acclaim that it was getting. And indeed, this was a wonderful movie. Good acting, GREAT 3D, and as the movies goes on it becomes a love letter to the first motion pictures ever made. Not only is it the first 3D movie Martin Scorsese has made but also his first family movie. Well, this was a short review.
OSCARS WON: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Martin Scorsese, Best Adapted Screenplay - John Logan, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing
Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan (Asa Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father (Jude Law) and an automaton. He also gets in trouble with the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and befriends Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), the goddaughter of the toymaker (Ben Kingsley) who he has been stealing mechanical parts from. Based on the novel 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' by Brian Selznick.
Saw this in theaters after I kept hearing about all the critical acclaim that it was getting. And indeed, this was a wonderful movie. Good acting, GREAT 3D, and as the movies goes on it becomes a love letter to the first motion pictures ever made. Not only is it the first 3D movie Martin Scorsese has made but also his first family movie. Well, this was a short review.
OSCARS WON: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Martin Scorsese, Best Adapted Screenplay - John Logan, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, nostalgic screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Rented this from Redbox just before 2011 ended so I could count this among the movies I had seen in 2011. This was the first Woody Allen movie I've seen, and three years later it's still the only Woody Allen movie I've seen apart from a few scenes from 'Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)'. But as far as 'Midnight In Paris' goes, I will say this: It is a wonderfully original movie. It's interesting to see all of the various famous people he meets in the 1920's, such as Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali and F. Scott Fitzgerald among others. The performances for the most part are particularly good, although Marion Cotillard as Adriana, Picasso's mistress and eventually Gil's love interest. The movie is occasionally amusing but I wasn't exactly laughing out loud.
OSCARS WON: Best Original Screenplay - Woody Allen
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Woody Allen, Best Art Direction
Based on the true story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's (Brad Pitt) successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. With Jonah Hill as the analyst who gives this idea to Billy Beane, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as the manager of the Oakland A's, and Chris Pratt as a player who is brought into the A's under this new system.
The first time I saw this movie I thought it was way too long and dragged out and I was wondering why it was getting the acclaim that it was getting. I then saw 'Drive' later that day which was a much better movie and all was well.
I've seen 'Drive' once. But 'Moneyball' I've seen many times since, and each time I watch it it just gets better and better. Honestly every aspect of the movie just becomes better and better upon repeated viewings. And it doesn't feel dragged out and it actually becomes interesting. How Billy Beane primarily became a general manager after his own MLB playing career fizzled after being a phenom in high school. How he won't watch the games or attend them, and how he gets angry often. Jonah Hill's nomination is a bit of a head scratcher as he doesn't do or say a whole lot during the movie but it is nice to see him in something not raunchy for once.
OSCARS WON: None
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Actor - Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actor - Jonah Hill, Best Adapted Screenplay - Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing
Inter cut between the present day, Texas in 1956, the creation of the universe, dinosaurs, the eventual destruction of the universe, and the afterlife. In 1956, the eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings. His mother (Jessica Chastain) is a free spirit and caring. His father (Brad Pitt) is stern and demanding. In the present and now late middle aged (Sean Penn), he deals with the loss of his brother.
Technically, there is no narrative, mostly just piecing together scenes that follow the theme of life. I was in awe over this movie when I rented it from Redbox. The camera work and special effects for this moving are AMAZING. It truly is a visual treat. The acting and the musical score were also superb. Chastain should've been nominated for this role instead of her role in 'The Help'. Could an actual linear storyline have made the movie even better? Perhaps. But it's great the way it is.
OSCARS WON: None
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Director - Terrence Malick, Best Cinematography
The tale of a horse named Joey, who is bought by a poor farmer and despite being a thoroughbred is trained to plough the field's by the farmer's son Albert (Jeremy Irvine). The two bond together, but World War I separates the two as Joey is sold to the British army. The movie follows Joey's journey through World War I as he eventually winds up in France, and eventually under German hands. Also features Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch as British army officers. Based on the children's book and stage play of the same name.
The first trailer came out for this and to me it just screamed 'OSCAR BAIT'. I had no intentions of seeing this...until it got nominated for Best Picture. Saw this the same week I saw 'The Artist' and 'The Descendants'. I try to go into every movie I see with an open mind, but perhaps my 'Oscar Bait' mindset for this movie was still there as I sat through all 2 and a half hours of 'War Horse'.
It's....okay. Perhaps that mindset was still there as scene after scene happened and I just kept telling myself 'Okay...now what?'. There were people in the theater bawling there eyes out by the end of the movie. I wasn't one of them. Now, is it a bad movie? Not by any stretch of the imagination. The whole movie has kind of an old-fashioned quality to it. Can't quite explain that fully, but this looks and feels like it could've been released in the 60's or 70's. Now one thing I can say positive about the movie is the cinematography. It's great to look at. Other than that, I've got nothing else for 'War Horse'.
OSCARS WON: None
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography
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