And the Winner is. . .My Oscar Favorites

Tomorrow night I'll be watching the Academy Awards.  Well, I'll certainly be watching the red carpet part anyway so I can "vote" on best and worst dressed.  Usually try to see all the major films that get Oscar attention, but this year I'm a bit behind.  Still especially want to see "Silver Linings Playbook" to support local girl Jennifer Lawrence, "Amour" and "Quartet" on the big screen.  The rest of 2012 films will be fine on Netflix.

Here's my very brief review of the ones I've seen and a favorite quote:

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - favorite, best ensemble of great character actors off on a culture shock of an adventure in India

       Sonny Kapoor, young Indian innkeeper: "Everything will be all right in the end, and if it's not all right, then it's not the end."

Les Miserables - brave anthem to love, forgiveness and freedom; live singing a risk that was worth taking, adding freshness and power to much loved music

       Marius, Cosette's  young lover:  "A heart full of love."

Skyfall 007 - great fun and Daniel Craig such an elegant James Bond

        Bond, in his trick car with M (Judi Dench as his boss): "Are you gonna complain the whole way?"
        M: "Go on then.  Eject me. See if I care."

Lincoln - the theater audience stood and applauded at the end, a primer of effective politics; a multi-faceted study of Lincoln the man and President

        Lincoln, on amendment to free slaves:  "Shall we stop this bleeding?"

Anna Karenina - irritating staging like comic opera, insipid characters that I couldn't care about, least favorite.

         Anna Karenina, begging to be freed from her marriage:  "I'd die for my son.  But I can't live for him like this."

Argo - on the edge of your seat tension, heart attack inducing action, parallels to current events, great comic lines

          Tony Mendez, an infiltration expert meeting with State Department on rescuing six Americans from the Canadian embassy during the Iranian hostage taking in 1979.  Proposal by State Department that they bike to the Iranian border and there be picked up by military:  "Or you could just send in training wheels and meet them at the border with Gatorade."

The Royal Affair - sometimes being a princess sucks.  Young English noblewoman is sent to Denmark to marry its insane young king.  She is humiliated, isolated and unloved until a German doctor and scholar joins the court to care for the king.  They form an attachment, at first based on books and concern for the welfare of the Danish people, that soon becomes an ill-fated love affair.  Much, much better than Anna Karenina if you can deal with English subtitles.

        Queen Caroline Mathilda: "You recognized me. 
         Johann Friedrich Struensee:  "I would recognize you blindfolded."  

Well, that's my year in movie going.  What about you?  Any that you loved? hated? disappointed?

The Oscars Pre-game Show --My Year at the Movies

Well, since it's a few hours before have to get ready for the Red Carpet, thought I'd throw out my two cent's worth on this year's films. It's been an odd year. Usually there are a couple that just captivate for one reason or another like last year's The Young Victoria or best song "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. Not so for this year. I really don't care who wins in any category tonight, although I like--in some cases love--many of this year's films. Here you can see the ones that I cared enough to see on the big screen. The rest were fine to catch on Netflix.

So, without further ado, here's my take on the 2010-11 films:

THRILLERS


By far the favorites in this category were the three based on Swedish author Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy that's been such runaway best sellers this past year. His books and the films got me interested in other Scandinavian authors, films, and travel(in August this year).


Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Stars: Michael Nyqvist as financial journalist Michael Blomkvist who is hired by a prominent Swedish businessman to solve the 40 year old case of his missing niece. Noomi Rapace plays Lisbeth Salander, the pierced and tattooed punk computer prodigy who helps Blomkvist investigate. They uncover complex family secrets, murder and financial intrigue--and, in the process, develop an unlikely friendship despite Lisbeth's unwillingness to share her troubled past and trust Blomkvist.



The Girl Who Played with Fire

The story continues with Michael Nyqvist still playing the journalist Michael Blomkvist and Noomi Rapace the fierce computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. BlomKvist decides to publish an expose on sex trafficking in Sweden that involves the highest government officials in wrong doing which results in two journalists' murders. Meanwhile, Lisbeth's troubled past draws her into this story and she is accused of the murders to shut her up. She goes into hiding to solve the crime and Michael uses his journalistic talents to clear her name.



The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

In the final film of the series, Lisbeth Salander is under house arrest in a hospital suffering from a bullet wound to the head. When she recovers, she will be tried for three murders. With the help of her friend Michael Blomvkist she will fight for her innocence, identify and bring to justice those in authority who failed to protect the young and vulnerable. Will she be able to get justice for herself and others who have been victimized by government officials for their own evil purposes.



The American

Stars George Clooney as an assassin who's ready to get out of the business. In summary, it's George Clooney in an Italian village interacting with the locals and falling in love with a local beauty. 'Nuf sed!








The Tourist

Stars Angelina Jolie as a crime fighting agent with a designer wardrobe who entangles Johnny Depp, an American tourist/math teacher, in the intrigue. This one was painful to watch. Angelina was little more than a clothes rack. Only saving graces for this film were Venice film location and occasional appearances of the lovely Rufus Sewell. Don't pay full price for this one!



Scenes from a Marriage --these next four films depict couples at various stages in their relationships.


Blue Valentine

Stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling as a couple trapped in a marriage that no longer satisfies either of them. Cindy(Michelle Williams) is the preoccupied mother who struggles with her day to day life, escaping in work and sexual flirtations. Dean (Ryan Gosling) is the under-employed, but caring, husband who can't figure out how to prevent the impending breakup. He tries to be a better father and partner, but his efforts fail. He is just not enough for Cindy any more. This film is a heart breaker because Cindy no longer wants what Dean can offer.



Rabbit Hole

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play a couple mourning the death of a child in a freak accident. Kidman copes by trying to perfectly order her daily life whether it's planting neat rows of flowers or baking the perfect pie or getting rid of all mementos of their son. Eckhart needs to talk about their loss, watch videos of their son. and remember him. Kidman feels like she is on the edge of that "rabbit hole" and may plunge any time. Eckhart just wants to grieve with his wife and find a way back. It's not hard to feel the pain in this film.



Another Year

Stars the wonderful character actors Jim Broadbent (Tom) as a genial geologist who's happily married to Ruth Sheen (Gerri) a kindly therapist for many years. They garden, cook together and try to support their long time friends Mary (Lesley Manville) and Ken Tom's childhood friend. This quiet movie is my favorite of the year. If you're going to be married for a long time, this relationship is what you're looking for. And Lesley Manville deserves all the awards she can get for her work as the flighty, self-absorbed, alcoholic friend who goes too far for even the tolerant Gerri.

Eat Pray Love

Even Julia Roberts; scenes of Italy with bowls of pasta, India and Bali; and the lovely Javier Bardem as the possible love interest couldn't save this film. Loved Elizabeth Gilbert's book about her journey around the world to learn to live with divorce and find a new center for her life. The film was just boring, like having the book read to me on screen. Didn't live up to the hype.


"True grit" films--I've lumped these three films together because each portrays a central character who overcomes great obstacles with the help of family, friends, and unlikely allies.



Winter's Bone

Everyone in Louisville is justifiably proud of the performance Jennifer Lawrence turns in for this film. She's a local girl who has delivered an award winning role in this bleak rural crime drama. She shines as the young girl struggling to take care of her young brother and sister and depressed mother, keeping them fed, sheltered, and in school. At the same time she takes on the meth lab owners and dealers in the Missouri foothills to locate her father who is mixed up with this crowd. She endures mental and emotional strain and physical violence at the hands of family members, neighbors, and law enforcement. Yet she keeps on. Jennifer won't win Best Actress tonight, but at barely 20 year's old it's great that she's recognized.


True Grit

This re-make of the old John Wayne western was just plain fun to watch. Young Mattie Ross (played by the surprisingly young actress Hailee Steinfield) systematically enlists the reluctant help of U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (played by Jeff Bridges) to track down the man who killed her father. She stubbornly insists on riding out with Rooster and the dandified Texas ranger (played by Matt Damon). they form an unlikely team to track down the killer. Mattie was looking for "true grit" but she had plenty to spare on her own and a sharp tongue to explain her expectations to any one she did business with.



The King's Speech

There's very little left to be said about this film. Everyone knows the story of the would-be king who had to conquer the staggering handicap of stuttering so that he could lead England in a time of great danger and war. Colin Firth delivers an Oscar worth performance as King George VI. Geoffrey Rush played the impudent but oh so confident speech therapist Lionel Logue. With the help of his queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and Logue, Bertie was able to step before the mic and deliver the words of courage to the British people on the brink of war. (Blast from the past: how many noticed that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett were back together again? This time Jennifer Ehle played Lionel Logue's tolerant wife.)

Psychological Drama


Black Swan

This is a film of contrasts. Natalie Portman plays a rising New York ballerina and repressed young woman under the control of her mother, a former ballerina as well. Nina (Portman) is replacing the lead in Swan Lake but she must prove that she can dance both the pure White Swan as well as the dark and destructive Black Swan. The film follows Nina's downward physical and psychological spiral as she tries to prove she can dance the darker role. The film is shocking for its physical and mental violence. Natalie Portman deserves the accolades she is winning for this role but this was not an enjoyable experience for this viewer who can take a lot of on screen violence.

Now I doubt that anyone gets through all this re-cap, but I just wanted to get it down. And now it's time for the Red Carpet. Let the show begin!

The Tolstoys, White Ribbons, & A Single Man

Gasp! Yesterday I made it through a movie marathon getting prepped for tonight's Academy Awards. So here are my last three Oscar picks: The Last Station, The White Ribbon, and A Single Man.

But before we get to the reviews, take a look at this postcard which I received from a Postcrossings friend in St. Petersburg, Russia last week. The postcard was especially intriguing--the colorful, onion-domed churches on the stamps, the Russian postmark, and the mystery photo.

I couldn't translate the name for the man in the photo so was just guessing Russian writer or composer. Until yesterday, when I saw this face again in The Last Station, the film about Leo Tolstoy, the Russian writer and utopian movement leader in the late 1800s. The same writer who, as it turned out, experienced War and Peace in his own life.



The Last Station -- Best Actress, Helen Mirren (Tolstoy's wife, Countess Sofya) and Best Supporting Actor, James McAvoy (Tolstoy's secretary Valentin)

This film focuses on the last years of Tolstoy's (played by Christopher Plummer ) life and the power struggle between his wife, Countess Sofra and Vladimir Chertkov, the leader of the utopian movement which Tolstoy founded. It is also an account of the Tolstoy's "war of the roses" marriage. And then thrown in between them is the idealistic young secretary Valentin (played by McAvoy) who is overcome with the honor of working with Tolstoy and needing Countess Sofra's help in navigating his first experiences at love with one of the young women followers of the movement. Here's a glimpse into everyday life in Utopia:



Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer are both perfectly cast as the aging Tolstoys. They love each other still on many levels, despite their brawling dramas. Tolstoy wants peace to finish his work; Sofra wants to protect her 13 children's inheritance from Chertkov and keep Tolstoy to herself. After one outburst over him wanting to go away from their estate to work, Tolstoy tells Sofra, "You don't need a husband, you need a Greek chorus."

I first noticed McAvoy in First King of Scotland, then Atonement and Becoming Jane as well as some minor roles in BBC dramas. In Last Station he was the perfect foil for the Mirren and Plummer characters. It won't happen tonight, but I be happy if best actress went to Mirren and supporting actor went to McAvoy.

Continued later today!

Later today--I just lost my reviews of The White Ribbon and A Single Man. It's 15 minutes to Academy showtime, so Blogger must have been telling me "enough already"! For the record, I hope Colin Firth wins for A Single Man and that The White Ribbon wins Best Foreign Language Film.

Enjoy the show!

This Year at the Movies - Oscar Picks

So, here's the next installment in my picks for Oscars at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. Reader warning: you may be subjected to more film clips than you can handle. Just skim until something strikes your fancy. I just wanted to collect under one "roof" what were, in my opinion, some of the best films of the season.

Today my award winners are all about love--young love to be specific. Two movies are set in the early 1800s and based on actual historical events. First, there's The Young Victoria, the story of England's Queen Victoria and her Prince Albert. The second is Bright Star, director Jane Campion's re-telling of the poet John Keats' ill-fated love affair with a local English girl, Fanny Brawne. Next, we'll skip a century or so to 1961 for An Education--school girl from London suburbs meets an older man on her way to Oxford and gets side-tracked. Finally, there's 500 Days of Summer, a modern day not-love story.

The Young Victoria -- Best Original Musical Score, Costume Design(tie with Bright Star) and Runner up Best Song ("Only You" sung by Sinead O'Connor)


I love this movie so much--have seen it twice so far in the theater, will rent it as soon as it's on Netflix. Emily Blunt plays an 18 year old Queen Victoria who ascends to the throne suddenly when she is barely more than a girl. She is courageous and stubbornly determined to carry out her duties as Queen of England. She gets plenty of counsel, some not the best. At the same time, she is courted and falls in love with the shy, but equally savvy, Prince Albert of Austria, played by Rupert Friend. This movie tells the story of their awkward courtship, beginnings of a marriage and ruling partnership that provided stability for England for many years:




Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are perfectly matched in this film. Even their bodies and personalities hint at what we know of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Emily Blunt, as Victoria is sturdy of frame, direct and open in her dealings with people. Rupert Friend, as Prince Albert, is almost frail in appearance. He reads people, understands the politics, and wants Victoria to be the people's queen with his help. The costumes are perfect. If queens wore business attire, they would look like the costumes in this film--beautiful, but free of excess. The original score, composed by Ilan Eshkari, with its swelling strings adds so much to the love story in this film.

Continued on Saturday!

Drover Hottie & Oscar Picks

(Looking for February 23 Fun Monday post? Just scroll down to "Kitchen Counter Tour".)

With the discovery of Netflix several months ago, I've become quite a film buff. Love getting those red envelopes in the mail and watching the DVDs on my home computer with Willie curled up under my desk. I have found treasures on Netflix. Movies both mainstream and independent, that have entertained, educated, and excited me. They ranged from British period drama to World Wars I and II to conflict and culture of the Middle East to complicated interpersonal relationships with family, friends, and lovers.

I also love seeing the first run movies on the big screen. From the above ticket stub collage, it looks like I'm in a pretty good position to pick the Oscar winners at tonight's Academy Awards ceremony. I'll watch the show just to see the spectacle of stars behaving graciously or badly, the fashions, and three hours of Hugh Jackman, the Drover Hottie from Down Under.

I don't have a particular movie, actor or director that I'm hoping will sweep the awards. I appreciated all of these movies for different reasons. However, here's my brief take on this past year at the movies, beginning with the Oscar contenders:

Doubt -- saw both the play and movie and still can't decide if the priest was guilty of child molestation or just buffering the boy from a harsh home life. There was evil on all sides. (Philip Seymour Hoffman delivered a chilling, puzzling performance as Father Flynn. Worthy of Best Supporting Actor.)

Revolutionary Road -- we all know the Wheelers (Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio) the perfect couple of the 1950s suburbia, living privately desperate and separate lives.

The Wrestler -- the brutality of the ring for has been been wrestlers was hard to watch many times. That brutality was balanced by the Ram's clumsy, but sweet, efforts to find redemption in the love of a woman, his daughter and the ring. (Mickey Rourke delivered a Best Actor performance and Marisa Tomei did the same for Best Supporting Actress. P.S. I am so getting me a hula hoop.)

Slumdog Millionaire -- Original premise. Chaotic glimpse into the life of orphans from the slums of Mumbai and how they survived by looking out for each other. (Danny Boyle deserves Best Director for such a sweeping film.)

Frost-Nixon -- Michael Sheen (Frost) and Frank Langella (Nixon) were the perfect counterpoints in this camera battle. Lightweight TV host takes on brooding, disgraced, but still power hungry, president. Who knew interviews on Vietnam and Watergate could be riveting? (Langella should win Best Actor.)

Milk -- I love Sean Penn for his chameleon-like ability to become someone else--from Huey Long to the grieving father in Mystic River to Harvey Milk, gay activist/San Franscisco city supervisor. In Milk, Penn nails the voice, body language, sadness, anger and humor of a gay man determined to bring about change. (Penn deserves Best Actor nomination, but he probably could care less about winning.)

Rachel Getting Married -- Anne Hathaway played a masterful role as the damaged daughter/sister/addict who gets out of a treatment center to be in her sister's wedding. I now know for certain why I hate parties and drawn out gatherings.

Defiance -- since December I've seen a series of films about WW I and II. This inspiring true story of the Bielski brothers' saving over 1,000 Eastern European Jews from the Germans in the Belarus Woods during WW II, put to rest the mistaken claim that "Jews won't fight." (Deserves Original Score award.)

The Duchess -- Keira Knightley played an 18th century ancestor of Princess Diana with eerily the same marriage and political path. (Ralph Finnes was excellent as the older, distant and cruel husband who only wanted a male heir from his young duchess.)

Australia -- Great sweeping Australian landscapes; Hugh Jackman tanned and riding a horse; Hugh Jackman putting the uppity noblewoman Nicole Kidman in her place and then winning her love; Hugh Jackman respecting and protecting the aboriginal people. Indulgent film making by director Baz Lehrmann? Who cares? (Be fine if wins Best Costume.)

The Reader -- saved the most complicated for last. I'm still thinking about this film. A 15 year Michael Berg is caught up in an intense love affair with Hanna, an older woman. They make love and he reads to her. She disappears. They meet again when, as a young law student, Berg observes her on trial for Nazi war crimes. Berg discovers that in his former lover's eyes there are secrets more shameful than murder of Jews in concentration camps. (Kate Winslet delivers a transformative performance as Hanna and deserves Best Actress. Ralph Finnes, as the adult Berg, played a controlled character, similar to his role in The Duchess, who was incapable of reaching out to his former lover until it was too late.)

Other movies I'm glad to have seen this year:

Gran Torino -- Clint still has it even in his 70s.

Last Chance Harvey -- Sweet. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson take a chance on love.

Secret Life of Bees -- memorable interpretation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel about a southern sisterhood of strong women helping an abused young girl.

Then She Found Me -- Colin Firth as a bumbling, lovable single dad who loves his son's teacher.

When Did You Last See Father? --Colin Firth being creepy.

Momma Mia -- Abba and Meryl Streep--what fun!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas -- The son of a Nazi concentration camp commandant and a Jewish boy imprisoned in that camp form a true friendship.

Well, I'm listening to the awards show while typing this and my picks are not doing very well. That's okay, because the great thing about movies is that we're free to interpret and enjoy--or hate--as we like. All for the price of a ticket, bag of popcorn, and box of Junior Mints.