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Thursday’s TOP TEN – BEST Picture Nominees

Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

BEST?  BEST?? – Oh what have we come to?  To what depths of mediocrity have we sunk?  TEN!!!  There haven’t been 10 BEST MOVIE possibilities since the 70’s and even then, not all in one year!!!  WHY? WHAT FOR?  What’s this all about?  politics? lobbyists for the producers? $$$???

  1. INCEPTION:  I already reviewed this movie way back when it was released.  I think it belongs in the list of nominees if only for its bizarro concept.  It was confusing at times and you didn’t know what was the dream-like altered state of mind and what was real.  MMMmm who knew INCEPTION’s fantasy versus reality would only be the beginning of a movie season filled with UN-reality!  See prior blog INCEPTION-What’s All the Twitter About? .
  2. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT: Warmly received at Sundance , Ms. Cholodenko’s third feature has the same narrative motor as Laurel Canyon and High Art – sexual attraction! The first two were obliquely personal but this one draws more directly on Ms. Cholodenko’s life.  She co-wrote the movie with Stuart Blumberg, who interestingly enough had been a sperm donor in his youth – “art imitating life”??
  3. THE FIGHTER: David Russell’s Best Picture nominated film is NOT another Rocky or Cinderella Man.  It is the true life story of Mickey Ward,  a welterweight boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts.  Most movies about athletic conquest lend themselves to the dramatic side of cinema but The Fighter is more like a dark comedy about the delusions and realities of fame, fortune and success in America. Definitely “a contender”.
  4. SOCIAL NETWORK: Another film I previously reviewed, see prior blog, The Social Network .  You know,  this was a very entertaining movie.  In this day and age who under the age of _____ wouldn’t want a peek into the founder of Facebook’s life.  I know I was interested and I am most surely a woman of a certain age.  Facebook is everywhere and that buzz alone could usher it into first place.   I love the movie and the story and I love Jesse Eisenberg but Best Picture?  It was my understanding that the Best Movie winner should really be a BEST movie, not just a popular one.
  5. BLACK SWAN: Even the director  says the movie is weird!  A dark fantasy about a ballerina whose pursuit of perfection takes her to the edge of madness, death and perfectly choreographed oblivion.  The louder the score, the more intense the craziness – definitely the love-it hate-it movie of the year.
  6. THE KING’S SPEECH: It’s a good film, it doesn’t take you as far as it should, that’s my main problem with it.  The performances are brilliant and convincing and that alone may be enough to win the big prize.  Read my review in a prior blog post. The King’s Speech or Rather the Lack Thereof.
  7. TRUE GRIT: Joel and Ethan Coen; that says A LOT.  Let’s face it – they wouldn’t have made it if they didn’t think they could do it differently and maybe better.  Casting is great, the story is great, and as far as the acting; Hailee Steinfeld makes an impressive debut, Matt Damon didn’t get the nod for his part and Jeff Bridges, while always a favorite, might have taken this role over the top sometimes.  It’s in the top four as far as I’m concerned.
  8. TOY STORY 3: The third installment of what has become the Toy Story Trilogy, spaced out over 15 years.  Pixar is genius and in this movie, many more technological innovations are at play (no pun intended).  The movie is warm, touching and sweet yet it’s about plastic and polyester doo dads, stamped and molded.  There’s the genius; about our consumer economy, the ups and downs of our materialistic way of life as told through the eyes and mouths of the commodities themselves.  Genius YES, Best Picture NO.
  9. 127 HOURS: Between a rock and a hard place was never so true.  I only watched this movie because it was nominated, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I love watching movies and ALWAYS get caught up in the story, I NEVER remember “it’s only a movie”, although Peter does remind me sometimes when I am freaking out in my seat over some horror. Sooooo after covering my eyes during the big scene, my take on the film is this:  If I didn’t know it was a true story, I would find it hard to believe. Aron Ralston was a warrior, a young man in incredibly great shape and of a strong mind. Note that I didn’t say sound mind.  I found Danny Boyle‘s split and triplex screens a little overdone and although I understood why he kept shooting this inside of the water bottle, I think we could have gotten the message with less footage.  James Franco performed the equivalent of several Shakespearean soliloquies.  I wonder if it is harder to act alone? This is not a BEST Picture but Franco is very very good and although I don’t think he can beat out Colin Firth, you never know…..
  10. WINTER’S BONE: I wish I had been able to see this movie before I wrote this blog but as life would have it, I didn’t-Thursday came and I wanted to put the TEN nominated films in my Thursday’s Top Ten and sooooooo I will try to catch before we get into Oscar countdown and my predictions.

    11. Between a rock and a hard place, James Franco, Danny Boyle

    Good but not Best

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Jeff Bridges-Best Actor INDEED

Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged , , , on March 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I just came home after seeing Crazy Heart and am more convinced than before that Jeff Bridges truly deserved the Best Actor Academy Award.  He was convincingly the aging, washed up, alcoholic country singer.

The best actors take the risks.  And they make it look easy, so easy in fact that you don’t even think they’re making it look easy. Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake was an outstanding example of an actor willing to let it all hang out, both figuratively and literally.  At 60 years old, he was brave enough to take off most of his clothes and let’s be honest, he wasn’t exactly sexy in his tighty whities.  Actually it was the scene in the movie where he vomits and lays down on the bathroom floor wearing only his underwear – that was when it really hit me….he was a drunk, moaning and then passing out.  Every expression, every movement of his body…. and then I realized, he’s NOT ALONE in this room; the cameramen, the lighting people, the grips, and the electricians, the script reader, set decorators, make-up and on and on are all around him – it’s almost unbelievable that he was so …. vulnerable!

And then as I said in my previous Oscar-related blog, when you compare his performance to that of his competition, there really wasn’t any competition.  That’s not to say that George Clooney and Morgan Freeman and Colin Firth aren’t great actors – they are.  The role and the depth of your character certainly plays a huge part in your ability to bring an Oscar home.  Even though you often read in a review the statement that the actor brought depth to the role , there are some roles that just don’t allow an actor to stretch. This blog is not about criticizing the other nominees or their roles; it’s only about singing the praises of Jeff Bridges in what surely was his best role ever.  Best Actor – Jeff Bridges Indeed!

Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake

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7 Days-7 Down- 3 To Go

Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged , , , , , , on March 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

Inglourious Basterds

Countdown to the Academy Awards.  With 7 days left I have seen 7 of the 10 films; the latest was Inglorious Basterds.  I thought Hurt Locker was intense, and this was similarly nerve-wracking.  A little too violent for me -you know scalping scenes tend to be bloody! Brad Pitt was the big basterd and he was okay but this certainly was no stretch for him and you notice he was NOT nominated for an Oscar.  The accent/voice he was obviously directed to use,  was horrific.  And talk about a stretch – did any one of the characters  or anyone in the audience actually think his character was going to be able to pull off a believable Italian? Sounding like that?  That being said, I can’t imagine this movie winning Best Picture, BUT I am sure that Christopher Waltz will dance away (pun intended) with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  Now that character was really the biggest basterd of all. Portraying a viciously exacting and and clever SS Colonel, he was outstanding! God it was so easy to hate him..

The probability of seeing the remaining three; Precious, Up, and The Blind Side are slim to none.  However, I am hoping to catch Crazy Heart before Sunday because I do want to see Jeff Bridges in this role.  Check in later this week if you’re interested to hear my predictions.

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Big or Little?

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , on February 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

Tonight’s the night when the Westminster Dog Show will choose the Best in Show.  Word on the street (that would be Seventh Avenue) is that Sadie the Scottish Terrier is a favorite to win BUT is it possible that this year a Golden Retriever, named Treasure,  a long shot could win? Welllllllll the word on the street on the other coast (that would be Hollywood Boulevard) is that Jeff Bridges is going to win the Oscar for Best Actor  – Why? ” Because it’s his time.”  So maybe maybe…..Personally I’m not enamored with Goldens or Labs – I like smaller dogs – like when is a Brussels Griffon going to win? So here we are with the Golden Retriever being the most popular breed in America but can it be a WINNER?  AND for your consideration a Whippet, a Puli, a French Bulldog and a toy Poodle are in the winner’s circles for their own breeds and classes.  It’s a dog’s world!

HI I'm Sadie (well not really)

I look like Treasure at least I think I do.

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