Nine

NINE

Up For:
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Absolutely loved this film. Characterization is my favorite part of stories, especially those of superhero stories and the like. Nine was completely filled with characters. The nominations for Nine were deserved but also inflicted confusion.

Costume & Art Direction were top notch. The sound stage with the set in progress for all the musical numbers was fantastic. Great concept, which I am guessing came from the Broadway play portion of this film. The music was phenomenal (not necessarily all the music, since some of the songs dropped the ball). The frustration begins with the song decision for the nominee: Take It All, sung by Marion Cotillard. Kate Hudson's and Fergie's musical numbers were fantastic.

The cast of Nine was a male's wet dream! Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Fergie, Marion Cotillard, as only the start. Each woman figure brought about their own style and characterization. Every woman figure you could have in your life was portrayed. The mother, the wild child, the mistress, etc. Each with their own song and aspect. The image of Fergie playing in the sand accompanying her song was vivid, while Kate Hudson's vogue-ish dance and song were pure sex, the image of her beaded clothing still shaking when I remember the film.

The biggest concern I have with the nominations given to the film was the lack of Lead Actor nomination for Daniel Day Lewis, and for many reasons. For starters, his character was brilliantly played. The interview sequence, he in his sunglasses the entire time, witty remark after witty remark to the press, his acting was spot on. I would watch that again and again. Though his singing was not the greatest, he still took on that feat and concurred it. He brought out the best of each and every woman that was opposite him (and they brought out the best in him, each in a different way). I do not believe Penelope Cruz would have gotten the nomination if it was not for Daniel Day Lewis. The fact that she was nominated over Nicole Kidman or Marion Cotillard was astounding. The biggest reason I wanted to see Lewis nominated was for the entertainment of Oscar night. The excitement would have been so much more if it were Clooney, Bridges, Firth, & Lewis. Four huge names head to head and not sure who was going to win. Clooney & Bridges blow everyone else away in the category as it stands now and that is too bad because it kills any excitement.

Overall, the film was exactly what it needed to be. It is getting tougher to determine what will make the Best Of categories, but this is definitely up there in all of its categories. I would love to see Cruz win. Though I do not agree with the song choice, seeing this film take home any awards would not be a bad thing. If you enjoy Chicago, this is a nice film by the same director. Though Chicago blows it away, the editing of the musicals into the back and forth of the conversations is fantastic and will be worth the watch. Otherwise, the film is worth the women alone.

(12 FILMS TO GO)

The Princess & The Frog

THE PRINCESS & THE FROG

Up For:
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
(2) Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Where do I begin with The Princess & The Frog? What happened to Disney films?

Before viewing Princess & The Frog, I revisited two Disney classics, Aladdin and The Lion King. Now yes, they are classics and therefore rule all in the kingdom of Disney, but honestly, Princess & The Frog is no where even in the ball park of the originals. That said, even in the field of animated features that it is in, I believe it fails, and in several aspects, including the categories it is up for.

The songs were (and still should be) the guiding light of the Disney genre. I could recite to you the lyrics to the songs of most all the major Disney films. Two days removed from Princess & The Frog and I can recite maybe three words from the movies one nominated song "Almost There" (singing that part and that part only over and over in your head is not recommended). I feel with even several more viewings (please God don't make me), I would still not catch onto the songs because they were unexciting and unremarkable. Disney is a worldwide powerhouse, so obviously I can see the film winning its nomination for that fact only, but Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox were light years beyond this film, songs or no songs.

The characters were too specific for a Disney film. A black "princess", a Southern belle, and Hispanic princess? I know they were building up the Southern theme in New Orleans, but it got to be a little much. That aside, the messages that were being pumped across were too much for me as well. The voodoo shadow man being in "debt" to the demons, his "friends" on the other side while the main "princess" (not actually a princess until the final minutes of the film) is advocating for hard work to earn what she wants (so much so that she neglects everything else).

Some of the characters, however, were enjoyable. The voice of John Goodman added light to his character of Big Daddy. Though hardly in the film much (as were most of the supporting characters), his voice lightened up the darkness that was this film. The voodoo shadow man was excellent. Instead of recycling the likes of their other villains, Disney still knows how to create a unique villain that could stand next to the others in a line-up and still look unique. The voodoo mama was good as well (though, once again, hardly even in the film). The best character of all was a caricature of the Southern hillbilly in the form of a lightning bug. Every line coming from the cartoon characters tiny little mouth were hilarious.

For a child's film, the Princess & the Frog contained some dark subject matter. Though the voodoo demons were scary in their own way, (SPOILER ALERT!!!) the death of a certain beloved character was handled adult-ish, as though children would understand what was going on. I would not want to be the parent explaining what the death of that character meant. Sure, it can be told off as just a film, a fantasy, but to subject your children to death at such a young age seems anti-naivety.

The children that were in the film during my screening were enthralled with this film. They laughed at parts that I would never find funny, they were close to balling during the death scene, and it dawned on me that these Best Animated Features should truly be judged by children, because though adults get something out of the films a majority of the time, these films are ultimately made for children to enjoy and adults should not be judging them. So maybe that is what I will tell myself if this film wins on Oscar night to make myself feel better. I say, "the children must have decided the winner of that one."

(13 FILMS TO GO)

Invictus

INVICTUS

Up For:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Invictus started off the night of the triple header at the Safari theater. As the longest film of the night, we planned on getting it out of the way. Invictus did not disappoint.

Morgan Freeman was a solid choice for Leading Actor. Put a picture of Nelson Mandela next to Morgan Freeman and you would think they were separated at birth. Freeman's accent was consistent throughout the film, but not sure the accent fit Freeman's normal demeanor. All other aspects of Freeman's performance were completely expected from the seasoned performer. Not sure Freeman deserves the win in this category in comparison to Clooney & Bridges, but helps make Invictus an overall "feel good" film.

Matt Damon, plain and simply is hardly in this film. The beginning portion of the film is completely Matt Damon free. The end relies heavy on his involvement however, as the rugby team captain of the South Africa Springboks. Damon's performance was lackluster, however. Not that Damon did not fit the part but there was little part to be had besides the few inspirational speeches given to his team. Keanu Reeves did that in The Replacements and in no way would he have deserved an Oscar nod for that performance. So far, Damon's performance falls below the others viewed, with nothing against Matt Damon because he, like Freeman, makes this film well-rounded.

Acting awards aside, Invictus was an overall great film. The film accurately depicted the events of that era and depicted them well in an entertaining way, which was the film's job and intentions. I would say this film succeeded. For the two hours spent viewing it, I was enthralled by the story and was able to pick up the symbolism between all the different groups and how they came together, all because of Nelson Mandela. Not every historical depiction can also be entertaining. One of the film's only downfalls was making the coming together of the different cultures very simple, while I am sure in reality, the desegregation of South Africa was more grueling and painstaking. Damon's family was able to get passed their hate for Mandela in the matter of a few scenes, even though his family was hardly involved what-so-ever. Cops were willing to let a young black boy sit on their car after minutes earlier shooing him (which was great for comic relief, but extremely unrealistic).

In the end, another great family film brought to the light by the Academy Awards, but I feel as though that is all I took from it and nothing more. I do not see either man taking home the award on Oscar night (not that seeing Freeman with the gold would both me). I would definitely watch this film again, as it takes the historical accurate film and combines it with the sports genre film to create a nice, even blend.

(14 FILMS TO GO)