An Education

AN EDUCATION

Up For:
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

The film An Education was unlike any film I saw it being. The trailers for An Education made the film look scandalous. The result was quite the opposite. Carey Mulligan plays a young woman in high school is ahead of her time. The young boys that want to date her are very immature (but allow for some funny parts, especially when one comes to dinner with Carey's father, played by Alfred Molina). Eventually, Mulligan's character meets a much older man with a love for music that wants to show her the world and the art that occupies it.

Instead of the normal film where everyone finds this inappropriate (a feeling you get more often than any of the characters), it lives to its name "An Education" in which the only people that find it unacceptable are the school heads, Mulligan's teacher as well as her headmistress played by Emma Thompson. Sure that she is learning more with her new older man, played by Peter Sarsgaard, she follows his love blindly.

Carey Mulligan is fantastic in this part, not showing her true age (which is 24) through the naivety yet brilliance of her young character. Any other year, Mulligan would undoubtedly take home the gold but with so many great performances this year, she may just be overshadowed by bigger names and stronger performances, especially when she faces other new comer Gabourey Sidibe from Precious.

Not sure An Education was strong enough to take home either Best Picture or Best Adapted Screenplay. I look at the nomination lists and the film simply does not jump out at me as a huge winner.

The music to this film was surprisingly upbeat and enjoyable. The opening credits song hooked me immediately, along with the fun graphics that accompanied it. As the mood changes through the film, the music corresponds effectively.

An Education, as a whole, was a solid film, strong all the way through, however, that can be said for more than half the nominees this year, leaving An Education to not live up to high expectations.

(11 FILMS TO GO)

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)

A Single Man

A SINGLE MAN

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

Watching the trailer for this film does not prepare you for what you are stepping into.

Here is what I knew about this film when I stepped in:

Tom Ford, a fashion designer, is a first time director.

Colin Firth is nominated for Best Lead Actor.

Julianne Moore had Oscar buzz before the nominees came out.

Period. That was all I knew about the film.

First, Tom Ford, an openly gay man, makes a great debut as director in this homoerotic longing. The style of this film alone was enough to keep me intrigued. The color changes in the film allow for many interpretations and the camera movements are gorgeous. The screenplay is seamless in portions and a somewhat loose in others. The one thing that never came to mind during the viewing was fashion. Besides Julianne Moore, no one really wore anything out of the ordinary (this was a 60's film). Not to say that costumes were not great, they were just not extraordinary.

Now, Colin Firth: do I think he delivered a great performance... yes. Do I think he will win the Oscar? Absolutely not. In comparison to Jeff Bridges & George Clooney's A+ performances, Firth can not stand up to such monumental statures. Needless to say, Firth carries this film on his back. Without him, there would be no film. Firth becomes this character and rarely ever veers from the course of sheer perfection. Sadly, however, the film is just not good enough for him to shine completely. Had Firth taken Clooney's spot in Up In The Air, perhaps, but A Single Man was not able to challenge Firth enough, and for that, this performance remains unworthy of an Oscar.

I was surprised when I saw the trailer for A Single Man, and it exclaimed that Julianne Moore would definitely be up for an Oscar. Having the nominees announced, there was no such nomination. I feel this occurred because Moore was just not in the film that much. In an hour and a half, she was present for less than 20 minutes (if even that long). With such a small performance, you cannot even begin to compare her to Sandra Bullock or even Anna Kendrick for Supporting Actress, who strongly carried their respected films. Not surprised with the non-nomination of Julianna Moore.

Overall, an impressive directing debut for Tom Ford, but Ford has a long way to go before I go view another of his films. Colin Firth delivers a solid performance but is unable to break through the glass ceiling that this film's sub-par nature builds for him (you are only as good as the film itself).

(15 FILMS TO GO)

Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

Up For:
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Costume Design

The first two words that come to mind within the first 15 minutes of this film: Low Budget!

Now I know, "do not judge a book by its cover" so I bit my tongue through the film and hoped for the best. I was sadly mistaken.

Dubbed as the great Heath Ledger's final performance (before his untimely demise), you assume that this film will be note-worthy. Dead or alive, you end up wondering why Heath ever agreed to partake in such a film.

First, looking solely at what the film was nominated for (Art Direction & Costume Design), neither deserve the accreditation. The clothes look like bed sheets and window blinds found in a garbage dump, which, to the filmmaker's credit, was what I assume they were going for, however, no style what-so-ever was brought to them. The only costumes that I even recall were that of actress Lily Cole's when they are performing the Imaginarium on stage. Besides those brief instances, the costumes are un-noteworthy.

Art Direction, again, resembles that of a garbage dump (and not in the way that was intended). I never felt like the film tried to produce a style with any art what-so-ever. The bus they drove around was a cluster-cuss (thanks Mr. Fox). I felt as though it may be stylish, but upon reexamining my thoughts, the bus nor the stage get-ups were very established.

Perhaps the film went entirely over my head, but I did not buy into anything the filmmaker was trying to sell to me. The imagination sequences were gaudy, with animations that a beginning animator could conjure up. The attempt at salvaging the structure of the film without Heath was laughable and confusing. And overall, the entire film felt low budget (quality looked home video-ish, acting was not spot on, and the sets, costumes, and props all fell apart in front of you).

The film acted simply as a remembrance of Heath Ledger and nothing more. Heath Ledger acted as best as possible given the film he was acting in. By far, Heath was the shining light of the film, postmortem or not. Lily Cole was gorgeous and allowed for "eye candy", but generally glossed over as a character (besides a "piece" manipulated by the Doctor and the Devil). The adding of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, & Colin Farrel were appreciated but utterly ineffective. I have been told I do not understand Terry Gilliam's work, and that is fine, perhaps the film is not intended for me. The screenplay, to me, was a mess. The twists and turns were not well done. I understood the plot for the most part, but saw no reasoning behind any character's motives or driving forces. The plot simply came down to Immortals being bored and playing games, which leaves for no moral or underlying message.

Sorry to say, this film will gladly not take any Oscars home, which is sad for the memory of Heath Ledger, which should have been left in The Dark Knight and not a low budget, Monty Python-turned-serious film. Long live The Joker.

(16 FILMS TO GO)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Up For: Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Stop motion animation at the medium's finest. Easily fell in love with this film.

Fox brings all the elements of a good film together in one package, leading in great voice actors, great screenplay, and great animation.

George Clooney tops off as the voice of Mr. Fox, only leading a cast of brilliance with Meryl Streep (you would never guess in a million years that she does the voice of the Misses in the film) and Jason Swartzman as my personal favorite, the child of the Fox's, Ash. Add Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson, and you have a truly unique voice cast.

Wes Anderson definitely brings his unique writing and directing to this film. The dialogue is genius and definitely creates a new blend of kids movie mixed with adult movie that films like Shrek & Up have made a staple in the industry. Not only will adults love the film (unless stop motion films scare you, which I know plenty of people that fit into that category) and plenty of children will love from the book by Roald Dahl (known for Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory).

Overall, great animated film that blows miles passed Coraline. Mr. Fox's biggest competition in the Oscars... Up. Though Fantastic Mr. Fox has not yet hit DVD, I feel as though when it does you will find many nay-sayers not for the humor or style of the film, while Up seems to be loved by all and rightfully so. I strongly feel that on Oscar night, Up should take the gold. Up does so many more things that Fantastic Mr. Fox just did not accomplish. Up aside, however, Mr. Fox was splendid and is worth several viewings (1) for catching onto the humor, (2) catching what was missed while catching onto the humor, and maybe even (3) for good measure. If anything, you will be lulled asleep by the soothing voice of George Clooney and his all-star voice cast.

(17 FILMS TO GO)

The Blind Side

THE BLIND SIDE

Up For:
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Ask any one of my friends and most likely they can tell one thing... I dislike Sandra Bullock. Recently, her two headline roles have been in the Proposal and All About Steve (to which she won as Razzie Award, the equivalence of worst performance of the year). I was not a fan of either of those films, nor was I a fan of Miss Congeniality (1 or 2), Speed (1 or 2), or anything else she was in: Lake House was bad, Premonition was horrible, and Forces of Nature, not so good.

Needless to say, seeing her name in the nominations for Best Lead Actress made me chuckle. How can you go from worst performance of the year to best in a matter of one film. I was skeptical. Don't get me wrong, every time a new Sandra Bullock film comes out, I give it a chance because I want Sandra Bullock to sway me. There's nothing wrong with her, it is just her acting and characters completely and utterly annoy me to where I do not enjoy seeing her films. Never have I met a Sandra Bullock film I liked... Until Blind Side.

The Blind Side was a nice family drama. There is little conflict, which can make for a boring story, but somehow this film survived. My thought is that you get so caught up the real life situation that you put aside the lack of conflict and embrace the warm, comforting feeling you receive throughout the film.

Sandra Bullock was my favorite part. Not only was she stunningly gorgeous (blonde really suits her), I could not wait to see her again. Her character was so confident and striking that you couldn't help but be turned on by her (not in a sexual connotation). She was fiery and passionate, and everything that has ever been lacking from a Sandra Bullock performance. I believed her. To me, she might as well have been the real thing and loved her for it. Never thought I would say this, but Sandra Bullock finally swayed me to like her (if only just in this film).

Quinton Aaron, the main black character was BIG! But he could not act. You find this out within the first 5 minutes of the film, which was one of the most confusing set-ups to a film I have ever viewed. About four flashbacks in the course of 5 minutes that were unnecessary and added nothing structurally to the film.

In comparison, the young boy in the family, Jae Head, was an amazing actor. He, too, radiated confidence and an understanding for the comic element he was supplying. For a 13 year old kid, he definitely has a long future in the business. I just watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother where this kid made his debut as a kid stuck in a claw machine that Robin is reporting a story on. Great kid.

The other acting parts were minimal but suitable. Tim McGraw was average (did not know it was him until looking at the credits just minutes ago). Lily Collins was good as well for having not been in much.

Overall, this was a great film and I am confident in saying Sandra Bullock deserves the nomination. Everyone has the one part they were meant to play and this one was Sandra's. The film to me does not scream Oscar Winner and I do not see it winning the title. However, a great family film none-the-less. Do not expect to be amazed by the film as a whole, but enjoy the warmth the film brings and take from it the true story (really enjoyed the footage of the actual people during the credits... I love when filmmakers indulge us).

(18 FILMS TO GO)

Good News!

Good news to anyone who is following the journey: looks like I will be able to watch all but three films this year. I was able to find most films in the area.

The ones I will miss:
The White Ribbon (nominated for Best Cinematography)
The Most Dangerous Man In America (documentary)
Which Way Home (documentary)

If anyone knows where I can find these three, please let me know here, through e-mail, or Facebook.

Otherwise I have schedule for seeing the rest of the films including a tripler-header @ Safari this Saturday if you care to join me (Nine, Invictus, and Princess & the Frog). Otherwise, I have 13 other films to view (not counting those 6 films previously mentioned), in less than two weeks. Hope you are all getting through your own challenges and keep in touch.

The Young Victoria

THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Up For:
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Best Achievement in Makeup

Overall, fantastic film. Emily Blunt is exquisite. Paul Bettany (not Ifans Rhys as I commonly mistake the two) was fantastic as well. Mark Strong took part in the cast as well, playing such a great part I did not even recognize him (most recently in Sherlock Holmes and Rock'N'Rolla). Coming out of the film, I am rather shocked that none of these fine performances were nominated for Best Actor or Actress, especially Emily Blunt. Hands down (only having seen Meryl Streep's performance of course), I would give the Oscar to Emily and will be severely disappointed to not see her beaming face take home the prize.

The aspects the film was nominated for is rightfully so. I find it difficult to produce the standards the judges look for when viewing the category films of Art Direction, Costume, and Make-Up. Do they look for quantity or quality or both. Obviously it is both, I suppose. If the costumes are sheer perfection and hundreds are used, then it would be apparent that the film that takes advantage of both would win the award.

Against, Bright Star and Coco Before Chanel, this film had the quantity. Though the idea of determining which film created better sets and costumes is difficult since most films these days do pretty well in recreating (or creating) the worlds in which they portray. Overall, I would say the costumes beat those of other films simply by never having to question them and seeing tons of them. Though I would not be surprised if Coco came through since the film was about a designer and they are recreating her outfits.

Oscars aside, Young Victoria blew my expectations for a period piece. The film flies by and with so many great performances, it is hard to dislike the characters that are inherently evil in nature, like Bettany's & Strong's character (although you end up hating Strong's character very much). The film carries you though the full spectrum of emotion and definitely provides enough for a second viewing, if only for trying to figure out the balance of power with kings & queens. Do not be surprised to see this film take home the gold in the given categories.

(19 FILMS TO GO)