The Final Screening!

I caught three of the five short Documentary Nominees this morning.

Kings Pointe - This one is about one of those quintessential retirement communities in Florida.  Some couples go and live out the last thirty years of their lives in what seems, to most of the inhabitants, a sort of sad and empty existence.  They play bridge or mah jongg, visit the malls, learn a social dance or two and sit by a pool.  It feels more like a waiting room to the afterlife than a life of any substance.  The film itself meandered a bit.  It was hard to care about subjects who appeared so numb themselves.

Mondays at Racine - Two sisters on Long Island open their beauty salon one Monday a month to cancer patients.  They help women reclaim their bodies, pamper themselves, embrace their journey and feel beautiful again.  Several of their clients are followed through portions of their treatment.  At one point this was so painful to watch, I was kicking the back of the seat in front of me to try and distract myself from the agony.  Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I hope I get a really curable cancer," instead of "I hope I never get cancer."  It just feels inevitable sometimes.  A very powerful documentary about amazing women.

Inocente - Inocente is a fifteen year old homeless girl with an unbelievably tragic past, difficult life and irrepressible spirit.  She is a bright and talented artist who leans heavily on her dreams to carry her forward, from a bleak past to an uncertain future filled with precarious potential.  We watch her first art show and hope beyond hope she finds her ticket out.  This was a unique story with a dynamic subject and a topical political issue.  This appears to be the front runner.

The other two nominees are screening tomorrow but I will miss them, as I will be at a bowling alley birthday party with seven and eight year-olds.  Jealous?

A Word about the Editing Category

I would like to take a moment to express how much I hate it every year when I hear someone suggest that "those technical awards like editing" should be taken out of the Oscar broadcast because the show runs too long.  Nope.  Technical awards are given out on a separate night and include things like "the development of the Spydercam 3D volumetric suspended cable camera technologies." Lumping editing in here is like suggesting that putting words on the page to form a script can be done by a computer.

In fact, I like to think of editing as the final rewrite of the movie.  The previous revisions were made in words and the last version of the script is stitched together with pictures.  It is half artistry and half logic.  Editing plays with your emotions by making subconscious connections and omissions while insuring that you know how the characters get cleanly from A to Z.  It is a top notch category, folks, so just take a bathroom break if you don't understand it.

I understand why this job is misunderstood.  I am an editor and I generally do not see the editing in a movie the first time I view it. The editing work that stands out is either when it is incredibly flashy and stylized, or when the movie is really failing and you start to notice all the ways you hate the film you are watching.  It takes a few more viewings for me to start to see the subtle kinds of genius at work in most good movies.  But there is as much beauty and talent in fast-paced jump-cut laced action sequences as there are in powerful emotional moments where the editor is playing the actors performances like a finely tuned stradivarius. 

I don't expect an average movie-goer to fully appreciate the editor's job.  They don't need that knowledge to enjoy a movie.  Just, please stop suggesting that William Goldenberg, Tim Squyres. Michael Kahn, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Dylan Tichenor don't belomg there on Sunday night.

Thank you.

The Avengers

I saw The Avengers a long time ago.  What I remember is the Hulk having a life changing epiphany while falling to earth and two "normal" humans with awesome skill sets being able to hold their own against individuals with super powers.

Other than that I found it enjoyable enough.  I don't think it will win.

Shorts!

Animated Shorts:

Adam and Dog - Painterly, pretty and sweet.  The story was a little thin.

Fresh Guacamole - Play dough with dice in it.  Seems like an interesting exercise in perspectives but it's essentially empty.

Head Over Heels - The most conceptual piece, and it may have a shot because of that fact.  It was an interesting depiction of a problem and a solution.

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" - Maybe this was my favorite but only because I like the Simpsons.  I don't know if that is enough to make it Oscar worthy.  We'll see, I guess.

Paperman - This feels like the frontrunner because it's Pixar but I found it lacking.  The "logic" of the piece seemed off and their shorts are usually spot on.


Live Action Shorts:

Asad - A seemingly pretty serious piece that ends on a joke.  Weird.

Buzkashi Boys - I have a tendency to tune out when I see "children" and "Afghanistan" (or "Africa" for that matter) in the same film, because I assume it is going to be tragic and I don't want to get too involved.  A feature length film has time to bring me around but this piece did not.

Curfew - My personal favorite.  I love the opening of this short film...what an attention getting opening premise!  I also enjoyed the overall tone of this piece, but the Academy may not because it reeks of youth.

Death of a Shadow - This one has a story idea that is original and inventive while also providing some stunning visuals.  It has a Twilight Zone vibe, which I love, but which also led me to expect more of a twist to the plot.  All in all, a really good short.

Henry - I think this one was supposed to be more of a mystery than it was.  It was sad and seemed to drag a bit.  I wonder if the old white guys will be touched by it.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina was nominated for four awards; costumes, cinematography, production design and music.

I was immediately a fan of the production design as most of the movie was set in and around a theatre, with elaborate scenery changes taking place around the actors as they "moved" from place to place in the story.  This effect was strong and stunning early on in the film and gradually fell by the wayside as some of the plot began to take place in the country.  This made it feel less like a commentary and more like a device that grew boring for the filmmakers.

The costumes seemed to comment on the characters very strongly, with Anna's clothing often reflecting her inner state.

The cinematography was fine but Skyfall was better.  And the music was pretty great.

As for the rest of the film, Keira Knightly seemed to struggle with balancing a calm, respectable Anna at the start with a bipolar mess at the end.  Some scenes were so conceptual is was Baz Luhrmann-esque and others were terrifically straightforward.  There were many strong elements but what the film lacked was cohesion.  It wasn't a bother to watch it but I grew impatient for a resolution.

Get out of your Iron Lung...and into some Helen Hunt!

Just a little marketing idea I came up with.  You're welcome, Hollywood.

The Sessions was poignant and moving with some lovely messages; don't give up on yourself and don't underestimate the power of love.  The acting was strong from Helen Hunt, William H. Macy and John Hawkes, as well as the minor characters, such as Moon Bloodgood and Annika Marks.

I enjoyed the story very much and oddly it was the priest I felt sorry for as he was the only one not getting any physical love.  This one kind of throws me for a loop, as far as a nomination.  Helen Hunt was great but I think there were a lot of great performances over the course of a year in film.  Usually Oscar is looking for astoundingly good bits of work, or at the very least, an actor who made a complete physical transformation.  I'm guessing she is getting extra points for the full frontal, but I don't know.  Maybe as I come to the end of all of these Oscar-worthy performances I am getting numb to really exceptional work.  Perhaps I need to palette cleanse with Houseguest before my final push.

Partial Prometheus

What a fascinating topic for a movie, right?  Discovering the aliens that seeded our planet and somehow unraveling the mystery of their demise?  AND it's connected to Alien?  Great!  I'll just fall asleep during that movie then.  Not only because it is dark and quiet and slow to progress but also because Ridley Scott somehow doesn't want you to know for sure about anything that is happening during the film.

Listen, I don't mean to be so American about movie watching and seethe so about ambiguity and open ended plot devices, its just that I have a hell of a lot of movies to watch right now and I don't have time for re-watching and admiring this amazing gift for nuance.  IF that is what is happening.  I love a layered movie that I can continue to enjoy and make greater discoveries about on subsequent viewings.  I even love some  films that leave me with a "what the hell" feeling such that I become intrigued enough to follow up and try to unravel the mystery.

Prometheus felt like neither one to me.  It just felt like a lot of hard work.  I read several blogs and websites after trying to watch it to figure out what I had missed.  Many of them told me that the film is only fully understood and enjoyed by spending hours hashing it out in conversation with other scifi fanatics.  Oh?  I need to return to my twenties to enjoy this?  I'll skip it, then.  Another site revealed (if this is true) that Ridley Scott shot scenes that answer all of the questions that would make this a much easier film to ingest and then cut them out of the movie and put them on the DVD version.  I guess I watched the wrong version.

I will give this movie another try in the future, but I do resent the extra effort it requires.  The VFX were just fine.

The Gatekeepers

The Gatekeepers blew my mind.  This is a powerful documentary that interviews all of the heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli version of the CIA and Homeland Security combined.  The subjects were frank, honest, sometimes critical, sometimes defensive, but always willing to take a fresh look back at the history of unrest in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and call into question any number of choices made by themselves and others over the course of five decades.

It reminded me of Errol Morris' Fog of War, but with a whole chorus of people to play off of one another.  Their various disagreements and corroborations build a really interesting drama around the analysis of a political situation gone horribly wrong.

Additionally, the production design that went into presenting the historic stills and video footage was really top notch.  They created entire "3D" reenactments out of still photos and set up elaborate virtual stages that contributed to the feeling of looking in on a world that few are meant to see.

I left feeling that I had learned something new, been challenged in my own thinking and been entertained a bit in the process.  This translates to high marks for a documentary; I would definitely recommend The Gatekeepers.

I knew it!

I always feel a bit queasy when people take the stand that anyone in the armed forces is automatically a hero and must be heaped with praise and a multitude of thanks.  I understand this makes me a bad person.  But I feel that enlisted people are also just people and maybe they aren't all awesome?

Well, The Invisible War proved me right!  And who doesn't like to have their point of view validated?  Actually, honestly, I didn't.  Watching that movie was awful.  Another Oscar doc has proved to me what a horrible world we live in, filled with unremarked injustices.  This time, the alarming rate of rape in the military and an unforgivable culture that allows no recourse or justice.

The only good news is that Leon Panetta got off his butt and changed things two days after seeing the movie.  Holy crap!  Don't ever think that all film making is fluff!  And my husband and I signed petitions after we saw it, because we are well off white people, so what else would we do?  I really hope these film makers focusing their lense on this topic will do some good in our life time.

How to Survive A Plague

How to Survive A Plague, the documentary following the activism responsible for drug development and testing that has led to the effective control of the AIDS virus is both gut wrenching and inspirational.

The amount of archival footage that was amassed and used for this film is really quite remarkable.  It made for a really complete account of the struggle that ACT UP faced and provided a great through line to the survivors' stories today.

It is a film full of fades to black, which I take some issue with.  I understand that there is a great deal of mourning built in, and the pauses facilitate that process, but it also messes with the pacing for me.  It probably stands out to me because I have been guilty of it myself.  I enjoyed this film and don't feel like it is going to be the winner.  Which means it is probably a lock.

5 Broken Cameras

Alright, so I watched 5 Broken Cameras in bed and had some trouble staying awake.  I'm only human!  The basic gist of this is that Israel is evil and killing Palestinians unjustly.  I kind of figured this might part of what was going on over there, but of course it is always disturbing to see it play out before you.

A man in a Palestinian village becomes obsessed with recording the destruction of the town's olive orchards and the systematic stealing of their land by Israeli settlements.  He uses five cameras which are broken over time, almost always by Israeli forces.  The town is super non-violent and plucky in their resistance of the Israeli incursion.

I found myself doubting the veracity of some of the footage. Was this town really always so non-violent?  Because sometimes they are also very angry and rightly so.  And its hard to get a whole village of people to agree on a single course of action.  And if these Israeli forces are truly so aggressive and bloodthirsty in their defense of their illegal wall (which I am prepared to believe) then why are these townspeople so frequently bringing their children along for the anti-wall festivities?  I felt as if I was missing some of a really sad and unjust picture.

Nonetheless, it was a compelling story that will stick with me and no doubt shape my thoughts about the conflicts in that region.

Two Flights

First off, Denzel is always solid but he doesn't have a shot at Best Actor for Flight.

With that out of the way, Flight was a strange mix of two movies.  One kind of awesomely slick look at the super cool, edgy life of sex, drugs and alcohol.  The music had attitude.  John Goodman had a ponytail.  And coked up mother f&$kers were gettin' shizz done!

Alternately, there was this sad, gritty drama about addiction.  The camera sort of meandered and the music was, like "heavy piano" sad.  It was interesting to see the two play off of each other.  The only problem was that the reality version was sort of a downer and I longed for the other version even though that one was clearly the "wrong" choice.

Tarantino would never put me in this predicament!

I guess what won out was that women were objectified in Flight 1 and treated like real people in Flight 2.  In fact, it is the fact that a woman acted heroically, not negligently, that swung the balance for the main character, as well.  So Flight 2 takes the day, but let's let John Goodman keep the ponytail, shall we?

Moonrise Kingdom

Me and Wes Anderson have different tastes.

His films are beautiful.  Whenever I try to remember one of his films, I picture these artistic and striking tableaus.  I think of walking through a museum of bright and edgy paintings, struck by color palettes and composition.  I can never, however, recall a damn thing about the plot or emotional arc of a single one of his films.

Moonrise Kingdom is one of my favorite of his films.  These actors have mastered the art of playing a Wes Anderson caricature and they do a great job.  The film is stunning to look at and I feel somehow warmed by the quirky fire of the world he creates.  I only regret not feeling anything.  Depicting a whirlwind romance in a manner that is devoid of all emotion is pleasingly ironic but I still just feel better at the end of a film if I have been on my own emotional journey as well.

The Impossible Odds

I've always felt a certain affinity for the extras in disaster movies.  While the dashing hero uses his wit, bravery and athleticism to barely avoid the pitfalls of some catastrophe, there are seemingly hundreds of extras behind him literally dropping like flies.  I've often wondered with great unease whether it is even remotely likely that I would be the hero in the midst of trauma, or just "Ann" falling down in the background.

The Impossible didn't make me feel any better.  It is a true story about a seemingly average family who somehow got lucky and defied all the odds by escaping the Phuket tsunami as an intact, if worse for the wear, family.  Whenever I began to feel moved by their plight, I only had to remember that others had it so much worse than they did.  And when I wanted to feel happy for the many miracles that led them to find each other, I couldn't because of all the sad extras who represented real families who were not as lucky.  Instead of feeling uplifted by their true tale, I felt despondent about the long odds that any of us face in the wake of disaster.

The acting was solid and the film was well shot, but this is not a film I could see myself recommending to anyone.

LOTR: The Prequel

Can we talk about how awesome the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was?  Remember that?  A sweeping new world, fantastical characters, an epic tale of good and evil, all of Middle Earth hanging in the balance and triumph only possible because of humble friendships?  What a great time that was!

Well, would you like to go back again?  We'll see the same places and meet many of the same characters though the newness will have worn off and we'll just sort of be meandering this time.  Yeah, all of the driving determination of a singular all important mission will be gone now but at least there will be whole scenes of visual effects that do not in any way serve to move the story forward.  (Thunder giants?  Why, why, why??!!)

If you decline to re-visit Middle Earth, I respect your choice.  Please re-watch the original trilogy and enjoy.  I've gone back and I am ashamed to say that I am apparently such a geek for Middle Earth that I sort of enjoyed the return trip, even while being angry about all of the above issues, and oh so many more.  I went in armed with only my extreme skepticism for the need for three hobbit films and my devastatingly lowered expectations and found that I could enjoy The Hobbit after all.  What can I say?  It's a better diversion than Mirror Mirror.

As far as it's nominations, I think they already won for all of theses exact same costumes, sets and VFX before.  So if Katherine Bigelow can't get a repeat nomination this year, I declare The Hobbit disqualified for a repeat win.

Snow White Number Two

Low expectations are a marvel, aren't they?

Here's what happened:  I found Snow White and the Huntsman to be enjoyable to watch and I would categorize it as "almost good."

I enjoyed their take on the fairy tale.  The tone was dark and sometimes creepy, the costumes and production design were all fun to look at.  Charlize Theron's wounded bird version of the Wicked Queen was layered and compelling and scary.  They found a way to bring in dwarfs (I always think that should be dwarves, but I guess not) that was plausible and interesting.  The action sequences were exciting without being over done.  It was a pretty good time.

A lot has been said about Kristen Stewart, so I don't need to pile on.  Just like Keanu Reeves (who I have come to enjoy) they make her limitations work for them in this movie.  I f she seems sad, confused and introverted, well, it fits what her character has been through.  It isn't until the last 30 minutes of the film that she becomes a problem.  Why not stand up straight when giving a rousing speech to the troops rather than doubling over?  I'm sure Rupert Sanders tried asking that question, too.  And if all you need to do in the final shot of a film is stand on a dais and look good in a crowded room, look no farther than Carrie Fisher at the end of Star Wars.  I mean, she never won an Oscar, but it isn't rocket science.  Just imagine this film with Rooney Mara...

Snow White Number One

Mirror Mirror was terrible.  There is nothing worse than a film that seems to find itself clever for no discernible reason.

The costumes were very large and inventive.  I hope that another film has better costumes so that this one does not have to win an Oscar.

Good Evening...

Alfred Hitchcock is the reason I went to film school.  Well, his films were the first films I enjoyed where I became aware of the role of director.  When I was a kid, not every film was billed as "From the Director of Bedknobs and Broomsticks..."  But I quickly figured out what an "Alfred Hitchcock" film was and that I liked it.  Then I was fascinated by the fact that one guy made all of these choices and put his mark all over a film and I started paying attention to movies in a whole new way.

So I looked forward to seeing Hitchcock as an Oscar nominee for make up.  First of all, maybe I lack a complete understanding of make up but I wasn't impressed.  Anthony Hopkins did not seem completely transformed to me, or not to the degree where I would be thinking of little gold statues.  But it's seems likely that making one person look like another is probably way more difficult than making dwarfish facial hair for hundreds of dudes.  So maybe it was top notch work.

What I did enjoy was seeing Alfred Hitchcock's activities in the lobby of the Psycho premiere (which were fun if totally not true) and his wife's genius for post-production (which I think is quite real).  Let's here it for Alma!

I'm Gonna Wreck It!

Wreck It Ralph was so refreshingly original.  New story, new setting, new visuals.  It was funny and heart warming and my whole family loved it.

A bad guy who is not respected for the part he plays in the delicate eco-system of a video game takes us on a stunning visual journey through the underbelly of arcades.  His character arc is justifiably motivated and leads to a wonderful growth experience for a whole plethora of characters.

There is so much delight in the exploration of the behind the scenes lives of video game heroes and villains, as well as the chaos involved with intermixing the game worlds.  There was plenty of wit, arcade homage for the parents and even a plot twist that I did not see coming. This one is my clear favorite.

The Disappointment!

When the characters look like Wallace and Gromit, I expect more.  It's not Nick Park but Peter Lord helming The Pirates! Band of Misfits, so I guess I was expecting too much.  This movie made little to no impression on my daughters, who typically claim every movie they just finished watching is their favorite movie ever.  (Even Yogi Bear, people.)

It had a great cast of voices and a few good jokes, but the comedy was forced, the wit was thin and you pretty much saw the successful bits in the trailer.  There was a lot of talk of pirates being proud of objectifying women, which makes me want to grab my girls and run.  I'm a little baffled how this film ended up nominated this year.