Inherent Vice - Costume Design

I heard Inherent Vice was light on plot so I prepared myself for the worst. Sometimes preparing yourself for the worst is the best move. I was definitely able to enjoy this hippie noir fever dream.

I was fortunate enough to catch a 70mm screening of this at Arclight and it was beautiful!  The characters were quirky, raw and strange enough to be fun. Joaquin Phoenix's performance is subtle and rich and satisfying. The crazy, rambling story with a lot of humor and wit does manage to come around to some sort of resolution. I wasn't necessarily blown away by the costumes, but I guess any period piece has a shot at that nomination. Probably not a winner, but a decent night out!

Maleficent - Costume Design

Maleficent is so dumb and nonsensical that I am reviewing it now as we are watching it. The costumes are not so great that this film deserved any sort of nomination. Luckily I'm watching with a hilarious group of friends who are mercilessly tearing it to shreds.

My favorite part of the film is Maleficent's ability to blow in someone's face and make them sleep. I would like this ability next time someone is looking for a volunteer at school.

It has just been revealed to us that my friend Mindy wrote this movie as a joke. She apologizes for it accidentally being made.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Visual Effects

Guardians of the Galaxy was one of my favorite movies of the year. I don't really need to review this one because I'm pretty sure everyone has seen it. But in a nut shell, I like it because it's funny and it has heart at the same time, the characters are interesting and Chris Pratt dances.

This film is nominated for Visual Effects. Some of my closer friends can tell you that I have grappled with some very serious issues of raccoon attraction this year. I am working every day to find them less irresistible, all because of the genius effects work done in this movie. Perhaps, in some small part, the voice of Bradley Cooper may have enhanced this fervor in me, but I'll just go ahead and throw my vote to the Visual Effects Team on this one.

Three In One! Two Days, One Night; Captain America:Winter Soldier and Finding Vivian Maier

Well, folks! I outdid myself yesterday, seeing three nominations in one day.

I started the morning at the movie theatre watching Marion Cotillard's nominated performance in Two Days, One Night. She plays a young woman with depression who is doing her best to save her job. She has to convince her coworkers to vote for her job and creates a lot of chaos along the way. It's a small film, that lags at times. I think truths about clinical depression were stretched if not broken in order to tidy up the plot line and that was bothersome. She was very good, but it doesn't seem like "the one" to me.

After the kids went to bed, we watched Captain America: Winter Soldier. The Captain America movies are not my favorite Marvel products. It took effort for me to stay interested through large parts of the film. I like the new character of the Falcon though, so he helped. I have to admit, as I watched the film I thought it was nominated for all of its big vibrational, feedback-y sound effects. It turns out it's up for Visual Effects, which makes sense, I guess. I just can't get myself to care that much about visual effects when the story isn't rocking my world. That is probably not fair to Visual Effects artists who don't always get their choice of material, I'm guessing.

But after all that action I was ready for a late night documentary so we watched Finding Vivian Maier, about a prolific and talented photographer whose work was discovered posthumously at an auction of her old stuff. Solving the ensuing mystery of who this artist was and how she lived is an intriguing and pleasing mystery to watch unravel. This is one of those rare Oscar Nominated documentaries that doesn't tear you apart emotionally! Sadly, those ones almost never win.

Birdman - Best Picture and Eight More

I saw Birdman last night and I liked a lot of it. I was also perplexed by a lot of it. My husband often asks me as the credits roll how I liked a film and I often tell him I don't have the complete answer yet. (Unless I hate a movie, that I usually know right away!)

So we came home and paid the babysitter and went to bed and I woke up and took a shower, where so much of my best thinking occurs, and by the time I was clean and smelling good and ready to begin my day I knew that I loved the movie Birdman with an intense kind of passion! It is an absolute amazing creation on so many levels.

The movie is about ego and risk and commitment. It's about soaring high and crashing and burning and finding a balance, it's about finding yourself and losing yourself. It is so layered and symbolic and truthful and funny!

Let me take a moment to talk about the theme of ego, because my own ego played a big factor in my initial reaction to the film. My first big hurdle was that Inarritu* essentially took editing out of the equation in Birdman. If you hadn't heard, the bulk of that movie is made to look like one long continuous shot. By blending long takes and hiding the cuts you appear to follow the action non-stop as it unfolds. As a film editor, I was initially a little ruffled by this. I like cuts. The language of a film is communicated to me through the cuts. I subscribe to the philosophy that cuts are where you blink and I swear to you my eyes were hurting because Inarritu would NOT let me blink! It was really frustrating for me and at the same time a completely brilliant choice to make.

On the other side of that equation, I have also worked as a Director in the Theatre. Sometimes it bugs me when film directors hide behind the post production process too much. I've always felt that if you are going to direct a movie you should make a genuine effort to get it right when you shoot it. Just capture what you want on the film (or data card, whatever, you get my point)! Let the editor worry about pace, build and performance, not covering all of your mistakes! Well, Inarritu has got me there. Because of this style of storytelling he really had to nail every aspect of the film as he shot it. Can you imagine that? He had to get the pacing of every shot right on set! He couldn't lose a scene that just wasn't working when he got to post production. He just had to get it right. What a beautiful challenge to set for yourself! An argument can be made that he should win best director for that feat alone.

So now I have answered my husband. I loved Birdman. I imagine the more symbolic aspects of the film are going to be a challenge for some viewers, but I figured it all out to my satisfaction in the shower. If any of you sees it and wants to talk about how the heck you decide to interpret some of it, I'd be happy to chat with you and hear what you have to say!

[*I fully understand that there are two accent marks on his name but I'm too lazy to figure out how to type them in and my breakfast is getting cold.]

Gone Girl - Best Actress

Fincher is one of my favorite directors, so it was no surprise to me that I enjoyed Gone Girl. The story is delightfully twisty, the performances are solid, and it looks great.

Marriage is run through the ringer in this film.  We are given a very extreme, highly dramatic look at how married couples get lost in their relationships and the lengths they are willing to go to to break the monotony of monogamy. I'm all for melodrama, so why not hatch a super complex scheme to leave a marriage and exact revenge? Toward the end of the film, the symbolic versions of the characters' actions seem to take precedence and steer the story in ways that don't always hold up as logical choices for real people, but I felt I was able to make allowances for that.

Rosamund Pike is nominated. She played broken and psychotic (but outwardly functioning) incredibly well, at times even winning me over to the thought that she is really a sort of feminist hero doing her best to come out on top despite society's challenges for her. But of course that's wrong, 'cuz she crazy.

There is a scene in this film that involves a lot of blood and it holds in my mind as one of the most hauntingly beautiful things I've seen on the screen this year. I realize this demonstrates a certain amount of depravity on my part, but I'm willing to own that. The color of that blood was stunning!

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Best Picture, Production Design, Writing

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a Wes Anderson movie. If you've ever seen one you know what I mean and what to expect.

For some reason, his brand of story telling just doesn't speak to me, but I think this iteration of his brand is one of his best products yet.

Many people enjoy his work, please go see it and judge for yourself.

The Imitation Game - Best Picture and Seven More

From the first voice over dialog in The Imitation Game, the whole tone of the movie is set. There is urgency, intrigue and a very unique main character. The urgency is maintained throughout with really great pacing and tight story-telling. The intrigue is satisfying as you settle in to watch the protagonist overcome his own limitations in order to do his very large part in defeating the Nazis. And the unique main character is played by Benedict Cumberbatch whose performance is absolutely top notch.

This movie is so clever, filled with beautiful lines of dialog, wonderful story structure and scenes that succinctly reveal character. I was a big fan of the writing by Graham Moore, whose picture on imdb suggests he is about 17 years old. What is up with that?

The directing here was more traditional and straightforward than in some of the other Best Picture nominees. But for all that, it was expertly carried out. I'm not one to fault a film maker for failing to be flashy.

Of course for those of you already familiar with the story, you know there is tragedy awaiting poor Alan Turing. I actually left this film more depressed than Selma, which surprised me.  This was a really great film and I would like to formally apologize to it for the reaction I had to the trailer, which was, "Another Bletchley Park drama? I already saw Enigma, I don't need to see this." I was wrong. I did need to see The Imitation Game. And perhaps you do, too.

Selma - Best Picture

Ava DuVerney delivered some cinematic gut punches in Selma. What a beautiful thing to experience. You can put me firmly in the "Selma got robbed" camp. The acting was strong throughout, the story was well crafted, the shots were well composed, the pacing kept me riveted for the whole time despite the more than two hour running time. Consider me a fan. You can certainly argue that her subject matter was an automatic home run, but at least she didn't squander it.

I learned things watching this film, and I love learning things. I learned facts, I learned perspectives and I learned emotional truths. I was ministered to about the glory and the gravity of self sacrifice and came away questioning the role of faith in my own life. Holy crap!  This was a GOOD movie.

Selma managed to lead me through all of these feelings and musings without taking cheap shots at my emotions. The material was handled with the right amount of respect and restraint for my taste. And it even managed to end on enough of a high note that I was able to walk out of the theatre, rather than lay across the seats and sob for twenty minutes, for which I am grateful. I am sad that this film didn't receive more nominations, but I am certainly happy that it got put on my viewing list this year.

Into The Woods - Supporting Actress, Production Design

Every time Meryl Streep gets nominated I think she can't be great ALL the time. But she is. She is great ALL of the time and she blew me away in Into the Woods, even though it was "just" a musical and I thought it might be silly.

I thought the fairy tale aspects of the film were visualized well and all the acting was strong. Especially fun was Chris Pine as the tortured, charming and vapid prince. I believe the stage version of this story clearly benefits from the intermission that clearly sets apart the two act structure. The movie version suffers form having to simply plow forward from the sort of "false ending" that comes at the end of Act 1, and the film appears to drag or meander for a bit, before refocusing on its final goal.

All in all, it was a fun way to spend a day off school with my kids.


Angelina, guest reviewer, age 6, had this to say:

I liked it because, um, it turned out all right. I didn't like the sad parts. My favorite part was when the good characters won.


Viviana, guest reviewer, age 9, had this to say:

I thought Into the Woods was a really good movie because there were a lot of parts that were really funny, especially the Big Bad Wolf.  I thought parts of the movie were a bit too gruesome.

Leviathon - Foreign Film

Leviathan was difficult to get through. Way. Too. Long. I'm going to go ahead and spoil the heck out of it here, so if you have more patience for dreary Russian drama than I, please stop reading and go check out this film.

So it started with an hour of frustrating Russian bureaucracy. "We're claiming your land through Russian imminent domain, Kolya." "No, I will fill out forms!" "Haha! You are powerless and impotent in the eyes of the state!" "Oh, yes, you've got me there!"

Then Kolya gets his attorney friend to help and he seems totally cool except he is also powerless in the eyes of the state. He is, however, not impotent as he sleeps with his friend Kolya's wife (oops, not cool) who then kills herself and that gets pinned on Kolya who remains ever powerless and impotent.

The visuals are sometimes beautiful, often gloomy with one shabby chic farmhouse kitchen as your only relief from all that drab Russian utilitarian minimalism. The acting was fine and the amount of vodka consumed was un-fricking-believable! Is it possible they actually drink vodka the way we drink bottled water in California? The pacing of the film was unforgivable. I would gladly cut 40 minutes from it in one afternoon, just ask me.

So what is the title about? Is the Leviathan the corrupt town mayor who is running the charge to steal Kolya's land? No. He has his own demons to serve. Is it the whale skeleton out at the beach that Kolya's son cries near? Nope. That's too on the nose. The final scene reveals the new purpose intended for Kolya's land. It is a monstrous new place of worship for the Russian Orthodox Church, the true beast who serves no master; the real Leviathan! Well, that's sort of clever, right? NO! It stops being clever if it takes you all damn day to get there.

Mr. Turner - Cinematography

Most of the time when I watch the films nominated for Cinematography I feel like I mustn't understand the first thing about the art. It is often hard for me to see a remarkable difference between a film that gets the honors and one that doesn't. But not this time. Mr. Turner opened with an absolutely breathtaking shot that established scene, tone and character beautifully and I knew I was in for a treat. For the most part, I was right.

The film is about J. M. W. Turner, an English Romantic painter. What I can tell you about him from my viewing of the film is that he put his art above absolutely everything and that in shape, manner and vocalization he was much like Danny Devito's penguin character from Batman Returns. That is not to say that Timothy Spall wasn't great as Turner, I think the homage was quite tasteful, intended or not.

Humanity and its temporary nature were boldly expressed in this film. Characters were grubby, unkempt, flawed, imperfect and often ailing. It was a welcome respite from the brand of period drama that depicts everyone as glowing and exemplary in their fancy costuming. Mr. Turner felt more honest than that, even more creepy at times. (Seriously, what is happening to the maid's face? Are there no doctors at all?)

But visuals! Let's get back to visuals! That's where Mr. Turner excels. Establishing shots here are also inspirational, artistic and at times utterly bewitching. At least once, they cut to an exterior shot that I thought was a painting by a master, so kudos to Dick Pope. My only complaint with Mr. Turner as a whole is that it did what biopics, and life, often do. They fizzle at the end and leave you with a vague feeling of disappointment rather than a great sense of magnificently earned closure.

The New Nominations Are Here!

I just leaped from bed at 6:00am and ran to the computer to read the news! It is Oscar Nomination Day!

Ok, in fairness, it wasn't a leap, but it sure felt youthful and exuberant, nonetheless.

What matters here is that I'm really excited to have a new batch of films to obsess over. And my  fans are too!  They have been clamoring for my vital info on all the "top" movies of the year!

Ok, it was really just Vanessa, this way cool artist mom, that was nice enough to ask me a polite question about The Oscar Glutton Blog. But who knew that anyone even remembered that I have a blog? I didn't know that!

So here is a link of the film nominations for this year. I have already seen nine of the nominated films out of a total of 59. This should be a piece of cake! Also, they look like a fairly decent batch of movies. My biggest dread right now is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, so that's not too bad. And I've already seen Boyhood, so I've got the winning movie covered! Oops, SPOILER ALERT! (Just kidding, no one could know that. But we all know that already, right?)

What a joyous time! Join me as I retreat from the warmth of loved ones, in favor of the cold glow of a screen, big or small. The scent of stale popcorn will fill the air! I may even get a stale popcorn candle for my home. (They sell that, right?) I will waste life's most precious resources; time, money and brain space in the earnest endeavor to see every nominated movie! All for what? For fun, that's what! (Also for Vanessa. For fun, and for Vanessa!)

Happy Oscar Season, everyone!