I was totally shocked when the nominations came out! I never even considered that Mad Max:Fury Road would get some love. And it got a lot of love! It is nominated for best film, direction, editing, sound editing and mix, costumes, make up, production design and visual effects. That's a sizable vote of confidence!
I wasn't a fan of the Mad Max franchise before, but I like Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron so much that I was curious. The first ten to twelve minutes of the movie were hard. I was really close to losing all interest right off the bat. There was a lot of grotesque, over-the-top, post-apocalyptic emptiness and I was about to stand up and shout, "I don't care!"
Then we meet Imperator Furiosa, played by Theron and find out how dire her cause is and suddenly I have something to care about. From that point on I was enthralled with the pure and joyous feminism put forth on the screen. Women fighting back? Women helping women? Women seeking their utopia? Old women warrior badasses? Oh, my goddess! Yes, yes, yes and yes, please!
The whole movie is just a big kinetic, excessive, absurdly gratifying eye party! So. Much. Going. On. And yet you never feel lost (and I always thank the editor for that).
Charlize carries the movie beautifully and Tom Hardy says more with a series of grunts than most actors can with a whole Shakespearean soliloquy! (I like him a little bit.)
It was super enjoyable for me and clearly the Academy enjoyed it as well! It would be wild if this film ran away with a bunch of wins!
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Spotlight
I saw Spotlight and I am pretty depressed.
The story is well told, the roles are well acted, and the editing is great.
I thought I knew enough about this story that I wouldn't get even more shocked, disgusted and angry about the whole thing. But I was wrong. I have new heaps of anger.
Everyone should see this movie, particularly if they are Catholic.
I have no more to say.
The story is well told, the roles are well acted, and the editing is great.
I thought I knew enough about this story that I wouldn't get even more shocked, disgusted and angry about the whole thing. But I was wrong. I have new heaps of anger.
Everyone should see this movie, particularly if they are Catholic.
I have no more to say.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Joy
Joy is a weird movie. I didn't really get it. Jennifer Lawrence plays the title character, an unlikely inventor who turns her life around through hard work and tenacity. I get the feeling this movie was meant as a love letter to some super, sassy lady in David O. Russell's life. I just never quite understood what it was trying to be.
Early in the film there was a real sense of hyper-reality. Joy's family is so bizarre it reminded me of that crazy house from the Willy Wonka movie. But as the story unfolds, that style gets abandoned and I think the movie loses something as it turns into more of a straight forward biopic.
What I did enjoy was a feminist take on a biopic. The men are rather infantilized and even the good ones need Joy's help to get it right. She is an everyday hero, instead of a traditional kind of soldier, first responder or public figure. However, I did find it unfortunate that a feminist, everywoman biopic ended up being a little bit boring.
I didn't even find Jennifer Lawrence to be particularly stunning in this role. I like her, so I'm happy for her, don't get me wrong. But I'm guessing one of the other performances will delight me even more.
Early in the film there was a real sense of hyper-reality. Joy's family is so bizarre it reminded me of that crazy house from the Willy Wonka movie. But as the story unfolds, that style gets abandoned and I think the movie loses something as it turns into more of a straight forward biopic.
What I did enjoy was a feminist take on a biopic. The men are rather infantilized and even the good ones need Joy's help to get it right. She is an everyday hero, instead of a traditional kind of soldier, first responder or public figure. However, I did find it unfortunate that a feminist, everywoman biopic ended up being a little bit boring.
I didn't even find Jennifer Lawrence to be particularly stunning in this role. I like her, so I'm happy for her, don't get me wrong. But I'm guessing one of the other performances will delight me even more.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a movie about the immigrant experience. It boasts really solid acting, a loving attention to the period and the world of the piece, and a well developed story.
All that being said, I found it just a touch underwhelming. It's like the kind of movie that would absolutely enchant you if you found it on TV on a rainy afternoon and you just snuggled in to be transported thru time for a little while. As unfair as it is for me to say so, I'm not sure it felt like it had quite enough going on to be an Oscar nominee.
I really don't want to knock a film for lacking a bear attack, or for failing to attempt to reinvent story telling. I don't think epic scenarios or revolutionary approaches to cinema are necessary for really great film making. Even so, the scope of Brooklyn was so quaint, it was hard to fully appreciate it in the context of all my Academy Award viewing.
My nagging doubts aside, Brooklyn excels best when providing you with well-rounded, fully-developed people in nearly all of its characters. Time is taken to show you both sides of any character, acknowledging that people who come and go in your life can be both a challenge and an ally, depending on the circumstances. We are encouraged time and again to look past our first impressions and let time and patience reveal what people, in even the smallest roles, may have to offer us.
But I don't see it winning.
All that being said, I found it just a touch underwhelming. It's like the kind of movie that would absolutely enchant you if you found it on TV on a rainy afternoon and you just snuggled in to be transported thru time for a little while. As unfair as it is for me to say so, I'm not sure it felt like it had quite enough going on to be an Oscar nominee.
I really don't want to knock a film for lacking a bear attack, or for failing to attempt to reinvent story telling. I don't think epic scenarios or revolutionary approaches to cinema are necessary for really great film making. Even so, the scope of Brooklyn was so quaint, it was hard to fully appreciate it in the context of all my Academy Award viewing.
My nagging doubts aside, Brooklyn excels best when providing you with well-rounded, fully-developed people in nearly all of its characters. Time is taken to show you both sides of any character, acknowledging that people who come and go in your life can be both a challenge and an ally, depending on the circumstances. We are encouraged time and again to look past our first impressions and let time and patience reveal what people, in even the smallest roles, may have to offer us.
But I don't see it winning.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Room
It is so exciting when I see a story I haven't seen before. Room is that gem.
The story of a kidnapped young woman, raising her son in a garden-shed-turned-prison-cell, Room is a surprising mix of gentleness, pain, truth and the power of perseverance and point of view. The themes are rich and Room says a lot without being too obvious about any of it. This is my favorite writing so far this year.
This story is about the relationship between mother and son. The kidnapper is a mere obstacle to be overcome. I appreciate that we don't spend a lot of time in the movie focusing on the main character as a victim. She is simply a mother, doing her best.
The movie works for me just as a metaphor for motherhood. A new child becomes your whole world, effectively cutting you off from everyone you know, including your former self. In the process you learn things about yourself and you grow and change and there is no going back. It's when you try to reintroduce yourself to the world that things get dicey, for some moms, anyway.
And that is what we see happen to Brie Larson's character. Her release from the confines of the room doesn't produce immediately positive results. She still has to journey a bit farther to come to terms with herself and how she fits into the world as this new person.
It was at times incredibly hard to watch but ultimately a very moving piece of cinema that has kept me thinking about it beyond the credits!
The story of a kidnapped young woman, raising her son in a garden-shed-turned-prison-cell, Room is a surprising mix of gentleness, pain, truth and the power of perseverance and point of view. The themes are rich and Room says a lot without being too obvious about any of it. This is my favorite writing so far this year.
This story is about the relationship between mother and son. The kidnapper is a mere obstacle to be overcome. I appreciate that we don't spend a lot of time in the movie focusing on the main character as a victim. She is simply a mother, doing her best.
The movie works for me just as a metaphor for motherhood. A new child becomes your whole world, effectively cutting you off from everyone you know, including your former self. In the process you learn things about yourself and you grow and change and there is no going back. It's when you try to reintroduce yourself to the world that things get dicey, for some moms, anyway.
And that is what we see happen to Brie Larson's character. Her release from the confines of the room doesn't produce immediately positive results. She still has to journey a bit farther to come to terms with herself and how she fits into the world as this new person.
It was at times incredibly hard to watch but ultimately a very moving piece of cinema that has kept me thinking about it beyond the credits!
Sicario
Sicario starts with a tense opening that is filled with danger, horror and high stakes. It is such a tightly wound little sequence and tells you that you had better buckle up because you are entering a world where anything can happen.
And then Josh Brolin shows up and ruins it all! Thanks, Josh.
I'm sorry, that's not fair. I do not blame Josh Brolin for ruining Sicario for me. It was a mere coincidence of timing. But Brolin's character shows up to introduce the central mystery to the film - who makes up the task force that is going after the drug cartels and how will they handle the problem? This is what our main character, played by Emily Blunt, is trying to figure out and this mystery just wasn't enough to keep me interested in the film.
I wasn't surprised by the nature of Benicio Del Toro's character, thgough I feel like maybe I would have liked to be. Emily Blunt keeps getting shocked over and over again that the task force is not following proper procedure or even adhering to the laws of the United States. But as soon as Brolin showed up in flip flops I knew they were up to no good, so I was frustrated with her for not catching on quicker. And maybe my own belief that there is no rhyme or reason to the violence of drug cartels made me feel as if there was no reason to get too invested.
However, the cinematography was beautiful throughout and the music was spot on for a tense and well paced piece. There was a lot to like in this movie but for some reason I just couldn't connect to or care about the mystery that was supposed to be driving it forward.
And then Josh Brolin shows up and ruins it all! Thanks, Josh.
I'm sorry, that's not fair. I do not blame Josh Brolin for ruining Sicario for me. It was a mere coincidence of timing. But Brolin's character shows up to introduce the central mystery to the film - who makes up the task force that is going after the drug cartels and how will they handle the problem? This is what our main character, played by Emily Blunt, is trying to figure out and this mystery just wasn't enough to keep me interested in the film.
I wasn't surprised by the nature of Benicio Del Toro's character, thgough I feel like maybe I would have liked to be. Emily Blunt keeps getting shocked over and over again that the task force is not following proper procedure or even adhering to the laws of the United States. But as soon as Brolin showed up in flip flops I knew they were up to no good, so I was frustrated with her for not catching on quicker. And maybe my own belief that there is no rhyme or reason to the violence of drug cartels made me feel as if there was no reason to get too invested.
However, the cinematography was beautiful throughout and the music was spot on for a tense and well paced piece. There was a lot to like in this movie but for some reason I just couldn't connect to or care about the mystery that was supposed to be driving it forward.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
The Martian
The Martian is crowd pleasing science fiction! Matt Damon gets Mars-marooned and declares his very American plan to "science the shit out of it"! (For a different take on the same story, watch Gerry, in which Matt Damon science's the shit out of using a shirt-basket to make a dirt-mattress for Casey Affleck when he gets rock-marooned. Hahaha! I'm just kidding. Don't do that.)
The Martian has drama and puzzles and acting and wit and sarcasm in heaps. It is a thoroughly enjoyable ride. I thought the casting choices were interesting. Using Kristen Wig and Donald Glover so prominently was surprising to me, though I enjoyed them both. Now I can see that this allowed them to qualify as a comedy and win a Golden Globe! So, good work!
I enjoyed the contrast between the gray and austere presentation of NASA and the wacky perpetual casual friday that is JPL. JPL geniuses abound here in my hometown. I talk to them at backyard barbecues all the time and they totally got them right.
Matt Damon slays with his charm in this role and I got really wrapped up in his journey. Only late in the film did I start to feel like they were using my own love of sarcasm and wit against me. It began to slowly dawn on me that a real scientist, quirky though they may be, probably wouldn't be slinging one-liners quite so glibly. And a real scientist watching this film might feel like, "who is this asshole? He doesn't represent me!" And then I felt really sad for the plight of all the real scientists who have been stranded on other planets and maybe they were grumpy while they figured out a way to survive. And that's ok, too! We shouldn't just throw a slick face on science and ignore the real geniuses.
Also? I had to remember that none of this has happened in real life and maybe I should calm down and just let myself enjoy a fun film. It's not like it's going to win an Oscar.
The Martian has drama and puzzles and acting and wit and sarcasm in heaps. It is a thoroughly enjoyable ride. I thought the casting choices were interesting. Using Kristen Wig and Donald Glover so prominently was surprising to me, though I enjoyed them both. Now I can see that this allowed them to qualify as a comedy and win a Golden Globe! So, good work!
I enjoyed the contrast between the gray and austere presentation of NASA and the wacky perpetual casual friday that is JPL. JPL geniuses abound here in my hometown. I talk to them at backyard barbecues all the time and they totally got them right.
Matt Damon slays with his charm in this role and I got really wrapped up in his journey. Only late in the film did I start to feel like they were using my own love of sarcasm and wit against me. It began to slowly dawn on me that a real scientist, quirky though they may be, probably wouldn't be slinging one-liners quite so glibly. And a real scientist watching this film might feel like, "who is this asshole? He doesn't represent me!" And then I felt really sad for the plight of all the real scientists who have been stranded on other planets and maybe they were grumpy while they figured out a way to survive. And that's ok, too! We shouldn't just throw a slick face on science and ignore the real geniuses.
Also? I had to remember that none of this has happened in real life and maybe I should calm down and just let myself enjoy a fun film. It's not like it's going to win an Oscar.
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