Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Behind on My Posts
Quick update on the blog. I know it seems like I am slacking and I am a little but only on posting not on watching movies. I have watched 3 more movies and I just need to find some time to write about them. Hopefully I will have some new posts up today or tomorrow. Damn my day job! It's totally getting in the way!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Precious...Now This is What I Call an Oscar Contender!
I confess that I had resisted watching Precious for a long time mainly because I had heard what the story was about and I just thought it would be absolutely depressing to watch and who wants to voluntarily subject themselves to that. And you know what I was right, it was depressing at times, but it was also a wonderful movie, that was surprisingly funny at times, with amazing performances and I am so glad that I finally watched it. The movie has been billed as a harrowing but ultimately uplifting movie and I don't know if can agree with that completely. Precious is dealt blow after blow (i.e. raped by her father resulting in 2 babies, beaten by her mother, told she is a "dumb fat bitch" over and over), but just when we think she is turning her life around and her triumphant ending is just around the corner, she is struck with another horrible injustice. While Precious doesn't exactly get her happy ending this is the type of movie that to me at least is a worthwhile experience. A movie where you really get to know the characters and care what happens to them. It's hard not to root for Precious to succeed and its hard not to admire her courage and tenacity. And while its not the typical happily ever after, there are enough moments of hope and humor scattered throughout the movie, that you dont walk away from the movie utterly demoralized.
Now I am not schooled enough in the intricacies of filmmaking to talk about the cinematography of the film or if the director made the right choice in juxtaposing the nightmarish harshness of Precious' reality with the whimsical and glamorous nature of her fantasy world. However, even I can recognize that this movie was as heartfelt and powerful as it was because of the transcendent performances by Gabourey Sidibe, in her first role ever, and Mo'nique, best known as a stand-up comedian. A lot of press has been dedicated to these two and after seeing the film I can honestly say that the hype was deserved. I have watched Gabourey on talk shows the last few months and thought she was a funny and charming person, who is naturally outgoing and confident. That is what makes her transformation into Precious just so incredible. Precious is withdrawn, self-loathing, timid, the exact opposite of what Gabourey is in real life, and for her to have captured this character they way she did was amazing. The scene where she breaks down because "nobody loves her" was riveting. I love Sandra Bullock and was glad she won the Best Actress Oscar, but after seeing Gabourey's performance I feel like it would have been nice if they both could've gotten it. Mo'nique did win an Oscar and rightly so because she was that good. Her abusive mother was scarily disturbing, and while some have said the performance was over the top, I thought she played it perfectly. That scene in the social worker's office when she tries to explain why she treated Precious the way that she did was mesmorizing, she owned that scene.
Bottom line, the amazing performances in this movie is reason enough to watch this powerful movie.
Btw for some reason my favorite line in the movie was when Precious said: "They talk like a TV channel I don't even watch," I dont know why but I just found that hilarious.
Now I am not schooled enough in the intricacies of filmmaking to talk about the cinematography of the film or if the director made the right choice in juxtaposing the nightmarish harshness of Precious' reality with the whimsical and glamorous nature of her fantasy world. However, even I can recognize that this movie was as heartfelt and powerful as it was because of the transcendent performances by Gabourey Sidibe, in her first role ever, and Mo'nique, best known as a stand-up comedian. A lot of press has been dedicated to these two and after seeing the film I can honestly say that the hype was deserved. I have watched Gabourey on talk shows the last few months and thought she was a funny and charming person, who is naturally outgoing and confident. That is what makes her transformation into Precious just so incredible. Precious is withdrawn, self-loathing, timid, the exact opposite of what Gabourey is in real life, and for her to have captured this character they way she did was amazing. The scene where she breaks down because "nobody loves her" was riveting. I love Sandra Bullock and was glad she won the Best Actress Oscar, but after seeing Gabourey's performance I feel like it would have been nice if they both could've gotten it. Mo'nique did win an Oscar and rightly so because she was that good. Her abusive mother was scarily disturbing, and while some have said the performance was over the top, I thought she played it perfectly. That scene in the social worker's office when she tries to explain why she treated Precious the way that she did was mesmorizing, she owned that scene.
Bottom line, the amazing performances in this movie is reason enough to watch this powerful movie.
Btw for some reason my favorite line in the movie was when Precious said: "They talk like a TV channel I don't even watch," I dont know why but I just found that hilarious.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Hurt Locker...Not Painful but Not Best Picture
So I've done it! I have watched the first of many movies to come for this blog challenge. The Hurt Locker seemed like the obvious place to start since it just won the Best Picture Oscar. When it was announced as best picture I immediately thought really? I mean I had heard good things but I had seen Avatar and I thought that it was an incredibly well made and enjoyable movie (it hurts me to say this because I think James Cameron is kind of a tool but gotta be honest). However, I decided to reserve judgment since I had not yet seen The Hurt Locker.
Guess what? I have now seen it and I still think that Avatar got robbed. There was a lot of talk in the press about how this was a David v. Goliath battle, and while I typically root for the underdog, this was the rare case where I think Goliath (a.k.a. Avatar) should have come out on top. First of all, I will say that I am kind of biased against war movies just because there are so many of them out there and they all seem to say the same thing. We get it...war is hell. That being said I definitely went into the movie with an open mind and I did think that it was a good movie just not the best movie of 2009.
The movie is intense and gripping and it seems to realistically portray what bomb diffusers go through on a daily basis. Great scenes throughout the movie like when James takes out the bomb from that kid's chest or when he follows a wire and discovers its attached to like 8 different bombs. And while the bomb diffusing scenes were filled with tension, I sometimes felt that they were a bit slow and needed to be moved along. The one scene that I thought was terrifically detailed and riveting was the scene where James and Co. are in a shooting standoff with the Iraqi's in the shack. That scene vividly showed how much focus is needed to target and fire a gun (the flies buzzing in their face would have totally broken my concentration but didn't phase them). Overall this was a compelling war movie and it was also really well acted. However, it didn’t get far enough beneath the characters’ skin for me to fully invest in their “war is a drug and we are addicted” dilemma. I just didn't care that much.
So bottom line, The Hurt Locker is a good movie but I still liked Avatar better and stick by my initial thought that it should have won best picture. Just my opinion...take it or leave it.
Guess what? I have now seen it and I still think that Avatar got robbed. There was a lot of talk in the press about how this was a David v. Goliath battle, and while I typically root for the underdog, this was the rare case where I think Goliath (a.k.a. Avatar) should have come out on top. First of all, I will say that I am kind of biased against war movies just because there are so many of them out there and they all seem to say the same thing. We get it...war is hell. That being said I definitely went into the movie with an open mind and I did think that it was a good movie just not the best movie of 2009.
The movie is intense and gripping and it seems to realistically portray what bomb diffusers go through on a daily basis. Great scenes throughout the movie like when James takes out the bomb from that kid's chest or when he follows a wire and discovers its attached to like 8 different bombs. And while the bomb diffusing scenes were filled with tension, I sometimes felt that they were a bit slow and needed to be moved along. The one scene that I thought was terrifically detailed and riveting was the scene where James and Co. are in a shooting standoff with the Iraqi's in the shack. That scene vividly showed how much focus is needed to target and fire a gun (the flies buzzing in their face would have totally broken my concentration but didn't phase them). Overall this was a compelling war movie and it was also really well acted. However, it didn’t get far enough beneath the characters’ skin for me to fully invest in their “war is a drug and we are addicted” dilemma. I just didn't care that much.
So bottom line, The Hurt Locker is a good movie but I still liked Avatar better and stick by my initial thought that it should have won best picture. Just my opinion...take it or leave it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Hurt Locker - Attempt #1
So I started this blog yesterday and was really excited and optimistic about my chances to be able to actually watch 73 movies in 81 days....and then i tried to watch my first movie. I was all set to watch the Hurt Locker yesterday and begin this blog challenge on a positive note...and about a third of the way into the movie I totally fell asleep. Now this is in no way a reflection on the quality of the movie (haven't seen enough to tell you if I think its good or bad), but more a product of the fact that i kept delaying watching the movie and so by the time i started it at 11:45PM, there was no way I was going to make it through the whole thing. I now realize that accomplishing my goal is probably going to be harder than i thought. My problem is that I am too easily distracted by random things (i.e. my roommate watching Michael Jackson's "This Is It," which I have already seen but was compelled to watch again because I love MJ). But I am not giving up yet, I will have watched "The Hurt Locker" by tomorrow and get one movie closer to my goal. At least that's the plan...let's see what happens.
Monday, March 8, 2010
2009 Nominees
So 2009 had 10 nominees instead of the normal 5 (damn you Academy!) . The nominees in red are the ones I haven't seen yet. Since it did win best picture, first up to watch is The Hurt Locker.
Nominees
The Hurt Locker
District 9
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (could this title be any longer)
A Serious Man
Avatar
The Blind Side
Inglorious Basterds
Up
Up in the Air
Nominees
The Hurt Locker
District 9
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (could this title be any longer)
A Serious Man
Avatar
The Blind Side
Inglorious Basterds
Up
Up in the Air
Epiphany...I'm gonna start a blog!
So for the longest time I have wanted to start a blog but I really couldn't decide what to write about. As I was watching what seemed like the longest oscar telecast ever last night, I finally came up with something to blog about. As Hurt Locker was winning best picture, I realized that every year I tell myself I am going to watch all the nominated films and usually by the time the oscars roll around I have completely failed in accomplishing this.
So the goal is to go back and watch every best picture oscar nominee that I have not seen since I was born in 1981, that is 73 films, in 81 days and see if these films are worthy of their oscar nominations in my albeit very amateur opinion. My guess is I am not going to particularly like these movies because c'mon there has to be a reason why I chose not to watch them in the first place. But we'll see, maybe they will surprise me.
I'm gonna work backwards here starting with the most recent nominees. Reaching my goal might be a stretch for me as I unfortunately do have a day job as a lawyer, but I am willing to forego some sleep to make this happen.
Let the countdown begin!
So the goal is to go back and watch every best picture oscar nominee that I have not seen since I was born in 1981, that is 73 films, in 81 days and see if these films are worthy of their oscar nominations in my albeit very amateur opinion. My guess is I am not going to particularly like these movies because c'mon there has to be a reason why I chose not to watch them in the first place. But we'll see, maybe they will surprise me.
I'm gonna work backwards here starting with the most recent nominees. Reaching my goal might be a stretch for me as I unfortunately do have a day job as a lawyer, but I am willing to forego some sleep to make this happen.
Let the countdown begin!
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