As I’ve previously said, when I see movies after the Oscar nominations have been announced, I’m skeptical that the movie is that good.
So I’m happy to say that yes, Babel is a very good movie.
Is it one of the year’s best? Sure, I’d say it’s worthy of the nomination. But I’m not going to adjust my top 10 to include it. I wonder if I’d have liked it as much if I saw the movie when it was first released in October. Continue reading
Andy Warhol is famous for, among other things, saying, “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” And in the new movie Factory Girl, we see how Andy took one woman — Edie Sedgwick — gave her those 15 minutes, and then threw her away. Sedgwick (played in the film by Sienna Miller, Jude Law’s former squeeze) was an aspiring artist from a wealthy family, who became Warhol’s muse and a central figure in his “Factory” in the 1960s. She was transformed by Warhol — and not just physically — and the film takes us on the whirlwind ride from bottom to top and back down again. And it feels like a whirlwind because the film is only an hour and a half long — which, mind you, is not something I’m complaining about, but it definitely feels a little too short because there clearly has been a bit of editing here, and it feels like certain details are missing. Miller is good, but I didn’t get the bigger-than-life sense about Sedgwick or Warhol (played by Guy Pearce, from Memento). I mean, she was swept up into this world, and really, it didn’t seem all that cool or exciting to me. It’s interesting to think of how different the movie would have been had Katie Holmes been cast as Sedgwick (not better, I think). All told, I’m giving Factory Girl a B–.
There are movies you see because you want to, movies you see because you have to, and movies you see because, well, because they’re free. I’ll let you guess which one of those Because I Said So was for me. No need to give this a full review; if you’re a woman, you’ll probably love it. If you’re a woman and you see it with your mother, you’ll love it even more. If you’re a guy and you’re dragged to this movie, God help you. It’s shocking to learn that Because was directed by Michael Lehmann, who also directed Heathers, because this movie is so tame compared to that wickedly funny ’80s classic. Because is cliched, but it’s not awful, and you could do worse than watch Mandy Moore on a big screen for an hour and 45 minutes. Still, it’s puzzling what attracted someone like Diane Keaton to this movie, since she’s basically reduced to some bad physical comedy; at multiple times she either has a cake smashed in her face or she’s doing things like reacting to Internet porn in the most naive way (I said multiple times). When she gets the chance to actually act, it’s totally laughable. Certain movies just aren’t made for men, and this is one of them. I’m giving it a C.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve gone and updated my top 10 list for last year because Notes on a Scandal surely deserves a place there.
And I’ll go one step further and say that Judi Dench deserves the Oscar for her performance here more than Helen Mirren does for her work in The Queen.
Dench is as scary an on-screen villain as there’s been in the movies this year, and her performance is mesmerizing. It’s hard to imagine that she went home every night and was a normal person. In the movie, she’s a force to be reckoned with. Continue reading
Whoa. That’s my biggest reaction to the Oscar nominations this morning. More specifically:
* No Dreamgirls for Best Picture? That’s a huge shock, because everyone thought it was a lock to win. This opens the field up completely, and now I’d say it’s a 4-way race (The Queen doesn’t really have a shot). But what’s odd is that Dreamgirls still has the most noms of any movie (eight) — including three in the Best Song category. That’s the coolest of all, because it means Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy may all sing. That would make for some fantastic television.
* Leo nominated for Blood Diamond and not The Departed. It’s because he thought he’d get a Best Supporting Actor nom for The Departed, and Warner Brothers campaigned thusly. Now he’s shot himself in the foot because he’s much better in Departed and doesn’t really have a shot to win for Blood Diamond. Then again, Forest Whitaker’s a lock to win anyway, so this is all moot.
* Ryan Gosling nominated for Best Actor. This is great. He is so good in Half Nelson. But I’m bummed that Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t get a nom for Borat. My view is that Will Smith took his spot; had Pursuit of Happyness come out any earlier in the year, the spot would have been Cohen’s.
* Whitaker vs O’Toole. If Peter O’Toole wins, it’ll be because of sentiment. He’s old; he plays an old guy. It’s sort of like Abigail Breslin. She’s good and all, but she’s playing a cute kid. How hard can that be? (Says the guy who couldn’t act, so he started writing reviews.) Not that I’ve seen Forest Whitaker’s movie (or O’Toole’s, for that matter), but that seems like a much more challenging role for him.
* Paul Greengrass nominated for Best Director. Even though United 93 didn’t make the Best Picture cut, I’m glad the movie was recognized here.
* Jennifer Hudson nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Hey, have I ever mentioned that I interviewed her for Continental? (Just kidding.)
* Mark Wahlberg nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Really? That one I don’t get. But more importantly, so who has the better back story this year: Jennifer Hudson, former contestant on American Idol, or Mark Wahlberg, formerly Marky Mark, former Calvin Klein underwear model?
* My predictions: Departed for Best Pic; Scorsese for Best Director; Mirren, Whitaker, Hudson, and Murphy in the acting categories; Departed for Adapted Screenplay and Little Miss Sunshine for Original Screenplay; “Listen” for Best Song; and Happy Feet for Animated Film.
Those are my quick reactions. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the nominations. I like that, aside from the four acting categories and Best Director, things are pretty wide open. And now I definitely need to see Babel (I still have no interest in seeing Letters from Iwo Jima). With Ellen Degeneres hosting, this could be a great show. I can’t wait.
The trailer for Jennifer Garner’s latest film, Catch and Release, doesn’t exactly promise a very good movie.
So the good news is that the trailer gets it partly wrong.
For example, Catch is not a fun, cutesy romantic comedy about a woman getting over the death of her fiancee by falling in love with his best friend. Instead, it’s a rather serious film about a woman whose fiancee dies just days before the wedding, and who, in dealing with her grief, learns surprising things about him and herself.
Alright, fine, she does also fall in love with his best friend, but she does it reluctantly.
And even better, that’s not really the crux of the movie.
So I guess the film’s surprising depth is what redeems it from being a typical January throw-away.
Still, let’s not go too far with praise here. While the romance doesn’t feel totally forced, it does feel unrealistic. And Kevin Smith, playing a role probably meant for Jack Black, should probably stick to films he writes and directs, where he usually plays a character named Silent Bob.
Overall, the screenplay (by Susannah Grant, who also wrote Erin Brockovich and In Her Shoes, and who makes her directorial debut here) could have used some pruning; the generally likable cast helps a great deal to overcome its limitations.
Still, I just didn’t get into the story enough and found certain plot details predictable or unnecessary.
And Jennifer Garner just isn’t given enough opportunities to smile. When she does, it basically makes the movie worth watching — as does the scene where she’s wearing her wedding dress.
Catch earns points for being better than expected, but loses some for just not being compelling enough. So, I’m giving it a B–.
Children of Men presents a really unsettling picture of the world, circa 2027: all women have been infertile for 18 years, there is widespread poverty, no clear leadership, and bands of rebels use militaristic efforts to forward their goals. It’s not a pretty picture. So when a miracle pregnancy is discovered, extreme measures are needed to keep the secret and not interfere with the birth. Enter Clive Owen’s character, Theo Faron, who is grappling with his own inner demons (his child died years earlier), and who is charged with protecting the mother. That’s about all I understood about the movie. There’s a bit more to it, and much of that went over my head. I was unclear about what the Fish were doing, why Julianne Moore was only on for about 15 minutes, what Michael Caine had to do with any of it, and how this movie, which is actually quite good despite my not following it entirely, could resort to things like a character (the mother) whose name is Kee and a ship named Tomorrow. They’re not exactly subtle symbols. But anyway, I didn’t want to see Children of Men when it first came out, but the good reviews changed my mind. And now that I’ve seen it, I can’t say I entirely agree, but I do still think this is a very good movie — largely because I was impressed by the vision of writer/director Alfonso Cuaron, and because I thought Clive Owen made an engaging hero. So I’m giving Children of Men a B+.
I always hate going to the movies after year-end awards have been handed out because I can’t help but be biased while watching the film. It’s like my inner critic is crying out, “Impress me!”
And yet I do it anyway, mostly out of obligation, because I want to be able to have seen the major Oscar nominees.
So with that kind of mindset, I went to see The Queen on Saturday. And it’s a good movie, but I won’t be adding it to my top 10. Continue reading
Easily, the best moment of the Golden Globe Awards last night was Sacha Baron Cohen’s acceptance of his award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Borat. Check it out here. (Or here.) (Or here.) (Or watch it below.)
[Note: This review contains plot spoilers, so if you have any intention of seeing Alpha Dog, don’t read this review until after you’ve done so. Or, read this review and change your mind about seeing it.]
There are a few things wrong with Alpha Dog, but one of the biggest — the plot — just can’t be helped because the film is “inspired by actual events.” Alpha Dog tells the story of Jonny Truelove (a.k.a. Jesse James Hollywood), a drug dealer who, to exact revenge on a delinquent customer, kidnaps Nick (Anton Yelchin), the customer’s 15-year-old brother. Truelove’s friends, including Frankie (Justin Timberlake), unwittingly go along with it, and show Nick a good time when he’s left in Frankie’s care. Had the film not been based on a true story, chances are it would have ended with Nick being returned to his family and Truelove behind bars, and the film would have come off like a fun story about this kid who was abducted and was actually better off for having had the experience. But that’s not what actually went down, and the film takes a much darker turn that does it in.
Not that it would have been a much better movie had the kid lived. The script is generally lame, the acting doesn’t help it, and together, it makes for a film about a bunch of not very likable, not very cool, not really tough, and actually, pretty lame people. And it’s a shame, because not only did I think the trailer made the movie look pretty cool, but I’ve always sorta thought Emile Hirsch (who plays Truelove) was a pretty good actor (I particularly like him in The Girl Next Door) and I hoped Timberlake would be fun to watch, but neither one is particularly good (though I’d say Justin has his moments, and he’s certainly better than Lance Bass was in On the Line). So, I’m calling Alpha Dog a disappointment. And I’m giving it a C–.
Martin's Musings 