Snubs 2010

There are Oscar snubs every year. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carrey know that all too well. But found there to be some pretty astounding absences from the nominations this year. And they include:

Chris Nolan, Best Director Inception

I mean, Inception wasn't a critical and artistic success with an intricate story line, admirable performances, and mind blowing special effects. It didn't kick start a slow 2010. And all that didn't require impeccable direction. Inception proved that one can make a smart movie and the masses will go see it; audiences aren't as dumb as we think. Chris Nolan consistently turns out money making masterpieces and has yet to be rewarded with a nomination. The Dark Knight omission was bad enough but not a nod for Inception? Blasphemy. Especially choosing the Coen Brothers over Nolan for a mediocre film.

Danny Boyle, Best Director 127 Hours

It's no easy task to make a one man show compelling for an hour and a half. Poor choice Academy...poor poor choice.






Mark Wahlberg, Best Actor The Fighter

Yeah Christian Bale pulls the Al Pacino scenery chewing card and is utterly brilliant. But Mark Wahlberg gives a quiet, internal performance. The performance is textured and it's a true change from Wahlberg. Too bad he lost his spot to Jeff Bridges, a performance that was funny but hammy.



Ryan Gosling, Best Actor Blue Valentine

Thank goodness Michelle Williams got nominated but it's completely ridiculous to ignore Gosling. He's a catalyst for Williams' performance. The role called for love, misery, humor, depression, weakness, strength. Though I haven't seen Biutiful and still want to, I hear Javier Bardem (who I love) is basically required to be miserable throughout the film and his role is far less complex than Gosling's. This and Nolan's snub are the biggest nomination injustices.


Jim Carrey, Best Actor I Love You Phillip Morris

This was barely even a possibility but it's horrible that Carrey got overlooked, again.


Andrew Garfield, Best Supporting Actor The Social Network

The Social Network had some strong male performances and it's a shame only Jesse Eisenberg got recognized. I wasn't totally shocked that Garfield got ignored and I think he has a lot more great performances in his future, but Mark Ruffalo over Garfield? Please. Any recognition for The Kids Are All Right is undeserved. The fact it got nominated for Best Picture is horrifying.

Mila Kunis, Best Supporting Actress Black Swan

Kunis gives a truly supporting performance. She supports and feeds Natalie Portman's performance. Her performance is generous and serves as a great contrast to Portman. This reminds me of James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland or Christina Ricci in Monster, truly generous performances that help make the lead's performance that much better. And those supporting roles aren't recognized.

Barbara Hershey, Best Supporting Actress Black Swan

I don't know why there wasn't more of a push for her too. She balances the sympathetic and love with the overbearing and psycho. She also adds fuel to the fire that is Portman's performance. Plus, wouldn't it be cool to see two awful mothers square off at the awards (Hershey and Melissa Leo in The Fighter)? The Academy went with Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom as Psycho Mom nomination #2.





I am pleased John Hawkes got nominated for Winter's Bone. He's a fantastic character actor and it's great he got recognized.

You always hurt the ones you love.

Blue Valentine

Gritty, realistic, painful, surprisingly funny at times. Blue Valentine is a tour de force of emotion starring two incredibly talented actors who improvised most of their lines. Blue Valentine will leave you feeling emotionally naked.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are phenomenal. I've always had an insane amount of respect for both of them as performers but after Blue Valentine, my opinion of them has sky-rocketed upwards. Gosling brings a sweetness, protectiveness and romance in the beginning of the relationship that most girls would hope for. Williams plays the damage and exhaustion one never hopes to have. Each performance is natural.

Though there is a script, both Williams and Gosling did a lot of improvisation. That just makes the performances that much more natural and powerful. Those tears and lines are truly coming from within.

The genius of Blue Valentine is the way the story is told. The pacing is brilliant and the story is told in a nonlinear fashion. We see something bad in the present followed by something great in the past. A family tragedy followed by the characters first introduction. We are essentially seeing love being born and love dying. Though we are seeing this beautiful new love, we are seeing cracks in a foundation that will ultimately doom them. The climactic scene in the third act is so hard to watch, so painful. You can see the love draining out of Williams and you have to turn away. This is all too personal.

Most of Blue Valentine is hard to watch. It's incredibly gritty and raw. When Gosling and Williams go away to a hotel for a night, their sexual interaction is brutal. It's just so sad. One is trying so hard to save this relationship while the other is so clearly over it. This is a tragic romance to end all tragic romances. No melodrama, just truth.

Chris Lilley on Summer Heights High

By far the funniest show I've ever seen...ever. Chris Lilley plays three vastly different characters who all have delusions of grandeur: bad boy Jonah, drama teacher Mr. G, and vapid private school girl Ja'Mie. Each character is so wonderfully written and full realized, especially Jonah. And they are all absolutely hilarious and completely real. We each know someone like them. Lilley morphs into each character and plays so well with his costars. The man is a comedic genius.

Netflix
Animal Kingdom-Oscar buzz for Jacki Weaver.
The Rainmaker-Early Matt Damon.
Restrepo-Netflix Instant. Gritty and powerful war documentary.

2010

It's taken me long enough but I've finally seen enough good 2010 films to make my Top 10 list. This year started off painfully slow and the summer blockbusters were mostly disappointing. But 2010 ended with a bang, with some powerful pieces bowing in December.

Honorable Mention #1: Winter's Bone

This Ozark-noir mystery is thrilling and scary. Some great performance, especially from veteran "that guy" John Hawkes and newcomer Jennifer Lawrence.

Honorable Mention #2: True Grit

Enjoyable and brought some serious laughs from Jeff Bridges and great performances by Matt Damon and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Good story about revenge and its costs. But overall, not what I expected. I blame whoever put together the phenomenal trailer.


10. Never Let Me Go

An over-looked and quiet sci-fi drama with the fantastic Carey Mulligan, talented newcomer Andrew Garfield, and an uglied up Keira Knightley. The film presents a serious ethical question with no clear answer.


9. Somewhere

Classic and beautiful Sofia Coppola film that's a wonderful mediation and character piece.




8. Toy Story 3

A great conclusion to the trilogy with the same spirit as the first. Plus Andy's monologue on youth, tear-inducing. I cried along with the rest of America.



7. The Fighter

Christian Bale gives one of the best performances of the year but Marky Mark deserves credit too. It's like the two took acting lessons from each other. An inspiring true story.



6. 127 Hours

Another inspiring true story plus James Franco proves that he's got talent. Stunning shots of Utah, amazing soundtrack, 127 Hours is enjoyable and presents a serious question: would you cut off your own arm to survive?


5. Blue Valentine

A non-linear and powerful narrative combined with mostly improvised dialogue. Devastating performances from Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, who's actually hilarious and has great comedic timing. I was profoundly moved by this. Also, 2nd Best Trailer of the Year.

4. The King's Speech

Dare I repeat myself? Yet ANOTHER inspiring true story. A little explored condition coupled with World War II, friendship and the flawless Colin Firth? This film is a groomed Oscar winner. But it has heart, serious heart.


3. The Social Network

Anti-heroes and villains are the leads. There really are no good guys. An anti-Oscar film but we love it. A star-making performance from Jesse Eisenberg, stunning writing from Aaron Sorkin and intense direction from David Fincher. The pedigree behind the camera is mesmerizing. This film speaks for my generation. Plus The Social Network wins my Best Trailer of the Year award.

2. Inception

Christopher Nolan's latest mind-f*** got the year rolling...in July. 2010 looked to be the worst year ever until Inception came along. A truly original work with an attractive and talented cast.



1. Black Swan
No question, my favorite film of 2010. Natalie Portman is a tour-de-force. She's beautiful, terrifying, heartbreaking, I could go on and on. This movie is painful to watch, it's so sad watching this poor little girl fall apart before our very eyes. Black Swan is an all-encompassing movie experience and in my eyes, it pretty much achieves what it's heroine wanted: perfection.


Films in 2010 had great trailers, great performances and great stories. A lot of them elicited strong emotions and reactions from me and audience members. I look forward to how this films are rewarded and what 2011 has to offer.

Hi Dad.

Somewhere

I had high expectations walking into Somewhere. This is Sofia Coppola's latest and I was pretty positive Somewhere would be more like Lost in Translation as opposed to Marie Antoinette. I ended up thoroughly enjoying Somewhere, but it was a far different film than I imagined it would be. Coppola's story of a pleasure-addicted Hollywood actor named Johnny Marco and his relationship with his young daughter Cleo is almost an anti-film, with little dialogue and a strong use of imagery to convey theme.

I was surprised at Coppola's choice of Stephen Dorff for the lead. All I knew of Dorff was that he was in a Britney Spears music video and a movie called Alone in the Dark with Christian Slater and Tara Reid. Enough said. But I was floored by his performance in Somewhere. He worked with very little dialogue and relied on his face and interactions with Elle Fanning, who plays his young daughter. Sometimes with quiet performances with little words, we can tell that the actor wants to to talk but the script won't allow them to or you can tell they are thinking about other things. Not the case with Dorff. We can see his character thinking about a million things during those periods of silence: his intent and long gazes at his daughter signal him questioning whether he's a good father or when he can drop her off to get to his latest girlfriend's house. His slight but playful smiles show how much he loves his daughter and how proud of he is of the person she's becoming, despite his absence. Particularly towards the end his silence and gaze speak louder than words can.

Fanning and Dorff work well together and I really wonder what kind of bonding or character work they did to prepare for their roles. They portray a strong but rarely experienced bond as their time together is rare. There are even several scenes where they dress in similar colors. These two are definitely father and daughter.

Somewhere is filled to the brim with imagery to convey the film's themes. We open with what seems like a too long sequence of Dorff's character racing his car in circles, showing the monotony of his life. Images and copied scenes signal the repetition of Marco's days. When Marco's getting his make-up test for a role, the camera lingers on his plastered face, which formed a subtle frown. We are looking at Marco from the inside. He's blank and sad. The turning point is blunt and brilliant. The end's imagery is powerful and hopeful, a story itself.

Somewhere has Sofia Coppola written all over it. The images and people are fair and beautiful. There's a strong sense of mood. The film is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack and Coppola uses it strategically. There's one song that plays continuously throughout the film, but we only hear the beginning. It's not until Marco has made a transformation, he's finally going somewhere, that we get to hear the Phoenix song in it's entirety.

Somewhere is not for everyone. It takes a while to get going and with little dialogue, this film isn't for a non-patient viewer. The narrative is unconventional. But if one has the patience to watch and appreciate Somewhere for what it is and what it is saying, you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Will Smith in I Am Legend

It takes talent and charisma to carry a film. It takes ten times that to be the only person in a film for most of its running time. Will Smith just has this immense appeal and while he isn't the most talented actor working, he can carry a film. One doesn't get bored watching him or get sick of him talking to himself. He works well with his costar, a German Shepard. He shows a good range in I Am Legend and he's at his best during the film's most tense moments.

Netflix

Midnight Cowboy-Classic Dustin.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps-Carey Mulligan. I'll see it.
Wristcutters: A Love Story-Netflix Instant. Have the soundtrack, haven't seen the movie.

I have a voice!

The King's Speech

The story of King George the VI aka Bertie and Lionel Logue, the man who helped him overcome his emotionally and physically painful stammer, The King's Speech is an inspiring story of bravery and friendship and will carry Colin Firth to Oscar gold.

The King's Speech is the Colin Firth show. This movie is built around him and he rules it like a king. His stammer/stutter seems accurate and well researched. He's gentle and intimidating, fragile yet tough as nails. A battle rages inside him, a battle of pain, embarrassment/self-loathing and silent bravery and growing hope. This battle all plays out in his face, particularly his eyes and mouth. His perseverance and performance moved me to tears. One of the best male performances of the year.

Firth and Geoffrey Rush have excellent chemistry, whether they are fighting or supporting each other. It's quite magical to watch their friendship develop. Rush provides much needed laughs and uses the fantastic comedic timing we saw in Shakespeare in Love. Helena Bonham-Carter was also quite good in her supporting role but the role was written to be supporting and not outshine Firth and Rush. She did the best with what she was given.

The techniques director Tom Hooper uses to show Bertie's pain and embarrassment are quite masterful. The echoing microphone repeats Bertie's stammer, almost mocking him. His not overbearing use of Bertie's awful family really reinforces the tough childhood Bertie had; we see them enough to realize they are awful and they leave on impression, like they are always in the back of our mind, like Bertie. The end is inspiring and left some audience members clapping in my theater. Hooper doesn't rush Bertie's speech, he lets him take his time, just as Logue would've instructed.

The King's Speech definitely goes through the Oscar checklist: inspiring story about a man overcoming an obstacle, World War II, true story, life-changing relationship and so on. But The King's Speech has heart, something many Oscar checklist film forget to include. Rush's dedication and Firth's power combine to make the audience feel, unlike Benjamin Button which was just an interesting film to look at with an interesting story.

I really enjoyed The King's Speech, I think it did a great job of telling a compelling story and highlighting a misunderstood condition. Do I think it should win Best Picture? Probably not. Will I be mad if it does? Definitely not.

Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

This girl is the next Dakota Fanning! She's super talented and she's such a little adult. Anyone who can go toe-to-toe with Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin and act as well as them is one heck of a talent. The Coen Brothers have written some memorable, strong, and incredibly feminist characters, and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross brings her to life. This girl has a bright future ahead of her.

Netflix

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind-I frequently hear this was good.
The Other Guys-Heard this was either hilarious or atrocious.
The Red Shoes-Netflix Instant. Perhaps an inspiration for Black Swan?