Grade: A
So, I saw Shutter Island last Friday (Feb. 19) and this Wednesday (Feb. 24), and haven't had time to write my review. Well, here it is.
Right from the beginning, Scorcese sets the tone of the film while playing John Adams's Fog Tropes right after the Paramount logo. The set up is a nice eerie feel to the film. We begin with seeing our protagonist, Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) on a boat on his way to Shutter Island. The music continues to prevail as the scene progresses, and Teddy and his partner Chuck (Ruffalo) enter the gates of the institution. Throughout the film, there are memories of war and dream sequences that are marvelously done by Scorcese. I think these scenes are the most memorable, and quite frankly some of the best scenes in a film that I've seen. The somber feel of them and the music that goes along is just spectacular. Oh yeah, you should take a listen to the soundtrack in its entirety, and you will have great recollections of the film. The film followed very closely to the novel, which was great. If you haven't read the book, go for it. If you liked the movie, you'll be even more impressed with the book. Even the second time seeing it, it was like it was the first time, it was stil lcaptivating. So, alas I got to see the movie that I was most anticipating for 2010, and was not dissapointed at all.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Review: An Education
Today I saw An Education (which makes my best picture nomination count 8/10)
Grade: A-
An Education is about a 16 year old school girl in London who suddenly becomes the part of a relationship that literally changes her life. The film starts off in school, were Jenny is an ordinary private schooled student who is being pushed into studying hard to get into Oxford. Her pushy father (played brilliantly by Alfred Molina) has her path set out for her. She will continue to get perfect grades in school, eventually leading her into Oxford. Jenny, like any normal teenager has other plans in mind. She'd much rather go to Paris and speak French and sing French music, quite like the dream of an American student wanting to go live in Manhattan and be a part of that culture. Little does Jenny know that her plans will soon change when she meets an older man, David (Peter Sarsgaard). Soon, the two begin going out with each other, and somehow, David gets Jenny's father to loosen up a bit and let Jenny live her life. Not all is as easy going as it seems with David, though. Jenny soon realizes she might not know exactly what she wants as life gets thrusted at her a mile a minute. Overall, this is a great film. Carey Mulligan is great in her first lead role, fitting Jenny perfectly.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Most anticipated for 2010
What am I looking forward to seeing this year? Read on and find out.
Shutter Island
This movie was originally supposed to be released in October, but got pushed back by Paramount on account of 'money problems'. I didn't buy that since they had just made hundreds of millions on Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen, but whatever. Anyway, so this is probably tied with the next movie on my list as the movie I'm most looking forward to seeing. If you have not read the book (or seen the trailers) yet, Shutter Island is about a couple of police that are sent to investigate the case of a missing patient at an insane asylum on Shutter Island. The book is fabulously written by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), and I assume this will be a faithful adaptation. It is directed by Martin Scorcese (The Departed, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, etc) and stars Leonardo DiCaprio. These two men make a fantastic pair every time they work together. This is gonna be released Feb. 19th. I'm going opening day, so I'll post a review the minute I get back. Oh yeah, and this story packs a HUGE surprise ending you won't see coming.
Inception
This movie is directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige), so it has that going for it. As you might know, Nolan used a lot of Imax cams for TDK, and I presume he did so for this movie as well. This movie revolved around a futuristic society where the government uses spies to go inside your head while you are dreaming, and they are able to see what you see. This is a blackmail story built up in the midst of it all. This also stars DiCaprio (probably gonna be a great year for him), Ellen Page (Juno), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose, Nine), Joseph Gordon Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Michael Caine, etc. This is a great cast, and I don't think there is any way this movie could go wrong. It will be released July 16, and I personally will be counting down the days until then.
Other movies I'm looking forward to:
Alice in Wonderland
Iron Man 2
Robin Hood
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Official Oscar Nominees
Oscar noms were announced this morning. One of the most exciting days for a movie lover. Tonight, I'll list the nominees, and let you know who I think will be the lucky winners on March 7th. (These are all copied and pasted from imdb.com)
Best Picture
Avatar (2009): James Cameron, Jon Landau
The Blind Side (2009): Nominees to be determined
District 9 (2009): Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham
An Education (2009): Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
The Hurt Locker (2008): Nominees to be determined
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Lawrence Bender
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Jonas Rivera
Up in the Air (2009/I): Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman
There were a couple surprises here. I didn't think The Blind Side had any shot here. It was a good movie though, so it's not that bad of a choice. The other surprise was District 9. This movie was worthy of a nomination now that they expanded to 10 nominees, so good job D9. Other than those two, pretty much everyone else were epected to be nominated. My prediction: The Hurt Locker wins. It's really only between The Hurt Locker and Avatar, and I don't see the Academt simply going with Avatar because of the audience/box office factor.
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)
George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)
Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)
These five men were all expected to be on this list. These are the same five I predicted yesterday. Jeff Bridges wins by a landslide.
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)
Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)
Again, these are the five women I predicted yesterday. This one is a hard choice. Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep have been splitting the awards up to now. The Academy could go either way. Streep has the alum vote while Bullock gets the "finally a good enough performance in a drama" vote. If I had to bet, I'd go with Bullock (they should've given it to Streep last year for Doubt anyway).
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Again, five easy locks for nominations (I predicted all five yesterday as well). Christoph Waltz wins easily. Deservedly, too.
Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
There were a couple surprises in this category also. Penelope Cruz hasn't been nominated much this year, but the Academy loves her (and understandably so) so it was a kind-of surprise. The real surprise was Maggie Gyllenhaal. She has been getting no love from awards season, so I did not exprect this at all, but good for her. Mo'Nique will walk away with this prize easily as well.
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)
Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)
So Clint Eastwood did not get a nom here, which is kind of a surprise. The Academy loves him, but honestly, it wasn't his ultimate best work, so it wasn't a total shock. My pick here is Bigelow, and she should get it since she just won the Directors Guild award last week (and she truly deserves it). If there were an upset though, it would be Cameron for Avatar.
Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy
Solid nominees here. I think Mark Boal will walk away with this one, but Tarantino is very much in the race for it also. Either one could get it.
Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
I have no clue what In the Loop is, so I'm not gonna consider that a contender. For this, I'm going with Reitman and Turner for Up in the Air. I think this is pretty much a lock.
Cinematography
Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson
This could really go to any of these 5, well not HP. I would say the top three for this are Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds.
Best Original Score
Avatar (2009): James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino
This category has 4 previous nominees (and winners). I think Michael Giacchino will get it for Up. The score is fantastic, but I could also see the Academy going with Horner for Avatar (they loved Titanic too).
Best Foreign Language Film
Ajami (2009)(Israel)
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)
El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)
Un prophète (2009)(France)
La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)
I think the White Ribbon (the German one). A surprise here was Broken Embraces from Spain not being nominated. It was a very good film, so that was a little bit of a let down.
Best Animated Feature
Coraline (2009): Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore
Up (2009): Pete Docter
Up wins easily here. IF there were an upset so, and that's a big if, it would be Fantastic Mr. Fox.
So, those are my pics for major categories. For the full list of nominees, visit www.imdb.com . I hope you enjoyed my thoughts, and I can't wait to see it unfold live on Oscar night, March 7th!
Best Picture
Avatar (2009): James Cameron, Jon Landau
The Blind Side (2009): Nominees to be determined
District 9 (2009): Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham
An Education (2009): Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
The Hurt Locker (2008): Nominees to be determined
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Lawrence Bender
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Jonas Rivera
Up in the Air (2009/I): Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman
There were a couple surprises here. I didn't think The Blind Side had any shot here. It was a good movie though, so it's not that bad of a choice. The other surprise was District 9. This movie was worthy of a nomination now that they expanded to 10 nominees, so good job D9. Other than those two, pretty much everyone else were epected to be nominated. My prediction: The Hurt Locker wins. It's really only between The Hurt Locker and Avatar, and I don't see the Academt simply going with Avatar because of the audience/box office factor.
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)
George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)
Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)
These five men were all expected to be on this list. These are the same five I predicted yesterday. Jeff Bridges wins by a landslide.
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)
Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)
Again, these are the five women I predicted yesterday. This one is a hard choice. Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep have been splitting the awards up to now. The Academy could go either way. Streep has the alum vote while Bullock gets the "finally a good enough performance in a drama" vote. If I had to bet, I'd go with Bullock (they should've given it to Streep last year for Doubt anyway).
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Again, five easy locks for nominations (I predicted all five yesterday as well). Christoph Waltz wins easily. Deservedly, too.
Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
There were a couple surprises in this category also. Penelope Cruz hasn't been nominated much this year, but the Academy loves her (and understandably so) so it was a kind-of surprise. The real surprise was Maggie Gyllenhaal. She has been getting no love from awards season, so I did not exprect this at all, but good for her. Mo'Nique will walk away with this prize easily as well.
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)
Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)
So Clint Eastwood did not get a nom here, which is kind of a surprise. The Academy loves him, but honestly, it wasn't his ultimate best work, so it wasn't a total shock. My pick here is Bigelow, and she should get it since she just won the Directors Guild award last week (and she truly deserves it). If there were an upset though, it would be Cameron for Avatar.
Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy
Solid nominees here. I think Mark Boal will walk away with this one, but Tarantino is very much in the race for it also. Either one could get it.
Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
I have no clue what In the Loop is, so I'm not gonna consider that a contender. For this, I'm going with Reitman and Turner for Up in the Air. I think this is pretty much a lock.
Cinematography
Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson
This could really go to any of these 5, well not HP. I would say the top three for this are Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds.
Best Original Score
Avatar (2009): James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino
This category has 4 previous nominees (and winners). I think Michael Giacchino will get it for Up. The score is fantastic, but I could also see the Academy going with Horner for Avatar (they loved Titanic too).
Best Foreign Language Film
Ajami (2009)(Israel)
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)
El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)
Un prophète (2009)(France)
La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)
I think the White Ribbon (the German one). A surprise here was Broken Embraces from Spain not being nominated. It was a very good film, so that was a little bit of a let down.
Best Animated Feature
Coraline (2009): Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore
Up (2009): Pete Docter
Up wins easily here. IF there were an upset so, and that's a big if, it would be Fantastic Mr. Fox.
So, those are my pics for major categories. For the full list of nominees, visit www.imdb.com . I hope you enjoyed my thoughts, and I can't wait to see it unfold live on Oscar night, March 7th!
Monday, February 1, 2010
My 2010 Oscar predictions
Well since nominations are tomorrow, I figured I post my thoughts as to who I believe will be nominated.
We'll start with Best Picture and move down the list (all nominees are listed in Alphabetical order)
Best Picture:
An Education
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Best Actor in a Leading role:
Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart
George Clooney-Up in the Air
Colin Firth- A Single Man
Morgan Freeman- Invictus
Jeremy Renner- The Hurt Locker
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
Helen Mirren- The Last Station
Carey Mulligan- An Education
Meryl Streep- Julie and Julia
Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon- Invictus
Woody Harrelson- The Messenger
Christopher Plummer- The Last Station
Stanley Tucci- The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz- Inglorious Basterds
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mo'Nique- Precious
Vera Farminga- Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air
Julianne Moore- A Single Man
Samantha Morton- The Messenger
Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow- The Hurt L0cker
James Cameron- Avatar
Clint Eastwood- Invictus
Jason Reitman- Up in the Air
Quinten Tarantino- Inglorious Basterds
We'll start with Best Picture and move down the list (all nominees are listed in Alphabetical order)
Best Picture:
An Education
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Best Actor in a Leading role:
Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart
George Clooney-Up in the Air
Colin Firth- A Single Man
Morgan Freeman- Invictus
Jeremy Renner- The Hurt Locker
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
Helen Mirren- The Last Station
Carey Mulligan- An Education
Meryl Streep- Julie and Julia
Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon- Invictus
Woody Harrelson- The Messenger
Christopher Plummer- The Last Station
Stanley Tucci- The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz- Inglorious Basterds
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mo'Nique- Precious
Vera Farminga- Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air
Julianne Moore- A Single Man
Samantha Morton- The Messenger
Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow- The Hurt L0cker
James Cameron- Avatar
Clint Eastwood- Invictus
Jason Reitman- Up in the Air
Quinten Tarantino- Inglorious Basterds
Best Original Screenplay:
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
Best Adapted Screenplay:
District 9
An Education
Precious
A Single Man
Up in the Air
Those are my major category nomination thoughts. We'll see tomorrow who is actually nominated, and I will then discuss who I believe will win on Oscar night.
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