Do not go to see this movie if you want your action movies to be extra explosions and fights with a small side helping of plot. Hanna is a movie that is big on story and characterization. It has fantastic fight scenes and completely moved by these great actors and the fantastic music. There may be minor problems and I could list them all, but I am not here to knit-pick. This is a great film, but a person can only enjoy it if they go into it expecting a few slow moments.
The script and the acting is humorous and exciting and thrilling. Each actor plays very well from each role that they are given, especially Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchette. Cate is wonderfully devilish and Ronan brings every ounce of her acting ability into this role. She will definitely be one of the greatest actresses of all time in a few more years. And Eric Bana is good as always. Though Cate is such a scary woman who you do not want to be on the wrong end of in a conversation, it is Tom Hollander, as the insane Isaacs, who steals this film. It is difficult to steal the movie away from these three actors. I don’t know if it’s the hair, the polo shirt, or that smile, but he creeps on a scale that can make grown men slither in their seats. He doesn’t do much in the film and in fact never does much fighting; it is his presence in the film is all we need.
The action is great. The fights scenes in the film are well choreographed and look stunning. Some might complain that there is too little which brings me back to my point that this may be an action movie but it is more than that. The film entertains but still makes the viewers think.
And the music moves the film. The movie couldn’t have worked as well without The Chemical Brothers. It would have seemed to me a rip off of a David Fincher film without this score. Although the cinematography looked really cool and the lighting added a fantastic tone to the film, it had the pacing of a Fincher film and it would have emphasized it more without the score. The score made the movement of the film necessary. And the whistling theme of Isaacs churned my blood.
A great movie all around. It has its problems like most movies, but I recommend it very highly.
Next time: Jurassic Park Trilogy and Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton and Duplicity
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Soloist: 1.5 stars
The Soloist is one interesting film. I am in love with Joe Wright’s style of directing and believe he may be one of the great directors at work today with the likes of Tom Hooper, Kenneth Branagh, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Peter Weir. He has a way with the camera, with his actors, with the script, with the music, and with the scenery. The Soloist doesn’t do this man justice. It’s sad to say that The Soloist could have been better in the hands of a different director.
Mr. Wright knows how to position his cameras. He knows what to do with it in every scene. He knows what to show and what not to show. And he knows what way to light his sets. In The Soloist, he doesn’t. He seems confused and tries to mimic what he did with his two previous British art films in an American bromance-drama film set in 2003. Mr. Wright uses clique camera angles and recopies what he did previously but it doesn’t work. Close-ups in a film like Atonement is fantastic if you have good actors and power behind it, but when you are doing it to show craziness, all the audience feels is awkwardness. And there is even a scene where Nathaniel (Foxx) is listening to a rehearsal in Disney Concert Hall and instead od watching him listening to the music or watching the orchestra (which would have been better) we see these weird Fantasia-like color and wave like patterns popping onto the screen.
That being said, I also felt the performances were too weak for a film of this nature. Jamie Foxx is like a cookie cutter, simply redoing what other great actors have done with being schizophrenic and doesn’t try and be his own. The close-ups of the camera didn’t help, getting right up into his face, however, that still doesn’t relinquish the fact that there is nothing genuine or unique in his role. The same in Robert Downey Jr. Normally great, Downey never feels emotionally invested. The audience relies too much on the failed camera work to speed up the pacing. Yelling out to the camera and the world won’t make an audience feel for the character’s complexity, Mr. Downey. And talking really quickly and randomly won’t make the audience feel you are mentally ill, Mr. Foxx.
Touching more on that, the script didn’t even do the insanity justice. Like I said before, talking rapidly won’t make the viewers believe he is insane, or at least they won’t feel fully invested in the character, which I know I wasn’t. And not only did they do that, they also added into Nathaniel’s character voices that he hears. Yes, schizophrenics hear voices or see people that aren’t there. The viewers don’t need to hear them. If that’s the only time we really get into the mind of the character is when he starts to hear voices, then the filmmakers just destroyed the nature of the character. I also don’t like the flashbacks. The film shouldn’t follow both Steve Lopez (Robert) and Nathaniel. It should follow one or the other, even if the book followed both. It gets too much and I felt I was being split apart. The movie seemed to follow Lopez and then randomly there is a flashback to Nathaniel’s life and those flashbacks are the only times we actually see Nathaniel. Also, the mumbling of Robert is too much. I couldn’t hear a word of his column so I really had to read subtitles in the film.
Then there is the music. Dario Marianelli composed both of Wright’s previous films. However, there wasn’t much in the way of music in this film. I do not like a film about music to only contain what previous men have composed. There is absolutely nothing in this film that has come through Dario’s mind and all he does is use what Bach and Beethoven composed to fill the film. The movie incorporates these two men’s work, but it shouldn’t be all that is there. Like in Black Swan, the movie is about Swan Lake, but there is newly composed music that adapts itself to Swan Lake and doesn’t rehash the Swan Lake music over and over again. That’s what the film should have done, adapt and use to establish an emotional foothold in our ears.
Lastly, in all of Joe Wright’s films, he incorporates the landscape and scenery into his sets. In England and in France where his past two films take place, he does this flawlessly, but in The Soloist he tries too hard again. Los Angeles is not a gorgeous landscape and not a rich and majestic city. I went there for Spring Break, I know what the streets are like. I’m not sure what Mr. Wright’s intentions were, but it seemed to me that somehow he tries to find beauty in the trash of Skid Row. He reuses these epic sweeping pan shots of the city and somehow it doesn’t really work. In a way it is unique and different and what I wanted to see, but in a way it still didn’t work. It seemed too far-fetched for me to get my heart and my mind into a movie with these kinds of pan shots of the city.
The Soloist is far from good. It is disappointing for me to say that one of my favorite directors has such a trashy film, but it is the truth. I couldn’t sympathize for these characters. All that I am trying to get at is that the film could have been so much more in different hands. Not better hands necessarily, because Mr. Wright still is amazing in my opinion.
Mr. Wright knows how to position his cameras. He knows what to do with it in every scene. He knows what to show and what not to show. And he knows what way to light his sets. In The Soloist, he doesn’t. He seems confused and tries to mimic what he did with his two previous British art films in an American bromance-drama film set in 2003. Mr. Wright uses clique camera angles and recopies what he did previously but it doesn’t work. Close-ups in a film like Atonement is fantastic if you have good actors and power behind it, but when you are doing it to show craziness, all the audience feels is awkwardness. And there is even a scene where Nathaniel (Foxx) is listening to a rehearsal in Disney Concert Hall and instead od watching him listening to the music or watching the orchestra (which would have been better) we see these weird Fantasia-like color and wave like patterns popping onto the screen.
That being said, I also felt the performances were too weak for a film of this nature. Jamie Foxx is like a cookie cutter, simply redoing what other great actors have done with being schizophrenic and doesn’t try and be his own. The close-ups of the camera didn’t help, getting right up into his face, however, that still doesn’t relinquish the fact that there is nothing genuine or unique in his role. The same in Robert Downey Jr. Normally great, Downey never feels emotionally invested. The audience relies too much on the failed camera work to speed up the pacing. Yelling out to the camera and the world won’t make an audience feel for the character’s complexity, Mr. Downey. And talking really quickly and randomly won’t make the audience feel you are mentally ill, Mr. Foxx.
Touching more on that, the script didn’t even do the insanity justice. Like I said before, talking rapidly won’t make the viewers believe he is insane, or at least they won’t feel fully invested in the character, which I know I wasn’t. And not only did they do that, they also added into Nathaniel’s character voices that he hears. Yes, schizophrenics hear voices or see people that aren’t there. The viewers don’t need to hear them. If that’s the only time we really get into the mind of the character is when he starts to hear voices, then the filmmakers just destroyed the nature of the character. I also don’t like the flashbacks. The film shouldn’t follow both Steve Lopez (Robert) and Nathaniel. It should follow one or the other, even if the book followed both. It gets too much and I felt I was being split apart. The movie seemed to follow Lopez and then randomly there is a flashback to Nathaniel’s life and those flashbacks are the only times we actually see Nathaniel. Also, the mumbling of Robert is too much. I couldn’t hear a word of his column so I really had to read subtitles in the film.
Then there is the music. Dario Marianelli composed both of Wright’s previous films. However, there wasn’t much in the way of music in this film. I do not like a film about music to only contain what previous men have composed. There is absolutely nothing in this film that has come through Dario’s mind and all he does is use what Bach and Beethoven composed to fill the film. The movie incorporates these two men’s work, but it shouldn’t be all that is there. Like in Black Swan, the movie is about Swan Lake, but there is newly composed music that adapts itself to Swan Lake and doesn’t rehash the Swan Lake music over and over again. That’s what the film should have done, adapt and use to establish an emotional foothold in our ears.
Lastly, in all of Joe Wright’s films, he incorporates the landscape and scenery into his sets. In England and in France where his past two films take place, he does this flawlessly, but in The Soloist he tries too hard again. Los Angeles is not a gorgeous landscape and not a rich and majestic city. I went there for Spring Break, I know what the streets are like. I’m not sure what Mr. Wright’s intentions were, but it seemed to me that somehow he tries to find beauty in the trash of Skid Row. He reuses these epic sweeping pan shots of the city and somehow it doesn’t really work. In a way it is unique and different and what I wanted to see, but in a way it still didn’t work. It seemed too far-fetched for me to get my heart and my mind into a movie with these kinds of pan shots of the city.
The Soloist is far from good. It is disappointing for me to say that one of my favorite directors has such a trashy film, but it is the truth. I couldn’t sympathize for these characters. All that I am trying to get at is that the film could have been so much more in different hands. Not better hands necessarily, because Mr. Wright still is amazing in my opinion.
Pride and Prejudice; Atonement: 4 stars; 4.5 stars
There are few films where I can easily say are as beautiful as the old fashioned movies like David Lean’s films or William Wyler or Laurence Olivier. Joe Wright’s Atonement and Pride and Prejudice are two of them. Quite simply these films have some of the most artistic, majestic, and stylistic shots of any films that I have seen in the past two decades. Very few directors alive today can capture such beauty in EVERY shot, and somehow Joe Wright is one of these men who can.
I don’t know how he does it. I wish I knew how he can make every shot, every frame of these films worth looking at. And he fills it with drop-dead gorgeous landscapes and sets and performances (especially the landscapes).
Wright is a lover of long takes. In Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, these takes are the best ones in the film. They draw in the attention of the audience and empower the viewing of the scene with such weight. The one in Atonement lasted for almost five minutes and the scene would not have been as great if they continually cut all the time. I wish some directors would use this technique more.
The actors in both of these films are all top notch. Say what you will about whether they look like the characters they portray or if they don’t act the same way that they do in the books, but every one of them still gives to their respective roles such humanity. And all of them are British; what more could you ask for? (With the exception of Donald Sutherland which I can ignore for a moment because he is good.) Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Rosamund Pike, Brenda Blethyn, Tom Hollander, Judi Dench, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Venessa Redgrave, and Benedict Cumberbatch all are superb and well cast, even if the majority of American audiences and viewers don’t know who these people are (which is sad).
And the music is amazing (for lack of a better word). The best way to describe the score for Atonement is how well it fits with the film. Both scores just works so well with the atmosphere of the film and really does work to convey what emotion you are supposed to be feeling and what these characters are feeling too.
Overall, if you haven’t seen these films, watch them. At least go a see Atonement. It really is a film that will stand the test of time as one of the greats in my opinion.
I don’t know how he does it. I wish I knew how he can make every shot, every frame of these films worth looking at. And he fills it with drop-dead gorgeous landscapes and sets and performances (especially the landscapes).
Wright is a lover of long takes. In Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, these takes are the best ones in the film. They draw in the attention of the audience and empower the viewing of the scene with such weight. The one in Atonement lasted for almost five minutes and the scene would not have been as great if they continually cut all the time. I wish some directors would use this technique more.
The actors in both of these films are all top notch. Say what you will about whether they look like the characters they portray or if they don’t act the same way that they do in the books, but every one of them still gives to their respective roles such humanity. And all of them are British; what more could you ask for? (With the exception of Donald Sutherland which I can ignore for a moment because he is good.) Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Rosamund Pike, Brenda Blethyn, Tom Hollander, Judi Dench, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Venessa Redgrave, and Benedict Cumberbatch all are superb and well cast, even if the majority of American audiences and viewers don’t know who these people are (which is sad).
And the music is amazing (for lack of a better word). The best way to describe the score for Atonement is how well it fits with the film. Both scores just works so well with the atmosphere of the film and really does work to convey what emotion you are supposed to be feeling and what these characters are feeling too.
Overall, if you haven’t seen these films, watch them. At least go a see Atonement. It really is a film that will stand the test of time as one of the greats in my opinion.
Friday, March 25, 2011
127 Hours: 5 stars
Movies with little dialogue are hit or miss. There can be so much that could go wrong and might not appeal to the viewers. And yet there can be so much that could go right. In 127 Hours, Danny Boyle and James Franco pull it off and it never gets too boring or slow.
There isn’t much to say about 127 Hours, not much to critique. However, what I can say is this: James Franco is amazing. His performance in this film might be his best ever. He truly is a light in the dark times of young American actors. From the very first shot of him in the film, he takes us into this character and we love him the whole time. When his arm is smashed by the boulder, he doesn’t scream, but we do. When he struggles to push the boulder, we struggle too. When his knife is just out of reach, we are reaching for it too. Sympathy is the major back bone of this film (not pity). And when he cuts off his arm, the viewers can’t look away. His bones snapping and cutting the nerves with a dull Swiss Army Knife, we are fixed on him. It’s painful to watch, but we still are watching closely and hope that are thoughts are pushing him forward to escape.
That’s really all I got. James Franco carries this movie with his one arm. He lifts it up as he goes down the canyon. He is the one moving this film. I haven’t seen any of Danny Boyle’s other films like Slumdog Millionaire or 28 Days Later or Trainspotting, but I now want to. It is so moving, tragic, and gorgeous. I loved this movie and I highly recommend this film.
Later this month: Joe Wright Marathon (Hanna, The Soloist, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice)
Early next month: The Original Star Wars Trilogy and Jurassic Park Trilogy and a Lasse Hallström Marathon (The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, The Shipping News, and Dear John)
There isn’t much to say about 127 Hours, not much to critique. However, what I can say is this: James Franco is amazing. His performance in this film might be his best ever. He truly is a light in the dark times of young American actors. From the very first shot of him in the film, he takes us into this character and we love him the whole time. When his arm is smashed by the boulder, he doesn’t scream, but we do. When he struggles to push the boulder, we struggle too. When his knife is just out of reach, we are reaching for it too. Sympathy is the major back bone of this film (not pity). And when he cuts off his arm, the viewers can’t look away. His bones snapping and cutting the nerves with a dull Swiss Army Knife, we are fixed on him. It’s painful to watch, but we still are watching closely and hope that are thoughts are pushing him forward to escape.
That’s really all I got. James Franco carries this movie with his one arm. He lifts it up as he goes down the canyon. He is the one moving this film. I haven’t seen any of Danny Boyle’s other films like Slumdog Millionaire or 28 Days Later or Trainspotting, but I now want to. It is so moving, tragic, and gorgeous. I loved this movie and I highly recommend this film.
Later this month: Joe Wright Marathon (Hanna, The Soloist, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice)
Early next month: The Original Star Wars Trilogy and Jurassic Park Trilogy and a Lasse Hallström Marathon (The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, The Shipping News, and Dear John)
How to Train Your Dragon: 5 stars
While Wall-E, The Lion King, and the Toy Story trilogy are my five favorite animated movies, there is only one movie outside of Pixar and Disney Animated that I love unquestionably and that is How to Train Your Dragon. There is so much to love in this film. One of them is that DreamWorks doesn’t try and sell the film based on voice-talent alone *cough-Kung-Fu-Panda-cough*. The studio sells it because they believe they have a great product, and they really do. This film is art, not simply a fun film to takes your kids. If only all animated films were made in this way, the genre will do so much better.
I have always believed that animated films outside of Pixar, and certain Disney films, were made specifically for kids and appealed only to kids or adults who like childish films (not in a bad way, however). I just am not a child at heart and films with the wistful humor and easy laughs aren’t as much fun for me to watch. Shrek, The Prince of Egypt, and The Road to El Dorado might have been the CLOSEST that I have seen outside of the two previously mentioned studios that I liked. Then I saw this film and I now have hope that there might be a change, but then Megamind came out and my hope went out the door (but that’s another story). I truly hope that in the future this genre will do better.
Now, why did I like the movie? It has such visually stunning animation that looked beautiful and crafted (Pixar is the best example; watch Wall-E) and something was quickly put together in a few months even though it wasn’t. The flying sequences were almost reminiscent to the space scenes in Wall-E with its elegant color schemes and majestic camera angles. The lighting looked real, and in fact, the hired one of the greatest directors of photography to work on the lighting for this film to make it look as real as possible, which I enjoyed. Lighting is key in animated movies and can add more depth to the picture.
Another major plus in the film is John Powell’s music in which he was the first man to be nominated for a best score outside of Pixar and Disney Animated films and it was his first nomination as well. Everything in this score has a point; every second needs to be there. Powell composed the greatest theme of the past year and quite possibly one of the greatest I have ever heard in many years. It is emotional, moving, tragic, comedic, and uplifting. No electronic sounds are added into this piece which would have destroyed the atmosphere it creates. Listen to it on youtube, it is worth the listen.
Then the voice talent is also truly exceptional. There were only three voice actors that I knew in the film, but I didn’t recognize anyone else. Jay Baruchel and Gerard Butler were fantastic and believable as Hiccup and his father. And America Ferrara was descent as the love interest, Astrid. It’s soothing and peaceful to not hear all of these famous actors every second. It’s good to hear other people to talk and not have thirty celebrities’ voices being jammed down my ears for only two or three lines each *cough-Kung-Fu-Panda-cough*.
Over all, a great story that actually looked real even though it had fantastical element and that sounded real with not so famous voices and with music that was both epic and still tame.
Thank you, DreamWorks Animation SKG. I love it.
I have always believed that animated films outside of Pixar, and certain Disney films, were made specifically for kids and appealed only to kids or adults who like childish films (not in a bad way, however). I just am not a child at heart and films with the wistful humor and easy laughs aren’t as much fun for me to watch. Shrek, The Prince of Egypt, and The Road to El Dorado might have been the CLOSEST that I have seen outside of the two previously mentioned studios that I liked. Then I saw this film and I now have hope that there might be a change, but then Megamind came out and my hope went out the door (but that’s another story). I truly hope that in the future this genre will do better.
Now, why did I like the movie? It has such visually stunning animation that looked beautiful and crafted (Pixar is the best example; watch Wall-E) and something was quickly put together in a few months even though it wasn’t. The flying sequences were almost reminiscent to the space scenes in Wall-E with its elegant color schemes and majestic camera angles. The lighting looked real, and in fact, the hired one of the greatest directors of photography to work on the lighting for this film to make it look as real as possible, which I enjoyed. Lighting is key in animated movies and can add more depth to the picture.
Another major plus in the film is John Powell’s music in which he was the first man to be nominated for a best score outside of Pixar and Disney Animated films and it was his first nomination as well. Everything in this score has a point; every second needs to be there. Powell composed the greatest theme of the past year and quite possibly one of the greatest I have ever heard in many years. It is emotional, moving, tragic, comedic, and uplifting. No electronic sounds are added into this piece which would have destroyed the atmosphere it creates. Listen to it on youtube, it is worth the listen.
Then the voice talent is also truly exceptional. There were only three voice actors that I knew in the film, but I didn’t recognize anyone else. Jay Baruchel and Gerard Butler were fantastic and believable as Hiccup and his father. And America Ferrara was descent as the love interest, Astrid. It’s soothing and peaceful to not hear all of these famous actors every second. It’s good to hear other people to talk and not have thirty celebrities’ voices being jammed down my ears for only two or three lines each *cough-Kung-Fu-Panda-cough*.
Over all, a great story that actually looked real even though it had fantastical element and that sounded real with not so famous voices and with music that was both epic and still tame.
Thank you, DreamWorks Animation SKG. I love it.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy
After watching the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, I have come to the conclusion that these films are some of the worst I have seen in a long time. I found it really hard to watch through these films for many reasons. I could list all of the things that are bad in these films or right a straight forward review, but I am not sure if that will work in this case. So, I have divided the film into its many different departments and discuss what I thought of each of those and how they improved or worsen or stayed the same throughout the trilogy of films.
Acting: Oh, boy, the acting is one of the two biggest problems in this film. Almost every problem can be justified by the acting or the horrendously written screenplay by George Lucas. In the first film, Jake Lloyd was the actor cast to play Anakin Skywalker. He is one of the worst child actors I have ever seen. Unexpressive facial expressions and emotionless line reading become his performance which is the gate way to an even worse actor Hayden Christensen for the next two episodes. Not only is there emotionless line reading, but sometimes it seems like he doesn’t even care. “It’s not fair” that the audience has to suffer through this kind of torment.
Not only are these actors bad, but there are two other actors in these films that are as bad as Christensen. Natalie Portman might be one of the worst actresses at work today; one of the hottest, but definitely one of the worst. She is right up there with Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, and Penélope Cruz (however, none of the actresses are as good looking as Portman). One scene in particular is when Anakin is choking her, she just gasps a little. And before that, when she gets all flustered she starts to shake her head. Seriously, watch any of her movies and whenever she gets upset or flustered like that she starts to shake her head again and again (Heat, V for Vendetta, The Professional). At least she has one good performance for Black Swan, but that doesn’t matter. The other actor is Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. He was decent for a little bit in Episode I, but then the second and third he starts to become worse and worse. As soon as he reveals himself as a Sith Lord, he starts to speak very slowly and cackles even more. Really? I didn’t know that the Emperor was an evil witch getting his pretties. He draws out all of his lines at a slow pace and makes his voice deeper. And he can’t fight worth a darn. The fight scene with him and the four Sith was the most choppiest, awkward, dull duel I have ever seen.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t any good actors here. There is still Liam Neeson and Pernilla August as Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker. Both play these characters very well or at least as well as they could with such a bad script. And of course Ewan McGregor may have been Lucas’ second greatest achievement in all the Star Wars films (the first casting Harrison Ford the Original Trilogy). He plays Obi-Wan Kenobi perfectly, again as well as he can with a bad script. Then there is Frank Oz giving the voice for Yoda, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, Sir Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, Terence Stamp’s cameo as the former Chancellor Valorum, Jimmy Smits (of West Wing and Dexter fame) as Bail Organa. And lastly Darth Maul. ‘Nough said.
Script: The story is wonderful. The story is well thought out and well crafted and I have to give Lucas props for that. It wasn’t the romance in the films that irritated me about the script, it wasn’t the one minute transitions from scene to scene that bothered me, and it wasn’t that the Force turns out to be nothing more than organisms living in everyone’s cells. No, it was the execution and dialogue of the script that bothered me most. And not only bothered, it made me angry and gave me a head ache. I found myself yelling, not at the actors, but at Lucas, saying “Why would you have him say that?” or “What the Force was that all about?” The dialogue in the film was choppy. And when I use the word choppy I mean that it was short, unimportant, and pointless. There are even scenes where it is word for word from another scene. Can they ever use a different term than “arrogant”? And the corruption of Anakin was so abrupt and stupid. How could he have fallen that fast and to a weakling such as the Emperor? There were so many questions that have are rapping around my brain. Why would he go with the Emperor who said that he has a lot of power but then says he is too weak? Why would he think being on the Jedi Council was insulting since he is not a master? YOU’RE ON THE COUNCIL AT AGE 30! GET OVER IT! COUNT YOU F-ING BLESSINGS! Why would he try to kill Padmé if the whole thing was to save her? And then there are other questions from the previous two that I never really could answer. Why would Jar Jar be promoted to general when he had no prior military background and was previously banned for clumsiness? And why did he get elected as a representative of Naboo? In Episode II, why would R2-D2 be powered down if he was supposed to be watching Padmé? Why would Padmé roll through the grass with Anakin if she didn’t want to show that she loved him? The plot holes just keep piling up. And Anakin is just a whiny boy and is never a true adult. It just like watching a 9 year old boy saying it’s not fair that his parents aren’t buying him every toy in the store.
Music: The music starts off really well with an almost complete slate of brand new themes. Episode I was a creative chance for Williams to do something new and he did. But then it went downhill after that and no longer does he compose a lot of new music. He rehashes the same cues and themes as before and there is very little originality. What new music he composed was great, but it becomes so much in the third that the new music is dwarfed by the previously written music. Not a good move Williams. His two best pieces, however, for this trilogy, is the cue for the Darth Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duel and the love theme for Anakin and Padmé. But ultimately, I am really disappointed after the first film.
Fighting: The battles are almost the only thing redeemable in the whole film. The space battle in Episode I is worthy of the battles from Episode IV and VI, however, I would like to have seen more of it. The Gungan fighting was fine as far as that goes in the film. But the duel at the end of the film wasn’t the greatest under close examination. Don’t get me wrong, Darth Maul is amazing and I was upset that they killed him. He should have been more dominant in the trilogy, I thought. He would have done amazing in the Clone Wars. But, alas, it was not to have been. But what I do mean is that Obi-Wan Kenobi has a bad case of the twirlies and he had many times to kill Maul before the end. And the second episode has a great battle and a fun duel between Yoda and Dooku, but there were two problems with that: we didn’t see much of the ground troops fighting and I would have loved to see that and with the duel, Dooku seems surprised that Yoda can deflect a few oversized bricks with the Force. Yoda is powerful, Dooku. A rock the size of him won’t stop him. And then it is third one that the fighting gets off. And not the battles, the space battle over Coruscant and the many other battles are fun, but it is the duels between the Emperor and Yoda and the Emperor and Windu. Ian McDiarmid can’t fight worth a darn but he actually does his own lightsaber duels and that is why they fail. These are the duels between the three greatest masters in the universe, it should be more epic than Obi-Wan and Anakin, but it wasn’t. I was upset that these were so short and so clunky. And we don’t need to see Palpatine cackle like that witch or make weird, outlandish faces every two seconds. It isn’t intimidating at all, it is painful to watch. And Ian can’t even hold his lightsaber correctly. Bad move, Lucas.
Costumes and Design: This is probably the most steadily successful department in all six Star Wars films. A small aspect in these films, but one that I thought should be noted. Though it was grand and flamboyant and very obvious in many moments, it had a point and it did well. The design of the props was great and what live sets (and not green screen/computer sets) were well thought out and matched the cultures well.
Special Effects: The CGI in all six are good (except for the Digitally Remastered Special Edition for Episode IV). It may have been used too much in the Episode II and III, but it did well with the terrible directing of Lucas. The space battles looked real and the many different planets looked as real as they could be, most definitely Mustafar and Coruscant. I didn’t find it too overbearing. It’s like Avatar, it had a point. But I do agree that Lucas wrote the script to emphasize the computer graphics. Though I am opposed to that, it was not the downfall of the film; it was the script as a spoken language.
Additional Notes: There is still plenty of other things that I could say about these three films. Anakin’s pod should have crashed immediately after his engine popped out of its socket. George Lucas couldn’t have found a better way to kill Padmé? She lost the will to live? If you can die just by willing yourself to, there out to be a lot more suicides in that universe. When the Emperor is fighting the four Jedi Masters, he kills some of these great fighters in less than fice seconds. No, that is not possible, especially if you are as bad a swordsman as Palpatine. Why wouldn’t Anakin have killed the Emperor right then and there when he learned he lied to him? Palpatine said that Darth Plagieus taught his apprentice the knowledge (Palpatine) of saving people from dying and then he says he didn’t. That was the whole point he turned was for that knowledge that he had, but then he says he doesn’t have it. I would have killed him. And we see the designs for the Death Star but don’t understand how that applies to the Separatists. So many plot holes and questions are raised and are never answered. For any movie, these many holes would have garnered so much hatred, but because it is Star Wars, people look past it. I’m sorry, I can’t. 1 STAR LUCAS!
Acting: Oh, boy, the acting is one of the two biggest problems in this film. Almost every problem can be justified by the acting or the horrendously written screenplay by George Lucas. In the first film, Jake Lloyd was the actor cast to play Anakin Skywalker. He is one of the worst child actors I have ever seen. Unexpressive facial expressions and emotionless line reading become his performance which is the gate way to an even worse actor Hayden Christensen for the next two episodes. Not only is there emotionless line reading, but sometimes it seems like he doesn’t even care. “It’s not fair” that the audience has to suffer through this kind of torment.
Not only are these actors bad, but there are two other actors in these films that are as bad as Christensen. Natalie Portman might be one of the worst actresses at work today; one of the hottest, but definitely one of the worst. She is right up there with Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, and Penélope Cruz (however, none of the actresses are as good looking as Portman). One scene in particular is when Anakin is choking her, she just gasps a little. And before that, when she gets all flustered she starts to shake her head. Seriously, watch any of her movies and whenever she gets upset or flustered like that she starts to shake her head again and again (Heat, V for Vendetta, The Professional). At least she has one good performance for Black Swan, but that doesn’t matter. The other actor is Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. He was decent for a little bit in Episode I, but then the second and third he starts to become worse and worse. As soon as he reveals himself as a Sith Lord, he starts to speak very slowly and cackles even more. Really? I didn’t know that the Emperor was an evil witch getting his pretties. He draws out all of his lines at a slow pace and makes his voice deeper. And he can’t fight worth a darn. The fight scene with him and the four Sith was the most choppiest, awkward, dull duel I have ever seen.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t any good actors here. There is still Liam Neeson and Pernilla August as Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker. Both play these characters very well or at least as well as they could with such a bad script. And of course Ewan McGregor may have been Lucas’ second greatest achievement in all the Star Wars films (the first casting Harrison Ford the Original Trilogy). He plays Obi-Wan Kenobi perfectly, again as well as he can with a bad script. Then there is Frank Oz giving the voice for Yoda, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, Sir Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, Terence Stamp’s cameo as the former Chancellor Valorum, Jimmy Smits (of West Wing and Dexter fame) as Bail Organa. And lastly Darth Maul. ‘Nough said.
Script: The story is wonderful. The story is well thought out and well crafted and I have to give Lucas props for that. It wasn’t the romance in the films that irritated me about the script, it wasn’t the one minute transitions from scene to scene that bothered me, and it wasn’t that the Force turns out to be nothing more than organisms living in everyone’s cells. No, it was the execution and dialogue of the script that bothered me most. And not only bothered, it made me angry and gave me a head ache. I found myself yelling, not at the actors, but at Lucas, saying “Why would you have him say that?” or “What the Force was that all about?” The dialogue in the film was choppy. And when I use the word choppy I mean that it was short, unimportant, and pointless. There are even scenes where it is word for word from another scene. Can they ever use a different term than “arrogant”? And the corruption of Anakin was so abrupt and stupid. How could he have fallen that fast and to a weakling such as the Emperor? There were so many questions that have are rapping around my brain. Why would he go with the Emperor who said that he has a lot of power but then says he is too weak? Why would he think being on the Jedi Council was insulting since he is not a master? YOU’RE ON THE COUNCIL AT AGE 30! GET OVER IT! COUNT YOU F-ING BLESSINGS! Why would he try to kill Padmé if the whole thing was to save her? And then there are other questions from the previous two that I never really could answer. Why would Jar Jar be promoted to general when he had no prior military background and was previously banned for clumsiness? And why did he get elected as a representative of Naboo? In Episode II, why would R2-D2 be powered down if he was supposed to be watching Padmé? Why would Padmé roll through the grass with Anakin if she didn’t want to show that she loved him? The plot holes just keep piling up. And Anakin is just a whiny boy and is never a true adult. It just like watching a 9 year old boy saying it’s not fair that his parents aren’t buying him every toy in the store.
Music: The music starts off really well with an almost complete slate of brand new themes. Episode I was a creative chance for Williams to do something new and he did. But then it went downhill after that and no longer does he compose a lot of new music. He rehashes the same cues and themes as before and there is very little originality. What new music he composed was great, but it becomes so much in the third that the new music is dwarfed by the previously written music. Not a good move Williams. His two best pieces, however, for this trilogy, is the cue for the Darth Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duel and the love theme for Anakin and Padmé. But ultimately, I am really disappointed after the first film.
Fighting: The battles are almost the only thing redeemable in the whole film. The space battle in Episode I is worthy of the battles from Episode IV and VI, however, I would like to have seen more of it. The Gungan fighting was fine as far as that goes in the film. But the duel at the end of the film wasn’t the greatest under close examination. Don’t get me wrong, Darth Maul is amazing and I was upset that they killed him. He should have been more dominant in the trilogy, I thought. He would have done amazing in the Clone Wars. But, alas, it was not to have been. But what I do mean is that Obi-Wan Kenobi has a bad case of the twirlies and he had many times to kill Maul before the end. And the second episode has a great battle and a fun duel between Yoda and Dooku, but there were two problems with that: we didn’t see much of the ground troops fighting and I would have loved to see that and with the duel, Dooku seems surprised that Yoda can deflect a few oversized bricks with the Force. Yoda is powerful, Dooku. A rock the size of him won’t stop him. And then it is third one that the fighting gets off. And not the battles, the space battle over Coruscant and the many other battles are fun, but it is the duels between the Emperor and Yoda and the Emperor and Windu. Ian McDiarmid can’t fight worth a darn but he actually does his own lightsaber duels and that is why they fail. These are the duels between the three greatest masters in the universe, it should be more epic than Obi-Wan and Anakin, but it wasn’t. I was upset that these were so short and so clunky. And we don’t need to see Palpatine cackle like that witch or make weird, outlandish faces every two seconds. It isn’t intimidating at all, it is painful to watch. And Ian can’t even hold his lightsaber correctly. Bad move, Lucas.
Costumes and Design: This is probably the most steadily successful department in all six Star Wars films. A small aspect in these films, but one that I thought should be noted. Though it was grand and flamboyant and very obvious in many moments, it had a point and it did well. The design of the props was great and what live sets (and not green screen/computer sets) were well thought out and matched the cultures well.
Special Effects: The CGI in all six are good (except for the Digitally Remastered Special Edition for Episode IV). It may have been used too much in the Episode II and III, but it did well with the terrible directing of Lucas. The space battles looked real and the many different planets looked as real as they could be, most definitely Mustafar and Coruscant. I didn’t find it too overbearing. It’s like Avatar, it had a point. But I do agree that Lucas wrote the script to emphasize the computer graphics. Though I am opposed to that, it was not the downfall of the film; it was the script as a spoken language.
Additional Notes: There is still plenty of other things that I could say about these three films. Anakin’s pod should have crashed immediately after his engine popped out of its socket. George Lucas couldn’t have found a better way to kill Padmé? She lost the will to live? If you can die just by willing yourself to, there out to be a lot more suicides in that universe. When the Emperor is fighting the four Jedi Masters, he kills some of these great fighters in less than fice seconds. No, that is not possible, especially if you are as bad a swordsman as Palpatine. Why wouldn’t Anakin have killed the Emperor right then and there when he learned he lied to him? Palpatine said that Darth Plagieus taught his apprentice the knowledge (Palpatine) of saving people from dying and then he says he didn’t. That was the whole point he turned was for that knowledge that he had, but then he says he doesn’t have it. I would have killed him. And we see the designs for the Death Star but don’t understand how that applies to the Separatists. So many plot holes and questions are raised and are never answered. For any movie, these many holes would have garnered so much hatred, but because it is Star Wars, people look past it. I’m sorry, I can’t. 1 STAR LUCAS!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Adjustment Bureau; 4 stars
You can’t go wrong with Matt Damon. Matt Damon is one of the great actors of our time. I haven’t seen a bad performance of his and I truly stand by the point that this movie is no exception. The movie may have some flaws (this is a first time directing gig, so I can allow it; look at David Fincher’s first film and then his other works and you may understand), but at the heart of this movie is a moving screenplay and a fantastic cast.
First, the screenplay has some great moments. It introduces us to this world, but never does it show us too much. It opens up this universe and we do not need the answers to these questions. The movie is never trying to force its rules on us by long expositions. The story comes naturally and we are left with the characters and are focused on them.
That being said, it is the characters that drive the movie along to its ending, not the exposition or the scenery. And this is a combination of both the acting and the written words. Emily Blunt and Matt Damon have great chemistry. It may seem a little weird for two couples to be so intense with each other, but I think some exposition later on kind of resolves that issue. But all of these characters play their roles perfectly. We love them and we want to be with them, and if a director can engage his or her viewers this well, he’s doing something right.
The major problem is the spiritual aspect of the film. The ideology of the movie is not in keeping with the Christian beliefs at all, but that has nothing to do with the filmmaking, simply my own views and opinions. Simply put, the film tries to answer a few questions dealing with free will and a predetermined path. Though they are interesting simply as a theological standpoint, it is not withstanding in Christian views. I don’t want to give much spoilers so I won’t even try saying anything more; I have been trying really hard not to in my reviews recently.
But I highly recommend this film. Not much action, but a great thriller with a good story and powerful actors. “Kneel before Zod, Bourne!”
First, the screenplay has some great moments. It introduces us to this world, but never does it show us too much. It opens up this universe and we do not need the answers to these questions. The movie is never trying to force its rules on us by long expositions. The story comes naturally and we are left with the characters and are focused on them.
That being said, it is the characters that drive the movie along to its ending, not the exposition or the scenery. And this is a combination of both the acting and the written words. Emily Blunt and Matt Damon have great chemistry. It may seem a little weird for two couples to be so intense with each other, but I think some exposition later on kind of resolves that issue. But all of these characters play their roles perfectly. We love them and we want to be with them, and if a director can engage his or her viewers this well, he’s doing something right.
The major problem is the spiritual aspect of the film. The ideology of the movie is not in keeping with the Christian beliefs at all, but that has nothing to do with the filmmaking, simply my own views and opinions. Simply put, the film tries to answer a few questions dealing with free will and a predetermined path. Though they are interesting simply as a theological standpoint, it is not withstanding in Christian views. I don’t want to give much spoilers so I won’t even try saying anything more; I have been trying really hard not to in my reviews recently.
But I highly recommend this film. Not much action, but a great thriller with a good story and powerful actors. “Kneel before Zod, Bourne!”
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Unknown 1.5 stars
If you want to see Liam Neeson in action done well, see watch Taken. Taken was well shot, well thought out, fast paced, gritty, and a huge thrill ride. Unknown tries to mimic these many ups from Taken, including casting Liam Neeson, but fails in every way, except for the man himself.
This film is poorly cast, where no one except for Neeson is a good fit as Martin Harris. Aidan Quinn has never really had a breakthrough in terms of his career, but he always has been a dependable actor from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to Legends of the Fall. In this film, he is way past his prime and tries to act out and beak out our main man to no avail. All of the money must have been spent for the horrible CG action scenes that could have been done better, and cheaper, practically; whereas that money could have been on getting a better actor for “Martin B” as he is called in the credits. Although he looks a lot like him, my mind is going straight to Ralph Fiennes for a better Martin B.
Then there is January Jones who plays his wife, Liz. She plays her role very unexpressive. This could have been potentially been a great role for her, to show people what to expect in her role for X-Men First Class. But I just don’t see her going much in the way of her career unless she steps up in a better way.
Next, we come to the other three major supporting roles, Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella. Kruger is half way decent compared to the other main actors in this film. We actually like her, believe her, and think positive things about her. Ganz is the second best actor here in this movie next to Neeson. He plays a sort-of private detective hired to try and figure out who Martin Harris is. Then there is Frank Langella… Not that great is he. I’m not going to say much, but highlight this next sentence if you want major spoilers. (Mr. Nixon is behind it all!)
Now done with the acting, I think I need to say how terrible the plot is. The story is great and one or two of the twists were fun, but it was getting from Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D to Point E…you get the picture. It was long, drawn out and filled with holes. YOU CAN”T DEFIB A WET MAN PEOPLE! And when you run out of the shower, your hair will be wet. These things and much, much more are a few holes in the stinky cheese.
Even the action scenes are horribly shot. We see a shot of a coming car, three shots of Neeson and him changing the gear, two shots of seeing cars zooming, a shot of Kruger in the front, five shots of Neeson and his gears and I don’t need to go on. I was thinking “Please, enough with the gear shots, we know he is changing gears. Jason Bourne didn’t change gears this much. Let’s see more explosions and crashes.” Even the hand to hand combat scenes were too quick and choppy. We didn’t see much of the fun punching that we saw in the trailer.
I could go on even more about the plot holes, and choppy action scenes, and badly placed camera angles, and the acting, and (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN!) how a police and security force of a hotel could possibly miss a bomb that size in a building that a Prince who has almost been assassinated three times (NO MORE SPOILERS), but I won’t.
Bad movie all the way around. Terrible, flawfull (yes, I made up a new word), and so un-original, this movie is a don’t see if there ever once one. 2011 is getting to a bad start. Other than The Way Back, I can’t recommend any recently released theatrical films. Sorry.
This film is poorly cast, where no one except for Neeson is a good fit as Martin Harris. Aidan Quinn has never really had a breakthrough in terms of his career, but he always has been a dependable actor from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to Legends of the Fall. In this film, he is way past his prime and tries to act out and beak out our main man to no avail. All of the money must have been spent for the horrible CG action scenes that could have been done better, and cheaper, practically; whereas that money could have been on getting a better actor for “Martin B” as he is called in the credits. Although he looks a lot like him, my mind is going straight to Ralph Fiennes for a better Martin B.
Then there is January Jones who plays his wife, Liz. She plays her role very unexpressive. This could have been potentially been a great role for her, to show people what to expect in her role for X-Men First Class. But I just don’t see her going much in the way of her career unless she steps up in a better way.
Next, we come to the other three major supporting roles, Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella. Kruger is half way decent compared to the other main actors in this film. We actually like her, believe her, and think positive things about her. Ganz is the second best actor here in this movie next to Neeson. He plays a sort-of private detective hired to try and figure out who Martin Harris is. Then there is Frank Langella… Not that great is he. I’m not going to say much, but highlight this next sentence if you want major spoilers. (Mr. Nixon is behind it all!)
Now done with the acting, I think I need to say how terrible the plot is. The story is great and one or two of the twists were fun, but it was getting from Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D to Point E…you get the picture. It was long, drawn out and filled with holes. YOU CAN”T DEFIB A WET MAN PEOPLE! And when you run out of the shower, your hair will be wet. These things and much, much more are a few holes in the stinky cheese.
Even the action scenes are horribly shot. We see a shot of a coming car, three shots of Neeson and him changing the gear, two shots of seeing cars zooming, a shot of Kruger in the front, five shots of Neeson and his gears and I don’t need to go on. I was thinking “Please, enough with the gear shots, we know he is changing gears. Jason Bourne didn’t change gears this much. Let’s see more explosions and crashes.” Even the hand to hand combat scenes were too quick and choppy. We didn’t see much of the fun punching that we saw in the trailer.
I could go on even more about the plot holes, and choppy action scenes, and badly placed camera angles, and the acting, and (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN!) how a police and security force of a hotel could possibly miss a bomb that size in a building that a Prince who has almost been assassinated three times (NO MORE SPOILERS), but I won’t.
Bad movie all the way around. Terrible, flawfull (yes, I made up a new word), and so un-original, this movie is a don’t see if there ever once one. 2011 is getting to a bad start. Other than The Way Back, I can’t recommend any recently released theatrical films. Sorry.
Never Let Me Go; 4 stars
Although it is based on a great novel; although it is wonderfully acted; although the sets and locations are perfectly beautiful and amazing, Never Let Me Go was not as good as it could have.
Carrey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley star in this tragic story of a sci-fi, futuristic England in the past (weird, I know, but that isn’t the problem) and they are the perfect cast for these three roles. I do not know any other actors who could have done a better job. Carrey plays the heroine and we truly, deeply feel for her. She always does a good job with whatever she is given. Andrew plays the conflicted love interest for these two women. And Knightley, well, this is the first time we actually are supposed to not like her. She plays the evil bully Ruth who takes Tommy (Garfield) from Kathy (Carrey). Played by almost anyone else, it would have been terribly hard to watch, but Keira should definitely play more roles like this.
I loved the music in this movie. Yes, I will be talking about the music again. I thought that it was one of the best composed music of last year. Romantic, hopeful, and emotional, Rachel Portman gives me everything I’m looking for in a movie like this. Simply listening to the music on its own makes me cry.
And the story is still fantastic. It is a futuristic world where medicine has become so advanced, that the average life a human is past 100. But get this; it is taken place in the past. It isn’t in the future. It takes place in a parallel universe in the year 1952. It is very captivating and interesting, and I loved it.
Now, if I loved all of these things so much, why did I not like it? Simple answer: too much sex and nudity, too much exposition and not enough fluidity, slow editing where it needed to pick up and not drag on in a boring way, and the directing. That last note is something that I am always keen on looking for and I need one second to explain.
Most people blame specific departments for failures in areas where as I try to see the directing of the film as a whole. A bad director can have many good people around him working on his film, but that does not make the director a good director. Because he has all of the pieces and they are all good and beyond what some might expect, but a bad director won’t know how to combine these pieces of the puzzle into an articulate and fashionable way. And that is where Mark Romanek fails. He doesn’t know how to make these puzzle pieces fit so he smashes them together and hopes his viewers don’t know the difference. He made me feel one way and then something happened and we are now forced to go another way, and I never knew where I should be emotionally in the film.
The movie had everything going for it: great script, great novel it was adapted from, great cast, great music, great sets and art direction. But this man couldn’t combine them into a masterpiece. And some of my readers may think why I said too much sex. Another simple answer: if it doesn’t need to be there, it shouldn’t be there. And those two sex scenes did not need to be in there. Pure and simple.
If you want to see this movie for the acting or the romance, go ahead and you may still be pleased. But as a piece of art, it falters in one way that is pivotal: direction.
Carrey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley star in this tragic story of a sci-fi, futuristic England in the past (weird, I know, but that isn’t the problem) and they are the perfect cast for these three roles. I do not know any other actors who could have done a better job. Carrey plays the heroine and we truly, deeply feel for her. She always does a good job with whatever she is given. Andrew plays the conflicted love interest for these two women. And Knightley, well, this is the first time we actually are supposed to not like her. She plays the evil bully Ruth who takes Tommy (Garfield) from Kathy (Carrey). Played by almost anyone else, it would have been terribly hard to watch, but Keira should definitely play more roles like this.
I loved the music in this movie. Yes, I will be talking about the music again. I thought that it was one of the best composed music of last year. Romantic, hopeful, and emotional, Rachel Portman gives me everything I’m looking for in a movie like this. Simply listening to the music on its own makes me cry.
And the story is still fantastic. It is a futuristic world where medicine has become so advanced, that the average life a human is past 100. But get this; it is taken place in the past. It isn’t in the future. It takes place in a parallel universe in the year 1952. It is very captivating and interesting, and I loved it.
Now, if I loved all of these things so much, why did I not like it? Simple answer: too much sex and nudity, too much exposition and not enough fluidity, slow editing where it needed to pick up and not drag on in a boring way, and the directing. That last note is something that I am always keen on looking for and I need one second to explain.
Most people blame specific departments for failures in areas where as I try to see the directing of the film as a whole. A bad director can have many good people around him working on his film, but that does not make the director a good director. Because he has all of the pieces and they are all good and beyond what some might expect, but a bad director won’t know how to combine these pieces of the puzzle into an articulate and fashionable way. And that is where Mark Romanek fails. He doesn’t know how to make these puzzle pieces fit so he smashes them together and hopes his viewers don’t know the difference. He made me feel one way and then something happened and we are now forced to go another way, and I never knew where I should be emotionally in the film.
The movie had everything going for it: great script, great novel it was adapted from, great cast, great music, great sets and art direction. But this man couldn’t combine them into a masterpiece. And some of my readers may think why I said too much sex. Another simple answer: if it doesn’t need to be there, it shouldn’t be there. And those two sex scenes did not need to be in there. Pure and simple.
If you want to see this movie for the acting or the romance, go ahead and you may still be pleased. But as a piece of art, it falters in one way that is pivotal: direction.
Winter's Bone; 5 stars
In one of my earlier editorials, Actors Who Will Be Famous, I mentioned a young woman who starred this past year in an indie film which gave her wide recognition. This actress’ name is Jennifer Lawrence. She is a young, hot, talented actress who will be going many places in the foreseeable future. And this indie film that garnered so much praise that it was nominated for Best Picture is Winter’s Bone.
I didn’t know what to expect when I bought the movie, just thinking I would learn to love this actress like so many critics across the world have done. I watched the movie with my fine tooth comb, looking for something that I could point out and say, “AHA! There is a major flaw!” But, alas, I could not find a problem, be it small or large.
Like I said, there is a lot of loving towards Ms. Lawrence for this movie, and the director as well, Debra Granik, which is well deserved. However, John Hawkes, who plays Ree Dolly’s (Lawrence) uncle, is also in need of praise. He performs very silently and never takes over the screen, and that is the perfection of the acting: supporting Jennifer’s role, not grabbing the movie out of her hands.
There is nothing overly special about this film, in the acting or directing or music or art direction, and that is the point. Lawrence and Hawkes do not overact and the music doesn’t overwhelm the listeners and the art direction isn’t in your face like some films are. No, everything is subtle and well placed so not to steal the movie. Everything blends together. It is a true masterpiece of editing and acting and directing.
I highly recommend this movie. And like most films, I do not think I should state the synopsis because I believe that you won’t get the full experience when you watch it. A five star movie if ever there was one.
I didn’t know what to expect when I bought the movie, just thinking I would learn to love this actress like so many critics across the world have done. I watched the movie with my fine tooth comb, looking for something that I could point out and say, “AHA! There is a major flaw!” But, alas, I could not find a problem, be it small or large.
Like I said, there is a lot of loving towards Ms. Lawrence for this movie, and the director as well, Debra Granik, which is well deserved. However, John Hawkes, who plays Ree Dolly’s (Lawrence) uncle, is also in need of praise. He performs very silently and never takes over the screen, and that is the perfection of the acting: supporting Jennifer’s role, not grabbing the movie out of her hands.
There is nothing overly special about this film, in the acting or directing or music or art direction, and that is the point. Lawrence and Hawkes do not overact and the music doesn’t overwhelm the listeners and the art direction isn’t in your face like some films are. No, everything is subtle and well placed so not to steal the movie. Everything blends together. It is a true masterpiece of editing and acting and directing.
I highly recommend this movie. And like most films, I do not think I should state the synopsis because I believe that you won’t get the full experience when you watch it. A five star movie if ever there was one.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Let Me In; 4.5 stars
Let Me In is a masterpiece among horror films. Of course, no horror film can ever match up to the class of Alfred Hitchcock, except maybe the Hannibal Lector movies but that is beside the point. Let Me In is a true classic. I have not seen the original film, Let the Right One In, so I guess I can’t make a point on its adaptation, but I can speak for its filmmaking qualities and it is top notch.
I won’t go into any details about the plot. I think one of the reasons I loved it so much is because I did not know what to expect. All I knew was that it about a bullied kid who falls in love with a girl who turns out to be a vampire. No, this is not a twist on Twilight people. (Although Bella wasn’t bullied, she should have been). This is a pure, beautiful vampire flick as they should be, not these sick, idiotic teen vampires who have sex with everything that moves. This doesn’t have sex, it has power behind the performances that you don’t normally see today in these kinds of films.
Chloe Grace Moretz, of Kick-Ass fame, is amazing as the vampire girl. She isn’t your typical vampire. There is much more going behind the scenes that we don’t really know about and that is part of the fun. And her counterpart, the weakling Kodi Smit-McPhee, of The Road, is very good in his role. Of course almost any kid actor can make us feel bad when we see them get beaten around, but Kodi really lets us into his mind. We don’t just feel bad for him: we understand him and can truly get inside of him.
However, where every horror film needs to excel is not really the acting (although it is always a plus to have good actors). Where it needs to excel and surpass all other aspects is the music. Jaws wouldn’t be Jaws without Williams’ theme. Sign wouldn’t be Sign with Howard’s haunting strings and brass. Let Me In surpassed all of my exceptions and I would call it a near perfect film, I can’t be me without finding a flaw. I did not care for Michael Giacchino’s music. It was generic, clique, and predictable. There was nothing special and nothing that stood out to me.
That being said, I found the ending enjoyable and perfect. I loved the whole story, the acting, the horrific images, and the pure excitement of what was going to come. I think most people would enjoy this and I think it should be a standard to modern day horrors from now on.
Tomorrow: Unknown, Never Let Me Go, and Winter’s Bone
I won’t go into any details about the plot. I think one of the reasons I loved it so much is because I did not know what to expect. All I knew was that it about a bullied kid who falls in love with a girl who turns out to be a vampire. No, this is not a twist on Twilight people. (Although Bella wasn’t bullied, she should have been). This is a pure, beautiful vampire flick as they should be, not these sick, idiotic teen vampires who have sex with everything that moves. This doesn’t have sex, it has power behind the performances that you don’t normally see today in these kinds of films.
Chloe Grace Moretz, of Kick-Ass fame, is amazing as the vampire girl. She isn’t your typical vampire. There is much more going behind the scenes that we don’t really know about and that is part of the fun. And her counterpart, the weakling Kodi Smit-McPhee, of The Road, is very good in his role. Of course almost any kid actor can make us feel bad when we see them get beaten around, but Kodi really lets us into his mind. We don’t just feel bad for him: we understand him and can truly get inside of him.
However, where every horror film needs to excel is not really the acting (although it is always a plus to have good actors). Where it needs to excel and surpass all other aspects is the music. Jaws wouldn’t be Jaws without Williams’ theme. Sign wouldn’t be Sign with Howard’s haunting strings and brass. Let Me In surpassed all of my exceptions and I would call it a near perfect film, I can’t be me without finding a flaw. I did not care for Michael Giacchino’s music. It was generic, clique, and predictable. There was nothing special and nothing that stood out to me.
That being said, I found the ending enjoyable and perfect. I loved the whole story, the acting, the horrific images, and the pure excitement of what was going to come. I think most people would enjoy this and I think it should be a standard to modern day horrors from now on.
Tomorrow: Unknown, Never Let Me Go, and Winter’s Bone
Monday, February 14, 2011
Movies of 2011
Everyone of of these movies below are films coming out this year that I would love to watch. Sadly, I may not be able to watch them all, due to budgetary reasons or that there are too many bad reviews for me to go see it. So hopefully you will follow the links provided to see the trailers and you can make your own assessment.
2/18 Unknown (Liam Neeson, the new Taken) And it comes out this week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcE2dGpyDyk
3/4 The Adjustment Bureau (Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Terence Stamp) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHVU3fKhsjI
3/11 Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, and Sally Hawkins) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8J6Cjn06kA
3/25 Sucker Punch (Emily Browning, Abby Cornish, and Scott Glenn) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrIiYSdEe4E
4/1 Source Code (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkTrG-gpIzE
4/8 Arthur (Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Gardner) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TKGaBYadEs
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchette, and Eric Bana) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zd4zGt13IE
4/15 The Conspirator (Directed by Robert Redofr; James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, and Kevin Kline) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IsRhwEqW2g
4/15 Margin Call (Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Jeremy Irons. A movie that may not be of interest to most, but for me, the actors in it make me want to watch it.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xY_TsBJoYY
5/6 Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Ken Branagh) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ
5/20 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Need I say more) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR_9A-cUEJc
5/27 Tree of Life (Brad Pitt and Sean Penn) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0
6/3 X-Men: First Class (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrbHykKUfTM
6/10 Super 8 (J.J. Abrams new sci-fi film produced by Steven Spielberg) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DXVBYGLL8
6/17 Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Mark Strong) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs2sZgO3OMk
7/1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Hopefully this one will be better than numero dos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOCkhicK4FU
7/15 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
7/22 The First Avenger: Captain America (Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving. This one will be bad) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5l7S-Ypv7o
7/29 Cowboys and Aliens (Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, and Harrison Ford. And produced by Spielberg and Ron Howard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqbUVMjndx4
8/31 The Debt (Sam Worthington, Martin Csokas, Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTb2pqNf4J0
9/9 Midnight in Paris (Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Michael Sheen and Tom Hiddelston, and Marion Cotillard)
10/7 Johnny English Reborn (The long awaited sequel, with Gillian Anderson and Rosamund Pike)
10/14 The Three Musketeers (Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Matthew McFayden, and Christoph Waltz)
10/21 Contagion (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, and Laurence Fishburne)
10/28 Now (Directed by the man who wrote Truman Show and drected Gattaca, stars Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy, and a few others that I actually am not too excted for, but the concept look great)
11/11 Immortals (Henry Cavill, Isabel Lucas, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt, and Luke Evans)
11/23 Caesar: Rise of the Apes (James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, and John Lithgow)
12/16 Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes 2
12/23 The Adventures of Tintin (The first Spielberg directed film since the bad 4th Indy movie)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (The English version directed by David Fincher starring Daniel Craig and new comer Rooney Mara)
12/28 War Horse (Another Steven Spielberg directed movie starring David Thewlis, Tom Hiddelston, Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberbach, Toby Kebbell, and new comer Jeremy Irvine)
Other Movies that Do Not Have a Release Date
Black Gold (Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas)
Coriolanus (Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, and Vanessa Redgrave)
Haywire (Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, and Antonio Banderas)
London Boulevard (Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone, and David Thewlis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6eVMP456UY
My Week With Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Eddie Redmayne, Toby Jones, Julia Ormond, and Emma Watson)
Oranges and Sunshine (Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, and David Wenham) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUvbnVXqp_8
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, and Colin Firth)
This will change over the year with new trailers as they come out and with new movies as they are announced or as I disover them. And it will be updated with new release dates.
And another note, I might be changing the website to a wiki so it will be more maneuvarable for my readers. Stay tuned for newer reviews and updates.
2/18 Unknown (Liam Neeson, the new Taken) And it comes out this week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcE2dGpyDyk
3/4 The Adjustment Bureau (Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Terence Stamp) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHVU3fKhsjI
3/11 Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, and Sally Hawkins) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8J6Cjn06kA
3/25 Sucker Punch (Emily Browning, Abby Cornish, and Scott Glenn) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrIiYSdEe4E
4/1 Source Code (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkTrG-gpIzE
4/8 Arthur (Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Gardner) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TKGaBYadEs
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchette, and Eric Bana) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zd4zGt13IE
4/15 The Conspirator (Directed by Robert Redofr; James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, and Kevin Kline) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IsRhwEqW2g
4/15 Margin Call (Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Jeremy Irons. A movie that may not be of interest to most, but for me, the actors in it make me want to watch it.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xY_TsBJoYY
5/6 Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Ken Branagh) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ
5/20 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Need I say more) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR_9A-cUEJc
5/27 Tree of Life (Brad Pitt and Sean Penn) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0
6/3 X-Men: First Class (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrbHykKUfTM
6/10 Super 8 (J.J. Abrams new sci-fi film produced by Steven Spielberg) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DXVBYGLL8
6/17 Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Mark Strong) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs2sZgO3OMk
7/1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Hopefully this one will be better than numero dos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOCkhicK4FU
7/15 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
7/22 The First Avenger: Captain America (Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving. This one will be bad) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5l7S-Ypv7o
7/29 Cowboys and Aliens (Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, and Harrison Ford. And produced by Spielberg and Ron Howard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqbUVMjndx4
8/31 The Debt (Sam Worthington, Martin Csokas, Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTb2pqNf4J0
9/9 Midnight in Paris (Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Michael Sheen and Tom Hiddelston, and Marion Cotillard)
10/7 Johnny English Reborn (The long awaited sequel, with Gillian Anderson and Rosamund Pike)
10/14 The Three Musketeers (Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Matthew McFayden, and Christoph Waltz)
10/21 Contagion (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, and Laurence Fishburne)
10/28 Now (Directed by the man who wrote Truman Show and drected Gattaca, stars Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy, and a few others that I actually am not too excted for, but the concept look great)
11/11 Immortals (Henry Cavill, Isabel Lucas, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt, and Luke Evans)
11/23 Caesar: Rise of the Apes (James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, and John Lithgow)
12/16 Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes 2
12/23 The Adventures of Tintin (The first Spielberg directed film since the bad 4th Indy movie)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (The English version directed by David Fincher starring Daniel Craig and new comer Rooney Mara)
12/28 War Horse (Another Steven Spielberg directed movie starring David Thewlis, Tom Hiddelston, Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberbach, Toby Kebbell, and new comer Jeremy Irvine)
Other Movies that Do Not Have a Release Date
Black Gold (Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas)
Coriolanus (Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, and Vanessa Redgrave)
Haywire (Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, and Antonio Banderas)
London Boulevard (Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone, and David Thewlis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6eVMP456UY
My Week With Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Eddie Redmayne, Toby Jones, Julia Ormond, and Emma Watson)
Oranges and Sunshine (Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, and David Wenham) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUvbnVXqp_8
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, and Colin Firth)
This will change over the year with new trailers as they come out and with new movies as they are announced or as I disover them. And it will be updated with new release dates.
And another note, I might be changing the website to a wiki so it will be more maneuvarable for my readers. Stay tuned for newer reviews and updates.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Eagle; 3 stars
The Eagle is one of those films where you don’t quite have a definitive hate or love for it; it is just there and you can take it either way. For me, it is one of those films where you now need to weigh the good and the bad and then figure out if you thought it was good or bad. I liked it, but that was simply because of this scaling method I do.
The pros: Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell are great. There could have been better casting for these two roles, Marcus and Esca, but the director and actors did a good enough job.
Another pro, Mark Strong was a nice addition to the cast, however, like with some of his roles lately, I wish he had a larger role. I still am excited to see him as Sinestro this summer in Green Lantern. This is one of his roles where you actually like him. He does do a good job with his evil roles, but I really like to see him with a heart. And we also get to see Tahar Rahim (a young up and coming actor from France) as a really cool prince of the Northern tribes. He really steals several scenes even though he doesn’t speak a word of English.
A third pro for the film are the locations and cinematography. Unlike Brokeback Mountain (which forever will be a stand point of what not to do with the landscape), the film works around the film and doesn’t just hit you. It is another actor and doesn’t feel forced.
The other major good thing about the film was the action sequences. Although Gladiator is the standard at which all ancient epics should be compared to, it still rises to the occasion. It has more in keeping with Robin Hood than Centurion (a terribly made film about Marcus’ father that came out last year). Not much blood and gore, but it doesn’t need it (however I would love to have seen it). But it was choreographed well and looked pretty dang good on screen. In fact, the duel at the end of the film works really well mainly because they actually stopped playing the music.
The troubles with this film, however, are also quite extensive. The major flaw in the casting is casting American and Canadian actors for smaller parts where they ultimately fall apart. Donald Sutherland normally is really good, even though his roles in the past decade only last ten minutes of screen time, this movie shows that he has past his prime and that he should stop doing these small roles and either start doing bigger ones or just retire. I did not like, I thought he was miscast, and I thought that he brought nothing to the role.
Another problem was the music. I was expecting much from this, hoping to hear a grand epic score, but in the end it just fell flat and was plain and generic. And that is always the problem with Kevin MacDonald films: he doesn’t do so well with the score.
And one other problem would have to be the editing. We get strange, awkward scenes and glimpses of Marcus’ father fighting the tribes. These are out of place flashbacks that try to add emotion to Tatum’s performance, but takes away from the scenes at hand. We also get quick shots of the grass and leaves and trees around him as we gets these flashbacks that also hope to add some kind of mystical feel. This doesn’t give me a sense of awe, but a sense of confusion.
It may be a good film that is worth seeing once, maybe twice, but it isn’t something special. Good major actors and some fun action sequences, but not much else there.
Next time: Never Let Me Go, Let Me In, and Winter’s Bones
The pros: Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell are great. There could have been better casting for these two roles, Marcus and Esca, but the director and actors did a good enough job.
Another pro, Mark Strong was a nice addition to the cast, however, like with some of his roles lately, I wish he had a larger role. I still am excited to see him as Sinestro this summer in Green Lantern. This is one of his roles where you actually like him. He does do a good job with his evil roles, but I really like to see him with a heart. And we also get to see Tahar Rahim (a young up and coming actor from France) as a really cool prince of the Northern tribes. He really steals several scenes even though he doesn’t speak a word of English.
A third pro for the film are the locations and cinematography. Unlike Brokeback Mountain (which forever will be a stand point of what not to do with the landscape), the film works around the film and doesn’t just hit you. It is another actor and doesn’t feel forced.
The other major good thing about the film was the action sequences. Although Gladiator is the standard at which all ancient epics should be compared to, it still rises to the occasion. It has more in keeping with Robin Hood than Centurion (a terribly made film about Marcus’ father that came out last year). Not much blood and gore, but it doesn’t need it (however I would love to have seen it). But it was choreographed well and looked pretty dang good on screen. In fact, the duel at the end of the film works really well mainly because they actually stopped playing the music.
The troubles with this film, however, are also quite extensive. The major flaw in the casting is casting American and Canadian actors for smaller parts where they ultimately fall apart. Donald Sutherland normally is really good, even though his roles in the past decade only last ten minutes of screen time, this movie shows that he has past his prime and that he should stop doing these small roles and either start doing bigger ones or just retire. I did not like, I thought he was miscast, and I thought that he brought nothing to the role.
Another problem was the music. I was expecting much from this, hoping to hear a grand epic score, but in the end it just fell flat and was plain and generic. And that is always the problem with Kevin MacDonald films: he doesn’t do so well with the score.
And one other problem would have to be the editing. We get strange, awkward scenes and glimpses of Marcus’ father fighting the tribes. These are out of place flashbacks that try to add emotion to Tatum’s performance, but takes away from the scenes at hand. We also get quick shots of the grass and leaves and trees around him as we gets these flashbacks that also hope to add some kind of mystical feel. This doesn’t give me a sense of awe, but a sense of confusion.
It may be a good film that is worth seeing once, maybe twice, but it isn’t something special. Good major actors and some fun action sequences, but not much else there.
Next time: Never Let Me Go, Let Me In, and Winter’s Bones
Actors Who Are the Best In the Business
The last in my “Actors Who…” series, this final list of actors are my favorite actors of all time. Some of these actors I have stated before, but there are some actors here that you may not have heard of and I highly recommend you watch their films. And note that just because an actor isn’t on this list doesn’t mean I don’t like him or her, it simply means that I have a higher regard for these one. (Also, the first five are the only one in order of favorite; the others are simply there. And these are actors who are still alive and at work today, and not retired or dead.)
Top 25 Actors
1. Gary Oldman
2. Anthony Hopkins
3. Russell Crowe
4. Mark Strong
5. Edward Norton
Colin Firth
Jeremy Irons
Kenneth Branagh
Martin Freeman
Hugh Jackman
Andrew Garfield
Javier Bardem
Stanley Tucci
Paul Bettany
Bill Nighy
Clive Owen
Sam Rockwell
Derek Jacobi
Michael Sheen
Chris Cooper
David Thewlis
Tom Hardy
Robert de Niro
Michael Fassbender
Ralph Fiennes
Top 25 Actresses
1. Cate Blanchette
2. Helena Bonham Carter
3. Tilda Swinton
4. Olivia Williams
5. Miranda Richardson
Emma Thompson
Sally Hawkins
Emily Blunt
Judi Dench
Chloe Grace Moretz
Maggie Smith
Kelly MacDonald
Julie Walters
Carrey Mulligan
Helen Mirren
Bryce Dallas Howard
Olivia Wilde
Naomi Watts
Michelle Pfeiffer
Saoirse Ronan
Sigourney Weaver
Laura Linney
Romola Garai
Eva Green
Catherine Zeta-Jones
I didn’t think I would do anymore than 50. Sometime later I may do a top 100 list, but that won’t be today. Next time: The Eagle starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell
Top 25 Actors
1. Gary Oldman
2. Anthony Hopkins
3. Russell Crowe
4. Mark Strong
5. Edward Norton
Colin Firth
Jeremy Irons
Kenneth Branagh
Martin Freeman
Hugh Jackman
Andrew Garfield
Javier Bardem
Stanley Tucci
Paul Bettany
Bill Nighy
Clive Owen
Sam Rockwell
Derek Jacobi
Michael Sheen
Chris Cooper
David Thewlis
Tom Hardy
Robert de Niro
Michael Fassbender
Ralph Fiennes
Top 25 Actresses
1. Cate Blanchette
2. Helena Bonham Carter
3. Tilda Swinton
4. Olivia Williams
5. Miranda Richardson
Emma Thompson
Sally Hawkins
Emily Blunt
Judi Dench
Chloe Grace Moretz
Maggie Smith
Kelly MacDonald
Julie Walters
Carrey Mulligan
Helen Mirren
Bryce Dallas Howard
Olivia Wilde
Naomi Watts
Michelle Pfeiffer
Saoirse Ronan
Sigourney Weaver
Laura Linney
Romola Garai
Eva Green
Catherine Zeta-Jones
I didn’t think I would do anymore than 50. Sometime later I may do a top 100 list, but that won’t be today. Next time: The Eagle starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell
Friday, February 11, 2011
Gosford Park; 5 stars
Can there be a film that stars several of the greatest actors from the United Kingdom in almost every single role? How can this be? People the average American viewer wouldn’t know half of those people. Well, this is all true for Gosford Park is a great who-done-it film. Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Michael Gambon, Emily Watson, Maggie Smith, Charles Dance, Derek Jacobi, and Eileen Atkins, Kelly MacDonald, Tom Hollander, Sophie Thompson, Jeremy Northam, Stephen Fry, Alan Bates, Richard E Grant, and Kristen Scott Thomas.
Not only is the cast great, every single one giving their all in a very complex and fast paced film, but the screenplay is great work. In anyone else’s hand, the story would be too convoluted and too arduous to keep up with. However, in Jullian Fellowes gifted hands, this film is complex without it being overbearing. We don’t struggle to keep up with the story. If you miss a few plot points, it’s okay because everything kind of ties off nicely and so you can focus harder on the details the second go-round. It is put together well and is well deserving of everyone’s praise.
The music is also touching, not going too far as too take the viewers away from the film. Patrick Doyle encompasses the audience and draws you in without you knowing about it. I found myself coming closer to the television whenever something big was going to happen without knowing that I was. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear some beautiful themes for certain characters.
So overall, a great film: fantastic cast in which they all do great with what little screen time they all have, a well crafted screenplay in which nothing was forced, and a well composed score that doesn’t detach the audience from what is going to happen. Great movie and I highly recommend anyone to watch it.
Next time: Actors Who Are Amazing
Not only is the cast great, every single one giving their all in a very complex and fast paced film, but the screenplay is great work. In anyone else’s hand, the story would be too convoluted and too arduous to keep up with. However, in Jullian Fellowes gifted hands, this film is complex without it being overbearing. We don’t struggle to keep up with the story. If you miss a few plot points, it’s okay because everything kind of ties off nicely and so you can focus harder on the details the second go-round. It is put together well and is well deserving of everyone’s praise.
The music is also touching, not going too far as too take the viewers away from the film. Patrick Doyle encompasses the audience and draws you in without you knowing about it. I found myself coming closer to the television whenever something big was going to happen without knowing that I was. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear some beautiful themes for certain characters.
So overall, a great film: fantastic cast in which they all do great with what little screen time they all have, a well crafted screenplay in which nothing was forced, and a well composed score that doesn’t detach the audience from what is going to happen. Great movie and I highly recommend anyone to watch it.
Next time: Actors Who Are Amazing
Brokeback Mountain; 1.5 stars
Brokeback Mountain. Please don’ skim over this purely because of the title. This movie is a terrible movie and it Is for several reasons, and not just because of its subject matter.
The films major problems are with its lead actors. I did not enjoy the performance of Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal at all in this movie. Again, not because of them being gay, but because of either over or under acting. Nothing quite was unique about either of these two guys. Jake overacted too much, making smaller, powerful scenes be too much and exaggerated everything, and Heath just underplayed everything. Yes, Ennis de Mar is a soft-spoken man, but there could have been a lot more that Heath could have done.
Where the movie really falters are the endless montages. The movie adds to the short story in one way and that is by relentlessly showing us a series of quick glimpses and shots of these two actors and their wives, or of them out in the landscape. There isn’t much build onto this. Plus, it overemphasizes the terribly written music. With all of this silence in between scenes, we are forces to hear this music that is just not worthy of either a western or romance film. How this film won all of its awards and got its nominations, I will never know.
The only things that I could say were great were the actresses Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. My belief of Hathaway is that she is good only when she doesn’t surround herself with tremendous British talent such as Alice in Wonderland or Becoming Jane. When other American actors are acting with her, it seems like she is always the great spark that out shines them all (because she has an American accent, not a British one). In Brokeback Mountain, she does a great job. It’s a shame that we see so little of her in the film considering this is one of her better performances. Then there is Michelle Williams who plays tragic very well. I can’t wait to see her as Marilyn Monroe this year. But just like Hathaway, I really do think we needed to see more of her.
In a nutshell, not worth seeing, not just because of the gay romance, but because I really do think this was badly filmed.
The films major problems are with its lead actors. I did not enjoy the performance of Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal at all in this movie. Again, not because of them being gay, but because of either over or under acting. Nothing quite was unique about either of these two guys. Jake overacted too much, making smaller, powerful scenes be too much and exaggerated everything, and Heath just underplayed everything. Yes, Ennis de Mar is a soft-spoken man, but there could have been a lot more that Heath could have done.
Where the movie really falters are the endless montages. The movie adds to the short story in one way and that is by relentlessly showing us a series of quick glimpses and shots of these two actors and their wives, or of them out in the landscape. There isn’t much build onto this. Plus, it overemphasizes the terribly written music. With all of this silence in between scenes, we are forces to hear this music that is just not worthy of either a western or romance film. How this film won all of its awards and got its nominations, I will never know.
The only things that I could say were great were the actresses Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. My belief of Hathaway is that she is good only when she doesn’t surround herself with tremendous British talent such as Alice in Wonderland or Becoming Jane. When other American actors are acting with her, it seems like she is always the great spark that out shines them all (because she has an American accent, not a British one). In Brokeback Mountain, she does a great job. It’s a shame that we see so little of her in the film considering this is one of her better performances. Then there is Michelle Williams who plays tragic very well. I can’t wait to see her as Marilyn Monroe this year. But just like Hathaway, I really do think we needed to see more of her.
In a nutshell, not worth seeing, not just because of the gay romance, but because I really do think this was badly filmed.
Donnie Darko; 4 stars
Donnie Darko can be explained in one line… But I won’t say it. It is weird, but in a good weird. It has good child actors like the lead, Jake Gyllenhaal. But where this film falters are the adult actors.
Jake does messed-up, creepy, psychotic boy very well. A psychologically disturbed boy, Donnie Darko sees an evil-looking bunny telling him to destroy certain properties. Explaining any more than that might cause even bigger spoilers than some might want to know. It is kind of a sick, evil, dark version of Harvey in a very generic sense. Almost like Harvey on drugs.
But this movie really is fun and it has some great moments in it. The kids, however, are what move this film along, not the script or the adult actors. The back of the DVD case said “An All Star Cast”, but what that means is “A Cast Of Well Known Names, But They Are All Crappy.” These actors are the likes of Drew Barrymore (please don’t swear, you make my ears bleed when you do that) and Patrick Swayze (dude, you are not that great, you do not do charming well, and your brainwashing tactics wouldn’t work on a ten year old girl). Jake Gyllenhaal’s real life sister, Maggie (The Dark Knight) is also really good, as is Jena Malone (Into the Wild and Contact) who plays Donnie’s girlfriend.
There is one other factor that I must state: the dialogue in the film is very weak. It is short, choppy, silly at times, and in all honesty, it sounds sometime like a junior higher wrote it. The concept is great and the director and writer Richard Kelley came up with a great concept for the film, but he should have gotten someone else to write the film. It was just plain sloppy.
Anyway, I would defiantly recommend this film.
Jake does messed-up, creepy, psychotic boy very well. A psychologically disturbed boy, Donnie Darko sees an evil-looking bunny telling him to destroy certain properties. Explaining any more than that might cause even bigger spoilers than some might want to know. It is kind of a sick, evil, dark version of Harvey in a very generic sense. Almost like Harvey on drugs.
But this movie really is fun and it has some great moments in it. The kids, however, are what move this film along, not the script or the adult actors. The back of the DVD case said “An All Star Cast”, but what that means is “A Cast Of Well Known Names, But They Are All Crappy.” These actors are the likes of Drew Barrymore (please don’t swear, you make my ears bleed when you do that) and Patrick Swayze (dude, you are not that great, you do not do charming well, and your brainwashing tactics wouldn’t work on a ten year old girl). Jake Gyllenhaal’s real life sister, Maggie (The Dark Knight) is also really good, as is Jena Malone (Into the Wild and Contact) who plays Donnie’s girlfriend.
There is one other factor that I must state: the dialogue in the film is very weak. It is short, choppy, silly at times, and in all honesty, it sounds sometime like a junior higher wrote it. The concept is great and the director and writer Richard Kelley came up with a great concept for the film, but he should have gotten someone else to write the film. It was just plain sloppy.
Anyway, I would defiantly recommend this film.
American History X; 5 stars
American History X is one of the golden gems that I have just discovered. It has been around for a long time and I had just now finally seen it and I have to say that this continues to prove my theory that Edward Norton is the single greatest American actor at work today.
The movie is filled with tears and a heart-wrenching back story that adds more to the heart break. It begs the question that many teachers have been struggling to answer: How far can a kid go before he is lost? And the answer is never.
Edward Norton plays a skin-head, neo-Nazi man who is determined to outcast all non-White people out of his town. He ends up in prison and reforms himself due to reasons I will not mention. When he gets out, he sees that his younger brother is going down the same exact path that he does which ultimately winds up in one the most tragic endings I have ever seen and one of the most unexpected.
Edward Furlong, who plays the younger brother, also gives a great performance, but it is the acting of Norton that this whole film rests on. Quite honestly, no one else could have played Derek Vinyard and have done half as well as he did. In fact, I can’t quite say anything else about this movie except for the acting for these two actors. Not to say that there isn’t anything else good in the film, but they both embody this movie that there really isn’t much else to say.
I’d say see it, that is if you don’t mind the language. There are a few scenes where some may want to look away such as two quick jail shower scenes and a sex scene that is brief at the beginning of the film. But if you do see it, prepare yourself for an emotional finale.
The movie is filled with tears and a heart-wrenching back story that adds more to the heart break. It begs the question that many teachers have been struggling to answer: How far can a kid go before he is lost? And the answer is never.
Edward Norton plays a skin-head, neo-Nazi man who is determined to outcast all non-White people out of his town. He ends up in prison and reforms himself due to reasons I will not mention. When he gets out, he sees that his younger brother is going down the same exact path that he does which ultimately winds up in one the most tragic endings I have ever seen and one of the most unexpected.
Edward Furlong, who plays the younger brother, also gives a great performance, but it is the acting of Norton that this whole film rests on. Quite honestly, no one else could have played Derek Vinyard and have done half as well as he did. In fact, I can’t quite say anything else about this movie except for the acting for these two actors. Not to say that there isn’t anything else good in the film, but they both embody this movie that there really isn’t much else to say.
I’d say see it, that is if you don’t mind the language. There are a few scenes where some may want to look away such as two quick jail shower scenes and a sex scene that is brief at the beginning of the film. But if you do see it, prepare yourself for an emotional finale.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Way Back 4.5 stars
Peter Weir is one of the greats. His films are all at the top of their game and only one film in his career really disappoints (Green Card). The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society, Witness, Master and Commander all were fantastically made films. And so here is a new film to add on that small list of Peter Weir directed film.
The Way Back is great in many ways: the actors, the locations and cinematography, and the screenplay are the main plusses in this film.
The four main actors are Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan, all of them having their character’s proper accents. They are not Americans or Irish playing Russians sounding like Americans or Irish. Each actor is perfectly cast in their respective roles; however I do wish that Mark Strong should have been given a bigger role.
The filming locations were also amazing. The cinematography was so grand and gorgeous without being too overbearing (watch Catherine Hardwicke films if you want over the top filming). It reminded me of Avatar; the overall scope alone is worth watching the film (but unlike Avatar, it is not the only reason).
Finally, the screenplay added even more to the film. Humor, drama, and story mixed together perfectly. Humorous lines and scenes are thrown in only when they need to add a little lightness when it gets too dramatic, but not giving away the mood (if that makes sense). And vice-versa.
So I highly recommend The Way Back if you can find it in theatres. It is a very well thought out film with great actors and an amazing screenplay.
Next week: I don’t know
The Way Back is great in many ways: the actors, the locations and cinematography, and the screenplay are the main plusses in this film.
The four main actors are Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan, all of them having their character’s proper accents. They are not Americans or Irish playing Russians sounding like Americans or Irish. Each actor is perfectly cast in their respective roles; however I do wish that Mark Strong should have been given a bigger role.
The filming locations were also amazing. The cinematography was so grand and gorgeous without being too overbearing (watch Catherine Hardwicke films if you want over the top filming). It reminded me of Avatar; the overall scope alone is worth watching the film (but unlike Avatar, it is not the only reason).
Finally, the screenplay added even more to the film. Humor, drama, and story mixed together perfectly. Humorous lines and scenes are thrown in only when they need to add a little lightness when it gets too dramatic, but not giving away the mood (if that makes sense). And vice-versa.
So I highly recommend The Way Back if you can find it in theatres. It is a very well thought out film with great actors and an amazing screenplay.
Next week: I don’t know
Actor Who I Have Not Liked Until Recently
There are a few actors out there that my mind has changed from disliking to having respect for their acting ability. These few have only happened recently and most is because of recent films and their improvement. In the case of Leonardo DiCaprio, he was a bad actor in his early career, but these past five or six years have changed that.
Brad Pitt: An Interview With A Vampire, Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall, Troy, Sleepers, and Seven Years in Tibet are just a few of Mr. Pitt’s bad films. As I grew up, the only films that I liked of his were the Ocean’s Trilogy. However, I just started watching more of his other films and I have to say with confidence that I enjoy Brad Pitt now. After watching Snatch, Fight Club, Seven, A River Runs Through It, Burn After Reading, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Inglourious Basterds, I really have a new found love for this man. I look forward to seeing him this year in the film Tree of Life.
Angelina Jolie: This isn’t so much as a new found love like her domestic partner, but I can say that Ms. Jolie is a good actress when she wants to be. And if you don’t believe me, I highly recommend that you watch Clint Eastwood’s film Changeling. She is just magnificent and if she ever deserved any awards for any of her works, it is for this one. And then I watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and that was the first time that I actually thought of her as HOT! I never knew what people thought of her until I saw her in that film. And lastly there are a few good roles that she has done too. She was good The Tourist, I have to say. The movie was bad, but she was pretty good. And then there is of course Wanted that made me think of her as hot again. Curses, filmmakers need to keep her away from guns so I can stop thinking this of her.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Like I stated before, Mr. DiCaprio was never been one that I liked until very recently. I mean, look at every film before Catch Me If You Can and I dare you to find one performance of his that I liked. After Catch Me If You Can, there are films like The Aviator, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, and most recently Shutter Island and Inception (though there is one exception, The Departed). But now this man know how to act and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future (J. Edgar Hoover anyone?).
Jessica Biel: This woman has gone back and forth in my mind on the quality of her work. I have never really enjoyed any of her films until this past year. And only there can I name three movies in which she does a good job. She was really good in The A-Team and The Illusionist. But the only reason she was good in Next was because everything going on around her was doing such a bad job. She stuck out as the least painful thing in that film.
Brad Pitt: An Interview With A Vampire, Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall, Troy, Sleepers, and Seven Years in Tibet are just a few of Mr. Pitt’s bad films. As I grew up, the only films that I liked of his were the Ocean’s Trilogy. However, I just started watching more of his other films and I have to say with confidence that I enjoy Brad Pitt now. After watching Snatch, Fight Club, Seven, A River Runs Through It, Burn After Reading, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Inglourious Basterds, I really have a new found love for this man. I look forward to seeing him this year in the film Tree of Life.
Angelina Jolie: This isn’t so much as a new found love like her domestic partner, but I can say that Ms. Jolie is a good actress when she wants to be. And if you don’t believe me, I highly recommend that you watch Clint Eastwood’s film Changeling. She is just magnificent and if she ever deserved any awards for any of her works, it is for this one. And then I watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and that was the first time that I actually thought of her as HOT! I never knew what people thought of her until I saw her in that film. And lastly there are a few good roles that she has done too. She was good The Tourist, I have to say. The movie was bad, but she was pretty good. And then there is of course Wanted that made me think of her as hot again. Curses, filmmakers need to keep her away from guns so I can stop thinking this of her.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Like I stated before, Mr. DiCaprio was never been one that I liked until very recently. I mean, look at every film before Catch Me If You Can and I dare you to find one performance of his that I liked. After Catch Me If You Can, there are films like The Aviator, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, and most recently Shutter Island and Inception (though there is one exception, The Departed). But now this man know how to act and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future (J. Edgar Hoover anyone?).
Jessica Biel: This woman has gone back and forth in my mind on the quality of her work. I have never really enjoyed any of her films until this past year. And only there can I name three movies in which she does a good job. She was really good in The A-Team and The Illusionist. But the only reason she was good in Next was because everything going on around her was doing such a bad job. She stuck out as the least painful thing in that film.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Actors Who Will Be Known By Name Soon
Between 2011 and 2012, there are a few great actors that will be coming out of there shell and be in several films. This list of actors is actors who are in several films in the next two years. Also, this list is also for actors who had their breakout year this past year and may not be signed on for much, but definitely will do great things soon.
Andrew Garfield: Mr. Garfield has been in several things these previous two years and has not given a bad performance. He was in the Red Riding Trilogy, Never Let Me Go, Lions for Lambs (not two years ago, but still worth mentioning), and most recently The Social Network (where he was snubbed for an Oscar nom). He is British (like all GREAT actors) and can hide his accent well. He will be seen soon in the new Spiderman reboot. I do not agree that we need to see a new Spiderman so soon after the last three, but with the casting of him as PP and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, I think the acting could be better than the other three.
Jennifer Lawrence: Ms. Lawrence is of Winter’s Bone fame. If you haven’t heard of this movie, I think you should check it out. I have not yet seen the film (purely because I’m not going to spend $20 to buy it; I’ll wait until it goes down in price). But I have heard that she does very well and she is nominated for Best Actress this year for the Oscars. Next year we will see her playing a younger Mystique in the film X-Men: First Class. Great new things will be coming from her.
Tom Hiddleston: Mr. Hiddleston is not very well know as of yet. The only way you will have known this man is if you watch the BBC/Masterpiece shows Return to Cranford, Miss Austen Regrets, and Wallander. But after this summer, you will all know him as Loki. He has been cast in the Kenneth Branagh directed film Thor as the villain, Loki, god of mischief. Other films that he will be in are the films War Horse (one of Steven Spielberg’s next films) and Midnight in Paris (a rom-com by Woody Allen).
Olivia Wilde: She is already famous. Most of you have seen this beautiful woman. Have you seen House (or the last three seasons? Then you have seen her. Have you seen Tron: Legacy yet? Then you have seen her. She plays Thirteen and played Quorra, respectively. She was in The Next Three Days, but that really wasn’t big. She is not just a pretty face. Her acting ability trumps almost every other young and gorgeous actress working today (move over Megan Fox).
Michael Fassbender: Another name that I know no one knows. The only two major films he has been in are Inglourious Basterds and Centurion. He was better in Basterds than Centurion (played Lieutenant Archie Hicox, the British-undercover-as-a-German). But this next year he is in four films this year, all of them major films: Jane Eyre (Mr. Rochester), X-Men: First Class (the younger Magneto), A dangerous Mind (A David Cronenberg film about Sigmund Freud), and Haywire (an action flick directed by Steven Soderbergh, director of Ocean’s Trilogy).
Hailee Steinfeld: Not signed onto anything just yet, Ms. Steinfeld was in True Grit as the lead Mattie Ross. Her portrayal gave her an Oscar nomination this year (her first film and at age 14 too). I believe we can all see great things from her in the years to come.
Aaron Johnson: Mr. Johnson was in two films this year: (Sorry language sensitive readers) Kick Ass and Nowhere Boy, playing the leads in both films (the second being about John Lennon and his start to music fame). Though he has only one main stream film next year (Albert Nobbs with Glenn Close and Brendan Gleeson), he too isn’t going to be seen much next year, but this isn’t the end of this tremendously brilliant, British actor.
Chloe Grace Moretz: Also of Kick Ass fame, she got her big break this year. After beating up adults as Hit Girl and she then fed on humans as the vampire in Let Me In. She has signed onto many low budget films next year, except for the new Martin Scorsese film Hugo Cabret.
Tom Hardy: Mr. Hardy is most famous now for his role as Eames in Inception, but he wasn’t always Eames. He was Heathcliff and Bill Sykes in the newest Masterpiece Classic shows Wuthering Heights and Oliver Twist (in which he should have been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes), Bronson as the title role Charles Bronson, and he was in the Guy Ritchie film RockNRolla (great movie). And these next few years is going to be many big budget films like the reboot of Mad Max, a great spy thriller called Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and a film called This Means War (another spy thriller with Chris Pine), and he will be playing the main villain in the third and final Nolan Batman film as Bane. Of all of these actors, I would say he is my favorite.
Noomi Rapace: Right out of the famous Millennium Trilogy films, Noomi Rapace is going to be a star that will forever embedded into moviegoers’ and film critics’ minds as one of the greatest actresses of all time. That may be a giant leap for those who haven’t seen these films, but I have and she is AMAZING and I very rarely like to watch foreign language films. This next year she is in one major film. You might have heard of it: a little sequel of a film called Sherlock Holmes 2 (at least that is the title for now). We will not see the end of her after that. Trust me.
I’m tired so now is time where I leave you. I will try to get that review up for The Way Back by the end of the week (and a little surprise review too). Look for my fourth installment of this series soon: Actors Who Until Recently I Have Disliked.
Andrew Garfield: Mr. Garfield has been in several things these previous two years and has not given a bad performance. He was in the Red Riding Trilogy, Never Let Me Go, Lions for Lambs (not two years ago, but still worth mentioning), and most recently The Social Network (where he was snubbed for an Oscar nom). He is British (like all GREAT actors) and can hide his accent well. He will be seen soon in the new Spiderman reboot. I do not agree that we need to see a new Spiderman so soon after the last three, but with the casting of him as PP and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, I think the acting could be better than the other three.
Jennifer Lawrence: Ms. Lawrence is of Winter’s Bone fame. If you haven’t heard of this movie, I think you should check it out. I have not yet seen the film (purely because I’m not going to spend $20 to buy it; I’ll wait until it goes down in price). But I have heard that she does very well and she is nominated for Best Actress this year for the Oscars. Next year we will see her playing a younger Mystique in the film X-Men: First Class. Great new things will be coming from her.
Tom Hiddleston: Mr. Hiddleston is not very well know as of yet. The only way you will have known this man is if you watch the BBC/Masterpiece shows Return to Cranford, Miss Austen Regrets, and Wallander. But after this summer, you will all know him as Loki. He has been cast in the Kenneth Branagh directed film Thor as the villain, Loki, god of mischief. Other films that he will be in are the films War Horse (one of Steven Spielberg’s next films) and Midnight in Paris (a rom-com by Woody Allen).
Olivia Wilde: She is already famous. Most of you have seen this beautiful woman. Have you seen House (or the last three seasons? Then you have seen her. Have you seen Tron: Legacy yet? Then you have seen her. She plays Thirteen and played Quorra, respectively. She was in The Next Three Days, but that really wasn’t big. She is not just a pretty face. Her acting ability trumps almost every other young and gorgeous actress working today (move over Megan Fox).
Michael Fassbender: Another name that I know no one knows. The only two major films he has been in are Inglourious Basterds and Centurion. He was better in Basterds than Centurion (played Lieutenant Archie Hicox, the British-undercover-as-a-German). But this next year he is in four films this year, all of them major films: Jane Eyre (Mr. Rochester), X-Men: First Class (the younger Magneto), A dangerous Mind (A David Cronenberg film about Sigmund Freud), and Haywire (an action flick directed by Steven Soderbergh, director of Ocean’s Trilogy).
Hailee Steinfeld: Not signed onto anything just yet, Ms. Steinfeld was in True Grit as the lead Mattie Ross. Her portrayal gave her an Oscar nomination this year (her first film and at age 14 too). I believe we can all see great things from her in the years to come.
Aaron Johnson: Mr. Johnson was in two films this year: (Sorry language sensitive readers) Kick Ass and Nowhere Boy, playing the leads in both films (the second being about John Lennon and his start to music fame). Though he has only one main stream film next year (Albert Nobbs with Glenn Close and Brendan Gleeson), he too isn’t going to be seen much next year, but this isn’t the end of this tremendously brilliant, British actor.
Chloe Grace Moretz: Also of Kick Ass fame, she got her big break this year. After beating up adults as Hit Girl and she then fed on humans as the vampire in Let Me In. She has signed onto many low budget films next year, except for the new Martin Scorsese film Hugo Cabret.
Tom Hardy: Mr. Hardy is most famous now for his role as Eames in Inception, but he wasn’t always Eames. He was Heathcliff and Bill Sykes in the newest Masterpiece Classic shows Wuthering Heights and Oliver Twist (in which he should have been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes), Bronson as the title role Charles Bronson, and he was in the Guy Ritchie film RockNRolla (great movie). And these next few years is going to be many big budget films like the reboot of Mad Max, a great spy thriller called Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and a film called This Means War (another spy thriller with Chris Pine), and he will be playing the main villain in the third and final Nolan Batman film as Bane. Of all of these actors, I would say he is my favorite.
Noomi Rapace: Right out of the famous Millennium Trilogy films, Noomi Rapace is going to be a star that will forever embedded into moviegoers’ and film critics’ minds as one of the greatest actresses of all time. That may be a giant leap for those who haven’t seen these films, but I have and she is AMAZING and I very rarely like to watch foreign language films. This next year she is in one major film. You might have heard of it: a little sequel of a film called Sherlock Holmes 2 (at least that is the title for now). We will not see the end of her after that. Trust me.
I’m tired so now is time where I leave you. I will try to get that review up for The Way Back by the end of the week (and a little surprise review too). Look for my fourth installment of this series soon: Actors Who Until Recently I Have Disliked.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
83rd Academy Awards
Honestly, what must Christopher Nolan do in order for him to get an Oscar nomination for Best Director? His fist major theatrical film, Memento, got him and Oscar nom for best Adapted Screenplay, but he did not win. The a few years down the road there came this little ity-bity movie called The Dark Knight that was the highest grossing film of the year, one of the best reviewed of the year, and considered by many the greatest comic book movie ever made, and he didn't get nominated for screenplay, picture, or director. Then came this past year another little movie called Inception. And this morning the Oscar nominations were announced and once again Mr. Nolan was snubbed out of Best Director. This is just a slap in the face from the Academy. "Yes Mr. Nolan, your movie might possibly be one of the greatest movies of the year, and yes, we might let you receive your own statuette for Best Original Screenplay (only because Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network is Adapted), but you aren't a good enough director to be in the same class as Mr. Aronofsky or Mr. Hooper or Mr. Fincher. But luck next time sport."
But here I am, editorializing. That's not the point of this blog. Here are the nominations and tomorrow I will have my next review and addition to my serial.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
■Black Swan
■The Fighter
■Inception
■The Kids are All Right
■The King's Speech
■127 Hours
■The Social Network
■Toy Story 3
■True Grit
■Winter's Bone
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
■Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)
■Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
■Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
■Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
■Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
■Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
■Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
■Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
■James Franco (127 Hours)
■Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
■Christian Bale (The Fighter)
■John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
■Jeremy Renner (The Town)
■Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right)
■Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
■Amy Adams (The Fighter)
■Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
■Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
■Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
■Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
■How to Train Your Dragon
■The Illusionist
■Toy Story 3
Best Documentary Short Subject
■Killing in the Name
■Poster Girl
■Strangers No More
■Sun Come Up
■The Warriors of Qiugang
Best Short Film (Animated)
■Day & Night Teddy Newton
■The Gruffalo Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
■Let's Pollute Geefwee Boedoe
■The Lost Thing Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
■Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) Bastien Dubois
Best Short Film (Live Action)
■The Confession Tanel Toom
■The Crush Michael Creagh
■God of Love Luke Matheny
■Na Wewe Ivan Goldschmidt
■Wish 143 Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Achievement in Art Direction
■Alice in Wonderland
■Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
■Inception
■The King's Speech
■True Grit
Achievement in Cinematography
■Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
■Inception (Wally Pfister)
■The King's Speech (Danny Cohen)
■The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)
■True Grit (Roger Deakins)
Achievement in Costume Design
■Alice in Wonderland (Colleen Atwood)
■I Am Love (Antonella Cannarozzi)
■The King's Speech (Jenny Beaven)
■The Tempest (Sandy Powell)
■True Grit (Mary Zophres)
Achievement in Directing
■Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
■David O. Russell (The Fighter)
■Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
■David Fincher (The Social Network)
■Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)
Best Documentary Feature
■Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
■Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
■Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
■Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
■Waste Land Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)
Achievement in Makeup
■Barney's Version
■The Way Back
■The Wolfman
Achievement in Film Editing
■Black Swan (Andrew Weisblum)
■The Fighter (Pamela Martin)
■The King's Speech (Tariq Anwar)
■127 Hours (Jon Harris)
■The Social Network (Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall)
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
■Biutiful (Mexico)
■Dogtooth (Greece)
■In a Better World (Denmark)
■Incendies (Canada)
■Hors la Loi (Algeria)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
■How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
■Inception (Hans Zimmer)
■The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat)
■127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
■The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
■"Coming Home" from Country Strong Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
■"I See the Light" from Tangled Music and Lyric by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
■"If I Rise" from 127 Hours Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
■"We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Achievement in Sound Editing
■Inception
■Toy Story 3
■TRON: Legacy
■True Grit
■Unstoppable
Achievement in Sound Mixing
■Inception
■The King's Speech
■Salt
■The Social Network
■True Grit
Achievement in Visual Effects
■Alice in Wonderland
■Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
■Hereafter
■Inception
■Iron Man 2
Adapted Screenplay
■127 Hours (Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle)
■The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)
■Toy Story 3 (Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
■True Grit (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)
■Winter's Bone (Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini)
Original Screenplay
■Another Year (Mike Leigh)
■The Fighter (Paul Attanasio, Lewis Colich, Eric Johnson, Scott Silverand Paul Tamasy)
■Inception (Christopher Nolan)
■The Kids are All Right (Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko)
■The King's Speech (David Seidler)
But here I am, editorializing. That's not the point of this blog. Here are the nominations and tomorrow I will have my next review and addition to my serial.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
■Black Swan
■The Fighter
■Inception
■The Kids are All Right
■The King's Speech
■127 Hours
■The Social Network
■Toy Story 3
■True Grit
■Winter's Bone
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
■Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)
■Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
■Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
■Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
■Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
■Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
■Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
■Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
■James Franco (127 Hours)
■Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
■Christian Bale (The Fighter)
■John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
■Jeremy Renner (The Town)
■Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right)
■Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
■Amy Adams (The Fighter)
■Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
■Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
■Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
■Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
■How to Train Your Dragon
■The Illusionist
■Toy Story 3
Best Documentary Short Subject
■Killing in the Name
■Poster Girl
■Strangers No More
■Sun Come Up
■The Warriors of Qiugang
Best Short Film (Animated)
■Day & Night Teddy Newton
■The Gruffalo Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
■Let's Pollute Geefwee Boedoe
■The Lost Thing Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
■Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) Bastien Dubois
Best Short Film (Live Action)
■The Confession Tanel Toom
■The Crush Michael Creagh
■God of Love Luke Matheny
■Na Wewe Ivan Goldschmidt
■Wish 143 Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Achievement in Art Direction
■Alice in Wonderland
■Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
■Inception
■The King's Speech
■True Grit
Achievement in Cinematography
■Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
■Inception (Wally Pfister)
■The King's Speech (Danny Cohen)
■The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)
■True Grit (Roger Deakins)
Achievement in Costume Design
■Alice in Wonderland (Colleen Atwood)
■I Am Love (Antonella Cannarozzi)
■The King's Speech (Jenny Beaven)
■The Tempest (Sandy Powell)
■True Grit (Mary Zophres)
Achievement in Directing
■Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
■David O. Russell (The Fighter)
■Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
■David Fincher (The Social Network)
■Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)
Best Documentary Feature
■Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
■Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
■Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
■Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
■Waste Land Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)
Achievement in Makeup
■Barney's Version
■The Way Back
■The Wolfman
Achievement in Film Editing
■Black Swan (Andrew Weisblum)
■The Fighter (Pamela Martin)
■The King's Speech (Tariq Anwar)
■127 Hours (Jon Harris)
■The Social Network (Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall)
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
■Biutiful (Mexico)
■Dogtooth (Greece)
■In a Better World (Denmark)
■Incendies (Canada)
■Hors la Loi (Algeria)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
■How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
■Inception (Hans Zimmer)
■The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat)
■127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
■The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
■"Coming Home" from Country Strong Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
■"I See the Light" from Tangled Music and Lyric by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
■"If I Rise" from 127 Hours Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
■"We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Achievement in Sound Editing
■Inception
■Toy Story 3
■TRON: Legacy
■True Grit
■Unstoppable
Achievement in Sound Mixing
■Inception
■The King's Speech
■Salt
■The Social Network
■True Grit
Achievement in Visual Effects
■Alice in Wonderland
■Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
■Hereafter
■Inception
■Iron Man 2
Adapted Screenplay
■127 Hours (Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle)
■The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)
■Toy Story 3 (Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
■True Grit (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)
■Winter's Bone (Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini)
Original Screenplay
■Another Year (Mike Leigh)
■The Fighter (Paul Attanasio, Lewis Colich, Eric Johnson, Scott Silverand Paul Tamasy)
■Inception (Christopher Nolan)
■The Kids are All Right (Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko)
■The King's Speech (David Seidler)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Actors Who Must Stay Away From Films
There is a basic rule of thumb for me: if an actor was a singer or a model before they went into acting, then they are bad. Another rule of thumb: if you are better known for your comedic skill, you are not a good actor. I’m not listing these actors in terms of their entertainment skill (I am very entertained at laughing at these actors). I am stating these actors in terms of their acting ability. And the common reader may not agree, and that’s fine, I just pity you. And some of these actors may have already stopped acting, or are going back and forth between jobs. And I say, please, stay away from these films. Models, stay in modeling; and singers, keep singing. Thank you.
Here is a list of actors that I will try to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
Ashton Kutcher, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner (stop now, the both of you, just stop), Tom Welling, Keanu Reeves, Gerard Butler, Jack Black, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Affleck, Jason Statham, Owen Wilson, Hayden Christensen, Danny Glover, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Costner, Bruce Willis, Cuba Gooding Jr., Richard Gere, Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Brown, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristopherson, Wesley Snipes, Chris Klein, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater, Stephen Segal, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Matthew Marsden, Ray Liotta, Tom Welling, Tom Cruise, and Bradley Cooper.
Here is a list of bad actresses that I will try to avoid at all costs:
Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Eva Mendes, Pamela Anderson, Penelope Cruz, Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, Paris Hilton, Hilary Swank, Jessica Simpson, Kristen Stewart, Drew Barrymore, Megan Fox, Barbra Streisand, Brooke Shields, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Gemma Arterton, Demi Moore, Uma Thurman, Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Alicia Silverstone, Jenifer Lopez, Winona Ryder, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan (the only good role of hers is in The Parent Trap, period.), Kate Hudson, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyoncé, Mary Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Katherine Heigl, Hayden Panettiere, Miley Cyrus, Venessa Hudgens, Ali Larter, Jennifer Garner, Rachel McAdams, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman (if you don’t believe me, watch Far and Away), Milla Jovovich, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Denise Richards, Melanie Griffith, and Jennifer Love Hewit.
Now when you look at the size of this list, you may ask, are there any actors that you do like? But like I have stated before, there are so many actors out there that I absolutely love, but all of the actors that I dislike are the ones that most people have heard of. This is just a comprehensive list, a list that I came up with in a few minutes. Agree or disagree with me in the comments, if you please. I like to know my viewers opinions.
Next time: Two reviews on The Way Back, The Rite, and Actors Who Will Be Big In the Years to Come
Here is a list of actors that I will try to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
Ashton Kutcher, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner (stop now, the both of you, just stop), Tom Welling, Keanu Reeves, Gerard Butler, Jack Black, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Affleck, Jason Statham, Owen Wilson, Hayden Christensen, Danny Glover, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Costner, Bruce Willis, Cuba Gooding Jr., Richard Gere, Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Brown, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristopherson, Wesley Snipes, Chris Klein, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater, Stephen Segal, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Matthew Marsden, Ray Liotta, Tom Welling, Tom Cruise, and Bradley Cooper.
Here is a list of bad actresses that I will try to avoid at all costs:
Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Eva Mendes, Pamela Anderson, Penelope Cruz, Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, Paris Hilton, Hilary Swank, Jessica Simpson, Kristen Stewart, Drew Barrymore, Megan Fox, Barbra Streisand, Brooke Shields, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Gemma Arterton, Demi Moore, Uma Thurman, Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Alicia Silverstone, Jenifer Lopez, Winona Ryder, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan (the only good role of hers is in The Parent Trap, period.), Kate Hudson, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyoncé, Mary Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Katherine Heigl, Hayden Panettiere, Miley Cyrus, Venessa Hudgens, Ali Larter, Jennifer Garner, Rachel McAdams, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman (if you don’t believe me, watch Far and Away), Milla Jovovich, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Denise Richards, Melanie Griffith, and Jennifer Love Hewit.
Now when you look at the size of this list, you may ask, are there any actors that you do like? But like I have stated before, there are so many actors out there that I absolutely love, but all of the actors that I dislike are the ones that most people have heard of. This is just a comprehensive list, a list that I came up with in a few minutes. Agree or disagree with me in the comments, if you please. I like to know my viewers opinions.
Next time: Two reviews on The Way Back, The Rite, and Actors Who Will Be Big In the Years to Come
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Updated Top 10 of '10
I watched a few more movies from this year and so here is an updated version. There are new addition to my top ten categories too. More reviews coming within the week.
Best Movies of '10
10. The A-Team
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8. 127 Hours
7. Shutter Island
6. The Ghost Writer
5. Toy Story 3
4. The Social Network
3. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
1. Inception
Best Actors of '10
10. Will Poulter for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
9. Tom Hardy for Inception
8. Matt Damon for True Grit
7. Jeff Bridges for True Grit
6. Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island
5. James Franco for 127 Hours
4. Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
3. Andrew Garfield for The Social Network
2. Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
1. Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Best Actresses of '10 (Not a top ten list. Haven't seen very many good actresses this year)
5. Chloe Grace Moretz for Kick-Ass
4. Noomi Rapace for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
3. Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer
2. Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
1. Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
Best Scores of '10
10. The Ghost Writer by Alexandre Desplat
9. Alice in Wonderland by Danny Elfman
8. Tron: Legacy by Daft Punk
7. The King's Speech by Alexandre Desplat
6. Black Swan by Clint Mansell
5. Inception by Hans Zimmer
4. How To Train Your Dragon by John Powell
2. The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
2. True Grit by Carter Burwell
1. Never Let Me Go
Best Screenplay (Both Adapted and Original)
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I- Written by Steve Kloves (A)
9. Toy Story 3- Written by Michael Arndt (O)
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- Written by Michael Bicall and Edgar Wright (A)
7. 127 Hours- Written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (A)
6. Shutter Island- Written by Laeta Kalogridis (A)
5. True Grit- Written by Joel and Ethan Coen (A)
4. The Ghost Writer- Written by Robert Harris and Roman Polanski (A)
3. The King's Speech- Written by David Seidler (O I think, not based on a book, but based on true story)
2. The Social Network- Written by Aaron Sorkin (O Again, I think)
1. Inception (O)
Best Movies of '10
10. The A-Team
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8. 127 Hours
7. Shutter Island
6. The Ghost Writer
5. Toy Story 3
4. The Social Network
3. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
1. Inception
Best Actors of '10
10. Will Poulter for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
9. Tom Hardy for Inception
8. Matt Damon for True Grit
7. Jeff Bridges for True Grit
6. Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island
5. James Franco for 127 Hours
4. Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
3. Andrew Garfield for The Social Network
2. Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
1. Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Best Actresses of '10 (Not a top ten list. Haven't seen very many good actresses this year)
5. Chloe Grace Moretz for Kick-Ass
4. Noomi Rapace for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
3. Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer
2. Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
1. Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
Best Scores of '10
10. The Ghost Writer by Alexandre Desplat
9. Alice in Wonderland by Danny Elfman
8. Tron: Legacy by Daft Punk
7. The King's Speech by Alexandre Desplat
6. Black Swan by Clint Mansell
5. Inception by Hans Zimmer
4. How To Train Your Dragon by John Powell
2. The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
2. True Grit by Carter Burwell
1. Never Let Me Go
Best Screenplay (Both Adapted and Original)
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I- Written by Steve Kloves (A)
9. Toy Story 3- Written by Michael Arndt (O)
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- Written by Michael Bicall and Edgar Wright (A)
7. 127 Hours- Written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (A)
6. Shutter Island- Written by Laeta Kalogridis (A)
5. True Grit- Written by Joel and Ethan Coen (A)
4. The Ghost Writer- Written by Robert Harris and Roman Polanski (A)
3. The King's Speech- Written by David Seidler (O I think, not based on a book, but based on true story)
2. The Social Network- Written by Aaron Sorkin (O Again, I think)
1. Inception (O)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Actors Who Steal The Show
This will be the start of a new series of reviews of actors called “Actors Who…”. They may be actors who are terrible that continue do bad work, actors who have not done well until recent years, actors who do all genres and do them well, and today’s list, actors who class every movie they are in.
There are just many actors out there that are so good that they are the redeeming factor in a horribly made picture. Most of these actors that I will state choose their movies carefully and don’t just do a movie for the pay check, but some don’t, but are still masters of their art. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Cate Blanchette: Anything that Miss Blanchette has done in her life is spot on. I have not been disappointed with her huge resumé of works. Elizabeth I, Maid Marion, Katherine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, and Lady Galadriel are all amazing roles in which she shows her class. Many other roles of hers are just perfect for her in not so perfect movies like Notes on a Scandal, Indiana Jones 4, or The Missing.
Anthony Hopkins: I don’t need to say much. Every movie Mr. Hopkins is in, he gives it certain flair. Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon, Legends of the Fall, Amistad, Fracture, and the future Thor are all his best performances to date. He also did a decent job in All The King’s Men, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Beowulf, and The Wolfman, but all of those films weren’t nearly as good as they could have been.
Jeremy Irons: Mr. Irons is one of the greats. Most would not know him by name, but then I say names like Scar from The Lion King, or Brom from the atrocious Eragon, or Aramis in The Man in the Iron Mask. He has done his fair share of great movies, and bad ones as well. His most notable in my mind are his performances in The Mission (with Robert de Niro), Kingdom of Heaven (the Orlando Bloom/Ridley Scott team up), and Antonio the Merchant in the film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice (starring Al Pacino as Shylock the Jew). Good or bad films, Irons is always great.
Jason Isaacs: There aren’t very many bad movies that Mr. Isaacs has been a part of in his career. I just thought that I should mention him because of his extraordinary talent. The only movie that I can say is bad in which he was a part of would be the newer Peter Pan (he plays Captain Hook and George Darling, the father). Green Zone, Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter, and The Patriot are all of the movies I have seen him and he does not disappoint.
Alfred Molina: If this year was any proof of how great Alfred Molina is, then I don’t know what else could. He is the redeeming factor in every one of his terrible films. And in his great films, he still steals the show. This year he was in three films in which he did his natural scene-stealing magic: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Prince of Persia, and The Tempest. Other films that he has done that are bad are Dudley Do-right (funny, but bad), Spiderman 2, The Da Vinci Code, and Pink Panther 2. His great films consist of An Education, As You Like It, Chocolat, Luther, and Frida.
Gary Oldman: Most of my friends know that Gary Oldman is my favorite actor. He hardly does any bad films and when he does, he brings his best to make up for the badness of the film. The three most blaringly obvious bad films are The Fifth Element, JFK, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His great performances are too many to say, but I’ll try to give most of them: Air Force One, Harry Potter, Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise, The Book of Eli, Immortal Beloved, Sid and Nancy, and The Professional.
Ryan Reynolds: This man hasn’t made a good movie yet that I have seen. Blade: Trinity, Smokin’ Aces, The Proposal, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are he only four movies I have seen him in and he is fantastic in all of them, but the movies SUCKED! This is why I am so looking forward to Green Lantern because if it is good, then it will be his first great film I have seen him in. But no matter how bad the films are, if you see Ryan Reynolds, you know that he will be good.
Michael Sheen: Like Gary Oldman or Jason Isaacs, I have not seen Mr. Sheen in any bad films. He is on the top of his game in every film he is in, whether it be competing against Helen Mirren in the Queen, or only hearing his voice as the White Rabbit in the latest Alice in Wonderland film, or only seeing him in a few scenes in the latest Tron escapade, he is always acting his butt off. Every time I see Michael Sheen’s name on a movie credit, I have to see it because I know how great this actor is. If you want more movies to see Michael Sheen in, watch The Damned United (greatest sports film ever), Unthinkable, The Special Relationship, Frost/Nixon, Underworld franchise, and Laws of Attraction (a not so great movie, but he and Parker Posey steal the whole movie).
Next time: Actors Who Need To Leave Acting
There are just many actors out there that are so good that they are the redeeming factor in a horribly made picture. Most of these actors that I will state choose their movies carefully and don’t just do a movie for the pay check, but some don’t, but are still masters of their art. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Cate Blanchette: Anything that Miss Blanchette has done in her life is spot on. I have not been disappointed with her huge resumé of works. Elizabeth I, Maid Marion, Katherine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, and Lady Galadriel are all amazing roles in which she shows her class. Many other roles of hers are just perfect for her in not so perfect movies like Notes on a Scandal, Indiana Jones 4, or The Missing.
Anthony Hopkins: I don’t need to say much. Every movie Mr. Hopkins is in, he gives it certain flair. Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon, Legends of the Fall, Amistad, Fracture, and the future Thor are all his best performances to date. He also did a decent job in All The King’s Men, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Beowulf, and The Wolfman, but all of those films weren’t nearly as good as they could have been.
Jeremy Irons: Mr. Irons is one of the greats. Most would not know him by name, but then I say names like Scar from The Lion King, or Brom from the atrocious Eragon, or Aramis in The Man in the Iron Mask. He has done his fair share of great movies, and bad ones as well. His most notable in my mind are his performances in The Mission (with Robert de Niro), Kingdom of Heaven (the Orlando Bloom/Ridley Scott team up), and Antonio the Merchant in the film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice (starring Al Pacino as Shylock the Jew). Good or bad films, Irons is always great.
Jason Isaacs: There aren’t very many bad movies that Mr. Isaacs has been a part of in his career. I just thought that I should mention him because of his extraordinary talent. The only movie that I can say is bad in which he was a part of would be the newer Peter Pan (he plays Captain Hook and George Darling, the father). Green Zone, Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter, and The Patriot are all of the movies I have seen him and he does not disappoint.
Alfred Molina: If this year was any proof of how great Alfred Molina is, then I don’t know what else could. He is the redeeming factor in every one of his terrible films. And in his great films, he still steals the show. This year he was in three films in which he did his natural scene-stealing magic: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Prince of Persia, and The Tempest. Other films that he has done that are bad are Dudley Do-right (funny, but bad), Spiderman 2, The Da Vinci Code, and Pink Panther 2. His great films consist of An Education, As You Like It, Chocolat, Luther, and Frida.
Gary Oldman: Most of my friends know that Gary Oldman is my favorite actor. He hardly does any bad films and when he does, he brings his best to make up for the badness of the film. The three most blaringly obvious bad films are The Fifth Element, JFK, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His great performances are too many to say, but I’ll try to give most of them: Air Force One, Harry Potter, Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise, The Book of Eli, Immortal Beloved, Sid and Nancy, and The Professional.
Ryan Reynolds: This man hasn’t made a good movie yet that I have seen. Blade: Trinity, Smokin’ Aces, The Proposal, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are he only four movies I have seen him in and he is fantastic in all of them, but the movies SUCKED! This is why I am so looking forward to Green Lantern because if it is good, then it will be his first great film I have seen him in. But no matter how bad the films are, if you see Ryan Reynolds, you know that he will be good.
Michael Sheen: Like Gary Oldman or Jason Isaacs, I have not seen Mr. Sheen in any bad films. He is on the top of his game in every film he is in, whether it be competing against Helen Mirren in the Queen, or only hearing his voice as the White Rabbit in the latest Alice in Wonderland film, or only seeing him in a few scenes in the latest Tron escapade, he is always acting his butt off. Every time I see Michael Sheen’s name on a movie credit, I have to see it because I know how great this actor is. If you want more movies to see Michael Sheen in, watch The Damned United (greatest sports film ever), Unthinkable, The Special Relationship, Frost/Nixon, Underworld franchise, and Laws of Attraction (a not so great movie, but he and Parker Posey steal the whole movie).
Next time: Actors Who Need To Leave Acting
Saturday, January 1, 2011
My Top 10 of '10
It seems like you aren't a real movie critic without your own top ten list. I have an unusual top ten list for most critics, but I am not like most film critics. And this also has the best performances by both actors and actresses.
Best Movies of '10
10. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8. 127 Hours
7. Toy Story 3
6. Green Zone
5. Shutter Island
4. The Ghost Writer
3. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
1. Inception
Best Performances of '10
10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Tom Hardy for Inception
9. Matt Damon for True Grit
8. Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island
7. Noomi Rapace for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
6. Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer
5. James Franco for 127 Hours
4. Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
3. Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
2. Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
1. Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Best Movies of '10
10. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8. 127 Hours
7. Toy Story 3
6. Green Zone
5. Shutter Island
4. The Ghost Writer
3. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
1. Inception
Best Performances of '10
10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Tom Hardy for Inception
9. Matt Damon for True Grit
8. Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island
7. Noomi Rapace for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
6. Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer
5. James Franco for 127 Hours
4. Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
3. Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
2. Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
1. Colin Firth for The King's Speech
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