Sunday, February 27, 2011

Oscars 2011

Another film year has come to the end. Tonight The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will award the Oscar in 24 categories. For years now, I have used the list of nominees as a "must see" list of film leading up to the ceremony. Of the 56 films nominated, Ive seen 42 (foreign and short films are tough to find). A good year.
Here are my picks for the winners tonight. Gotta go pop the popcorn, dust off my tiara and tune in tonight, enjoy!

Best Picture The Social Network
Lead Actor Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Lead Actress Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Supporting Actor Christian Bale-The Fighter
Supporting Actress Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Director David Fincher - The Social Network
Cinematography True Grit
Sound Editing Inception
Sound Mixing Inception
Visual Effects Inception
Art Direction Inception
Costumes The King's Speech
Makeup The Wolfman
Original Score The Social Network
Original Song We Belong Together - Toy Story
Animated Feature Toy Story 3
Foreign Language Feature Incendies
Documentary Feature Exit Through the Giftshop
Adapted Screenplay The Social Network
Original Screenplay The King's Speech
Film Editing The Social Network
Documentary Short Poster Girl
Animated Short Day & Night
Live Action Short The Crush

Saturday, February 12, 2011

For Colored Girls

For Colored Girls is a narrative with dialog that incorporates the poetry of Ntozake Shange. The intertwining stories of nine women and their struggles with life are all different, but find a common voice. When you surrender to the poetry when it appears in the dialog, this becomes a deep theatrical experience. The performances are outstanding. I was surprised by how much I liked this film, I would watch it again.

Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Activity 2 is a prequel to Paranormal Activity. Another good suspense thriller with many startle moments. I would not recommend this film for parents of young children, the involvement of a baby and teenager are disturbing.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Biutiful

When a man is diagnosed with a terminal disease, he faces many a dilemma. In Biutiful we watch this man struggle to provide for his children, a dysfunctional wife, a band of illegal immigrant workers and underworld black marketers. Touching, violent and gritty, this one is worth a look.

The Illusionist

The Illusionist tells the story of a magician who befriends a young girl, and they both grow with each other's help. The art is lovely, the characters are endearing and the story unfolds with almost no dialog. Clever, artful and sweet. A short scene at the end of the credits is worth waiting for. I understand the Oscar nomination.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

And Everything Is Going Fine

Steven Soderberg has taken a series of clips of Spalding Gray and fashioned them into a film in which Gray tells his own life story. And Everything is Going Fine takes this fascinating editing, and lets a man tell his story of childhood, adolescence, career and relationships himself. Very touching and effective.