In Darkness is a Polish movie set in Nazi-occupied Poland. It's about a sewer worker named Leopold Socha. With all the Jewish people kicked out of their homes and living in the ghetto, Leopold and his friend go into the empty homes and steal everything they can get their hands on. One day, Leopold runs across a group of Jews hiding in the sewers. Rather than turn them in, he agrees to hide them in return for payment.
Is it fair to compare every movie about the Holocaust to Schindler's List? Probably not, but it's hard not to. In this case, we have a man who is not Jewish saving a group of Jews. And at one point, he does make a list. He can only hide and feed a limited number, so he asks them to pick 10 people to be saved (they talk him up to 12, since Jesus had 12 apostles).
Socha has a wife and a young daughter. He doesn't tell his wife about the Jews for a long time, and when she does find out, she is less than supportive. Not because she doesn't like them - earlier in the movie she says that Jews are just like them - but because she is afraid of what will happen to her family. Socha is risking their lives by hiding the Jews.
Like all movies about the Holocaust, there are the requisite number of scenes showing the brutality of the Nazis. At one point, a young Nazi soldier is killed. To retaliate, the Nazis hang 20 random Polocks from the town.
As I said, it may not be fair to compare this to Schindler's List. It's not as good, and the end does not pack the emotional punch that it feels like it should. It also does not really show us much we haven't seen before. But the movie is effective. We feel the claustrophobia they must have felt while being stuck in the sewers. We feel the terror when a Nazi says to Socha "There may be Jews hiding in the sewers. Let's go take a look."
Considering the horror and scale of the Holocaust, there is no end to the number of true stories that can be told about it. This is another one, and it is worth seeing.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Hunger Games - 2 1/2 stars
The Hunger Games is based on a very successful young adult book series by Suzanne Collins. Lionsgate is really hoping this will be as big as Twilight or Harry Potter, and based on advance ticket sales, it probably will be. The studio is already talking about splitting the last book into 2 movies.
Jennifer Lawrence stars as Catnip, er, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives with her mom and sister in District 12, which looks like the same location they filmed Winter's Bone in - a poor area of the Ozarks. This is in the distant future, after some kind of war has destroyed the US and a new nation called Panem has been established. The 12 districts once rose up in rebellion against Panem, and they were defeated. As punishment, every year each district has to send a boy and a girl, between the ages of 12 - 18, to compete in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death and only one can win.
The contestants, or 'tributes', are selected at random during a lottery called the reaping. When Katniss's younger sister's name is called, Katniss volunteers to be taken in her place.
The Hunger Games are not just punishment for the districts. It is the most successful reality show in the country (possibly the only one). It seems like everyone in the country watches it non-stop, and the tributes hunt each other in a forest-like arena with cameras hidden in every tree.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is. Just off the top of my head, I think of The Running Man, The Long Walk, Battle Royale, and The Most Dangerous Game. Nothing wrong with recycling that story idea (just think of how many fantasy stories use The Hero's Journey), but they don't really do anything new or interesting with it.
The first half of the movie was not bad. They introduce a good character in Katniss Everdeen. It's refreshing to see a young female heroine who doesn't need to be rescued and is not sexualized. In fact, she is the one who usually does the rescuing. When the movie starts, we see her sneaking out of her district to hunt for deer. This establishes a few things. She's a hunter who knows how to use a bow, she is daring and resourceful, and her district is very poor. The fact that there is an electric fence to keep residents in shows that theirs is not a free society. I'm not sure the movie explains how she is able to get through the fence without being shocked, but oh well.
When her sister is picked as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. This seems to surprise everyone, which makes us think that this has never happened. That's hard to believe. You would think that if a 12 year old is picked, their older brother or sister (if they have one) would volunteer to take the place of the younger sibling. You wouldn't want to watch your younger brother or sister be killed by an 18 year old.
Anyway, what follows is an hour or so of setup. Katniss meets Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). He won the games some years earlier, and he is going to serve as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta (the boy selected from the same district). They travel by train to the capital city, and it couldn't be more different from their district. Everything is futuristic, the people are happy and well fed, and everyone wears crazy bright colors and ridiculous hair styles. Even the beards are strange, especially the game master Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley).
Katniss observes this like she has landed in another planet. We see everything through her eyes, and it made me wish we got more insight into what the character is thinking. She and Peeta have very superficial conversations. I would think this would be earth shattering for them. They have lived their entire lives in abject poverty, and now they are celebrities in this futuristic city.
They meet the other 22 contestants, and here is another problem with the movie - we don't get to know any of them. It would be really interesting if they became friends, knowing they would be expected to try and kill each other in a few days time. But I think only a few other contestants even get any lines in the movie. By the time the game starts, the only characters we know are Katniss and Peeta.
Once the games begin, the movie starts to have real pacing problems. I started to get bored real fast. There should have been some interesting kills, but except for a sequence involving a hornet's nest, they were pretty disappointing. And since the movie was destined to be PG-13 from the beginning, the violence is muted and mostly off screen. The most violent sequence is at the start of the games, when most of the contestants make a mad dash to a pile of weapons. But this sequence is edited in such a jerky fashion that we don't know who is killing who - not that it would matter anyway, since we don't know any of their names.
It seems like there is a fundamental flaw with this game. The contestants know that they are expected to fight to the death, and only one can win. But what if some of them choose not to fight? What if the last two tributes are on the defense? The best strategy would be to find someplace to hide and wait. You could easily end up with several players hiding and waiting.
Before the games started, the tributes were trying to get sponsors - people watching the game that could send them help while the game is in progress. But it seems like everyone is betting on the games, so wouldn't everyone who is betting send supplies to the tribute they are betting on?
As the game progresses, the game master changes the rules. When Katniss gets too close to the edge, he causes a firestorm to force her back to the middle. But he basically sends her straight to a group of tributes who have banded together, almost ensuring she will be killed. It seems like the game master shouldn't be playing favorites. If he can, then why not do that all the time?
Another stupid thing that happens is when they make the big CGI creatures appear. The creatures chase the last few tributes and all I could think is what happens if the creatures kill all the remaining tributes? The game master is hoping that one will outrun the creatures, but that seems like a big gamble.
Overall, the movie is not bad. It's just disappointing. In order to do this right, the movie should have been rated R. But the studio would never allow that since the movie's target demographic is teen girls. Which is also interesting - when Battle Royale came out years ago, it was controversial because the story is kids killing kids. But for some reason the Hunger Games books are just fine for teens, and so if the movie. Would it really make a difference if we saw more blood? Is that what determines whether its ok for a 13 year old or a 17 year old?
Jennifer Lawrence stars as Catnip, er, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives with her mom and sister in District 12, which looks like the same location they filmed Winter's Bone in - a poor area of the Ozarks. This is in the distant future, after some kind of war has destroyed the US and a new nation called Panem has been established. The 12 districts once rose up in rebellion against Panem, and they were defeated. As punishment, every year each district has to send a boy and a girl, between the ages of 12 - 18, to compete in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death and only one can win.
The contestants, or 'tributes', are selected at random during a lottery called the reaping. When Katniss's younger sister's name is called, Katniss volunteers to be taken in her place.
The Hunger Games are not just punishment for the districts. It is the most successful reality show in the country (possibly the only one). It seems like everyone in the country watches it non-stop, and the tributes hunt each other in a forest-like arena with cameras hidden in every tree.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is. Just off the top of my head, I think of The Running Man, The Long Walk, Battle Royale, and The Most Dangerous Game. Nothing wrong with recycling that story idea (just think of how many fantasy stories use The Hero's Journey), but they don't really do anything new or interesting with it.
The first half of the movie was not bad. They introduce a good character in Katniss Everdeen. It's refreshing to see a young female heroine who doesn't need to be rescued and is not sexualized. In fact, she is the one who usually does the rescuing. When the movie starts, we see her sneaking out of her district to hunt for deer. This establishes a few things. She's a hunter who knows how to use a bow, she is daring and resourceful, and her district is very poor. The fact that there is an electric fence to keep residents in shows that theirs is not a free society. I'm not sure the movie explains how she is able to get through the fence without being shocked, but oh well.
When her sister is picked as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. This seems to surprise everyone, which makes us think that this has never happened. That's hard to believe. You would think that if a 12 year old is picked, their older brother or sister (if they have one) would volunteer to take the place of the younger sibling. You wouldn't want to watch your younger brother or sister be killed by an 18 year old.
Anyway, what follows is an hour or so of setup. Katniss meets Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). He won the games some years earlier, and he is going to serve as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta (the boy selected from the same district). They travel by train to the capital city, and it couldn't be more different from their district. Everything is futuristic, the people are happy and well fed, and everyone wears crazy bright colors and ridiculous hair styles. Even the beards are strange, especially the game master Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley).
Katniss observes this like she has landed in another planet. We see everything through her eyes, and it made me wish we got more insight into what the character is thinking. She and Peeta have very superficial conversations. I would think this would be earth shattering for them. They have lived their entire lives in abject poverty, and now they are celebrities in this futuristic city.
They meet the other 22 contestants, and here is another problem with the movie - we don't get to know any of them. It would be really interesting if they became friends, knowing they would be expected to try and kill each other in a few days time. But I think only a few other contestants even get any lines in the movie. By the time the game starts, the only characters we know are Katniss and Peeta.
Once the games begin, the movie starts to have real pacing problems. I started to get bored real fast. There should have been some interesting kills, but except for a sequence involving a hornet's nest, they were pretty disappointing. And since the movie was destined to be PG-13 from the beginning, the violence is muted and mostly off screen. The most violent sequence is at the start of the games, when most of the contestants make a mad dash to a pile of weapons. But this sequence is edited in such a jerky fashion that we don't know who is killing who - not that it would matter anyway, since we don't know any of their names.
It seems like there is a fundamental flaw with this game. The contestants know that they are expected to fight to the death, and only one can win. But what if some of them choose not to fight? What if the last two tributes are on the defense? The best strategy would be to find someplace to hide and wait. You could easily end up with several players hiding and waiting.
Before the games started, the tributes were trying to get sponsors - people watching the game that could send them help while the game is in progress. But it seems like everyone is betting on the games, so wouldn't everyone who is betting send supplies to the tribute they are betting on?
As the game progresses, the game master changes the rules. When Katniss gets too close to the edge, he causes a firestorm to force her back to the middle. But he basically sends her straight to a group of tributes who have banded together, almost ensuring she will be killed. It seems like the game master shouldn't be playing favorites. If he can, then why not do that all the time?
Another stupid thing that happens is when they make the big CGI creatures appear. The creatures chase the last few tributes and all I could think is what happens if the creatures kill all the remaining tributes? The game master is hoping that one will outrun the creatures, but that seems like a big gamble.
Overall, the movie is not bad. It's just disappointing. In order to do this right, the movie should have been rated R. But the studio would never allow that since the movie's target demographic is teen girls. Which is also interesting - when Battle Royale came out years ago, it was controversial because the story is kids killing kids. But for some reason the Hunger Games books are just fine for teens, and so if the movie. Would it really make a difference if we saw more blood? Is that what determines whether its ok for a 13 year old or a 17 year old?
21 Jump Street - 3 1/2 stars
Finally. After a couple of months of disappointing crap (The Vow, Joyful Noise), here is a really funny movie. Morton (Jonah Hill) and Greg (Channing Tatum) didn't get along in high school. Morton was a nerd with braces who couldn't talk to girls. Greg was a popular jock. They run into each other a few years after high school when both guys are in the police academy.
Morton is struggling with the physical tests and Greg is struggling with the academic tests, so they decide to help each other out. After they graduate, they are assigned to patrol a park. This isn't what either of them were expecting. One day they come across a gang of bikers smoking pot. They decide to arrest them, and let's just say that it doesn't go well. When they finally get one handcuffed on the ground, what they do to celebrate is just wonderful, dumb, and hilarious.
They get assigned to a special division. They are assigned to go back to high school undercover as students in order to break up a drug ring. Because Greg can't remember which fake identity is his and which is Morton's, they end up getting their schedules switched. This means Morton is in drama and track, and Greg is in AP Chemistry. This bit could have been eliminated as it was the least funny thing about the movie.
But there are still plenty of laughs. They are trying to find out who is supplying some new synthetic drug, and one of the funniest bits is where they find out what the drug does to you. There are several stages you go through, and they are all acted out brilliantly by Johnny Simmons in a very minor role. It's no surprise that Morton and Greg will eventually try the drug and go through the exact same stages.
Jonah Hill is funny as he usually is, and Channing Tatum has never been better (except maybe in The Dilemma). Ellie Kemper from The Office is given nothing much to do as one of the teachers, but Ice Cube is hilarious as the stereotypical police captain who is always pissed off and can't say anything without yelling.
This movie was a lot of fun.
Morton is struggling with the physical tests and Greg is struggling with the academic tests, so they decide to help each other out. After they graduate, they are assigned to patrol a park. This isn't what either of them were expecting. One day they come across a gang of bikers smoking pot. They decide to arrest them, and let's just say that it doesn't go well. When they finally get one handcuffed on the ground, what they do to celebrate is just wonderful, dumb, and hilarious.
They get assigned to a special division. They are assigned to go back to high school undercover as students in order to break up a drug ring. Because Greg can't remember which fake identity is his and which is Morton's, they end up getting their schedules switched. This means Morton is in drama and track, and Greg is in AP Chemistry. This bit could have been eliminated as it was the least funny thing about the movie.
But there are still plenty of laughs. They are trying to find out who is supplying some new synthetic drug, and one of the funniest bits is where they find out what the drug does to you. There are several stages you go through, and they are all acted out brilliantly by Johnny Simmons in a very minor role. It's no surprise that Morton and Greg will eventually try the drug and go through the exact same stages.
Jonah Hill is funny as he usually is, and Channing Tatum has never been better (except maybe in The Dilemma). Ellie Kemper from The Office is given nothing much to do as one of the teachers, but Ice Cube is hilarious as the stereotypical police captain who is always pissed off and can't say anything without yelling.
This movie was a lot of fun.
Silent House - 1 1/2 stars
Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen) is staying at a lakeside house with her father and uncle Peter. They are fixing the house up to sell it. While she is inside, Sarah starts hearing strange noises. The windows are all boarded up, so even though it's the middle of the day, the house is dark.
At some point, her uncle will leave and her dad will disappear, so she will be in the house alone. A lot of time is spent following her as she looks around calling out "Dad?" or "Uncle Peter?" Every now and then, something goes boom real loud, or we see a figure standing in the background.
At first we aren't sure - is this a ghost story, or some kind of home invasion story? There is a point where we think maybe someone has been living in the house while it was abandoned. The movie is one continuous take - at least it looks like it was. That's about the only thing the movie has going for it. It isn't enough for a movie to make us jump every 5 minutes or so. There really isn't much of a story here. I found I was bored 15 minutes in, and I couldn't wait for the movie to end.
When we finally find out what's been going on, there are still unanswered questions. And I don't care enough about the movie to invest any time or effort into trying to figure it out. Just skip this one.
At some point, her uncle will leave and her dad will disappear, so she will be in the house alone. A lot of time is spent following her as she looks around calling out "Dad?" or "Uncle Peter?" Every now and then, something goes boom real loud, or we see a figure standing in the background.
At first we aren't sure - is this a ghost story, or some kind of home invasion story? There is a point where we think maybe someone has been living in the house while it was abandoned. The movie is one continuous take - at least it looks like it was. That's about the only thing the movie has going for it. It isn't enough for a movie to make us jump every 5 minutes or so. There really isn't much of a story here. I found I was bored 15 minutes in, and I couldn't wait for the movie to end.
When we finally find out what's been going on, there are still unanswered questions. And I don't care enough about the movie to invest any time or effort into trying to figure it out. Just skip this one.
Friday, March 9, 2012
John Carter - 2 1/2 stars
This movie is kind of a mess. Based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs (who also wrote Tarzan), its about a former Civil War captain who enters a cave, is transported to Mars (known by the inhabitants as Barsoom) and gets involved in wars and battles.
I have never read the books, but from the research I have done, it seems as though the filmmakers took a simple fantasy / sci fi adventure and made it as complicated as they could. They give Carter a backstory, and it takes way too long for him to get to Mars. It seemed like 20 - 30 minutes had gone by before he found that cave.
Once there, he finds that he has powers. Thanks to the different gravity, he can jump like 80 feet with ease. He also seems to be really strong, although the movie isn't consistent about that. One moment he is fighting an entire army off, the next he is held in chains.
He meets a tribe of giant green creatures with 4 arms. They don't trust him at first, then they are amazed by his leaping ability. A little later he meets the human looking people of Mars. He falls in love with a princess and gets involved in some kind of plot to force her to marry her bitter enemy.
There are also characters called Therns. They weren't in the first book, they popped up later in the series, but the filmmakers put them into this movie because there just weren't enough characters or something. It just isn't confusing enough - let's add the Therns from book 5!
Anyway, the Therns can shape shift, they seem to be immortal, they have visited other planets, and they are the reason Carter was transported to Mars. They have some kind of plan to kill everyone on Mars, then Earth was their next target, but I may be mixed up on that.
The movie is too confusing. I had a hard time caring about John Carter, the princess, or anyone else in the movie. The reason movies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings work so well is they have well developed characters we care about, and the story isn't that complicated. There may be complicated things going on around them and many other characters involved, but the main plot is pretty simple. Also, casting a better, more charasmatic actor as John Carter may have helped.
Oh, and the movie is over 2 hours long. It should have been about 90 minutes. I think that's it for now.
I have never read the books, but from the research I have done, it seems as though the filmmakers took a simple fantasy / sci fi adventure and made it as complicated as they could. They give Carter a backstory, and it takes way too long for him to get to Mars. It seemed like 20 - 30 minutes had gone by before he found that cave.
Once there, he finds that he has powers. Thanks to the different gravity, he can jump like 80 feet with ease. He also seems to be really strong, although the movie isn't consistent about that. One moment he is fighting an entire army off, the next he is held in chains.
He meets a tribe of giant green creatures with 4 arms. They don't trust him at first, then they are amazed by his leaping ability. A little later he meets the human looking people of Mars. He falls in love with a princess and gets involved in some kind of plot to force her to marry her bitter enemy.
There are also characters called Therns. They weren't in the first book, they popped up later in the series, but the filmmakers put them into this movie because there just weren't enough characters or something. It just isn't confusing enough - let's add the Therns from book 5!
Anyway, the Therns can shape shift, they seem to be immortal, they have visited other planets, and they are the reason Carter was transported to Mars. They have some kind of plan to kill everyone on Mars, then Earth was their next target, but I may be mixed up on that.
The movie is too confusing. I had a hard time caring about John Carter, the princess, or anyone else in the movie. The reason movies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings work so well is they have well developed characters we care about, and the story isn't that complicated. There may be complicated things going on around them and many other characters involved, but the main plot is pretty simple. Also, casting a better, more charasmatic actor as John Carter may have helped.
Oh, and the movie is over 2 hours long. It should have been about 90 minutes. I think that's it for now.
Project X - 3 stars
This movie is about 3 high school boys who throw a party. Somehow the party grows and grows until houses are destroyed and the SWAT team has to be called in.
Thomas is turning 17, and his parents are going out of town for the weekend. Since he will have the house to himself, his friends Costa and J.B. want to throw him a party. Thomas's parents are rich, the house is huge, and he has a pool. Perfect place for a party. Thomas isn't popular at school, but somehow Costa is able to get the word out to everyone at school.
Before the party, Costa takes his friends to a drug dealer to get some pot. While they are there, for some reason Costa decides to steal a little ceramic gnome from the dealer. Hmm, I wonder if there are drugs in that gnome? I wonder if the drug dealer will turn up late in the movie and want the drugs back?
The movie is filmed in the found footage / POV style we've seen with movies like Paranormal Activity or Chronicle. The movie is supposedly footage filmed by their friend. But the movie doesn't stick to this formula. Sometimes for no reason the movie is filmed like a normal movie. Two characters are having a conversation and the movie cuts back and forth between the two people. When the partygoers are arriving, suddenly the movie cuts to footage filmed outside of the people crossing the street. Why make the movie in this style if the filmmakers are just going to cheat?
There are laughs in this movie, so I am recommending it. I enjoyed the 12-year old security guards that Costa enlists. I also enjoyed the dwarf who is thrown into an over (don't worry, it isn't turned on).
Thomas is turning 17, and his parents are going out of town for the weekend. Since he will have the house to himself, his friends Costa and J.B. want to throw him a party. Thomas's parents are rich, the house is huge, and he has a pool. Perfect place for a party. Thomas isn't popular at school, but somehow Costa is able to get the word out to everyone at school.
Before the party, Costa takes his friends to a drug dealer to get some pot. While they are there, for some reason Costa decides to steal a little ceramic gnome from the dealer. Hmm, I wonder if there are drugs in that gnome? I wonder if the drug dealer will turn up late in the movie and want the drugs back?
The movie is filmed in the found footage / POV style we've seen with movies like Paranormal Activity or Chronicle. The movie is supposedly footage filmed by their friend. But the movie doesn't stick to this formula. Sometimes for no reason the movie is filmed like a normal movie. Two characters are having a conversation and the movie cuts back and forth between the two people. When the partygoers are arriving, suddenly the movie cuts to footage filmed outside of the people crossing the street. Why make the movie in this style if the filmmakers are just going to cheat?
There are laughs in this movie, so I am recommending it. I enjoyed the 12-year old security guards that Costa enlists. I also enjoyed the dwarf who is thrown into an over (don't worry, it isn't turned on).
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Academy Awards preview
The Oscars are on tonight. I'm only doing this for the big categories, but here are my
predictions and who I would pick to win.
Best actor:
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Who will win: Jean Dujardin.
My pick: Gary Oldman. I can't believe Gary Oldman has never won before. But that's beside the point. He delivered a master class on minimalist acting. I thought he was just incredible.
Best supporting actor:
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Who will win: Christopher Plummer.
My pick: since Albert Brooks wasn't nominated, I would pick Christopher Plummer. It was a great performance, and I've never seen him give a performance quite like this one before.
Best actress:
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Who will win: Viola Davis.
My pick: Michelle Williams. She didn't just impersonate Marilyn Monroe. She created a really
interesting character. Her performance was vulnerable and really moving.
Best supporting actress:
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Who will win: Octavia Spencer.
My pick: Octavia Spencer. Her scenes are the ones I remember best from this movie. She just
brought so much life and energy to this performance.
Best director:
"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
Who will win: Michel Hazanavicius.
My pick: Alexander Payne.
Adapted screenplay:
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Who will win: The Descendants.
My pick: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. To take such a big novel and adapt it into a 2 hour movie
is an incredible feat. They kept in everything they needed to, and it worked. There was nothing missing. The movie demands you watch it more than once, and the more you watch it the more it makes sense and the pieces all fit together beautifully.
Original screenplay:
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi
Who will win: The Artist.
My pick: I'm gonna go with Bridesmaids here. A very funny movie, but it would be a good movie even without all the jokes.
Best picture:
"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Who will win: The Artist.
My pick: Since Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy wasn't nominated, I pick The Decendants. The Artist was nice for what it was, but not a great movie. Extremely Loud shouldn't be nominated.
Neither should War Horse. The Help was a good movie, but not a great one. Moneyball was written by two screenwriters, and it showed. Some parts were great, and some were kind of boring.
I really can't believe that with 9 nominees, Tinker Tailor didn't get enough votes to be in there as the 10th. But the night will belong to The Artist. Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, and especially old Hollywood. The Artist is like a love letter to silent film and even the people who didn't love it loved what it was about and what it symbolized.
predictions and who I would pick to win.
Best actor:
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Who will win: Jean Dujardin.
My pick: Gary Oldman. I can't believe Gary Oldman has never won before. But that's beside the point. He delivered a master class on minimalist acting. I thought he was just incredible.
Best supporting actor:
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Who will win: Christopher Plummer.
My pick: since Albert Brooks wasn't nominated, I would pick Christopher Plummer. It was a great performance, and I've never seen him give a performance quite like this one before.
Best actress:
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Who will win: Viola Davis.
My pick: Michelle Williams. She didn't just impersonate Marilyn Monroe. She created a really
interesting character. Her performance was vulnerable and really moving.
Best supporting actress:
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Who will win: Octavia Spencer.
My pick: Octavia Spencer. Her scenes are the ones I remember best from this movie. She just
brought so much life and energy to this performance.
Best director:
"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
Who will win: Michel Hazanavicius.
My pick: Alexander Payne.
Adapted screenplay:
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Who will win: The Descendants.
My pick: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. To take such a big novel and adapt it into a 2 hour movie
is an incredible feat. They kept in everything they needed to, and it worked. There was nothing missing. The movie demands you watch it more than once, and the more you watch it the more it makes sense and the pieces all fit together beautifully.
Original screenplay:
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi
Who will win: The Artist.
My pick: I'm gonna go with Bridesmaids here. A very funny movie, but it would be a good movie even without all the jokes.
Best picture:
"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Who will win: The Artist.
My pick: Since Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy wasn't nominated, I pick The Decendants. The Artist was nice for what it was, but not a great movie. Extremely Loud shouldn't be nominated.
Neither should War Horse. The Help was a good movie, but not a great one. Moneyball was written by two screenwriters, and it showed. Some parts were great, and some were kind of boring.
I really can't believe that with 9 nominees, Tinker Tailor didn't get enough votes to be in there as the 10th. But the night will belong to The Artist. Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, and especially old Hollywood. The Artist is like a love letter to silent film and even the people who didn't love it loved what it was about and what it symbolized.
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