Oscar 2012 - Nominations

Like I said a couple of days ago, I'm back with the nominations for this year's Oscars. I won't spend time on babbling about the reasons I'm dedicating February for this topic (= next weeks I'll detail some of the categories below, not to many because I don't have the time). I brought arguments last year, so if somebody wants a reason .. search my blog. I could do the same for BAFTA but by chance the Oscars are better placed in the calendar for my agenda. So, despite the fact that I was pretty lame in predictions last year :) I'll go on. The whole point here is another one (again, detailed last year). For the beginning, let's start with the nominations then (IMDb links included):

Best Picture:

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Directing:

• Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
• Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
• Terence Malick - The Tree of Life
• Alexander Payne - The Descendants
• Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Actor in a Leading Role:

• Demián Bichir - A Better Life
• George Clooney - The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin - The Artist
• Gary Oldman - Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy
• Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Actress in a Leading Role:

• Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis - The Help
• Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
• Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
• Jonah Hill - Moneyball
• Nick Nolte - Warrior
• Christopher Plummer - Beginners
• Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Actress in a Supporting Role:

• Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
• Jessica Chastain - The Help
• Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
• Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer - The Help

Best Animation:

• Une vie de chat
• Chico & Rita
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango

Original Screenplay:

• The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
• Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo
• Margin Call - J. C. Chandor
• Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
• A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Adapted Screenplay:

• The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
• Hugo - John Logan
• The Ides of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
• Moneyball - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin
• Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy - Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

Best Foreign Language Film:

• Bullhead - Belgium
• Footnote - Israel
• In Darkness - Poland
• Monsieur Lazhar - Canada
• A Separation - Iran

Cinematography:

• The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
• Hugo - Robert Richardson
• The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
• War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

Film Editing:

• The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
• The Descendants - Kevin Tent
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
• Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
• Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen

Art Direction (Production Design & Set Decoration):

• The Artist - PD: Laurence Bennett, SD: Robert Gould
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - PD: Stuart Craig, SD: Stephenie McMillan
• Hugo - PD: Dante Ferretti SD: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• Midnight in Paris - PD: Anne Seibel SD: Hélène Dubreuil
• War Horse - PD: Rick Carter SD: Lee Sandales

Music - Score:

• The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
• The Artist - Ludovic Bource
• Hugo - Howard Shore
• Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy - Alberto Iglesias
• War Horse - John Williams

Music - Song:

• "Man or Muppet" - The Muppets - Bret McKenzie
• "Real in Rio" - Rio - Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett

Sound Editing:

• Drive - Lon Bender, Victor Ray Ennis
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce
• Hugo - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
• War Horse - Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Bo Persson
• Hugo - Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
• Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, Ed Novick
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Peter J. Devlin
• War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson
• Hugo - Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning
• Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Danny Gordon Taylor, Swen Gillberg
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew E. Butler, John Frazier

Costume Design:

• Anonymous - Lisy Christl
• The Artist - Mark Bridges
• Hugo - Sandy Powell
• Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
• W.E. - Arianne Phillips

Makeup:

• Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
• The Iron Lady - Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland

Short Film:

• Pentecost
• Raju
• The Shore
• Time Freak
• Tuba Atlantic

Short Animation:

• Dimanche
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• La Luna
• A Morning Stroll
• Wild Life

Documentary:

• Hell and Back Again
• If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
• Pina
• Undefeated

Short Documentary:

• The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
• God Is the Bigger Elvis
• Incident in New Baghdad
• Saving Face
• The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Ok, that's it for the moment. The first entry for something from above, next next weekend (this means the one from next week) ;)

The Descendants (2011)

Since February is close = soon I'll (try to ..) switch to Oscar mode, I said (as usually ..) to try to take some advance on seeing some title on the possible nominees list. Especially considering (again as usually ..) that I have plenty of work to do in the month to come and I don't see how I'll still manage to do a posting marathon, so again I assume I'll cut a bit from the categories I'll focus on. Getting back to the subject, "The Descendants" just grabbed a Globe for "best drama". I didn't see yet any of the other nominees, which are possible to get also on the Oscars list (we'll see on Tuesday) but I have to admit that I started pretty well.

Remember "Sideways" ? It's a movie from 2004 starring Paul Giamatti, which talking about the Oscars picked one for adapted screenplay. If I were to write a blog entry for "Sideways" I'll summarize the subject to something like "a failed drunken writer takes a road trip of one week in the California wine country along with a buddy who's supposed to get married at return; wanna see what happens ? watch the movie". To say more than the mere context would spoil quite a lot from a feeling (which is quite unique among what I've seen so far) that's created as the minutes pass and the film rolls. Why am I talking about "Sideways" ? Because it's directed and written (well, adapted) by the same guy - Alexander Payne, as is also "The Descendants". And, pretty much the same rule applies. So ... "the first week from the life of a pretty family estranged lawyer, who's forced to take a break from the professional activity and cope with the situation created by the absence of his wife gotten into a coma after an accident; wanna see what happens ? watch the movie". I think it's shorter than the synopsis on IMDb so if it's not enough as a subject description check there. Although I would recommend to discover the rest directly from the movie. Why ? ...

Because, as I was saying, you get a pretty unique feeling that's created along the action that develops, feeling that I didn't met in other cases. I really don't have time at the moment to rack my brains to describe exactly what I'm talking about. First you have the location, or better said "the air" of the location that's maximally exploited. Here is Hawaii, in "Sideways" is the California wine valleys. I wasn't in any of the places, but the way the movies are made = people, places, the "air", draws you that much to that area that gets to be a mic of something that looks familiar with something like "I would plan a vacation there" ( maybe a bit more in "Sideways", especially if you like wine :) ). That would be one aspect, leading actually to the second, which is the .. vacation "scent". I could even say that we are talking about a "summer movie". Meaning that the feeling before is augmented with a sensation of relaxation specific to a holiday, in which you seem to forget that you have a deadline tomorrow, or something to finish doing today, etc. That's in contrast with the fact that the characters on screen get continuously into more trouble. I could actually say that the result is pretty interesting as psychological effect ( well .. at least for me who I'm not completely right in my head :) ), but I'll stop here before I'll start getting completely out of sense.

To be short, everything else that's related to the movie making = soundtrack, cinematography, acting, on top with the directing, is supporting what I tried to describe above. Alexander Payne in my opinion, although I've seen only two of his movies, manages to get the best combination of comedy with drama nowadays as a defined style kept from one title to another. Is something that also Woody Allen keeps doing from I don't know how many years ago but at least for me it's not really working, starting actually to being a bit bored by the same types of dialogues and characters (as in "Midnight in Paris", since we're talking about titles having nomination potential). But well, this is firstly based on personal preference.

That's pretty much about it. The rest of the aspects I'll leave for the entries that will be related to the Oscar nominations, if it will be the case. Speaking about this, I'll come back Tuesday with the list, as every year, after which I guess I'll take a weekend off from posting in order to watch some titles included there so I'll have a subject to write after. Getting back to the current subject, as a final verdict, for me "Sideways" is still the masterpiece. "The Descendants" is good, but I don't see it at the same level. So, considering this, if you didn't see any of them and you want to, I'll recommend to start with the one I'm currently writing about. Otherwise, you might involuntarily make a comparison and to see it lower than it is. On the other hand .. if I give more thought, I assume it's again pretty subjective/personal which of them gets more to your heart.

Rating: 4 out of 5

A Dangerous Method (2011)

I've chosen this poster with a purpose. Two reasons: 1. it's pretty much as .. "dry" as the movie 2. the other main version has upfront exactly the "weakest link" from all the cast. And the cast is in my opinion one of the few reasons for which "A Dangerous Method" doesn't sink into mediocrity ...

I won't spend time telling stories, describing a subject that it's pretty loose. Not that I expected more consistency, and not that this would be a problem - the movie is an adaptation after a book describing a short period (probably keeping a strong element of fiction, I don't really know ...) from the lives of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Or better said the moments when these intersected .. the intersection "point" being a female patient, future disciple, and who is the reference on item 2. above, being interpreted by Keira Knightley .. well, not exactly lame, but far far from something credible. Fortunately, as I was saying we still have the rest of the cast where Michael Fassbender (Jung) and Viggo Mortensen (Freud) deal well enough with their parts to save the movie. I could even mention Vincent Cassel on this actually, with a very short role, because much else to say on the positive side ...

Well .. there is the soundtrack by Howard Shore that can be felt as positive, probably because (except for the actors) you won't feel much else. As I said in the beginning, the movie is "dry". For who has seen something by David Cronenberg (especially the newest productions - "Eastern Promises", "A History of Violence") probably can recognize the same sensation of .. how to say this .. well, again, dry mixed with slow and with an action thread (or subthreads) that either is left somewhere "in limbo", either is cut and patched again after. The difference here is this sensation is kept for pretty much of the movie length. Pretty much from the beginning to the end. I don't know, maybe I wasn't in a good day for a Cronenberg move. Besides this, his stuff is not exactly mainstream = you have to like him, and even then it's not guaranteed that you'll digest everything (same as for others like Lynch, Almodovar, etc). Still, in what I'm concerned, especially for the last period of his directorial activity, I wasn't very dissapointed. From the older productions I don't think I have anything good to say besides "eXistenZ" and "Dead Zone", the rest for me were a bit too disgusting. Especially for this, I would have never thought, considering how "A Dangerous Method" was, that I would get to the point to be tempted to say that maybe a bit more violence, blood, etc ... is recommended .. because the "philosophical" part might be there, but is not that deep to put your brain at work and keep your eyes on the screen.

Rating: 3 out of 5 .. with generosity ..

(.. "big spoiler": because the movie still somehow managed not to bore me completely = it's the type that it seems like telling you permanently that smth will happen soon but it never does)

The Guard (2011)

I got a bad flu and I'm about to go on a smth like 17 hours trip (= end of vacation, goin' back to work) which I hope I'll survive, so I'll try to be short to catch at least two hours of sleep before. Long ago, I've seen "In Bruges". What's the connection with "The Guard" ? Well .. the directors are brothers, Brendan Gleeson is a main character in both, and we have the same dark humor. Sounds promising, doesn't ? Still "The Guard" is not exactly "In Bruges" ...

The subject is built around the above mentioned who acts as a very unorthodox police sergeant, stationed in an Irish village, who gets involved (mostly against his wish) in the most important case in the criminal history of the rural community where he was peacefully patrolling. More exactly, an FBI agent (Don Cheadle) is sent in the area to catch a group of drug smugglers who are planning a transport of half a billion dollars in value (the street price). I'll stop with the story by saying that despite the impression you might get you won't have the typical cop duo from other movies (aka "Lethal Weapon", "Starsky & Hutch", etc) = they don't share much screen time together (at least not as much as the trailer suggests).

The humor is obtained mainly from the contrast to the classic image of the US cop, contrast that's given by the Irish sergeant (along with the local law enforcement people) who is pretty much driving crazy the agent from across the ocean, this one ending up at some point interrogating the horses from a field (more or less seriously) due to the fruitful collaboration of the indigenous population. The result of all this, that makes you think sometimes what would be the definition of "normal" in that area, is the same comic type that we had also in "In Bruges", but a bit more dry I think. As in there, especially since here I didn't get laugh bursts, I couldn't say that the movie is a pure comedy. Without more details, you have enough drama also in it.

As a technical aspect I was pleasantly surprised by several scenes (which I didn't expect, considering the genre and the budget). To observe especially the scene inside the yacht from the end (I can give a plus for that for originality). Since I was telling about the end, I'll conclude by saying that this is the part that made me consider the movie above average = if up to that point you might feel that something is missing (especially if you've seen "In Bruges"), the last twenty minutes save enough to make it worth the time.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Sherlock Holmes 2 (2011) vs. Mission Impossible 4 (2011)

.. or, to have the full titles: "A Game of Shadows" vs. "Ghost Protocol". Why "vs." ? Well, because these had simultaneous release, because though different both are blockbuster action movies, because "the main villain" wants pretty much the same thing, because both are sequels, and .. because it sounds good as a blog post title :p .

In the "Sherlock Holmes" sequel we have a story, or better said a script, that's a bit more "hollywoodish" than the first part. Or at least more close to a James Bond movie. Holmes & Watson have to deal this time with the probably most familiar enemy from the books = prof. Moriarty. Who (light spoiler), after buying weaponry, weapon factories, etc, sets his purpose in life to start a world war that will justify his investment. Well ... If two years ago I was (very) positively surprised by how Guy Ritchie managed to resurrect the classic character, this time the result is not that impressing. This because inevitably you'll compare with the first. If you skipped though the first part, what you'll get is a pretty different stuff from what you usually get to see as an action movie .. + comedy .. + a bit of drama .. + making full use of the times in the end of the 19th century (= you could say also a bit of "fantasy") .. + others.

Even if, opposed to the first part, the mystery to resolve is a bit lost (that's why I allowed myself the spoiler before) the rest is still there. Meaning a mix of all-genres-in-one, garnished with the same top notch acting, the same slow motion effects that reminds of the first John Woo Hollywood movies, the soundtrack that's not that brilliant as the first but still has Hans Zimmer written on it, and probably the most important ... "the British charm" to say so, that's usually found in the more "contemporary" Guy Ritchie productions = starting with "Snatch" as example.

Passing to the other half of this post title, the last "Mission Impossible" starts to suffer from the same issues as the Bond movies (since I was already mentioning them before) = 1. different director, different feeling in the same context with the same main characters 2. you don't have much chance to remember (unless you're not some crazy fan) what and how happened in the rest, but fortunately you don't have too many continuity elements .. although this might apply also to Holmes, but since we only have two parts there it's not the case yet. As a story, as I was saying we have pretty much the same base idea. A villain with some financial resources wants to start a global war, the difference being that in this case the purpose is not to gain money from it, but just pure madness. I won't say more, because I'll spoil the main plus the movie has. And that's ...

For the two hours and twenty minutes it has, you don't feel them. The action, even if it doesn't have much of a subject behind it, it's pretty well built not to bore you with interminabile fights & explosions ( as in "Transformers" ). You get enough variation, from the location setting = the geographical position, up to the actual buildings = Kremlin + Burj Khalifa. You can add to these the elements from the rest of the series = the gadgets & the sidekick team (completely changed this time, although Ving Rhames makes an appearance on the end). Actually, I think this is the most attractive element throughout the whole movie, because if we have had only Tom Cruise as a solitary Ethan Hunt what we'll get would be "just another Bond" clone.

The problem in report to Holmes, is that here on the acting part, if you pay some attention, you'll tend to get you're eyes rolling if you know what I mean. Tom Cruise & Michael Nyqvist (the bad guy) are ok. But for the rest ... if I was saying about the sidekick team ... we have a mix of the same Jeremy Renner from "Hurt Locker" (= pure drama role), the same Simon Pegg from "Hot Fuzz" (= pure comedy role), and a Paula Patton who I didn't see until now anywhere, but who I'm not sure I want to see from now on (at least not for her acting skills). In the end though, the result is tolerable, the reason being .. the directing = Brad Bird. If it doesn't sound familiar, he is the same guy behind .. "Ratatouille" & "The Incredibles" from Pixar. And the part with tolerable doesn't mean it's an exceptional directing, but just the fact that it has a sort of the same cartoonish atmosphere (actually it's like a sort of "The Incredibles" in a more serious tone), atmosphere that justifies some overacting here and there.

So .. since I already wrote a lot :) and I don't have many ideas left, what can I say as a short conclusion is that both titles are perfect as "holiday movies" = just plain entertaining fun .. even if there is some difference in the overall quality between them ..

Rating:
SH 2 - 4 out of 5
MI 4 - 3 out of 5