Typing About Movies

Since the Oscars are coming up, I should knock out the reviews I have pending that are actually in Oscar races.  Our first entry is the “based on a true story”" movie, The Blind Side.  The story centers around Michael Oher, a homeless  teen, who is taken in by a family in Mississippi.  What follows is his discovery of football and attempt to get into college via football scholarship.

Sandra Bullock plays the mother in what will turn out to be the performance of her career.  The only cosmetic change was a bleaching of the hair.  What we get on-screen is a caring woman deciding to do the right thing, regardless of what others may think.  Bullock almost didn’t take this role until she met the family.  Given her rollercoaster career of mediocre to bad movie choice, one can only wonder what she turned down that would have been great.

While The Blind Side is nominated for Best Picture, it was not a top-10 movie for 2009.  This is a made-for-tv-like movie that got a big screen treatment because of Bullock and is better than expected because of an unbelievable performance.

My advice:  Check it out if it is still playing in your area; otherwise, get the DVD.

Well, Oscar nominations were announced a few days ago and I am still mulling over the choices.  I liked most of the nominations, but still can’t believe the power James Cameron seems to hold over Hollywood?  Avatar was definitely a technological wonder, on par with how Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Lord of the Rings changed movies during their time with effects.  The story, while decent, was flimsy when compared to the other nominees.

But I am getting ahead of myself….

For each category, I will give my thoughts and picks (yes, I am committing them a month early).  I will save the big categories for last – that’s right, I am a mean writer….

 

The categories I know nothing about

The two Documentary categories and the Foreign Languages category will have to do without my witty thoughts.  I know nothing about the nominees, therefore it would be wrong of me to speculate.  The same is true for the two Short Film categories and the Costume Design Category.

Cinematography

More than likely Avatar will win this one, but Inglorious Basterds did a great job in capturing the look and feel of Nazi Germany without resorting to fancy tricks.  Harry Potter has the same old feel and The Hurt Locker looks like any other modern Middle-Eastern war flick.

Most Likely:  Avatar

Who I Want: Inglorious Basterds

Art Direction

Again, Avatar is the strong favorite.  I liked the look of Sherlock Holmes, but it was nothing extraordinary.  Nine has to overcome a high bar because it is a musical, so everyone expects a spectacle.  I could see an upset here with Doctor Parnassus sneaking in.

Most Likely : The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Makeup

Star Trek will walk away with this one.

Visual Effects

Only three films nominated and all are sci-fi/fantasy.  Any other year and Star Trek takes this one.  But once again we have the buzzsaw of Avatar.

Most Likely:  Avatar

Who I Want:  Star Trek

Sound Editing

All 5 movies are strong candidates.  I do like the inclusion of an animated feature.  This is one that Avatar will have difficulty in winning, which is fine.  It can lose some of these races.

Most Likely:  The Hurt Locker

Who I Want: Up, but it is close with Star Trek

Sound Mixing

Again, all strong nominees – well, maybe all except Transformers, which was as bad on the ears as it was on the other 4 senses.  Again Avatar walks away empty-handed.

Most Likely:  Inglorious Basterds

Who I Want: Star Trek, but IB is not a bad choice

Original Score

This is a very tough category.  For me, it comes down to the two animated features.  Fantastic Mr. Fox had a quirky whimsy to it, but Up is more timeless.  If Avatar wins this one, then Cameron has sold his complete soul.

Most Likely: Up

Original Song

Disney has been missing from this category over the past few years, but I am not sure that even Randy Newman can help them grab the gold.  That said, Disney is about the only thing that could derail Crazy Heart.

Most Likely:  Crazy Heart

Screenplay Adapted

This is really a 2-dog race between Precious and Up In The Air.  The gold will go to Up In The Air as consolation for not winning anything else.

Most Likely: Up In The Air

Poised to Make an Upset: Precious

Screenplay Original

I see a dark horse rising with The Messenger or A Serious Man.

Most Likely:  The Messenger

Who I Want: Up

Supporting Actress

Mo’Nique is the heavy favorite and also satisfies Oscar’s desire to recognize someone not usually nominated.

Will Walk Away:  Mo’Nique

 

Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz is the safe bet, but I see a dark horse.  Woody Harrelson has gotten  a lot of good press for The Messenger, but suffers from visibility.

Most Likely:  Christoph Waltz

For the Steal:  Woody Harrelson

Leading Actress

Sandra Bullock is riding a wave that is almost unstoppable.  Even if it is Meryl Streep that wins, this will be a huge upset if Bullock’s name is not read.

Will Walk Away:  Sandra Bullock

 

Leading Actor

Jeff Bridges finally gets rewarded for his career.  Tough break for all of the other candidates.

Will Walk Away:  Jeff Bridges

Directing

This is where the ex gets revenge.  One can only hope that James Cameron has no blackmail material on the voters.

Most Likely:  The Hurt Locker

Proof of No Backbone in Oscar: Avatar

Animated Feature

While I love Up, its spot should have gone to Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.  Then Mr. Fox would have won this category.  But there is no way Oscar goes home with anyone in this category except Pixar.

Most Likely: Up

Best Picture

Thankfully, this is not a lock for Avatar.  The Hurt Locker is building momentum.  However, both should watch out for a Crash-like outcome from Precious.  Of course, I would love to see either of the Up movies win.

Most Likely:  Avatar (arrrrrgh)

Most Likely Upset: The Hurt Locker

Who I Want: Up or Up In The Air

 

So there you have it – my picks, as determined while sitting in an airport.  Cameron could have a Titanic-like night in one of two ways.  Way one is realistically with winning Oscar gold.  The figurative way is to walk away with only technical ones, thus “sinking” his dreams.  While many experts are putting stock in the fact that Avatar has no acting or writing nominations, one should be careful.  After all, Titanic had 11 nominations and only 3 wins, none coming from acting or writing.  Oscar would do itself a disservice to rehonor a film we saw in the early 90’s when it was called Dances With Wolves.

But, then again, look how long it took Martin Scorsese to earn Oscar Gold….

If you televised an awards show and nobody watched, would movie studios strike outside?

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had their annual awards dinner to honor actors and casts for movies and television.  TNT and TBS aired the show simultaneously, with TNT reairing it 2 hours later.  I wish I could say it was fun to watch, but it was somewhat boring.  Here were the highlights:

• Betty White – Much like Scorsese at the Golden Globes, Betty White showed us how to make a speech.  You could see her passion and love for her craft.  As she said, she is 88 years old; it will be a sad day when she passes away.
• Alec Baldwin – This has nothing to do with his speech or award.  During the time he was on stage, I kept flashing on the scene in Team America where they had Baldwin addressing FAG (Film Actors Guild).

Well, I just finished watching the Golden Globes on DVR.  While it had moments, it didn’t seem to have all of the zaniness of past years.  Ricky Gervais did a decent job of hosting, but I kept expecting more from him.  He had some good lines and setups to introduce the presenters.  I was disappointed to see the Globes play it safe and pick Avatar for Best Picture.  Just from the clips shown, all of the other nominees were more deserving.

For me, the highlight was the honoring of Martin Scorsese.  Here is a man whose films I have enjoyed time and again, while marveling at what he brings to light on the screen.  Yet, to hear him talk passionately about the movies made me wonder if he had a bug planted at my table at the Ale House last night when I was saying very similar things to a friend of mine about how I felt about movies.  That entire 15-20 minute tribute/acceptance section made the show for me.

Here’s hoping Oscar realizes that there were many movies out there that were better than Avatar….

Sure, everyone else posted their “top movie” lists for 2000-2009 last month; however, I wanted to do something different and I have it.  Instead of trying to pick 10 movies that to me represent the best of that time period, I would like to reflect upon the massive changes that have occurred.

Technology has had a greater influence on movies and how we enjoy them over the past 10 years than in the 80s and 90s combined.  In the 80s, we were coming out of the home video wars with VHS reigning supreme, and cable was still in its infancy.  ABC, CBS, and NBC would have bidding wars to become the first network to air certain movies that had been released in theaters in previous years.  This would bolster the lineups during sweeps months and everyone loved it.  Cable evolved in the 90s and stole the thunder of the networks by outbidding them to show these movies.  This led to the rise of TBS, TNT, and USA, as they used these movies to help build the channels; other cable channels would start following the same model.  The home video market remained the same for most of the 90s as VCRs became commonplace in homes and Disney started releasing its animation vault on VHS.  Blockbuster became the evil empire that nobody could knock off.  It was also during the 90s that theater admission prices started rising rapidly.  This was due in part to rising cost of movies, but also due to studios making sure they hit their profit margins with some people staying at home.

Towards the end of the 90s, two things appeared that changed the world of film forever: DVD and the Internet.

Sure, studios had experimented with laserdisc, but the price-point was never one that encouraged customers to buy.  After having DVD languish for the first couple of years, the studios tried a new ploy.  They started giving movies away for different promotions.  Buy this DVD player and get 5 DVDs free or buy this DVD and get this one free.  I rapidly built my collection between 2000-2002 using these promotions.  What forced me to go DVD, though, was Disney.  By releasing 6 animated features on DVD for a 6-month period, I was forced to switch to DVD to make sure I got them.  By 2003, VHS was pretty much dead and DVD was now commonplace.  However, the promotions had unexpected effect on Blockbuster – they actually helped reduce business since consumers were now building their own film libraries.

Meanwhile, the Internet was growing.  Not only from the proliferation of websites promoting a movie and websites (like this one) dedicated to talking about them, but from a piracy standpoint.  Why go pay $10 when I can stream it on the computer?  With the advent of digital editing in film, it became easy to leak copies of a movie days and months ahead of release schedules.  Maybe Spielberg is on to something by continuing to insist on editing his films by hand.  From a retail standpoint, Blockbuster never saw Netflix coming.  Allowing consumers to order DVDs at first and then later offer streaming choices, Netflix has made Blockbuster as unimportant as many of the “mom and pop” video stores it once crushed.

The Internet also helped force one of the nastiest Hollywood-based strikes that had ever been seen.  Writers and actors quickly realized that their material was being shown thousands of times more than their royalty checks indicated and studios did not want to cough up the extra profits.  This led to a stand-still that affected TV and movies; thankfully it ended within about 6 months and there was hardly any lapse in product.  The long-term effects are to be determined; the only one I have seen is the sharp rise in ticket prices.

Towards the end of the past 10 years, theaters started adding 3-D options and IMAX options.  I didn’t mind the 3-D – sure it was only $1 more and it added something to the experience.  I do mind now when the up-charge is now $3-$4 and there has been NO CHANGE in equipment or technology.  Then theaters started adding IMAX.  Growing up, IMAX was something to behold – a movie screen 4-6 stories high and a seat so close that you became immersed in the world.  What AMC and Regal have done is unforgivable: charging people an extra fee for an IMAX experience when it is not.  Taking a normal screen and pushing the seats closer does not make an IMAX experience.  Sadly, what will end up killing the theater business, particularly in this economic climate, will be the forcing of these up-charges and the elimination of student discounts.  It is high schoolers and college students that spend the most on movies; by eliminating their paltry $2 discount, the theaters are killing the golden goose.

So what’s ahead for 2010-2019?

I don’t know, but I fear it will include a downsizing of movie theaters as the Internet moves things more and more to the home…

There have been many a time where I have found my self muttering, “…best laid plans of mice and men…”  Of course, this usually after a plan of mine has gone awry.  Things going awry is the perfect theme for this review…

The Plaza Cinema Cafe has been offering select movies for free on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Usually these movies are more “independent” in nature and give an excellent opportunity to grow audiences.  So imagine my surprise when I found them offering 2012 as the “free movie of the week.”  I had been reluctant to spend money on movie, but free tickets will convince me to go.  I got off work around 8:30 on the Thursday that <shudder> Twilight <shudder> was premiering at midnight.  I make my way downtown, park, and head up to get my ticket.  Now the website had said 10:15; I got there around 9:15.  I should have known something was up when they wanted to wave me right in.  Instead I ran across the street and grabbed a couple of slices from Gino’s Pizza (highly recommend).  I wandered back up around 9:45 and was told that the movie had started at 9:00.  Of course it wasn’t posted and the first box office person never said anything.  So they let me go to any other movie starting within the next half-hour for free.  I saw Love Hurts starting and remembered that it had been part of the Orlando Film Festival a week prior.  So, concessions in hand and still no physical ticket, I walked into a theater with only one other patron.

Love Hurts is a story about a man too dense to realize that his marriage is falling apart before it is too late.  What follows is his convoluted path to finding answers to everything.  Richard E. Grant (no relation to Hugh) plays the title character; most might remember him best as the villain in Hudson Hawk.  Carrie Anne Moss, notably absent since the Matrix series ended, plays Grant’s dissatisfied wife.  After attempting to get through to her husband one last time, Moss leaves Grant and move in with her friend played by Camryn Manheim.  This leaves their almost grown son left to pick up the pieces of a man so heartbroken that he wallows around singing (very off-key) Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.”  After a makeover and some lessons on “love em/ leave em” from the son, Grant proceeds to get involved with 4 women (2 being twins).

The director and writer felt the need to make this a mirror story.  As the son coaches the father, the son soon needs coaching in love.  I felt that this was an unnecessary addition to the story.  It also forced a rushed ending that was unsatisfying to those wanting a full story.  The casting of supporting actors was good; I liked seeing Janeane Garafalo appearing on film again and Jenna Elfman did not annoy me this time around.

My advice: check it out on cable if you happen to run across it; even with its flaws, I think I saw a better movie than what I intended on seeing…

When Disney announced in the mid-90s that they were going to start making direct-to-video animation releases, I was not a happy camper.  I felt that the very idea cheapened what the Disney name brought to the field of animation.  Of course it did not help that 99% of these releases were going to be sequels to timeless classics.  That went against what Walt always talked about, which was there should be no animated sequel except for Fantasia.  That said, there are always exceptions.

The Three Musketeers is a familiar tale, and in my opinion, should be required reading for 4-6 graders.  While many versions have been seen on film and TV, none have featured the core characters of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.  The nice aspect of our story is that our heroes are inspired by D’Artagan and his pals versus actually playing those roles.  Mickey  and his pals are rescued as kids by the real musketeers and are inspired to try to become musketeers.  Blocking their progress is our favorite Mickey foil, Pete.  Hijinks ensue as we welcome other favorites such as Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle; even Pluto is there to help out.  Our guide through the story is a turtle who evokes memories of the Allan A’Dale character from Robin Hood.

The truly imaginative part of the feature is the pairing of lyrics to some of the greatest pieces of classical music.  These lyrics help stitch together our scenes, as well as help bring the environment to full color.  I also enjoyed the fact that all of the originals were gathered together for this feature.

The DVD had the typical Disney features for kids.

My advice:  Check this out sometime, even if you don’t have kids…

Charles Dickens is one of those authors that I can not remember a time where I wasn’t reading some version of one of his "big four" novels: A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol.  Given my addictive trends to subjects that I like, it is no surprise that I always found time to watch the various versions of Scrooge’s tale.  One of the earliest versions I remember watching was with Rich Little, who played all of the characters.  I also remember the Henry-Winkler made-for-TV version, An American Christmas Carol.  Of course most of us are familiar with Bill Murray’s comedic vehicle, Scrooged.  About the only version I haven’t seen is the Patrick-Stewart version from 1999.

Now, I usually have a strict policy about not doing Christmas-based stuff prior to December 12-15.  It annoys me that stores and others start pushing it in October and November.  I am always amused that Mom will call me Scrooge whenever I voice this opinion.  It’s not a case of hating Christmas; I just want it to be the same month.

Back to our story…

After leaving EPCOT where I was enjoying the final weekend of the Food and Wine Festival, I realized I had time to catch a late movie at a theater where I had 3 free passes.  So after grabbing my ticket for the 3-D spectacle, I grabbed some concessions and headed to my seat.  Now, I understand that if I go to a "family-friendly" movie in the afternoon or early evening, that I will more than likely have kids in the audience and must have tolerance for them.  After I settled in a mostly-empty theater, three LOUD families walked in and took the seats surrounding me.  First off, what parent thinks that taking under-5-year-olds to ANY movie at 10:30 at night is a good idea? Then you had the teenagers answering and talking on cellphones — yet I get the dirty looks for telling the kid to hang up the phone.  It may take a village to raise a child, but don’t glare at me if you are irresponsible as a parent in teaching your kids manners in a theater and I step in.  Just be glad I didn’t ask the usher to kick you and your family out.

Bah……Humbug!

The movie continues Robert Zemckis’s grand experiment with MoCap (Motion Capture); one he started with The Polar Express.  Jim Carrey is our Scrooge this time around, and is supported by Colin Firth, Carey Elwes, and Gary Oldman.  I love the look of the movie; Zemckis did a great job of capturing Victorian England.  The casting was excellent and the animators did a tremendous job in disguising the fact that the same actor was playing multiple roles (although I still flash-backed at times to the Rich Little special).  This was an improvement over The Polar Express, where audience members were sometimes disturbed by the "creepiness" of the multiple Tom Hanks.

My main criticism is one for animated movies coming out lately.  I love the offering of 2-D and 3-D options; and, for the most part, the 3-D has actually enhanced the movies.  What I am getting annoyed with is the inclusion of scenes that are there purely for 3-D purposes; had it been a strict 2-D movie, much of the scene would have been cut.

My advice:  Don’t be a Scrooge — see it at full price and enjoy it with the family….

I am not a big fan of the horror flick.  I love thrillers and mysteries, but the “blood and gore"/slasher genre has never interested me.  If I end up seeing a movie in that genre, it is because I am with friends that wanted to see it.  Every once in a while I will see one without influence from friends.  After finishing second in the Orlando Shakes poker tournament, I was not ready to head home.  So I stopped by AMC Altamonte to see what was playing – I had two choices:  Zombieland and This Is It.  I chose the zombie flick – Spaldy is having a heart attack somewhere.  I grab a drink and get to my seat as the previews are wrapping up.

Zombieland shows a world overcome with the zombie virus.  Columbus (played by the guy from Adventureland) describes how we got to this state and how he survives via his list of rules.  As we follow him, we meet up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who loves killing zombies and is on a quest for a Twinkie.  Along the way, a couple of girls meet our heroes and make fools of them.  It is good to see Abigail Breslin trying different roles as she grows up from Little miss Sunshine.  Fun and mayhem fill the screen and our eyes over the next 90 minutes as we follow the crew on the quest to find something “normal”.

Woody Harrelson is a perfect choice for his role.  This is probably my favorite role of his since Cheers, and appears to signal a resurgence of his movie career with two more movies due out soon.  There is a brilliant guest appearance from a comedy legend that I refuse to reveal here.  the legend has more screentime than a cameo role and helps remind us that this movie is a comedy at heart.

The gore is most prevalent at the beginning; afterwards it is scaled back some.  There are a couple of points where I am reminded of Woody in Natural Born Killers, and of a scene from National Lampoon’s Vacation.  I liked the visual choice of how the rules are presented to the audience – very cool look.

My advice:  Check it out for some decent comedy and a good, simple story – guess this means I will have to watch Shaun of the Dead….

With any Halloween marathon, you need at least one scary movie; thus we have the final chapter of the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy.  Cop 3 came out 7 years after Cop 2 and eliminated half of the original cast.  The story has Murphy tracking down his boss’s killer to LA and invading a theme park.

I get what they were trying to do from a broad perspective: BHC showed a cop just starting out and making rash decisions; Cop 2 showed some maturity in some of the actions; and Cop 3 would show how he had fully matured and could lead a whole team.  Unfortunately, Eddie Murphy was no longer believable as Axel Foley.  BHC gave him an “everyman” look that matched his character; however the looks in 2 and 3 have shown an actor enjoying success when his character shouldn’t be that slick.  Combine this with jokes that do not work and yet another new director and it becomes painfully obvious that what made BHC work was a combo of director, cast, writer, and producers that needed to remain the same.  You can tell that Paramount does not think much of 3 either since there is only one featurette.  I did think it was interesting that the interviewees knew they had a shaky product based on their answers.

There is a rumor that Cop 4 is being shopped around/developed.  I hope this rumor is false.  Paramount needs to let the series remain “finished” and be satisfied with one great classic.

My advice:  See it only if you are bored or want to do your own comparison – if you hate it, you can’t say I didn’t warn you….