The Reader: Very good, not great.

To say this film deserved the elusive Best Picture nomination, is incorrect. The Dark Knight was a better film in almost all respects. Alone, The Reader is a very good film. It's one of the few films I can truly describe as drama, alongside Atonement and The Pianist. The direction here by Stephen Daldry was also very good, and that anticipates me more for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The story describes of a young boy, Michael. Coming home from school, he purges, but is assisted by Hanna. Diagnosed with Scarlet Fever, he remains sick for three months. To thank Hanna, he brings her flowers, and catches her in the act of dressing. Hanna later asks Michael to bring him two buckets of coal. He comes home a mess, and Hanna bathes him. It ends with them, both seduced, having sex.

Together they have an affair. After reading to her, Hanna demands Michael to read first, than make love. Suddenly, Hanna leaves. Nine years later, Michael is a law student and Hanna is on trial for Nazi war crimes. And, Michael discovers a dark secret about Hanna, one that was in his face during their entire affair.

To say the acting was OK is an understatement. Winslet delivered a very sexual, unique, and powerful performance, while Finnes had a lesser, more subdued role. I'm happy Winslet won the Oscar for this, but she deserved much more for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My main problem was with the kid, David Kross. His performance was too forced during quiet scenes, and too loud during quiet scenes. Perhaps he wasn't experienced enough. But if I were to pick a quality in the film as a coherent whole, it would be the music. The piano music is high, mighty, and adds wonderful atmosphere. I am amazed how well this film would go with Atonement, another WWII drama. It's too bad composer Nico Muhly wasn't nominated for his work on this film.

One of my main problems was the clunky time shifting. Though the beginning felt smooth with Nico Muhly's music, scenes from Kross to Finnes and back again were rugged and slurred the plot together. The film could've been much better if the time shifting narrative was more seamless or if the sequences were chronological.

All in all, I give this film a solid recommendation, but it's not without it's flaws.


VERDICT: 3 Stars/4

The best films from 2000-2009: Happy belated end-of-decade!

I was unable to see J. Edgar over the weekend, due to Finals. Now I highly doubt I'll ever see it, due to The Descendants, The Muppets, Hugo, and The Artist all coming out within the next 2 weeks. Instead, I made a top 15 films from the past decade, because... I really don't know why...


1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Juno
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up in the Air
6. The Departed
7. Million Dollar Baby
8. Lost in Translation
9. Up
10. Atonement
11. Avatar
12. Little Miss Sunshine
13. Borat
14. Slumdog Millionaire
15. Ratatouille 

Oscars 1977: What should've happened...

I love 2 movies that came out in 1977: Annie Hall and Star Wars. Even though I personally like Star Wars more, Annie Hall won and deserved it. It was funnier, wittier, and more Oscar friendly. What was great about Star Wars was that it won more total Oscars than Annie Hall. In the end, they were both winners! All in all, I am 100% happy on how Oscars 1977 turned out.

My updated predictions: I never really liked Dustin Lance Black.

In my post about J. Edgar's tomato-meter, I said that I would remove J. Edgar and put in Young Adult. I've also done some other changes. There's not too many, really. I plan to see J. Edgar over the weekend.

BEST PICTURE:
1. The Artist
2. The Descendants
3. War Horse
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
5. The Tree of Life
6. Moneyball
7. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
8. Young Adult

BEST DIRECTOR:
1. Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
2. Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
3. Steven Spielberg (War Horse)
4. Michel Hazanvicuis (The Artist)
5. Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)

BEST ACTOR:
1. George Clooney (The Descendants)
2. Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
3. Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
4. Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
5. Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)


BEST ACTRESS:
1. Viola Davis (The Help)
2. Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
3. Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
4. Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
5. Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
2. Brad Pitt (The Tree of Life)
3. Albert Brooks (Drive)
4. Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
5. Patton Oswalt (Young Adult)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Octavia Spencer (The Help)
2. Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life)
3. Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
4. Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
5. Sandra Bullock (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1. Midnight in Paris
2. The Artist
3. The Tree of Life
4. Young Adult
5. The Iron Lady


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
1. The Descendants
2. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
4. Moneyball
5. War Horse

Oscars 2012: Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner, and The Muppets.

Producing the Oscars...
a chance of a lifetime.

Was Brett Ratner the best choice? Recently, Oscar telecast producer Brett Ratner has stepped down. I bet he's been under stress, after claiming he's had sex with Olivia Munn, and claimed that "rehearsing is for fags". He might not have been the best director/producer (Tower Heist) ever, but against Eddie Murphy, he was the right choice. Oh well. Did I mention he had a homophobic slur that included the f*** word?


UPDATE: After pal Brett stepped down as producer, Eddie Murphy has stepped down as host. I've never been a big fan of the guy, but I don't have an opinion on it. But hey Letterman! They have a spot ready for you!


Brian Grazer has now been chosen as the new producer. Also, there was a brand new Twitter revolution. Who better to host the Oscars than The Muppets! I liked the idea quite a bit, but it might get old fast, I don't know how entertaing The Muppets could be for 3 and a half hours. Hey, but their movie looks good, right?


Billy Crystal is hosting. Again! For the bajillionth time! Yay....?

The fall of J. Edgar: Just like in real life!

It is Sunday. The best day in the whole year. Why? Extra hour of sleep from daylight savings!


But, My Oscar ballot had to let go of Clint Eastwood.


His new film, J. Edgar, currently holds a 44% on Rotten Tomatoes. Only 9 people have commented on the movie, and the tomato-meter can drastically change.


3 weeks ago, Anonymous, held a mighty 100%. Currently, it has a 45%. In the beginning, Winnie-the-Pooh had a 70%, but now has a derserving 91%. I hope the same happens for J. Edgar.


Now my Oscar ballot will include Reitman's Young Adult. The Tree of Life will also go up a notch on the indieWire prediction chart, so that will be good, too.


As for the AFI fest. So far, the true trash-to-treasure (not really trash in the first place,) is Martin Scorsese's Hugo. Current reviews praise the 3D effects and its ode to classic cinema. Keep track for my review on Hugo, J. Edgar, The Artist, and possibly The Descendants in the coming weeks.

Back to Backers: Best movies to watch, back to back

As a newer child concieved in a technological generation, I have seen many more 2000 movies than ones from the prior century. However, I still include films from the past on this list from that period. Here goes!

INDIE GOLD:

Film 1: Little Miss Sunshine
Film 2: Juno
You can always add: Punch-Drunk Love

IT'S NOT IMPRISONMENT, JUST GOOD FILMS:
Film 1: The Shawshank Redemption
Film 2: The Green Mile
You can always add: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

CHAPLIN:
Film 1: Modern Times
Film 2: The Great Dictator
You can always add: The Kid

SCORSESE, SET 1:
Film 1: Taxi Driver
Film 2: Raging Bull
You can always add: GoodFellas

SCORSESE, SET 2:
Film 1: GoodFellas
Film 2: The Departed
You can always add: Taxi Driver

90'S CRIME TIME:
Film 1: GoodFellas
Film 2: Pulp Fiction
You can always add: Fargo

BACK IN THE DAY-LEWIS:
Film 1: Gangs of New York
Film 2: There Will Be Blood
You can always add: The Age of Innocence

2007, A MOVIE ODYSSEY:
Film 1: No Country for Old Men
Film 2: There Will Be Blood
You can always add: Atonement