Oscar Guesses 2011

The Oscars are a few days away, and it seems that this year, like every year, I am horribly behind on seeing the films nominated.  As such, many of my Oscar "predictions" will simply be guesses, based on my gut feelings, and the many articles I've read about each of the films.

Best Motion Picture Of The Year 
The Social Network


In popular media, this film was the forerunner for most of the year.  I have seen this film, and it's good.   The main competition is The King's Speech, and I could easily be wrong.  But it's The Facebook Movie.  I bet all of the Oscar panel uses Facebook, probably while picking the winners.

Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
James Franco - 127 Hours

A trusted friend of mine told me that this movie changed his life.  He was probably lying, but it's a big compliment for Franco.   Also, I haven't seen this, but I'm pretty sure if he carries the entire film being trapped under a rock, he out-shined his co-star [the rock (a large stone, not Dwayne Johnson, but he could easily outshine both)], and will likely be praised for it.

Best Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
Natalie Portman - Black Swan

I haven't heard any hype for anyone else on this list, and Portman's name and scary make-up eyes have been posted EVERYWHERE this year.  She's come along way from playing Princess Amidala.

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
Christian Bale - The Fighter


When I see Christian Bale in The Fighter's trailer, and he looks like he lost 50 pounds since he played Batman, I confuse it with great acting and think he's really playing that super skinny guy.

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role

Amy Adams - The Fighter


I'll see you in Mickey's corner!

Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year
Toy Story 3


I think Toy Story 3 has this one locked down.  If Toy Story wasn't such a popular and well loved franchise, then I'd say How To Train Your Dragon might have a shot.  But Toy Story 3 pulls on all those heart strings, and I think that will push it right over the edge.

Best Foreign Language Film Of The Year
Biutiful


As of voting, it was the only one on the list I had heard of.  Guess I need to get out more.

Best Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan


Of the directors and films listed, I think the concept of Black Swan + Darren Aronofsky is the best formula.  David Fincher is an excellent director, however I think Aronofsky will just bring that "extra umph" to get the trophy.  Personally, I've never been overly in love with the Coen Brothers, and haven't seen anything by the other 2 nominees.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen
The King's Speech - David Seidler


The King's Speech is going to bring home a lot of trophies, and if you notice I didn't pick it for anything.  Well, here you go.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced Or Published
The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin

I clicked the thumb's up.

Jumping The Broom (2011)

Due to the vast popularity of my blog (or my fiancee being a member of a website and getting selected, but hey, we all know which it really was) I was invited to a preview sceening of Jumping The Broom, scheduled for a Mother's Day 2011 release.

The movie focuses on two families, the rich, upper class bride's family, and the more blue collar groom's family, and the differences in culture and expectations of the two. Hilarity ensues. Loretta Devine delivers a great performance, as the postal worker mother who is a little lost in Martha's Vineyard.  Her overprotective nature and mistrust of the bride's family sets up most of the film's jokes. Since it's likely that you haven't seen the film yet, I won't ruin any more of the plot.  There isn't anything particularly novel in the film's story, and you may feel like you have seen the story before.  I appreciated that the writers kept the story grounded, instead of adding a "crazy plot twist" or any "zany antics" to spice the story up.

One of my favorite aspects of the film was the relationship between the main character Jason (Laz Alonso), and his friend Malcolm (DeRay Davis). It takes a very different path than I am used to, and I enjoyed the way it played out.  Malcolm slightly reminded me of some of the people who I have known, and trust me, that isn't exactly a flattering statement.

I laughed out loud several times, and the audience laughed more.  I also heard several comments about the attractiveness of the male leads, so if that's your game, buy a ticket.  If anything, at least find and watch the trailer.  The joke about the shirt is enough to get a laugh.

Overall - 8/10.  If you enjoy Rom Coms, or comedies in general, see it.  If you require your films to have a minimum of three explosions, you may want to pass.

Skyline (2010)

Ever seen something that was so horrible that you couldn't take your eyes off of it?

Well, if you want to experience that feeling again, watch Skyline.  Seriously.

The most recognizable actor in this movie is Donald Faison, the guy who played Turk on Scrubs.  The main character is played by Eric Balfour, who I didn't recognize, but he has a lengthy filmography on IMDB, most of it TV work.  His girlfriend is played by Scottie Thompson, who's only other credited film role was Nero's Wife in Star Trek(2009).  Yes, Nero's wife... the hologram on screen for all of  fifteen seconds or so.

This movie has alot of the sci-fi horror cliches down -

You sleep around? You get killed.

You are a minority? You get killed.

You are military? You get killed.

The aliens motivation is completely implausible.  They need human brains to reproduce.  Apparently, human brains must be pretty prevalent throughout the universe, because their society has managed to thrive to the point they have massive space ships and can travel the universe.

Do you want the plot synopsis?
People run around on/in the building.  That's it.  There is no real overarching storyline, basically they run around and are picked off one by one.  And all I want to say about the ending is that sudden plot twists only work if they have some basis in sanity.

My vote: 3/10.  Sadly, I have seen worse.  This film is a good example of how spending most of your time/budget on special effects can make a visually pretty, however HORRID film.  Unless you want to laugh at it, don't waste your time!

Terminator Salvation (2009)

The fourth film in the Terminator franchise gets one compliment from me from the beginning... it's better than the third.

Alot of films were better than the third.  I think I have made better films on my droid  than the third.

Other than that, I didn't find too much to love in Terminator Salvation.  Here is a bulleted list of what I enjoyed:

• Christian Bale didn't use his raspy "Batman voice."

And here is a bulleted list of what I didn't enjoy:

• The plot.
• The characters.
• The scene where Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) says "do you see that red? it represents blood.. yada yada", yet the scene is filmed almost entirely in a colorless gray sahde and there is no red to be seen anywhere.
• At no point did Anton Yelchin say "wessel".  Several times he was in scenes with wessels, and failed to say it.

I appreciated the frequent references to previous Terminator films, but it made me wish I was watching the other films.  This film simply lacks the depth, character development and suspense of the first two films.  

I think it's probably best to leave the Terminator franchise terminated at this point.  Research shows that the production company went bankrupt and was unable to sell the rights, so it seems that fate may work out in our favor.

Overall score: 5/10. 

People have asked why I can bash a movie repeatedly, yet give it a score that seems high comparatively.  Watch Terminator 3, you'll understand.

Morning Glory (2010)

Morning Glory is the best movie I've seen in 2011.  It might also be the only new movie I've seen this year, but that doesn't mean I like it any less.

Morning Glory is the story of Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) and Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford).  Becky is a morning news producer who gets fired from her job due to 'organizational changes', and then "lucks" into the producers job on Daybreak, the morning news show of the fictional IBS.

Daybreak is bottom of the barrel on ratings, and Becky's arrival at the show does little to help.  She immediately fires the pompous co-anchor, leaving the show with just Colleen Peck (Diana Keaton).  Desperate to reinvent the image of the show, Becky finds Mike Pomeroy, a former serious evening news host on contract with the station, and forces him to complete his contract by being anchor on Daybreak.  Pomeroy considers himself to be far, far above this, and goes through the motions of the show, doing his best to be as least helpful as possible.

I have seen Ford's performance viewed negatively by critics, but I think he nailed it. He plays the pompous, uncaring Mike Pomeroy perfectly.  Other than Indiana Jones, I haven't seen many recent Ford films, but I hope that his voice in this film was acting, and not a permanent change.  If so, I feel sorry for him.  I enjoyed McAdams performance as the hyperactive yet awkward Becky as well.

The film takes a hilarious turn as Daybreak is almost cancelled, and Becky pulls out all the stops to get the ratings up by deadline.

As a simple comedy, Morning Glory succeeds greatly.  I have read reviews of it bashing it for not giving a harsher criticism of morning TV, or the entertainment industry.  But why? Why would you condemn a movie for not being something that it isn't?  At no point while watching did I get the impression that I was watching a satire on the news industry.

Overall, I give Morning Glory an 8/10.  Very entertaining, solid performances, and one of those movies that you feel good after watching.

THX 1138 (1971)

It seems that "updating" his films is a standard practice for George Lucas.  Before watching THX 1138, I thought that Lucas had kept his tinkering to just the Star Wars films.  Further research has shown that the original theatrical version of THX 1138 isn't even available on DVD. I'm not surprised.

The film focuses on the character of THX, and his life in a underground futuristic society.  We aren't told much about the society, except that everyone has a specific assigned job, sex is outlawed, individuals use drugs to manage their emotions and mental stability, and laws are enforced by robotic guards.  We aren't told any of the 'why' for these things.

THX lives with his female roommate LUH, who has decided to break free from the drugs affecting her.  She begins swapping out THX's drugs, so that he too can be free.  After an initial sickness, THX likes the mental freedom, and he and LUH hook up.

Being off his drugs causes THX to screw up his work, dropping a small 'yellow cylinder of doom' on the floor, which threatens to destroy a chunk of the city.  About this time, THX is put into a weird mental state by the government, as they have caught on to his illegal connection with LUH.  Eventually they release the hold, and THX picks back up the yellow cylinder, and the explosion is avoided.

THX is thrown into prison for his crimes of sexual perversion and drug evasion.  He is apparently put in the same cell with LUH, and they proceed to get their perversion on.  I don't quite understand how this happens, as it seems society would be a bit smarter by then.

The robot guards show up, and THX is beaten and then thrown into a cell with a bunch of men.  He eventually escapes with the aide of another prisoner, runs into a third prisoner, and a long chase scene happens.  The chase scenes seem to be the ones that Lucas chose to update, as CGI abounds in these scenes.

Eventually, THX is alone, and almost caught by the robot guards.  But guess what?  Apparently the chase is "over budget", and THX is allowed to escape.  I could be wrong, but I think the only references to money in this movie are in relation to the escape.  

Overall, I wasn't super impressed with THX 1138.  Maybe I was expecting more from a supposed 'sci fi classic', but I should have known better with George Lucas.  I can tell from the "upgrades" made in this director's cut that Lucas was once again likely more focused on having pretty action scenes than with enhancing his story, characters or plot. 

Overall - 7/10.  I'm sure the original was better, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas went back and made a version I would give a 6/10.

You Again (2010)

Have you ever had the feeling leaving a theater that a movie was fantastic?  Then, the next morning while brushing your teeth and shaving you realize that you were mostly wrong about those feelings?  That's what happened to me with You Again.

My initial reaction to this film was that it was funny.  I'll admit it, I laughed, a lot.  But laughter does not a good film make.  I don't think I'll be as harsh on it was Richard Roeper, who called it one of the worst films he'd ever seen.  Believe me, I've seen worse.  D-War anyone?

The movie revolves around Marni (Kristen Bell), who was an ugly duckling in high school, however blossomed into a beautiful swan in life.  She finds out her brother Will (James Wolk) is marrying the girl who bullied her relentlessly in high school.  Joanne (Odette Yustman) has supposedly changed her ways, however Marni sees otherwise, and sets out to ensure that Will doesn't fall into her trap. When meeting with her family to celebrate the wedding, we learn that Joanne's aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) bullied Marni's mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) in high school.  We now follow dual plots of each of the oppressed attempting to one up their oppressors.

The problem with the film is that the plot just simply isn't there.  The movie moves along for most of the middle act as if it were a Saturday morning cartoon, just showing random scenes of competition between the ladies, with no real significance.

I feel the need to also mention Betty White.  Betty White has had a resurgence of popularity lately, and I think it is well deserved.  My problem in the film here is that Betty White is playing the same "character" that she has been playing for the past year. She's flirting with young men, saying dirty things, the usual.  I don't blame her for repeating a winning formula, I mean look how much money Will Ferrel has made doing nothing but yelling loudly and acting like an idiot over the past ten years.  But in You Again, I felt like when Betty White came on screen, I was suddenly watching a SNL re-run.

The movie comes to a fairly standard Hollywood Ending, one that I found to be hokey while watching, and twice as hokey when thinking about it later.

Overall, I gave it a 6 out of 10.  I laughed out loud a lot.  Not snickers but laughs, and I give bonus points for that.

By the way, did everyone catch the mini-reunion of Step By Step in this movie?
I caught two in the theater, but IMDB trivia pointed out there were three cast members.  I would have loved to have noticed it then, but You Again just isn't worth another viewing to see for myself.