My Thoughts on the 84th Academy Awards

The 84th Annual Academy Awards have come and gone. The (supposedly) best films of 2011 have received their (supposed) honours and now we have the films of 2012 to look forward to for when, this time next year, we get to do the (supposed) same song and dance again. You know, the one where the Academy mainly recognizes mostly well-made yet unchallenging cookie-cutter Oscar bait while creative and innovative genre films, quirky comedies, and blockbusters usually settle for either the technical categories, becoming cult classics, or ignored altogether... you know, supposedly.

At the risk of coming off as some self-righteous hipster movie geek who thinks of nothing but genre films and indie flicks, the last two Oscar ceremonies have been so underwhelming and forgettable. It's not that I've hated the movies that have won or been nominated. On the contrary, most have been very good films worthy of the nominations (and SOME of the wins, but that's another story). Still, the last few ceremonies have been so dull, predictable, and unambitious that it doesn't make for a very exciting night. I guess they had a few reasonable excuses this year. First off, it wasn't a particularly great year for movies. There were some highlights but overall, most of the year's films were pretty forgettable. Secondly, the Academy were caught with their pants down when producer Brett Ratner dropped out of his producer duties and took original host Eddie Murphy with him. In an effort to quickly salvage the problem, they hired veteran host Billy Crystal to take control for his ninth time all while fixing the mess of Ratner's failed try. So... to the Academy's credit, they were in a tough spot. Nonetheless, here are my thoughts on this year's Oscar ceremonies.

The Host :l
Well, I certainly don't blame the Academy for choosing Billy Crystal as the host. Especially when you consider what I wrote in the above paragraph. Not to mention that last year when they took a chance last year by choosing Anne Hathaway and James Franco... only to see it blow up in their faces. After all, after eight previous Oscar hosting duties, Crystal has become such a natural at the gig that he could host in his sleep. Only problem... it kind of looked like he was hosting in his sleep. To his credit, Crystal had a couple of funny moments, the intro video with him was fun to watch, and he's good enough at this gig to make it look easy. Only thing, it wasn't a particularly memorable hosting bit, and I doubt I'll remember much about it in after a few more days go by. Oh well, at least he did a better job than Franco and Hathaway last year... gotta appreciate the little things.

Hugo Sweeps The Technical Categories :)
Consider how every film buff or Oscar spectator was predicting a Titanic-style victory sweep for The Artist, it was nice to see a few other films, namely Hugo, pick up a most of the awards in the under-appreciated technical categories. Oh sure, it doesn't quite make up for the fact that The Artist reigned supreme in the major categories or how Drive was snubbed out of all but a measly sound editing nomination (but that's a rant for another post). Anywho, it was a pleasant surprise to see Martin Scorsese's new masterpiece take home some well deserved victories in art direction, cinematography, sound design, and visual effects. It was another nice surprise to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo get a well-earned statue for editing as well. Like I said before... gotta appreciate the little things.

The Muppets Win Best Song :)
It doesn't quite make up for the fact that The Artist won the Best Score award (but that's yet another rant for later). Nonetheless, this award makes me happy for two reasons. The first reason... because it was great to see a Muppet movie finally win an Oscar. Secondly, it means that Bret Mackenzie (Flight of the Concords) is now an Oscar winner as well. My only bitch about this award... WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE PERFORMED THE SONGS ON STAGE??? Even if they didn't want to go all out with a huge musical number, couldn't they have at least had someone come out and sing the damn songs??? There were only two songs nominated! While we're on that, why were there only two songs nominated? How about the other Muppet songs or Star Spangled Man for Captain America??? Eeesh... nonetheless, this was still a good choice for the Oscar. Once again I must say... gotta appreciate the little things.

Emma Stone and Ben Stiller :)
Seeing Emma Stone's funny Oscar presentation with Ben Stiller was one of the few legitimately charming and funny moments from this year's ceremony. Namely because Stone's perky and natural comic timing combined with a surprisingly straight turn from Stiller played against expectations and got a few decent laughs. I've always said that Emma Stone was one of the most talented young actresses working today... I still stand by that.

The Best Picture Nominees
I was hoping to have a few more paragraphs about things I liked from the Oscars this year... but I'm having trouble thinking of any. So... let's go straight to my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees.

The Artist
The winning film! I'll cover my thoughts on it after I do the other Best Picture nominees.

The Descendants
Really liked this movie! It was nice to see it take a screenplay Oscar, but it would have been nice to see it take a few more. Even though I did like Jean Dujardin's performance in The Artist, it wasn't on the same level as Clooney's in this. Not to mention how Shailene Woodley was inexplicably snubbed out of a performance for Best Supporting actress. I'll have to write out a full review one of these days for this one.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
I'm just going to come out with this... I HATED THIS MOVIE!!! I can't remember the last time I've been so appalled to see a movie on the Best Picture nominee list. Usually, even if I don't like a film nominated for Best Picture, I can understand or somewhat get behind the logic or reasoning of the nomination, even if I don't particularly agree with it. But Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was one of the most pretentious, nauseating, self pandering examples of worthy subject matter turned into a God-awful mess. Oh sure, the 9/11-inspired story might have some important merits and Max Von Sydow's emotional performance prevents the film from tanking completely. None of that makes up for the main character... an annoying and thoroughly unlikable 11-year-old kid. I'll write a full review one of these days... but yeah, I was not a fan of this film.

The Help
This is the other nomination I didn't particularly care for. I wrote a full review for it a few months back if you're looking for a more detailed critique of the film's merits. Ultimately, the movie had a few pros, including some promising ideas, an excellent cast, and relevant subject matter. Unfortunately, the said execution of promising ideas was done in the rough context of the overdone "white saviour" story-arc. Any of The Help's eye-opening portrayals of racism and prejudice are downplayed to provide more development to Emma Stone's character Skeeter, an educated white woman in her early 20s, writing a book that inspires the black maids to stand up against their racist employers. Add in some generic one-note characters and glanced over depictions of important historical events, and it doesn't really work. At least The Help can fall back on the excellent performances of its cast... all of whom really are great.

Hugo
This was on my Top 10 films of the year, ranking at #3. Even though Midnight In Paris (another Best Picture nominee) ranked higher on my list, I would have actually really liked to see this one take the award. It was nice to see it sweep most of the technical awards, but that still didn't change the fact that this got snubbed out of Best Picture for a much lesser film. More than that, it's the fact that both Hugo and The Artist were intriguing homages to classic and silent-era films. Only difference, Hugo was not only more creative, but far more intriguing tribute to the respective era of filmmaking. How so? I'll have to write a review for this one soon.

Midnight In Paris
This was another one of my favorite movies of 2011, placing at #3. It had been a while since we last saw a Woody Allen film, but he came back in glorious form, writing and directing one of the most creative and entertaining romantic comedies in years. It's Woody Allen at his best, with enjoyable performances, a creative concept, witty dialogue, and intriguing insight into our nostalgia-driven society. If either this or Hugo won Best Picture, I would have been a happy film goer. At least it won an Oscar for its screenplay.

Moneyball
I have a feeling that Moneyball is forever going to be remembered as the film that received Jonah Hill an Oscar nomination. I mean no offense to Hill, I mean after all, seeing him make some great dramatic strides in his acting ability is going to help out his career immensely, and hopefully he'll keep picking out some good roles. Still, there's way more to Moneyball than just Jonah Hill's good performance. Its an interesting story based on a real event, Brad Pitt is at his best, and the technical elements are all solid. It's too bad this didn't win any of it's Oscars. Not my personal pick for Best Picture, but I could have lived with it winning if it took the prize.

The Tree Of Life
If you like your films artsy and experimental, this one is for you! For everyone else... good luck. While The Tree of Life can't help but come off as more than a bit pretentious, especially since it's message isn't quite as amazing as it likes to think it is, it's nonetheless a very interesting film. Described as a modern-day 2001, Terrance Malick's experimental portrayal of life, death, and time is certainly different... and I mean that mostly in a good way. By no means a masterpiece like Kubrick's 2001, it's nonetheless a film I recommend simply because it tries something creative and different, even if a bit slow and tedious at times. That and you get some great performances from Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt. Take that as you will.

War Horse
2011 might just be the year of nostalgia-themed movies. The Best Picture winner was a silent film recreated, Hugo was a whimsical fantasy movie about the power of film, Midnight In Paris was a movie about our nostalgic mindsets, and War Horse is a lovingly recreated homage to cinematic epics of the 1940s... much like the movies of filmmaker John Ford. It's by no means Spielberg's best, but the top notch cinematography and technical execution, along with some solid acting, was enough for me. Check it out.

The Best Picture Winner - The Artist :l
Ugh... I never thought I would be so bummed about a film that I genuinely liked winning Best Picture. And again, let me make that clear.... I DID LIKE THE ARTIST. It's a fun and pleasant homage to a classic era of filmmaking... but that's about it. Overall, the film reeks of being good but not great (at least not that great). Oh sure, last year's winner The King's Speech wasn't my pick either, but at least that one could fall back on Colin Firth's top-notch performance. The Artist had one stand out scene where the film broke from being a simple recreation into something truly creative, but otherwise played it safe and took few chances. Is that all it takes to win Best Picture? To recreate a movie? Why haven't we given any Best Picture awards to Quentin Tarantino yet? That guy basically does the same thing... only difference is that he adds some of his own personal flair to give his recreations more artist merit. I mean, War Horse wasn't much more than a recreation of a John Ford movie, why not give that Best Picture. Again, The Artist is a good movie, but like other forgettable Best Picture winners like Shakespeare In Love, How Green Was My Valley, Chicago, or Dances With Wolves... the only thing it's going to be remembered for is being one of the Academy's weaker picks.

Overall
Ugh... I really hope the Oscars get better again soon, because they haven't been really doing it the last couple years. Mediocre picks, forgettable shows, and few surprises. Crossing my fingers for next year.

The Artist - Review

We're a day away from the 2012 Academy Awards, and if any of the rumors are true... we're in for a dull ceremony this year. I haven't posted my full thoughts on the Oscar nominees this year, but in short, I found them kind of underwhelming. Oh sure, there were a few good calls and a couple of nice surprises, but for the most part, the Academy played it safe again with predictable nominees, along with a few "what the hell?" calls while better and more deserving films were given the shaft. Right now the frontrunner for Best Picture is director Michel Hazanavicius' tribute to silent cinema, The Artist. Is it good, great, overrated, a letdown??? Let's look and find out.

As I mentioned before, The Artist is an homage to the classic silent films made in the early decades of cinema. Directed by renown French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius and featuring a roster of talented actors including Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, and John Goodman, the film is shot in black and white with hardly any audio minus the non-diegetic soundtrack.It takes place in the year 1927. Dujardin plays George Valentin, an acclaimed silent film star at the top of his game. During this time, he meets an aspiring actress named Peppy Miller (Bejo), whom he encourages to pursue her passion. Meanwhile, the film industry makes one of it's biggest transitions, from silent cinema to talkies. Peppy Miller succeeds in the transition, quickly rising to stardom, while Valentin fails to adapt, and is promptly forgotten from the public eye. Can Valentin regain his star status or will he be doomed to obscurity as an outdated relic?

You might think that a film like The Artist would be a dream come true for classic film buffs or movie geeks like myself. And you know what, in some ways, it kind of is. To his credit, Hazanavicius' vision to recreate films of the silent era is commendable. In fact, it's loving recreation of such influential films is hard not to admire. The actors' spot-on pantomime performances evoke memories of classic Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton films, the German-Expressionist-inspired cinematography was had great visual appeal, and the background soundtrack was an inspired ensemble of themes that recreates the era's style of music while providing the appropriate mood to the tone of the respective scenes. At the very least, it's a loving recreation that evokes memories of classic films. If you're a classic movie fan, that might be all the convincing you'll need to see this.

Now, let's be reasonable here folks. No matter how much of a cinema snob or classic film buff (and I am one) you might be... you have to admit that The Artist can't help but come off as more than a little gimmicky. Listen folks... I get it. I love movies, I love classic cinema, and I understand how greatly films from the advent of cinema have affected our modern techniques and perceptions of filmmaking. BUT... simply re-enacting styles of a particular era does not a great movie make. For reasons I'll explain in the next paragraph, The Artist rarely rises above it's gimmicky concept... a well-executed gimmick I admit, but a gimmick nonetheless.

If that plot description sounds familiar to you... you're not alone. This film evokes memories of a similar film, Mel Brooks' underrated 1976 tribute to silent movies called... Silent Movie. By no means his best work, it still nonetheless demonstrated his excellent abilities as a comedic writer. His satirical references and enjoyable characters shined through in an often funny and interesting look at the film industry. It wasn't his most dynamic directorial effort, but the script worked where it needed to. I don't know if The Artist took any influence from Silent Movie, but I couldn't help but think while watching it that this concept has been done before. Hell, the story itself is basically a combination of Singin' in the Rain and A Star Is Born without the catchy musical numbers. As result, the film is often entertaining, but not particularly memorable. Nearly every plot point is by-the-book, the ending is predictable, and despite a couple of creative scenes, mostly plays it safe and takes few chances. Entertaining movie? Yes. Great movie? Not really.

I don't want to sell the movie too short. It has some legitimately funny scenes (most of which involve Valentin's dog), a few touching moments, and one particular creative nightmare sequence that gives the movie a bit of an edge. The nightmare features sound creeping into Valentin's life for the first time, and stands out as one of the film's most creative sequences. Had there been more scenes like that, or had the script delved into the psyche of the characters a bit more, this could have been something really special. Hell, I imagine if they took the script of Silent Movie and combined it with The Artist's slick style and direction... this could have been a new classic. As it is, however, The Artist earns the designation as a well made and often entertaining, though predictable, gimmicky, and mostly forgettable homage to a classic era.

I'm definitely giving The Artist a recommendation, but not a hugely enthusiastic one. It's great to look at and fun to watch, but lacks the proper script to make it truly special. The Oscar nominations it received are mostly well-earned, but the thought of this being named Best Picture this year... yeah, I'm not exactly on board for that. See it and judge for yourself.

Top 10 Of 2011

Geez! I really need to spend more time keeping my blog up to date. We're halfway through February and I'm just now posting my Top 10 films of 2011. I apologize folks... this post is way overdue. Granted, I spent most of January catching up on films I didn't get to see when they first came out, but still that's not enough, especially since I missed more than I would have cared to. Here are a few I have yet to see... Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Melancholia, Shame, and a few others. Still, I got most of the year's supposed best offerings... at least enough to provide a reasonable top 10 list for 2011. Without further ado... here are my picks for my personal favorite movies of 2011.

10. Thor
By no means a perfect film, but a damn good summer blockbuster with enough of an edge to make this list. Marvel's depiction of the Norse God of Thunder ran for decades in comics, but this was his first live action feature. Thanks to creative direction from Kenneth Branagh, some sweet action scenes, solid performances from Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston, and an enjoyable story with intriguing characters and a fun sense of humor, we get one of the more enjoyable fantasy-themed action films in recent memory. Can't way to see Thor show up in the Avengers!

9. The Muppets
Just seeing the Muppets make their return to the silver screen was enough to get me excited, but seeing them in a movie considerably more hilarious than I could have expected was even better. Jim Henson's furry creations haven't lost one bit of their quirky sense of humor, mainly thanks an enjoyable script written by Jason Segal. Fourth wall jokes, celebrity cameos, well-timed slapstick, and catchy songs... it's good to have the Muppets back!

8. Captain America: The First Avenger
In the pantheon of the connected Marvel movies, Captain America is probably my favorite. Oh sure, the first Iron Man was great and the sequel wasn't bad, Thor was a lot of fun, and the Incredible Hulk was surprisingly solid. I don't know exactly why, but Captain America just connected with me more than the rest. Maybe it was the campy-retro vibes, the awesome costumes, the solid production design, the well-directed action scenes, or Chris Evans' performance as the titular Captain. Yeah... I dug the hell out of this movie!

7. X-Men: First Class
Okay I swear, this is the last comic book movie on this list! But honestly, how could I not put First Class up here. I dug most of the X-Men movies with the exception of Wolverine (yes, I even kind of liked X-Men 3... even if only somewhat), but I'll admit that all of them had a few notable flaws. While First Class is by no means perfect, it is easily the closest the series has come to achieving that state. Matthew Vaughn's stellar direction gave the film a sort of nostalgic vibe reminiscent of golden age 007 films, while the story's themes of prejudice and discrimination tied in well with the 1960s settings. Of course, there's also the benefit of great action, a fun team of characters, and mostly great performances with the standout being Michael Fassbender's excellent portrayal of Magneto. Mutant and Proud!

6. The Descendants
Any movie starring George Clooney should stand a good chance of being great. That's not just because Clooney is an awesome actor (though he is), it's mainly that he has a good eye for choosing scripts and working with talented directors. This comedy/drama directed by Sideways director Alexander Payne is no exception. It's a fairly predictable story, but the enjoyable characters, great performances, and an perfect balance of drama and humor more than make up for it. Plus it's a legitimately touching film that doesn't descend into melodrama or schmaltz. Not to mention it's beautifully shot as well.

5. Moneyball
Much like George Clooney, Brad Pitt has a good talent for spotting great scripts. This year he starred in two very well-made films, one being the Tree of Life (which while good, is not on this list) and the other being Moneyball. Based on a true story, Moneyball is about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and his ludicrous experiment drafting players through bizarre statistical means to accommodate the team's severe budget cuts. Brad Pitt is as great as always, along with a better-than-usual Jonah Hill making showing some promising dramatic ability. It's an inspiring movie, but not in the usual sappy or schmaltzy way so many sports films tend to descend into. It's a bit difficult to explain exactly why I like this movie so much, other than maybe that, it just works!

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Maybe when I write a full review for this one, I'll delve more into how it compares with the book or the previous Swedish film version, but not here. Based strictly on it's own merits, David Fincher's adaption of Steig Larsson's thrilling novel is just about everything you could possibly want. Fincher's slick and stylish direction compliment the intriguing story and solid performances that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Though by far, the most memorable aspect of this film, is the amazingly dedicated performance from Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, not only erasing any memory of her bland performance from the Nightmare On Elm Street remake, but delivering one of the most compelling and disturbing performances in recent memory. If you can handle the film's intense content, definitely check this one out!

3. Hugo
The thought of Martin Scorsese directing a whimsical fantasy-themed family movie almost seems like a joke. After all, this is the director of notoriously violent thrillers including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Despite all that, when watching Hugo, you suddenly find yourself reminded of just how good of a director Scorsese really is, seamlessly integrating two separate stories. The first of which (the main plot) is the aforementioned fantasy plot involving a young orphan boy named Hugo living in the walls of a 1930s Paris train station and the other being an fictionalized account of legendary filmmaker George Méliès. As crazy as that sounds, Scorsese is enough of a master to make it work. There's really not much to critique here... it's easily one of the best family movies I've seen in a long time. If you missed this one in theatres, definitely check it out!

2. Midnight In Paris
"Hey Chris! Is this a typo or are you really putting a romantic comedy in the number 2 spot?" It's true Midnight in Paris is my second favorite film of 2011. I admit that I'm often more than a little critical toward romantic comedies, but the Woody Allen-directed fantasy comedy just struck a chord with me. The concept is amazingly creative, the performances are fun to watch, and Allen's witty dialogue is just as appealing as ever. It's a unique and clever introspective into our nostalgia-obsessed society with a love story that develops the characters and supports the main plot without overshadowing it. What can I say? I just really enjoyed this one.

1. Drive
It may not be the most provocative film ever made, but Drive tops my list of films this year simply for it's stellar style and sheer awesomeness. While the violence may seem a bit excessive and the pacing may be a bit slow for some viewers, Drive blew me away thanks to it's compelling performances, top notch cinematography, stellar soundtrack, interesting characters, and inspired storyline. If you can handle some of the gratuitous violence in the third act, than definitely give this one a watch.

Those are my favorite films of 2011. If you haven't seen them, check em' out!