50/50

I recommend this be read after you see the film 50/50 due to spoiler alerts.  I also recommend you see 50/50.  So now that that's covered without further ado......I give you my review.

Will Reiser wrote the film 50/50 with good friend Seth Rogen (who acts in the film) and based it on his experiences once he was diagnosed with cancer six years ago.  He decided to make it a comedy by showing how people react to others' illnesses.  In fact, after showing it to many cancer patients and survivors, they thanked him for not making it a sob story.  I still cried a little bit because they were some very sad moments, but I appreciated the humor as well.

50/50 was directed by Jonathan Levine (who has only directed less famous films like The Wackness and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer; Inception) as Adam Lerner who's diagnosed with cancer at the tender age of 27, and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up; The Green Hornet) who plays his best friend Kyle.  The film centers around Adam and the people around him's reactions to his illness.  After telling his mother (Anjelica Huston, The Royal Tenenbaums; Addams Family Values) who, even though she's already taking care of Adam's Alzheimer father, wants to move in with him and take care of him.  Adam refuses to let her.  Adam's girlfriend, Rachel, (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help; Twilight: Eclipse) agrees to help him out by moving in with him and driving him to appointments.  Apparently, she wasn't ready for the pressure of loving a cancer patient because soon after she cheats on Adam.  I'm sorry but even if my boyfriend was bald and had cancer, if you looked like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I would never in a million years cheat on him.  Unfortunately, like many other actors, Howard is becoming a character actor, always playing bitchy or evil characters.  I have to remember that it's fiction because ever since she stopped being in M. Night Shyamalan's films, I've stopped liking her as a person.  Even in Spider-Man 3.  Then there's Adam's young therapist, Dr. Katherine Mckay played by Anna Kendrick (Twilight Saga; Up in the Air; Scott Pilgrim), who's working on her doctorate and trying her best to make Adam feel better in a professional way.  I am proud of Kendrick's success outside of the Twilight films.  Unfortunately, her characters have similar personalities, so I'm having a hard time separating her from Jessica.  I hope in the future, once Twilight is over, she'll break out of her shell and try more dramatic roles.  Forgot to mention, fabulous job by Huston.  I haven't seen her in a while, and I liked her performance as Adam's mother.

All in all, I thought this was a fantabulous film.  Maybe even Oscar worthy.  The only thing that might bother some people is the relationship between Adam and Katherine, only because she is his therapist.  My sister is a psychologist, and although I thought it was cute (and saw it coming and rooted for them) she may just see it as unprofessional, which it completely was.  I think any person in the medical field would see that as well, and it may take away from the reality of the film.  I'm not sure, but it's probably something she could lose her job over.  Of course, I don't really know how often it happens either.  I think if she had a different job in the hospital, perhaps his nurse, then people would still get the message.  I personally think other than being unprofessional, it would be awkward to date your therapist.  I mean they know so many things about you that perhaps you wouldn't tell a significant other.  I guess I'm thinking too far into it, and that's why its fiction.  But anyway, see the movie.  They made having cancer into a comedy without making it offensive, and that's great.  I think someone that went through it is the only person that can pull that off.  Kudos!
All in all,

Carrie vs. Carrie

So here's something a little different, I'm going to compare two movies to the novel off of which they were based.  Stephen King published his first novel, Carrie, in April of 1974.  For some reason the book took place in 1979.  The original film was release in 1976, and the remake (so obviously a made for TV movie) aired in 2002.  In the book, both Carrie and her mother Margaret, are supposed to be large women.  Heaven forbid Hollywood put anyone bigger than a 0 in their films so in both adaptions, they were pretty skinny women.  As most people know Sissy Spacek played Carrie in the original, and as I mentioned in my blog about The Help, Sissy will always be Carrie to me.  Her unique facial features helped her portray her the best.  In the 2002 version, Carrie is played by Angela Bettis (Girl, Interrupted) who was 29 when she played the role, but even though she was only 2 years older than Sissy was she was not a very convincing Carrie.  Her face looked too old to be playing a high school kid (Sissy still had a young face) and she wasn't unique looking enough for me to believe her as Carrie.  The 2002 adaption shows the shower of rocks on the White household that is mentioned in the beginning of the book, and it also goes back to it as well.  The scene where young Carrie is talking to the sunbather remains in the newer version, something the original left out along with the rock shower which I found an ideal part of the story.  Another difference in the beginning of both films is the time when Carrie gets her period.  First of all, for all you men out there that are naive and believe everything the movies show you, women don't typically caress themselves in the shower, as these movies portrayed, or at least I don't so maybe I'm the oddball.  In the second film, the girls immaturely yelled "Period" at Carrie, which I can't imagine anyone their age doing.  The book and first film has them throwing tampons at her and yelling "plug it up" which I find a little more creative.  Instead, in the newer edition, they write Plug it Up on her locker and fill it with tampons.  In the principal's office, the director also decided to make her telekinetic powers less subtle by having her move the whole desk instead of just the ashtray like in the original. Shock value I guess. 

I like that both films showed how Carrie's mother's religious beliefs played a role on Carrie.  It was easy for King to describe the background in the novel since we were reading it.  In the first film, Margaret visited a fellow classmate's (Sue Snell) home to preach and ask for money for her church while in the second the teacher stated Carrie was excused from the evolution lesson in science class per her mother's orders.  I'm sure that's still likely to happen today.  

Before I get too off topic, I just want to point out something that bothered me.  The character Norma, in the first film, always wore a red baseball cap, even to the prom.  Maybe it's suppose to be symbolic or whatever, but I just found it annoying.  I would like to know what was up with that stupid hat.  If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.

Another difference I noticed was the boy on the bike taunting Carrie as she leaves.  In the remake she has him thrown against the tree when in the original and novel she just tipped the bike over.  I liked the more subtlety because she is first learning of her telekinetic powers and to throw a boy into a tree is a little intense for a first time learner just like lifting the desk.

One thing that kind of bothered me is King describes an eerie picture hanging in the closet which is part of the reason Carrie doesn't like going in it.  Neither film versions had the picture which didn't give the closet such a haunting affect for me.

It seemed both films pretty much had the same script, except the remake kept the names that the original didn't.  In the Sissy Spacek version, they changed the name of the gym teacher Miss Desjardin and the highschool name, Ewen, was changed as well.  I also like how the remake included the scene with Chris's dad and him threatening to sue the school.  It showed how much the faculty cared for their students, and didn't tolerate bullying.  That whole dialogue between the father and the principal was probably my favorite in the novel because I liked how he sticks up for Carrie and was quick with the comebacks.

Finally, or course, I was glad that the sex scenes between Sue and Tommy and Chris and Billy were taken out.  In the novel, both girls use the sex to get their boyfriends to do what they want (Chris with the prank, Sue with getting Tommy to ask Carrie to prom), but both directors did a great job getting the point across without using sex.  So kudos for that.

Well, this has been my longest blog because I compared three pieces of work which I will most likely not do again thankfully.  As for the point of my blogs and rating the films, well they're both so entirely different but the same, but of course for me, nothing beats an original.  (Same is true in Vampire Diaries!)

The Help

My love for books and my love for movies always interfere with each other.  I understand its hard for a film to be exactly like the book for which it is based, even when the author is part of the screenplay writing process, because the director and author almost never have the same views as to how a box should be portrayed or a character or scene.  Anyway, because of this love for literature and arts, I can never answer the question "Which did you like better, the book or the movie?"  There are good parts of a book that are left out, but there are also added stuff that can sometimes be good.  My point is, when it comes to The Help, I can't tell you which version I preferred, but I can compare them.  And here it goes....

The Help, which was written by Kathryn Stockett, takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60s, during the civil rights movement.  It is narrated by both rich, white 23 year old Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and much older, black maids named Minny and Aibileen.  A white girl is trying to write a book using the maids perspective on what its like working for white families.  Unlike the actual author, Skeeter receives help from "the colored people" as they are often referred to in the book.  Stockett did live in Jackson, Mississippi, however, I don't know if she was around during the 60s nor remembers it, so good for her for taking a stab at what it would have been like, because up north the 60s were completely different.  The film was directed by Tate Taylor (usually acts, but Pretty Ugly People was his first feature he directed), also not a white woman in the 60s nor a black maid.  The film definitely had a different feel to it than the book, and I believe if the film had been directed by a woman as well then the feel wouldn't have been so different.  To me the novel and film weren't just about race, but about feminism as well.  From the beginning, Skeeter was feeling pressure to find a man and get married at such a young age.  All of her friends dropped out of college to get married, and she was expected to do the same.  Same goes for Minny having the courage to leave her abusive husband.  This is why I think the film would have been better directed by a woman, because a woman would be able to focus on those issues more.

So anyway, back to the summary.  Skeeter played by Emma Stone (Crazy, Stupid Love; Easy A) has just moved back home after graduating college.  In her best efforts to become a journalist, she gets a job at the local paper writing the cleaning advice column.  Her lack of knowledge on this subject, causes her to seek advice from her good friend Elizabeth's (Ahna O'Reilly, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) maid Aibileen (Viola Davis, It's Kind of a Funny Story; Eat Pray Love).  During one of their discussions, in the book, Aibileen mentions her son Treelore, who has passed away three years before, and how he wanted to write a book talking about what it was like to work for a white man.  This was left out of the movie, but I thought it was a pretty important part because that's what inspired Skeeter.  During an incident at bridge club, where the evil friend Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Village; Lady in the Water) insists that Elizabeth build a separate bathroom outdoors for the help, Skeeter feels embarrassed for Aibileen and this is the point where she decides to write her book.  I want to start off by saying, I absolutely hated the character of Hilly, in the book and the film.  She is such an evil bitch and ignorant person, and I have never hated a character so much in my life.  It might also have to do with the fact that she reminds me of my dad's second wife.  Everything she said and did made me cringe, and I will never look at Bryce the same again.  Of course I never looked at her normal anyway, I mean who names their daughter Bryce??  Ok back on subject.  Skeeter has already given the idea for her novel to the editor at Harper and Row, Elain Stein (Mary Steenburgen, Step Brothers; Elf), but Stein wants her to talk to at least a dozen maids.  

Aibileen eventually agrees to help out Skeeter, but they have a hard time finding other maids as they fear for not only losing their jobs, but they fear for their lives as well.  In the book, during all this Skeeter is also wondering what has happened to her maid Constantine who raised her.  The film doesn't portray her search as much but focuses a lot on the memories.  

In the book, Hilly puts her mother, Mrs. Walters (Sissy Spacek, I don't care how many movies she's been in now, she will always only be Carrie to me) in a nursing home and tries to have her mother's maid, who also happens to be Aibileen's best friend, Minny (Octavia Spencer, Dinner for Schmucks; Jesus People) work for her.  When Minny refuses, Hilly starts a rumor that Minny stole from her mother so no one will hire her.  In the film, she starts the rumor after firing her for using the indoor bathroom.  Luckily, with the help of Aibileen, she finds work with Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life), who the town ladies don't like because she married Johnny Foote (Mr. "Hotter with Age" Mike Vogel, She's Out of my League; Grind) who was at one point engaged to Hilly.  So much happens in the book/movie so I'm just going to skip around.  Eventually Minny joins, and after Hilly throws her maid Yule May in prison, a bunch of other maids start telling their stories for the book too.

So the one thing I'm deciding whether or not I agree with is the choice to cast Emma Stone as the role of Eugenia.  Granted she did a good job, but lets face it, she's whats hot right now, and that's probably why she was picked for the role.  In the book, it is discussed how Skeeter is an awkwardly, tall girl with long curly hair.  Emma Stone is known to be a very attractive woman.  But upon discussing this with my book club, they mentioned that it might be her idea of herself only due to her mother's perspective.  The one and only thing I did like that Hilly said was when she was trying to set Skeeter up on a date, Skeeter mentioned that she might not be his type.  Hilly told Skeeter that she doesn't like her looking down upon herself just because her mother put ideas in her head.  

Speaking of the date, that is one last thing I wanted to mention about the film vs. movie.  In the film, the relationship between Skeeter and Stuart (Chris Lowell, Up in the Air; Private Practice) isn't as dominant as it was in the book which is good.  It made it seem like Skeeter was sticking to getting her book done than finding a man.  In the book, she was focused mostly on work, but still fell in love.  Now I was angry with her because she took the guy back twice, TWICE!!  And he was a real dbag on their first date.  I felt that was very out of character for her, and she might be settling.  The film, however, without giving any details away, made her out to be more independent, and I like that.  The End.

Read the book.  Watch the film.  Do both, I don't care.  It's a good read, and a good film.  Actually, the film was sadder than the book because its different seeing it up on screen coming to life.  It took everything I had not to cry in front of my book club.  I held it in, don't worry.  Either way, all your questions will be answered, and if you only see the movie without reading the book, and still have questions, let me know.  I'll answer them for you!  By the way, being a nanny and a waitress really made me appreciate this book, so treat "your help" with respect.  I don't care what color you are, or what job you have, no one is better than anyone, and I hope that's the lesson you walk away with from watching this film.

Crazy Stupid Love

I have to admit, when I first saw previews for Crazy Stupid Love, I thought it looked a lot like Hitch so I wasn't too interested in seeing it.  But all they hype, and posters (at least around Chicago) made me change my mind.  Plus Ryan Gosling was in it, and he's pretty hot.  Another reason I wasn't too sure about this film is because of the age difference between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone who were playing love interests.  I don't know why this bothered me seeing as in real life, that much of an age difference doesn't really bother me.  Upon research I found that Gosling is only 30 and Stone is 22, but in the film she played a 27 year old.  I eventually got over it.  

I liked the quirkyness of this film.  It showed how much love can kick you in the ass with all the funny love triangles.  However, I don't understand why it seemed from the trailers and hype that Marisa Tomei had a bigger part than she really did.  Crazy, Stupid, Love was directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (both of I Love You Phillip Morris fame).  They did a pretty good job considering this was only their second time directing.  It has an all star cast with Steve Carell (The Office), Ryan Gosling (The Notebook; Lars and the Real Girl), Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right; A Single Man), and Emma Stone (The Help; Easy A).  It opens up with Emily (Moore) wanting a divorce from her husband of 25 years, Cal (Carell).  After drinking two days in a row and talking about his wife's affair with David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon, Footloose; Wild Things) to no one, womanizer Jacob (Gosling) takes him under his wing and helps him gain the confidence he needs to get over his wife.  While this is going on, Cal's son Robbie (Jonah Bobo, Choke; 30 Rock) is in love with his babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton, The Green Hornet) who is in love with Cal.  Also Jacob changes his womanizer ways once he meets Hannah (Stone) who has just ended a relationship with her boring boyfriend, Richard(Josh Groban, singer) after he wouldn't propose. Along with the crazy love triangles or squares, there is a twist towards the end.

This film teaches a good story about love and soulmates and not giving up.  Now I don't believe in all that crap, but I do like how this film showed it in a non sappy way.  The writers made love sucking into a funny thing, but they still kept it kind of romantic in a weird way.  I highly recommend it.  The ladies will love the romantic story and Ryan Gosling half naked, and the guys will love the bromantic story and the crazy antics of Michael Scott, but yet a different person.  It's worth the $6 I spent to see it, but I'd probably pay full price too.  Like the title says love is crazy and stupid, and this film follows through with its title.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

So summertime means free movies in the park.  At least that's what it means in Chicago.  I had the pleasure of watching Scott Pilgrim vs The World the other night in my favorite neighborhood, Wicker Park, and Scott Pilgrim has become my new favorite movie for many reasons.

Directed by the comedic mind of Edgar Wright (Hott Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), Scott Pilgrim has a great cast.  Of course it stars the dorky, yet adorable Michael Cera (Youth in Revolt, Superbad) as Scott Pilgrim who must defeat his new girlfriend, Ramona's, (Mary Elizabeth Winstead; Grindhouse, Sky High) evil exes in order to continue dating her.  Her exes include a variation of lesser known actors and well known actors.  Satya Bhabha, the beautiful Chris Evans (Captain America, Fantastic Four films), Brandon Routh (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Superman Returns), Mae Whitman (the voice of Tinkerbell and the little girl from State of Grace), Keita Saitou, Shota Saito, and Jason Schwartzman (Shopgirl, I Heart Huckabees) all work together to make Pilgrim's life a living hell.  Other awesome cast members include Pilgrim's bandmates: Kim Pine (Alison Pill; Milk, Dan in Real Life), Steve (Mark Webber; Snow Day, Drive Me Crazy), and Young Neil (Johnny Simmons; Jennifer's Body, Hotel for Dogs), his sister (Anna Kendrick; The Twilight Saga, Up in the Air), his roommate, Wallace (Kieran Culkin; The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, She's All That), and his ex (Brie Larson; United States of Tara, Raising Dad).

The story line was cute and the film was very bad ass.  It wasn't too sappy, yet it also wanted me to meet a guy that will fight off my evil exes for our love!  Gamers can appreciate the references to video games.  The movie itself was like a mixture of video games and comic books.  It was genuinely funny as well, and as I mentioned before, the casting was great.  All the actors did a great job of keeping in character and being highlarious.  Kudos to Anna Kendrick for stepping out of the Twilight movies and holding her own.  I always thought she was one of the better actors in those movies anyway.  I always wanted to read the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, but this movie has only caused me to want to read them more.  This is a film you can enjoy on a date or with friends.  I'm actually planning on buying the DVD.  It gets my approval, so if you haven't seen it yet, you def should!

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is a beautiful and touching story about a Ivy League college dropout, who studied veterinarian science.  After the death of his parents he decides to join the circus, where his love for animals and his love for his boss's wife become a problem.  It focuses a great deal on the mistreatment of animals and people in a traveling circus during the Prohibition time.
When I first started reading the book Water for Elephants, my expectations were pretty high.  I was hoping the movie would be fantastic as well.  After just the first chapter of the book, I felt really really sad.  Sara Gruen wasted no time tugging at the heart strings. Many will agree with me that the movie was pretty sad from the beginning too.  Throughout the entire book, I found myself asking "How are they going to prohect this situation on screen?"  The creators did not upset.  There were significant changes that had bothered me, however.  One of the major changes was the absence of one of the main characters, Big Al.  Or Uncle Al, I can't recall which one.  Instead they combined August into both characters to make him even more hated.  In the book, Al was hated more than August even though they were both equally dicks.  They also toyed around with the beginning, which I didn't like too much.  In the book he was in class when he heard the news of his parents' death.  After identifying their bodies (I liked how they kept the throwing up scene in to give you more of a sympathetic feel for Jacob), and finding out they had mortgaged everything for his education, he returns to school so it wasn't for nothing.  In the book, Gruen goes into detail about him having a nervous breakdown during his final exam and having to leave college, choosing instead to drop out.  I was also upset, but understood due to time constraints, that they didn't show more of older Jacob's life in the nursing home.  It was entertaining listening to him describe all the nurses and patients, and his interactions with them was charming as well.  I also like how they kept the ending the same.  I believe, however, that the book is sadder because more animal abuse is described in the book, but a lot of times (like in the movie) it was more implied too.  I guess its a good thing that the film didn't show as much abuse, because its easier to read about it than it is to watch it.  My final note is that its explained in the book that August is a paranoid schizophrenic, and that is why he is the way he is.  In the film, they never really elaborate on that, but you can assume something's wrong with him.
Now onto the actors.  Water for Elephants was directed by Francis Lawrence who is actually a music  video director (He directed videos for Britney Spears!!), but he has done some other dramas such as I Am Legend and Constantine.  Now I'm bias because he's directed videos for Britney Spears so obviously I can't say anything bad about him, he also did a great job directing Robert Pattinson (of the Twilight movies).  Pattinson did not suck in this film.  I didn't think he was a vampire trying to make it in the world as a vet on a traveling circus show.  I thought he was believable as someone with a soul.  Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Legally Blonde) as Marlena played the part pretty well too.  Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, The Green Hornet) played a good jerk.  The acting wasn't remarkable or anything, and I don't want to say it was well casted because I feel Pattinson was probably cast because of all the Twilight hype.  No scratch that, he was definitely cast because of that because in the book Gruen makes a big deal about Jacob's red hair, and Pattinson does not have red hair.  He did a good job though, I'll give him that.  I think it was a nice role for him to play someone different, someone who's not a controlling asshole (sorry Team Edward,but its true).  I really enjoyed the film and book and the wonderful message it portrayed, I recommend everyone sees it.  I will most likely buy the film once its released on DVD.  It was really good.  Read the book too!

Welcome to the Riley's

Welcome to the Riley's was surprisingly good.  Despite having two award winning actors, James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) and Melissa Leo (The Fighter), in the film, I thought Kristen Stewart (The Twilight saga) would bring it down.  Welcome to the Riley’s was a drama I liked because it taught the lesson that no matter how hard we try to change someone, some people just can not change.  But it doesn’t mean that we didn’t touch them in anyway.

Doug and Lois Riley (Leo and Gandolfini) have grown apart since their 15 year old daughter died ten years before in a car accident.  Lois is hasn’t left the house since then, and continues living her life inside her home.  Her hair dresser comes to her, and she leaves even getting the mail up to Doug.  Doug reacts differently, carrying on with his life and his plumbing supply business, but he’s having an affair.  At a conference in New Orleans, Doug meets Mallory (Stewart) a 22 year old stripper who he later finds out is a 16 year old runaway.  Having a special connection with Mallory, which is related to the loss of his daughter, he decides to sell the company and extend his visit.  He offers Mallory $100 a day to let him stay in her home.  He immediately goes into fatherly mode, fixing up her place and picking her up at random motels, where she often goes after leaving the strip club with random men.

    The news of her husband staying in New Orleans is shocking to Lois, so much so that she leaves her house after a decade and drives to find her husband.  After first running away once she finds out what he husband has been up to, she warms up to Mallory and takes her in as her own.  She helps her with female issues, even going bra shopping with her.  Lois and Mallory share secrets with each other, helping the audience to understand the characters better.

Stewart actually plays a pretty convincing troubled teen.  There were times, however, when the awkward Bella Swan came out in her dialog, just with a few f bombs in her sentence, but all in all, it was a pretty good performance.  Mallory was more independent and less whiny than Bella.  She was a strong woman, despite some bad choices she made.  This was probably one of Stewart’s better characters.  There were a few scenes that showed Stewart’s ass that I could have gone without, but at least she’s willing to show the audience that she can do grown up roles as well and be convincing about it.

I liked Welcome to the Riley’s because I like trying to help people.  I’m always getting in relationships with the wrong people in hopes that I can fix them.  This film showed me that we can’t fix those that don’t want to be fixed, and sometimes the only people that need fixing is ourselves.  Don’t let your hated or dislike for Kristen Stewart get in the way of seeing this movie.  I promise you, it is time well spent.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story, is just that.  After feeling depressed, 16 year old Craig (Keir Gilchrist; United States of Tara) decides to check himself into the psychiatric unit of a hospital, not because he's suicidal, but because he wants to take a break from his stressful life.  Inconveniently, the adolescent unit is being renovated causing Craig to have to bunk with the adults.  (BTW, don't watch a film about psychiatric patients with a psychologist, because they always have a comment to make, e.g., I learned that you're not suppose to put the adults with the adolescents.  Don't worry, I informed my sister that is why it's fiction.  Anyway, after being there about five minutes, touring the facilities to see the local schizophrenics and  manic depressive people, Craig learns that he doesn't belong there.  Unfortunately for him, there is a minimum stay of five days until he can be discharged.  In those five days, naturally, Craig makes a friend in Bobby (Zach Galifianakis; Due Date, The Hangover), falls in love with Noelle (Emma Roberts; Valentine's Day, Nancy Drew), and learns about himself.

Funny Story was written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (both known for Half Nelson).  I think they did a pretty good job considering they haven't done too many films.  This film was a nice dramedy, making jokes at the appropriate time so as not to bore the audience or pull away from the mood of the story.  I asked my psychologist sister and she assured me that it was pretty accurate to a psychiatric unit.  It was nice to watch a non horror film for once that took place in a mental hospital.  Of course Girl, Interrupted is another good example of this.  The characters were viewed as normal people with some serious problems.  You didn't need to feel bad for them because they didn't feel bad for themselves.  The film was also filled with hope.  Hope that the patient will have a home to go to after being discharged, or hope that the patient will feel better and not want to harm themselves.  I like how the film focused on what was happening to Craig and the other patients right now.  It didn't focus too much on the past and how they got there.  Of course there was a quick back story because it's nice to know a back story, but other than Craig mentioning a few times why he was there, the film didn't dwell on it.  The directors wanted to show someone growing because of experiences and other people, and they were successful with this.  I liked the quick summary of his life after the hospital at the end because it was reassuring to know that he had changed and his visit had helped him, not because he was suicidal, but because it showed him he could be a different person.  This film was a really nice film, and I highly recommend it.  You may not crack up with laughter, but you won't cry your eyes out either.  It's a nice mix between comedy and drama, so enjoy!

Broken and Beautiful

Sorry readers that I've been slacking on this blog.  I've actually been busy working on my film career!  I know, how exciting!  I actually get to work on a film set instead of just watch them.  Well, it sucks for you readers because I haven't had the time to watch movies let alone blog about them.  I do have a film I've seen that I want to blog about soon, as well as an unwatched film waiting for me, which I need to watch very soon as my other DVDs are anxiously waiting to be watched as they sit patiently in my Blockbuster Queue. So let me tell you what I've been doing with myself.

I'm currently the Location Manager for the film, Broken and Beautiful, produced by Erin Dalian through her production company D.A.S.H Entertainment, LLC.  Being location manager is a pain in the ass, especially for a low budget film.  People never call you back, and those that do, want lots of money for the use of their facilities. It's been frustrating, and many rewrites have been done due to this problem.  That's why we are extremely thankful for those that have cooperated and provided their homes/business; Chicago Blower Corporation, Generoso Pizza, Playhouse 111, Crosstown Bar and Pub, Stella's Diner, Calvary Memorial Church, St Michael's in Old Town, Trinity College, and New Hope Community Church, just to name a few.  And yes, with all these I'll still need more!  Airport, motel, restaurant.  And it's getting close to the first day of filming (April 14th).

So when I'm not calling people everyday and annoying the hell out of them until they say yes just for me to get off their back, I will try to update this blog. 

If you have some extra money laying around from taxes or just won the lottery and don't know how you should spend your winnings, why not donate some to this film project.  We could use all the funding we can get, because right now everything is out of pocket.  Check out www.brokenandbeautifulthemovie.com.  If you don't want to help fund it, that's ok too.  You can check out the website anyway to see what's been taking up all my time.  If you find yourself terribly bored, and need something to read, that website will be updated as soon as filming starts.  Of, if you absolutely need my opinion before renting/buying tickets to a movie, then just give me a call, or "drop me a line" (this is linked to my Facebook account and my website www.teresadevlin.com which both have my email address) and I'll try to help you out as best as I can.  But here's a suggestion, summer time is coming, the weather is getting nicer, so get your lazy butt off the couch and go outside and do something!.  K?  Till next time!

Cyrus

When I first heard about the film Cyrus, I thought it was a comedy.  Starring funny men John C. Reilly (Step Brothers, Cedar Rapids) and Jonah Hill (Superbad, Get Him to the Greek) as Cyrus, I went into it getting ready to chuckle.  John (Reilly) is a divorced man who has a hard time meeting women.  When he is invited to a party held by his ex wife and her new fiance, he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei; The Wrestler, Alfie), and after saving him from an embarrassing drunken, singing act in front of a crowd of people, they hit it off instantly.  After seeing each other several times, John wonders why Molly is always leaving in a hurry.  He decides to play detective by hiding in front of her house all night until she makes an appearance.  At this point in the movie, I still haven't laughed because I was too busy feeling sorry for him and thinking he was creepy.  Upon waking up in his car the next morning, he still sees no sign of Molly.  Again, playing detective he creeps around her bushes only to run into Cyrus.  This is where he finds out that Cyrus is Molly's son.  From here, the awkward first meeting takes place.  And then of course the story goes from here, the weird 22 year old still living with his mother tries to sabotage her relationship with her boyfriend our of spite and jealousy. (10 points to whomever can name the "Grease." song I just quoted!)  

The relationship, however, between Cyrus and Molly is very awkward that its funny.  Nowadays, living with your parents in your 20s isn't weird at all. What makes this relationship different is that Cyrus refers to his mother as Molly, not out of disrespect, but out of love, and he still lives with her because, as he states, they are best friends.  The awkward relationship is what made the movie funny.  In one scene, Cyrus nonchalantly uses the restroom as his mom is in the shower.  When John sleeps over and tries to close the door as him and Molly change, she states that they never close doors.  There's also a scene where Molly is cutting up Cyrus' food for him.  The constant war between the two men for Molly's attention is a little funny too.

What makes this film sad is the extremes Cyrus goes to end his mother's relationship with John.  He doesn't pull any pranks (except steal John's shoes, which was really weird) or go to hilarious extremes.  He simply offers to move out.  This isn't slapstick comedy, like Home Alone or Problem Child (R.I.P. John Ritter ;( )It was just really sad. The fight between John and Cyrus at John's ex wife's wedding wasn't even funny, it was also kind of sad. Cyrus was succeeding at tearing John and Molly apart, and he wasn't even being funny about it.

I'm not trying to say this wasn't a good movie, it just wasn't what I expected.  I guess when you put two comedic actors in a film you expect something completely different.  I do appreciate Reilly and Hill trying something different without completely losing their edge.  If you want to see this, go ahead, just don't expect to laugh throughout the entire movie.  I felt bad for John's character just as I felt bad for his character in "Chicago", and I also didn't like Hill's character in this film, for which I think the directors (Jay and Mark Duplass; The Puffy Chair) were going.  The only thing that was never mentioned was Cyrus' father.  Molly mentions that a guy hasn't slept over since Cyrus was born making viewers think his father hasn't been in the picture from the beginning, and an absent father is a good explanation for his relationship with his mother.  So that's the only thing that bothered me.  So yeah this film is, okay I guess, not great but not bad either.  It doesn't make you laugh, but it doesn't make you cry.  It kinda just makes you say "huh, that's awkward".

127 Hours

So I know I stated that I was going to try to watch most of the Academy Award nominations, and I know the Oscars were on weeks ago, but I finally had the chance the other day to watch 127 Hours.  Nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay, 127 Hours didn't win a single award.  Despite this, the film is still worth seeing.

Directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting), 127 Hours stars hunk James Franco (known for his role as Harry Osborn aka the New Goblin in all 3 Spiderman movies).  Franco does not disappoint. Based on a true story, Franco plays Aron Ralston, an adventurous man who made a not so smart move.  Leaving his cell phone behind, and not telling anyone where he's going, Ralston decides to climb the canyons in Moab, Utah.  One wrong move causes his hand to get stuck under a boulder.  Running out of food and water, Ralston does all that he can to conserve his water and stay alive.  He lives to tell the tale, however, by making a sacrifice.

I was a little skeptical about seeing this film.  How exciting can a film with only one person in it be?  Let's not forget 2000s Cast Away.  I personally thought that the moments when Tom Hanks was alone was pretty boring.  Unlike 127 Hours, there was a lot of time allotted to him getting off the island and communicating with other people.  A majority of 127 Hours was just James Franco struggling by himself and his hallucinations, which I found pretty confusing.  I think they did a great job casting James Franco as the lead role.  Let's face it, who's going to watch a 2 hour movie about a guy stuck in a rock unless the guy is hot?  The closeups definitely let the audience relate to Aron.  Even though I knew he was going to survive in the end, there were still parts where I was scared for him.  The part toward the end is a little gory, and even though I love horror movies, I couldn't handle watching Franco cut his arm off.  I bet its because it actually happened.  There's not too much I can write about a film that only has one actor.  The limited supporting cast did pretty well too.  I feel it got jipped in the fact that it should have at least one something.  James Franco did an amazing job, but he was at an unfair advantage, running up against actors that have been doing amazing jobs for a while.  I think the timing was off for this film.  It definitely had some stiff competition.  It needs a little recognition.

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All in all, I recommend this film.  If you're a little squeamish, look away at certain parts.  This film also taught a great life lesson, and there's nothing I love more than a film that teaches a lesson.  Lesson learned:  Don't go anywhere without telling someone where you're going.  So whether you're scaling the Appalachians, or going to a friend's house, make sure someone knows.  I don't care how old you are, everyone's at risk.

P.S. Seeing Treat Williams was definitely a treat!

The King's Speech

This is the true story of the Duke of York, also the current Queen Elizabeth II's father, Albert (Colin Firth, A Single Man; Love Actually), or Bertie as his family calls him.  In 1930s England, Albert has an important job where public speaking is a huge part of his career.  The only problem is he has a stammer, causing him to stutter a lot when speaking, publicly or privately.  After trying many doctors to cure him, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter aka Mrs. Tim Burton; in every one of his films and other films such as Fight Club and Harry Potter) takes it upon herself to find him a speech therapist.  She finds Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush; Pirate of the Caribbean, Shakespeare in Love) who, even though she's told has unorthodox ways of teaching, decides he's the best man to cure her husband.  Logue tries a method of putting headphones on the Duke and having him listen to music as he recites Shakespeare.  After listening to himself not stammer, Duke Albert decides to continue with Logue's services.  Soon after his father, King George V (Michael Gambon; Also of Harry Potter fame) dies, Albert's older brother David becomes King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce; The Hurt Locker, Momento, and way to young to play Firth's older brother).  That doesn't last long, however, because King Edward VIII wants to marry Wallis Simpson (Eve Best; Nurse Jackie) who is a twice divorced woman.  The Church of England does not recognize divorce and will not allow the King to be married to her because the King heads the Church.  Because of his love for Mrs. Simpson, David steps down making way for his brother Albert.  Albert becomes King George VI causing him to want to work harder to correct his stammer.  Upon his coronation at the Church of England, Archbishop Cosmo Lang (Derek Jacobi; The Golden Compass, Gladiator) finds out the King's speech therapist isn't a doctor and never had any real training for his career.  Logue states that Bertie was the one who gave him the name Dr. Logue when he had rather be called Lionel.  He also states that the name on his door doesn't say Dr or have any letters after it.  Bertie continues with Lionel's services.  In 1939, Lionel helps King George VI through his first war speech that totals 9 minutes and must be announced across the world via radio, and is there throughout the rest of his war speeches.
The King's Speech has the most Oscar nominations, ringing in a total of 12 noms.  Two more than Coen brother's True Grit, and not surprisingly Inception and the Social Network are tied with 8 noms.  This is the third highest nomination, making the highest 1997's Titantic and 1950s All About Eve with 14 nominations.  Now here's the part where I go over the nominations. (1) It's nominated for Best Picture, and has a pretty good chance of winning, but it's going to be really close with True Grit. (2) Art Direction.  Well its up against Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Inception, which were all pretty artsy (or so I guess since I didn't see the first 2) so it's chances aren't very good. (3) Cinematography.  I didn't like it too much.  Logue's room where he met with his patients bothered me, and that first scene when Bertie and Lionel meet, I know the DP was trying to be creative with the space between the wall and Colin Firth, but to me it was just annoying, besides if Inception is going to win any Oscars, it better be for Cinematography.  (4) Costume Design.  I thought the costumes were beautiful and really showed the time period well, but this is up against Alice in Wonderland, and Tim Burton always gets creative with costumes and makeup.  You don't have to see a Tim Burton film to know what I'm talking about because it's pretty much the same for all.  I haven't seen any TIm Burton film since he started putting Johnny Depp in all of them (who scares me) but I have seen previews and pictures and it will be hard to beat.  (5) Best Directing.  Tom Hopper directed the King's Speech and he's done mostly TV series.  He's had 15 nominations ever, and the only film's that got nominated were the King's Speech and Red Dust, but he's had one Emmy win and several TV series of his have been nominated.  He's up against Darren Aronofsky who's won 19 out of 32 nominations ever, mostly for Best Director; David O. Russell who's been nominated for an award 12 times, but only won best director twice (for Three Kings and The Fighter) he's mostly won for Best Screenplay, David Fincher who's won 15 awards for Best Director, mostly for the Social Network, and Joel and Ethan Coen who pretty much win every award. (6) Film Editing.  It was nothing spectacular.  Everything flowed together perfectly but of course you can't release a movie with crappy editing. (7) Music Original Score.  I don't really remember the music so it couldn't have been that amazing.  (8) Sound Mixing.  Again, I think it has a chance of winning a lot, but Inception had really good sound and cinematography so I think it's going to have a hard time going up against that, but I could be wrong.  (9) Best Performance by Actor in a Leading Role (Colin Firth) I honestly believe Colin Firth is going to win this.  He did an incredible job and played a really convincing King George VI.  I think the role took a lot out of him, and he deserves to win it.  He did fantastic.  Fantastic!  (10) Best Performance by Actor in a Supporting Role (Geoffrey Rush).  Now Rush did a good job too, he was funny, it was nice.  He has a good chance of winning, but I have this feeling that Christian Bale's going to take home the Oscar for The Fighter.  Geoffrey Rush was good, but Christian Bale was better, and he had a harder role.  (11) Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Helena Bonham Carter) Again, this one's going to the Fighter.  I don't feel like Helena Bonham Carter's role was big enough to win Best Supporting Actress, I don't think it challenged her enough.  Melissa Leo's getting that one.  (12) Finally, Best Writing (Original Screenplay) I thought the writing was good.  I mean, the stuff that happened, you can't make up because it was based on a true story, but the writer (David Seidler; Quest for Camelot, The King and I ) did a really good job of writing the screenplay.  Most of Seidler's nominations came from The King's Speech, and I think he's got a good chance of winning this.  He did a good job of bringing the story back and portraying it on the big screen.  He made it easier for me to understand what was going on.  And back to Colin Firth's acting, I hope he gets the Oscar because he was so believable he almost had me in tears at times.  I felt bad for him.
So The King's Speech, the most Oscar nominations this year, and it's worth the money to see it.  I only paid 6 bucks but I was very satisfied.  I highly recommend it, there's never a dull moment.  A great time will be had by all if you see it.  Good luck at the Oscars Colin.

Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone has an interesting story line.  A young girl, Jennifer Lawrence (Medium) is forced to take care of her younger siblings and her sick mother while her father disappears.  Her father is under suspicion by the authorities for manufacturing crystal meth.  When he jumps bail, the sheriff informs Ree (Lawrence) that her father has put the house and the surrounding land up as collateral for his bail, and she will lose it all if her father doesn't show up for his trial the following week.  In an effort not to lose her home, Ree goes on a hunt for her father.
Unfortunately, this movie was pretty boring.  I was hoping for something like Wild America where she goes on all these crazy adventures to different places.  But no.  She stays in her own hick town asking around for her father and finding no answers.  Also, everyone in the town happens to be related to her and her father, which proves the small town discrimination of everyone being everyone's cousin.  And these people have never heard of Southern hospitality.  They're not very nice to the poor girl; they even beat her up for poking her nose around.  She doesn't care that you guys make drugs, she just wants to find her dad so she doesn't lose the house or kids.  I did feel bad for her though, bad that she lives this boring life in the mountains where everyone's related to her.  You can't afford to take care of your brother and sister, give them to someone that can.  You are all related after all so they'll be with blood.  This was a pretty sucky movie.  The first one I've seen in a while.
However, apparently my opinion doesn't matter because Winter's Bone is nominated for 4 Oscars.  Best Picture of the Year (which it definitely doesn't deserve), Best Performance by Actor in a Supporting Role (John Hawkes; S. Darko, Wristcutters: A Love Story), Best Performance by Actress in a Leading Role (Jennifer Lawrence), and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Ok so Hawkes was born in rural Minnesota so he knows how to play a hick.  I mean, how hard is it to talk in a Southern accent, not speak proper English, and threaten to slap women around in your bare feet.  I mean that's my stepdad to a T, maybe he should get the Oscar.  Sorry John, but the performance wasn't that great.  I mean you were in S. Darko so how good of an actor can you be?  Really?  That's a no for the Supporting Actor Role Oscar.
Again, born in Kentucky, knows how to play the part.  I guess Hollywood is amazed when a young person plays an important role.  Well her character was 17, she's 20.  She's not a child that can act in an important role, she's an adult that can act in an important role, and we have plenty of those.  Come on, are we going to start giving Dakota Fanning Oscars now?  Is Lawrence Leading Lady Material?  No.
Best Writing? Hmm, well this movie made me NOT want to read the book.
I really thought I would enjoy it like every other Oscar movie I've seen so far, and I gave it a chance, but after a half hour of it grabbed my computer to play Farmville while watching.  Sorry, but if I'm not totally into a movie, then it's not great.  So I highly recommend you don't see this movie.  It's completely up to you, but I'd make sure you see it for free because I'm extremely glad I did.

The Fighter

The Fighter, based on a true story, is about two boxing legends,  "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg; Boogie Nights, The Happening) and his older brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale; Batman).  I don't particularly care for films about sports, but this was a pretty great movie.  The majority of it didn't even show the boxing matches, leaving more time to focus on the actual story at hand. Dicky and Micky were professional boxers Lowell, Massachusetts.  Dicky was even known as "The Pride of Lowell" at one point.  Eklund's boxing career spanned from 1975-1985.  His most famous fight, which he speaks of a lot in the film, was in 1978 when he knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard.  Dicky went on to train his half-brother Micky Ward, who went pro in 1985, went on a hiatus 5 years later.  Ward's manager was his mother Alice (Melissa Leo; Welcome to the Rileys), who had seven other children (all women, Dicky and Micky were the only boys).  Micky soon meets bartender Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams; Enchanted, Julie & Julia) and falls in love. Dicky is also dealing with a crack addiction, and while trying to raise money so his brother can train year round, Dicky soon gets arrested for impersonating a police officer and resisting arrest, among many other crimes causing him to go to jail.  Micky soon starts training with local sergeant Micky O'Keefe (played by himself) and his father, George Ward (Jack McGee; Crash, 21) hires friend and businessman Sal Lanano(Frank Renzulli; producer of The Sopranos) as Micky's manager.  Micky is told by O'Keefe, his father, and Charlene that he can no longer work with Dicky or Alice, however.  Micky must decided whether or not to continue working with his family despite trouble they cause and drama they bring along with them.
The Fighter is nominated for 7 Oscars, Best Picture, Best Directing (David O. Russell; Three Kings, I Heart Huckckabees), Best Editing, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Christian Bale), Best Performance by Actress in a Supporting Role (Amy Adams and Melissa Leo), and Best Writing (Original Screenplay).  OK first, I want to get one thing out,  Christian Bale playing the older brother to Mark Wahlberg did not work for me.  One reason being, Wahlberg is slightly older, born in 1971 and Bale was born in 1974.  You can put all the make up on him, make him lose all the weight and hair you need him to lose, but Christian Bale still doesn't look older than Marky Mark.  I'm sorry, but that was the one thing that bothered me, although they both did a pretty good job on their roles.  Bale does a magnificent scumbag, so much so he reminds me of someone with whom I work who is probably also addicted to crack.  I guess I can let the age difference slide.  He might have a good chance of winning Best Supporting Actor.  As for the two ladies, my vote is for Melissa Leo.  Amy Adams did do a wonderful job though, she's come a long way from her sweet days on the Office and in Enchanted, but Leo's character as Alice was great.  She was so funny in so many ways.  They both let me see that Massachusetts women don't mess around, but the scene where Leo has to throw the pan at McGee was terrific.  I felt her pain and betrayal.  I almost feel bad for her.
As for Best Picture, it's a tough call being up against Black Swan and the overrated Social Network, but at least it got the publicity it deserved.  I also think it was well written because it wasn't just simply a sport's movie to me.  There were times when I almost forgot I was watching a boxing movie.  The audience was in laughing a lot more than I expected.  The realness of the family drama was portrayed well on the screen.  For not being familiar with the story or the boxing brothers, I felt the film laid out a good story so I had a better understanding of everything.
On another note, why does Hollywood have this obsession with hotness?  I admit there have been times when recreating stories that Hollywood has been right on with casting (i.e. Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerburg and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett) but usually they just try to make the characters look super hott compared to the real people.  They showed the real Dicky and Micky during the end credits, and Christian and Marky Mark look nothing like them.  They should have at least gotten people in their 40s to make it more realistic.  All I'm saying is I hope Meghan Fox plays me in my life story.
Oh yeah, I wanted to add one more thing.  I'm glad The Fighter isn't nominated for Cinematography because some of those close up scenes where tops of heads and chins were cut off (for instance in the hotel room when they're trying to convince Micky to box a guy 20 pounds heavier than him) was, I found, quite annoying and awkward at times.  I know the D.P. is trying to be all artistic and stuff, but this isn't an artsy movie so please be consistent.  Also, another thing I noticed was this film was produced by Darren Aronofsky who, as you may know, was the director for Black Swan.  Hmmm, maybe its chances of winning just got better.

Toy Story 3

I'm not a huge fan of sequels unless a film is made from a book (i.e. The Twilight Saga, Harry Potter) or if it was originally written in multiple parts like the Saw movies.  There are times, however, where a series of sequels help continue telling the story.  My personal favorite being the Shrek series.  I wasn't too sure what to think about Toy Story 3, especially since Disney has a reputation for making not so great sequels.  (Anyone see The Little Mermaid 2 or Cinderella 2? Yeah neither did I.)  I was especially skeptic seeing as the original Toy Story was released 15 years before, and Toy Story 2 was released over ten years ago.  Still, seeing as it's a Disney and Pixar classic (back when Disney movies were good) and it's nominated for 5 Oscars, I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did.
A quick summary on Toy Story 3.  Andy's leaving for college, and the toys worry about their future.  His mother gives him the option to take stuff to college with him or put it in the attic.  Everything else will get thrown out.  Deciding to take Woody with him, being his oldest doll, he puts all the other toys in the attic.  Of course being a guy, he puts those toys in a trash bag which accidentally gets sent to the curb for the garbage truck to pick it up.  Some how those crazy toys wind up on their way to daycare where their nightmare begins.  After reprogramming Buzz, a delicious smelling bear, Lotso (Ned Beatty, Otis from Superman  and 2) traps the toys in a makeshift jail, not letting them out.  Woody tries to get back to Andy, but is picked up by a little girl, Bonnie, and taken home.  Bonnie's toys help him get back to the daycare to save the other toys.  The rest of the film is about the toys' adventure out of the daycare, and the dangers they face getting back to Andy.
Toy Story 3 is the classic tale of everyone's favorite toys, the cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), his partner and best friend Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).  Along with their sidekicks Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris; which all you Disney fans know her from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody), Rex (Wallace Shawn; Clueless {the movie} and Gossip Girl), Hamm (John Ratzenberger; everyone's favorite mailman on Cheers), and Slinky Dog (Blake Clark) along with many others.  What sets this sequel apart from many others is the fact that the film has the same celebrity voices as the original.  So many times I've seen a film (animated or live action) ruined because they couldn't or didn't keep the same cast.  No matter how famous or busy Hanks and Allen were (which they probably have been pretty free lately) they still took the time out to voice their lovable characters.  Even John Morris has played the voice of Andy for all three movies.  (By the way, I've seen his picture and now I know why he does cartoons only.  Good choice John).  And because of this, I can honestly believe that Andy has grown up.
Lee Unkrich(Finding Nemo, Monster, Inc.) directed Toy Story 3, and he also directed Toy Story 2 keeping with the consistency of both films.  I think it's important to keep the director for all films unless there's good reason to change it up (i.e, all three Twilight films have a different director.  It's not a coincidence that the acting is improving).  Of course it's not that hard to direct carton characters, so let's give the writers some credit for staying with the storyline.  Wondering why this Toy Story was funnier than the others?  That's probably because the screenplay was written by Michael Arndt who also wrote Little Miss Sunshine.  Toy Story 3 has been nominated for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Toy Story 3 has also been nominated for Best Picture, a title also held by Up in 2009 and Beauty in the Beast in 199, and Best Animated Feature Film.  Beauty and the Beast was actually the only animated film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award before 2001.  Then in 2001 the category "Best Animated Feature" was added to the Oscar lineup.  Toy Story 3 is only the third animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.  Will Toy Story 3 be the first animated film to win the Oscar for Best Picture?  Probably not, but that doesn't mean it won't win Best Animated Film
This is Randy Newman's third Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for Toy Story.  He's done the music for all three Toy Story films and has been nominated every time.  He hasn't won, however, so it's unlikely he'll win again.  His song "We Belong Together" is up against songs from Country Strong, Tangled, and 127 Hours.
The fifth nomination for Toy Story 3 is Sound Editing which to me is just random.

On a side note:  I forgot to mention before that the lovely Anne Hathaway and handsome James Franco will be hosting the Academy Awards this year.  Does Franco's hosting risk his chances of winning?  Who knows?  We'll find out in 25 days.

Black Swan

The story of Swan Lake is a beautiful ballet.  It's about a virgin girl trapped in a swan's body.  To break the spell, she must gain the love of a prince.  Unfortunately the evil black swan tricks him into loving her.  Upset by the life she must live, the white swan kills herself, and in death she finds freedom.  The film Black Swan is a similar story of an innocent girl, Nina (Natalie Portman; Star Wars, The Other Boleyn Girl) who needs to learn to "let herself go" in order to dance the Black Swan, as well as the White Swan.  The latter she does perfectly, but the former is a struggle due to her innocence.  Her world is turned upside down when she meets a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis; That 70s Show, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who's an exact opposite of Nina and helps her to let loose.  The Black Swan turns into a great conflict of man vs. himself, when Nina works so hard on the role it drives her into insanity, struggling internally between staying the white swan and becoming the black swan.
Nominated for five Oscars including, Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman), Cinematography, Directing (Darren Aronofsky; Requiem for a Dream), and Film Editing, Black Swan is considered to be one of the best films of 2010.  I think Natalie did an outstanding job portraying both the innocent and the crazy.  We're use to seeing her play smaller, "good girl" roles, but we did get a sneak of her rebellious side in Closer.  She really broke out of her shell in V for Vendetta playing a rebellious freedom fighter.  Natalie really got into her role as Nina and was believable as both good and bad. 
Mila Kunis was surprisingly good.  I always liked her on That 70s Show as Jackie Burkhart, but she had that role for so long, and I think that sometimes actors carry a role into other roles.  Mila, however, didn't.  She played a completely different character, and it was believable.  I like Mila Kunis a lot, because even though she's done a lot of movie roles, she still continues to play the voice of Meg Griffin on Family Guy.  She hasn't left the show thinking she could do better without it.  She didn't have a big enough role to get nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but I think someday she'll make it to that point.
All together this film was pretty good.  It was hard to separate fantasy from reality, which is a good thing considering the film's storyline.  Not knowing whether the main character was hallucinating or not, almost made the audience go through it with her.  There were a few queasy parts that I had to look away from too, but not so bad.  One thing I noted was the emphasis on the feet.  Ballet is a really beautiful form of dance.  The prettiest in my opinion, and the cinematography during the dancing was excellent.  It's hard to film dancing and have each shot be consistent.  Also, in some films, the cinematographer will do a closeup of a body part instead of doing a full body shot, because they want to hide the fact that the actor isn't doing their own stunt.  I often feel, however, that its obvious the actor isn't doing it and that's why they cut to the close up.  However, in Black Swan, I believed it was Natalie Portman's foot and that the closeups were just to emphasize how good of a dancer Nina is and how hard she worked.  It definitely was done very well and flowed nicely.
One thing I didn't like was the costume choice.  Some dancers wore white, symbolizing good, and some wore black, symbolizing evil.  None wore pink or any other color making the film typically feel like black and white.  I thought that was a little obvious, especially when they did the wide shots of a whole room of black and white dancers.  It was a good symbolization but over done.  I liked at one point when she started the inner battle and was wearing gray to symbolize the mixture between good and evil.  Also, once she put on the black tank top Lily gave her, she kind of lost control.  Parts of it were good, but there were parts that was a little too much.
Some may argue with me, but I don't think the ending was very predictable.  In a way I guess I saw it coming, but it was still a little shocker.  Everybody will have their own opinion about this film, and that's what's so great about it.  Whether or not it wins Best Picture, Black Swan will be talked about amongst friends for months (maybe even years) to come.

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right starring Annette Bening (American Beauty), Julianne Moore (30 Rock, Children of Men), and Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven) is nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mark Ruffalo), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Annette Bening), Best Picture, and Best Writing (Original Screenplay).  This dramedy, directed and written by Lisa Cholodenko, (who also directed The L Word and Six Feet Under) lives up to its expectations.  It's simple yet heartwarming.  Laser (Josh Hutcherson; Bridge to Terabithia, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant) and Jonie (Mia Wasikowska;Alice in Wonderland) , the children of two lesbians, decided they want to meet their sperm donor (Ruffalo).  The rest of the story unfolds as everyone, but Nic (Bening) accepts Paul into their life.  However, when she decides to finally be friends with him, a scandal is discovered , tearing the whole family apart.
Julianne Moore is quoted as saying, "We’re all pretty much alike. Speak to anybody...about a long-term relationship and you’re going to hear the same kind of stories."  The film shows the truth in this as the realism between the two moms.  Because the children were raised by the two of them, they're familiar with it and the term "moms" comes off their tongue naturally.  This causes the audience to have a familiarity with it as well and not be "wierded out" by the two women being in love and having a family together.  I thought the love between the two characters, Nic and Jules, was genuine and realistic.  They've probably have had the best chemistry between any on screen couple I've seen.  It wasn't a movie about two hot lesbians that just happen to have kids.  It was a movie about a family where the parents just happen to be two women.  Their marriage was nothing special, just like any other marriage.  One worked long hours, the other struggled to keep a job.  They argued over regular things, like how to raise the children.  It could have been the same movie with a straight couple that couldn't have kids so they needed a donor, which in a way shows that gay parents can be just as good parents as straight parents.
There was a bit of unnecessary nudity that I could have done without, however.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice to know that Mark Ruffalo's ass is not hairy, despite the rest of his body, but I thought it took away from the film.  There were so many parts that were so believable that I forgive the sex scenes.
I enjoyed the awkwardness of the first meeting between the sperm donor father, Paul, and the two kids.  Most movies have too much or too little awkwardness, almost like they have to fill the silence with something.  This scene had just enough awkward silence that I felt as if I was there. 
Another scene I enjoyed is when Paul when to the house to have dinner with the family.  Nic, who happens to be a doctor, was asking him questions about himself and his career, and he got a little defensive.  Now I think owning a restaurant and an organic farm is impressive, but there are some people that don't.  I empathized with him during this scene because I've been on the receiving end of the grilling constantly, and  I know what its like to feel like you're not meeting someone's expectations.  I believe that this is what he felt, and to be able to feel what the character is feeling is definitely something.  It is always good to have characters an audience can relate to.  As a screenwriter, this is something with which I struggle.
For that reason, I think The Kids Are All Right should win the Oscar Writing (Original Screenplay).  I think it should have even got a nomination for Best Director because Lisa really pushed her actors to bring the audience into the story.  I think Annette Bening deserves her nomination for Best Actress, but I feel as if Mark Ruffalo is always playing the same roles.  Although this was a good character, I don't think it was challenging enough for him.  He needs to step it up, take some bigger roles, then he'll deserve an Oscar nomination.  No offense Mark, I love you, that's why I know you can do better.  As for Best Picture, well it was good, but I have yet to decide if it was the best.  I think, however, out of all the films released this year, it definitely deserves that nomination.  Lisa showed the world something, not many people want to touch yet, and she did it in a tasteful way.  This is definitely a must see movie, and I knew that the second I read the description for it in the newspaper.

Three O'Clock High

I love the innocence of an 80s movie.  Movies and even sitcoms (Full House) show that it was okay to be cheesy 20 years ago.  But cheesy is good.  I watched Three O'Clock High, a film from 1987, that had some cheesy parts in the beginning so the viewer knew they were watching an 80s movie, but it was actually a pretty good movie.
It starts out with the main character Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko; Stand by Me, Back to the Future, Public Enemies) frantically getting ready for school as he realizes he is late opening up the school store.  I appreciated the rushing around because as a person that has always been late and probably always will be late I can relate to having to rush.  I could have done without the Captain Obvious younger sister (Stacey Glick; Brighton Beach Memoirs) but she got a little tamer as the movie went on.
Lisa Simpson makes a cameo in this movie which I was pretty excited about, but that's beside the point.  So Jerry is told by the editor of the school paper to do a piece on the new kid Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson; Black Hawk Down, There's Something About Mary) who of course is the epitome of scary bully kid.  He reminded me of Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace) in 10 Things I Hate About You except meaner and bigger.  But they pretty much had the same reputation.  So after an awkward conversation in the bathroom, Jerry touches Buddy, which was stated earlier that he hates being touched, and gets himself in a predicament.  Buddy threatens him to a fight at 3:00 in the parking lot "or else".
So throughout the entire movie, Jerry tries to find ways to get out of it, and of course every situation puts him in deeper and deeper trouble.  The fight scene wasn't exactly as predictable as I thought it would be, but maybe for some people it is.  Considering it had a no name cast, this film, directed by Phil Joanou (directed 2nd season finale of 3rd Rock from the Sun) was pretty good.  I recommend it for an 80s movie night.  It's a classic, I've decided.  I was also happy to learn that it wasn't about getting high or drug related at all.  I miss those days when you could make a good movie and not have drugs, nudity, or violence in it.  Although, technically there was violence in it but it wasn't tasteless. See Tarantino there is such a thing as tastefull violence, you should try it sometime and maybe I'll actually watch your films.
Anyway, I'm getting beside myself.  Add 3 O'Clock High to your list of good 80s movies.  Right next to Stand by Me, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles, and I guess I'll have to add a non John Cusack movie, Pretty in Pink.  Huh, I feel an 80s movie night marathon coming up, but after I watch my Oscar nom movies of course.
I'll keep you guys posted on who I think deserved the nomination and who doesn't.

The 83rd Academy Awards

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning.  I have attached the link below.  The Oscars will air live on Sunday Feb. 27 at 8PM ET, 7PM Central.

Oscar Nominations

2011 Golden Globe Winners

The Golden Globes aired Sunday, Jan. 16.  Although I did not watch them, I have the winners listed below.

Best Motion Picture-Drama
The Social Network (Really??)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama
Natalie Portman-Black Swan (No surprise there, I still really want to see it)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama
Colin Firth-The King's Speech

Best Motion Picture -Comedy or Musical
The Kids Are All Right(Personally I don't think the other films should have even been nominated, can't wait to see this one!)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Annette Bening-The Kids Are All Right

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Paul Giamatti-Barney's Version

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Melissa Leo-The Fighter

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale-The Fighter

Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
In A Better World (Denmark)

Best Director-Motion Picture
David Fincher-The Social Network (Really??  Over Inception? I don't know about that)

Best Screenplay-Motion Picture
Aaron Sorkin-Social Network (Again?)

Best Original Score-Motion Picture
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross-Social Network

Best Original Song-Motion Picture
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"-Burlesque

Best Television Series-Drama
Boardwalk Empire(HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Drama
Katey Sagal-Sons of Anarchy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama
Steve Buscemi-Boardwalk Empire

Best Television Series-Comedy or Musical
Glee(FOX) (Congratulations Gleeks)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Comedy or Musical
Laura Linney-The Big C

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Comedy or Musical
Jim Parsons-The Big Bang Theory

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Carlos(Sundance C)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Claire Danes-Temple Grandin(HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Al Pacino-You Don't Know Jack(HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Lynch-Glee

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chris Colfer-Glee

Inception

After patiently waiting so long to see this film, I finally waited no longer and rented Inception.  I deeply do regret not seeing it at the IMAX, as my small non-HD television couldn't even compare to the sound and better quality picture I would have gotten at the IMAX.  Anticipated by many to be the best film of 2010, surprisingly Inception only received 4 Golden Globes nominations, leaving me to wonder if the Academy has better taste and will give it multiple nominations for an Oscar.  One would think.  In my opinion, it was a very good looking cast, and they all deserve an award for their performances.  Props to the casting director!  Actors in a film often make the film what it is.  A film, to me, is only as powerful as its weakest actor.  Although Inception was nominated for Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director, it didn't get any nominations for Best Actor, Actress, or Supporting roles, and more often than not a Best Actor/Actress nomination goes hand in hand with a Best Film nomination.  It was also nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Score (which was intense). I guess its up to the academy to pick up the slack.
All in all this was a great movie.  I'm not even being bias even though Leonardo DiCaprio is hands down my favorite actor of all time.  He's done everything with such greatness, and when there's a film he's going to be cast in, chances are its going to be pretty epic.  I've noticed over the years that he'll fall off the radar for a few years then do two or three movies at a time.  I believe he does this, not because he can't find work, but because he's choosing his roles wisely.  And every role he's had since he was a child has been pretty great, as has his supporting actors and the film itself.  Even if the supporting actors were terrible (which they hardly ever are) he's such a strong actor that, contradicting what I stated earlier, he would make that movie great.  He should just do a one man show, it'd be great!  Unfortunately, he's only been nominated for three Academy Awards ever and hasn't won any!  But moving on to the film, this blog, after all, is called Inception not The Great DiCaprio....
I was told by so many people that this movie is amazing, and I was not disappointed.  I normally don't like SciFi films, other than the Twilight Saga but honestly those are more or a drama than sci-fi, but Inception has a good, original storyline.  I'm a huge fan of originality, which is hard to find these days in a world of cover songs and remakes.  Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, known for other great films as The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and Memento, the film is about a team of experts who invade people's dreams in order to get information from them.  After failing to retrieve the information they were assigned to get by their corporation, Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 500 Days of Summer) are given a second chance by Saito (Ken Watanabe, Letters from Iwo Jima and Memoirs of a Geisha).  The task at hand, inception, which is planting an idea in someone's mind.  Cobb is tempted by the idea of being able to see his children again and assures his partner, Arthur, that it can be done.  Saito wants the heir (Cillian Murphy, The Dark Knight and Tron) of a rivalry company to break up his father's (Pete Postlethwaite who returns for his second performance with Leo, the first being Romeo + Juliet) empire.  In order for Robert Fischer (Murphy) to believe he thought up the idea himself, Cobb and Arthur round up a team of experts to help them dig deep enough in Fischer's mind to safely plant the idea.  Ellen Page (Juno and Whip It) plays the young architect, Ariadne, who builds three levels of dream sequences to make it possible for the team to go deep enough.  Eames (Tom Hardy, Marie Antoinette and Band of Brothers) is the team's conman and can change his appearance to anyone who's personality he has observed making it easier for Fischer to trust him.  Finally, the chemist, Yusuf (Dileep Rao, Avatar and Drag Me to Hell) creates a sedative strong enough to keep Fischer out for ten hours without being woken up.  The film focuses on the team's struggle to get the idea planted in Fischer's mind within the ten hours, or one week in dream time, with such conflict as Fischer's security and Cobb's secret enemy that seems to follow him in all his shared dreams.
The special effects in this film were phenomenal.  The morphing buildings and even the sound effects.  I really hope it gets some recognition with the Academy.  This movie was obviously made to be viewed in 3-D, and even though the experience was great on my tiny TV, it could probably be even better with an updated system.  This film will make you want to forget your own reality and get lost in your dreams.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tom Hardy can invade my dreams anyday!