Oscars Daily

The Ides of March (2011)

Ides of March (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Beau Willimon, George Clooney, Grant Heslov).
Watched April 20, 2013.

 

Photo Source: NY Times

 

"But is it better to win and deliver on half your pledges or retain your purity and achieve nothing?" (The Guardian)

 

I was working in a movie theatre when Ides of March came out and I had a vague interest in seeing it.  It probably had something to do with Ryan Gosling being in the film, but it was 2011, a year before elections, and I was sick of politics already.  It is probably best that I avoided it, but now that I have some political clarity, I actually quite enjoyed the film and for what people my age tend to call "an old person film," I really appreciated the 102 minute runtime.  

 

Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) is gunning for the presidency and is deep in the trenches of political warfare--the democratic primary campaign.  He claims no religion and always smoothly moves the questions in the direction of the constitution.  His campaign manager is Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a man who has equally made his life about politics as well as loyalty among the ranks.  The Ides of March has its main eye on another character--the right hand man to Zara is the young, dashing idealist Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) who still retains his innocence toward politicians and the campaigning process.  He claims the only reason he works for Morris is because he believes that he is the only solution to the country's problems.  It is as if he has Morris on a pedestal and the man can do no wrong.

 

Things take a turn pretty quickly.  The competition's campaign manager, a Mr. Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), sees something brilliant in Stephen and asks him to meet him at a bar.  It is here that he offers the young visionary a job and claims that he has caused another politician to jump ship with a promise of Secretary of State.  Stephen is confused and reeling, not sure whether or not he should tell Zara about his meeting and not sure why Duffy would come to him with these stories.

 

Stephen learns pretty quickly about the value of loyalty, but he also learns that no one is perfect.  If you want to survive in this career path, you have to make the tough decisions and sometimes you might even have to compromise your beliefs for a man you once thought a saint.  His innocence is shattered and he has to choose whether or not to let others trample all over him or to use the many weapons in his arsenal to get what he wants.  

 

Ides of March is a slow, dialogue driven, political thriller directed by George Clooney that uses its short run-time very effectively.  Gosling's character reminded me a lot of his character in Drive, although this time he is much more talkative.  All of the actors did a good job--they were all believable in their roles and the people who you might love in the beginning prove to fool the audience just like they are fooling the American public.  Politics can be a dirty game, and this film only shows a part of that.  

 

There is very little bias toward democrats or republicans, although there are shorts snippets of Morris discussing his liberal ideals.  It isn't a film to convince you to become democrat, but more of an insight into a world that we all know is full of liars and manipulation.  They all want to get to the top, even the interns.  

 

If this sounds like your kind of movie, I would definitely recommend it.  It's not something I would watch all the time, but it is well made and the scripting, of course, is very well done.

 

  

Life of Pi (2012)

Life of Pi (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 11 awards, of which it won 4.
Nominated for Best Picture (Ang Lee, David Womark, Gil Netter), Best Adapted Screenplay (David Magee), Best Music, Song "Pi's Lullaby" (Bombay Jayashri, Mychael Danna), Best Sound Editing (Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton), Best Sound Mixing (D. M. Hemphill, Drew Kunin, Ron Bartlett), Best Production Design (Anna Pinnock, David Gropman), and Best Film Editing (Tim Squyres).
Won Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Original Score (Mychael Danna), Best Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), and Best Visual Effects (Bill Westenhofer, Donald R. Elliott, Erik-Jan De Boer, Guillaume Rocheron).
Watched April 12, 2013.

 

Photo Source: Subscene

Life of Pi is based off the award winning book by Yann Martel.  I have loved the book for years and was ecstatic when I heard about the film, but when the movie actually came out, other lovers of the book told me that they were really disappointed in it, so I decided not to see it in theaters.  Low and behold, I should NOT have listened to them!  Opinions about the film vary, which is understandable, from both those who have read the book and those who have not.  From my perspective, not only does the film follow the book incredibly well, but its execution stands up to Martel's vision and I would love to watch it as often as I read the book… which is very often.

 

Life of Pi can be broken into three parts.  Pi Patel (Irrfan Khan) is living in Toronto when an author (Rafe Spall) comes to him in search of a story--a story that is said to make you believe in God.  With a knowing smile, Pi begins at the beginning.  He was raised in Pondicherry as a zookeeper's son.   The beginning is very family friendly--with silly humor including an overly buff and disproportionate swim instructor and Pi's exploration of many religions.  The beginning almost feels disconnected with the rest of the film, but it is also necessary in order to set up the rest of the story.  

 

Encountering some difficulties, Pi's family decides to move to Canada where they will sell the animals and begin a new life.  Their Japanese ship never sees shore again because during a terrific storm, it sinks to the deepest part of the sea and Pi finds himself alone in the ocean, apart from the giant tiger Richard Parker.  This is when the story picks up and things get good.  Pi must find the strength to fight for his life, as it is being attacked from all angles.  His faith is challenged, and because he spends over 270 days at sea, he is left with nothing but faith by the end.

 

Because Pi is telling his story to the author, we know the outcome, and for those who have not read the book, this is perhaps a let down.  However, the book reads the same way and therefore Ang Lee, who directed, took no liberties in that regard.  Although there are a few weak links in the production, as a whole, the entire cast performs very well, and one could argue that the three who carried the film were Ang Lee, Claudio Miranda (the cinematographer), and Suraj Sharma, who plays Pi for the majority of the film.  

 

Ang Lee has directed many award winning films in his time.  His wins with Life of Pi are well deserved.  Miranda's work is exquisite, and combined with the visual effects, the screen becomes candy to the eyes.  When the heavens reflect so perfectly in the waters that it seems Pi and his raft are floating in midair, I wasn't sure where to look because I wanted to look at everything at once.  Richard Parker, the tiger, is 100% animated and there is very little within the film that indicates this.  Sharma does a magnificent job acting and reacting to his tiger-less circumstances and I am pretty shocked the Academy gave him no recognition.  

 

There is love, humor, sadness, and fear.  The end delivers the best moment of the film by Sharma and although many reviewers dislike the conclusion, feeling as if it is a bit tacked on, I found it wrapped everything up nicely.  It is a film that causes one to think rather than just something that entertains.  Although I'm not sure if Pi's story would cause one to believe in God, I really enjoyed it.

 

I would definitely recommend this film.  Hands down, no arguments against it.  It can be slow at times and the three parts of the film can feel a bit disjointed, but as a whole it is a beautiful film and one that I would love to own.

  

Pina (2011)

Pina (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
1/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film (Gian-Piero Ringel, Wim Wenders).
Watched April 9, 2013.

Photo Source: LA Contemporary Dance Company 

Most of the reviews I read for Pina were absolute raves, but I did manage to find one that agreed with me and made me feel like a little less of a weirdo.  If you love modern dance, contemporary, and ballet, and also have an eye for the abstract in art, you probably will not agree with me.  I generally like contemporary and classical ballet, along with other styles of dance, but this documentary was fairly alienating and is definitely aimed at fans of Pina Bausch, the choreographer genius behind the dances in the documentary.

 

Pina passed away from cancer just five days after she was diagnosed.  The film was already in pre-production, but after her passing it became a tribute to her choreography and her genius in the dancing community.  The documentary features several dance numbers that she and her company performed during her career, but they are broken apart and are never shown from beginning to end, but rather sprinkled throughout the narrative.  They all tend to incorporate elements--earth and water--or obstacles.  There is very little dialogue, and when there is, it is usually a brief, somewhat ambiguous statement from one of Pina's dancers about Pina and her style of teaching and choreographing.  There are also original clips of Pina herself in both the studio as well as the stage.  She embodies so much of her dance that after watching her, the other dancers seem as if they are chasing her greatness.

 

From someone who knew nothing about Pina Bausch before the film, I almost know less after watching it.  I know her name and that she was a dancer and choreographer.  However, the documentary revealed little of her story and her character, but focused mostly on the imagery of her dances and therefore her ideas translated through dance.  However, the fact that her dances were broken up made it more difficult to discover their meaning and therefore grow attached to them.

 

I am not a dancer and therefore the messages did not translate well.  I was very confused and bored until the last few minutes, when I was finally able to discover some of my own meaning in a few of the dances.  One of the last scenes has the group of dancers doing a certain "line dance," if you will, along the ridge of a mountain, and I found this shot quite beautiful.

 

All things said and done, I am glad to cross the documentary Pina off my list and move on to something else.  I would not recommend it if, as I mentioned before, you don't care for modern or contemporary dance and if you would rather there be some dialogue or verbal explanation of story.  I am a great lover of story, and there was little depth in that regard for me.  However, if you are a lover of dance and a lover of Pina Bausch, please disagree with me and see the film for yourself!

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Visual Effects (Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, R. Christopher White).
Watched April 7, 2013.

Photo Source: Horror.com 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes should have been awarded Most Awkward Title, but like Real Steel, turns out to be a pretty entertaining blockbuster, although this one did try to have some depth to its story.  

 

Sometime in the not too distant future, James Franco… I mean Will Rodman is trying to find the cure for Alzheimers, particularly because his father is suffering from the devastating disease.  Like most drugs, he is testing on apes, and within the first few minutes there is promise and hope--one of the apes, Bright Eyes, is finally showing potential.  Will knows he's on the right track, and rather hastily gets his reluctant boss, Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), to let him pitch the drug to the board.  Inevitably, things go wrong, and it seems like it's back to the drawing board… except when Will finds Bright Eyes' baby boy.  Not able to put him down like Jacobs wants, Will smuggles the baby chimp home and notices almost right away that the chimp is hyper-intelligent.

 

Many years pass, which include experiments and growth, both on humans and chimps alike.  Will's father Charles (John Lithgow), whom Will has been giving the experimental drug for Alzheimers, has improved drastically, and as the chimp Caesar has grown, so has his intelligence.  Will is teaching him to sign, and because of his affection for the primate, grabs himself a vet for a girlfriend, Caroline (Freida Pinto).  Her role is rather pointless and I'm never actually sure why she's there, except to dab Caesar's occasional boo-boo and to lend an emotional support for traumatized Will. 

 

Because Will does become traumatized towards the end of the film.  First Caesar is sent away, and then things get real crazy.  As this film is a prequel for the two before it, the ending is rather inevitable, but the journey revealing and entertaining.  Caesar is a sweetheart whose brain eventually gets the better of him.  Taking him away from Will is probably the worst decision the human race has ever made.  

 

Rise is nominated for its visual effects, and they are definitely impressive.  Although the apes are clearly animated, their facial expressions and movements are fluid and realistic, and at times it is easy to forget their animation.  The story and over-all execution is drastically less campy than the previous films, even Tim Burton's 2001 version.  Humans aren't portrayed as all-out bad guys.  There are definite sour fruits all throughout the film, but Will and his family represent the good guys, and they do it well.  It is hard not to root for Caesar and his companions, but if one has seen or knows of the previous Planet of the Apes films, it is impossible not to root for the survival of humanity.  

 

Fun fact for the fans, there is a brief, although significant clip of the first manned shuttle to Mars, but if you don't understand that reference, move right along.

 

If you're looking for a blockbuster that semi-successfully goes a bit deeper into morality and life questions than your typical summer hit, this would be a good one to try out.  However, if you're more into films like The Artist or Pina, I would highly doubt that Rise of the Planet of the Apes is your cup of tea--but you knew that already.

 

Real Steel (2011)

Real Steel (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Visual Effects (Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Danny Gordon Taylor, Swen Gillberg).
Watched April 3, 2013.

 

"Behind it all is a collective fantasy of invulnerability, omnipotence and eternal life.  "Real Steel" at least acknowledges that machines require maintenance to be superhuman" (NY Times). 

 

Photo Source: Beyond Hollywood

Real Steel is your basic entertaining blockbuster with an out of this world budget supported by a fairly incredible cast and with very little depth behind its predictable, albeit likable character arcs.  It doesn't try to be more than it is, and although it is a bit long of a film, it brings us a different kind of sport movie, complete with a feel-good montage sequence, thats heroes are robots--not humans.

 

Don't get me wrong, the focus is definitely more about the character growth of the humans than the robots.  This isn't your typical sci-fi thriller where the robots are terrifyingly intelligent, they outthink us, and try to take over the world.  In fact, it almost seems as if director Shawn Levy was careful not to dwell too long on any robot's face, lest we get the feeling that there is something going on in its brain.  The robots in Real Steel are innocent, despite what their human owners are using them for.

 

It is sometime in the future and human boxing has become obsolete, something that Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is trying to forget.  Robots have taken over in the ring, and despite the fact that Charlie is clearly bitter about not being in there himself, he is a robot fighter, bringing his dilapidated monsters around to underground fights where big league rules don't apply.  Things aren't going well for Charlie--he keeps losing and is behind on his rent.  He lives in the old gym where he used to train, and the daughter of his now deceased coach, Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly) owns it, as well as fixes up his bots.  After a lot of bad luck, things seem to turn around when Charlie's old fling turned baby mama dies (we don't know how) and Charlie could stand to earn a lot of money if he plays his cards right.  The kid, Max (Dakota Goyo) shows little emotion toward his mom's passing, but is remarkably like Charlie, and figures out pretty quickly that Charlie sold him to his aunt.  

 

Through some turn of events, Max has to stay with Charlie for the summer, and inevitably, because heis the carbon copy of his dad, he falls in love with robot boxing.  He finds a robot in a junk yard--an old second generation sparring bot named Atom, and essentially falls in love, like a kid would fall in love with a dog.  Using his giant eyes of persuasion, he gets Charlie to help him out, and Atom's incredible ability to take a hit instantly skyrockets them to fame and eventually onto the big stage where they take on the biggest professional fighters of the day.

 

The special effects are out of this world.  I usually completely forget that the robots are computer generated, and although we all know that Atom has zero brain functions, it's hard to not root for him.  It's a lot easier to root for Max--he has a fiery personality that travels right alongside his innocence.  Charlie is a tough cookie and has a lot of issues he has to get through, but by the end he is a lot more endearing.   

 

One of the last scenes is my absolute favourite, although I wouldn't say watching the entire movie is worth it just to get to that place.  If you're looking for an entertaining, well made blockbuster, this is definitely a good option.  It's not particularly something I would want to watch over and over again, but it has a feel-good quality that I quite enjoy, and the ending is uplifting and joyful, which is a good feeling to walk away with after watching it.  If you haven't seen this one and you're into sport-type movies, I would recommend it.  However, if you're looking for something with a certain level of depth, this would be one to stay away from.

 

  

Argo (2012)

Argo (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 7 awards, of which it won 3.
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Sound Editing (Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn), and Best Sound Mixing (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, Jose Antonio Garcia).
Won Best Adapted Screenplay (Chris Terrio), Best Film Editing (William Goldenberg), and Best Picture (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney).
Watched March 22, 2013.

Photo Source: Film Phage

When it comes to Best Picture of the year, Ben Affleck's Argo was not my pick, but the buzz around it going into awards season this year meant that it was probably the strongest contender for the title.  It is an entertaining, engaging, and very well made film based on real life events in 1979 and 1980.  In fact, the film is made so well that it feels like it was actually made in the era it documents.

 

In the first five minutes of the film, Affleck treats us to a crash course in the recent Iranian political climate and bases many of his footage off of actual photographs from the event.  There are some nasty feelings toward the United States because they have given asylum to a political leader the people want to hang.  As a result, the Iranians take over the American embassy and take everyone inside hostage.  Everyone but the six citizens who escape out the back door and find refuge in the Canadian ambassador's home.  

 

Tony Mendez (Affleck) is a hot shot CIA exfiltration specialist, and after months of the hostage situation, he is finally brought on board to get the six escapees home.  In perhaps my favourite part of the film, he gets the bright idea of flying in alone, claiming to be a part of a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a sci-fi thriller, and will fly out with his crew.  He even goes so far as to fly to Hollywood and bring two greats onto his side to help prove this film is real--Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) is a long time producer with shelves of awards and John Chambers (John Goodman), a special effects and prosthetics artist.  They find the script (Argo), stage a reading, create storyboards and posters, and even make it into the press.  

Photo Source: AZ Central 

Although a lot of people I have heard claim the beginning of the film is slow, if you stick with it, the last forty minutes or so are a fast paced roller coaster.  Without knowing much about each individual character, we almost immediately feel a connection with them.  It is easy to pull for both Mendez and the rest of the Americans.  They are stressed to the breaking point and trust isn't easy to come by, but it is time to go.  Even though running and hiding hasn't been the easiest thing, escaping in broad day light through a busy airport is the scariest thing most of them have ever experienced, and for good reason.  

 

The film is based off of real life events that were declassified by President Clinton several years ago.   It is fascinating that a hero such as Mendez could exist and receive the highest award the CIA has to offer, and no one knew about it until many years later.  Affleck embodies the character very well.  He has confidence in the "best bad idea" that they have, and he works the entire movie to instill that confidence in everyone else.  Arkin and Goodman were exquisite comic reliefs and one of my favourite aspects of the film.  At times, the Hollywood action tends to pull the focus too far out of Iran, but perhaps the crazy almost non-reality of their world helps the audience believe the crazy reality of the exfiltration and the story that they are trying to pull off.

 

The story is wonderful, although it doesn't try to be any deeper than it is.  There is little attempt to delve into the psyche of the characters, but instead we are given little clues that tell us just enough to understand what we need to, and then we move on.  It is as if the whole film is just a blink of what actually happened and we are privileged enough to get that glimpse.  

 

The style of the film is almost as admirable as Mendez himself (okay that's a stretch, but seriously… it's good).  Affleck chose to shoot on film instead of HD, like most of today's talent.  Every nomination and win was deserved.  The exquisite detail, the 70s hair, and the nail biting sound all wove together into a wonderful historic narrative that will hopefully live on well beyond 2013.

 

I would highly recommend this film.  It isn't a family movie and if you have kids you might want to exercise some caution.  However, they might also fall asleep before the movie is too far in--once you get past the initial takeover of the embassy, of course.  It is a film I would love to own and one that I could easily watch a couple times a year.  If you haven't had the chance to see Affleck's best directorial work, now would be a fantastic time!

 

A Separation (2011)

A Separation (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 2 awards, of which it won 1.
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Asghar Farhadi).
Won Best Foreign Language Film (Iran).
Watched April 2, 2013.

 

Photo Source: The Urchin Movement

Even though foreign films, different languages, and subtitles are not my thing, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how amazing A Separation is.  It is starkly honest in conveying its own culture's weaknesses, as well as its strengths, and the subtlety of its delivery is very moving.

 

The film opens in a courtroom.  A man and a woman, husband and wife, stare directly into the camera as the woman tries desperately to prove that she has grounds for a divorce.  Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to take her daughter somewhere out of the country, and she will go with or without her husband.  Nader (Payman Maadi), on the other hand, will not leave because his father has alzheimers and he has to care for him.  He will give her permission for a divorce, but won't let her take their daughter.

 

Because Simin moves out, Nader hires a woman to take care of both the house and his father.  Razieh (Sareh Bayat) has to bring her young daughter to work every day, as well as commute ninety minutes each way.  Although it is clear from the beginning, the arrangement is more to Nader's liking than Razieh's, things soon get more serious as Nader's father's health takes a drastic downturn and Razieh feels as if her morals have been compromised.

 

Although the beginning is slow, and at first I wasn't quite sure where the story was going, things eventually took a drastic turn.  I won't reveal what that is, except that the family suddenly finds themselves in the courts again, but this time for a much more serious reason than divorce.  

 

The acting is exquisite and almost all of the characters have such a depth and likability that it is hard to root for just one of them.  The plot takes some unexpected turns, but also shows a side of Iran that many in the states don't get to see, which I quite enjoyed.  The cultural differences are interesting but are not the driving force behind the film.  The story, production design, cinematography, and acting are all forces to be reckoned with, and when it comes down to it, this just might be a foreign film to top the charts.  

 

Even if foreign films aren't your thing (like me!), I would definitely recommend A Separation for you!  You should be aware that it is a drama full of a lot of dialogue (and therefore a lot of subtitles), but I found it completely worthwhile.  There is an interesting clash between honesty, religious beliefs, family, and manipulation that pull the whole story together into something great.

  

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 4 awards.
Nominated for Best Actress (Quvenzhané Wallis), Best Directing (Benh Zeitlin), Best Picture (Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald), and Best Writing-Adapted Screenplay (Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin).
Watched March 30, 2013.

Photo Source: A Fistful of Culture 

My thoughts about Beasts of the Southern Wild, whether profound or otherwise, are few and far between.  The reviews I have read about the film seem to be on either one side of the fence or the other--complete love or near hate.  I am a rarity and find myself on the fence--neither a devote follower or a hater.  It's a coming of age story… but with a six year old.

 

This is Benh Zeitlin's breakout film as a director, and as such, he came out with a bang.  Being nominated for four Oscars while taking the risks that he did in the film are gutsy, and I doubt this will be the last we hear from him in Hollywood royalty.

 

The film is about a community that lives outside the levy in New Orleans around the time of hurricane Katrina, although this fact not stated in the film.  The main character, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) lives in this placed called the Bathtub with her father.  They live in two separate trailers that are perched on stilts.  Her father is not always present, and sometimes Hushpuppy has to fend for herself.  Although it is obvious that her father Wink (Dwight Henry) isn't the best dad in the world, he is desperate to teach his daughter how to take care of herself because he knows he won't be around forever.

 

When the hurricane comes, many in their community leave for the protection of the levy, but those who stay see their home torn apart and spend the next while riding boats on what were once streets.  The animals and sea life slowly die and the group has to decide what to do, because doing anything might make the levy people force them to evacuate.

 

Hushpuppy occasionally narrates the film with thoughts so profound and poetic, even though it might be in broken english, that it is hard to believe a six year old could phrase anything that way.  And yet, it is believable because we know Hushpuppy, and we know what a stubborn, quiet, intuitive little girl she is.  We also understand the love she has for her home, as well as the imagination that plays out for us on the screen.  

 

Zeitlin used all non-actors for his cast.  The actor who plays Hushpuppy's dad Wink (Henry) is a baker and has stated no interest in pursuing an acting career.  Many times when non-actors are used, it tears the film apart and very little of the other positive qualities matter.  However, I think the fact that Wallis was nominated for Best Actress, being the youngest ever nominated at nine years old, speaks volumes about the performances in Beasts.  

 

Despite the wonderful acting and the art direction, I found the story hard to connect with.  Even though there are traumatic things happening on screen, I felt little to no connection with the characters and felt very little whenever bad (or good) things happened to them.  The cinematography, at times good, others not, was shot on film instead of HD.  I generally like this quite a lot, but the film utilized the currently very popular style of hand held shots, which is something I can only stand in minimal amounts.  I understand the choice, in part, but think it would have been much more powerful if it was used more sparingly.  

 

I'm not sure whether or not I would recommend this film.  If you are a fan of such brain benders as The Tree of Life by by Terrence Malick, you might enjoy Beast of the Southern Wild, although Zeitlin has a ways to go before he reaches Malick's genius.  This isn't a movie to watch casually, but if you are looking for something serious with childhood adventures (in a non-children friendly movie), it might be a good option.

 

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011)

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature (Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky)
Watched March 16, 2013.

 

Photo Source: ImageShack

My heart breaks as I write this review.  In fact, it has taken me weeks to write it, which is why I have done so few reviews lately.  My thoughts are jumbled and writing them down almost makes me more confused.  This documentary was hard to watch, both because of its content, the real life events, and the way it stuck to me after it was finished.  The filmmakers were incredibly convincing, both in their style, delivery, timeline, and story.  

 

My personal opinions on the murder of three eight year old boys and who killed them does not have a place in this review, as I would like to focus on the filmmaking and its place in the Academy's nominations.  However, I feel a great hole in my heart as I think about that night in 1993 when three sets of parents were frantically searching for their children, and the horrible moment the next day when they found out why Michael, Christopher, and Stevie never came home.  "The real West Memphis Three who will never be forgotten" (http://www.terryhobbs.com).

 

The film is divided into parts.  The first two recap what happened in the previous documentaries, therefore if you are a newcomer to the story, like myself, the first half of the film is plenty to catch you up on what has been going on the last twenty years.  The first chapter is clearly a product of the nineties, and is jarringly askew, aided by the overbearing Metallica accompaniment.  Despite this fact, after adjusting my 2013 brain to their post-production decision, I found it fit very well with the horrific nature of the murders and the trials that followed.  

 

The Paradise Lost films are not about three eight year old boys (Michael, Christopher, and Stevie), who were murdered.  They are about the three who served time in prison for almost twenty years for the murders.  The documentaries' main goal was to prove their innocence and have them released.  The filmmakers' actions were desperate at times because one of the three convicted received the death penalty in 1994.

 

For someone who knew nothing about the film going into it, and even less about the murders it focuses on, I was fairly traumatized, to say the least.  I watch a lot of crime dramas but very few documentaries on the same subjects, simply because the real life actions make me sick to my stomach, whereas dramatized circumstances are entertaining.  I was horrified for the little boys, for their families, for their screaming mothers, and for the three teenage boys that may or may not have committed the crime.

 

Setting reality aside, the filmmaking was phenomenal.  I can't get past how wonderful the editing was, and how ultimately persuasive the filmmakers were able to make their argument.  Whether or not they manipulated situations or left out evidence in hopes of convincing the audience that the three on trial were innocent is irrelevant because they set out to argue their case and were successful.  The way they timed it, pieced it together, narrated it, and used the interview footage was all beautifully done.

 

Because of my own experience with this film, I recommend it lightly.  Please understand the nature of the film and that if all you can handle is Hollywood crime dramas, this is one to stay away from.  I am glad to get this review done so that maybe I can move on, and therefore recommend that if you also have a tough time letting go of reality, this might be a good documentary to pass by. 

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)

The Pirates!  Band of Misfits (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
1/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (Peter Lord).
Watched March 14, 2013.

 

Photo Source: Cartoon Excellence

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is like a bad Saturday cartoon, only with much better animation.  

 

I couldn't sit still through the film and kept my eye on the clock, which is worse than watching water boil because the film was an hour and a half long.  When your favourite part of the film is the end credits, there is something significantly wrong with the story.

 

The Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Jackman) has been trying for years to win the Pirate of the Year award, and has lost every time.  It's not hard to see why when his competitors fly in on waves of booty with excessive Pirate pizzaz.  Although his crew of misfits--albinos and "surprisingly curvaceous" pirates among them--stand behind him wholeheartedly, their luck never seems to come, until they ironically discover Charles Darwin out at sea.  He excitedly points out that their parrot is actually an "extinct" Dodo bird and talks them into going to London to win an award for scientific discovery.  Although Queen Victoria is a well known pirate hater, The Pirate Captain can't see reason and thus makes the trip to London, crew in tow.  All is well and good, with good laughs and all, until around this portion of the film, where everything seems to get confused and I got lost among the plot points that began sprouting out of nowhere.  

 

The plot kept going and going--circling back in on itself and exploring areas that had already been revealed and discussed.  The bad guy keeps resurfacing, the good guy somehow always fails miserably until the opportune moment, and you're never quite sure how many movies you are watching--be it one or seven.  By the end of this film, I wanted to rip my eyeballs out… or run around the block a couple times to get my impatience out.  While the claymation was great, the redeeming qualities were few and the film as a whole was absolutely terrible.  Despite all of this, I ended up watching almost the entire ending credit sequence because it tied all of the plot lines together in minute shorts that were more funny than the rest of the movie put together.

 

There were hilarious supporting characters voiced by even more amazing actors.  The Aardmans have such an incredible reputation for producing some amazing claymation stop-animation films with hilarious stories and wonderful charters, but unfortunately I found much to be desired in this film and am not surprised that the film fell short of an Academy win.

 

Personally, I would not recommend this film.  However, your kids might like it, and I have read several reviews in which adults quite enjoyed the film as well.  Perhaps my patience with meandering stories has been frayed lately, but I doubt I will ever watch The Pirates! Band of Misfits again.