Quick Review: 'Contagion' (C-)

I watched 'Contagion' last night. I didn't really like it. It was made by the same director as 'Traffic' and tried his best to emulate that kind of story telling magic, but fell very short. However, I really appreciated Lawrence Fishburn's performance. He was the only stand out in this start studded cast. But all in all it was just bleh.

Quick Reviews: 'Crazy, Stupid. Love', 'We Need to Talk About Kevin', 'Super 8', and 'Moneyball'

I’ve been making daily updates on my movie marathon progress on Facebook. I realized that I should probably be posting them here too.

So here is a collection on my latest updates from the week:

‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ - (A)I finally watched ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ last night. It was great and it’s totally my kind of movie. Most importantly, this movie surprised me. Normally, I’m able to predict the course of a movie and although I enjoy them, I usually see things coming from a mile away. And for the most part I was… like Marisa Tomei’s character. I predicted that. However, about three quarters of the way into the film something happened that totally threw me and I was like, “BRILLIANT!” I didn’t see it coming at all. However, looking back at earlier dialogue, I should have. The compliment here is that ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ drew me in so much, that I stopped trying to make predictions in my head… and I just let the whole story unfold, which was awesome. Great script, great cast, great movie!


‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ - (B)We Need to Talk About Kevin'. This movie is very bleak and draining. It is a very tough and not so happy story. However, quite a lot of artistry went into telling this story. What could have been very graphic and violent was told very simply and with great care. I really appreciated the simplistic approach. Plus, Tilda Swinton's performance is the best of the year, so far, and new comer Ezra Miller (as Kevin) is a young man to watch for the future.


‘Super 8’ - (A)
Movie Marathon Update: Finished 'Super 8' last night after building a bunch of presents. Wow. It was really great. I just love JJ Adrams, that dude knows how to tell a story! Plus, the kids in the movie were spot on, plus Kyle Chandler (Sp?), from Friday Night Lights, was amazing as always as the Deputy Sheriff/ Dad.


‘Moneyball’ - (A)
I watched 'Moneyball' last night. Great movie! So far it is the best movie I’ve seen during my annual "Pre-Movie Award Season Marathon”. Oddly enough, I think Jonah Hill might have a chance for the Golden Globe, although I still haven’t seen the other four Supporting Actor Nominees… yet!

Review: ‘The Ideas of March’ (B-)

Director: George Clooney (‘Good Night and Good Luck’)

Okay, so I know my review of ‘The Ideas of March’ might seem a little harsh and I’m sure Clooney, if he knew I existed, would probably think I hate him, especially since I panned ‘Up in the Air’ a few years ago on my other blog.  However, that is the farthest thing from the truth.  Please know I liked this movie… well… I appreciated the movie; I appreciated the movie a lot.

Thematically, I think the movie was a success, mainly because it justified my personal opinion about American politics: Everyone involve, no matter the party, are shady back-stabbing liars.  And in driving this theme home, Clooney, but co-star and director, created one of the bleakest depictions of the American political system I’ve seen. 

The idealistic hopes and dreams that would drive most political movies died a quick and painful death within the first quarter of ‘The Ides of March’.  And playing against the norm, where the idealism would come back for a triumphant victory… the protagonist, Ryan Gosling, succumbs to what our political system is really about and plays the game harder and better than anyone else in the room.

This movie is good and it is worth seeing if you’re not in the mood for the feel good movie of the year… it is a well constructed film with an very good cast… almost too good… way too good. 

Let me explain:

A few weeks ago I reviewed ‘Cedar Rapids’, a delightful comedy staying Ed Helms, Ann Heche, and John C. Riley.  In my review I said, “And I hate to say it, but if Ryan Gosling and Kate Winslet had starred in this movie, rather than Helms and Heche, I think Cedar Rapids would end up being the toast of the town come awards season.  And that said, I’m not sure if Gosling and Winslet would have done a better job than Helms and Heche… and that is what makes EGOTing so frustrating.”

Well, I think ‘The Ides of March’ illustrates my point beautifully.  With a different cast I think this movies would have been forgotten faster than ‘Columbiana’… or gone straight to video.  And it would have ultimately been one of those movies that film buffs recommend to each other as “must sees”, but never attracts a mainstream audience.

The fact of the matter is that ‘The Ideas of March’ has a cast, who collectively has been nominated for 27 Golden Globes, 22 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and 12 Academy Awards.  And when you have that much award love floating around, you’re pretty much guaranteed more acclaim and nominations. 

Cast: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling (‘Half Nelson’), Philip Seymour Hoffman (‘Capote’), Paul Giamatti (‘Sideways’), Even Rachel Wood (‘Once and Again’), Marisa Tomei (‘The Wrestler’) and Jeffrey Wright (‘Angels in America’)

Reviews: ‘Hanna’ (B)

‘Hanna’ (B)

Directed by: Joe Wright ‘(Atonement’ and ‘Pride and Predjudice’)

Starring: Saoirse Ronan (‘The Lovely Bones’), Eric Bana (‘Munich’), and Cate Blanchett (‘The Aviator’)

I’ve been excited about ‘Hanna’ ever since I saw the preview last summer while in Pakistan... and it certainly lived up to the hype I built up in my head.  It was really great! 

That said, if you dig those run of the mill mindless shoot ‘em up, over the top action flicks we’re accustom to in the States… ‘Hanna’ might not be your speed.  This is nothing like ‘Salt’.

Although ‘Hanna’ has elements of an action thriller, its pace is more reminiscent of a drama, which makes a lot of sense when you look at director Joe Wright’s resume.  He took this script and played it to his strengths, which I think was a benefit to the overall product.

I highly recommend this film!

Trailer Triple Play: ‘The Dictator’, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, and ‘The Hobbit’

‘The Dictator’

Last year, when I found out Sasha Baron Cohen was basing his next film on a book by Saddam Hussein I what like, “What?!?”  And then, when I found out the book, ‘Zabibah and the King’ was actually a romantic fiction novel I was like, “Cohen’s movie is going to be BRILLIANT!”

Although the original novel takes place in 8^th century medieval Iraq, Cohen’s black comedy update seems to stay true to the major themes of the story:  “the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed"  

Beyond the shear brilliance of the source material, the mismatched cast looks nothing short than amazing: Ben Kingsley (Ghandi), Anna Faris (Scary Movie 1 – 5), Jason Mantzoukas (The League), Jerry Brooks (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Fred Melamed (The Good Wife and just about everything else under the sun), and B.J. Novak (The Office and Inglorious Bastards).

‘The Dark Knight Rises’

Drool.

I cannot wait for the final chapter of this series.  Chris Nolan has done an amazing job and has set the bar incredibly high for future Batman franchises.

 I love the addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the cast… and based on what I see in the preview I am very excited to see what they’re doing with Bane.  And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Cat Woman.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

Besides having Peter Jackson back at the helm of this film alongside ‘Lord of the Rings’ veterans Ian McKellen (Gandolf), Ian Holm (Old Bilbo), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Christopher Lee (Saruman), and Elijah Wood (Frodo); I am thrilled to see Martin Freeman playing the young Bilbo.  Most American audiences will remember Freeman as Arthur Dent in ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ or John, the porn stand-in, from ‘Love Actually’.  And for those of you who are comedy purists, you will also know Freeman from the original (British) version of ‘The Office’ where he played Tim, (who was renames ‘Jim’ for the American Version).  Freeman is a solid actor and I am excited to see what he brings to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings/Hobbit legacy.

Speaking of British television (which is a vice of mine), Pete Jackson has brought in some of the best and brightest to fill out the rest of ‘The Hobbit’ cast, will introduce the Company of Dwarves, young Bilbo’s traveling companions for his adventure.  Jackson put together a VERY impressive group of actors for this: Richard Armitage (Spooks and Robin Hood), Graham McTavish (Red Dwarf), Ken Scott (Messiah), James Nesbitt (Cold Feet), and Aidan Turner (Being Human).

This movie will ROCK!

The Movie Award Season Begins NOW!

Game on. 

I live for this time of year.

Seriously, what with my work life overseas and my family life with two young kids, it is very hard for me to see a ton of movies… and even when I do, my viewing habits are undisciplined and unfocused.  I just go see movies at random and most of the time they’re with my five year-old… so we’re normally seeing ‘G’ rated fare.

However… that all changes during awards season when the nomination list start coming out:  The Golden Globes, American Film Institute, Critics Choice, Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild, Directors Guild… whoever! 

This time a year sets the ground rules... it gives me an organized and focused list of movies that are actually in contention… and thus begins my two month movie marathon leading up to the Oscar broadcast.  A marathon my wife grins and bares in return for my willingness to watch ‘Top Chef’ and ‘Project Runway’ the rest of the year.

As I said at the opening of this post: “Game on!” 

As the season progresses, my posts will probably be more frequent and definitely more focused as I start tearing through nomination list.

More later!

Grammy Awards – First Look… Annoying

Folks, to be completely honest, the Grammy’s give me a headache and they are the bane of my EGOTing existence.  There are 78 categories for the love of everything holy!  78 categories!  Come on… that’s just ridiculous! 

Listen, I totally understand that it takes different skills and talents to produce different genres of music; just like it takes different skills and talents to act in a Horror film verses a Comedy verses a Drama. However, come awards season, at some point you have to say enough is enough! 

Sure, it’s not abnormal for an Awards Ceremonies to honor separate genres.  The Tony Awards honor Musicals, Straight Plays, and Revivals separately.  The Emmy Awards honor Dramas, Comedies, TV Movies, and Mini-Series Separately.  And even the Oscars have separate categories for Animated, Documentary, and Foreign Films. 

However, the Oscars do not hand out separate awards for every conceivable genre like ‘Best Live Action Family Film’, or ‘Best Actor in a Horror Film’, or ‘Best Director of a Dramatic-Comedy’.  Just the idea of giving out such awards seems ridiculous… however, in my opinion; this ridiculousness is exactly what the Grammy Awards are doing. 

Check out the THIRTY different areas the Grammy’s honor and the number of awards they give out for each:

General/All-Around Awards: 4; Pop: 4; Dance/Electronic: 2; Traditional Pop: 1; Rock: 4 (Including a special category for ‘Hard Rock/Metal’); Alternative Rock: 1; R&B: 4 (Including a special category for ‘Traditional R&B’); Rap: 4 (Including a special category for ‘Rap Collaborations with Singers’); Country: 4; New Age: 1; Jazz: 4 (Including special categories for ‘Improvised’, ‘Vocal’, ‘Instrumental’ and ‘Ensemble’); Gospel: 5 (Including special categories for ‘Contemporary Christian’); Latin: 4 (Separate categories for ‘Banda’, ‘Tropical’, ‘Pop/Rock/Urban’, and ‘Mexican’); American Roots: 4 (Including Blues, Folk, Bluegrass… and ‘Americana’); Reggae: 1; Children: 1; World Music: 1; Comedy: 1; Spoken Word: 1; Music for Visual Media: 3; Musical Theatre: 1; Composing/Arranging: 3; Packing:  2; Historical: 1; Album Notes: 1; Production (Non-Classical): 3 (Including a special category for ‘Remixing’); Production (Classical): 3; Surround Sound: 1; Classical: 6; Music Video: 2;

And honestly, if the breakdown doesn’t seem odd enough, let me take a minute to point out some major inconsistencies:

1.       Why does Latin Music get FOUR awards, while the rest of the world gets only ONE?

2.       Why do genres like Traditional Pop, Alternative, New Age,  Reggae, and Children’s only get ONE award for ‘Best Album’, when other genres also get awards for ‘Best Song’, ‘Best Solo Performance’, and ‘Best Duo/Group Performance’?  Who decides that?

3.       Beyond all of the ‘Parent’ genre’s being honored… why are there so many sub-genre’s getting separate awards?

Perhaps I’m just a crotchety old man… I love music!  I really do!  I have a very eclectic music collection consisting of all the before mentioned styles… so I am definitely not questioning the legitimacy of the various genres and sub-genres… just the need for 78 different awards. 

And truth be told… the legitimacy of some of these awards need to be questioned when you see how some artist are able to cross over into multiple genres:

The Foo Fighters:  nominated for ‘Best Rock Performance’ and ‘Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance’… um… okay?

Coldplay: nominated for ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’, while they are also nominated for ‘Best Rock Performance’ and ‘Best Rock Song’.  I’m confused… is Coldplay a Pop or a Rock band?

Radiohead: nominated for ‘Best Rock Song’ and ‘Best Rock Performance’… but instead of being nominated for ‘Best Rock Album’, they are nominated for ‘Best Alternative Album’.  Does anyone else find this a bit strange?

Foster the People: nominated for ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’ and ‘Best Alternative Album’.

When there is this much cross over, the field becomes muddled and confusing.  Unnecessary. 

The Grammy’s should keep their four overall awards for Artist, Album, Song, and New Artist… but they really need to do a few things to clean up the rest of the show:

1.       Artists/Songs/Albums should only be allowed to compete in one genre.  Precedence: At the Emmy Awards, actors from Dramatic Comedies are not allowed to compete in both the Drama and Comedy categories for the same show.  Actors on Comedy shows are not allowed to compete in the Drama category just because they didn’t an episode with a ‘serious’ subject matter, or vice versa.

2.       Get rid of all sub-genre awards. 

3.       Only give out three awards for each parent genre: ‘Best Written Song’, ‘Best Album’, and ‘Best Performance’.

In closing, the most shocking thing about the Grammy’s 78 awards, is that their actually down from last year, when they had 109 awards!  Ridiculous.  Well… keep working Grammy’s!