Did You Hear about the Morgans

This movie, Did You Hear about the Morgans is in contention for the worse movie of the year or maybe decade. I will confess that I am a big Hugh Grant fan and the reason I rented the movie. Now he looks like he has had cosmetic surgery and looks terrible. He always of plays the same character, kind of goofy and lovable at the same time but this time he looked stiff and very uncomfortable. I'm not a Sara Jessica Parker fan though I did like Sex in the City. She was equally as bad. Even Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen could not save this film. The writing is awful. It did almost make me cry knowing I paid to rent the movie. There was only one good line in the whole mess. Sam Elliott always the manliest of men is talking to Parker. He says "you know the book Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus"? Parker says "you read that book?" Elliott says "no the title says it all."

A Serious Man

Since Judy reviewed all but one of the Academy award nominated movies, I though I would review the one she didn't on the eve of the academy awards just in case anyone is interested. I have not seen many of the nominees this year and after reading Judy's review I probably won't. As I get older I seem to have more difficulty with violent movies. I say that even though some of my favorite films or at least ones that I have liked a lot are very violent. I'm not in the mood for instance, to see "The Hurt Locker." I'm not keen on war movies. And yet "Saving Private Ryan" as difficult as it was to watch ranks in my top 25 films. (Maybe, I'll have to think about my top 25, it is in at least my top 50.) And then there is the 2007 Academy Award winning film "No Country for Old Men." I loved that movie. A classic story of good and evil. The story wraps around a man who in attempting to do something bad, ends up trying to do something good that gets him caught up in a world he can't control. Brilliant acting but very violent though to me the violence seemed contained and the characters were the interesting part. A Coen Brother's movie which leads nicely in to the review a "A Serious Man" also by the Coen Brothers.

A serious Man is a big departure from most of the Coen Brother's other movies. I have actually seen 8 out of their 13 movies: Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo (a personal favorite though again very violent), O' Brother. Where Art Thou, Intolerable Cruelty, No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading, and A Serious Man. What is similar to their other movies is the quirky characters and the superb level of acting on every one's part. The story is basically about a man who's life starts to fall apart when his wife tells him she is leaving him for the neighbor and he questions what he has done to anger God. He tries to get answers from several Rabbi's but they are of little help. It isn't a particularly fun or even enjoyable movie. The characters are not handsome or beautiful. But it is intriguing with it's questions and relationships. I'd recommend it. Will it win the Best Picture? Not a chance unless the voting gets completely screwed up. Michael Strubarg is up for best actor as well. He won't get the prize.

As I said in a previous blog some where I think Jeff Bridges will get it for "Crazy Heart" and probably deserves it for great contributions over the years. I think the Academy will recognize their first woman, Kathryn Bigelow, for best director. I didn't realize until just now that she is only the 4th woman to be nominated in that category. I didn't realize that Holliwood was such an "old boy's club". Maybe old and new boys. My money is on Sandra Bullock for best actress, again because of her contribution to the industry. Best picture "The Hurt Locker" because of the director. I have only seen three of the ten nominated films. "Up in the Air", "Up", and "A Serious Man." My favorite by far was "Up in the Air."

Oscar nominations

Since the Oscars are tomorrow night, I have been trying to see all of the nominated films. I have seen all but one. Best picture nominations: Avatar--I really didn't like this movie at all. Sure, the special effects were great but the story line was so trite and shallow it was hard for me to find any redeeming value. It was a poor attempt to echo what we western Europeans did to the American Indians. The hero wasn't any better than those trying to exploit the blue people because he married a blue girl in his altered state knowing he would never really be able to be with her. Anyway, I hope this doesn't win. The Blind Side was a very good, feel good movie and although the media wanted to discredit the real woman played by Sandra Bullock by saying she was exploiting the young man she helped, I don't think she was. It isn't the best movie of the year but it made me cry and definitely worth seeing. If not for Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Childs I'd give Sandra Bullock the Oscar. District 9 I hated although it was an amazing movie that definitely deserves a nomination. Similar to Avatar, it mimicked how blacks were treated in South Africa during the Apartheid. It was just done so much better. It was very Sci-Fi, gruesome and at one point I felt like I was in a transformer movie. I am glad I saw it but would never want to see it again. An Education was an interesting movie. It is never going to be a box office hit, and I don't think I'd watch it again but the acting was great. The story line was about a bright, young English woman who discards her chance for an education to pursue a relationship with an older man who turns out to be a scoundrel which was pretty apparent from the beginning. The Hurt Locker which is suppose to win for best picture was again a well done movie that I would never ever want to see again. It is about soldiers who are in charge of disarming IEDs. Very graphic which was necessary in this film to get a real sense of the horror of war. Inglourisous Basterds Randy and I just saw last night on Pay for View. It is a fictitious story about American soldiers in France during the Nazi occupation. Brad Pitt is in charge of a group that kills and scalps Nazis. Well done film that again showed the horrors of war and was very graphic and gruesome. I think they way over did the graphic factor. I hid my eyes several times. Christopher Waltz who plays a Nazi with the nickname of Jew Killer, definitely deserves the best supporting actor award. Precious was much more to my liking. It wasn't a pleasant movie to watch but an important one because it speaks to the sexual abuse that so many young girls growing up in poverty experience. I liked it better when I thought it was based on a real life story but as fiction it was unrealistic. The abuse wasn't unrealistic but the idea that Precious might be able to lead a normal adult life was pretty far fetched. Mo'Nique who plays Precious' mother definitely gets my vote for best supporting actress. Up was a great animated film (I didn't see it in 3D) and I think it probably deserves best animated film but I wouldn't put it up against the other nominations. If they had not doubled the nominated films this year it would never have made it. I liked Up in the Air a lot, and I would definitely see it again. My favorite reason for liking this movie is that a woman instead of a man was the one who had a family back home and was having an affair on the road or shall we say up in the air. The acting was great but I wouldn't give George Clooney best actor. He is good but he was pretty much just being George Clooney. However, Anna Kendrick, who plays the twenty something executive did a superb job and if it wasn't for Mo'Nique's role, I'd give her the Oscar for best supporting actress. She is really the reason I liked the movie so much. The only movie I haven't see is A Serious Man. I can't really say which movie I would give the Oscar to this year. None of them makes me say oh yeah that is the one. I hope 2010 movies are better. Regarding best actors, I haven't see Jeff Bridges or Morgan Freeman. Of those I have seen, I loved Colin Firth in a Single Man. It was a very poignant movie about a man who loses his male partner in a car accident and struggles with moving on.