Tag: Movies

Posted in Movies

Oscar Reactions

Posted on by Godfather

So it isn’t my day to blog, but this one wouldn’t fit next weekend. Last night, they completely remade the show, making it a little less formal and yet still entertaining. Jackman did a surprisingly good job as host, but I have to say, I still like Stewart and Crystal better. Another thing I didn’t like was the way they did the acting awards, making it seem like they were the biggest things of the night, while skipping quickly over the others. Acting is good, but the Oscars are supposed to celebrate all the elements of the movie together, and not just pander to the general public who don’t know anything about editing or cinematography. So, what about the winners?

I was fine for the most part, no big surprises last night. Slumdog Millionaire was easily the biggest winner, and they deserved most of those awards. My main problems are in the Original Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and Actor categories. Milk had a decent screenplay, but no where near as original and good as In Bruges. Bruges was Pulp Fictiony in a way, making it easily the best in that category. Cruz did a good job as always, but I think Marisa Tomei did an excellent job in The Wrestler, which should have been nominated for and won some of the awards. Best actor was also a little disappointing, with Penn winning yet another Oscar. While he did do a great job, I think that we kind of expect that from him, and Rourke came by surprise with the role of a lifetime, and one that is so much different from the rest of his movies.

So what do you guys think of it?

Posted in Movies

My Oscar Picks

Posted on by Godfather

So the Oscars are tonight, and the academy has already made some horrible nominations, but lets hope they get SOME of these right. These aren’t what I think will win, these are what I think should win.

Best Picture- Slumdog Millionaire

It should be everything I hate. A cliche story, a happy ending, characters that don’t get too deep. But a movie has to be this good to have me rooting so much for the cliche ending and for the two characters to fall in love.

Best Actor- Mickey Rourke:

The Wrestler I do have to admit, this is a tough field right here, with Penn, Langella, and Pitt all giving great performances, but Rourke easily wins this in my book. Every moment, he IS Randy the Ram, for no second did I think of him as an actor, or this as a movie, but just like we were watching his life.

Best Actress- Kate Winslet: The Reader

While I haven’t seen two of the nominees in this category, I didn’t see too much from the trailers to make me doubt this choice. Winslet was great as the Nazi, and was believable the whole time. She went out of her comfort zone and still came out believable, and that’s what I think makes an Oscar winning performance.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Heath Ledger: The Dark Knight

Do I really have to explain myself? Only Brolin in this category has a chance at taking this from Heath, but I don’t think that will happen.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Marisa Tomei: The Wrestler

Again, just like Rourke, Tomei WAS Cassidy the stripper. This was easily the best performance in this category, and one of the best of the year as well. But, Cruz will probably get the Oscar.

Best Directing- David Fincher: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

While Boyle did a good job as well with Slumdog, Fincher has not made a bad movie from what I’ve seen. Button is just as good as these, and this is through the eyes of a true film genius, being able to make some of the most tense thrillers and still making this great drama.

Best Original Screenplay- In Bruges

It should win, and hopefully, it will win. The dialogue is excellent, and story interesting from beginning to end. Nothing else in this category is close to what Bruges has done.

Best Adapted Screenplay- Slumdog Millionaire

What can I say? It had me hooked until the end. This is a tough category though, and I wouldn’t be too sad if Nixon or Doubt took this one away.

Best Cinematography- Slumdog Millionaire

This was tough between Benjamin Button and Slumdog, but I had to give it to the latter. The images were beautiful in every shot, and just amazed me how well it could be done.

Best Editing- The Dark Knight

To keep a 2 1/2 hour movie go by as fast as The Dark Knight is an amazing accomplishment.

Best Art Direction- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you see the movie, you’ll see what I mean. Each set is meticulously done, and sets up for the cinematography.

Best Costume Design- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Again, Button is a huge feat in the production of it, and the costumes are all so realistic for the time. Duchess I haven’t seen though, but it will probably win.

Best Makeup- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Making an actor age like this is part makeup, part special effects. And both these elements worked together so well to make Pitt and Blanchett age.

Best Music- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I had the score stuck in my head for the next 3 hours, and I loved it.

Best Original Song- Slumdog Millionaire: Jai Ho

Ugh, NO “THE WRESTLER” BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN??!? THAT was easily the best song of the year, and instead, they choose 3 mediocre ones. This is just unforgivable…

Best Sound- The Dark Knight

They did such a great job with the Batpod, explosions, and everything.

Best Sound Editing- Iron Man

This should have been nominated in both sound categories and win both.

Best Visual Effects- Iron Man

Sure, Button was good in the more subtle effects, but some of the characters looked fake (young Daisy). But Iron Man looked just as real as any of the other actors in the movie.

Best Animated Feature- Wall-E

Sure, Kung Fu Panda was more enjoyable, but Wall-E was more of an achievement in film. With little dialogue, we still knew what was going on and felt for the characters. The animation was also so great, bringing the movie to life.

The rest I haven’t seen enough of the contenders to make an accurate judgement, so I’d like to know what you guys think about them.

Posted in Movies

Pacing and Length in Movies

Posted on by Godfather

What I don’t understand about some people, is their short attention spans when it comes to movies. Sometimes, they aren’t meant to be fast paced like EVERY OTHER HOLLYWOOD MOVIE. Same goes for long ones, where most go “It’s three hours? That sounds boring”. But What I’ve found, is sometimes these are the best types, and that deviation lets you fully explore the movie’s scope. So first, let’s talk pacing.

So for each of these explanations, I’ll be using two more recent movies to show good and bad examples of these properties. 10,000 B.C. and Benjamin Button (which I’ll use again) are both excellent examples of this. 10,000 B.C. is what people dread when it comes to boring movies. With all the cliches they try to throw at you, and the horribly done action make this seem like it goes on forever. Don’t forget the play by numbers action script, and we have a wanna be epic that just goes ON AND ON. Its the type that we just wish it could speed up, and move faster than a slug. More examples of this are The Last Legion, License to Wed, and The Astronaut Farmer. Then, we have Benjamin Button, which is the story of a man who ages in reverse. It’s slow, but if you can appreciate what its about, then that just lets you think of how Benjamin is about life as a whole. But this one has a reason for the pacing, it spans 70 years, and those really don’t go by too quickly, so this gives the sense that we did watch his whole life. Some of these are Assassination of Jesse James, The Wrestler, and Apocalypse Now.

Now, we have the lengthy ones. Most of my favorite movies are those that exceed 2 hours, and this is because most long movies have a larger meaning that couldn’t fit into the usual one and a half hours. These examples will be Australia and, again, Benjamin Button. Australia could have been much better, if they had kept to one storyline. From the beginning to the half-way point, its all about Kidman and Jackman’s blooming love, which was, actually pretty enjoyable. These scenes were funny, dramatic, and the usual chick-flick. But then, when it could have just ended, they had to start the movie up again just as we were winding down, and make it go on for another 1 and a half hours or so. From then on, most of the audience wasn’t very happy, and when the ending came, everyone winded up in the same exact spot, leaving us wondering why they couldn’t have just left it as it was. Some other bad examples are the last two Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars Attack of the Clones. Then again, Benjamin Button needed these 3 hours, and could have used more if you asked me. This is a whole man’s life, and to get all the struggles, and moments of it was to keep it going. I’m fine with a short movie for a film that spans 10 days, but one that goes at least 70 years has got to have this length to capture most of the time periods. And unlike Australia, it doesn’t just tack on scenes to make it seem epic, it didn’t need to. From what I’ve seen, most movies that are over two and a half hours are excellent, and here are just a few. Once Upon a Time in America (4 hours), The Godfather (3 hours), Lord of the Rings Return of the King (3 and a half hours), and Braveheart (3 hours).

Posted in Sports

Scarface’s Top 5 Sport Movies

Posted on by Scarface

So this is the second of two segments on sport films, the inaugural one from the well known movie lover we call Godfather. Astounding how different choices are really… And let me remind you, I’m picking my favorites entertainment wise, he did his on content. That’s the whole point of this, we’re analyzing the difference between different opinions of a ‘good’ movie. So let’s get started shall we?!?!

5. : Fever Pitch

This is relatively a more recent movie, however it is great because unlike most movies, it depicts the life of a die hard fan of a game. It is in fact a baseball movie, and it follows the life of a Red Sox fan the year they broke the famed “Curse of the Bambino.” The acting is astounding and all the characters fit their role to perfection I believe. It’s also a love story, so that makes it good as well. Go Sox!!!

4. : The Longest Yard(s)

If you see one, I recommend you see the other. Because people tend to like the one they see first, I honestly don’t know which one is better, they’re actually quite different movies. They aren’t works of art in any sense, the plot lines are pretty general, but they are very entertaining and in my opinion great movies to enjoy.

3. : Field of Dreams

This movie is less action based than most, but is the story of a man who tears down his cornfields in order to make a baseball field after seeing Shoeless Joe Jackson on his farm. It is a slightly religious and moving adventure, so I wouldn’t recommend it to those of you that like testosterone based movies. However, it most definitely IS a work of art and deserves credit for it.

2. : Love and Basketball

This until recently was my all time favorite flick, but I still love it. It follows a boy and a girl, and their passion for basketball and each other, from a young age and through college. It’s very well written I’d say because of how honestly it portrays some of the issues present in the movie itself. I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did either, but I liked that. I forever loved basketball after watching this movie.

1. : Bull Durham

If I ever saw a baseball movie to top this I’d be beyond surprised. More of an adult film, it is just flawless in so many ways. The story is of a baseball groupie who finds herself torn between a young and crazy upcoming pitcher, and ‘Crash,’ the veteran catcher in charge of grooming him into a future star. I bow down to this movie.

Well as you can see that was a lot different than dear Godfathers, but that’s all I have to say.

This is Scarface signing off.

Posted in Movies

Top 5 Sports Movies

Posted on by Godfather

So, hopefully, on Tuesday, Scarface, our local sports writer, will write one of these blogs too, seeing the difference between what a movie fan likes and what a sports nut likes. While making this list, I also made some changes where the movies were technically better, so a few predictable movies I liked, I took off. So, here’s my number 5.

5. Million Dollar Baby: Boxing

One of the two Best Picture winners on this list, its hard not to like one of Eastwood’s best. This is the story of a female boxer who gets help from an old trainer. I promise you, Million Dollar Baby will bring tears to your eyes after seeing it. The acting and story are strongest here, bringing a memorable story that may change your views on… something.

4. Rocky: Boxing

Rocky is the second Best Picture winner. While the last 5 in the series are more about the action in boxing, this is on the character. The whole story is completely predictable, but it works. Rocky will get cheering during the ending boxing match and most everyone should be satisfied with it after the end. Its cliche to a T, but still a classic sports movie.

3. The Hustler: Pool

Now, we start getting from the mostly predictable to the greats of any genre. The Hustler is about a pool hustler that is one of the best. He challenges another guy, Minnesota Fats, also one of the best, to play. For a 40 year old movie, the pool scenes still keep you excited, and the editing is also still great. Paul Newman did an excellent job bringing this character to life. The sequel is not quite as good, but a more fun watch.

2. The Wrestler: Wrestling

Especially these top two, they are not about the sport. The Wrestler is mainly about those who have nothing else but a body for work. Mickey Rourke, a wrestler, and Marisa Tomei, a stripper, did excellent jobs bringing these people to life, and show that they don’t have too much outside of what they do. As hard as Rourke tries, he just can’t live a “normal” life like the rest of us, and all he has is wrestling. Everything comes together perfectly in Aronofsky’s latest, and the pain that the characters feel, we feel.

1. Raging Bull: Boxing

Hardly any sports list, or even all time greatest movies list, can come without Raging Bull near the top. I see no flaws in this portrait of Jake La Motta, and Scorsese made a masterpiece while he was still getting over his drug addiction. This was his rehab, and actor Robert De Niro gave his all in the part, and on the side to help out Scorsese. The beginning and end are amazing, while the whole way through we see how brutal boxing really is. It also brought back the use of black and white coloring for an artistic purpose. Raging Bull is far and away the best sports movie I’ve ever seen.

Posted in Movies

Last Week Oscar Predictions

Posted on by Godfather

Well, I haven’t seen all the movies that are contenders, but I have seen the ones that have come to the areas I have been in. So this week, I’ll wrap this series up with Gran Torino and some others that aren’t as major as it.

Gran Torino, I thought, was a solid film. Clint did a great job acting (I’m thinking he’ll get a nomination), and the story was also pretty good. I’m thinking that it won’t get the oscars that it was hyped for though, and for good reason. While it was good, there have been much better movies this year like Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, and Changeling. If Torino did get in for Best Picture above any of those movies, it would be a shame. The directing was ok, but Clint did better with his other movie this year, Changeling. The writing also isn’t too great, and won’t get anything. Personally, I didn’t like the original song Eastwood wrote with his son for the movie, but it’ll be nominated anyway. Also, the rest of the acting was either average to terrible at times. I really couldn’t care as much for the characters since it just took too much away for me. So, if you can see it, and none of those other movies I mentioned are out also, then watch it, it should at least be an interesting watch.

Best Picture- No chance
Best Director- Maybe…
Best Actor- Good chance, but no win
Best Original Song- Good chance, but no win

Some other movies I’ve seen have also been getting some hype, such as Burn After Reading, In Bruges, and Changeling. Burn After Reading will probably only be nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but won’t win. In Bruges will also be nominated for the same category, but again, won’t win. Changeling has gotten some new hype though since the BAFTA awards have been released. It could get Best Actress, Best Director, Best Art Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound nominations. I don’t think it would win any of them though.

One more thing, if you get the chance to see The Wrestler, I suggest you go see it. I haven’t seen it myself since its been avoiding me like the plague, but it will probably get some nominations and even wins at the Oscars, and I’ve heard great things about it.

I hope you enjoyed these blogs, and next week I’ll be reviewing the nominations and what I think of them. After that, I’ll talk about my favorite movies of last year, then, just back to regular blogging.

Posted in Movies

Doubt Oscars

Posted on by Godfather

Only two more weeks until I’m done with this segment. This week I’ll be looking at the movie Doubt and next week I’ll write one up for Gran Torino and any other movie that has a shot at some major awards.

So this was, along with Frost/Nixon, one of the movies based of a Play. It was well made, and you could imagine this being done on a stage instead of a screen. But also like Frost/Nixon, it had some of the best performances of last year. They had a great cast, including Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. All three did such a great job, its hard to imagine them not being nominated for Oscars. While I did say it was well made, I don’t think that it’ll be nominated for Best Picture or Director. The reason being that there have been better films that deserve those awards more. I also think that it will be a heavy contender for the Best Adapted Screenplay category with it’s great dialogue keeping me interested the whole time. Best Art Direction could also be a chance for it since the sets seemed to be well thought out, and Roger Deakens, the cinematographer, is always an Academy favorite. The only categories I think it could win though, are maybe Best Actress (Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams). If you get the chance, see Doubt, I can’t see too many people NOT enjoying it.

Best Picture- Long shot
Best Director- Long Shot
Best Actress- Lock
Best Supporting Actress- Very good chance
Best Supporting Actor- Nomination, but won’t win
Best Art Direction- Maybe
Best Cinematography- Maybe

Also, right now it seems that these are going to be the movies nominated for Best Picture.

The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Frost/Nixon

Posted in Movies

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Oscars

Posted on by Godfather

This was the third movie that I saw when we were in the big city, and all I can say is wow. Its not my favorite movie of the year, but its definitely one of the best made. Button is 3 hours long, but every minute is necessary for what it is trying to say, and I even think that it could have been a little longer. Its also slow paced, so don’t expect it to go quickly, this is the telling of a man’s whole life, and it does feel like we were with Benjamin his whole life. What I meant by it being longer though, is that near the end, the movie felt a little rushed. In the beginning of his story, they spent a lot of time dealing with what he did while he was younger, and it spent less and less time with him as he got older. The last years of his life were told in just a quick montage, and should have been stretched a little more. So now to the Oscars. This was nominated for 5 Golden Globes, and that pretty much confirms at least a few nominations for it. Best Picture has a very good shot, and I think that it also has a chance at winning, even though Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight were more enjoyable. David Fincher is also almost a lock for Best Director, a long overdue award in my eyes since he’s made some great movies like Zodiac, Se7en, and Fight Club. The cinematography was some of the best of the year too, and will probably get a nomination. Now, when I was younger, I always though of Brad Pitt just being a bad actor who women love, but I’m realizing that he is a great actor instead, and this year he will get a nomination for Best Actor. Cate Blanchett is also most likely going to get a nomination for her acting. Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Special Effects, Score, and Makeup are all serious contenders for this movie as well. I would suggest this to most people, but just remember that it is a long movie that you need to be in the right mood to see.

Best Picture- Very good chance
Best Director- Very good chance
Best Actor- Nomination, but not going to win
Best (Supporting?) Actress- Maybe Nomination, but probably won’t win.
Best Cinematography- Very good chance
Best Adapted Screenplay- Good chance
Art Direction- I would think that its a lock to win.
Special Effects- Great chance, the aging with Pitt’s face is amazing.
Score- It was stuck in my head hours later, not sure if its original though…
Makeup- Again, the aging is well done.
That’s most likely it…

Posted in Movies

Double Oscar Wammy!

Posted on by Godfather

Interesting title eh? Well, since I saw three contender movies this week, I decided to talk about 2 of them so this series doesn’t run too long. Frost/Nixon and Milk are the two topics for today.

Milk

The weakest of the three I saw, it was still a decent movie. The concept was good, but the emotional impact wasn’t what it should have been. I really didn’t feel to close to the characters, and it just didn’t do much for the inspiring factor. The funny thing is though, in my home town, its not being played because the only big movie theater is owned by a company that is against Gay Marriage. But with the moderate filmmaking of the rest, are there any oscars that are looking good? Yes, Sean Penn did a great job acting the character. I wouldn’t be surprised after seeing the movie to learn that he was gay himself. In fact, all the actors did a great job for their parts, and I hope that it does get some of these nominations, but not much more. The directing was good, but not to the level that other movies have been this year, and it shouldn’t get a Best Picture nod since there have also been better movies. But, we never know, the Academy loves to make the wrong choices.

Best Picture- To me a long shot, but a perfect Academy choice
Best Director- Not as long of a shot, but not a good shot
Best Writing- Average shot
Best Actor- Lock
Best Supporting Actor- Any of the other actors could be nominated, but James Franco and Emile Hersch would be my top two choices
And other awards I know less about could have ok shots

Frost/Nixon

It seemed that the movies got better and better throughout the week. If you can find this movie near you, go see it. Its in very few theaters in big cities, so be lucky to be one of those who does see it. While not a great movie, it does seem to be one of the better made movies of the year. It also is tied for the most Golden Globe nominations right now, so I wouldn’t be surprised or displeased if it gets just as many, or maybe more, Academy nominations. It is one of the Best Pictures of the year so far that I’ve seen, and did deserve the Globe nominations. Also, it should be nominated for Frank Langella, who played Nixon flawlessly. Michael Sheen did a good job too as Frost, but it wasn’t quite as good. The script, based off the play, is well done, as is the directing by Ron Howard. While still not as good as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionare, or The Dark Knight, it is a solid, well made film that has a universal appeal.

Best Picture- Good chance, but shouldn’t win
Best Directing- Also a good chance, but shouldn’t win
Best Actor- Good chance, wouldn’t be sad if it won
Best Writing- Good chance, wouldn’t be sad if it won
Best Editing- It was good, but this category is mainly for action movies
Thats mostly it, but could have a small chance at others

This is what my personal Best Picture category would look line now…

Slumdog Millionaire (Won’t change)
The Dark Knight (Won’t change)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Most likely won’t change)
Frost/Nixon (Might Change)
Changeling (Subject to change)

Posted in Movies

Hallelujah!!!

Posted on by Godfather

Ok, so this is just a quick update on my movie situation. I have recently been complaining to everyone that our little old town is a terrible place to live, and one such reason is that lack of good movies going there. Well, Christmas is the day of miracles. Tomorrow, Benjamin Button, Doubt, and Valkyrie are all coming to that city. So I’m pretty excited, and while I still don’t like the place overall, there is a little light in all that blackness. Granted though, that if I were in Los Angeles or some other big city, I would have had these and many, many more already. So yeah, once I get back home, its MOVIE TIME!