Friday, January 27

LOOKING BACK AT 2011 / BEST AND WORST / THE OSCARS

First I have a quick recap of everything I saw in theaters this year not counting any ticket stubs I might have lost.  Then you can read my top 3 and bottom 1 films of the year plus my favorite films of the last few years.  And finally my reactions to the this years Academy Award animations.  Get ready for a Mega-Post.

Tuesday, January 24

THE ARTIST

If you like movies because they are a pleasant distraction then I'm not sure you'll like this movie.  If you loves movies because you love movies then you will love this movie.  That sounds familiar.  But it's true!  Make no mistake, this is a silent movie made in black and white by French people, so it's not exactly palatable to the average theater goer.  Well, fuck that guy.  He gets enough movies all year long.  This one is special.  Even with it's runaway success we're unlikely to see a renaissance of silent cinema so you better enjoy this one while you can, which will be damn easy because this film is a wonderfully charming melodramatic tribute to, well, artists I would say.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Gary Oldman is George Smiley, the ultimate spy, a man who is seemingly devoid of emotion.  There are a few glimmers of personality to be sure.  But the man is a cipher, never betraying his thoughts or feelings to anyone around him.  His colleagues all fall prey to their emotions.  Every other character lets their heart make decisions where their brain should, especially considering they work in Cold War era espionage.  The other characters fall in love when they shouldn't, and sleep with their co-workers, coworkers spouses, enemies, and enemies' spouses.  They hold on to petty personal grudges and grievances, and let them cloud their judgement and their conduct.  And as for the mole...  his motivations are ambiguous but certainly not rational.  These characters make the critical mistake that Martin Sheen advised against in The Departed: "We practice deception, but not self-deception."

Friday, January 20

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

After the credits starting rolling on this 2 hour 28 minute monstrosity, the gentleman behind me loudly proclaimed to his companion "man, fuck that shit."  Brevity is the soul of wit, after all, so I'm tempted to let that remark suffice, but I'm sure there is more I can say.  A movie can be boring but not stupid, and a movie can be stupid without being boring, but heaven help us when a movie is both.

Tuesday, January 17

THE DESCENDANTS

This film is well observed, smart, subdued, underplayed, but not really very entertaining or insightful.  Did I really say that a film was well observed but not insightful?  Man I sound like an asshole.  Anyway.  George Clooney is the paterfamilias of a Hawaiian family rocked by tragedy and now he has to spend time with his kids and, you know, do stuff.  He doesn't really like it, but then he kinda does.  I liked this film just as much as director Alexander Payne's other films (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) in that I found them more or less clever and amusing but never really desired to see them again.