Lights, Camera, Action!

I have been a terrible blogger recently. There, I said it. I know, it’s been over a month since I’ve last written something, I never talked about my opinions of the Oscars, I’ve pretty much given up on many of the things that I started when I began writing this blog (like, Top Fives, and Face-Offs), and, in short, I just haven’t been a good blogger. I’m VERY sorry for all of that, but, I hope to get back into the swing of things, and maybe I will even find the time to come back to some of those “features” that I started a while ago.

But, for today, I’m just going to stick to a quick review of the movies that I have watched over the past month.

Up in the Air: A good movie… Not fantastic, not terrible, the acting is the best part of the movie (though the script is good too).

It’s Complicated: I didn’t really enjoy this one. Yes, Meryl Streep is fine, but she’s a fine actor in whatever she does. This one just fell flat for me.

The 400 Blows: Fantastic French film from the French New Wave period. A classic by all definitions.

The Apartment: I love Billy Wilder. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s the guy who directed movies like Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard. Fantastic director, fantastic film (this one won the Best Picture Oscar in 1960)

M: Fantastic (and creepy) German film, which brought actor Peter Lorre (Casablanca) into the limelight.

Peeping Tom: Like the title suggests, this film is somewhat disturbing. But, if you can handle the subject matter, it’s worth the watch.

Down by Law: Great film, great script, great music, great acting. Certainly worth seeing.

Contempt: Another fantastic French New Wave Film (directed by Jean-Luc Godard) about film. A must see for any film lovers.

Fitzcarraldo: This one was kind of slow. A bit of a hit-and-miss in my opinion. But, they dragged a steamboat over a mountain, and that was pretty awesome.

La Strada: Fellini is a fantastic director, and this is one of his best (of the ones that I’ve seen, at least). See it!

Harold and Maude: A spectacular cult comedy film from the 1970s, that is both romantic and… odd. Watch out for the fantastic performance by Ruth Gordon!

L’enfant: This French film won the Palme d’Or in 2005. See it if you can find it!

Europa: A weird film directed by Lars von Trier. He has an odd style, but the visuals are fantastic!

Cries and Whispers: Ingmar Bergman is a fantastic director. This one’s slow, but, still very good.

Pierrot le Fou: Jean-Luc Godard is the man! Not as good as Contempt, but still a fantastic film from the French New Wave era.

The Elephant Man: Not as Lynchian as I expected it to be (considering it is directed by David Lynch), but it’s still very riveting and all in all a great movie! A short warning, though: This movie is one of the most depressing movies that I have ever seen.

Modern Times: The first Charlie Chaplin film that I’ve seen, and I was not disappointed! Definitely worth watching!

Charade: Known as “the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made”, this film is suspenseful, entertaining, and very well written, with great characters and actors. All in all, a fantastic movie (and a fantastic score by Henry Mancini).

The Class: This French film won the Palme d’Or in 2008. It’s slow, but it’s pretty good nevertheless.

Rosemary’s Baby: A fantastic horror film. I’m sorry I hadn’t seen it back when I wrote my Top 5 horror films, because this one would certainly be up there! Yet another great performance by Ruth Gordon (she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for this performance) in this one as well.

The Silence: Another Bergman film. Same analysis as the first: slow, but good.

Scenes from a Marriage: Technically, this is a 6-part television miniseries (ALSO directed by Bergman), but it was shortened to a theatrical version that’s about half the initial length. I watchted the 6-part television version, and I must say, it was one of the best written and acted “films” that I have seen in quite a long time! If you can find it, this one’s DEFINITELY worth a watch!

Se7en: A pretty great suspense film directed by David Fincher (who also directed Fight Club), with some great performances by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

The Hurt Locker: I STILL haven’t seen Avatar, but this one deserved to win Best Picture. Very well done!

Well, that’s all for now. I hope to get back up to date with my blog writing, but, I have a very busy next month or so, so I don’t know what will happen. If I can, then I will!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Well, this pretty much speaks for itself… I’m going to try to explain myself as best as I can for each of these, and I admit, I am VERY encouraged by the opinions of critics (because remember, this isn’t all my own opinion, I’m predicting what the ACADEMY would vote for), but, here goes nothing… Oh, before I do go ahead, I should probably warn you that there is not a single category where I have seen all of the nominations (and I hate myself for it). But, here we go anyways (in no specific order)!

Let’s start with the obscure ones (most of which, a random title makes me pick it):

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
• “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
• “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
• “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
• “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

My prediction: I’m just going to put my money on Miracle Fish, just because it sounds interesting.

Short Film (Animated):

• “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
• “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

My prediction: For the same reason as the last one, French Roast.

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

My prediction: China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province seems like the kind of thing that would attract the Academy, so that’s my guess.

Now, onto the categories that I can make a bit more of an estimated guess on:

Documentary (Feature)

• “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
• “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

My prediction: Like in most years, I haven’t seen any of these, but I’m placing my money on The Cove, since I’ve heard the most about it and a lot of other predictions that I’ve been reading have been leaning towards it.

Visual Effects

• “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

My prediction: I would laugh SO hard if this didn’t go to Avatar, but I’m pretty sure that one’s in the bag.

Sound Editing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

My prediction: This one tends to favor the loud, so, I’m going to say Avatar.

Sound Mixing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

My prediction: I’m putting my money on The Hurt Locker, solely based on what I’ve heard.

Makeup

• “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

My prediction: I’m going to say Star Trek, because it seems like the most likely, and I haven’t heard of Il Divo.

Film Editing

• “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9” Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

My prediction: As much as I would love to see this go to Inglourious, I’m saying that The Hurt Locker will take it.

Art Direction

• “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

My prediction: I guess this one’s going to Avatar as well, I mean, honestly, it’ll probably win anything visual as it is.

Costume Design

• “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

My prediction: I’m saying Nine, just because Colleen Atwood’s name is on it, and if I recall correctly, the Academy likes her stuff.

Music (Original Song)

• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

My prediction: I’ve actually heard all of these! I mean really, since I CAN YouTube these songs to listen to them, why wouldn’t I? It gives me a more educated guess! I’m saying The Weary Kind. I have nothing against Randy Newman, I just thought that was the best song of the bunch.

Music (Original Score)

• “Avatar” James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
• “Up” Michael Giacchino

My prediction: The score to Up is fantastic, so I’m easily placing my bet there.

Finally, on to what in my eyes, are the big contenders:

Foreign Language Film

• “Ajami” Israel
• “The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
• “A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
• “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
• “The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany

My prediction: I haven’t seen any of these, but since it’s won a few in the past, and Michael Haneke is a DAMN good director, I’m saying The White Ribbon will take it.

Animated Feature Film

• “Coraline” Henry Selick
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
• “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
• “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
• “Up” Pete Docter

My prediction: Up was a fantastic movie, and the only way that I see it not winning is because of the fact that it’s nominated for Best Picture as well. Nevertheless, I think it’ll take this one easily.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

My prediction: Up in the Air seems to be the best bet, seeing what’s happened over the past however many award ceremonies.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

My prediction: Please let Inglourious Basterds win this one. It deserves it. Quentin Tarantino’s scripts are amazing!

Cinematography

• “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

My prediction: I REALLY don’t want Avatar to take it, because honestly, it was mostly computer generated, and (from where I see it) camera work would be much less in comparison to the other 4 (kudos to White Ribbon for the nod, I might add), but, knowing the Academy, and the fact that it’s SUCH a groundbreaking visual piece, it’ll probably go to Avatar.

Directing

• “Avatar” James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

My prediction: If Cameron takes it, I will not be happy. However, if Kathryn Bigelow (who I think will win) wins, and the camera shows Cameron’s face when she wins, just to see his look of disapointment, I will be pleased. I’m not denying that he’s a decent director, I just think he needs to be knocked off his pedestal. That, and I really don’t want to have to sit through another one of his arrogant acceptance speeches.

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Matt Damon in “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

My prediction: From where I see it, Christoph Waltz has had this bagged up for a while. Notice how eloquently he speaks when he accepts the Oscar, it’s fantastic!

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

My prediction: Similarly to how Waltz has it locked up, Mo’Nique has this one locked up.

Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

My prediction: I have the feeling that Jeff Bridges will take it.  I mean, he’s a great actor as it is, and this is apparently one of his best, so, I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

My prediction: Sandra’s won a lot already, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she took this one. However, Mulligan, Sidibe, or Streep (probably Sidibe of the 3) could upset it.

Best Picture

• “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• “The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
• “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
• “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
• “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
• “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
• “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
• “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

My prediction: Ah, the big one. This one, I’ll do in a process of elimination way.

The Blind Side won’t win because while it is something that the Academy tends to draw towards, it just doesn’t seem to hold up with the others.

Up won’t win because it’s nominated (and will hopefully win) Best Animated (though I do think that it was one of the best films of the year).

A Serious Man won’t win because it’s not the Coen Brother’s best (though it was a great script).

While it’s nice to see An Education there, it probably won’t win because it’s not very well known.

Once again, nice to see District 9 there. Probably won’t win, though, becuase when it comes to sci-fi, nothing seems to be beating Avatar.

Precious probably won’t win, because of the other contenders. Same goes for Up in the Air.

Unfortunately, Inglourious Basterds probably won’t win because the Academy doesn’t seem to like Tarantino all that much.

And that brings it down to Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Because this category is called “Best Picture”, and not “Best use of visuals without the means of an original script”, I’d like to see this go to The Hurt Locker.

An afternote:

Well, those are my predictions for what the Academy would vote for. However, if I could vote, I’d want Inglourious to win a lot more, like, cinematography, director, or even best picture. Also, I think that the fact that Where the Wild Things Are was snubbed completely is a travesty, since I think it was one of the best films of the year (and one of my all-time favorites). But, I guess it’s a good bunch that they’ve got there. We’ll see what happens on Sunday night!

Keep on Watching!

R.S.

p.s. I’d love to do a thing where I comment on everything that happens (you know, as it happens), but, since I’m about to go to Florida for a bit, and I won’t have my laptop with me, that’s not happening. However, I might do it hand-written as I watch it, and, if you guys seem to want it, then I’ll post it up!

There’s not going to be a video attached to this one, because all of the videos that I’ve found gives away the answers to this challenge. This time around, the challenge is fairly simple. WITHOUT CHEATING, try and name as many best picture winners as you possibly can (Hint: there have been 81 in total)!

How to form your comments is fairly simple this time around. Simply, give me the year, and the best picture winner (I’ll give you the latest one: 2009 – Slumdog Millionaire). So, there are 80 left to be guessed! Good luck!

Keep on Watching,

R.S.

Well, I promised that I’d give a list of short reviews for the (multitude of) movies that I’ve watched over the past 2 months or so, but, to be completely honest, reviews for every movie that I have seen will be… Well, it would be a VERY long post. Off the top of my head, I’m sure that I’ve seen over 30 movies, and, making a review to every single one of them would be very draining. But, I’ll give a short review for a few of them:

Blood Simple – The first film written and directed by the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) is one of the best debut films that I have seen. While it is certainly not the best of their films, it holds up as a great film noir-esque movie, with great writing, great acting, and great direction.

Crimes and Misdemeanors – I’ll just say it, I’m a fan of Woody Allen. I think that he’s one of the funniest writers out there, because the films that he makes are great. This one is no exception, telling two stories about, well, crimes and misdemeanors! Look for the great scene near the end between Allen and Martin Landau.

Caché – Frankly, I need to see more movies directed by Michael Haneke, because this one was spectacular. Yes, it may be slow for most of it, and yes, the fact that it is a foreign film may turn people off, but, the reality of the situation (a couple are videotaped, more or less stalked, by an unknown person), and the way that the two lead actors pull it off is also very well done.

Alien – A great thriller. There’s not too much that I can say about this movie, but what it does is revolutionary to the general genre of sci-fi (even though I may not be the biggest fan of sci-fi movies). The sequel, Aliens, directed by James Cameron, is often seen as being superior to this one, but, since I haven’t seen it, I can’t judge that (though I do plan on seeing it soon). Once I do see it, expect a Face-Off between those two!

American Beauty – This is a spectacular film. The direction, the writing, the acting, all of it is completely breathtaking. The person to watch for, in my personal opinion, is Annette Bening, who plays the wife of Kevin Spacey (who also does a great job).

Brick – This is an interesting one. Think a film-noir made in the ’30s (you know, hard boiled detective, mystery, etc.). Now, set it at a modern day high school. While it is kind of odd listening to high school students talking in ’30s slang at first, it does its job quite well. The interesting camera work (which is pretty hard for me to explain) adds to the experience.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind – One of the first films written by Charlie Kaufman (one of my favorite modern day writers), while not as… well… confusing as his others, it’s still quite a captivating story. Watch out for the few extended takes, where you can really think about how much the actors would have to run around to pull it off. They’re not tricks, they were actually done in one shot!

The Spirit of the Beehive – Yet another foreign film (this one’s in Spanish) that is amazing. The person who steals the show is the little girl who plays Ana, a girl enchanted with the story of Frankenstein, the monster particularly. Is this movie about the Spanish Civil War? Is it about childhood? It doesn’t matter, this is a great movie!

Fight Club – Bloody, smart, entertaining. Essentially, this one is a crowd pleaser. That is, a crowd of testosterone-filled men. This movie is not for everybody, especially not the faint of heart. But, if you’re up for it, it’s a great movie. Also, it has one of my personal favorite performances by Brad Pitt.

Goodfellas – The fact that it lost the Oscar for Best Picture to Dances with Wolves… I can’t even really put my thoughts into words. This is a masterpiece. From the camerawork, to Scorcese’s direction, to the acting (look out for Joe Pesci), this movie is spectacular. Bloody and violent, but still spectacular.

Memento – From the makers of The Dark Knight, this movie… messes with your mind. While the acting is quite good, and the direction is too, the star of the film is the story. The fact that it a) goes in backwards-chronological order, and b) still keeps you guessing, shows how effective a good story can be.

Pleasantville – The acting is pretty good (especially that from Judy Davis and William H. Macy), as is the direction and the writing, but this film relies on the visuals. The visuals at points are completely breathtaking, and really blow you away.

Ok, that’s enough for now. Those were certainly not ALL of the movies that I’ve seen over the past few months, but they were all great ones that stuck in my mind.

Regarding the Oscars, I’m working on what might be a very exciting announcement, so, I’ll tell you as soon as that gets going (if I get it all to work out).

Until then, keep on watching!

R.S.

Ladies and Gentlemen, they have been announced! Yes, I am two days late on posting this blog entry, and I was thinking about writing this the second the nominations were posted, but, my schedule is busy, I’m watching a ton of movies, yada yada yada, so I’m posting it now!

I’m not going to get too opinionated this very moment, because to be honest, I haven’t seen a movie in theaters for QUITE a while (I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before), and, therefore, I can only assume so much. But, I do intend on catching myself up a little bit. Knowing me, this will just involve reading some scripts (something that I do in my free time), but, it’ll get me slightly more acknowledged with the nominees. The full list of nominees can be seen here.

So, I’m just going to state my biased opinions on the best picture nominees right now (I intend on making a full prediction blog, but, that’ll probably be a few days before the ceremony itself). If you hadn’t already known, the Academy decided to up the ante by making 10 (count them, 10) nominations instead of just 5.

Here they are (in no specific order… and by that, I mean the order in which I remember them):

Up

Inglorious Basterds

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

Up in the Air

A Serious Man

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

The Blind Side

An Education

District 9

Now, there are definitely a few surprises here (to name 2, The Blind Side and District 9), and, a lot of people think that it’ll come down to Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I, on the other hand, only having seen two of the nominees (Inglorious Basterds and Up), would like Inglorious Basterds to win, for the sole reason that I am quite the Quentin Tarantino fan! Am I biased? Well… yes. Still, I’ll have more educated predictions before the ceremony (March 7th), which I will post around, say, the 1st of March.

Keep on Watching!

R.S.

p.s. Yes, I know I said I’d post a list of mini-reviews, but I assure you all, there will be a VERY long list of reviews coming up soon!

Before I begin, I’ll say this: I have yet to see Avatar. Yes, I know, it’s a movie that MUST be seen, since it’s “the best movie ever made,” but, I’ve been slightly incapacitated, thus making me unable to go to the theater to see anything. I have watched quite a few movies while I’ve been at home, and I intend to make a set of “mini-reviews” in the near future on a few of those.

But, back to Avatar. I’ve been hearing from many people who have seen it that it is one of the best movies ever made, it’s a visual spectacle, and that it’s completely groundbreaking in technique.

I have seen the trailers, and a few scenes from it, and, judging by that, I can clearly see that it’s completely groundbreaking in its use of the technology, and that it is clearly a visual spectacle. However, there are a few hesitations that I have about this movie that makes me not want to rush to the theaters to see it, incapacitated or not.

That first hesitation (and in turn, the one that leads to more or less everything else in my argument against Avatar) is James Cameron. I’ve seen a few of his movies, and, while they are ok, they are far from the best movies of all time, despite the fact that he currently holds both the first and the second top grossing movies of all time (the other one being Titanic).

As a director, he’s far from the worst one out there. He clearly knows what to do with his camera, and, it’s never that bad. But, as a writer, he has work to be done. Aside from the fact that he doesn’t exactly have the most original plot-lines out there (I’ll get to that shortly), his dialogue tends to be kind of rough, and his characters aren’t always the most developed.

Now, the plot. In some cases, his plots can be quite good (Aliens is an example of this, despite the fact that it is a sequel, so, technically it wasn’t all his idea), but, in the case of Avatar, this plot is (somewhat obviously) stolen from a few different movies. There are people (myself included) who sarcastically dubs this movie with the title “Pocahontas Meets Dances With Wolves… In Space!” and there is a reason why people do this. I saw a post a little while ago that had the plot of Pocahontas written out, with aspects (character names, places, etc.) crossed out and replaced by what it is in Avatar. Also, the general plot of a person going to a land unlike their own, and befriending people unlike their own (yes, I know this is a VERY brief plot-line, but, as I said, I haven’t seen it yet, so, I can’t go much further than this at this very moment) is one that has been done many times before.

Despite all this, something is clear: the effects and the visuals are groundbreaking, spectacular, and every adjective in between that can describe something of this caliber. From the minute I saw the trailer, I didn’t doubt for a second that this would win any visual awards that it is eligible for.

But, can a movie be judged solely by the visuals? Shouldn’t the acting, directing, writing, etc., all be aspects of what makes a movie great? In the opinion of a humble movie fanatic, I think that what makes a great movie depends on all aspects of the film, and not just the visuals. Just a week ago, this movie won Best Picture: Drama at the Golden Globe awards. This, I was admittedly not very happy with, because I know James Cameron’s writings, and I know the fact that this plot is overdone, and, shouldn’t a “best picture” be called “best” due to all aspects of it?

But, I digress, for the sole reason that I have yet to see it. I most certainly intend on seeing this movie in theaters, and, seeing that it’s been at the top of the box office for 5 weeks running, I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon. But, without seeing it, I think that this movie might be more than slightly over-hyped.

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Do you agree? Disagree? Post your comments and opinions below!

I’ve decided to go a little bit interactive at this point with everybody who reads this. Every now and then, I will post videos on the side of this blog, and post a challenge for you guys to “compete” in.

Here’s my first challenge: On the side, I’ve posted the video 100 Best Movie Lines in 200 Seconds. My challenge to you is to watch this video, and WITHOUT CHEATING, name the movies that you can attach to the quotes.

Here’s an example (that I’m pretty sure isn’t in this video)… Say that I was watching this video, and I knew that quote #67 was from North by Northwest, I would comment on this post and write: “#67: North by Northwest”, and keep doing this for every single one that I know.

So, are you willing to rise up to the challenge? Good luck!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Dear Readers (assuming that you all still exist, and are trying to stay updated with this blog),

I know that it has been a little while since I’ve given an update, and that’s simply because I’ve had a very slow past few weeks when it comes to movie watching. Between school work, the play (that just finished, very successfully, I may add), and everything else going on with me, I haven’t had the chance to watch very many (if any) movies.  But, for those of you who enjoy my reviews, I can assure you that I will be watching quite a few movies over the winter break, so, not to worry, there will be more reviews and more features that I hope you have all grown to quite enjoy, I just need a bit of time to finish up the term.

But, to hold all of you over until then, I am going to give a brief lesson on Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. This beat sheet is made to outline the major “beats”, or points, that any given movie should go through, and at what point in the movie (script page/minutes in) you might want to hit each beat. If you’ve ever been interested in writing a movie screenplay, then this might be a good thing to look at!

So, with no further ado, here is Blake Snyder’s beat sheet (and don’t worry, an explanation will follow after each specific point):

1. Opening Image (1): This one’s pretty straight forward.  It’s the first thing that your audience will see in the movie. In Spiderman (probably one of the easier movies to follow to this beat sheet), that opening image is a spider-web. This can sometimes have a deeper meaning that your audience finds out more about later, or just be something that draws your audience in. One way or another, it’s important.

2. Theme Stated (5): Every movie needs a theme, and the theme is often stated very early into the movie. This theme can be blatantly said (using Spiderman once again as an example, “with great power comes great responsibility”), or hidden into its storyline.

3. Set-Up (1-10): This is the general opening to any given movie. This sets up the general plot; you meet your characters, get to know them a bit. In other words, this is your “regular everyday world” moment, which will soon have something happens that could at times turn said “everyday world” completely on its head.

4. Catalyst (12): This is that thing that can turns the “everyday world” on it’s head. In Spiderman (I know, I’m using it way too much as an example, but, it’s the easiest example that I can think of off the top of my head that most people will have seen), Peter gets bitten by a radioactive spider. It’s the thing that really gets the plot moving.

5. Debate (12-25): This is the time where your main character will have some sort of inner argument with himself about what he has to do. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (a great movie, if I do say so myself), a part of this section is when Cameron is sitting in his car, literally debating with himself on whether or not he should go to spend the day with Ferris.

6. Break into 2 (25): This gets the plot going, and moves it into the second act. It’s a bit of a transition moment, from the introduction in to the main beef of the story.

7. B Story (30): Up to this point, you more or less just have your A story, the main plot that goes on through the entire movie. Well, this is the point that you bring in that secondary story. In the average romantic comedy, this is where two of the secondary characters start going out, or the best friend comes into the plot, or… well, you get the idea.

8. Fun and Games (30-55): Here is your first cheezy montage opportunity. In a romantic comedy, this can be the montage where the two lovers are getting closer. In the process, you can have them painting an apartment together. In other words, this section is pretty much what the title suggests.

9. Midpoint (55): This is the major emotion point. This will either be where your characters are at their happiest or (less commonly) their saddest. In other words, it is the height of emotion in the plot.

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75): Here’s when things start taking a bad turn. Somebody gets injured, arrested, whatever. After the point where the characters are their happiest, something must happen to make things bad.

11. All is Lost (75): After things start getting bad, there has to be one thing that happens to make things even worse. This is one thing that kind of shatters the metaphorical mirror that is your characters’ happiness.

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85): Here’s your second montage opportunity. While the first would’ve been happy, and upbeat, this is the sad one. After everything has gone wrong, your character has to spend some time moping in his or her own misery. That is that character’s Dark Night of the Soul.

13. Break into 3 (85): Luckily though, things can’t stay all bad. The break into 3 is the light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining. This is where things start getting a bit better. Your character gets a boost that makes him go towards his overall goal.

14. Finale (85-110): This is more or less the entire third act of the movie. This is the final showdown between hero and villain, the hero finally goes through the final aspects of getting to his goal and accomplishes said goal (or, in some cases, fails to accomplish…). In Spiderman, it’s the entire showdown between Spiderman and the Green Goblin, as well as the things leading up to it and the things that comes after.

15. Final Image (110): This is the last thing that you are leaving your audience with (before the credits, that is). Ideally, it’ll be something meaningful to the story, or at least something that leaves the audience thinking something.

So, there you have it. Those are the beats that the average movie (and short film) goes through. Short films often do a majorly condensed version of this (since it’s legitimately shorter than a full length film), but, they still follow the general structure. Also, there are films that don’t seem to follow these beats so clearly, or it’s at least very hard to follow according to these beats. That’s ok, but, you will still almost always find these beats popping up here and there in film.

So, I hope you’ve learned something about the general structure of a film, and that you might actually try writing one of your own one day (I plan on trying this during April, but I’ll give you more information on that another time).

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, and Catherine Keener

I’ll be completely honest here, I have no idea whatsoever where to start with this, so, I’ll simply start by saying this: This is one of the best movies (recent or otherwise) that I have ever seen. And I’ve seen quite a lot of movies over the 15 years of my existence. This movie is near perfect; the acting, the direction, the visuals, the music, the script… the list goes on, but, it truly is one of the best movies that I have ever seen.

The plot is very similar from the beloved children’s book (which I haven’t read in quite a while, so, this is simply the plot of the movie, and not that of the book). Max (played by Max Records) is a young child who isn’t exactly the most relaxed and nicest of kids out there, and, after being sent to his room without dinner, he runs off, and, finding a ship in his neighbours’ yard, travels for days and nights until he finds land. This land is inhabited by Wild Things; large, threatening, and yet seemingly fuzzy things that, after being convinced to not eat him, crowns Max their king.

I doubt that can explain the entire plot very well, but honestly, I don’t know exactly how to explain it, because there isn’t a lot of plot. It’s very “freeverse”, in a sense. Once Max gets to this land of the Wild Things, over the course of 90 minutes or so, he partakes in having a “Wild Rumpus”, builds a giant fort, has a dirt clod war, and so much more. The plot is very loose, but, that’s ok. It’s ok because this is truly a movie about childhood, and that’s the way that childhood is. Childhood isn’t so set out that you will do everything in order, and it would all make sense, and this movie captures that perfectly.

The director, Spike Jonze, who has also directed Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, has really made this movie into a masterpiece. He spent years trying to get his idea to the screen, and after years of hard work, it paid off. This movie is truly a masterpiece; visually, and in many other ways.

The acting is also superb. Max Records completely changes the idea of what can be expected in a child actor, and, this really changed what goes into a performance by a child actor. He shows everything that he has to perfectly; when he’s supposed to be sad, he’s sad (perfectly). When he’s supposed to be angry, he’s angry (perfectly). No matter what he’s supposed to be, he shows it incredibly!

Many people were very surprised as casting James Gandolfini (famous for his role in The Sopranos) as the lead Wild Thing, but, after seeing it, it’s clear that he was perfect for the role. One moment, he’s cuddly and sweet, and the next morning, he’s chasing max around, threatening to eat him. He voices the role amazingly.

And, adding to the actors is the visual. I must ask Spielberg and Lucas to take note, because they did this entire movie completely on location. And this includes the desert that you can see in the poster above. Yes, they did that without using green screens, or CGI. Another thing, they didn’t use animation or CGI for the Wild Things. They actually made those suits, and the only thing that was CGI were the eyes and mouth. You completely believe everything that you see, and it just wouldn’t have that impact if it wasn’t for the fact that it was all real.

I could go on forever on this movie, but, I can summarize this entire review in two words: SEE IT! This is truly one of the best movies that I have ever seen, and, it is truly a masterpiece!

I must warn you, though, this is a love it or hate it movie. I’ve heard of many people who completely hated it, and I can accept that. I mean, quoting a good friend of mine, “everybody is entitled to their own wrong opinion”. But, I recommend this movie to anybody; children, adults, anybody. See this movie.

Rating: 10/10

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Directed by: Pete Doctor

Starring: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, and Jordan Nagai

Disney/Pixar are very well known for the amazing animated movies that they make. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E and others that they’ve made have all been examples of the great movies that they make. Up, their latest film, is not an exception to the amazement that is the films they make!

This animated movie tells the story of Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year old man (voiced by Ed Asner) who’s dream was to travel to South America with his wife. After his wife dies (in the first 10 minutes of the movie), he decides to travel to South America on his own to fulfill his wife’s dream. Except, he does so in his house. To which he attaches hundreds of helium balloons. No, I’m not making this up, that’s what happens! Along the ride with him comes boy scout Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), who will do anything to achieve his “assisting the elderly” badge.

On the outside, the movie has a very child-friendly plot. You know, a guy flying his house with giant balloons. But, there are many ideas of this film that young kids may not really be able to grasp, like death, letting go of those you’ve lost, divorce, and more… But, don’t worry, the movie is by far a complete downer… It’s a movie that I think both kids and adults alike would be able to enjoy (though, kids younger than 10 might not be able to truly appreciate some aspects of it).

As is normal with Pixar movies, while the voice acting is great, as is the plot, the star of the film is the animation. The animation in the film is spectacular, and, even though some of the things are larger than life, it’s almost possible to believe that it could happen, because of how realistic some of the animation is. From showing the characters’ emotions to the smallest detail, to making us believe that the impossible could be possible, the animation is amazing! The movie was shown in theatres in both 3-D and 2-D formats, but, I saw it in 2-D, and I can tell you that, while I haven’t seen it in 3-D, it didn’t take away from the overall experience.

This is a movie that I’d recommend to anybody, parents and children alike!

Rating: 9/10

Keep on watching!

R.S.