Rocky

Rocky, 1976
Directed By: John G. Avildsen 
Nominated for 10 Oscars, Won 3
Also Won: Best Director, Best Film Editing
Also Nominated For: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (x2), Best Actress, Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Writing, 
Up Against: All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Taxi Driver

Rocky is the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer who gets a chance to fight in the World Heavyweight Championship. But what it's really about is a crappy boxer who does not look remotely like an athlete when not boxing, who loves his turtles and pets, gets together with the weird girl at the petshop, and randomly gets selected to fight Apollo Creed in the World Heavyweight Championship because his boxing name is cool and Creed doesn't want a real fight. 

This movie is a very big pop culture win. When it came to the montage scenes with Rocky training, I recognized them, and even know he would climb up those steps in front of the museum and pump his fists, even though I've never seen the film. And honestly, with this film being the classic and popular movie that  it is, I was expecting way way better than it was. 

In many ways, I could tell Sylvester Stallone wrote this script, and meant it for himself. All he did was talk the entire movie with everyone else getting few lines. Stallone seems natural for the part, and did a good job in it, but it seemed almost a little too showy, and having almost too many lines compared to his girlfriend Adrian, and various other characters (there weren't many other characters of importance). 

I found this film to be slow-moving for the first hour, and felt little sympathy for Rocky. His first fight showed he wasn't that great of a fighter, and that he wasn't really trying that hard to be great, or trying to do anything else. Rocky is a bit of a slow guy who likes to come across as being content with where he is in life, but we discover that he isn't really. The film moved a bit too slow for me, having very little to do with the final fight, and was more just random tossed together scenes of Rocky trying to help the neighbour girl who's hanging out and smoking with guys on the corner, or telling jokes to the pet shop girl (though mostly telling them to the birds or dog in the store). 

Rocky's shot at the title comes from random chance. The man who was supposed to fight Apollo Creed at the United States Bicentennial has dropped out because of a hand injury, so Creed gives this "marvelous" idea that they should give an underdog, local fighter "a shot at the title". And Rocky randomly gets selected because they like his boxer name "The Italian Stallion". To me, this sounds like a "too lucky" premise, and hardly to be believed. It's quite an outlandish idea, though its supposed to make Creed sound cocky, like it doesn't matter who he fights, they just need to give a show and Creed will win at the end of it, regardless. 

All in all, I found this film riddled with cliches. Yes I know this is the boxing movie that every boxing movie tries to replicate. But it was still filled with things I've seen in any other movie about a down-and-out before it. I find it a little unbelievable that this film won Best Picture in it's day. It was a mediocre film, that goes on to be a classic (for whatever reason). I also find it interesting that it was doubly up for Best Supporting Actor, and also for Lead Actress, all three of which I think were a little unnecessary. Talia Shire could barely get in a word edge-wise around Sylvester Stallone, and while her character represented a lot to Rocky, the performance itself was very small and nothing incredible. 

Overall, this was a barely alright film. It was extremely American, which is a film that never seems to sit that well with me because, well, I'm not American, and I've seen way too many "we love our country, the United States" movies. Sylvester Stallone had a great performance, but everything else about this film was mediocre and cliche. 


Acting- 7.5/10 
Directing- 7/10 
Screenplay- 6/10 
Visuals- 7/10 
Music- 7/10 Emotional Connection- 5.5/10 
Entertainment- 6/10 
Rewatchability- 5.5/10 
Overall Enjoyment- 6/10 
Overall Package- 6.5/10 
    
Total: 64/100

Schindler's List

Schindler's List, 1993
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Nominated for 12 Oscars, Won 7
Wins Include: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score
Up Against: The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, The Remains of the Day


Wow, once again, it's been a while. I've been pretty busy adjusting to married life and a new job (same company) that I've had little time to watch movies that are of "higher distinction". I'm hoping to get back into this and to post a lot more over the coming weeks. We'll see how this goes! However, my husband and I did find some time to watch Schindler's List (in two parts though!). My husband, who just graduated with his BA in History, knew more about this story than I did. However, we both did enjoy it (or as much as you can 'enjoy' a holocaust movie)

Schindler's List is a story about Oskar Schindler, Polish Jews and the Holocaust. Schindler is a wealthy and successful businessman, womanizer, a German and a member of the Nazi Party. Having moved to the city in order to start a business. Sponsored by the military (after lots of bribes for the SS and Wehrmacht), he builds a factory with the intention of making army supplies. Not knowing much about how to run such a company, he employs Itzhak Stern, a Polish Jew. While in the beginning his intentions are solely to make lots and lots of money, refusing that his company is not a refuge for Jews to work in without danger of being shot or taken to various camps, Schindler slowly begins to change his mind and his heart towards what one man can do, and the difference he can make upon the world.

The story of Schindler is a story I did not know at all coming into this film. As mentioned above, my husband knew more of this story than I did. I knew that it was about a man named Schindler, the holocaust was involved, and Jews being saved and that Ralph Fiennes is in it. So yes, very little. However, going into a movie with absolutely no knowledge or expectations can sometimes be a very good thing. While the narrative was a little less direct and the movie much longer than I had thought maybe it was, I was indeed very pleased with this movie.

One thing that really stuck out was how Spielberg did not shy away from the gruesomeness, the horror and the humiliation of the Holocaust. The digging up of dead Jews and burning them in a pile, while ash falls like snow in the city nearby. Or the Jews having to perform physicals, completely naked, in order to see how should go to the Auschwitz. Small children hiding in toilets, under floor boards, etc. The evil mentality of Amon Goeth (played incredibly by Ralph Fiennes), shooting 25 men in one of the camps, beating his servant girl, and shooting a small boy after "pardoning him". And simply everything the Jews went through. It was as though this was more about the Jews than it was Schindler. This is something I much appreciate about the film. The focus was not on the "good guy" who "saved the Jews", but of everything the Jews went through before a small number (but at the same time a large number) were saved).


Besides how raw and unafraid this movie was, it also looked quite amazing. The lighting especially made it look like this movie was genuinely made decades ago, something from Old Hollywood. The cinematography too, was beautifully (and heartbreakingly) done. The costumes were fantastic. I understand many people in rural Poland sold much of their clothing from back in the 30's and 40's to the film crew in order to make money, so much of it was genuine. As well this movie was cast well. Liam Neeson gave quite a good performance. BUt hardly ever did I think of him as the dad from Taken. Despite the fact that that movie was made 20 years later, Neeson has a 40's look to him that many contemporary stars do not. Neeson gave a great performance, the shining star being the last 15 minutes, right before he flees when the war is almost officially over, and he realizes how much he has, and how much more he could've done. While we all know it was an amazing feat to rescue 1100 Jews from Auschwitz (many of them actually arrived there before Schindler was able to rescue them from there too), Schindler's cries out that his car could've paid for 10 lives, his Nazi button was at least one or two, etc. It breaks your heart to hear him say this after seeing how much the Jews are grateful to Schindler, and knowing how much of a risk he took simply for these 1100, and Stern advising him that he did everything he could.

But it was Ralph Fiennes, to me, who particularly stuck out as brilliant throughout the film. The insanely evil and murderous Amon Goeth, he had a true Old Hollywood look to him that sometimes I almost didn't recognize him. He was fiercely evil, but sometimes you could tell he was confused about what he was doing. You hate his guts, but in moments you felt sad for him. Knowing what a mess he'd gotten himself into, but how evil he really was that he did deserve what he eventually got. And Fiennes played that beautifully.

Overall, I feel this was a very brave film, and no one could have made this film better. Spielberg, a Jew himself, was able to distance himself enough to make an unbiased film and make things absolutely brutal. While it was a great film, it's one I probably won't watch again for a very long time. It was incredibly heavy and emotional, and not the cheeriest subject matter (obviously). This is a film I indeed agree that it was Best Picture worthy, and am glad a film like this was made. 

Acting- 20/20

Directing- 20/20

Writing- 20/20

Personal Enjoyment- 18/20

Overall Package -19/20

Total: 97

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night, 1934
Directed by Frank Capra
Nominated for 5 Oscars, Won 5
Up Against: The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, The Gay Divorce, Here Comes the Navy, The House of Rothschild, Imitation of Life, One Night of Live, The Thin Man, Viva Villa!, The White Parade

Yes, yes, it's been a very long time since I've reviewed a movie. In fact I viewed this movie quite a while ago and just have been too busy to write my review. I got married about a month ago (yay!), so my time over the past few months have been sort of eaten up by planning, but I'm hoping that now I'm settled, to start doing more reviews.

It Happened One Night tells the story of Ellie, a spoiled heiress, who jumps off her father's yacht when he says she cannot marry the man she loves. When on mainland she catches a bus that will take her to her husband. However, sitting next to her is an out-of-luck reporter, Peter Warne. Reluctantly she must take his help and stick with him the entire trip, or else he'll blow the whistle on who she is, since her father is constantly searching for her. Though Warne's motives aren't completely innocent, a story to get his career back is what he's truly looking for.

This movie played out as a typical chick flick to me. In fact, it reminded me a bit of that movie Leap Year with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. Spoiled girl takes help from annoying guy on a road trip, they end up falling in love, despite the fact that the spoiled girl already has a great man (or so she thinks). Then again, I'd assume a movie like this was way less cliche back in 1934 when this came out. However, it had some charming performances from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It was quirky and cute, and it was a fun little movie. Best Picture winning? Not if it came out in this day. It would be quickly overlooked. But it was a fun movie for the time, and something different.


Acting- 8/10 
Directing- 8/10 
Screenplay- 7.5/10 
Visuals- 7.5/10 
Music- 7/10 Emotional Connection- 7.5/10 
Entertainment- 8/10 
Rewatchability- 7.5/10 
Overall Enjoyment- 7.5/10 
Overall Package- 7.5/10     
Total: 76/100

Oscar Winner Roundup

Yes, I'm doing this a week later than I'd originally planned, but I'm doing it and that's what counts.

The Academy Awards were a little over a week ago now, and we've been able to see a little bit of the feedback and how things have started to sink in. Already I've seen a half hour show talking about how Affleck is back on top and has become the best comeback story in recent Hollywood history. We've heard dozens of complaints about Oscar host Seth McFarlane, etc.

However, I made predictions just before the Oscars, and now let's take a look at how I did.

Best Picture
Prediction: Argo
Winner: Argo

I totally think it deserves it, and Ben Affleck's speech was great!

Best Director
Prediction: Ang Lee- Life of Pi
Winner: Ang Lee- Life of Pi

My risky prediction paid off!


Best Actor
Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln

Best Actress
Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor
Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones- Lincoln
Winner: Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress
Prediction: Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables
Winner: Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables

Best Adapted Screenplay
Prediction: Argo
Winner: Argo

Best Original Screenplay
Prediction: Django Unchained
Winner: Django Unchained

Best Animated Feature Film
Prediction: Wreck-It-Ralph
Winner: Brave

Best Foreign Language Film
Prediction: Amour
Winner: Amour

Best Cinematography
Prediction: Life of Pi
Winner: Life of PI

Best Film Editing
Prediction: Argo
Winner: Argo

Best Original Score
Prediction: Mychael Danna- Life of Pi
Winner: Mychael Danna- Life of Pi

Best Original Song
Prediction: Adele- Skyfall
Winner: Adele- Skyfall

Best Sound Mixing
Prediction: Life of Pi
Winner: Les Miserables

Best Sound Editing
Prediction: Life of Pi
Winners: Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty

While it was a tie, and I still didn't guess right, I'm kinda proud the 2 winners were both in my "could win" section.

Best Production Design
Prediction: Anna Karenina
Winner: Lincoln

Best Visual Effects
Prediction: Life of Pi
Winner: Life of Pi

Best Costumes
Prediction: Anna Karenina
Winner: Anna Karenina

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Prediction: The Hobbit
Winner: Les Miserables

If you were keeping score, I finished with 14/20, which is better than my 12/20 from last year. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the winners! No big upsets with the biggest surprise of the night being Ang Lee's second Director Win and Christoph Waltz's second win for Supporting Actor. I had correctly predicted Lee so I was very happy, and while I didn't predict Waltz, his was my favourite performance of the bunch, so I was happy there too.

Hopefully I can start making up predictions for next year in the next few weeks! Until then..

Final Oscar Predictions

So here we are, just a few days away from the Oscars. Unfortunately I didn't actually see all the nominees for Best Picture this year (I only watched half of Amour because I dislike sad movies about old people, they make me too depressed. And didn't get around to seeing Zero Dark Thirty). However, here I'll be making my final predictions, and I'll update on Monday how well I did!

Best Picture
Will Win: Argo
Could Win: Lincoln
Should Win: Argo

I loved Argo, and I'm so happy it's winning everything. I found Lincoln to be pretty dull (I'm not an American, nor am I interested in history), so I'm stoked Argo is winning. However, the Best Director snub was surprising and shows The Academy liked Lincoln a bit more than Argo (12 noms vs 7). So naming Argo BP seems a bit reactionary to it winning everything else, but if they name something else, The Academy seems out of touch. Either way, I'm rooting for Argo and crossing my fingers for no upset.

Best Director
Will Win: Ang Lee- Life of Pi
Could Win: Steven Spielburg- Lincoln
Should Win: Ben Affleck- Argo. (Kidding, Ang Lee should win).

I'm going to break from most people's predictions and say Ang Lee is going to win. I thought his film was a lot better directed (or a lot more obviously directed, in a good way), than Lincoln. I adored Life of Pi and would love to see it take Best Director since Affleck isn't around to. However, most people are predicting Spielburg for the win, and wouldn't be terribly surprised whatsoever if he did win. I'm still rooting for Lee.

Best Actor
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln
Could Win: N/A
Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln

As much as I would prefer to see Hugh Jackman or Bradley Cooper win (I didn't see Flight or The Master, so I can't comment on Washington or Phoenix), Day-Lewis was truly fantastic as Lincoln, and deserves the win, even if I'd rather see Wolverine take the win.

Best Actress
Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook
Could Win: Emmanuelle Rive- Amour
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook

I adored Jen in SLP, and think she is incredibly talented. But Riva's name keeps popping up, and I don't really understand why. But I could totally see the Academy pulling something like this, and getting Riva to win. However, I'm sticking to it and saying Lawrence will win, and give us an awesome acceptance speech.

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones- Lincoln
Could Win: Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained, or Robert De Niro- Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win: Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained

This is a tough one to predict. Pretty well all the performances here were fantastic, and each man here already has an Oscar, if not 2. I'm going to predict Jones for the win, because the Academy has love for Lincoln, and it needs to win at least more than 1 Oscar out of it's 12 nominations. However, I'd be very happy if Waltz won, even though he did only a few years ago. But De Niro also wouldn't be surprising. I didn't think much of his performance in SLP, it was nothing to write home about, but he would make a good winner too. But I think Jones will end up with the statue in hand.

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables
Could Win: N/A
Should Win: Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables

I am fully supportive of Hathaway winning her first Oscar. She was incredibly heartbreaking as Fantine, and she lost a lot of weight and cut her hair the role. The Academy loves when people go to lengths to get into character, and Hathaway doesn't even have a real challenger here in this category.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Argo
Could Win: Basically, all the other 4 nominees
Should Win: Argo

I loved Argo, ok?

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Django Unchained
Could Win: Zero Dark Thirty or Amour
Should Win: Moonrise Kingdom

Another movie I very much enjoyed. It was quirky, and cute, and random, and I think it should pick up the award here, but sadly it probably won't happen.

Best Animated Feature Film
Will Win: Wreck-It-Ralph
Could Win: Brave
Should Win: I have no idea!

Sadly, the only animated film I've seen of the nominees is Brave, and I wasn't crazy about it, and have heard tons of good things about Wreck It Ralph, Frankenweenie and Paranorman, especially the first. I'm really apathetic in this category.

Best Foreign Language Film
Will Win: Amour
Could Win: N/A
Should Win: No idea!

I haven't seen any of them. Go Canadian film?

Best Cinematography
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Either!

Life of Pi was such a stunning film, and that's mostly due to the wonderful cinematography. At the same time, my favourite part of Skyfall was the cinematography, but Life of Pi was just a smidge better.

Best Film Editing
Will Win: Argo
Could Win: Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win: Argo

I don't know much about editing, but I want Argo to win all it can!

Best Original Score
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Lincoln
Should Win: Anna Karenina or Life of Pi

I really enjoyed the scores for all the films listed. Life of Pi was beautiful, Skyfall was Bondish, but had some great new themes and an Asian twist, Lincoln was classy John Williams, Desplat is my favourite ever so of course Argo was great, and Anna Karenina was just so Russian and beautiful. I'd love to see Marianelli win for AK, or for Desplat to finally win his first Oscar, but looks like Danna is going to swoop and steal if for Pi

Best Original Song
Will Win: Skyfall- Adele
Could Win: Suddenly- Les Miserables
Should Win: Skyfall

Okay, Suddenly doesn't really have a huge chance, but it's the second place. But Skyfall is such a stunning song, it so deserves to win.

Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Skyfall or Les Miserables
Should Win: No clue!

I have very little knowledge in these sound categories.

Best Sound Editing
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty
Should Win: No clue!

Ditto.

Best Production Design
Will Win: Anna Karenina
Could Win: Lincoln, Les Miserables
Should Win: Anna Karenina


I enjoyed AK, and it definitely deserves to win here, and in the costume category. And in score.

Best Visual Effects
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Are you kidding?
Should Win: Life of Pi

This one has absolutely no competition.

Best Costumes
Will Win: Anna Karenina
Could Win: Lincoln
Should Win: Anna Karenina

I'm totally behind AK on this one. The costumes were so lavish and gorgeous.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Will Win: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Could Win: Les Miserables
Should Win: Either of those 2

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in the galleys was incredibly done, and there was some fantastic hairstyling (Helena Bonham-Carter for one), but I think all the dwarves edge this one out a bit, but it could go either way.

And there we have it folks! My predictions! Yes I skipped out on the shorts and documentaries, but I really have no clue in those categories. Good luck to everyone tomorrow night, can't wait to see what the Academy will pull this year in terms of surprises!

Gladiator

Gladiator, 2000

Directed by Ridley Scott

Nominated for 12 Oscars, Won 5

Up Against: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Traffic 

Gladiator is a movie I've seen several times, and a movie I really do enjoy. It's the story of Maximus, a general in the Roman army, who is very much loved by Marcus  Aurelius. The time is coming for Marcus Aurelius to announce the succession, and in an unseen move, he tells Maximus he would like him to become his heir. Stunned, Maximus takes some time to think about it. But sadly, while he is, Marcus's corrupt son Commodus is let known he will not be Caesar. Upset that he has never been good enough for his father, he embraces him, and then suffocates him, the world never knowing about what was intended for Maximus. Maximus is arrested, and while he escapes being executed, he doesn't make it home in time to save his wife and son. Sleeping at their charred feet, the next morning he is captured as a slave, and is bought as a Gladiator. He rises through the ranks very quickly, spurred on by his master (also an ex-gladiator who was bought his freedom). His only goal now is to become so great that he may be able to find Commodus again, and let him know that he is not finished with him. 

I'm actually a fan of Russell Crowe, and this is one of my favourite films of his. It's a movie, in my mind, that I always sort of associated with Braveheart as being similar, though Gladiator is a much better made film (that and I don't care for Mel Gibson). Usually I don't very much enjoy films with a lot of killing in them, but this movie was not overdone on the gore. 

The music in this film is a particular stand out to me. While the battle scenes frequently sound like a bit of a wonky Pirates of the Caribbean theme, the rest of it is a very fine Zimmer score. The touches from Lisa Gerard make the slower pieces very touching and peaceful. The pieces that Zimmer and Gerrard did together are so beautiful, and rightfully capture the sadness and hopefullness of Maximus. 

Joaquin Phoenix is also a standout in the film. The sneering, corrupt Commodus, he plays the part to a T. It makes me a bit sad that he didn't win that year, but that's that. 

The cinematography, too, was very good and beautiful, as well as the costumes. Overall, the film looked very authentic, and looked beautiful. 

Overall, this is a film I enjoy. It's not my favoruite film, or even close, but is a movie I always enjoy watching when it's on TV or whatever. I can't comment on whether it deserved to win, having not seen any of the other films that were up that year, but I enjoy this movie so I'm not complaining!

Acting- 9/10 

Directing- 8/10 
Screenplay- 7.5/10 
Visuals- 8.5/10 

Music- 9/10 Emotional Connection- 8/10 
Entertainment- 8/10 

Rewatchability- 7/10 
Overall Enjoyment- 8/10 

Overall Package- 7.5/10     

Total: 80.5/100

Les Miserables

Les Miserables, 2012
Directed by Tom Hooper
Nominated for 8 Oscars

Les Miserables is one of the most popular, beloved and well-known stage musicals. It tells the story, starting and ending, with Jean Valjean, a prisoner for 19 years in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread. Finally, he is released on parole, but breaks it so to make a better life for himself. Years later, he has achieved this "better life", and when he learns one of the workers at his factory was let go, and has a child she is trying to look after, Valjean decides to rescue this child after the woman (Fantine) dies. Valjean, while still hunted, rescues the child, Cosette, and both their lives are changed forever.

I must confess something. Being the bookaholic I am, I decided to read Les Miserables before ever having seen the full musical (I've seen 45 minutes of the 10th anniversary a year before reading). Yes, you read that correctly. I read Les Miserables. Unabridged, and I skipped no pages. And once I read the final page of the book, I realized I`d screwed myself over for watching the musical or the movie. No play or film could ever accurately portray how beautifully written this book had been; how complex, how heartbreaking, and how glorious it was told. Yes, there were many parts that were drawn out or unnecessary, but when you got to the meat of the story, it was so incredible. And once I read the entire summary of the musical, I knew I was in for a let down. Because translating a 1200 page novel into a 3 hour musical meant that many things were going to be changed, and many would be simplified.

The problems I had with this movie were not the films fault (unless we're talking costume inaccuracies, or historical inaccuracies, but that's different), but that it was over-simplified from how the book had told it. Cosette and Marius did not take one look at each other and were in love. Eponine was not really a main character at all. The Thenardiers were not funny, but were incredibly evil people (and had more children than just Eponine). But I digress.

The first half of the film was incredibly done. Hugh Jackman is the powerhouse of the film, and carries it all on his shoulders. His performance is constantly great, and his singing is really quite good. The live singing, I thought, was incredibly well done. The group numbers were all my favourites and sounded so so good. Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, completely and utterly broke my heart. Her portrayal as Fantine was so emotional, and raw, and broken, that I believed her completely every second. Her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream was heartbreaking, and had me in tears (like everyone else in the theater). For only being in the film a short period of time, her character was properly fleshed out and had the right amount of development (something that the second half of the film lacked).

Everything, right up to where Marius, Eponine, etc come in, this film was really, really good. I had thought I wouldn't like the film whatsoever because of the book, but was surprised I liked the movie so much. Until then. Whether this is how it goes in the stage musical, or if this is just the film, I'm not sure, but everything felt very rushed and under-developed at that point. While Marius was my absolute favourite (Jean Valjean a very close runner up) in the book, his character was extremely diminished. We didn't get to know him on a deeper level like we had Fantine and Valjean. Same goes with Eponine. I felt like I hardly knew her at all before she dies. Which was such a shame. Had there been more time to flesh out these 2 characters, and the other revolutionaries, this would have been much better, but it felt too rushed, and too shallow for me to really care.

Overall, it's very hard to come to a conclusion of what I thought of the film overall. The first half was incredible, well paced and heartbreaking. The second half felt a little more rushed, less character development happening. It makes it very hard to decide what you thought overall.

So overall, I know that the live singing was well executed, and brought a lot more emotional, and a lot more acting in to the film. It made things seem a lot more real. I feel like I Dreamed a Dream would not have been nearly as heart-wrenching had it not been sung live. It would've sounded too perfect and not broken enough. The acting was all superb. Jackman, Hathaway were great. And I adored Eddie Redmayne as Marius. Russell Crowe was not nearly as bad a singer as I'd kept hearing he was (he was decent, ok people?). The visuals were stunning and the makeup for Jean Valjean was excellent. But there were pacing issues, lack of character development, etc.

I'd say Rotten Tomatoes hits it right when it gives it a 70%. It wasn't anything fantastic, but wasn't horrible either. It was a decent movie.

7/10

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012
Directed by Benh Zeitlin
Nominated for 4 Oscars

Going into this movie a week ago, I really had no idea what to expect since every summary I kept reading was extremely vague, and I couldn't understand why they couldn't be more descriptive. After watching the movie, I understood. If someone asked me what Beasts of the Southern Wild was about, the only reply I could really give is "A girl named Hushpuppy lives with her dad in The Bathtub, and are dealing with the polar ice caps melting". And most people would deem this as extremely unhelpful. Which it kind of is. But it is really what the movie is about.

Hushpuppy is 6 years old. She lives in a community called the Bathtub, a community which she loves. They have more holidays, more parties and are much friendlier. It's a community unlike any of us have ever lived in, nor could imagine living in. Her father, an angry man is dealing with health issues, and Hushpuppy is starting to wonder what is wrong with him. She lost her mother along time ago, and even though her father is harsh, she doesn't want to lose him either. As the polar ice caps are melting, and a storm comes brewing, the Bathtub floods, due to a levy the neighboring city has built to keep the water out, which means the Bathtub is constantly"filling up". While many people fled the Bathtub community before the storm hit, many stuck it out and are now dealing with the consequences of living in a flooded community.

I watched this movie with my parents, my sister and my sister's boyfriend. Watching movies with them is never a good idea. They talk and talk and poke fun and make comments and it's distracting when trying to watch a movie you honestly want to get a hold of and understand. And when the people around you aren't so keen on a movie and are verbal about it, it sways your opinion a little bit.

To sum it up, this movie was extremely odd. In this years awards race, I had this film and Moonrise Kingdom on a similar plain- they're both indie movies, with their main characters being children. While Moonrise Kingdom was quirky and funny, this movie was just different and odd. Intertwined with the story of Hushpuppy and her father is the aurochs, an extinct creature from the ice age. But when the ice caps melt, the aurochs are released from cryogenic sleep and are on the loose again, heading straight for the Bathtub. I think I would've enjoyed the film a lot more had the storyline of the aurochs not been included. It was strange and unnecessary and gave a slightly confusing end to the film (and also slightly anti-climatic, though it was supposed to be more symbolic than anything. Whatever).

But Quvenzhane Wallis was fantastic. She truly was. She was funny, and heartbreaking, and just so so good.  Its pretty unbelievable that she was only 5 when she filmed this. She was utterly believable, and so powerful. If I liked anything about this film, it was her performance.

Other than Wallis's performance, I was overall not too enthralled with the film. It was interesting, but the aurochs storyline made it pretty unrealistic, and distracted from the overall story. The score was also really good, and thought it was super cool that Zeitlin, the director, was the co-composer! I've never really seen that before and thought that was really neat. But overall, the film was just okay for me, with Wallis being the total standout of the film. I really hope she's able to build a fantastic career as she's already very talented (and next up she's starring with Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a Slave. Nice move up in the world!). While it was an alright film, I'd have still rather seen Affleck up for director rather than Zeitlin, and Moonrise Kingdom up for picture over this, but that's just my opinion it seems!

7/10

85th Oscar Nominees

Wow, this year was definitely interesting! Every year the Oscar love to mess us up, throw in surprises, and throw in a ton of snubs, this year not excluding. I had attempted to guess the nominees, but it looks like my guesses weren't too accurate.

Best Picture
Amour
Life of Pi
Argo
Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables

Out of these 9 (again, 9! I had been thinking it would be a smaller batch this year but hey), the "for sure 6" I had predicted are all in there, while Django and Beasts were the next in line. However, I did not predicted Amour being nominated, which was surprising for me! (8/9)

Best Director
Michael Haneke- Amour
Benh Zeitlin- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee- Life of Pi
Steven Spielburg- Lincoln
David O. Russell- Silver linings Playbook

Now here's the category where everything kind of went out the window for me. I had though Bigelow, Lee, Spielburg, Affleck were sure things, with Russell and Hooper vying for the last spot. How wrong I was. Haneke and Zeitlin were able to sneak in here. The Academy obviously has huge support behind these 2 films that I wasn't expecting. The biggest, most obvious snub here is poor Ben Affleck. I had been rooting for Argo since I watched it back in October, and thought of everyone Spielburg and Affleck were locks in this category. Well, snubbed before, snubbed again I guess. (2/5)

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper- Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln
Hugh Jackman- Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix- The Master
Denzel Washington- Flight

We all knew Phoenix had a better chance of getting in here than anywhere else, but with his exclamation of awards being stupid, and the fact he'd been snubbed many other places, many overlooked him for nomination. However Phoenix made it in. All the other 4 nominees were expected. I'm very pleased to see Cooper in here. While I was skeptical of him before I saw SLP, he was definitely a standout for the whole movie. Very excited! (4/5)

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain- Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva- Amour
Quevenzhane Wallis- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts- the Impossible

The biggest surprise here is the exclusion of Marion Cotillard. She had racked up a lot of nominations for her work in Rust and Bone, and while she wasn't a lock for a nomination, she was the most likely of the bunch vying for spots. And again, we see more support for Amour (I really should've taken this films possibilities more seriously, am I the only one who didn't see any of this coming?). And interestingly, we have both the youngest ever nominee and oldest ever nominee for Best Actress, which is always interesting. Either way, it's a two horse race between Chastain and Lawrence at this point. (4/5)

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin- Argo
Robert De Niro- Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman- The Master
Tommy Lee Jones- Lincoln
Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained

Arkin, De Niro, Hoffman, and Jones were all expected nominees. And it was a definite race for the last spot between the guys from Django (Waltz, DiCaprio), Javier Bardem, and anyone from Les Miserables. While I had predicted DiCaprio to get nominated (and earlier in the year to win!) it seems his co-star Christoph Waltz has decided to nab his second Oscar nomination. (4/5)

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams- The Master
Sally Field- Lincoln
Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables
Helent Hunt- The Sessions
Jacki Weaver- Silver Linings Playbook

No huge surprised here. The 5th spot had been up for grabs for a while and while names like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Nicole Kidman, and Jacki Weaver were thrown around, Weaver stole it. (4/5)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Not a huge surprise, but Beasts of the Southern Wild took the spot of Les Miserables. All the others were predicted and no surprises here. (4/5)

Best Original Screenplay
Amour
Django Unchained
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Flight was able to sneak in here and steal the spot from The Master, which seemed a likely nomination given how they recieved acting nominations in 3 categories. Alas, Flight being nominated is not hugely surprisingly. (4/5)

Best Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It-Ralph

Personally, I didn't see The Pirates! making it in over Rise of the Guardians, but hey, what do I know about Animated Movies? (4/5)

Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

Honestly, to me, the technical awards are pretty much up for grabs. Though, 4/5 of these nominees were also up for the American Society of Cinematographers Awards, and Django also managed to get a nomination. (3/5)

Best Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

I got this whole category right! And honestly, this is what Best Director should've looked like, but anyway...
(5/5)

Best Original Score
Anna Karenina- Dario Marianelli
Argo- Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi- Mychael Danna
Lincoln- John Williams
Skyfall- Thomas Newman

I had been hoping for a Dark Knight Rises score win from the beginning but I guess it wasn't to be so. Also, I knew Desplat would be in, but whether it was for Argo and Zero Dark Thirty I was unsure. Glad to see him in either way. The surprise here (ish) is for Thomas Newman for Skyfall. Newman is no stranger to this category, but chances are he won't win (again). (3/5)

Best Original Song
"Before My Time"- Chasing Ice
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend"- Ted
"Pi's Lullaby" Life of Pi
"Skyfall"- Skyfall
"Suddenly"- Les Miserables

I had no idea what I was doing for this one other than "Suddenly" and "Skyfall". I'm really happy to see Pi's Lullaby in here. It really is lovely and I thought it was a longshot adding it in to my nominees. Nominations for Ted and Chasing Ice were unexpected. Brave and Django were shut out of this category. (3/5)

Best Sound Mixing 
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

Academy decided to go with already recognized films rather than blockbuster films. Though the exclusion of Zero Dark Thirty is interesting. Same with Flight. However, I'm not complainig. The more nominations for Argo the better! (2/5)

Best Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

This year, only 3 films match up between Mixing and Editing. Usually its 4, or 5. Nice to see a little variety, though I still feel like these categories are so similar. (2/5)

Best Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit
Les Miserables
Lifeof Pi
Lincoln

The Hobbit managed to sneak in here, which is great, because the production design truly was so good. Anything technical for the Hobbit is definitely deserved! (4/5)

Best Visual Effects
The Hobbit
Life of Pi
The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsmen

The biggest omission here is Cloud Atlas, which I heard had very good visual effects. However, Snow White and the Huntsmen had pretty good effects. But Life of Pi is the overall winner here so it doesn't even matter. (4/5)

Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Mirror, Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsmen

I was really hoping to see more Moonrise Kingdom love, but sadly there's barely any. Though it is interesting to see both Snow White films competing against each other. However I'd love to see Anna Karenina take this one. The costumes are divine in that film. (4/5)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit
Les Miserables

The biggest surprise here is no nomination for Lincoln! With all the nominations it had, I'm surprised it wasn't included in here! This category could really go to anyone at this point! (1/3)

Well, overall, the only real big surprises/snubs for me was in Best Director. And with Affleck and Bigelow out on that category, it looks like Lincoln will definitely be the movie to compete against. I'm still hoping something like Silver Linings Playbook or Life of Pi will win (I liked these 2 films infinitely better), but we'll see. I scored pretty well this year, getting 4/5 on most categories and an overall score of 69/97, meaning I got 70% of the nominees right, which is definitely a lot better from last year.

Anyway, Happy Oscar Season everyone! And may the Academy be ever in your favour!

85th Academy Award Nomination Predictions

With the Academy Award nominations out on Thursday, I thought I'd release my final predictions! So here goes:

Best Picture
Lincoln
Argo
Les Miserables
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Pi

(if more than 6, in order)
Django Unchainced
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Moonrise Kingdom
The Master

Best Director
Steven Spielburg
Ben Affleck
Kathryn Bigelow
Ang Lee
Tom Hooper

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis
Bradley Cooper
Hugh Jackman
Denzel Washington
John Hawkes

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain
Jennifer Lawrence
Marion Cotillard
Naomi Watts
Quvenzhane Wallis

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones
Robert De Niro
Leonardo Di Caprio
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Alan Arkin

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway
Sally Field
Helen Hunt
Amy Adams
Maggie Smith

Best Adapted Screenplay
Lincoln
Argo
Life of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook
Les Miserables

Best Original Screenplay
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Amour

Best Animated Feature
Wreck-it Ralph
ParaNorman
Frankenweenie
Brave
Rise of the Guardians

Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
The Master

Best Film Editing
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Score
Life of Pi
Anna Karenina
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
The Dark Knight Rises

Best Original Song
Skyfall (Skyfall)
Suddenly (Les Miserables)
Learn Me Right (Brave)
Freedom (Django Unchained)
Pi's Lullaby (Life of Pi)

Best Sound Mixing
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Flight
The Dark Knight Rises
Skyfall


Best Sound Editing
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Flight
Skyfall
The Dark Knight Rises

Best Production Design
Anna Karenina
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Les Miserables
The Master

Best Visual Effects
Life of Pi
The Hobbit
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
Prometheus

Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Lincoln
Les Miserables
Mirror Mirror
Moonrise Kingdom

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Lincoln
The Hobbit
Cloud Atlas

Well, we'll see how well I do come Thursday morning. I probably won't do that well, but it's always fun making predictions and doing research!