Academy Award Nominees/Winners are now coming out on DVD...So...here we go! (I still refuse to watch 127 Hours, though. I'm scarred from selling the book, the Oprah publicity, etc. I will take everyone's word that it was a good film and well acted. Black Swan I'm probably going to watch once it hits Red Box).
King's Speech (Colin Firth, Helen Bonham Carter) - I enjoyed the film just as much as I thought I would. All the anticipation and desire to watch it before it came out in the U.S. has definitely not left me with a sour taste in my mouth after finally watching it (as sometimes happens). Colin Firth was amazing, as true to his Academy Award Best Actor Award, and the rest of the cast was just as good and was understood why Bonham Carter and Rush both received nominations for Best Supporting Actress/Actor. It's a good film that people interested in movies like that will enjoy. In comparison to Christian Bale's Best Supporting Actor win to Geoffrey Rush's same nomination, I agree with the Academy on the award (for these two at least). Rush was a stable entity for the film and really was important as a supporting role, but Bale's character had the more complex role between the two. It makes sense in a way. Firth you can consider the complex character, while Rush was the stable factor to help the character along. The Fighter, in ways, Bale's character was the more complex one with Wahlberg's main character being the stable one (to a point, but he was pretty submissive throughout the film). So, in complexities, Bale's character definitely beats out Rush's; however, they both did great jobs and it's no wonder Rush was nominated. He was fantastic. I did have troubles getting past all the Harry Potter characters, though. Having 3 in one film and then a pirate messes with your movie enjoyment when you go, "It's Dumbledore!" or "It's Pettigrew!" or "It's Narcissa!" Or "He's a pirate!" Chris kept saying every time he'd watch, "You can't trust him. He's a pirate!" when Rush was on screen. *rolls eyes* Anyway, excellent film and lived up to my expectations beautifully. It's almost a movie buyer, but I don't particularly enjoy rewatching dramas. Grade: A
Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart) - Nicole Kidman was nominated for a Best Actress award for the film and it's superb acting through a somewhat sad story that somehow is still uplifting by the end. There is a very powerful argument scene between Kidman and Eckhart that simply tugs at your heart strings as they both try and cope with the unfortunate death of their son 8 months prior. It's also interesting to see how they are both trying to cope with the grieving. Kidman's character is definitely the more prominent one of the two and the one who has the most emotional struggle between the two, but that doesn't mean Eckhart is cold. He simply grieves in a different manner. I enjoyed the film and the end had a promising ending (not necessarily happy, but you could see they were finally working their way through their grief and wanted to work it out together). There are some chuckle worthy moments in the awkwardness of the film, but it works. The whole film has a believability to it that is nice to see in a film. I don't think this film would be for everyone, but if you like either actor a lot, I'd rent it for the acting (as I did). And, at least, the film doesn't leave you feeling completely down and sad about the situation or the couple. It leaves you with the feeling of hope that life can still go on. Grade: A-
Tomorrow might be Country Strong.
I have also figured out why I don't like Smallville. Chris doesn't like their stupidity and stupid repetitive stories, but I don't like the lack of character complexity. So many of the characters are one-dimensional that it just gets boring after a while. I think it's also the way the stories go, but still! I do really like Lex Luthor (who ends up being enemies with Superman) and it's been paining me knowing he'll eventually not be friends with Clark. I think I like him so much because he's got the sympathy vote going for him (father doesn't really love him, he's got a hard outer shell, tries to do good but has a slightly skewed view of what is "good"), but it's also because he's practically the most complex character on the series! I don't really care about the others and that's just not a good way to draw people in...
No comments:
Post a Comment