The Judge was exactly what I thought it would be: an average fictional movie released in the heart of better films based on true stories. There was a lot of hype around this movie, but I felt it would do nothing for me. And that was what happened. Audiences seemed to like this movie, while critics slammed it. I’m in favor of the critics. At best, this was an average movie. At worst, it was a movie that tried every trick to get you to think it was a great movie. The fact that Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now, The Apostle) got a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination is a bit of a joke. His performance is a bit of an embarrassment compared to the other four nominees. The highlight of this movie is not the story. Nor is it Duvall. If you are going to see this movie at all (which I would recommend you don’t), you should see it for Robert Downey Jr.’s (Iron Man, Chaplin) outstanding performance.
Category Archives: Academy Award Nominees
American Sniper (2014)
In a year that hasn’t had that many must-see movies, American Sniper has proved that there is at least one reason to head out to the theaters. 2014 has been the most disappointing year overall for movies since 2008. Yet despite its horrendous start and some incredibly overrated movies (Birdman, Unbroken, Mr. Turner, Snowpiercer, Godzilla, even Boyhood to an extent), some films did manage to live up to their expectations (Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game). In addition, some movies exceeded my expectations (The Drop, Nightcrawler, Kill the Messenger, and the surprise feel-good movie of the year, Chef). But the film that had the most pressure to perform was American Sniper, the final movie released of the year. And while the movie did not exceed my expectations, it certainly met them in every single way. Before I review the film, I want to refer to a couple of observations.
Selma (2014)
Selma has a movie that will leave many audience members clapping as the film concludes. It’s a feel-good movie and an important one for all generations to see. Older generations may have forgotten some of the critical details over the years. Younger generations may be exposed to this for the first time, or at least for the first time outside of a textbook or one of those dry 45-minute, made-for-education documentaries. I am happy this movie received a PG-13 rating rather than an R rating. It is an essential movie for everyone to see. I will not ever cheer or hoot and holler at the end of a movie. That isn’t my style. I was talking with my mom the other day, and she said people stood and clapped at the end of Unbroken. I found Unbroken to be one of the most overrated, bland movies. Selma certainly isn’t that, and I was happy there were some cheers at the end of this movie.
Unbroken (2014)
In my opinion, the two best series of trailers for 2014 have been Unbroken and American Sniper. These were two of, if not the, most anticipated movies of the year. I apologize to Foxcatcher, which had a fantastic trailer and was a movie I was looking forward to. It not only met but exceeded expectations. These two Christmas Day movies have had me buzzing for months. Unfortunately, as the reviews began pouring in, I realized these movies would probably fall short of expectations. American Sniper is currently in the 70% range on Rotten Tomatoes, while Unbroken was way down at around 50%. I have not yet seen American Sniper, but based on the few reviews I have read, I believe I know where it will fall short. If outsiders had screened this movie before its completion, they could have influenced the film’s sequencing to better tell Chris Kyle’s story after his tours of duty. Again, this is my prediction before watching the movie, but I’m going to say it was a good movie that could have been in my top ten of all time. Unfortunately, I did not feel the same way about Unbroken. The trailer didn’t live up to the movie, and I don’t think any editing could have changed that. I found this movie to be very disappointing.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Sure, David Fincher’s (Fight Club, Se7en) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is Forrest Gump meets Legends of the Fall. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great movie. I saw this movie opening weekend six years ago and remember being intrigued by the premise but not exactly sure how I’d react to it. The trailer was superb, and Brad Pitt is excellent in almost everything he does. This movie was screaming Academy Award Nomination for him, and this would prove to be his first Best Actor nod. I’m also very high on Fincher and Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, Elizabeth: The Golden Age). At nearly three hours, this movie is too long, but I’m not sure what to cut. To me, each scene is integral to the story. And while Forrest Gump achieved more critical acclaim (6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and 6 other nominations), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button fared very well (3 wins and 10 nominations).