What a depressing movie Mike Nichols’s Closer was. And this is coming from a guy who loves this genre. But I’m not a fan of movies where all of the lead characters intentionally hurt other people just so they can feel better about themselves, just like I’m not a fan of people hurting other people intentionally in real life. But this movie was all of that and a bag of chips. I THINK I knew that was going on. I remember seeing previews for this way back in 2004 and thinking that this was not a movie that I had any interest in seeing. It made me think of the Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal for some reason, a film that I saw in theater at age 17 that I had no business seeing as a 17-year-old. Talk about a couple of movies that destroy the sanctity of marriage. So while this movie held my interest, primarily because of the actors involved, it’s a movie I’ll remember for a while that I wish I could forget instantly.
Continue reading Closer (2004)
Category Archives: Academy Award Nominees
Captain Phillips (2013)
The movie of 2013 that I think I found to be most disappointing was Captain Phillips. This was by no means a bad movie, but I approached this movie with the belief that this was going to be THE movie of the year. It was anything but the movie of the year. It wasn’t even a top 10 movie of the year. After all, is said and done, it most likely won’t even be a top 20 movie of the year for me. I’m not entirely certain what the main reasons were that I didn’t like it. I will rattle off a couple during this review, but I think that, ultimately, it came down to not meeting my extraordinarily high initial expectations.
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Philomena (2013)
Philomena is a fine little movie that has somehow been classified as a great movie worthy of Best Picture and Best Actress (Judy Dench – Notes on a Scandal, Shakespeare In Love) nominations. In my opinion, neither are deserving. This movie, though only 1 hour 38 minutes, never felt super slow, but it still did feel long. I think that had to do with the story not winning me over. In a year where there were many decent movies but not many great ones, Philomena will not be remembered. I think when people go back and remember 2013, the list isn’t very deep. People will remember 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, and possibly Frozen (I’m not an animated movie type of guy, so I won’t see this movie, but I understand how great others think it is).
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Blue Jasmine (2013)
Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris) has done more than enough in his latest venture to interest me in checking out some of his past films that I have yet to see. Blue Jasmine is a terrific little movie about crushed dreams, deception, and trying your best to accept the life you have, regardless if it is the life that you want. It stars Cate Blanchett (The Aviator, Notes on a Scandal) as the title character, a woman whose life is turned completely upside down when her life of luxury is uprooted as a result of her husband Hal’s (Alec Baldwin – The Cooler, The Departed) poor personal and professional decision-making. Instead of continuing to live her posh lifestyle in New York City with (what she thought) was her perfect husband, she is forced to move in with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky, Submarine) and her two sons in a rundown San Francisco apartment because she has nowhere else to go. Blanchett (Best Actress), Hawkins (Best Supporting Actress), and Allen (Best Original Screenplay) were all nominated for Academy Awards. While Blanchett and Allen were most deserving, I didn’t think Hawkins was great. It furthers the argument that the award is likely a two-person race between Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), who should win, and Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle). Blanchett has a small chance to unseat the favorite Sandra Bullock (Gravity), but I just don’t see it happening. Bullock carried a Best Picture nominee by herself for more than an hour. Even if Blue Jasmine had been nominated for Best Picture, it would still have been hard for her to defeat Bullock.
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August: Osage County (2013)
Primarily known for his work as executive director of some of the best television shows of the last 20 years (ER, The West Wing, Third Watch, Southland), John Wells is a newcomer in directing a feature film. Before August: Osage County, he has just one movie credit to his name (2010’s slightly disappointing The Company Men…a movie whose trailer made it seem like it was going to be a contender for movie of the year). But when it comes to assembling casts, I’m not sure a director can do any better. For his first film, he reeled in Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Mario Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Craig T. Nelson. Not bad. But even the cast of The Company Men has nothing on August: Osage County. For this effort, with apologies to American Hustle, Wells has assembled the best cast ensemble you will see in all of 2013. American Hustle got five of the best actors and actresses on the planet, but August: Osage County got eight or nine great ones.
Continue reading August: Osage County (2013)