Movies Update

As I've mentioned before, on my walk back to my apartment from my office in Stamford, I pass two cineplexes and one arthouse theatre. So, I've been catching a lot of movies in the theatre and less on DVD these days. I have the time and money, plus it convenient, so why not?

In order of my preference:

“Toy Story 3” - Absolutely excellent. Who could have guessed 3D animation could illicit so much emotion from its characters? Suspense, tears, drama, excitement, warm hearted!!

"The King's Speech" - Very good. It received a bunch of Oscar nomination and will most likely win an Oscar for best picture. Very British ("royalty vs. common man" struggle), but endearing. If you like "The Queen" you'll like this.

"Black Swan" - Not a bad movie. It dramatizes the extreme pursuit of an artist's quest. Aronofsky, the director, once structured his stories very independently ("Requiem for a Dream", "The Fountain") , but he has since dropped that independence for a more conventional story telling style ("The Wrestler" and "Black Swam"). Natalie Portman should win an Oscar for best actress. If I were to criticize the movie, it was a bit to straight forward.

“127 Hours” - I was hesitant to see this movie. Who wants to see someone cut off their arm? But Danny Boyle rocks, one of the best directors working today, so why not give it a go. And yes, during the first half of the movie there's a lot of anticipation and it's very, VERY uncomfortable. But there's also a lot of visual preparation and time that transpires before the critical moment arrives. When the critical moment does arrives, the film turns into a horror movie But you can't close my eyes. Curiosity will kept them open. It was riveting. From there, Danny Boyle does great job closing the movie. When I left the theater, I didn't know how to feel about the movie. It took a day before I decided I liked it.

"True Grit" - The first half of the movie was BORING! The second half improved somewhat. Overall, the movie was just okay, but not as great as the Coen Brother's "Big Lebowski", "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men". And I'm not an expert in frontier culture, but the movie did seem portrays the western frontier a bit more realistically than the John Wayne version, except for the precocious female lead. Hollywood and America has matured.

"The Fighter" - When I left the theater, I my thought were didn't the family know any African-American people. Why was everybody white? Do people today live like that today? That is, only know and befriend people of their own race? I guess so. It seems so odd to me. The movie was okay. Christian Bale should win an Oscar for best supporting actor. And the mother and sisters in the movie should win an award for most annoying.

“Inception” - Great editing and visuals. The visuals dominate the first two-thirds of the movie. The emotion kicks in during the final third. The lead character, Leonardo DeCaprio, overcomes his achilles heel, learns something, gets what he needs, not what he wanted and becomes a better person. A tradition Hollywood film with a lot of fast edits.

“The Kids Are All Right” - Excellent, low budget, independent film. And it received an Oscar nomination for best picture which is a huge boon for LGBT families.

"The Social Network" - Critics have raved about this movie. Why? I don't know. It's two hours of dramatic boredom. Not a single laugh during the entire two hours. The true life story is much more phenomenal. A twenty-something's turns ambition and ingenuity into a company thats now worth billions of dollars! The drama in the movie seems to be forced in order to turn this incredible story into a movie.

“The Town” - Ben Affleck seem to have found his groove as screenplay writer and director ( recall "Gone, Baby, Gone"). But he still needs to learn not to cast himself in his own movies. The movie is worth watching, very entertaining.

"Winter's Bones" - A difficult movie to watch at times. It portrays the meth epidemic in rural America very realistically. Not a movie for everyone, especially not for the weak at heart. And yes, poor people are depressing, get used to it.

Another movie I've seen but had no chance of a Oscar Nomination for best picture (or an audience for that matter)...

"Blue Valentine" - Michelle Williams and Ryan Goslings are great actors. They've acted in many great independent films however, this film was soooo depressing. Why make such a depressing film? Why watch such a depressing film?