Daniel Day Lewis deservedly earns his Oscar nod in the dark There Will be Blood, based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. The movie is quite an exploration of human greed and ambition.
Lewis's character, Daniel Plainview is the epitome of these base human traits, and from the beginning of the movie he has no qualms about treading heavily upon all who stand in his way. What makes this movie even more interesting, is that his character is juxtaposed with another ambitious figure, the local preacher. The two spar and dance around each other grasping for power and influence. There are moments in the movie when you think Plainview might just have an inkling of humanity as he cares for his son - but it becomes evident that even if he did, his son is not as important as his ambition.
There are two scenes in particular that really stand out (see two embedded videos below). One in which Plainview must be baptized in the local church in order to get the lease on a piece of property owned by one of the church parishioners. The confession of his sins is quite moving, and is one of those moments that you wonder if Plainview might just be a good man at heart. The second is the final scene in the movie, in which the preacher and Plainview square off, and Plainview revels in his triumph over his rival by mercilessly berating him after the preacher begs him for money.
The ideas portrayed here about religion, capitalism, the affluent, the poor, ambition, humility, and ultimately egoism and selflessness are sublime. Although there is some impressive scenery, the movie is subtle in its message, and very insightful. It is a movie that will make you think for many days and weeks afterwards about what it all means. And it is one of my favorite movies of the year.
The first scene:
The second scene:
May 31, 2008
In Bruges (2008)
In Bruges is a dark comedy reminiscent of Pulp Fiction to a degree, albeit with a European setting. It is violent, quite disturbing in parts, equally as hilarious in parts, and in the final moments rather pensive and philosophical. That having been said - I loved the movie.
The movie follows two hit men that are hiding out in the town of Bruges after a hit went awry and an innocent child was killed. Collin Farrell's character is tortured by guilt after inadvertently killing the child. One of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes plays the mob boss, and Brendan Gleeson plays Farrell's mentor. The plot is endlessly surprising, and is filled with supremely ironic moments which are really great, so I won't ruin it for you.
The interplay between the characters is quite funny - and the dialog shows the humanity of the characters even though they are in the end, hired killers - which makes for the same kind of cognitive dissonance in the audience that you get watching Pulp Fiction. How can a hit man be a moral person? Do immoral people who do immoral things actually have a conscience? These are the things you will be asking yourself as you watch this movie.
I was very entertained, and give this a hearty recommend. The sensitive should beware though - like Pulp Fiction it is very violent and disturbing.
The movie follows two hit men that are hiding out in the town of Bruges after a hit went awry and an innocent child was killed. Collin Farrell's character is tortured by guilt after inadvertently killing the child. One of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes plays the mob boss, and Brendan Gleeson plays Farrell's mentor. The plot is endlessly surprising, and is filled with supremely ironic moments which are really great, so I won't ruin it for you.
The interplay between the characters is quite funny - and the dialog shows the humanity of the characters even though they are in the end, hired killers - which makes for the same kind of cognitive dissonance in the audience that you get watching Pulp Fiction. How can a hit man be a moral person? Do immoral people who do immoral things actually have a conscience? These are the things you will be asking yourself as you watch this movie.
I was very entertained, and give this a hearty recommend. The sensitive should beware though - like Pulp Fiction it is very violent and disturbing.
Made of Honor (2008)
Finally got to my first movie made in 2008. My wife and I went to see Made of Honor in the theater. The movie is a fun little RomCom starring Patrick Dempsey, in which, he plays an affluent New York playboy averse to commitment. His best friend is Michelle Monaghan, a girl he once tried to seduce, but resisted his advances in college. She runs off to Scotland on a business trip, meets the perfect man, gets engaged, and asks him to be his "Maid of Honor". The rest of the movie is Dempsey realizing he has been in love with her all along and trying to break up the wedding from the inside out and get her back.
As I said, it is a fun little movie to see with your spouse or significant other. There aren't any scenes that jump out at me as noteworthy, just your run of the mill Romantic Comedy. I am not a huge fan of RomComs in general so this gets a mild recommend at best for me.
As I said, it is a fun little movie to see with your spouse or significant other. There aren't any scenes that jump out at me as noteworthy, just your run of the mill Romantic Comedy. I am not a huge fan of RomComs in general so this gets a mild recommend at best for me.
April 29, 2008
Juno (2007)
One of the most talked about movies of 2007 was Juno, a low key comedy about teen pregnancy. The movie was funny, but ultimately a little overrated in my opinion. Just a little though - still a good movie.
The Oscar nominated Ellen Page does a great job as Juno, a teen that finds out she is pregnant in the first few minutes of the movie. She goes on to struggle with the choice between abortion and adoption, eventually choosing the latter. The rest of the movie is full of quirky funny moments of her coping with her pregnancy, and dealing with the family that will adopt her child.
This movie will be quite entertaining for those of you who have been pregnant and had a baby. My wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Ellen Page was nominated for an Oscar for her role, and I can see why - she is a very talented actress. However, as much as I liked it, the dialog between Juno and her best friend was a little over the top and somewhat annoying for me - but maybe thats because I am no longer a teenager. I still recommend this movie though, you will get a lot of laughs.
The Oscar nominated Ellen Page does a great job as Juno, a teen that finds out she is pregnant in the first few minutes of the movie. She goes on to struggle with the choice between abortion and adoption, eventually choosing the latter. The rest of the movie is full of quirky funny moments of her coping with her pregnancy, and dealing with the family that will adopt her child.
This movie will be quite entertaining for those of you who have been pregnant and had a baby. My wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Ellen Page was nominated for an Oscar for her role, and I can see why - she is a very talented actress. However, as much as I liked it, the dialog between Juno and her best friend was a little over the top and somewhat annoying for me - but maybe thats because I am no longer a teenager. I still recommend this movie though, you will get a lot of laughs.
April 28, 2008
Aocalypto (2006)
Apocalypto is a highly stylized epic set in ancient America that follows the travails of Jaguar Paw, a Mayan hunter. See more on the plot here.
This movie is quite remarkable, and I am surprised I have missed seeing it for so long. The costume design and makup is absolutely amazing - one of the few movies where costume and makup alone tell a huge part of the story. The whole movie is subtitled being spoken in a native American tongue, but it really feels authentic. Perhaps one of the ingenious things about this movie is that it still feels like a personal movie focused on a small set of characters even though there are sweeping epic scenes that show off Mel Gibson's version of the Mayan civilization. Jaguar Paw is so removed from the present, and witnesses things and places that are so different and quite unfathomable from the modern experience. Yet, you really identify with him as a person who wants to be good, to live a life of peace and happiness with his family.
Oh yeah, and there are some freaking awesome fight/chase scenes. Not to mention the horrifying close call with a Mayan priest on top of a pyramid and his attempt to cut out Jaguar Paw's heart in sacrifice to the Gods. Really fantastic movie - one of my favorites from 2006.
This movie is quite remarkable, and I am surprised I have missed seeing it for so long. The costume design and makup is absolutely amazing - one of the few movies where costume and makup alone tell a huge part of the story. The whole movie is subtitled being spoken in a native American tongue, but it really feels authentic. Perhaps one of the ingenious things about this movie is that it still feels like a personal movie focused on a small set of characters even though there are sweeping epic scenes that show off Mel Gibson's version of the Mayan civilization. Jaguar Paw is so removed from the present, and witnesses things and places that are so different and quite unfathomable from the modern experience. Yet, you really identify with him as a person who wants to be good, to live a life of peace and happiness with his family.
Oh yeah, and there are some freaking awesome fight/chase scenes. Not to mention the horrifying close call with a Mayan priest on top of a pyramid and his attempt to cut out Jaguar Paw's heart in sacrifice to the Gods. Really fantastic movie - one of my favorites from 2006.
April 27, 2008
The Apartment (1960)
Its been a few weeks, but I have seen a couple of movies I want to comment on. However, a format change: my plot summaries are going to be a little skimpier, so we can get to the meat of the review.
All right, first up, a quirky film that won best picture in 1960, The Apartment, which stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLain. For us Gen X/Yers it was kind of fun to see these two actors when they were so much younger than we are used to seeing them. Click here for a run down of the plot.
It is an oldie, but wasn't too bad actually. As you know, I am not a huge fan of the really old flicks, but this one is pretty witty though the dialog and acting was a little overdone at times - but that is to be expected with such an old movie. Shirley MacLaine is by far the most attention grabbing character in the movie, and she rightly deserves the Oscar nomination that she got.
So, verdict: good movie if you are in the mood for an oldie. Not amazing though.
All right, first up, a quirky film that won best picture in 1960, The Apartment, which stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLain. For us Gen X/Yers it was kind of fun to see these two actors when they were so much younger than we are used to seeing them. Click here for a run down of the plot.
It is an oldie, but wasn't too bad actually. As you know, I am not a huge fan of the really old flicks, but this one is pretty witty though the dialog and acting was a little overdone at times - but that is to be expected with such an old movie. Shirley MacLaine is by far the most attention grabbing character in the movie, and she rightly deserves the Oscar nomination that she got.
So, verdict: good movie if you are in the mood for an oldie. Not amazing though.
April 7, 2008
Atonement (2007)
Got a hold of another best picture nominee - Atonement. The first half of the movie portrays life on a large estate in England, where a romance blossoms between the caretaker's son (played by James McAvoy), and the daughter of the estate (played by Keira Knightly). Tragedy strikes as the jealous younger sister witnesses the rape of one of her young friends, and bends the truth to falsely indict McAvoy's character of the deed. He is scurried off to prison, and ends up enlisting in the war during the buildup to World War II. He still pledges his undying love for Knightly's character, and longs to return home. As the young sister grows up, she realizes how horrible her fib really was, and how it has ruined the lives of two people she dearly loves. Atonement for her misdeed consumes her, but the trio are already caught up in the madness of the war - the two women working as nurses tending to the maimed and dying, and the young man stuck at the infamous Dunkirk where the British Army is pinned down by the German Panzers.
Quite an epic story. However, I was underwhelmed. The acting was good, and the plot was good too - but after McAvoy's character is sent away about half way through the film, it seemed to try and be too much of an epic, and lost a lot of its authenticity. I give the first half of the film a hearty recommend, and the second half a very mild recommend. Verdict: Good, not great. Definately not Oscar material - I am surprised it was nominated for Best Picture. Once, and Into the Wild were much better in my opinion.
Quite an epic story. However, I was underwhelmed. The acting was good, and the plot was good too - but after McAvoy's character is sent away about half way through the film, it seemed to try and be too much of an epic, and lost a lot of its authenticity. I give the first half of the film a hearty recommend, and the second half a very mild recommend. Verdict: Good, not great. Definately not Oscar material - I am surprised it was nominated for Best Picture. Once, and Into the Wild were much better in my opinion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
