Closer - (2004)

"I can't take my eyes off you..."

Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" beautifully punctuates and bookends Closer, the tale of four people and their trials and tribulations of love.

It touches on many themes, including: "Can we choose who we fall in love with?" "What is the moment that love ends?" "Why can't we just let ourselves be loved?" "If we make a mistake are we better off lying?" The list goes on...

I loved this film... It seems to do everything so well. The script is perfectly subtle in its dialog and foreshadowing... Also, I was amazed that for a film that is as sexually charged as this one, there isn't a single "sex scene" in the classic sense. A tribute to Mike Nichols' directing.

By now we've all seen the accolades that Natalie Portman and Clive Owen have received for their roles and deservedly so... Especially Portman. However, I think Julia Roberts' performance was also phenomenal and perhaps was overlooked due to its subtlety...

If the film has a weakness, I would say that the way the all characters meet is a little contrived. Creative, perhaps. But contrived none the less.

Overall, it capped off a year of fantastic character driven films that has renewed my faith in the "character study"...

Rating: HR
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- posted by Stephen @ 2:00 AM

 
Oscar Noms Reaction

Where is Paul Giamatti???

I'm stunned frankly. This marks the second year in a row that he has been overlooked (also for last year's American Splendor). Clint Eastwood's nomination surprised me, but I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby yet so I can't commment on it. Ditto for Don Cheadle. Johnny Depp was solid and in many ways perfectly subtle in Finding Neverland, but it didn't initially strike me as an Oscar calibur performance. All this discussion I suppose is probably moot since, the hype machine is practically engraving Jamie Foxx's name on the statue. I'm not sure how exactly I feel about two of the acting front runners (Foxx and Blanchett) being nominated for doing what amounts to an impersonation of a famous person...

Other reations of note...

• Alan Alda, Best Supporting Actor, The Aviator - I thought he deserved a nom, but didn't think he would get it.


• Fahrenheit 9/11 - Shut out. Not surprising since Michael Moore didn't even submit it in the documentary category. Look on the bright side, George W. Bush is the front runner for the "Worst Actor" Razzie.


• Jim Caviezel was (not surprisingly) ignored for the controversial Passion... Though I find it funny that everyone made such a big deal about Charlize Theron making herself ugly and how her "sacrifice for her art" made her such a great actor. Same with Nicole Kidman and her funny nose in The Hours in 2002. Caviezel learned Aramaic, dislocated his shoulder, got struck by lightning *twice*, and was accidentally lashed multiple times...


• What's with the biopics? *Three* best picture noms fall into this category...


• Again with the Sideways controvesry, but why is it that the guy who I thought was the weakest part of the film (Thomas Haden Church) gets a nod, but the guy who acted his ass off and generally carried the film (Giamatti) gets passed over?

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- posted by Stephen @ 1:54 AM

 
AvP: Alien vs. Predator - (2004)
Note - This post is for Jon and Tim, so they will get off my back...

Ever have one of those nights where you get liquored up real, *real* good and make a very poor decision? It usually involes someone you meet at the bar named "Big Bertha" who is about as attractive as a skunk under your left-front tire... The next morning you realize you have made a mistake, but in the heat of the moment you couldn't care less. You're drunk dammit!

A while back, (like August), I got liquored up real, *real* good and made a very bad decision. Somehow, I came to the conclusion that the uber-geeky, fan-boy's masterbatory fantasy known as AvP would be a good movie to see. We knew it would be rough, so, just as you would before heading back to your new "friend's" place, I pounded all the extra CH₃CH₂OH that my body could handle, prayed that the ticket-taker wouldn't guess my BAC from my breath, staggered to my seat, and prepared myself to see a very shitty movie.

Now, you know those moments when you are about to lay the wood to your new-found companion and you suddenly have the epiphany that despite the fact that you can't stand, can't feel 90% of your body, and somehow think that the wobbling of the celing fan is the funniest shit you've ever seen, you take one look at "Beautiful Big Bertha" and realize that you *still* aren't drunk enough? That moment pretty much sums up the experience of AvP.

The plot is a direct rip off of Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (Team journey to the plains of Antarctica and discovers the ruins of an ancient alien people, then shit happens, etc.)

The characters are so generic that we could, even in our drunkeness, identify the following characters within the first five minutes: the 'spunky-but-lovable-nerd-who-will-get-waxed-early-so-we-will-feel-bad-guy', the 'badass-dude-who-will-should-make-it-but-will-be-killed-so-that-we-think-the-monsters-are-badass-guy', and the 'take-charge-female-who-will-be-the-only-one-who-lives-girl'.

"But wait!" you say. "This movie isn't about characters or plot! All I care about is the uber-geek action!" Sorry. Even the fights are so predictable that you will find yourself (before a fight even starts) knowing exactly when the monster will jump out, exactly how the fight will progress, and certainly how the fight will end. Hell! Take a good guess at what cheesy one-liner will be dropped and you will probably be right. Ummm... "Die, you like ugly mother-fucker!" Bingo!

Simply put: This film sucks. Even a pre-teen fanboy who bought a ticket to the latest Disney film and snuck into AvP would think that it was a pile of shit.

So just like the morning after "Big Bertha", I was left with not only a hangover, but the shame of having to face my friends, them knowing full well what I did the night before...

Rating: NR (Yes, even after a fifth of JD...)
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- posted by Stephen @ 1:54 PM

 
Five Easy Pieces - (1970)
Strangely enough, I had never heard of this film until recently. I happened to pick up one of those "Great Hollywood Moments" books on clearance and found a priceless scene on the accompanying DVD:

Jack Nicholson is sitting at a roadside diner trying to order breakfast with a side of toast, from a snippy waitress who allows "no substitutions!" The devious Jack, retorts by ordering a Chicken Salad sandwich: hold the butter, lettuce, mayo, and the *chicken*! The surly waitress snaps: "You want me to hold the chicken, huh?" To which Jack says (as only he can): "I want you to hold it between your knees!" Needless to say, I had to get hold of this movie! What I discovered... was stunning.

Jack plays a moody, violent man, who lashes out at those around him including his ditzy girlfriend (played by Best Supporting Actress Nominee Karen Black). Frankly, he is an asshole. But, as the film slowly reveals more, we realize that Jack is far more complex than we ever could have imagined.

This film is a brilliant character study in the highest order, featuring thought-provoking dialogue and amazing acting right up to the film's breathtaking final shot. I can't recommend it enough.

Historical Note - This film is significant for two reasons. First, truly character driven films were mostly unheard of at the time this was released, so it is fair to say that Five Easy Pieces paved the way for many of the best films of today. Second, Jack Nicholson displays raw emotion (read: uncontrollable tears) in this film, which was also unprecedented for a male, "tough-guy" actor.

Rating: HR
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- posted by Stephen @ 3:09 AM

 
Garden State - (2004)
God I love Oscar season... One good film after another! (I know this was released quite a while ago, but still...)

Garden State is the story of young man named Andrew (Zach Braff) who returns home after years away when his mother dies. Once home he must deal with his estranged father and all the friends he left behind. Until he meets a girl, Sam, (Natalie Portman) who changes his life...

Wait... you think you've heard this story before? You don't know shit.

You see, Andrew has been on just about every med imaginable since he was a young teen, and now he is off the pills and just waking up...

Wait... Now you think you've heard *this* story before? No really. Trust me... You don't know shit.

Are you sensing a patten? To describe the story, it seems to be formulamatic, yet it is anything but. It is so absurd and yet it resonates so deeply. Amazing acting.

A fantastic and enjoyable film.

Rating: HR
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- posted by Stephen @ 5:33 PM

 
Kinsey - (2004)
This film blew me away... The acting is simply phenomenal... Liam Neeson is outstanding as Professor Kinsey, as is Laura Linney as his wife, "Mac" Kinsey. Both should get Oscar nominations for their performances. John Lithgow will likely get overlooked, but his performance is amazing as well.

This doesn't even touch on the story which is the remarkable biopic of the man who changed the way we look at sex education forever... moving it from "Hygene" classes filled with rumors, half-truths and flat-out lies, to making sexuality a scientific study.

The feeling I left with after seeing this movie was not oly that it is so amazing how things are so different that they were before Dr. Kinsey... But how frightening that so many things are very much the same...

Rating: R+
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- posted by Stephen @ 11:00 AM

 
My Favorite Films of 2004
I'm in the mood to write, so here goes... (in no particular order)

Note - I said "favorite", not "best"...

Sideways - Probably the best character study I have seen in a long time. Paul Giamatti in stellar. Pinot Noir rules BTW.

The Aviator - Succeeds on every level. Leo finally gets a chance to shake off the Titanic hangover he's had forever. Very Oscar friendly picture. By no means Scorsese's best, but if he doesn't get an statue for this one, he never will.

Hero - I loved this movie. Great storytelling. Even better cinematography. Fantastic fight sequences.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I loved the surrealism of this film. Jim Carrey finally gets a film where his acting lives up to the hype. Give the guy a nod! He's earned it.

The Passion of the Christ - All the controversy drowned out the fact that this film was absolutely remarkable.

Dawn of the Dead - Best WTF moment of 2004 film: "Get up, come on get down with the sickness... You mother get up, come on get down with the sickness... You fucker get up, come on get down with the sickness..."

Spiderman 2 - Easily the best summer film of 2004 and one of the best comic book pictures of all time.

Napolean Dynamite - This movie had to be the stupidest movie ever... I mean no plot, little acting to speak of, and committed the unforgivable sin of helping bring back moon boots... So somebody tell me why I can't stop quoting it? Pick up line of the year: "I see you're drinking 1%, is that because you think you're fat?"

The Grudge - That fucking kid was creepy!

Friday Night Lights - Fantastic film. Tragic and inspiring all at that same time. Billy Bob Thorton is spectacular, as is Tim McGraw (yes, that Tim McGraw.) IMHO the most underrated film of the year.

That concludes my little list... I'd like to get this blog back up and running, so hopefully I'll have more posts coming soon.

- posted by Stephen @ 1:36 AM