Early Oscar Buzz

Time for some early Oscar buzz discussion. I know, the Golden Globes are usually the first indicator of Academy Awards candidates, but after seeing a handful of films, and a clear picture of the quality of film emerging, it is time to look at the categories.
Best Picture
This is the first (and hopefully last) year of expanding the category to 10 nominees. This is not going to be the boon that the Academy was hoping for, instead there will be some relatively unworthy recognition bestowed upon some of the films.
Avatar - Absolutely the blockbuster of the year. Look for this to break box office records as well as revolutionize action cinema forever. This is my front-runner for Best Picture winner.
the Hurt Locker
This is a wonderful film that would not typically receive the recognition that it deserves, but with the extended list of candidates, it should be there. Not going to win, but definitely deserving.
Invictus
This film looks absolutely amazing, and is yet another of Eastwood's masterpieces. Who would have thought that Dirty Harry would become one of the most prolific directors around?
Nine
I am incredibly curious about this one. Daniel Day-Lewis heads an all-star cast in what can only be described as this year's Chicago.
Up in the Air
Jason Reitman is clearly a chip off the old block, but he may have more dramatic credibility.
Precious
With surprising buzz, and a gut-wrenching story, this may be the Slumdog Millionaire of 2009.
A Single Man
Receiving tremendous buzz for performances by both Moore and Firth, this one should be on the list on quality acting alone.

This brings us to the three films that would never, ever receive recognition if there were 5 candidates, but all three truly deserve recognition.

Inglorious Basterds
A Tarantino masterpiece. Great story, acting, and the ending was one of the most indulgent film fantasies this year.
District 9
Excellent story, creative effects, and overall well done.
Star Trek
Abrams again delivers, this time with the kickoff to a new generation of Star Trek franchising. The sequels will surely not disappoint.

One final possibility - depends on the opening date:
The Lovely Bones
I did not read the book, but from what I've heard, the adaptation is brilliant. Peter Jackson has been out of the spotlight since the Lord of the Rings films, but this film will be nominated if it is released in 2009.

Winner - Avatar

Best Director

Eastwood - Invictus
Cameron - Avatar
Marshal - Nine
Tarantino - Inglorious Basterds
Daniels - Precious

Bigelow and Reitman for the Hurt Locker and Up in the Air are also possible considerations, but I like Tarantino and Daniels to round out the usual suspects.

Winner - Cameron - Avatar

Best Actor
Freeman - Invictus
Clooney - Up in the Air
Renner - The Hurt Locker
Day-Lewis - Nine
Firth - A Single Man

This is a loaded category this year, but I like these five for nominations.

Winner - Freeman - Invictus

Best Actress
Sidibe - Precious
Streep - Julie and Julia
Cornish - Bright Star
Mulligan - An Education

There are a handful of others who may infiltrate this category, but as I've mentioned before, the actress categories are my weakness for prediction.

Best Supporting Actor
My favorite category year after year
Damon - Invictus
Lang - Avatar
Waltz - Inglorious
Molina - An Education
Baldwin - It's Complicated

Tucci looks absolutely frightening in Lovely Bones, so he is a sure thing if the film is in the hunt this year.

Winner - Waltz - Inglorious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Cruz - Nine
Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo'Nique - Precious
Moore - A Single Man
Thompson - An Education

Winner - Cruz - Nine

My official predictions will come once the nominations are announced, but for now my short list of films to see:
Nine
Up in the Air
Precious
A Single Man
Avatar
Invictus

The Blind Side

The Blind Side refers to the left side of the offensive line, where the Quarterback is unable to see the defense coming after him. It is also an appropriate metaphor for the film in which a rich, privileged Memphis family takes in a poor, black orphan and ultimately change both of their lives forever.

Based on the true story of Michael Oher, who overcame adversity to enjoy a successful career at Ole Miss, and become a 2009 first round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens. He beat the odds of the less than .2% of high school football players making it to the professional level (215/9,000). It is an inspirational story in the spirit of Rudy, Remember the Titans, and Invincible.

Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw, and Sandra Bullock give good performances as Michael and the family he finds. Michael is a docile, heavily disturbed by his drug addled, neglected past. Having never slept in a bed and having a 6'5, 300+ pounds frame, he is the perfect candidate for an offensive tackle, but he is ironically passive and restrained. The liberties taken in giving the audience insight into his unique mental state is a bit cheesy: Low IQ, low percentiles in all mental categories, but the one area he excels is in on standardized tests is "protective instinct". Like I said, cheesy.

Michael's development takes some major prodding by Bullock's uber-bitch wife, who is unusually compassionate and open-minded despite being a southern belle Republican Ole Miss cheerleader. She does the right thing, ostracizes herself from her social circle and ends up being heroic. It seems a little too altruistic, and the husband, as the Taco Bell franchise magnate is a little too laid back and hip for the reality of a Memphis suburb.

Bullock is not typically one of my favorites (sorry Paul), but she does a surprisingly convincing job playing this type of role (see Crash). Hmmm, this seems to be recurring.

I like the way that the film was done. Not too sappy, not too much time spent on the football field. The story was actually inspiring, and I enjoyed how the film basically ended at the beginning of his college experience. The photos were poignant, sharing intimate looks at the family who participated in this extraordinary story. Michael Oher is a fascinating young man who should be shown as a role model to young struggling athletes.

In a time of Oscar contenders and action junk, this film hits theatres at just the right time for an uplifting tale. I would recommend this movie, not for its quality, but rather for its heartfelt emotional message. 7/10.

The Road

Cormac McCarthy's latest silver screen incarnation paints a bleak and despotic picture of the post-apocalyptic world undone by man's own hand.

Without fanfare or special effects, the first time director (John Hillcoat) gives us the image of hopelessness and depression within a landscape of nuclear winter induced ash, broken and burning buildings, and emaciated soulless human shells wandering in search of food and shelter.

The nuance of emotion is one of pure fear. Fear of starvation, fear of robbery, fear of rape, and worst of all, fear of death by cannibals.

McCarthy wrote this book a few years ago, and it won the Pulitzer, and was embraced by fans who respect his craft, while panned by many who saw the dystopic view too macabre. I for one appreciated the simplicity of the book, which was translated beautifully to the screen. The flaw however is the lack of substantive action. If you are looking for a love story, action scenes, or even violence, this is the wrong film for you. If you are looking for a suspenseful piece that paints what is probably the most realistic vision of mankind's future after nuclear fallout, this is the right film for you.

The story follows a man and a boy as they wander toward presumably warmer climate and toward water. They meet fellow survivors along the way; some good, some bad, one in particular is a reminder of how great an actor Robert Duvall is.

The paradox of the film is the dichotomy of spirit. The man is a survivalist, suspicious and protective of his son who is his only link to humanity. the last remaining connection to the life he had and his love (played briefly by Charlize Theron). The boy on the other hand is an innocent optimist with no memory of a life before the apocalypse. He is the one beacon of hope amidst chaos and destruction. Always carrying the torch of goodness.

Characters come and go, and there ultimately are no happy endings for anyone, which marks the realism of the situation. From the incessant coughing, to the labored movements and even the grimy hands and yellow teeth, The Road is a terrific companion piece to the novel.

Mortenson plays the man without much effort, but does so well. The boy does a nice job convincing the viewer that he is truly ignorant and frightened. The little things make the film special. Finding a dusty can of Coke, you can imagine how sweet it tastes at the first sip. Finding an abandoned bomb shelter stocked with cans of fruit cocktail is a small victory, but incredibly poignant for the characters. Finding a place to take a warm bath, you feel their joy as the dirt swirls down the drain.

Not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think there is enough happiness or substance to warrant any awards consideration. I have to admit, I was curious how they would pull off a film based on the novel, and although it did not disappoint, there was a somewhat dissatisfying feel to it. 7/10.

2012

Attempting to capitalize on the current "Mayan Calendar Apocalypse" scare, 2012 shows us exactly what we have come to expect from Roland Emmerich; weak and predictable plot lines about terribly written characters who escape from impossible and clearly un-researched situations. Fortunately for viewers, this is exactly why we go see his movies.

Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, the Patriot, the Day After Tomorrow, and 10,000 BC round out Emmerich's hit and miss collection of calamitous adventure flicks. He has made a name for himself synonymous with someone like George Romero, Michael Bay, John Waters, or Roger Corman. Someone who creates films that are in a league of their own, yet nobody has any reason to imitate or duplicate.

2012 operates under the conspiracy theory that the world will end in a cataclysmic fireball of volcanoes, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, all in a matter of hours and days. Convenient for a disaster flick, but highly improbable.

A meager attempt to base the foundations of the theory in fact, however accelerated and misguided that it might be, seems to be Emmerich's bread and butter. For the purpose of financial gain via special effect orgasms all over the screen, he is relatively successful.

The problem that I am beginning to have with his work is that it is predictable recycled material. I can sum up the story in a short paragraph, and you would have no idea which movie I am talking about:

Strange occurrences on planet earth. Single person determines the cause and fights to survive, bringing a small group of believers with him. Massive explosions ensue and prominent world landmarks and various wonders of the world crumble in an attempt to wow the viewer. Preposterous survival, happy ending.

There are a couple of things that need to rear their evil heads no more - by Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich - Please! Eccentric characters who are heroic beneath a shroud of craziness. Families who reunite through the mutual experience of death, doom and destruction. And, finally, inopportune motivational speeches with undertones of humanity and hope. Someone just shoot me.

John Cusack, an otherwise fine actor leads the cast of B-listers, and drags his family across the world in a series of near-misses to ultimately board one of a handful of "Arks" that have been built to propagate the species and ensure survival. How does one become a lucky member of this elite group of just a couple hundred thousand people? By being a billionaire of course. The not-so-subtle innuendo of class differences and government corruption pervade the films innocuous message. Wait, what is the message? Oh yes, that even you can fly a plane off of a crumbling runway not once, not twice, but three times (without knowing how to fly, mind you) and even you can hold your breath under freezing water for minutes at a time. Wait, is that the message?

In all seriousness however, the levity that is made about the BILLIONS of deaths is a bit undermining of the actual message of hope and humanity. Survival is impossible in a scenario of this magnitude, and in my humble opinion, everyone should have died a quick and horrific death. That would have been more realistic if the world were to fall apart at once.

Do you like to see the White House being crushed by the USS John F. Kennedy? Do you want to see Los Angeles fall into the ocean with all of its narcissistic plastic people obliviously falling off of the 405? Finally, do you ever wish that Las Vegas could be engulfed in flames? Maybe you'd like to see Old Faithful erupt, or an homage to the devastation of 9/11 and the Titanic in the same film! If you answered yes to any of these, this just might be the film for you.

Exactly what you would expect from the master of disaster, but as unoriginal as it is unsatisfying. 5/10.

Top 5 Movie Mustaches of All-Time

Disclaimer: This poll is in no way associated with the American Mustache Institute.

In honor of No-Shave-November, I thought I would come up with the top 5 lip ticklers of all time. These hair snakes are as iconic as they are timeless. Veritable screen legends themselves, these five soup strainers, or cookie dusters top the list, although there are some quite impressive competitors in this nose mane list. Without further ado, here they are.


Brolin's stache in No Country for Old Men is the logical choice over his other championship caliber entries from American Gangster and Planet Terror. 2007 was a great year for this facial hair farmer.



Jason Patric from Narc is probably the coolest Fu Manchu in recent movie history. It probably helps that he is a Narcotics Detective with a past drug problem. Classic film facial ornamentation.



Burt. Need I say more? The hair bandit himself is probably more famous for his lady pleaser than his sub-par acting. Although Smokey and the Bandit may not be his greatest facial display, it is memorable nonetheless.



Who can think about mustaches without visualizing the gravelly-voiced Sam Elliott? Roadhouse, Tombstone, Big Lebowski. His nasal caterpillar is a staple of his craft, and although it is difficult to decide on the particular role, I have to go with Tombstone. Appropriate and classy, like the gentleman Elliott is.



The champion of the dustbuster is an upset. You would think Tom Selleck or Hulk Hogan? Perhaps Borat or Ron Burgandy? No. Although impressive in their own right, the winner is Daniel Day-Lewis. As brilliant as his acting, his facial concoctions dazzled audiences in both There Will be Blood as well as Gangs of New York. A huge fan of Lewis, I had to choose Gangs of New York on pure girth. The beautifully upturned handles with just a hint of wax are follically charged art. What makes his victory all the more impressive is that he does not sport the stache when he is not in character. A typically clean-shaven man, he has some of the best facial farming potential of any actor in his league.

I hope you enjoy, and I welcome your comments and disagreements.

The Men who Stare at Goats

No Goats, No Glory! This is the tagline for the story so ridiculous that it is probably mostly true which stars an all-star cast including Academy Award winners Kevin Spacey and George Clooney and 4-time Oscar nominee Jeff Bridges. Director Grant Heslov hits a home run with the confidence of his production team and backed by what is probably the best ensemble cast of the year. What originally seemed like an Oscar caliber idea quickly dissolves into a farcical attempt to satirize the competence of the US military.

Set to the perfectly complementary Boston, the story focuses on a reporter (McGregor) who stumbles on a story of psychic soldiers in the post-Vietnam Cold War era. After exploration, he tags along with the quirky Sergeant Cassaday (Clooney) who reveals the exploits of his black ops jedi warrior clan.

What makes the film difficult to take seriously is the absurdity associated with the psychic warfare angle. What eventually brings the viewer in is the endearing and intriguing demeanor and dedication of the men involved. You feel that their fight for success in winning the war on terror peacefully is validated after spending time with their characters.

Humor abounds in what is a snapshot of a piece of actual experimental military science. The final scenes prove how much a drop in the bucket this program probably was, and subconsciously causes a cynical outlook on the wasteful bureaucratic nature of government. To approve a program so completely beyond the realm of logical is simply typical.

My newest favorite actor, Stephen Lang, shows up as the Brigadier General who is in charge of the secret program, and seeing him on screen fuels my excitement for his role in Avatar, where I truly think he will be a dark horse supporting actor contender come March.

This film is as original as it is quirky, and I found myself sitting in a crowded theatre appreciating the humor more than any other viewer in the audience. Laughing out loud at inappropriate times just comes natural in this light-hearted romp.

Cleverly billed as a film that clearly doesn't take itself too seriously, goats although not a critical part of the plot do add a very astute symbolism to the film. An arbitrary creature that is hilarious (gut-busting prolonged camera shot of an innocent goat) as a way of demonstrating the tone.

George Clooney shows that he is capable of just about any role out there. His range is wider than any actor in the business today as will be evident in his Oscar win for Up in the Air later this year. The rest of the cast is strong and appropriate, and although critically panned (see EW's F grade) this film hits the target where it aims.

I probably liked it more than others, but I appreciate its originality and humor. Stephen Lang is entering a second phase of his career that will land him choice roles in the coming years much like Brolin's role in No Country for Old Men did for him. Definitely not great, but go see it for the absurdity. 6/10.

Couples Retreat

It seems that Hollywood is being taken over by powerful groups of friends. First it was Clooney, Pitt, Damon, and Soderbergh. Then it was Apatow, Rogan, Sandler, and Rudd. Now it is apparently Vaughn, Favreau, Bateman, and Billingsley. Do they have the staying power? Sadly, no. The buddy genre will continue, but the allure is sadly gone. Couples Retreat is exactly what it appears to be; a fun movie to make with a fairly intriguing theme. What shows up on screen is a somewhat banal comedy with some unnecessary plot points and character traits that only amuses at times, and when least expected.

The plot has many holes in it that makes this romantic comedy (for lack of a better categorical definition) shallow and flaky. Bateman is disappointing because he is given the role of the serious stiff of the group. He isn't given the opportunity to show his comedic chops and so he just comes off as annoying. Favreau is just plain despicable, as is his wife, Kristin Davis. Kristen Bell is cute, but unbelievable as a barren corporate tightwad. The only bright spots are the perky Malia Akerman and Vince Vaughn as the only couple without some major marriage issues. I haven't enjoyed Vaughn in years. It seems that his head gets bigger, and although he has brilliant natural comedic talent, he seems like a bit of a douche bag. He impressed me with his humble approach to the role and made some very well-timed deliveries on top of some of his usual loudmouth antics.

Good supporting roles are played by John Michael Higgins and Ken Jeong as therapists working on the island resort, working with the couples to try to guide them toward the path to recovery. Additionally, Carlos Ponce as the sexually charged yoga instructor, and Colin Baiocchi as the youngest of Vaughn's sons give the film the levity and humor that it is missing from start to finish.

The plot is predictable and weak, but what would you expect from a movie about couples in an island paradise; comedians and hot women. It is quite lackluster and predictable and The only saving point is that as the film comes to an end, it doesn't climax too soon. The ending passes without much fanfare, but it has its moments and isn't altogether awful.

I was expecting much more from a Jason Bateman film, but maybe I was expecting too much. He is too funny to be stifled by a lame character and boring dialogue. My prediction is that Colin Baiocchi will achieve child actor status of such industry legends as Haley Joel Osment and Jonathan Lipnicki. If you didn't sense the facetious tone, I will say that seriously he has potential.

Came for the comedy, left dissatisfied. Peter Billingsley is no Judd Apatow. 6/10.