Since there are no real good movies hitting the theater lately I want to share some excitment for the news I saw last night on my smartphone! I was casually checking my Movie App for the latest news and two news really caught my attention.
First Mark Wahlberg stated that a Fighter sequel is an option the producers are thinking about. There are no real confirmed news or stuff about that, but the story could focus on the Trilogy of fights Micky Ward took on his rise to become a World Champion. That was "teased" at the end of the first movie with a text that Ward took on an opponent three times in order to rise as the Champ!
Dont know if we are really needing a sequel to the first one, but I think we cant evade it since the first one was such a huge success!
Second and even more thrilling news for me was something that is rumoured for a couple of years right now. And it came one step closer to becoming real! Quentin Tarantino apparently is thinking about doing a Italo Western with Christoph Waltz involved in some kind. As a HUGE western movie fan I am actually thrilled to see what Quentin Tarantino can bring to that genre. The Coens did a good job in their western last year, but I am sure that Tarantino can elevate that Genre even higher! Maybe to the state that we saw in the era of western around the 70s and 80s!
Mittwoch, 2. März 2011
Dienstag, 1. März 2011
Quick thoughts about the Oscars
Just a few days removed from the Academy Award Celebration I wanted to let my voice be heard on the ongoing discussion as well. Pretty much everyones opinion about this years show was, that it absolutly sucked, to be honest I am not gonna change on that judgement, but I want to be fair and square and split the show into positives and negatives - sadly the negativities far outweighting the positivities.
I like the opening number...it was no song nothing really fancy, just a great way to introduce the audience to the hosts and to the best picture nominees this year! Last couple of years the opening numbers were pretty strong, from Hugh Jackman singing his song and next year NPH starting of and then Steve and Alec crackin some jokes about the nominees. It worked for me! What didn't worked throughout the entire show was the face and the attitude James Franco provided....he seemed to be so full of himself that it was really annoying to see this guy on the stage! And since the purpose of the two young hosts failed, I am hoping to see better hosts next year again!
Now as the show moved on I was really really confused how the show was structured. I know that it is not helping the show when you are waiting with the important awards till the end, coz your ratings in the first half will absolutly hit a minimum point, but what was up with the structure here? You got an important awards, followed by some minor awards, followed by songs and then minor awards, then again songs and all of a sudden a tribute to the great ones that died this year, followed again by weird structured elements? I don't get it!
With that criticsm I pretty much ranted about the entire show, coz it was so damn weird how they made and structured the awards this night.
Still in all these confuzing things a lot of stuff was still enjoyable - only partial but still enjoyable parts were in it. I really like Kirk Douglas in his speech, I mean they celebrated him and he paid back with great comedy and so on! Just great to see those guys go out. probably for the last time in their career and work the crowd one last time! Just a classic moment.
That moment was followed by Timberlake and Kunis presenting an award and that presentation seemed so fresh and great that it was maybe the second best of the night followed by the Douglas think. The Banksy line was awesome and how Timberlake improvised with that line from Douglas not only cracked Kunis up!
The rambling of Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. was great as well. Downey Jr. worked his way up my favorite list throughout this year with his funny appearances in the Award Shows that it is just great to see him present!
Those three great presentations stood out for me! I mean the other presentations weren't bad but those three were most enjoyable for me.
Now to let the show rest a bit I will turn my attention to the awards and the winners. And that is another problem of the Academy Awards coz they are sometimes so predictable that it is almost ridiculous. Everyone expected the main winners this year! Kings Speech, Hooper (maybe this one is an exception because of the Fincher Fans still hoping that the Academy will get it right!), Firth, Portman, Bale and Leo. No suprises their! Only suprise for me was that the King's Speech actually won Best original Screenplay. I mean whats up with that? It's not even an Original Screenplay for Christ sakes. It is based on a true story, parts of the movie are inspired by the Book that the Doctor wrote down about the therapy and it was not even a great story either. I bet there is not one single guy out their who could argue with me, that the Inception Screenplay was far more impressive and creative than the Kings Speech!
That was really the only Award I am actually pissed at because it is just not right in my book! Still I got 16 right on my home ballot I made with a couple of friends and I won! Maybe one of the best parts of the night!
I like the opening number...it was no song nothing really fancy, just a great way to introduce the audience to the hosts and to the best picture nominees this year! Last couple of years the opening numbers were pretty strong, from Hugh Jackman singing his song and next year NPH starting of and then Steve and Alec crackin some jokes about the nominees. It worked for me! What didn't worked throughout the entire show was the face and the attitude James Franco provided....he seemed to be so full of himself that it was really annoying to see this guy on the stage! And since the purpose of the two young hosts failed, I am hoping to see better hosts next year again!
Now as the show moved on I was really really confused how the show was structured. I know that it is not helping the show when you are waiting with the important awards till the end, coz your ratings in the first half will absolutly hit a minimum point, but what was up with the structure here? You got an important awards, followed by some minor awards, followed by songs and then minor awards, then again songs and all of a sudden a tribute to the great ones that died this year, followed again by weird structured elements? I don't get it!
With that criticsm I pretty much ranted about the entire show, coz it was so damn weird how they made and structured the awards this night.
Still in all these confuzing things a lot of stuff was still enjoyable - only partial but still enjoyable parts were in it. I really like Kirk Douglas in his speech, I mean they celebrated him and he paid back with great comedy and so on! Just great to see those guys go out. probably for the last time in their career and work the crowd one last time! Just a classic moment.
That moment was followed by Timberlake and Kunis presenting an award and that presentation seemed so fresh and great that it was maybe the second best of the night followed by the Douglas think. The Banksy line was awesome and how Timberlake improvised with that line from Douglas not only cracked Kunis up!
The rambling of Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. was great as well. Downey Jr. worked his way up my favorite list throughout this year with his funny appearances in the Award Shows that it is just great to see him present!
Those three great presentations stood out for me! I mean the other presentations weren't bad but those three were most enjoyable for me.
Now to let the show rest a bit I will turn my attention to the awards and the winners. And that is another problem of the Academy Awards coz they are sometimes so predictable that it is almost ridiculous. Everyone expected the main winners this year! Kings Speech, Hooper (maybe this one is an exception because of the Fincher Fans still hoping that the Academy will get it right!), Firth, Portman, Bale and Leo. No suprises their! Only suprise for me was that the King's Speech actually won Best original Screenplay. I mean whats up with that? It's not even an Original Screenplay for Christ sakes. It is based on a true story, parts of the movie are inspired by the Book that the Doctor wrote down about the therapy and it was not even a great story either. I bet there is not one single guy out their who could argue with me, that the Inception Screenplay was far more impressive and creative than the Kings Speech!
That was really the only Award I am actually pissed at because it is just not right in my book! Still I got 16 right on my home ballot I made with a couple of friends and I won! Maybe one of the best parts of the night!
Sonntag, 20. Februar 2011
Academy Award predictions
Alright guys, I promised you all to deliver my Academy Award predictions this weekend and here they are. I will run through the single categories and kind of explain my choice - please bear with me...sometimes my choices are not based on the knowledge or something just on thoughts!
Best Picture : After all the hype we got about The Social Network earlier this year, going into the beginning of the Award Season and cleaning the house at the Golden Globes, the buzz settled a bit and they were caught by The King's Speech. Quiet frankly I don't know what will change about this here. I would love to see The Social Network win, but I predict The King's Speech to win here.
Leading Roles : I don't split the leading roles, nor the supporting roles up. In both categories my choices are very clear. Natalie Portman and Colin Firth are going to take home those awards for their great performance in Black Swan and The King's Speech. I have no doubt here.
Supporting Roles : This one is a bit more tricky than the leading role category. I think, that the Globe Winners Christian Bale and Melissa Leo have a pretty good chance of repeating their success here - both also winning the Actors Guild Award, but they also have to fear competition like Hailee Steinfeld (Why the hell is she nominated in Supporting Roles?) and Geoffrey Rush. Still I think The Fighter will get both of these awards.
Best Director : The Director Guild of America made their presence felt and awarded Tom Hooper their award for his direction in The King's Speech. 90 percent of the GDA winner have moved on to winning the Oscar in that exact same year. It's risky betting against those odds, but I am a gambler and I think, that David Fincher will get this award here. 10 percent is still a chance!
Best Writers : I don't split those up either and so we have Aaron Sorkin and Christopher Nolan winning in my book. Sorkins Award seems to be pretty save, but Nolan is a shot in the dark. A lot of experts are saying, that it is "The royal year" but when I look at the ideas that Nolan put in Inception I think that is the better script!
Animated : Toy Story hands down!
Best Foreign : That one is a bit tricky as well. The Globes saw the danish film In a better world winning, but something tells me, that Biutiful will win this one.
Cinematography : True Grit was shoot so well with such a great atmosphere, that I think it will win this award...probably the best chances for True Grit of winning an Oscar this year.
Editing : In my book two movies would be fighting for this Award, Inception and The Social Network. Both had to rely on perfect editing, because there were several plots and strings and locations that had to be brought into a fitting structure, and both movies succeeded in that point. Since Inception isn't nominated The Social Network will take this one home.
Art Director : Tom Burton for Alice in Wonderland is the obvious choice here. It is a colorful movie that is playing in a dream world, and that dreamworld is portayed in a great way by the Art that Tom Burton put into it.
Costume Design : Same as Art Director. Alice in Wonderland wouldn't work without the costumes that are introduced in the movie.
Make Up: I don't know about that category. I believe that the voters are not really watch every movie closely enough to get every bit of Make Up and the way it is used, so I go with Wolfman coz you can't miss the Make Up there!
Original Score : I believe that Social Network will take this one home as well, cause I really like the flow of that Score, always in the back, never really in the face but always there and supporting the vibe. I fear, that The King's Speech will get this one at the end of the day, but my prediction is The Social Network!
Song : Don't heared every song nominated but I go with Randy Newman and his song for Toy Story 3 here.
Sound Mixing : Did a little research about this category and my sources are telling me, that the Sound Mixing craft is about the way dialogues and the environment are presented. So my choice here The Social Network because so many scenes are taking place in different environments, and the atmosphere there is always pin point accurate delivered!
Sound Editing : When a movie and it's sound are supporting the story and concept of a movie in the way it is achieved in Inception it's gotta win the Oscar.
Visual Effects : Freakin spinning fight in the Hallway! Inception
Documentary : This might be a political choice and so my vote is on Inside Job. Speaking of politics...war documentary Restrepo about the Afghanistan War could be the political choice as well!
Documentary Short : Don`t know lot about those movies. Just read a few synopsis and again from a political standpoint I think Killing in the Name is having good chances of taking this one home!
Short Animated : Also only read a few thinks about those movies and Day and Night was attached to the screenings of Toy Story 3. So I guess it has pretty decent chances!
Short Film : This category I am really having no ideas what the movies are about so I just randomly pick a movie and the winner will be...Wish 143.
Thats it for the Academy Award Predictions...I am sure I won't get 24 out of 24 but I hope I have at least half of the movies right!
Summary:
The Social Network : 5 Awards
Inception : 3 Awards
The King's Speech : 2 Awards
Toy Story 3 : 2 Awards
The Fighter : 2 Awards
Black Swan : 1 Award
True Grit : 1 Award
Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/fanthaiza for all updates about this blog!
Best Picture : After all the hype we got about The Social Network earlier this year, going into the beginning of the Award Season and cleaning the house at the Golden Globes, the buzz settled a bit and they were caught by The King's Speech. Quiet frankly I don't know what will change about this here. I would love to see The Social Network win, but I predict The King's Speech to win here.
Leading Roles : I don't split the leading roles, nor the supporting roles up. In both categories my choices are very clear. Natalie Portman and Colin Firth are going to take home those awards for their great performance in Black Swan and The King's Speech. I have no doubt here.
Supporting Roles : This one is a bit more tricky than the leading role category. I think, that the Globe Winners Christian Bale and Melissa Leo have a pretty good chance of repeating their success here - both also winning the Actors Guild Award, but they also have to fear competition like Hailee Steinfeld (Why the hell is she nominated in Supporting Roles?) and Geoffrey Rush. Still I think The Fighter will get both of these awards.
Best Director : The Director Guild of America made their presence felt and awarded Tom Hooper their award for his direction in The King's Speech. 90 percent of the GDA winner have moved on to winning the Oscar in that exact same year. It's risky betting against those odds, but I am a gambler and I think, that David Fincher will get this award here. 10 percent is still a chance!
Best Writers : I don't split those up either and so we have Aaron Sorkin and Christopher Nolan winning in my book. Sorkins Award seems to be pretty save, but Nolan is a shot in the dark. A lot of experts are saying, that it is "The royal year" but when I look at the ideas that Nolan put in Inception I think that is the better script!
Animated : Toy Story hands down!
Best Foreign : That one is a bit tricky as well. The Globes saw the danish film In a better world winning, but something tells me, that Biutiful will win this one.
Cinematography : True Grit was shoot so well with such a great atmosphere, that I think it will win this award...probably the best chances for True Grit of winning an Oscar this year.
Editing : In my book two movies would be fighting for this Award, Inception and The Social Network. Both had to rely on perfect editing, because there were several plots and strings and locations that had to be brought into a fitting structure, and both movies succeeded in that point. Since Inception isn't nominated The Social Network will take this one home.
Art Director : Tom Burton for Alice in Wonderland is the obvious choice here. It is a colorful movie that is playing in a dream world, and that dreamworld is portayed in a great way by the Art that Tom Burton put into it.
Costume Design : Same as Art Director. Alice in Wonderland wouldn't work without the costumes that are introduced in the movie.
Make Up: I don't know about that category. I believe that the voters are not really watch every movie closely enough to get every bit of Make Up and the way it is used, so I go with Wolfman coz you can't miss the Make Up there!
Original Score : I believe that Social Network will take this one home as well, cause I really like the flow of that Score, always in the back, never really in the face but always there and supporting the vibe. I fear, that The King's Speech will get this one at the end of the day, but my prediction is The Social Network!
Song : Don't heared every song nominated but I go with Randy Newman and his song for Toy Story 3 here.
Sound Mixing : Did a little research about this category and my sources are telling me, that the Sound Mixing craft is about the way dialogues and the environment are presented. So my choice here The Social Network because so many scenes are taking place in different environments, and the atmosphere there is always pin point accurate delivered!
Sound Editing : When a movie and it's sound are supporting the story and concept of a movie in the way it is achieved in Inception it's gotta win the Oscar.
Visual Effects : Freakin spinning fight in the Hallway! Inception
Documentary : This might be a political choice and so my vote is on Inside Job. Speaking of politics...war documentary Restrepo about the Afghanistan War could be the political choice as well!
Documentary Short : Don`t know lot about those movies. Just read a few synopsis and again from a political standpoint I think Killing in the Name is having good chances of taking this one home!
Short Animated : Also only read a few thinks about those movies and Day and Night was attached to the screenings of Toy Story 3. So I guess it has pretty decent chances!
Short Film : This category I am really having no ideas what the movies are about so I just randomly pick a movie and the winner will be...Wish 143.
Thats it for the Academy Award Predictions...I am sure I won't get 24 out of 24 but I hope I have at least half of the movies right!
Summary:
The Social Network : 5 Awards
Inception : 3 Awards
The King's Speech : 2 Awards
Toy Story 3 : 2 Awards
The Fighter : 2 Awards
Black Swan : 1 Award
True Grit : 1 Award
Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/fanthaiza for all updates about this blog!
Samstag, 19. Februar 2011
The Kids are all right : A modern comedy
The recent years have brought us a totally new way of thinking about the "modern" way of having a family - a heterosexual family that is. Apparently this topic is most suited to a comedic approach with the hit series „Modern Family“ and now the comedic romance „The Kids are all right“ nominated for several Oscars like Best Picture, Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Script. And deservedly so. The movie moves in a fresh and unapproached area of family with a lesbian couple, two kids and the sperm donator who gets mixed into the occasion and spices things up in many ways.
The story is lacking a bit focus and that is a good thing. We jump from one story angle to another which gives this movie a good pace to go with. The story starts with a general overview about the dynamics in the family. We have the bride young girl – Joni, the bit out of control boy – Laser, and of course Mom and…mom Nic and Jules. And later the sperm donator Paul is mixed into the occasion. He wants to get to know his kids better and so he becomes a part of the family, he participates at dinners, is doing sports with the kids and gives the unemployed part of the parents a job in his garden. From there on this entire movie is turning upside down and I can’t progress with the synopsis here without getting any spoilers away!
The story is lacking a bit focus and that is a good thing. We jump from one story angle to another which gives this movie a good pace to go with. The story starts with a general overview about the dynamics in the family. We have the bride young girl – Joni, the bit out of control boy – Laser, and of course Mom and…mom Nic and Jules. And later the sperm donator Paul is mixed into the occasion. He wants to get to know his kids better and so he becomes a part of the family, he participates at dinners, is doing sports with the kids and gives the unemployed part of the parents a job in his garden. From there on this entire movie is turning upside down and I can’t progress with the synopsis here without getting any spoilers away!
The thing with those romantic comedies is, that they are almost predictable from the get go. The Kids are all right is no difference in this, if you have seen a couple of those genre movies you pretty much know what’s gonna happen, that there is gonna be a twist were one member of the family gets turned away from the rest and so on. The refreshing part in this movie whatsoever is, that no stereotype can be entered here. With this total new way of presenting the family it is a new situation for movies in a different way. Usually the boy is cheating and then is crawling back in regrets and is doing something romantic for an hour on the screen to get back to the love of his life. It is in The Kids are all right but in a totally different way and not with all the drama and scenes that you know out of other movies.
The fact that one family member betrays the others is presented different here in the movie, no yelling, no screaming, not so many tears and no “I don´t want to see your FACE ever again!”. It´s all settled and quite which is a great way of showing a conflict like that. And in a bizarre way the betrayal is totally new as well. In a gay relationship, a straight betrayal gotta be something new.
But that’s not what drives this movie and makes it watchable. The best thing about this movie is the relationship and the acting. And in a way those two aspects are pulling together. Pretty much every conversation seemed authentic and real in a great way. Mark Ruffalo made a great job delivering the sperm donator who is really unsure of his role in this family, but understands the responsibility that he is taking by getting to know his kids better. Annette Benning is delivering big time as the working mother and the “core” of the family, the institution of the family. Julianne Moore is doing her share as well as the more “hippy” mother, that is really playing the betrayal down to earth. Even in the situations and conversations were the lesbians are talking to each other after the betrayal no tearjerkers are applied, just a down to earth bitterness and remorse that is coming from both ends in those conversations. Last but not least is Mia Wasikowska as Joni, the smart 18 year old girl. She is in a way the center piece and driving factor in this comedy. Her progression is the leading way through the movie, because the troubles are starting with her calling the donor and the movie ends – almost an open end – with her getting out of her parents’ house and moving in to a college flat. And what she is doing in her role is good. She is good in the conversations with her lines, her pronunciation is appropriate and most of all she plays a “changing” character with her –at first- being the protected child with no troubles in live and ending up drunk and yelling at her parents. That’s a twist that is not delivered well by every actor in Hollywood!
The only weak link in the cast is Josh Hutcherson. He is not getting the great exposure either but the scenes he is in he looks shallow and is overshadowed by every other actor that is in those scenes.
Nevertheless this movie is a perfectly enjoyable movie, with the only exception that it is pretty much a romantic comedy genre movie with no real inventive ideas that are turning the genre upside down. Still the modern family aspect is getting some laughts out and is creating some awkward situations, but it is not used in a way, that it could reinvent romantic comedies.
Rating : 8 out of 10
The fact that one family member betrays the others is presented different here in the movie, no yelling, no screaming, not so many tears and no “I don´t want to see your FACE ever again!”. It´s all settled and quite which is a great way of showing a conflict like that. And in a bizarre way the betrayal is totally new as well. In a gay relationship, a straight betrayal gotta be something new.
But that’s not what drives this movie and makes it watchable. The best thing about this movie is the relationship and the acting. And in a way those two aspects are pulling together. Pretty much every conversation seemed authentic and real in a great way. Mark Ruffalo made a great job delivering the sperm donator who is really unsure of his role in this family, but understands the responsibility that he is taking by getting to know his kids better. Annette Benning is delivering big time as the working mother and the “core” of the family, the institution of the family. Julianne Moore is doing her share as well as the more “hippy” mother, that is really playing the betrayal down to earth. Even in the situations and conversations were the lesbians are talking to each other after the betrayal no tearjerkers are applied, just a down to earth bitterness and remorse that is coming from both ends in those conversations. Last but not least is Mia Wasikowska as Joni, the smart 18 year old girl. She is in a way the center piece and driving factor in this comedy. Her progression is the leading way through the movie, because the troubles are starting with her calling the donor and the movie ends – almost an open end – with her getting out of her parents’ house and moving in to a college flat. And what she is doing in her role is good. She is good in the conversations with her lines, her pronunciation is appropriate and most of all she plays a “changing” character with her –at first- being the protected child with no troubles in live and ending up drunk and yelling at her parents. That’s a twist that is not delivered well by every actor in Hollywood!
The only weak link in the cast is Josh Hutcherson. He is not getting the great exposure either but the scenes he is in he looks shallow and is overshadowed by every other actor that is in those scenes.
Nevertheless this movie is a perfectly enjoyable movie, with the only exception that it is pretty much a romantic comedy genre movie with no real inventive ideas that are turning the genre upside down. Still the modern family aspect is getting some laughts out and is creating some awkward situations, but it is not used in a way, that it could reinvent romantic comedies.
Rating : 8 out of 10
Follow me on twitter twitter.com/fanthaiza for all the updates on my blog!
Sonntag, 13. Februar 2011
Top Five Lists! Football Movies
Here we go folks, first Sunday after the football season...so I am going to "keep" up the season once again with my top 5 football movies of all time!
1. Remember the Titans - Not only good as a football movie, but also good as a movie about ethnical difficulties in the early years in America. This movie shows how hard it was for black people to get into the spotlight, and look at the NFL now! Directed by Boaz Yakin starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton.
2. Any given Sunday - A true football movie. It´s about the game and the game behind the game. Stars are born, stars are dropping, injuries are happening, money is tight and success is the best argument you can have on your side for a coach. Directed by Oliver Stone starring Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quiad, Aaron Eckhard and Cameron Diaz.
3. Jerry Maguire - I covered the life of a coach and the life of an entire team with my first two choices, now I am heading for the agent. Jerry Maguire is showing what success and money are capable of doing, but still a human component has to exist in order to accomplish your goals and dreams. And my team the CARDINALS are featured :) Directed by Cameron Crowe starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellweger.
4. Invincible - After three fictional football movies here comes the true story of a unemployed football fan in Philadelphia. Due to the recent lack of success the Eagles are looking for new members and are hosting an open casting and only one can step it up and earn the spot in the team - Vince Papale. Directed by Ericson Core starring Mark Wahlberg, Elisabeth Banks and Greg Kinnear.
5. The Blind Side - Another true story about the OL Michael Oher, who comes from a crack addicted familyhood and is trying to be just a part of the society. After he is growing into a family he is showing his impressive strenght on the football field becoming the First Round Draft Pick in the NFL Draft 2009. Directed by John Lee Hancock starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron and Jae Head.
And as usual the films that I know that could make it into the Top 5 : Friday Night Lights, Brian´s Song, Rudy, We are Marshall!
Next lists topic is still pending...I am looking for a topic currently. If you have any advises or suggestions just follow me on twitter twitter.com/fanthaiza and let me know what I should write about!
1. Remember the Titans - Not only good as a football movie, but also good as a movie about ethnical difficulties in the early years in America. This movie shows how hard it was for black people to get into the spotlight, and look at the NFL now! Directed by Boaz Yakin starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton.
2. Any given Sunday - A true football movie. It´s about the game and the game behind the game. Stars are born, stars are dropping, injuries are happening, money is tight and success is the best argument you can have on your side for a coach. Directed by Oliver Stone starring Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quiad, Aaron Eckhard and Cameron Diaz.
3. Jerry Maguire - I covered the life of a coach and the life of an entire team with my first two choices, now I am heading for the agent. Jerry Maguire is showing what success and money are capable of doing, but still a human component has to exist in order to accomplish your goals and dreams. And my team the CARDINALS are featured :) Directed by Cameron Crowe starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellweger.
4. Invincible - After three fictional football movies here comes the true story of a unemployed football fan in Philadelphia. Due to the recent lack of success the Eagles are looking for new members and are hosting an open casting and only one can step it up and earn the spot in the team - Vince Papale. Directed by Ericson Core starring Mark Wahlberg, Elisabeth Banks and Greg Kinnear.
5. The Blind Side - Another true story about the OL Michael Oher, who comes from a crack addicted familyhood and is trying to be just a part of the society. After he is growing into a family he is showing his impressive strenght on the football field becoming the First Round Draft Pick in the NFL Draft 2009. Directed by John Lee Hancock starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron and Jae Head.
And as usual the films that I know that could make it into the Top 5 : Friday Night Lights, Brian´s Song, Rudy, We are Marshall!
Next lists topic is still pending...I am looking for a topic currently. If you have any advises or suggestions just follow me on twitter twitter.com/fanthaiza and let me know what I should write about!
Freitag, 11. Februar 2011
Inception: An unexpected dream movie
The headline might surprise a few of you because the movie created some buzz and offers a great cast so why was this unexpected to be a great movie? Because for a summer blockbuster this movie features so many great innovative ideas both in visual and in storytelling and plot that it separated big time from the usual summer blockbuster, that are mostly all a repetition of action movies, with a lot of stunts, a lot of explosions and a sexy female!
It´s great to get something new and actually groundbreaking in the summer, were most studios are not releasing their great prospects for the award season. So it´s great to see that guys like Christopher Nolan are not bound to the season in which their film is released but more dedicated to their own prospect and their own project and ideas. The creative plot that is behind the whole story of Inception is both creative and groundbreaking, and the way it is shown in a film is even better.
Don Cobb and his team are traveling to the dreams of men to steal information out of their minds to use them in their favors or to just fulfill a job. Most of the time that information they are stealing are thinks that can be used to create a disadvantage for the one it was stolen from. Their most recent job failed whatsoever and so they need to job together with Mr. Saito, a business man that they formally tried to steal from. The major purpose of that collaboration is to perform the act of “inception” on the mind of Robert Fischer, the young son of a business owner who is going head-to-head with Mr. Saito´s Company. And with that the fun part starts!
The ride through several layers of dreams only to implant on specific thought into the mind of Robert Fischer, which will change his actions forever. This film is a great mixture of spy, sci-fi and a little bit of an action movie, with no part of those elements dominating each other. It´s a perfectly balanced movie, that offers more and more in each layer you get. The most recognitions (at least at the Oscars) this movie is receiving from the technical standpoint with both visuals and sound editing being front runners for the Academy Awards, and rightfully so. The great sound with all the effects and the score by the great Hans Zimmer are delivering an experience that is just awesome. Watching this movie in a cinema with huge speakers is an experience you should not pass on! The other parts are the visuals and they are innovative and awesome in so many ways. I could jump on the obvious great spinning hallway, where Joseph Gordon-Levitt fights of an armed guard and the entire room is spinning and turning and they are flying around trading punches without gravity, but it´s not only this! Right from the get go the visuals are awesome with the new architect Ariadne trying out her skills and turning an entire city upside down, those shots were awesome as well!
Next thing you will notice after the visuals and sounds is the amazing cast that Christopher Nolan has put together for this movie. With Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard pretty much carrying the movie you get great performances out of them. In addition you have Ken Watanabe who is delivering a great performance and you have Jospeh Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy, who are not carrying the movie in any way, but providing great scenes and action in their scenes. And don’t count out Ellen Page in their performance as a young and curious architect that is discovering more and more about the life and past of DiCaprio´s Character.
So we got the visuals and the cast…what´s missing there? The story! And that story is spot on great. What Christopher Nolan did with this script that he wrote is one of the greatest jobs I have EVER seen. He is not only coming up with a creative idea, creative characters and an unusual topic but he has created a separated world with were different rules are applying and were you can do certain things. All his layers and dream levels are separate from each other both in the design and the way you move in it. He has created an entire new dimension within his movie and the greatest thing is, that the movie is never falling out of his own structure. Everything the cast does in the certain levels is plausible, every blow and everything is explained and it sounds logical. It´s just a great piece of writing that Nolan accomplished.
Now to my favorite part of the movie. I am usually not a big fan of love stories that are woven into a serious plot but in this case it´s so great to see. With Mal who lost her mind inside a dream and killed herself being all around this love story is not only shallow scratched but deeply analyzed within the movie. Everything is perfectly explained and the use of symbols within a movie is something I absolutely love. He love story is evolving inside the movie without being annoying or slipping to deep into romance or whatever. Just a great example of a sci-fi movie or a action movie or whatever, that is featuring a love story without even getting close to the typical romance clichés.
With all that being said I have only one last thing to say about Inception. It´s GREAT. You have to pay attention to the screen all the time in order to get the content and the rules and systems that are working on each layer, but it´s fairly easy to get if you following the movie. And you SHOULD follow the movie just because this movie is a really really fun and entertaining watch, that features some of the greatest and most innovative writing that I have ever seen.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Montag, 7. Februar 2011
Whats next?
I have a bit of troubles taking a look at some movies recently course of my college exams and stuff like that, but this will get fixed in a week, when I have time again. Just wanted to give you a little heads up on the reviews and stuff that is awaiting you in February!
I will definitly post reviews of the final missing nominees for best picture in the upcoming Academy Awards which are Inception, The Kids are all right and Winter´s Bone. Probably Inception goes first, then The Kids are all right and after that Winter´s Bone.
Then as we move closer to the Academy Awards, I will announce my predictions for the Academy Awards in every category! Maybe I will devide it into several post to keep the tension...lets see about that. And of course I invite EVERY reader to post his own thoughts in the comments!
Then of course the Top List will stay a feature on the Blog, next topic is pending, but I guess I will make it about football since the SuperBowl is only a few days ago, when the list hits the board!
If there is any huge topic I need to focus on I will of course write something in the Column category, but this feature will not occur weekly on the blog!
And with a little bit more time on my schedule I will try to establish two new categories to the Blog as a weekly feature. One is the DVD Shelf where I will write a review about one movie, that I recently rewatched out of my own DVD collection. The second being the weekly classic, where I will pick one classic and legendary movie, which will get a review on my blog as well!
That is the agenda for the next weeks, if you like my plans let me know and of course bookmark this blog! You can also follow me on twitter twitter.com/fanthaiza for the newest updates on the blog and the unfiltered thoughts that I have when I read something about movies or pretty much anything :)
I will definitly post reviews of the final missing nominees for best picture in the upcoming Academy Awards which are Inception, The Kids are all right and Winter´s Bone. Probably Inception goes first, then The Kids are all right and after that Winter´s Bone.
Then as we move closer to the Academy Awards, I will announce my predictions for the Academy Awards in every category! Maybe I will devide it into several post to keep the tension...lets see about that. And of course I invite EVERY reader to post his own thoughts in the comments!
Then of course the Top List will stay a feature on the Blog, next topic is pending, but I guess I will make it about football since the SuperBowl is only a few days ago, when the list hits the board!
If there is any huge topic I need to focus on I will of course write something in the Column category, but this feature will not occur weekly on the blog!
And with a little bit more time on my schedule I will try to establish two new categories to the Blog as a weekly feature. One is the DVD Shelf where I will write a review about one movie, that I recently rewatched out of my own DVD collection. The second being the weekly classic, where I will pick one classic and legendary movie, which will get a review on my blog as well!
That is the agenda for the next weeks, if you like my plans let me know and of course bookmark this blog! You can also follow me on twitter twitter.com/fanthaiza for the newest updates on the blog and the unfiltered thoughts that I have when I read something about movies or pretty much anything :)
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)