Let’s Talk About The Oscars!

The Wife: The 85th Academy Awards will take place this evening. The Academy Awards, commonly referred to as “The Oscars,” serve as the most prestigious event of the film industry. Some may see award shows as a chance to just promote Hollywood snobbery, but I disagree. The Oscars are a time where art is celebrated. The event also showcases films that may not necessarily be “mainstream,” and with the Academy publicity more people can enjoy these great movies. If not for Academy buzz, I don’t think I would have even known that last year’s Best Picture winner, The Artist, existed, and The Artist has become one of my favorite movies! Click here to read our Best Picture Project review of The Artist.

As a movie buff, I absolutely love watching The Oscars. I enjoy seeing some of my favorite films of the year be recognized. It’s also nice to see the behind the scenes work that goes into the film industry be praised. The pageantry of the event is also captivating. I admit that my TV will be glued to E! most of the day to watch the live red carpet interviews and to see what everyone is wearing!

So, let’s get right down to it. I won’t share my entire Oscar ballot with you, but I can discuss the coveted award for this evening, Best Picture! Below, I will list all nominees, my take on each film, who I want to win and finally, which movie I think will capture the Academy Award! Be sure to check here later this week for a blog on the actual winners and the best/worst dressed of the evening!

The Nominees:

Amour: Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to view this film, pre-Oscars. So, sadly, I have no commentary to offer. It is on my list to watch at some point. Unless we are in for a surprise, I don’t think Amour will win Best Picture.

Argo: Talk about INTENSE! I felt completely un-relaxed while watching Argo, which is a film based on the rescue of six US hostages from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. Directed by the oh so hot and talented, Ben Affleck, who also played the lead character, CIA operative Tony Mendez, Argo really delivered in terms of entertainment and intensity. From my understanding, Argo did take many liberties of the actual events of the rescue, such as the dramatic airport scene, but hey, it’s a movie. I don’t go to the movies for a full on history lesson. For a film that I knew the outcome of, I still found myself nervous and completely on the edge of my seat while watching Argo. I was uneasy and very much invested in the story. It’s hard to make a movie suspenseful when we already know the outcome. Affleck may not be the best actor I’ve ever seen, but he is a great director, and Argo proved that. I can’t believe the Academy snubbed him by not giving him a nomination in the Best Director category. In conclusion, Argo was a well-done movie. Like I said, it was intense. I feel like I actually sweat during the movie since it was so nerve-racking at points! For a movie to get me that emotionally involved is the mark of a good film. Personally, Argo was not my favorite of this year’s Best Picture nominees, but I think in comparison with the way previous award shows have gone and due to buzz, Argo will be this year’s Best Picture Winner! It will be a deserved victory as well. Side note: If Argo wins tonight I believe this will be the first time a film has won Best Picture without a Best Director nomination since Driving Miss Daisy!

Beasts of the Southern Wild: Another movie that is on my list that I have not yet scene. This is currently waiting in my Netflix mail-in queue. I just have to hurry up and mail in a movie I’ve held on to for far too long. Oops. Unless we are in for an upset, I do not think this film will win Best Picture.

Django Unchained: Do you ever go to movie not expecting much but then finding yourself completely blown away by how good it was? Well, that describes my Django Unchained experience! I am a fan of some of Tarantino’s work, especially Pulp Fiction. I was expecting to be semi-entertained by Django, and honestly I found myself questioning why this movie was even nominated for Best Picture. However, I ended up absolutely loving Django Unchained. It was a great story, very entertaining, well acted, and the musical score was incredible! It did have that Tarantino touch to it, and if you aren’t familiar with Tarantino’s work you really should check out some of his older movies like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. Django Unchained was quite funny as well. I didn’t expect to laugh that much before seeing the movie. Throughout the funny and bizarre moments, the movie does have an underlining serious tone that is harshly evident in many scenes. Just because it had some funny lines and the “Tarantino touch,” doesn’t mean that the viewer wasn’t left reeling from the horribleness that was the slave trade. Overall, I think Django Unchained really deserved its nomination. Christoph Waltz was fantastic in Django Unchained and deserved his Supporting Actor nomination as well. While I think Tommy Lee Jones could take that one for his work in Lincoln, I would cheer if Waltz ended up winning. I don’t think Django Unchained will win Best Picture, but it’s easily one of my favorites from this year’s nominees!

Les Miserables: As I type this blog post, I am currently listening to Anne Hathaway’s amazing rendition of the iconic song, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables! As a lover of musical theatre, I was blown away by Les Miserables. I was familiar with both the story and songs before seeing Les Mis, but had never had a chance to see the live stage performance. Musicals can be hard to bring to the big screen, but Les Miserables delivered. It was powerful, beautifully acted and I really FELT for the characters. The singing was not perfect. I’ve heard far better musical scores from Les Mis, but the imperfections made the film all the more powerful. Through the slight imperfections, you really could feel the characters’ emotions in each scene. The story, which really touches on the human condition, really moved me. Redemption, love, sadness, happiness, peace…I got all of that from Les Miserables. All of the actors did a fantastic job. I was skeptical at first when I saw that Anne Hathaway was portraying Fantine, but she BLEW ME AWAY. She was incredible and I have to say if she doesn’t win her Supporting Actress award tonight, I will be a bit peeved. Hugh Jackman was amazing as well. Unfortunately he picked a bad year to give the performance of his life because I just don’t see him beating out Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln) for Best Actor. Personally, Les Miserables is my pick for movie of the year. I would vote it as my Best Picture, but like I’ve said for other films, it will take an upset for this one to win. I do look for it to pick up other awards tonight though!

Life of Pi: Sadly this was on my list of movies to see this fall, but the holidays are so busy that I didn’t make it to the theatre for Life of Pi. I’ve heard it was a great movie from many people. As soon as it comes out on Blu-Ray, I intend to watch it. I did unfortunately get the ending spoiled for me thanks to someone on Facebook. Oops. However, I am still intrigued. As I’ve said several times, it’s going to take an upset to beat Argo, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Life of Pi does from all the positive reviews surrounding this movie

Lincoln: If you know me, you know I am huge history buff. Heck I even have a history degree to coincide with my communications and English degrees. (Ok, so I am a nerd and enjoyed school…don’t judge!) So naturally, I was super excited to see Lincoln. I have been fascinated by Lincoln’s presidency since I did my award winning social studies fair project on The Gettysburg Address in fourth grade. Like Argo, Lincoln does take liberties with the historical content. And like Argo, Lincoln is still a MOVIE, so if you want a pure history lesson read a book. Spielberg once again delivered with Lincoln. For a movie about the voting of an amendment, which many people would see as “boring,” Lincoln was really anything but. At times, I did find the movie to be a bit slow-paced, but that didn’t deter my enjoyment. Daniel Day Lewis was incredible as Lincoln. He looked the part and while I’ve obviously never seen honest Abe in real life, Lewis made me felt like he WAS Lincoln. His performance of Lincoln almost looked too easy, which is the mark of a good actor. However, it was Tommy Lee Jones that stole the show for me in this movie! Jones was fantastic and I’d be happy if he won Best Supporting Actor. With Lincoln, I think Lewis will pick up his third award for Best Actor. I also believe that if Argo doesn’t win that Lincoln has the best chance to pull the upset and win Best Picture.

Silver Linings Playbook: After several failed attempts to see this movie, I finally got to see Silver Linings Playbook last month and loved it! It was funny, emotional and just an overall great movie experience. Hollywood usually never “gets it right” when they touch on the issue of mental illness, but Silver Linings Playbook really captured the essence and rawness of the disease. Most people think someone mentally ill is just “crazy” thanks to past Hollywood stereotypes, but Silver Linings Playbook proved this incorrect. Bradley Cooper, who I’ve really only seen in comedies like The Hangover, was great. Unfortunately like Hugh Jackman, he picked the wrong year to have the performance of his life since I don’t see him winning Best Actor over Lewis. Jennifer Lawrence, on the other hand, looks to be the favorite to win Best Actress, and it will be a well-deserved victory if she captures the award! Lawrence was absolutely fantastic in Silver Linings Playbook. She was so good and so natural in her character that she almost stole the show for me. I love Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games, but I am thrilled she took on the Silver Linings Playbook role to really showcase her acting chops and prove that she’s just not a bland, “teeny bopper” actress. In conclusion, Silver Linings Playbook is one of my favorite films from this list. I’d love it to win the big Best Picture award. While it most likely won’t, it should pick up other prizes tonight!

Zero Dark Thirty: Like Argo, Zero Dark Thirty was very intense. It didn’t have me on edge like Argo, but that’s because the pacing of Zero Dark Thirty was very different. It was slower paced, but the film’s conclusion really delivered and hit me emotionally. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know that Zero Dark Thirty is a story of the post-911 search and capture of Osama Bin Laden. I was a junior in high school when the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks took place, so watching Zero Dark Thirty made me realize how much I had grown up and changed during the long time period that it took us to capture Bin Laden. I had never really thought of it like that before. It was almost as if I was reliving the past ten years. Watching the torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty was very very VERY hard for me. I personally don’t agree with torture, so it was upsetting to watch. However, the torture scenes were necessary for the rawness and realness that Zero Dark Thirty delivered. Like with both Argo and Lincoln, of course this movie wasn’t totally historically accurate, but it was still a good movie. Jessica Chastain did a phenomenal job and her last scene (after they got Bin Laden) was extremely powerful for me. It was exactly how I felt when I saw that he was dead. It wasn’t celebratory. It was a sad, emotional moment. It reminded me of everything that was lost (deaths, etc.) to catch this one man. Chastain nailed that scene and I could see her challenging Jennifer Lawrence for the Best Actress award. While I give the edge to Argo in terms of my personal preference, Zero Dark Thirty hit me more emotionally. I believe that’s because the events it was based on effected me more since it took place during my lifetime. If not for the torture scenes (which seems like many Hollywood insiders aren’t pleased with), I could see Zero Dark Thirty being the dark horse to win Best Picture. It still has a chance to pull an upset, but I think Argo has it beat.

So there you have it, this year’s Oscar nominees! Be sure to check the blog this week for a post-Oscars report on the winners, fashion and any surprises the event might deliver! Hobo Dan and I also will have a full review on this year’s Best Picture Winner as soon as possible!

Best Picture Project 13, The Artist

Best Picture Project is back with the most recent winner:

The Artist, 2011

Hobo Dan: I watched The Artist after it won best picture. I had a lot of perceived notions about why it won and what made it appeal to the Oscar selection committee. They were mostly right, a silent film set in Hollywood. The film industry loves to romance about itself in film by making movies about movies. But as the film went on, I began to see something else.

I began to realize that without saying a single word, I felt true emotion for the characters. I laughed at the delivery of comedic lines I could not hear. I felt genuine sympathy for the plight of the central character. And that dog! Where was his supporting actor nod? Because they did not use title cards for most of the speech in the film, I found myself actively trying to read lips to get as must as possible. I was forced to watch the actors closely. Which lead me to realize that Jean Dujardin, the lead actor, deserves every bit of that Best Actor Oscar. He earned it.

I have honestly never watched a silent film before The Artist. I was not sure I’d be able to handle the quiet. It was refreshing. You had to pay real attention to the actor’s faces and movements. It was wonderfully done. I initially thought this was the artsy choice that Academy made because they like to snooty, but I must agree, out of all the nominees for 2011, The Artist is the best one. It may not be my favorite film from 2011, but it is the best.

The Wife: Thanks to the beauty that is Netflix, I was FINALLY able to watch last year’s Best Picture winner, The Artist. As soon as I caught wind of this movie (before it won so many Oscars), I was intrigued and wanted to see it. When I saw last year’s Best Picture nominees, without having seen The Artist, I called it as the winner. My reasoning was that well, let’s face it, the film premise appeals to the Academy. A silent picture made in 2011? Check! Not to mention it is a movie about making movies and Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back. These factors combined with the fact that it was so different from the other nominees, like The Help, Moneyball and The Descendants, to name a few, really made The Artist stand out as the clear winner.

While I did want to see The Artist, I admit I was a tad skeptical of it. I wasn’t sure if I’d really like it and consider it my Best Picture winner. Fortunately for me, I ended up absolutely loving The Artist. I enjoyed it so much that it has definitely made my list of all-time favorite movies. Prior to watching The Artist, I was concerned if I would really be able to focus and grasp the story of a silent picture. When actually the silent aspect of the film ended up enabling me to understand and be captured by the story even more so than a standard modern movie with dialogue. I really felt the emotions the actors projected. I found myself laughing hysterically at times as well as nearly tearing up during certain scenes. I both sympathized and rooted for the protagonist, played by Jean Dujardin. Dujardin’s best actor win for The Artist was certainly well deserved! Seriously though why did no one think to give the dog a supporting actor nod? The dog was pretty much my favorite character!

Not only did I enjoy the story of The Artist, but I loved the way it was executed on screen. It was a beautiful movie with fantastic acting that really made you feel with each scene. The Artist has inspired me to check out some older silent pictures. So now to answer the question: is The Artist worth its Best Picture win and the hype? Absolutely! I encourage everyone to watch this movie. Don’t be afraid of the quiet, embrace it!

Best Picture Project 12, Annie Hall

Best Picture Project is back! I know we have been slacking big time on this project. We promise to get down to it. It sure is hard to type with my fingers crossed...

Annie Hall, 1977

The Wife: I initially was slightly concerned that Annie Hall would be too dated to have the comedic appeal it carried during its 1970s release. However, all of these concerns were erased within the first few minutes of the film. Woody Allen really is the movie genius that he is labeled to be. Even in 2012, Annie Hall was still a hilarious, fun and insightful film to watch.

The movie, which stars Allen, as well as one of my favorite actresses, Diane Keaton, is set in New York City. Annie Hall centers around the characters of Alvy Singer (Allen) and Annie (Keaton). It focuses on the journey of the pair’s relationship, and through great acting and comedic elements, outlines the up’s and down’s that the two encounter. There is emotion within the film, but it is nicely balanced with laughter and to an extent, sarcasm. Both characters have their flaws and “big personalities,” which all contribute to the scope of their relationship. While the movie’s end might leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths, it really worked for Annie Hall. My hopeless romantic side was left with an “aawww bummer” feeling but my realism side was left feeling satisfied with the film’s conclusion.

Annie Hall is probably one of the few if only “romantic comedies” to win Best Picture. This is probably due to the film’s unconventional ending as well as Allen’s creativity, which works to separate it and puts it miles above traditional romantic comedies in terms of quality. As a fashion lover, I can’t go without commenting on Keaton’s wardrobe for the film. The men’s ties and hats really did inspire a new style during the 70s. My mother even told me that she remembered many women trying to emulate Keaton’s Annie Hall style. You know a film leaves a dent in pop culture phenomenon when it spurs fashion trends! Overall, I would say that Annie Hall was certainly deserving of its Best Picture title. If you haven’t seen this wonderful, timeless film, then make time to do so!

Hobo Dan: I never know what to expect from these older films. Annie Hall was thankfully anything but an older film. It could have very well came out today and been just as entertaining. Actually, it is far more entertaining than a majority of romantic comedies these days. I generally dislike the genre all together because they are all the same. Guy and girl meet, have a good time and fall in love; conflict is then introduced followed by reconciliation. Rinse and repeat. Annie Hall is not the same. It isn't necessarily about the guy and the girl as it is about their impacts on each others lives. I'd put it right up there with When Harry met Sally as the best in the category (yes, I know that one kinda follows the aforementioned genre formula I profess to hate, sue me it's my blog).

This is actually my first Woody Allen film. I enjoyed it, probably because I live for sarcasm. The writing is smart and the acting is good. I get the feeling Woody Allen plays himself, but that's okay because himself is pretty entertaining.

Now, I do have to mention one of the other films nominated in 1977, the year Annie Hall won. A small indy film called Star Wars. Incidentally it is one of my favorite movies of all time; the original, I am not talking about the trilogy, or the prequels, or any subsequent special editions, cartoons, holidays specials or 3D re-releases. They are vastly different films, obviously. The original Star Wars changed film making forever. No one had ever seen anything like it in 1977. That said, I will not refute Annie Hall's claim to the Oscar. It is a wonderful film.

Best Picture Project 11, Crash

Hey, Best Picture Project here! FINALLY, we have our Crash review, just for you! Any suggestions for what BPP to watch next? No? Well boo you...

Crash, 2005

Hobo Dan: According to the internet, if you do not like this movie you are racist. The great anonymous hordes of the world wide web seem happy to proclaim this truth. What I can't seem to understand is why? This is not the greatest movie I have ever seen. In my opinion it's not even better than Walk the Line, a film not even nominated best picture. I did enjoy the movie. The acting was top notch and the story, even at times disjointed, was meaningful and came together at the end in an impacting way. So yes I like this movie, no I don't think it deserved best pic honors. So does that make me racist? If you didn't like Braveheart does that make you racist toward Scottish people? If you didn't like Slumdog Millionaire does it make you racist toward Indian people? If you didn't like Gladiator does it make you racist toward Roman people? If you didn't like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King does it make you racist toward Hobbits, Dwarves and Elves? No? So maybe people don't like the movie simply because they did not like the movie? What ever.

The Wife: Well, according to the internet and many ignorant people, I am a "racist" because I detested Crash. I, of course, may be a little bias because Walk the Line (one of my all time favorite films and the movie that should have won) wasn't even nominated for the Best Picture category that year. Crash was done in "Love Actually" style, which I do enjoy. I'll discuss the good points first. The cast was all star and I don't think there was a bad actor in the film; heck, even LUDACRIS did a good job! Acting can only a carry a film so far, however. Whereas Love Actually and even Valentine's Day, for goodness sakes, came together quite well, this film seemed very disjointed. Not to mention it was predictable as all get out. Only about one of the "shockers" actually caught me off guard...not the action of the scene itself, but how the scene happened. Yes, I get that one of the themes was to show that everyone carries a stereotype or racist attitude of some sort. That being said, almost every character had some type of "redemption moment," but Ryan Phillipe's character. If the whole burning his car is supposed to be it or his guilt of his actions,  than the movie failed to convey this BIG time. Yes, I consider myself to be an intelligent person and I "got" Crash...I just didn't care for it. I am not sorry either if I offend you for disliking Crash. I am absolutely not a racist person. I flat out didn't like this movie. As I mentioned previously, Walk the Line is the real Best Picture winner. However, if you haven't seen Crash, take the time to watch it, because maybe you will like it.

Best Picture Project 10, Casablanca

At long last the Best Picture Project returns! It's going to be a long fall and winter until the good movies start back up, so expect more from the BBP. For next week we will be watching Crash, the 2005 Best Picture winner.

Casablanca, 1942

The Wife: "Play it, Sam." "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Wow. I am willing to bet the majority of you have heard these phrases at some point in your life, and many of you, like myself, did not realize that they came from the Academy Award Best Picture film, Casablanca. Knowing famous quotes before actually seeing a movie is a mark of how well a particular film has become stamped into pop culture. For example, before I succumbed to nerdom and watched Star Wars, I already knew the famous "Luke, I am your father," line.

Well, what can I really say about Casablanca? Having actually been to the city of Casablanca during my trip to Morocco in college, I was semi-excited to see this film. I had also heard many positive reviews from the older generation. The movie ended up being much shorter than I expected, which is rare for older films. As for content, ehhhh...it was ok. Not the best thing I've ever seen, but certainly not the worst. I will say that I think this is one of those "classics" that everyone says is good because well, everyone says it's good...if that makes sense. I really didn't FEEL for any of the characters, which is something that I look for when watching movies or reading books. Due to the lack of emotional connection, I found myself not particularly concerned for the characters' fates. For quite awhile I did not like the lead female. I finally warmed up to her at the very end. Maybe you aren't supposed to like her? If so, that was achieved.

Acting wise this film was very well done, even though I often found myself rolling my eyes at overly brooding characters, like Humphrey Bogart's. I now see where Gossip Girl gets their inspiration for the Chuck Bass character. It is amazing how many pop culture references, as I mentioned previously, have come through this movie. So, it may seem that my review is a bit negative. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Casablanca, it just means that I don't think it is as good as everyone makes it out to be. However, I will say it deserved its Best Picture win. For one, I don't know the other movies that were nominated, and two, the movie's aforementioned pop culture influence, make it deserving of its win.

Hobo Dan: I really did not expect to like this movie. I sometimes have a pretty hard time liking movies the older they are. Casablanca gives me hope that the older movies won’t be torture. The first thing that really struck me was the acting. I’ve seen so many older movies with terrible acting, a judgmental part of me figured they were all like that. Not so. Humphrey Bogart in particular was excellent. This is my first Bogart film and I’ll be happy to see him again if given the chance. He did so much with his eyes, it is astounding. Ingrid Bergman was also pretty good, if not a little over shadowed by ole Hump.

I also really enjoyed how this was a World War II film that was actually filmed during WWII. The history major in me loves to see how truly nervous people were with what the Nazis were up to. We sometimes forget there was a long period of time when people thought Germany had the war all but won. The nervous feeling in French controlled Morocco was really evident throughout the film. I really enjoyed this movie. There was never a moment when I thought about how old the film was or got bored. It really had me all the way through. A great best picture.

Best Picture Project 9, Braveheart

Well, after a hiatus due to some summer flicks we recently saw, we are back to a Best Picture Project post for your Monday reading pleasure. Today, we will be discussing our thoughts on the 1995 Best Picture Winner, Braveheart... starring a pre-insane Mel Gibson.

Braveheart, 1995

The Wife: "THEY MAY TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR...FREEEEEDDDOOOM!"

Oh Braveheart, how I misjudged you. Seeing a graphic bit of this film once on TV, I had labeled it as a gory, boring action movie that only appeals to wanna-be macho men. Well, little did I know the wonderful quoting power Braveheart would provide. Also the winningness of several unintentionally funny scenes, Mel Gibson sporting a Billy Ray Cyrus hair-do, shouting almost as excellent as the yelling in 300 and of course, KILTS.

In all seriousness, Braveheart was pretty good. I find myself absolutely loathing the English and wanting Mel Gibson to make the Evil King suffer for giving him an Achy Breaky Heart. This movie had me emotionally irritated/upset many times, which to me is the mark of a good film. Some scenes and plots were so predictable, like I knew Billy Ray, I mean William Wallace (Gibson) would eventually bang Princess Peach (I don't remember the character's name so this is what I named her). However, some scenes caught me completely off guard. As someone who usually figures out plots and scenes before everyone else, I LIKE it when movies/books throw me off a bit. For example, I didn't expect the evil King to toss his son's gay boyfriend out the castle window. That was the epitome of a "what the ???" moment!

My fear was that it would be all fighting with very little substance, but the film broke up the fighting scenes in a manner that kept me interested and invested in the storyline. Not to mention the use of blue war paint. As someone of Irish ancestry, I also loved Mr. Irish Dude (don't know his name either). Mad Eye Moody (yes he is in this!) was another favorite character. I believe Mad Eye's name in the movie is "Hamish," but due to Scottish pronunciation, I thought it was Hermit for the longest time, so therefor Mad Eye's character will always be known as "Hermit Crab" to me. I found myself very sad when Hermit Crab's dad died. Stupid English and stupid Scottish earls' betrayal!

The end was particularly sick as we watched Wallace be tortured. Major ownage by the Princess though... evidently she has a bun in the oven and *gasp* it's not the prince's child! One can hope that the baby doesn't end up to be a Miley Cyrus type though, since her father bears so many similarities to Billy Ray. Maybe she will have a boy?! Oh we will never know as I've been told that was a fictional piece of the movie.

So Braveheart was good. I know I seem to have mocked it, but it was pretty winning, I admit it! I can see why it won Best Picture, however, I personally think the other BP nominee, Apollo 13 is the better movie.

I will close with this simple statement: FREEEEEDDOOOOOOM!!!

Hobo Dan: Okay, I admit, I have seen this before. But it was a long time ago and we REALLY didn't want to watch Gone with the Wind; do you blame us? So my conundrum with Braveheart is that Apollo 13 was also an incredibly good movie. They both equally deserved the best picture title. 1995 actually looks like it was a pretty killer year for movies. I do have one question though; Nicholas Cage won an Oscar? What? The man who later stole the Declaration of Independence, traded faces with John Travolta and continuously tries to pull off badass in movies only to end up with bad, won an Oscar? My head exploded when I heard this. If you're interested (which I am) in seeing the performance, the film is named Leaving Las Vegas. I guess it is true, after some actors win their Oscar they just go and do what ever they want (See Christopher Walken).

Anyways, yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell! Oh wait, that's Samuel L.; we were talking about Mel Gibson. It's clear he put a lot of work into Braveheart. For its time is was incredibly bloody. Now days the gore looks slightly dated, but everything else holds up very well for a movie now over 15 years old. A true mark of excellence these days with computers being used more and more. Despite how you may feel about Mel and his antics lately, it is undeniable that he is a great actor and a very good film maker. It's easy to make fun of Gibson, but Braveheart is truly epic work that most certainly deserved the Best Picture Oscar even if my heart is a little more fond of Apollo 13.

Best Picture Project 8, Amadeus

So finally getting back on track with the Best Picture Project! Our apologies for the two week hiatus! Half marathons, Thor and life in general has kept us busy. When we had time, we didn't feel like thinking much. Can you blame us?!?!

Amadeus, 1984

Soooooo we resumed BPP reviews with Amadeus, the 1984 Best Picture Winner. Now, I had seen this movie prior to watching it with the husband. However, I saw it in 8th grade choir class and I believe I was only 13 or 14 at the time. I remembered some, but not enough to excuse me from sharing my thoughts on the film!

So Amadeus from my understanding is a very loosely based historical and mainly fictional tale of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I, a former piano student and closeted lover of classical music in general (in fact I am listening to Mozart's "Requiem" as I type this review!) love Mozart. I think his work is probably my favorite. Even if you claim to dislike classical music, I can almost guarantee you that you would recognize some of Mozart's songs. Soooo, my memories from this film were that it was 1. Weird and 2. Entertaining enough that I remember liking it. I was very excited to see how my 26 year-old self thoughts would compare with my 14 year-old memory thoughts of the movie.

While the film does focus on Mozart, it is told from the perspective of Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer. As a 14 year-old, an age where you often see the world in black or white, I remember thinking of Salieri as the evil villain. Upon my recent viewing of Amadeus, I was able to understand Salieri more. The dude is clearly mentally unstable as the film progresses, but his reasons for his hatred of Mozart, I can see. Salieri worked hard and always wanted to be a magnificent composer, so much so that he promised God he would only focus on that and not on relations with women, ect. He wanted it so bad and then in rolls Mozart, a laughing, non-serious clownish character who things seem to naturally come easy to. I can see why Salieri felt so threatened and jealous considering he felt as though he worked hard and would never be great like Mozart. While Salieri was jealous and didn't like Mozart's behavior, it is CLEAR throughout the film that he RESPECTED Mozart's music. So much so that he pretty much tells Mozart he is the best composer he has ever known.

Salieri was probably one of the few of Mozart's time who knew how amazing and talented Mozart actually was. As the film shows, which is historically accurate, when Mozart dies, he is buried like a commoner. His exact grave is still unknown to this day. Salieri got it though...he knew that Mozart's work would be lasting and that he would be appreciated beyond his time because of the brilliance of his music...which I think further fueled Salieri's disgust that he didn't possess the same musical abilities as Mozart. Now of course as the film progresses, Salieri develops a plan to mess with Mozart and God (as he believes God is laughing at him by making Mozart better)...which comes the "villain notion." When all is said and done though, I think Salieri regretted the things he did. He still may be jealous (and of course insane), but I think it is clear that he felt bad for his actions by the film's end.

Above all this film is really great and looks awesome for being made in 1984. I still find it weird and the Mozart character weird, but in a good way, not the creepy way that I did when I was younger. The acting, costumes and makeup for this movie are top notch! Now when you do watch this, it is LONG so be prepared for that. I don't find it boring though...I know some people might, but I do think it tells a great story even though much of it is said to be fiction. So watch Amadeus and enjoy a good movie with of course, fantastic music. Even though I haven't heard of the other movies that were against Amadeus for BP, I would still say this film is certainly deserving of its Oscar win!

-The Wife

Finally we get a little class up in here! What's classier than Oscar winning films about classical composers? I'm rocking some classical music right now for moar braaain powarzzz! I'm going to go off topic for just a moment to say that all musicians today are lazy. They all whine so much about how difficult it is to create their music. Try writing a symphony. Okay I can't even sing but who's counting?

Anyways, I'm totally out of the writing mood tonight, but this has to go in the morning, so here goes. I enjoyed Amadeus very much. For a film as old as I am, it holds up very well. This is due to the fantastic script and  non-reliance on special effects. The movie was filmed in Vienna. Everything looked so good and so correct. I used to love the computer graphics and the green screening; now I simply wish to watch something real, something truthful, not necessarily truthful in historical accuracy, but in humanity. Fact or not Salieri's motives are sound. He worked so hard to be great and this boy comes to town and is better than him without even trying. I can really relate to that. I don't know about the whole plot to murder him, but I can understand working so hard without reward.

So what can I say? The movie very much deserved it's Oscar. It was enjoyable from the first glances of full frontal male nudity after only five minutes to the final crazy blessing of the films main character as he traveled the asylum in his wheel chair. It's sad in a way that he felt so consumed by one facet of his life that he allowed it to destroy him.

-Hobo Dan

Best Picture Project 7, The King's Speech

Welcome back to the Best Picture Project! Hey guess what? I have no idea what we are going to watch next week! That means it's going to remain a mystery for now. Maybe I'll tweet about it when we figure it out. please enjoy and have a great week.

The King's Speech, 2010

We wanted to see The King’s Speech before our Best Picture Project and even before it won Best Picture. So needless to say, we were very excited when this movie was finally released and we got to watch it! As usual, Blu-ray makes everyone look better and the film was crisp, clear and neat in terms of looks. The movie lived up to my expectations and was emotional and motivating. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were fantastic. The King’s Speech really proved what hard work and determination can do, and was very inspirational.

I also enjoyed seeing actors from some of my favorite films in this movie. Rush (Barbosa from Pirates of the Caribbean!) Then of course the Harry Potter people — Bellatrix Lestrange, Dumbledore and Peter Pettigrew! Hahaha. I really don’t want to elaborate or be spoilerish about this movie since it was recently released to Blu-ray/DVD. I highly recommend it though if you would like to sit down and watch an inspiring piece with good acting. While it didn’t “wow” me like other Best Picture winners have (Slumdog Millionaire, for example), it was certainly worthy of its Best Picture win. Personally, I found Toy Story 3, which was nominated against The King’s Speech, to be more moving and I believe it is just as worthy of Best Picture as The King’s Speech, but I think we still have a long time before the academy would give an animated film this award (even if the animated film, like Toy Story 3, had depth and meaning).

Who knows though? Anything can happen!

-The Wife

Before I begin I’d like to state for the record that I am very tired of hearing about monarchs from another continent. I don’t care what they are doing; getting married, divorced, sex change, midgets; I don’t care. I’m tired them. Why do people in America care so much about this wedding anyway? I thought part of the deal with the whole “American Revolution” thing was that we didn’t have to give a crap about stupid British traditions anymore. The only Princes I care about are fresh ones.

Can I resist making a stutter joke? Why don’t they make B batteries? That joke is mean and stolen. Sorry. Hey, I really liked this movie though! The King’s Speech is a very well made film about some British Duke with a stammer. He only gets to be the King because his Dad dies and his brother likes to screw divorced American chicks. So now he is King and Hitler is going all Blitzkrieg in Europe (Nazi reference two weeks in a row!) Everyone is scared and he has to give a big speech to calm them all down. His wife hires Captain Barbosa to teach him to speak without choking on his own tongue. I hope I didn’t spoil it too much. It really is a fine film. The acting is absolutely through the roof. The story is good, although somewhat anticlimactic. I hate to be a downer but he gives this great speech and then what? Oh, yeah that’s right, World War Two ensues anyways. I know that is what actually happened. I know his speech lifted up the people of the country, but history remains the same. The personal journey the character goes on is the real triumph of the film.

Totally worthy of Best Picture in every way.

-Hobo Dan

Best Picture Project 6, The Sound of Music

We come again to Monday and in turn the Best Picture Project! This week we are covering two films because I've seen Chariots of Fire and The Wife has seen the Sound of Music. Next week we will be viewing the most recent winner, The King's Speech. Here is that sexy link to see all our past Best picture posts in one place. Enjoy.

The Sound of Music, 1965

I tried to come up with some funny play on the hills are alive, but that has been done and I gave myself a headache. I did not get bored however, during this film. Now let’s be clear, I’m still not wild about musicals. Maybe I’m an elite snob who only likes Oscar winning musicals? We will hold off on that verdict until after West Side Story. I’m not saying the Sound of Music is my new favorite movie. I’m not even saying I’d jump at the chance to watch it a second time. What I am saying is it is clearly worthy of its Oscar for best picture. I’m starting to see that a good movie with strong story and characters is a good movie no matter when it was made.

My first problem going in was the musical status of the film. Once more I was being a judgmental douche. What I hate about so many musicals is when the music is just there to be there. This films music is very much a part of the story. It never seems out of place or awkward. I’ll even go as far as to say I enjoyed it at times. The music worked here because it was inherent in the story. People were not just breaking out into song for no good reason. The music was a part of the culture of the people in the film. Singing was a way to stick it to the Nazi interlopers. I’m always in favor of things that annoy Nazis.

The acting in the film is good, although a few of the children had their terrible child actor moments. Over all I just don't fine much bad here. The setting of the movie (Austria) is beautiful. There is nothing particularly stunning about the camera work, but there is nothing particularly wrong with it either. Some times normal old shots are just what the doctor ordered. Not every movie has to be ground breaking to be good. Great even!

-Hobo Dan

Chariots of Fire, 1981

Ahhh… dadadada daaaa duhhhhhhhh. Ok my attempt at type-humming the famous Chariot’s of Fire Score probably isn’t great. Going in to this particular Best Picture winner, I knew two things about this film: The famous aforementioned song that coincides with the beach running scene and the fact that the film revolved around running and the Olympics.

Now back in our college guys, Daniel had a copy of this film and I once asked him if we could watch it. He said no because it was sooo super long and could be boring. Starting this project, I reminded Daniel of what he had told me several times, but he said that maybe now that he is older it wouldn’t feel as long/boring. I did not find the film boring, but it did seem long/drawn out at times.

The small amount of negativity I felt about the movie aside, the film had many strong points. The intensity of all the track scenes spiked up my adrenaline and gave me the infamous “track butterflies.” I get nervous every time I attend a track meet, see one on TV and in this case, on film. I guess that’s what you get after running 14 seasons of competitive track! I especially enjoyed the Olympic races. Daniel said most people care more about the 100 race with the Jewish guy on the United Kingdom team, but I cared more about the 400 race with the Scottish guy, who ended up not running on Sunday because of his promise to God. It brought tears to my eyes during these running seasons. I still run as a means of staying in shape, but occasionally I miss the feeling of a competitive track or cross country race. I’ll never forget my last track race… I ran the 10K (an event I never thought I could/would do, and oddly enough it was my first time doing it). I remember rounding the 200 meter turn, which is when you “kick it in” in runner speak, and I knew that would be the last time I would feel that rush ever again.

I think because of my personal connection to running, I really enjoyed this film. I know there were deeper issues at stake in the movie, but the running was my favorite part. So was this film worthy of its Oscar? Well I only saw one movie it was up against (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and I have to say Chariots of Fire is the more “Oscar worthy” film of the two. The movie had some deep meanings, was emotional and well acted, so yes, it deserved its Best Picture accolade.

-The Wife

Best Picture Project 5, Platoon

Happy Monday everyone. Looks like we are still going strong with this Best Picture Project. Don't forget to look here for past posts. Next week we will be tackling both The Sound of Music and Chariots of Fire.

Platoon, 1986

Well we chose to go ahead and watch Platoon as part of our Best Picture Project series since it only had one day left on Netflix Instant Play! We have to take advantage of all the movies available on that.

This is probably not a movie I would see again, but I actually enjoyed it. Charlie Sheen (WINNING!) did a great job as did the other cast members, especially Willem Defoe. Defoe’s death scene, which has been spoofed in many films including the ever-so WINNING Tropic Thunder, was a bit over the top…however, cheesiness aside, you really felt his pain. He had just been betrayed and was doing EVERY thing he could to try and live. Quite sad really.

In fact, the majority of Platoon had a tragic, depressing feel… which is understandable because the Vietnam War is a very tragic/depressing subject. The movie really demonstrated how that war changed people. I have never been in the military so I do not know, but talking to many people who have, they say that war in general changes you. During the movie, you see Sheen’s character go from naïve in the beginning to completely broken of spirit at the end. Some scenes, like one where they go to a village and one of the U.S. soldiers basically assaults a retarded Vietnamese boy, was sickening to watch.

As with many Oliver Stone movies, however, this film was quite liberal in thought. After watching the movie, I read reviews from people who actually served in Vietnam. The VAST majority of reviews complained and said the only thing true about Platoon was the feel and look of the jungle scenes. Many complained that they did not like the characterizations of the soldiers as either hippies or ignorant bumpkins. I do think there could have been more characterizations, however, it is just a movie and isn’t meant to be a completely fictional tale of the Vietnam War. My complaints would be how the white soldiers were the only ones portrayed as “bad” or “stupid” in the movie, which seems a bit racist, but oh well.

I still enjoyed the movie whether it is historically accurate or not. It gives me an even DEEPER appreciation for all those who gave their lives and served in Vietnam as well as all those currently serving to protect our freedoms in the military now. I have the utmost respect for our military — without them we couldn’t live the way we do today. Whether you are for or against war, I believe respect must ALWAYS be given to our troops. God Bless you all.

So, was this film worthy of its Oscar? YES! Now I have never seen any of the other films nominated, but I still stand by my decision!

The Wife-

So I have very mixed feelings about the Oscar worthiness of this film. I'll start by saying I haven't seen a single other movie nominated in 1986 (I haven't even heard of any of the other nominees). So I really don't have any ammo to say this movie does not deserve best picture. However, something about Platoon just bothers me. Maybe it's a twenty year old Charlie Sheen not even trying. Perhaps it's how every character in the film is either a warmongering killer or a pot smoking hippie who just wants to go home. I'm aware Oliver Stone was in Vietnam, but I have trouble believing that everyone who fought in that war fits into one of these stereotypes.

Most of my fellow war movie lovers will probably hate me for this, but I really don't care for this movie. Sure, war is hell and it does a great job portraying that aspect. Maybe I'm getting old, but do they have to say fuck every other word? At what point did Hollywood decide everyone talks like that? But I guess Hollywood does know best, or so they tell us. It seems to me that Stone (who is know for being political) made a very political war movie during a time when vietnam movies were as popular as vampire movies are now. I guess the Academy had a pretty slim choice of movies in 1986 and gave the best picture to the one that fit their view of the world. I mean this isn't any better than Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket and neither of them won. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting bored of the same old same old. Probably I'm having trouble putting myself into the shoes of a movie goer from the eighties. I'm rambling, but I guess this movie deserves it's Oscar if not for any other reason than I'm bored of thinking about it.

Hobo Dan-

Best Picture Project 4, No Country for Old Men

Welcome back for another Best Picture Project post. We hope you have been enjoying our thoughts. Please let us know in the comments if you do, or if you think we are stupid and full of crap! Here is that super secret link to the BBP label if your too lazy to scroll down and click it yourself. Next week's movie is Platoon.

No Country for Old Men, 2007

Is it a good or a bad when your favorite scene from a film is the opening monologue? I guess that depends on what comes after. In No Country for Old Men’s case it’s not a great thing. This movie is deep, thoughtful, brutal, thrilling and for me somewhat of a let down. It is based off the book of the same name by Cormack McCarthy; the author of one of my all time favorite books: The Road. A viewing note before I go any further, this movie was beautiful to behold in HD. If you’re going to see it, do so in High Definition. The vast Texas landscape of the film is simply breath taking and is another reason I loved the opening scene so much.

I’m not sure what exactly disappointed me about No Country for Old Men. The acting was absolutely wonderful. Tommy Lee Jones always proves he’s one of the best in Hollywood. Josh Brolin managed to pull off a very strong performance. He remained somewhat likable even though his characters actions were less than moral. Javier Bardem, who won best supporting actor for his role, stole the show as the gun for hire. As I mentioned earlier, the cinematography and set pieces were perfect. The sound and music don’t particularly stand out to me, but they don’t stand out as bad either. I guess it all comes down to story. I understand the story and what they were going for. The problems come in the presentation. I felt the long wandering monologues, while well spoken and written, slowed the film down and killed the sense of anticipation built in the action scenes. Don’t get me wrong I love a good monologue and this film is full of them. There in lies the problem.

Another issue I had was predictability. It didn’t take long for me to realize Josh Brolin’s character was going to die one way or another. When you steal two million dollars from drug lords and leave enough evidence that they know your name, you’re a dead man. Not once after that initial thought did I have doubts about his impending doom; this ruined any sense of suspense for me. This identity crisis was also a problem. Is this a thriller or an action film or a thinker? It’s just not clear. I don’t mind genre blending to a certain point, but here it’s less smooth transitions and more harsh changes from intense action to deep thought provoking monologues. Not to mention I truly stopped caring if Brolin’s character died or not after he chose to try and save himself instead of guarantee his wife’s survival.

I know what they were doing with the open ending. It’s really all in the title people. There is no country for old men. Things are changing and the America of our fathers and grandfathers is gone, likely never to return. The directors, the Cohen brothers did an outstanding job. If you liked Fargo and True Grit or pretty much anything else they have made, you’ll enjoy this; as I did. However the individual aspects of the film are much greater than its whole. I understand why it won best picture, but I do not agree. In a year that suffered from the writers strike, there was a less than full field of contenders. Unfortunately, I have real trouble putting No Country for Old Men above Juno for best picture that year. So for the first time in our best picture project, with some hesitation, I must render a not worthy verdict. But don’t just lean on my opinion, see it for yourself! If you disagree I want to know why.

Hobo Dan-

I was excited to see this film as it was described as a “thriller.” The opening monologue was well done, and the movie looked gorgeous, which was probably due to the blu-ray quality. Tommy Lee Jones was awesome as was Javier Bardem.

That being said, now time for my complaints. The movie did not live up to my expectations. What could have been a good plot seemed to JUST END. It was as if the writers knew they had to wrap up the movie because time was running out and they just haphazardly threw the end together. I GET the theme of the movie and the ending…I just feel like it could have been done better. I understand that they are saying the old days of the past are gone, the world is crappy and that there is “no country for old men.”

I guess I was primarily disappointed overall with this movie. To stress once again, YES, I got the film…it just wasn’t my cup of tea. (I can’t stand when people get upset because you don’t like a movie and then they try to say “well, you just didn’t get it” haha). So, for the first time in my BPP reviews, I DO NOT think this film was worthy of its Oscar win. Juno, which blew me away and was simply awesome, should have taken home that award. However, if you have yet to see No Country for Old Men, please do, you might like it…to each is his own.

The Wife-

Best Picture Project 3, Driving Miss Daisy

Well look at that, we are already on post three of our Best Picture Project! This is going to take a while. Anyways, next week we will be talking about No Country for Old Men, in case you are trying to keep up. This link will take you to a special page with all our BPP posts all in one place. How wonderful technology is.

Driving Miss Daisy,1989

This is certainly a movie I would have never seen if not for our Best Picture Project. I knew very little about this film, but while looking it up on Netflix (it was on Instant Play… HECK YES!), I saw that Morgan Freeman was in it. I have always agreed to the notion that “you can’t go wrong with Morgan Freeman,” and this movie was certainly no exception.

(SPOILERS AHEAD… if you like to be completely surprised, stop reading, go to your Netflix account and add Driving Miss Daisy to your cue now! Seriously do it!)

The film revolves around an elderly, Jewish woman, Daisy, played by Jessica Tandy, and her hired (against her will) African American driver, Hoke (Freeman). At the beginning of the movie, Daisy could be described as a high maintenance, grouchy, old woman, but we see that she is a truly caring individual as the film progresses. Throughout the movie, Daisy slowly begins to open up to Hoke, and the two form an incredible friendship that transcends the line of class and race. Perhaps the most impacting scene of their relationship is where Daisy realizes that Hoke cannot read, and she ends up teaching him.

The movie does a fantastic job of showing the time-line progression. It never really says the year, but shows that time has passed through calendar shots, upgraded cars, clothing styles and current events (like the civil rights movement) going on. Several years pass through and with each year, you really see the strong bond that Hoke and Daisy have. As someone who has dealt with a grandparent suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, the end of the movie was particularly hard for me to watch. After a spell of confusion more than likely effected by her dementia, you really see how much Hoke cares for Daisy. Once she is calmed, Daisy turns to Hoke and tells him that he is her “best friend.” It is just such a MOVING moment in the film. (I already cried during the aforementioned reading scene), but this totally brought on the water works (first BPP movie so far to make me cry!). Later as the years pass, we see that Daisy has been put into a care facility. When Hoke, who is shown to be quite aged himself (so much so that his granddaughter is now driving him), visits Daisy at the facility, it seems at first that she is not lucid. But, in a quick moment Daisy tells her son that Hoke came to visit her and the two go on to have one of their typical conversations and the movie ends. This was a perfect ending to me as it truly showed the depth of their friendship. I also was relieved they didn’t take the cliché route and end with either Hoke or Daisy dying.

Overall acting in this movie was top notch. Freeman and Tandy were amazing and even Dan Aykroyd pulled off a phenomenal performance. I love Aykroyd, but I never thought of him as a “serious” actor until now seeing how the movies I know him from include Ghostbusters and My Girl.

So to conclude, Driving Miss Daisy was well deserving of its Best Picture win. I am so pleased that the husband and I began this project, otherwise I would never have seen such a remarkable, touching film.

The Wife-

I’m having some trouble writing about this one. Don’t get me wrong it’s a fine film worthy of all praise and awards. It’s just not to kind of movie I usually watch and try to break down. But I guess that’s the point of this whole project, right? Sometimes we might miss stuff that truly moves us just because the film isn’t our normal thing. The Wife touched on most of the main story points, so I’m not going to bore you with repetition. But I do need to start somewhere, instead of this asinine stalling.

 I seem to remember one of my college professors remarking while teaching a popular culture film class that "I liked this movie. It was good!" was the worst thing you could ever say about a movie. "How descriptive!" I have vowed to never use it. Well guess what? Driving Miss Daisy was good and I liked it. Why? Well the acting was top notch. If I had money I'd pay Morgan Freeman to come to my house and read me bed time stories every night. His voice is just awesome. Before this film, I don't think I had seen Jessica Tandy play in anything else. She is very good as well. Although, how hard is it to play a grumpy old person; I do it every day! Where is my Oscar? The story was heart warming, original and I think based in some truth. The older the movies get the more I notice the huge difference in pace in older movies compared to today's almost strobe light films. "Wait, you mean they aren't going to cut from close up, back to far shot, then to super close up on eyes and back in under five seconds?" Some people may have problems with this, I love it. I can't wait to get even older movies that hold scene without a cut for minutes!

I'm off topic. So does this movie deserve the Best Picture honor? Yes, I suppose it does. I went back and looked at what else was nominated, and I only recognized two other films from that year and I haven't seen either. I guess that counts for something that even before seeing Driving Miss Daisy I'd at least heard of it before.

Hobo Dan-

Best Picture Project 2, American Beauty

Happy Monday, if that's even possible. Monday is the home to our new Best Picture Project, we hope you enjoy.  In case any of you want to watch along with us, the next few movies we plan on watching are Driving Miss Daisy, No Country For Old Men and Platoon. Lets just jump right in...

American Beauty, 1999

I didn’t know much about this film going in. I remember seeing previews back in that day, something about floating roses and naked high school girls, but that’s about all I knew before hand. I would like to state for the record that I absolutely love seeing movies I know zero about. There is nothing more thrilling than a movie blowing you away when you least expect it. That is however, becoming more and more difficult in this day and age of spoilers and the evil internetz. So please do yourself a favor, if you haven’t seen this movie and know nothing about it, go watch it before you read this. Please? I’m serious.

Anyways, I loved Sunset Boulevard because right from the gate you knew the main protagonist was dead/going to die. American Beauty pulled a very similar stunt and it worked to keep you guessing. My wife probably will brag she figured it out from the beginning but it was still a great maneuver to keep viewers on their toes. Besides, my wife figures out all the movies ahead of everyone else. An even better move was to have the movie narrated from the beyond by the posthumous lead. Kevin Spacey fills the roll of a forty something experiencing a mid life crisis, lusting after a seemingly unattainable teenage girl perfectly. The rest of the cast is also perfect and really pieces together a portrait of American insanity. Things are not always as they seem in this film and I think that really mirrors life. We all put up fake walls to keep people from knowing who we really are. We must protect our dirty little secrets.

But I want to talk about the real beauty of the film. When Kevin Spacey’s character realizes the life he’d been looking for was right in front of him the whole time; then he is shot. Afterlife narrator Spacey ends the movie by reminding us that there is beauty everywhere in the world if we are willing to look. We spent some much of our time nit picking and complaining about the small things that we often forget to stop and enjoy their beauty as well. In the end life is the most beautiful thing we have and we should be grateful because that life is all we have. This was definitely worthy of its Oscar win.

Hobo Dan-

American Beauty is a film that I had wanted to see since it was released in the late 90s (which really doesn't seem that long ago to me even though it's now 2011...hmmm now I feel old...). However, I never got around to seeing it, even though I would always comment if someone brought it up "Yeah, I really want to see that." In fact, I put it in our Netflix Que over a year ago, LONG before the husband and I started our Best Picture Project. (Wow! Don't you just love Netflix...it might just be like my favorite thing ever). So we finally got around to watching it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was predictable, but that doesn't mean it was bad or anything. Kevin Spacey rocked it and TOTALLY DESERVED his Oscar for Best Actor that year! Now if you haven't seen American Beauty, I ask you to PLEASE stop reading here as the next part of this post contains spoilers (or keep reading if you are the type that likes to be spoiled).

I loved the music, cinematogrophy, acting and theme of the movie. I did find Spacey's character to be a bit whiney and "whoa is me" but then again, that behavior is essential to the film's meaning and ending. Thora Birch, who I always remember as Teeny from Now and Then, my favorite childhood movie, was great as well. Mena Suvari, who I remember best from American Pie, was good too. Really, I couldn't complain about any of the acting. Also, I got to see what Sandy Cohen would look like with grey hair thanks to the movie. If you don't know who Sandy Cohen is and have never seen The OC, shame on you! Even the husband liked the first two seasons!

Anyway back to the movie, yes I did find it predictable as I mentioned before. I love movies that start out with the dead person narrating... very Sunset Boulevard-esque! I knew that by the end of the movie Spacey's character would realize what a good life he had led, but it would be right as he was about to die. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him, who Spacey's "killer" would be. Yes, the creepy neighbor who was stuck in the 1950s and a war veteran, who seemed to never have gotten over his time in the war...PTSD perhaps? I also knew that as soon as this character had a brief meeting with the other neighbors, who are gay, at the beginning of the film, that he totally had some homosexual tendencies and was over compensating. When I made this remark early in the film, the husband rolled his eyes at me. This character was fascinating and the way they portrayed his "stuck in the past" personality with the shots of his home (all old decor), his rigid family rules, and a wife, who was the epitome of a traditional 50s wife, was incredible. As the character had an encounter with Spacey's character over a mis-understanding, I shouted "Oh my God he is gonna kiss him." And then BOOM! He did! When Spacey didn't reciprocate, I knew the neighbor wouldn't be able to live with his secret out and that Spacey would soon bite the dust.

However, before Spacey bites it, he finally gets his chance with his daughter's high school friend (Suvari) that he had been disgustingly, yet hilariously lusting over the entire movie. I knew though before they almost "got it on" that something "shocking" would happen...which wasn't at all surprising to me. Early in the movie when they were making her appear to be some big ole hoochie, I said, "I bet she really is just a virgin." CABOOM! Right again! As they are about to do it, Suvari tells Spacey it was "her first time." This revelation ultimately snaps Spacey back to reality and he sees her as just a young girl and no longer a fantasy. After a bout of awkwardness, Spacey finally asks Suvari how his daughter (Birch) is doing (who of course was pretty much ignored by him the entire movie). It is around this time that Spacey's character finally begins to realize his whole life just hasn't been a big pile of dog crap. In his final scene on screen, he looks at a photo of his family and sees that he did have a good, "beautiful" life. Right as he realizes this, he is shot (of course), in what is perhaps one of the most breathtaking scenes of the film. While we never see the creepy neighbor shoot Spacey, we understand that it is he who did as he returns to his home covered in blood.

The end comments about how there is beauty everywhere really pull this film together. So often we complain, whine and don't realize just how good we have it. And like Spacey's character, we never realize what we have until it's too late.

So now that my rambling review is over (and hey I didn't even touch on Spacey's wife in the film...I could probably write an essay), was American Beauty worthy of its Oscar Best Picture win? Absolutely.

- The Wife

Best Picture Project, Gladiator and Chicago

A few weekends ago the Wife and I decided we were going to start watching films that have won best picture; the goal being to see all of them. Now please don’t think we in any way give into the notion that a movie that wins best picture is in some way better than movies that don’t. I myself have been known to turn up my nose at some movies just because they win all the awards or are very popular. But the time in my life for judgment without facts is over. I’m tired of hating things just because. It is time to watch the movies and then decide if said film is worthy or not. Sometimes I have trashed a movie because of its genre (Romantic, Musical, Teen Vampire Romance) and other times I have avoided a film simply because of the actors involved. My Wife and I are finished with these preconceived notions. The time is now. We have agreed to skip any film both of us have seen and remember pretty well. We will still be watching the movies one of us has seen but the other has not.

After we watch the movies we will do a short write up with our thoughts for the blog. If it’s a movie neither of us have seen we will probably both make comments, but in the other case, the person new to the film will compose the post. We are also going to look at the other films nominated that year, hoping to find something else we’ve seen to compare with. At some point I figure we will get to writing about the ones we have already seen as well; in hopes of someday having thoughts about every film on the list. The idea right now is to push these Best Picture Project posts out on Mondays. Occasionally if I've had a dry week I may post them on Thursday, but only if absolutely necessary.

I’ll be labeling the posts for this project in Movies and BPP (Best Picture Project)

So without further delay, our first two Best Picture comments...

Gladiator, 2000

While I find Russell Crow to be a good actor, I am not exactly his greatest fan. That opinion along with the few random, mainly fight scenes of Gladiator that I had seen on tv in the past had me completely turned off from this movie. However, with our best picture project, it must be watched! The movie ended up surprising me... since I had only seen the fight scenes I never realized there was so much depth to the film. I do think it was worthy of it's Oscar win. Russell Crow was good, but honestly for me Joaquin Phoenix stole the show in his portrayal of the villain, Commodus. Phoenix, who I LOVED as Johnny Cash in one of my all time favorite movies, Walk the Line, was excellent and overshadowed Crow in my opinion. Phoenix was able to convey the psycho nature of the character, but was still able to evoke sympathy. Creeper sister-lovin' aside, I felt for Commodus... I mean his dad seemed like a real douche... never loving him and basically rejecting him as a son... never even giving him a chance from the start. He even openly admitted to wanting another man to be his son and successor! His daddy issues made him become what he was...and I felt sympathy for him, despite his villainous nature. I don't think many actors could make you feel the sympathy that Phoenix did. The virtue speech said it best for me: Commodus:

"You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition. That can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness, courage, perhaps not on the battlefield, but... there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family and to you. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your son."

Phoenix's delivery in this speech was jam-packed with emotion and if it wasn't for the aforementioned incestuous tendencies, I might have been more on his side. So to sum it up, Gladiator was better than I expected. Complaint? Continuity... it is hinted that Maximus and Commodus' sister (whose name escapes me at the moment) had a past. However, Maximus said that he had never been to Rome and wouldn't she have spent the majority of her life in Rome? I would appreciate any clarity someone could give me for this.

The Wife-

Chicago, 2002

Do not adjust contrast on your monitor; leave the brightness alone too. You are reading this correctly, I liked Chicago . I know right? It’s like all that bitching I do about musicals is just hypocritical negligence. This must be what it’s like to try new things. How about one step further, I really liked Chicago ; but that’s as far as I’m stepping out. I’ll even admit I did not give it a fair chance, because that’s what I do. “Oh, a musical? Yeah, I’m not gonna like this.” Well color me an asshole.

First and foremost Chicago was entertaining. There wasn’t one moment I found myself checking the time to figure how much longer I had to refrain from suicide. I think that may be the true test of a film’s quality. People can talk about acting and cinematography and graphics and wardrobe and style until they get pushed down a flight of stairs because they are annoying. But when push comes to shove, did the movie entertain you? Yes, Chicago did. Who knew Richard Gere could sing and dance and play a sleazy lawyer but still remain somewhat likable? Hell I didn’t even know he could act. This was far more than just a musical. You see in all the musicals I’ve ever seen, they string together the songs with mostly meaningless conversations meant to get you to the next song. The musical and regular parts of Chicago went together so nicely there was no need to fill gaps with chatter. The musical portions also satirized the acting, drawing out two worlds; one of song and the real one. These two worlds were blended together masterfully. This film deserved every award it got and John C. Reilly should have won for best supporting actor. But maybe it’s fitting he didn’t win after being a cellophane man.

Hobo Dan-