The Descendants

George Clooney stars in this tale of the back-up parent having to become the main parent after his wife suffers a terrible accident and is left in a coma.

Set in Hawaii and jots around the many beautiful islands, it’s not a story of the holiday life in tropical climes.

Matt King (played skillfully and subtly by Gorgeous George(™)) does have it all.  The wife, 2.4 kids, beautiful home on a beautiful island, great job.  Problem is that none of it is perfect.  His wife is in a serious coma after a boating accident and his lax parenting responsibilities are pushed to the fore.  His two daughters are ghastly to him and trouble at every turn.  Potty mouthed and dysfunctional, King has many fights on his hands.

As if all this madness isn’t enough, King discovers that his wife was having an affair before the accident.  In addition to that, King and his large family are descendants of the original Hawaiian tribe and own much of the virgin land on the islands, some of the last virgin lands left.  Managing the sale of these precious lands also his responsibility and the whole island is watching his every move.  Complicated right?

I didn’t know what to expect from this film before I went in but half though it might be a bit of a comedy of errors.  Turns out it was more sensitively handled with Clooney playing a star turn as dysfunctional dad Matt.  We all know Clooney is a great actor, able to switch between serious thespian (Syriana) to comic clown (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) but he really surpasses himself in this film.  Some of his best acting are in the intense and emotional glances, his brain fraught with grief and madness.  I did find myself weeping at some of the sadder parts of the film.  There are obviously some funny moments, but in the sense that life can be funny and not particularly thrown in for laughs.

I absolutely loved the small role by Robert Forster as King’s father in law.  Again, there wasn’t much acting involved, he just seemed natural as the sad yet angry father, missing his only daughter already and blaming his son in law for all her ills.

This is a normal film about normal people and some many not like it, but I thought it was great. Just as much as Sideways.  It definitely deserves the Oscar nominations it received but not sure if it will win any.

J. Edgar

An epic of a story spanning over 40 years of J. Edgar Hoover’s time as the head of the FBI.  He revolutionised the way things work by introducing fingerprinting identification and changed the police culture purely from his very analytical and eccentric nature.

The film spans his career from young agent to the head, meeting president after president, meeting constant resistance to his personality as well as professional nature.  He was a smart man who knew that information is power and always made sure he had the upper hand at every turn.  The film also goes into detail about his personal life, his close relationship with his mother and love interests or lack thereof.  Hoover was a man about his job and nothing else.

I am not an expert on American political or legal history but this film was a real eye opener for me.  The ins and outs of a special agents life in the FBI is a hard life surrounded in mystery and getting results.  Hoover was a results man but only when they best work is done to get that result.  Incredibly passionate about his cases, he lost sight of the state of America and the way it had changed over the years making himself and his approach eventually redundant.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a phenomenal actor = FACT.  He takes this role and eats it up.  Hoover’s subtle nature mixed with his fiery passion just explodes on screen though DiCaprio’s eye for details.  Naomi Watts does really well as they meek yet incredibly smart personal assistant.  She knows his failures as well as his successes.

Armie Hammer is the biggest surprise for me.  In the much hyped The Social Network as not one but two characters as the obnoxious Winklevoss twins, Hammer brings a very vulnerable approach to Hoover’s long time friend and ‘Number Two’ in Clyde Tolson.  He is just fantastic, mostly in the shadow of Hoover’s dominating character, he also provides a stability to the film.  The scenes between Hammer and DiCaprio are electric at times.

The film is pretty hefty though.  Rather long and plods along at certain earlier parts of the film, its slowness is deliberate that builds the tension until it explodes on screen and via the characters.  But the beauty is in the details, much like Hoover’s addiction to the smallest details in solving a crime, even the smallest look adds something to the story.  Written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk), the slow building of the love story is very touching and natural.  I am quite impressed by Clint Eastwood, having hated Hereafter (why did I bother watching that crap?) but he really shows a great skill in the little details and the bigger picture working together tremendously.

I only wish that the same attention to detail and respect of the story of a national figure in this film was applied to The Iron Lady, then it might have been a far more interesting film instead of the light hearted comical crap we got.

Oscar? Schmoscar more like

I, like many film geeks, fans, colleagues around the world, sat and waited for the Oscar nomination ceremony to start.  It runs late by about 5 minutes, tension building all the time.

Having seen most of the Oscar worthy films, I am hoping that the right films get the right nods.  Tilda Swinton for Best Actress, We Need to Talk About Kevin/My Week with Marilyn/Drive for Best Film etc.  I wait and I wait.  And then it comes.  Full list below:

On first look, its a bunch of wank.  How does Tilda Swinton not get a nomination for We Need to Talk about Kevin?  Why does The Help get any nominations at all?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - are you shitting me?

I am rather disappointed by it all.  This isn't nominating for talents sake, its just giving people awards for because they like them.  Meryl Streep will get Best Actress for Thatcher and that was a caricature at best.

Bring on the Bafta's I say and I hope The Artist wins every Oscar its nominated for just to piss everyone off!

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Alexander Payne
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt -Moneyball

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

BEST ANIMATED FILM
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon &
Jim Rash
Hugo - John Logan
The Ides of March - George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

ART DIRECTION
The Artist - Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 – Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo - Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris - Production Design: Anne Seibel, Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse - Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo - Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous - Lisy Christl
The Artist - Mark Bridges
Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O’Connor
W.E. - Arianne Phillips

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth
Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bullhead - Belgium
Footnote - Israel
In Darkness - Poland
Monsieur Lazhar - Canada
A Separation - Iran

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and
Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 - Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady - Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
The Artist - Ludovic Bource
Hugo - Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
War Horse - John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Man or Muppet - The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
Real in Rio – Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown
Lyric by Siedah Garrett

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dimanche/Sunday - Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna - Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll - Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life - Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

BEST LIVE FILM
Pentecost - Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
Raju - Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore - Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak - Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic - Hallvar Witzø

BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce
Hugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and
Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and
Stuart Wilson

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and
John Richardson
Hugo - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and
Alex Henning
Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Shame

Shame is the very feeling most of us have for one reason or another.  It can be a mild passing feeling or completely debilitating.  The focus in the film is the shame from sex addiction.  That constant need for sexual or intimate gratification, and once sated you realise it hasn't been satisfied at all.  And the shamefulness takes over, that instant regret and emptiness  that becomes you.

Shame tackles this quite well, with encounter after encounter, without a passing thought for the woman or for the act itself.  Sexy Fassbender's main character lives quite happily that way, bookmarking his day with the next wank or shag.  Waiting for the next encounter, he lives a very shallow existence.  Its not until his dysfuctional siste, played interestingly by Carey Mulligan, does he realise his life isn't all rosy and he can't keep on living like that.
 
I know many people love this film, but it feels like "Michael Fassbender's Penis: The Movie" to me.  There were far too many long lingering shots that bothered me and went on for too long especially the excruciatingly slow song by Mulligan.

They were both so unlikeable and a bit boring that I couldn't wait for the film to end.  I know Michael Fassbender is an amazing actor (Hunger, X Men), but watching his sex face gurning all over the place for about 10 minutes does not a good actor/movie make.

I know many will disagree with me on this, but it wasn't fantastic and was mostly boring.