The Hubbub

The Oscars are next weekend and who cares? Usually I would be the first to say, “not me” but this year it has me intrigued. The nominees for best picture are an interesting bunch. Usually I would be lucky to have seen even one of the nominated but after this weekend I have now seen six.

I loved Inception and True Grit (2010). I saw The Social Network as well but I never got around to writing a post about it. That movie really surprised me. Since the start of the gossip for the “facebook movie” I continually rolled my eyes at the concept but it was well written, acted, and edited. It deserves its nomination.

On Friday I saw The King’s Speech. It was a last resort movie. My friend was trying to talk me into seeing I Am Number Four but I flat out refused. It looked cheesy, I heard nothing but bad things about it, and after that Season of the Witch fiasco I am not going to fold when I pretty much know it isn’t going to be good.

This is a biographical film about King George VI (Colin Firth). Before he was king he was Albert a man with a speech impediment that kept him from being heard. After the death of his father, his brother ascends the thrown. King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abruptly abdicates for love thrusting Albert, who changed his name to George, into the public role where he is forced to speak not just for himself but for his whole country. He hires a speech thearapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), whose unconventional methods help him overcome his problem and let his voice be heard.

Its a good movie. I can see why it was nominated for the Best Picture category and why Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter were all nominated. It is well scripted, dramatic with injections of humour that all life has; beautifully shot, many images of grand gilded halls and lush greenery; costume design, beautiful periodic dress; wonderfully acted by all involved.

The thing is, and I don’t know if this is simply because I am the product of the (as “they” call it) MTV generation, I found it boring. All you people out there that found it inspiring and uplifting don’t pelt me with stones. It is jut that the pacing is slow. I found myself losing interest at points but that was exactly when something poignantly dramatic or something funny would happen. It kept me interested enough.

It is not that I didn’t think it was good per se, I listed the reasons why it was good above but it just wasn’t my thing. I do still give it a recommendation.

I finally saw Black Swan on Sunday and after waiting so long to see it, listening to person after person go on about how good it was, and giving away bits of it I was thankfully not disappointed.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina. She is dedicated, she lives and breathes ballet, it is her whole life. This pays off when she is awarded the coveted lead role in “Swan Lake”. It is what she has worked so hard for but it is at the cost of bumping her idol Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) from the spotlight. In walks Lilly (Mila Kunis), a dancer whose attitudes are opposite to her. She is lively, spontaneous, and her dancing is flawlessly effortless. Nina slowly begins to lose it getting more and more paranoid and delusional. The pressure is too much.

Darren Aronofsky  is an amazing director. His concepts are complex and abstract but his execution is provoking and beautiful. I have seen most of his full length movies, the only exception The Wrestler, and for the most part loved them. But when I heard he was doing a ballerina movie even I was skeptical at first. When dance is broght in to a film you usually end up with adolecent tripe like Center Stage or Fame (especially the 2009 version). But he did an amazing job creating this real and intense world portraying ballet as what it is, art.

These characters are brought to life effortlessly by Aronofsky. In the first quiet scenes of the movie, as Nina begins her day, the way the camera follows her and the way the light falls on her capturing her movement, her environment, her expressions really draws you into the character. Within those first few moments you already know who this girl is; she is quiet, obedient, and dedicated.

But he would not be able to properly do his job if he didn’t have good actors to work with and he chose them well. Natalie Portman goes through the changes in character seamlessly; beginning sweet and innocent, getting the taste of rebellion, and then changing into this person she doesn’t even recognize. She is elated, ashamed, paranoid and scared. Her performance is fantastic. Mila Kunis does a great job as Lily. She is carefree with something dark and sly about her at the same time. Vincent Cassel is slimy, vulgar, and salacious as Thomas Leroy. There is something charming about him but at the same time he disgusts you. Barbara Hershey plays Nina’s mother. She is overly protective of her child and lives somewhat vicariously through her. She is passive aggressively oppressive and obsessive.

It really is an amazing movie. I loved it. Also I have to share this with you. They did these great art deco style posters for the movie that are just beautiful. Even though Natalie Portman is a lovely woman I would have preffered these to be used for the main campaign instead.

Finally I saw 127 Hours on Monday. I originally had no interest in seeing this movie. It is just not my thing. But after a friend of mine in the office was raving about it I thought maybe I should check it out.

127 Hours tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a climber who goes canyoneering alone in Utah. This is an activity that he has partaken in a number of times but this time will be different. When climbing over a rock it becomes loose causing him to fall into a crevasse. His arm gets caught between a bolder and the wall trapping him there for 127 hours.

The movie was intense. I was amazed at how they made a guy standing in a tight space with his arm trapped could be so…captivating. The movie wasn’t boring at all. It was full of life and hope even as you went through all the emotions with Aron Ralston. He was well portrayed by James Franco and he really carried the movie. It was 95% just him anyways. He managed to portray this mans shock, desperation, and slow demise.

The part that gets most people is the arm removal scene. It was said that at airings of the movie especially at film festivals and early releases when people didn’t know what to expect it mad people sick, throw up, and pass out. I have to say it wasn’t that bad. Sure they didn’t cut way (pun) at any time but it wasn’t made to look outlandish. They did emphasis the scene with very jarring sound effects, the gun shots is what got me, but I was expecting to somehow see much worse.

127 Hours is a really good movie, well worth seeing.

After seeing all those great movies this year I can see what the hubbub over the Oscars is all about. These are movies that really deserve to be recognized. I think I will be watching the show this year not just for the fashion or the fact that I am part of the Oscar pool at work but because I actually care who wins.

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