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The Top 15 Film Scenes of 2014

23 Feb

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Did not have the chance to see, but I heard about some scenes: The Raid 2 (Chase scene, Baseball Boy/Hammer Girl, prison yard fight), Guardians of the Galaxy (Dancing Groot, others), X-Men: Days of Future Past (Quicksilver), Nymphomaniac, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Elevator scene), The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Frank (I Love You All), Godzilla, Noah, Ida, Obvious Child

Honorable mentions: Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma), The reveal of the man upstairs (The Lego Movie), The football player (Two Days, One Night), The beach scene (Calvary), The ending (A Most Wanted Man), Amelia vs. The Babadook (The Babadook), The attack (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Tom Cruise dies a lot (Edge of Tomorrow), The chase scene (A Most Violent Year), The avalanche (Force Majeure), Listening to Dwight’s voice message (Blue Ruin), “Trapped By a Thing Called Love” dance scene (Only Lovers Left Alive)

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The 87th Annual Academy Awards Live Blog and Review

22 Feb

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All times central. The actual show is starting at 7:30 pm.

7:00- “Oh hi, Dakota Johnson. You just recently starred in Fifty Shades of Grey, in which you got very naked. Now, let’s ask your mother about it!”

7:15- “He would absolutely be blown away,” says Chris Kyle’s widow about how he would react if he were at the Oscars. It’s Taya with the first (unintentional) joke of the evening!

7:25-It’s Chris Evans. Speaking of, Snowpiercer should be nominated for everything.

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The Top 15 Film Performances of 2014

19 Feb

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HONORABLE MENTIONS/OTHERS CONSIDERED: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Most Wanted Man), Carrie Coon & Tyler Perry (Gone Girl), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Tom Hardy (Locke), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Mark Ruffalo & Steve Carell & Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Reese Witherspoon & Laura Dern (Wild), Tom Hiddleston (Only Lovers Left Alive), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Emma Stone (Birdman), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), Andy Serkis & Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Josh Brolin & Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), Johannes Kuhnke & Lisa Loven Kongsli (Force Majeure)

Man, that’s a pretty damn good “Honorable Mentions” list. What a year for performances.

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A Most Violent Year Review

18 Feb

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To convey what went on in 1981 New York City, A Most Violent Year relies less on actual violence and more on crafting a very deliberate mood. We hear news reports of violent crimes, we see decay at every turn, and we feel the corruption blanketing the city as our characters go about their business. Director J.C. Chandor and cinematographer Bradford Young team up for this film, and the result is a very elegant set of visuals that perfectly capture the grim mood of the time period; lovely snow-filled landscapes contrast with dark and gloomy interiors, and the production of the movie lends itself very well to its central themes.

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Still Alice Review

9 Feb

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Still Alice is, without a doubt, a very moving film, but what’s nice about it is its ability to deliver a story without relying on histrionics. It hits all the emotional beats we expect it to hit, but it also does so with more care than we might expect. Now, the movie certainly does have an intrusive score, a hastily put together world, and several underwritten supporting characters; at the same time, though, it can be a great movie when it focuses on its central character: Alice Howland, a 50-year old Linguistics professor at Columbia University who develops early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

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Selma Review

19 Jan

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When making a movie about an important historical figure like Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s easy to go through the motions and use a list of major bullet points as a stand in for an actual screenplay. What makes Selma compelling is its focus on a very specific time period in the history of Dr. King, a time period that was essential to the Civil Rights movement, but a time period that also echoes the state of our nation today. It’s a narrative that marches forward with clear purpose, but it also takes the time to reflect on who exactly made up this movement.

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Inherent Vice Review

18 Jan

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Inherent Vice is built around sensation, around a drug-induced haze not created through clever visual tricks, but rather through a purposefully incomprehensible plot. That’s not to say that there isn’t a story to grasp, though; it simply means that we’re just as much in the dark as Doc Sportello is, that every scribble in his notepad or on his whiteboard is just one more addition to a never-ending process. It’s a process we may need to attempt to make sense of things, but in the end, the experience–the sensation–is what trumps all.

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Taken 3 Review

17 Jan

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“My wife was taken from me…BY DEATH.”

It is midday. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the sound of laughter drifts through the air as Liam Neeson sits. It is not a relaxed sit, however, as Liam Neeson knows that anything can happen at any moment. He knows that even if his buttocks graze a freshly cut lawn, he will still need to angle his body in order to maximize his gun-drawing quickness. After all, his enemies are lurking around the corner, stroking their weapons in anticipation of being punched right into the next movie.

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Thoughts on the 87th Academy Awards Nominations

15 Jan


oscars-2014-nominees-Here is the full list of nominations:

http://oscar.go.com/nominees

The Good

-I’m extremely happy about Laura Dern’s nomination, as she was truly the best part about Wild (also, remember Enlightened?). I’m even happier about Marion Cotillard’s nomination for Best Actress, not only because that means Jennifer Aniston doesn’t get anything, but also because Cotillard is arguably the best working actress today. Her performance in Two Days, One Night was wonderful, and her getting recognized for it was a pleasant surprise. Normally, I’d be sad about Amy Adams missing out on a nomination, but Cotillard’s makes up for it.

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Big Eyes Review

6 Jan

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Big Eyes is a Tim Burton movie on depressants. It’s also a pretty good movie, one not without its flaws, but one that delivers solid performances and an entertaining and compelling story. Burton and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel craft a world permeated by bright, vivid colors, an environment that will eventually stand in contrast to the darkness revealed through the Keane relationship, but also one that allows for a particular type of visual flair.

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