Watchmen

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
I saw this at the Entertainment Cinemas in Leominster on March 14

I really enjoyed this movie. I haven't read the graphic novel but I thought there were a lot of strong characters including Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and the Comedian who had very good roles and pulled them off well (did anyone else think the Comedian looked a lot like Robert Downey Jr?).

I thought a lot of the visuals and lighting were well done. Rorschach's mask was pretty cool and I want one.

The mood was set well. I liked the lighting and the staging of both the sex and violence really set the tone well.

I thought the story was told fairly well. The history of the Watchmen could have been addressed better but, in genneral, I think flashbacks were used effectively. I think the message and the ending were very good (even though I'm told it is different from the graphic novel) although I think Adrian's (the genius) role should have been developed more to create a more satisfying climax.

My major beef with the movie is that the trailers did not represent the movie at all. A theme in the previews was "Who watches the Watchmen" but that was barely a passing question in the movie. The previews also hinted that it was a world of superheroes (or at least a lot of them) but that wasn't even remotely true. Would have gotten a 7.5 or an 8 if that had been consistent.

Oscar predictions: How did I do?

So how did I do?
Best Picture: Nailed it
Best Director: Got it
Best Actor: Got it (although I actually did predict that Mickey would win right before the award was handed out so that's only a half win)
Best Actress: I was WAY off on this one (but this one I had come around and realized that Kate Winslet was going to win before they presented the award.
Best Supporting Actor: Duh
Best Supporting Actress: Got it wrong in this prediction but right on the night of
Best Score: almost
Best Song: Yessir
Best Animated Feature: Duh
Best Animated Short: Grrr, I got it right
Best Live Action Short: Got it
Best Foreign Film: Wow, shocked I was wrong
Best Documentary: Didn't really make a prediction but I guessed it right night of

Scorecard
In the post: 8 of 12 or 13 (depending on whether you count my rant against the category of documentary)
Night off: 10 of 13

Not great but not bad. A decent year for movies but not spectacular.

The Class

Rating 7.5 out of 10 stars
I saw this on February 16 at Coolidge Corner

I'm not sure if I'm rating this too highly or too lowly. I always have a hard time rating movies about teachers and schools because I have a special place in my heart for them.

I think this movie would be extremely interesting to any teacher. It doesn't follow the hollywood script (ala Dangerous Minds) where a teacher changes everyone's life. I appreciated this movie because it just follows one teacher (Mr. Morin) who there isn't really anything too special about. He has run ins with students, gets push back, has successes and failures. It's just real and I really appreciate that. I wish the movie would have focused on Mr. Morin more. From a personal point I think it would have been good to see him mood outside of work fluctuate with what is going on in the class room.

Overall it was a very good movie and I'm glad I went but I would especially recommend this to teachers.

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

I saw this on February 10 at Coolidge Corner

I'm not going to rates these individually or as a group but I will discuss them all. I will say up front that they didn't need to include the honorable mentions in my opinion. Maybe I just think this because the showing I went to started at 10 PM.

Oscar nominated

Lavatory - Lovestory: This was pretty good and amusing but the animation made me feel as if I was watching and animated New Yorker or funny paper cartoon. It was stylistic yes but at the end of the day it was just too simplistic. The search for love as a lavatory attendant was kind of cute but a little boring. I think this one could have been shorter and done just as much.

Oktapodi: This was short but really cute. The animation was cool. It had a Pixar meets Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" music video feel. I really liked the animation and I think choosing Octopi as the creatures trying to help/save one another was a great choice. Very few people seem to use sea creatures but I think this worked really well and was funny and interesting.

La Maison en Petit Cubes: This is my vote for boring/kind of lame heart warming movie that the academy might love to give the Oscar to cause it's the "right kind" of movie but I found it only ok. The animation seemed old/dated like that British Christmas movie (about a snowman I believe). The concept was ok. Old man can trace his life through the rising water levels and keeps building his house up. Overall though I thought this was overly sentimental without much of a purpose.

Presto: I thought this was hilarious and Pixar does a great job. Maybe simplistic in its story but extremely well animated and hilarious. It's like a new age looney tune. For those who don't know this is the cartoon shown at the beginning of Wall-E.

This Way Up: This was great but it started to lose it near the end for me. I love the animation (similar to Oktapodi) and I think the beginning of the journey with the casket is quite amusing and the two funeral home guys are really funny characters. The hell scene was well done but that's when it seemed to start getting a little out there for me. The animation was still great but it was a strange turn for the story that would've been fine if they'd have led into it better.

I bet the old man cartoon will win but I like better/ground breaking animation and better stories so I hope Presto, Oktapodi, or This Way Up wins.

Honorable Mentions

Varmints: A great story about urban sprawl, destroying the environment, etc. but entirely too long. It could've been more focused and better and half as long.

John and Karen: Funny idea (A penguin and a polar bear dating and working out their relationship problems) but not executed well. Boring and not that funny or interesting.

Gopher Broke: This was really funny and animated well. Could have done more with the gopher temper tantrums. I think Blur Studio may be one to watch in the future. With good stories they have what it takes to make feature lengths. They'll probably get bought by Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks though.

Skhizein: Really neat idea (man struck by meteorite and now appears 91 centimeters away from where he "actually" is). I thought the blocky/clay looking animation was really cool and unique to this years class and it was just a neat, well done concept.

Hot Dog: This was terrible. Dated, kitchy animation and an uninteresting story about a dog who wants to work for the fire department. Just below the curve in story arch and animation. Truly irritating.

Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

I saw this on February 10 at Coolidge Corner.

I'm not going to bother rating them either collectively or as a unit but I will give my thoughts on each.

On the Line - This was good, deep at times and interesting. The main guy was good although I found his facial expression off-putting. I didn't care for the girl who played Sarah, which is a shame because I think it was a good role. I'm torn as to whether I would have liked the main character to admit that he'd seen the beginnings of the assault and not done anything. There is a case to be made for that and for how they actually ended it. It definitely seemed to be worth a nomination but it didn't blow me away or anything.

New Boy - I really enjoyed this one. It may stand a chance to win. Maybe a smidge to short to develop as much as needed but I liked it. The flashbacks to the boy's past could have happened a bit more and been a bit more vivid but I like how it was mixed in with the current school scenes and the mean kids in his class. The little girl was good too. And how can you not love Irish kids?

Toyland - I bet this will win because it seems a very "academy-esque" film and holocaust features always seem to do well. It was good but it also seemed like a less deep knockoff of Life is Beautiful. A kid with a Jewish friend wants to go to the camps with them cause his parent (mother in this case) told him they were going to Toyland.

The Pig - I really enjoyed this one. I hope it wins. The main character's attachment to the pig as his guardian angel struck a chord with me. I thought his daughter was a good, forceful role. I also have a personal bias towards stories of butt surgery. It was amusing and off beat and I think was just solid overall. The twist at the end was cute and funny.

Manon on the Asphalt - This one grew on me near the end but overall I found it probably the most irritating. The perspective (person dying narrating how her friends and family will react) seems like it would be a good idea on paper but wasn't that interesting to me.

I wouldn't be disappointed if any of them won because they were all pretty good and the quality overall was quite high in my opinion. My guess is that Toyland wins but I hope the Pig wins.

MIT: Bolt

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
I watched this at home on February 7th

Bolt was an enjoyable movie with a fun plot. Disney did a great job with its main characters. Bolt was interesting and the cat and hamster add interesting little bits. I don't think it had the same impact and value as Kung Fu Panda or Wall-E but still heart warming and worth seeing.

Waltz with Bashir

Rating 10 out of 10 stars
I saw this on February 2nd at Coolidge Corner

This movie was excellent! The animation and style was interesting and innovative. The storytelling was brilliant and captivating. The artistic direction and some of the shots they used were breathtaking. Great panoramic shots, panning landscapes, dream like shots make this movie truly stand out.

The music was an amazing fit as well and added a music video quality to the surrounding destruction that was very powerful.

Many movies have several of the things I've mentioned but this movie not only had them all but sacrificed not a drop of story telling ability, interest, and power. This is probably my favorite movie of 2008.

Oscar thoughts and predictions

Ok, this may be updated as I see a few more of the movies but I will still be able to give thoughts and predictions on those I haven't seen just from trends and such.

Best Picture Nominees
Benjamin Button
Slumdog
Milk
The Reader
Frost/Nixon

Thoughts: This is between Slumdog and Benjamin Button. I personally don't think Benjamin Button belongs in the same conversation with Slumdog (or the other movies for that matter) but it does have the most nominations which usually means it is the best picture front runner. In the various Critics Awards Slumdog has been the hands down favorite with Milk a distant second and Benjamin Button nowhere to be found. But on the other hand, Milk didn't even get nominated for Golden Globe's best picture. I'd say Slumdog wins it and deserves to.

Best Director: 9 times out of 10 this is a bullshit award that should just go to the best picture winner. This year is no different.

Best Actor Nominees
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
Sean Penn for Milk
Brad Pitt for Ben Button

Thoughts: Brad Pitt doesn't belong in this category for Benjamin Button. He's a good actor but Benjamin Button was sub par. This is definitely between Penn and Rourke. I'm going to see The Wrestler (when it comes to Coolidge) so I'm not sure who I think should win this. Penn was good in Milk but I would not be surprised if Mickey Rourke was better. Penn probably will win. I'll update you on who I think should win.

Best Actress Nominees
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep for Doubt
Kate Winslet for The Reader
Melissa Leo for Frozen River
Angelina Jolie

Thoughts: Haven't seen any of these but I think Anne Hathaway takes this one with Meryl Streep a close second. Winslet has a chance (although The Reader was considered a supporting role by the golden globes she won both leading and supporting actress golden globes with Revolutionary Road and The Reader, respectively) but I think she's the dark horse.

Best Supporting Actor Nominees
Heath Ledger for Dark Knight
Josh Brolin for Milk
Robert Downey Jr for Tropic Thunder
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt

Thoughts: Some decent nominees but this is Heath Ledger's year. I'm glad Josh Brolin got nominated because he's second in my book and he wasn't even nominated for the Golden Globe (was nominated by the Screen Actors which holds more weight for actors in my opinion)

Best Supporting Actress Nominees
Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina
Amy Adams for Doubt
Viola Davis for Doubt
Taraji Henson for Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler

Thoughts: A tough call without a Kate Winslet part in there. I'd have to see Doubt and The Wrestler to make the call but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Doubt girls wins it.

Best Original Score Nominees
Slumdog
Wall E
Milk
Defiance
Benjamin Button

Thoughts: People need to stop nominating Ben Button because it wasn't that good. I'd say this is between Slumdog and Wall E with the slight edge to Wall E (I hope). Gotta say I'm surprised that The Changeling isn't at least nominated. Clint does a pretty good job.

Best Original Song Nominees
Jai Ho from Slumdog
O Saya from Slumdog
Down to Earth from Wall E

Thoughts: Jai Ho probably wins this one because it's so memorable and cultish right now with Down to Earth a close second. Also, only three nominees? Springsteen doesn't deserve one for The Wrestler? Maybe even Gran Torino.

Best Animated Nominees
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall E

Thoughts: All were great, Wall E runs away with it and deserves to

Best Foreign Language Nominees
Vals Im Bashir
Okuribito
Revanche
Entre les murs
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex

Thoughts: From all reports Waltz with Bashir runs away with this one and I can't wait to see it

Best Documentary
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
The Garden
The Betrayal-Nerakhoon

Thoughts: This is the biggest BS category this year. Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World get nominated but Religulous, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, Bigger Stronger Faster, Boogie Man, I.O.U.S.A., Pray the Devil Back to Hell, or even American Teen? That's ridiculous. I don't know what people see in those two movies. They were made for TV documentaries. I hope Trouble the Water wins

Ok, may update these later but that's enough of a brain dump for now

Happy Go Lucky

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
I saw this on January 22 at the Coolidge Corner Theater.

This was an interesting movie. Essentially a character picture about an overly cheerly and optimistic girl and her interactions with others. The flow of the movie itself seemed dull and aimless at times but I think there was some great character work done here. Poppy was excellent and grew more interesting and endearing as the movie wore on. I think Scott the driving instructor was also incredibly well done.

At the end of the day though I think you have to have an amazing character (see "There Will Be Blood") to abandon a good storyline as much as they did. I think Milk did a great balancing job this year. Had a good story and a strong lead part that drew you in as well.

I give the movie credit though for its drama-comedy fence straddling with the character. It's not easy to do because usually good character pieces need a heavier story line. A for effort, B- for delivery

Kudos to the Coolidge Corner Theatre

I just want to take a second to say how impressed I have been with the Coolidge Corner Theatre's movie lineup recently and coming soon. They currently have Milk and Slumdog Millionaire and now they have Happy Go Lucky and, as far as I know, The Wrestler and Waltz With Bashir are coming. For such a small theater this is an impressive end of the year and beginning of the year lineup. Everyone in the community is lucky to have such a high quality theater with such a firm commitment to great movies.

In the next week or so I intend to write an Oscar prediction/commentary thread. Many of the predictions will be pure speculation and trend noticing but much of it will be my personal takes.

MIT: Gran Torino

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

This was vintage Clint Eastwood and anyone who appreciates the body of work of Clint Eastwood will especially love this film.

It was reminiscent of Unforgiven in several ways. The entire movie set Clint Eastwood up as a gruff, uncaring individual who is a hardened killer (in this case, he was in the Korean War) who warms up over the course of the film. The ending is the kind of Unforgiven-esque poetic character change that make Eastwood as relevant in modern film as he is. Eastwood's performance isn't strong enough, imo, to warrant any sort of award. It's not the type of movie that gets, or really deserves, a best picture nomination (it does lack an Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby gravitas during the entire movie). I doubt the song Gran Torino stands a chance against Peter Gabriel (Wall-E) and Bruce Springsteen (The Wrestler) so Gran Torino may go largely awardless but it is worth seeing for it's character tale and interesting story.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Rating: 4.0 out of 10 stars
I saw this on 1/10/09 at Entertainment Cinemas in Leominster, Massachusetts

I cannot fathom why this movie is getting so much credit. I guess it must be because it's an "oscar-style" movie. In my opinion is cheap knockoff of other (good) movies and a poor man's drama.

Here are the cliche/knockoff moments that I find too stupid/obvious:
Old lady telling the story of her life framework for a movie is way too "Titanic"
The entire relationship seems to be a Forrest Gump/Jenny knockoff
Placing a love story uselessly near a known tragedy is very "Titanic" but at least the titanic had something to use because there was the urgency of being out at sea and there was the whole "class" issue
The reverse disease is overplayed and was reminiscent of "Phenomenon"

In addition to these, I found that his aging wasn't entirely consistent (or people around him didn't age consistently) and the whole process was inconsistent. What characeristics was he supposed to take from his disorder and which ones from his age? He has arthritis and bad hearing and vision when he's born but gets dementia when he's old too? He is born baby size but old and wrinkly so why does he shrink to baby size before he dies?

Overall, a poor showing. A knockoff, uninventive, poorly thought out movie.

Milk

Rating: 8.5 (almost 9) out of 10 stars
I saw this on January 7th at Coolidge Corner

This was a pretty good movie. It was touching at times and I liked the setup of Harvey dictated a memoir in case of his death.

Didn't much care for the love interest story (at least Rick, Scott was pretty good) but then again it was based on a true story so you can't really do much with that.

Haven't seen all the movies to make a completely informed judgment but I would think that Sean Penn deserves a nomination for best actor. Milk should be in the conversation for best picture but it wouldn't be outrageous if it got snubbed. I also think Josh Brolin should get some consideration for supporting actor. His part wasn't that big but I thought he played Dan White excellently.

This is definitely worth seeing.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
I saw this on January 5 at Coolidge Corner

This was an excellent movie. I loved the story and they used the flow between game show and life very well. A well crafted plot that tugs at your heart strings and some very tense moments.

There was no outstanding performance in my opinion but it was extremely well done and solid all around. The Indian backdrop was excellent and the story arc reminded me of an Indian Scarface.

The end seemed predictable but I think the movie overall gave you reason enough to doubt a happy ending so the suspense was still there.

This should be in high contention for some oscars and get serious mention for best picture.

MIT: Iron Man

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
I saw this on December 26th

I'm actually sorry I missed this one in theaters because I'm sure it would've been better on a big screen but it was still pretty good.

Action sequences were good, Tony Stark was a fairly interesting character and the story itself was decent. Should make way for some sequels with more interesting villains (this was really just the origin story and original bad guy fighting).

Worth seeing for action fans and it's nice to see Robert Downey string a few good ones together but other than that, eh, it's ok

MIT: The Fall (yes, I finally watched it)

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars
I watched this on 1/2/09

This movie was quite interesting. I thought the visuals were breathtaking and inventive and I really enjoyed the storytelling aspect.

I also applaud the movie for a nice balance of story telling and real life. I think there could have been a more well thought out and/or longer story even if it meant a longer movie but overall it was well done.

I found the movie hard to follow at times and there could have been more character development but the last scene(s) are excellent.

Should win some oscars for visuals and such but I don't think this is a best picture candidate and I'm not sure if any of the performances were strong enough to warrant consideration either.