Small part - Great scene

There are a couple of times when a minor part in a movie just sticks with you. Sometimes they are minor roles played by big stars. Unusual characters for a certain actor/actress. It could also be just a characters reactions/actions to what happens around him in a scene, or the emotions a certain scene evokes in you as a viewer. Or it can be a hilarious moment that caught you off guard. It can be anything, really.

Here are a few great scenes with minor characters from movies that stick out:

Floyd in True Romance - Played by Brad Pitt

True Romance is one of my favorite movies, and a lot of it is down to the brilliant characters, and the equally amazing casting of the movie. Brad Pitt is a diverse actor (12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Burn After Reading, Legends of the Fall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and in True Romance he definitely makes the most of the little screen-time he is given. As Dick´s roommate, Brad Pitt nails the character of a drugged out lazy-ass. His timing is perfect, and his answers are... well, correct.

L´aveugle in Amélie - Played by Jean Darie

Jean Darie plays "the blind man", and is given a wonderful gift by Amélie (played by Audrey Tautou) who does her best to give him sight through her words, if only for a brief moment. As she guides him through the busy street, she tells him about the sights and smells that surrounds them. Wonderful scene in a beautiful movie. Although the character of Amélie is obviously a huge one, the character of the blind man is a minor in the film. 

Bill Murray in Zombieland - Bill Murray

Bill Murray plays himself in one of the best scenes in Zombieland (one of the best scenes in a comedy the last 10 years, probably). Bill Murray is a one of those guys who you just gotta love. Not only is he funny, but he seems like one of the coolest guys on the planet. He probably is. They could not have found a better guy for this cameo. Ever. Woody Harrelson´s reaction is also golden.

Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction - Played by Christopher Walken

Well, speaking of cool cats... Christopher Walken can do anything, can´t he? In his short scene in Pulp Fiction he manages to deliver a couple of lines that no one else could have done like him. It´s probably the favorite scene for a lot of Walken-impressionists.. both good and bad.

Drexl Spivey in True Romance - Played by Gary Oldman

"I know exactly where your white ass is coming from....". Those words uttered by Gary Oldman. As Drexl Spivey, Gary Oldman shows us another side of his immense talent. And a good portion of humor. It´s as if his character was originally set to be played by Samuel L. Jackson. Only it wasn´t. 

Blake in Glengarry Glen Ross - Played by Alec Baldwin

Considering the talent that is in the room in this scene, it´s amazing to see Alec Baldwin shine so bright as he does in this scene. Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin... The character Alec Baldwin portrays wasn´t in the original play, but was included for the movie. And the speech Baldwin delivers in this scene is brilliant. Baldwin does it perfectly, and his language reminds me of his character in The Departed many, many years later. 

Additons or suggestions? Agree, disagree? Feel free to leave a comment. 

TV-shows now - characters vs. action

2013: "Have you watched any good TV-series lately?"

1995: "Have you seen any good movies lately?"

Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins in ´Justified´

Sounds familiar? The last decade has been a great one for TV-shows. Looking at a list of shows that have been successful over the last 10-15 years, it´s hard to argue with this. You might not be a fan of all the shows on this list (I´m not), but they have nevertheless been at the forefront of a resurrection in TV-entertainment: 

Boardwalk Empire

Game of Thrones

Breaking Bad

The Shield

Dexter

Mad Men

Homeland

Sons of Anarchy

The Wire

Justified

The Walking Dead

True Blood

Boss

These are just a few of the shows that have drawn millions of viewers to the screen week after week. Let´s also not forget House of Cards, the Netflix-show featuring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. 

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in `House of Cards`

Big names

One factor in the success might be attributed to the way TV-shows have managed to lure big name actors to its cast. Kevin Spacey being an obvious example, but let´s not forget Glenn Close (Damages), Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire) and Jim Caviezel (Person of Interest). Anjelica Huston said it herself: "A few years ago, a TV show might have been unthinkable to me". She is now a regular on... you guessed it, a TV show. 

Martin Scorsese directed the first episode of Boardwalk Empire, a TV show which also has Mark Wahlberg listed as an executive producer. Maybe one of the first cases of a really big name linked to a TV-show came when Martin Sheen was casted as the President in The West Wing. He wasn´t supposed to be a full-time regular on the show, but his character was very well received, and he was there for the full 7 seasons. 

The characters

It seems to me that the TV-shows of the last 10-15 years has been much more focused on characters then that of the 90s. The Sopranos was one of the first ones to really go deeper into the characters (Tony Soprano even visited a psychiatrist), but TV-shows like The Wire showed a whole new way of telling a story. Instead of just doing good vs. bad, it showed us both sides of a story, or in the case of The Wire, all sides of a lot of stories. It went further then most TV-shows trying to not only show the characters, but explain the characters. Who is the character? Why is he/she doing what he/she is doing? What will the consequences be for the character? What are the consequences for the persons surrounding the character? Does it change the character? 

The TV-shows are, in my opinion, not longer action-driven. They are character-driven. A lot of emphasis is placed on making the characters of the show not only just a vessel for bringing the action forward. The characters are meticulously planned, and very often brilliantly casted. Who better to play Don Draper then Jon Hamm? Could anyone have pulled off a better Walt then Bryan Cranston? To support my theory of the characters importance vs. the action for a TV-show, consider this fact: 

Aaron Paul (who playes Jesse on Breaking Bad), was only cast for the first season. However, Vince Gilligan (creator of the show), liked his performance so much that he decided to keep him on. Needless to say, the show would have been a completely different show without Jesse´s character for the remaining 4 seasons (last part of finale season to finish this summer). Character trumps action. 

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston in ´Breaking Bad´

Writer and creator of Sons of Anarchy (and co-writer on The Shield) Kurt Sutter is also one who is not afraid to let his character decide where he goes next in his writing. He´s said that the way the show will end is pretty much how he pictured it, but the road he went to get there is going to be different from what he imagined. "Characters, characters, characters" is the "location, location, location" of the 21st Century. And that could well be one of the reasons why so many people tune in every week. And why people ask their friends about TV-shows instead of the movies. 

Obviously, people still watch movies. And I don´t mean people never asked about TV-shows 15-20 years ago. However, I do think that the entertainment-generation of today are a lot more into both TV and Film. TV-shows is no longer necessarily looked upon as the "poor man´s film". The budgets are too huge for that. The stars are too big. And the quality is too high. 

Movies to look forward to in 2013

Last Sunday the Academy Awards saluted the movies and performances which has graced the screens in 2012 (and early 2013). After Daniel Day-Lewis picked up his third Oscar for Best Actor in a Lead Role, he announced he would take a break from the movies. Jennifer Lawrence also announced plans to relax for a little bit after a hectic period. While the former said he thought it difficult to jump into another character after playing the legendary Lincoln, the latter said she imagined herself in the couch with wine in the time to come. Deservedly so. 

Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars

Still, there should be plenty to look forward to in the year to come. Here´s a look at some of the movies I am looking forward to in 2013: 

The Place Beyond the Pines

Release: April 5th (US)

Director Derek Cianfrance reunites with Ryan Gosling in this drama about a motorcycle stunt rider turned bank-robber in order to provide for his newborn child and former girlfriend. Throw in a drama involving a rookie-cop in the local department (played by Bradley Cooper), and you have the general gist of the storyline. However, the storyline is not the reason I have been looking forward to this one for a while. Derek Cianfrance´s movie "Blue Valentine" is still one of my fave movies in the last couple of years, and him reuniting with Ryan Gosling just seems right. Cianfrance´s directing of the amazing actor was brilliant in "Blue Valentine", and hopefully The Place Beyond the Pines will be another great flick from the young director. Rose Byrne proved in the TV-series "Damages" she can do drama, and Eva Mendes is cast as Gosling´s lover. Bradley Cooper was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for his brilliant performance in "Silver Linings Playbook", and I´m hoping for more roles of that type from the former "Alias"-actor. Also starring Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Narc, Cop Land) and Mahershala Ali (House of Cards, The 4400, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). 

Trailer: 

The Great Gatsby

Release: May 10th (US)

The book "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is still considered one of the great American novels. I have not read the book myself, but have obviously heard of the story. It has been adapted for the screen several times, but this year it is no one other then Baz Luhrmann who is in the director´s chair. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby, which is basically reason enough to watch the movie. Will this be a movie that can land him a long-awaited Oscar? The wonderful Carey Mulligan stars as Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway is played by Tobey Maguire. Also starring Isla Fisher. Trusting Leonardo DiCaprio to make a great performance as what seems to be a most intriguing character, and one typical of his amazing talent. 

Trailer: 

World War Z

Release: June 21st (US)

Although not a huge fan of the zombie-genre, ("Zombieland" being the exception to the rule), I am looking forward to this one. The director of "Kite Runner", Marc Forster, gives us a story based on a novel by Max Brooks. Brad Pitt is the big name of the movie, playing the main character Gerry Lane. His job is to - you guessed it - save the world from zombies. What intrigued me about the movie is that it doesn´t seem like your typical zombie-movie. The zombies seems to be toned down, that is to say, they are placed in the background, and not emphasized by close-ups and overly exaggerated costumes and make-up. Some of the shots in the trailer seems very promising, and I´m hoping for a good end-of-the-world blockbuster. 

Trailer: 

Stoker

Release: March 1st (US)

Chan-wook Park is making his first English-speaking movie, and the expectations are high. "Oldboy" is one of my all-time favorites, and his revenge-trilogy (also including "Lady Vengeance" and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance") are great movies. Stoker is about a young girl (played by Mia Wasikowska) whose father dies. After the death of her father, an uncle comes to live with herself and her mother. She suspects something is a bit off, but is still intrigued by her uncle. Nicole Kidman stars as her unstable mother, and Matthew Goode (Watchmen, A Single Man) plays Uncle Charlie. Also starring the brilliant Jacki Weaver. 

Trailer: 

Now You See Me

Release: June 7th (US)

The FBI are going after a group of illusionists who are pulling off bank-heists. Oh, and they are doing it while they are doing their performances, and giving the money they steal to their audience. The casting is what makes me look forward to this movie more then anything, and it is quite a bunch of actors/actresses attached to the movie: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Mélanie Laurent. Also starring personal favorites Elias Kostas (Shutter Island) and Michael Kelly (Person of Interest, House of Cards) and rapper Common. 

Trailer: 

Other movies I am looking forward to, and the why´s: 

Man of Steel - Why: Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Michael Kelly, Richard Schiff and Christopher Nolan (co-writer). 

Lone Ranger - Why: Johnny Depp, Barry Pepper, Gore Verbinski. Also, rangers are cool. 

Malavita - Why: Robert De Niro in a mafia-flick again. Also starring Dominic Chianese and Tommy Lee Jones. Directed by Luc Besson. 

The Monuments Men - Why: George Clooney is the director, and the casting includes himself, John Goodmann, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon. 

Serena - Why: Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper reunites as a couple on the screen. Susanne Bier from Denmark is the director, and has got Kim Bodnia in her cast as well. 

Twelve Years a Slave - Why: Steve McQueen has got quite a cast for this movie. Brad Pitt, Michael K. Williams, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti and this years Oscar-nominee, 9 year-old Quvenzhané Wallis. 

Only God Forgives - Why: Director Nicolas Winding Refn reunited with Ryan Gosling. Drive was awesome. Nuff said. 

Anchorman: The Legend Continues - Why: Because of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. 

The Hunger Games: Cathcing Fire - Why: The first one was good entertainment. And then there´s Jennifer Lawrence... 

Oz the Great and Powerful - Why: James Franco is a cool dude, and Michelle Williams is a favorite. Still pissed off that she didn´t win the Oscar for Blue Valentine. Also starring personal favorite Abigal Spencer, as well as Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz. 

The Oscars: Final thoughts before it kicks off

My thoughts on a few of the categories.

Best Picture

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserablés

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Very open category. Personally, I like Silver Linings Playbook, Argo and Django Unchained for his category, although I do believe Lincoln and Les Miserablès are strong contenders. Maybe Zero Dark Thirty? Life of Pi was an entertaining movie, however I think of it more as a typical contender for the special effects-awards. Django Unchained is entertaining as hell, but it might not be a typical candidate to win Best Picture. Amour is definitely an outsider, and the fact it is nominated here definitely gives it the edge as a favorite amongst the foreign language films. Beasts of the Southern Wild would be a surprising choice, but it´s not impossible. All in all, I consider Lincoln and Les Miserablés the most typical choices from an Academy-point of view. Django Unchained would be a brave choice, considering it´s content, as would Zero Dark Thirty be. 

Best Foreign Language Film

Amour

Kon-Tiki

No

A Royal Affair

War Witch

Alicia Vilander and Mads Mikkelsen, stars of A Royal Affair

Amour is definitely the favorite, and everything else will be considered a surprise.  The danish movie A Royal Affair was very good in my opinion, with Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander great in the two leading roles. No, starring Gael García Bernal, is also an outsider. The story of how Pinochet´s dictatorship in Chile ended is intriguing and interesting. Bernal is a top actor, and the supporting cast was also impressive. Kon-Tiki, the Norwegian movie, is also an entertaining movie, showing Thor Heyerdahl´s crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft. War Witch is a Canadian movie telling the story of a young girl´s life as a kid soldier in Africa. Rachel Mwanza is impressive in the lead role, but the movie suffers due to the fact that one doesn´t really get close enough to the characters. 

The Oscars 2013: Actors and Actresses

Tonight the winners of the 85th Annual Academy Awards will be announced. Having previously written about my guesses (and hopes) for the Screenplay and Director-awards, I will now focus on 4 of the other big ones. Namely the awards for best male and female lead actor/actress, and the ones for the best supporting roles.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Denzel Washington - Flight

All five performances nominated were top-class, although Daniel Day-Lewis is considered the big favorite, with Joaquin Phoenix maybe the most likely candidate if the 2-time winner (My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood) is snubbed. Daniel Day-Lewis´ performance in Lincoln is basically perfect. As a member of the audience you almost find it hard to believe that Day-Lewis has never met the real Lincoln for research. His mannerism, speech and voice is supposedly spot on, a fact that doesn´t surprise anyone who´s followed the career of the 55 year-old actor. 

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a masterful performance in The Master, well helped by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Their scenes together are truly wonderful, especially their first scene together doing a "session" in the boat. Phoenix has had a short break from acting, but the 3-time Academy Awards-nominee really delivers in his "comeback". His posture, his attitude, his craziness... all very disturbing, yet intriguing. I consider Joaquin the most likely contender to Day-Lewis for the award.

Hugh Jackman is nominated for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the classic story by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables. Tom Hooper directed the 2012-version of the story, and Jackman is impressive as the troubled man struggling to keep himself and his "daughter" safe from his past. His singing might not be good enough for a top-class stage-version of the story, but he does a very good job at it nevertheless. And his acting is top notch, although I do struggle to see how he can be considered above the previously mentioned nominees. Either way, it is a well deserved nomination for the Australian. 

Bradley Cooper is another first time nominee, for his portrayal of Pat in Silver Linings Playbook. Arguably his best performance so far in his career, Bradley delivers a great deal of humor and hurt to his character. His character struggles with a bi-polar disorder, and after a stint at a mental institution he is brought home to his parents by his mother. Determined to get well and win back his ex-wife, he challenges himself in many areas, but is continuously challenged by his illness. Great job by "the guy from Hangover", and hopefully we´ll see more of this Bradley Cooper in the years to come. His co-stars (Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) are also wonderful, and the chemistry between them are pretty much perfect.

Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook

Denzel Washington has won 2 Academy Awards (Training Day, Glory) and is nominated for the 6th time this year. In Flight he plays an airline pilot who masterfully lands a flight destined for a crash-landing, saving many lives. However, he is still put under investigation due to the fact that there are rumours of him having been under the influence while doing so. Denzel Washington is no stranger to dramatic roles, and he is very believable (though not as likable as he usually is) in his role. His scenes with John Goodman are good comic relief, and his Kelly Reilly are both sad, tragic and at times tough to watch. I personally think he was better in Training Day (for which he won), and I do think the competition this year is a little too good for him to win it this year.

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Jessica Chastain is very good in Zero Dark Thirty, but is very good enough? I doubt it. Jessica Chastain is a great actress, but I do feel she has to be considered an outsider this year. I have a feeling we´ll see her again amongst the nominees in years to come, however. Chastain reminds me of Cate Blanchett, and that is a compliment. This is her second nomination, as she was also nominated last year for her supporting role in The Help. 

Naomi Watts is also nominated for the second time, having previously been nominated for her leading role in 21 Grams. This year, she plays Maria, the wife and mother of three, in The Impossible. Definitely a great contender for the award, her performance is a powerful one. As the desperate mother looking for her two kids and husband after the tsunami strikes Thailand, she is solid from start to finish. As the tsunami strikes, she is pretty banged up, but her perseverance is second to none. To me, Watts delivers one of her best performances to date, which is saying a lot. 

Jennifer Lawrence has had a couple of great years, and is nominated for the second time in three years. Only 22 years old, Jennifer is definitely one of the brightest stars in her generation, and she is rightfully nominated for her job in Silver Linings Playbook. Her character, Tiffany, is struggling after her husbands death, with mischievous and erratic behaviour. Jennifer is both great at comedic timing, and very believable in her dramatic parts of the movie. You definitely feel for the girl, despite (or maybe because) of her craziness. A definite outsider to the award, having already won numerous awards her part in the movie (Golden Globe included). 

Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest person ever nominated for a best actress Academy Award, and is also the first nominee ever born in the 21st century. I did love her performance in Beast of the Southern Wild. It´s a very honest portrayal of a young girl facing her fears. She plays with a certain grit about her, and is definitely one to watch in the coming years. I wouldn´t be surprised if she wins tonight, though I do think she has to be considered an outsider, as I believe the biggest favorite is...

Quvanzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild

Emmanuelle Riva. Wow. Riva was born in 1927, two years prior to the first annual Academy Awards, and her performance in Amour is simply breathtaking. Anne and her husband live together, but after she suffers a stroke, she is left partly paralyzed and stuck in a wheel-chair. Riva is amazing, and it´s almost hard to believe that she is just acting. I wasn´t completely sold on the movie as a whole, but I do consider Riva the favorite for the award for best leading role. It would no doubt be a fully deserved gesture for the woman who actually turn 86 years today. Would be one helluva Birthday....

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin - Argo

Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

A very open category, with strong contenders all around. Christoph Waltz is thriving under Quentin Tarantino, and his Dr. King Schulz in Django Unchained is a brilliant character. One does however see a lot of Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds) in the role, much due to his dialogue. Nonetheless, Waltz is once again marvelous, and could just as well land his second Oscar tonight.

Robert De Niro is back! In Silver Linings Playbook we can see the De Niro we have missed for the last decade. Although his part has a lot of comedy to it, it´s in the dramatic parts of the movie De Niro really shines. The fight in the attic and his talk with Pat (Bradley Cooper) on the side of his bed is very touching and heartbreaking. More of this again, please.

Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant in The Master. He has a certain aura, Seymour Hoffman, and it really shines through in this movie. His scenes with Phoenix is, as previously stated, pure class. As the charismatic leader of "The Cause", Philip Seymour Hoffman is probably, together with Waltz, the candidates with the most screen-time out of the nominees. And I consider him one of the big favorites, and a win would definitely not be undeserved for the 4 times nominated actor (1 win: Capote).

Alan Arkin is an amazing actor, and in Argo he is pure class as Lester Siegel. His scenes with John Goodman are at times hilarious, and you can´t help but love Arkin´s character in the movie. I do however think that his chances are a bit slim due to his screen time. Arkin has four nominations to his name, and his only win so far was in 2007 for Little Miss Sunshine.

Tommy Lee Jones is a one-time winner and four-time nominee at the Academy Awards. In Lincoln he plays Thaddeus Stevens, and he does a great job playing the politician hoping to better the slaves of the African-Americans. His scenes at the hearings are some of the highlights of the movies. 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - The Master

Sally Field - Lincoln

Anne Hathaway - Les Miserablés

Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Helen Hunt strikes me as the odd one out in this category. She was good, no doubt, but was she really that good? The Sessions was a good movie, with a stellar perfomance by John Hawkes, but I do think Helen Hunt will have to be content with being amongst the nominees tonight. 

Amy Adams, however, strikes me as one of the big favorites in this category. She is scary in The Master, as the wife of Philip Seymour Hoffman´s character. Her character seems to be in total control of her husband, as shown in a quite disturbing scene with him in the toilet. Amy Adams is a wonderful actress, and maybe four times is lucky for her? She has previously been nominated for her supporting roles in The Fighter, Doubt (also co-starring Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Junebug. 

Sally Field was determined to land the role in Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln´s wife, Mary Todd. She got it, and with her track-record at the Oscars, she is setup for a win. She has won both of the times she has previously been nominated. However, I wasn´t completely convinced by her portrayal, though I won´t argue a nomination can´t be defended. 

Jacki Weaver was amazing in Silver Linings Playbook. I really loved her part, and her facial expressions speaks volumes in a couple of the scenes. Especially in the dance-sequence, she really gives a lot to the scene only by her quirky smile. She also shows off her comic talent in a few of the scenes, especially when talking to Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence. I´d love to see her win it, although I do think she might have to be content with the nomination. 

Anne Hathaway is nominated for the second time, this time for her portrayal of Fantine in Les Miserablés. Critics say that she is overacting, but I think she does a great job, and that her acting is spot on for the character she is playing. Her song-talent has been showed off at the Oscars before (while Hugh Jackman was hosting), and she really holds her own in the movie. She didn´t have too much screen time, but no doubt she won the nomination for the scene where she performs "I Dreamed a Dream".

I consider Amy Adams and Anne Hathaway as the favorites, with Jacki Weaver an outsider. 

Only hours to go now. Enjoy the Oscars, and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Oscar Thoughts: Screenplay and Director

With the Academy Awards only about two weeks away, here are some of my thoughts on a few of the nominees. In this post I´ll focus on three of awards, namely the following:

Best Director

Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Michael Haneke - Amour



Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo - Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Lucy Altibar & Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi - David Magee
Lincoln - Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell


Best Original Screenplay


Amour - Michael Haneke
Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino
Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty - Mark Boal
Flight - John Gatins

Best Director

This years nominees for Best Director are for the most part very well-known names in the movie-industry. Steven Spielberg, one feels, has been around since the real Abraham Lincoln was the President of the U.S., and both Michael Haneke and Ang Lee have been household names for a long time. David O. Russell has also been producing and directing since the 90´s, but before his critically acclaimed The Fighter (Oscar-nominated in 2011) he´s probably best known for Three Kings (1999).
Benh Zeitlin however, has never directed a feature film before, and his Beasts of the Southern Wild is an outsider for this years 85th annual Academy Awards.


What do I think? Speaking of the directors, I´ll say that for me Ang Lee, Spielberg and Zeitlin are the favorites. I had high hopes for Amour, but I was left disappointed overall by the movie. It had its moments, but this was not Haneke´s best work (however, Emmanuelle Riva made the movie one to watch anyway). The story has potential, but to me too much emphasis was put on making half the scenes twice as long as they needed to be for the point to be made.


Lincoln is, to me, a more challenging film to direct then Amour, and Spielberg does an excellent job. Where Haneke relies on the challenges of capturing the audience with scenes from within one apartment, Spielberg has the disadvantage/advantage of a much more varied scenery in telling his story. Some of the scenes are beautiful, as one of the scenes showing Lincoln riding a horse through the battlefields in the aftermath of the civil war. Ang Lee did a brilliant job making Life of Pi, and even though I wasn´t completely sold on the movie itself, the directing was masterful. That CGI-tiger was cute as hell! The scenes with rough weather was also made very believable for the most part.


When it comes to Zeitlin´s Beasts of the Southern Wild, it´s impossible not to give the guy credit for directing a film with the cast he did. We´re talking about actors of very little or no experience at all, and they all did an amazing job. A lot has been said about 9-year old Quvenzhané Wallis, (and I´ll get back to that when I´ll discuss other categories in a later post), but I really enjoyed the other cast-members as well. A lot of great scenes, and a very beautiful movie, despite a few aspects that I didn´t really love (giant hogs...). David O. Russell did a great job on Silver Linings Playbook as well, though I feel this is more the kind of movie that can win for Screenplay, not director.

Trailers for the movies:

Amour



Lincoln



Life of Pi



Silver Linings Playbook



Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Adapted Screenplay

The five nominees for Best adapted screenplay are all strong contenders, with Silver Linings Playbook, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi and Lincoln all seeming like movies that could win. David O. Russell wrote the screenplay for Silver Linings Playbook, a movie I´ve watched three times already, and I think he does a brilliant job with the timing of the humour in the movie. To me this movie and Beasts of the Southern Wild, co-written by the director Bein Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar, stands out as the two "roses" of the bunch. 

Life of Pi is wonderfully adapted to screenplay by David Magee, and let´s face it... making that story "filmable" was never going to be an easy thing to do. But if Ang Lee managed to do it (and he did), the assist for that goal should definitely go to David Magee. Now for the two movies based on real life events, Argo (written by Chris Terrio) and Lincoln (written by Tony Kushner). While the former is a sharp, to-the-point screenplay on the plan to save hostages life in a very hostile Iran in the 70s, the latter takes on the period of Lincoln´s presidency related to the abolishment of slavery. I think Argo might be a favorite here, and I personally wouldn´t cringe if Argo or Silver Linings Playbook won the award. I´d say Argo and Beasts of the Southern Wild might be the two nominees I probably think will win it, though.

Argo

Best Original Screenplay

As I´ve said earlier, Amour (Michael Haneke wrote the screenplay as well)  didn´t really impress me much. I won´t say that maybe it was due to high expectations. It just wasn´t a great movie, I thought. The theme of the movie is interesting, but I didn´t feel the story was that great... and at times, not very believable either. Flight, written by John Gatins,  gave us a Denzel Washington doing what he does best. Act his ass off. And he was great. Again. It also brought us another memorable performance by the ridicilously cool John Goodman. The story is also intriguing, and it has it´s twists and turns (cue Family Guy scene with Stewie talking about Brian´s novel). The opening 30 minutes is actually amazing. I loved it. I truly did. It´s an outsider, but I do think it will fall short of one of the movies I consider the favorite nominees, namely Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino) and Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal). 

Django Unchained is about as Tarantino as you can get. The dialogue, the scenery, the characters. I´ll never forget the scene where the blood of a man gunned down on a horse hits those white flowers. It reminded me of the fighting-scene in the snow in Kill Bill Vol. 1. And it is beautiful. Zero Dark Thirty has received a lot of criticism for it´s torture scenes, but the screenplay is nevertheless still probably one of the better of the nominees. Still, I´d go Django Unchained in this category. 

The last nominee, Moonrise Kingdom written by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, is a cute movie, and very classic Wes Anderson. However, I find the movie in its whole a bit... too much Anderson. It all gets a bit... meeh. Had the Oscars gone all Golden Globe and put the movie as a "Comedy or Musical", then maybe, but I wouldn´t hold this screenplay over any of the other nominees.. Don´t get me wrong. I did enjoy the movie, but I still think Wes Anderson tries a little bit to much to create cheesy, funny shit. And too much cheese is never good. Never. 

Moonrise Kingdom

Flight

Django Unchained

Zero Dark Thirty

January Kids

42 years ago today, Doug E. Doug was born. Born in Brooklyn, many people still connect him to Jamaica after portraying the character Sanka in the 90´s comedy "Cool Runnings". The character Irv in the same movie was played by the late John Candy, whom many of us watch every Christmas as Gus Polinski in Home Alone. The part he played in Home Alone was inspired by his character in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", and his scene about forgetting his son at a funeral home was improvised. Here´s a little tribute to a few of those born in the first week of the year:



Another actor who also turns 42 today is Jeremy Renner, whose breakthrough came in Kathryn Bigalow´s "The Hurt Locker". A late bloomer, that movie catapulted him into the limelight in Hollywood. Here´s a memorable scene from "The Town":




On January the 5th, 1931, Robert Duvall was born. Duvall has been in numerous great movies such as Apocolypse Now, Falling Down and the Godfather Trilogy. (Diane Keaton, who played Kay in the latter, was also born on January 5th). One of my favorite scenes with the man is from Part II of the trilogy, in a wonderful scene together with the late Michael V. Gazzo (Frankie Pentangeli):



Fun fact about Robert Duvall: When The Godfather was released in March of 1972, a young girl named Luciana Pedraza was about 2 months old. She was born on the same date in 1972, and yes... she is now his wife.


As an avid fan of Martin Scorsese, one has to mention another child of January, Thelma Schoonmaker. The three times Oscar-winning editor has cut some of the finest movies of the last 4 decades, including Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Departed, as well as personal favorites such as Bringing out the Dead, Gangs of New York and The King of Comedy.

From "The King of Comedy":




Speaking of Martin Scorsese, as in a couple of his movies, here´s his mother taking part in one of the Schoonmaker-edited movies, Goodfellas:




Happy Birthday, guys and gal!