10 Best Picture Noms?!

The Academy expanded the Best Picture Nominations from 5 to 10. My reaction is kind of a mixed one.

10 Best Picture Nominees is not a new concept the Academy thought of over night. It was the standard to have more then 5 nominations up until the mid 1940’s. Sid Ganis says they examined that and decided to change the rule to make it 10. But the controversial part of this decision making process was the fact that there were people on the Oscar board who would have directly benefited from this rule change would have been in place a few years ago. I am talking of course of Bill Condon. His Dreamgirls was nominated for 9 Oscars but without a Best Picture nomination. It certainly would have been in there as a nomination if there had been 10 Best Picture Nominations that year. 10 nominations certainly would have meant that Dark Knight would have gotten to the Oscar nominated Best Picture Nominees last year.

This also puts the Academy more in line with many of the Critics awards around the country. Most of them work from a Top 10 list and pick their favorite out of those 10. Critic favorites leading up to the nominations will have a better shot at getting nominations with 10. Take last year where as I just stated Dark Knight would have surely been nominated but also Doubt, WALL-E, and Changling could have had a nomination. I think that one of the biggest Awards shows to watch will be the Broadcast Film Critics Awards. Since 2000 they have always had the 5 Oscar nominations in their mix of 10 as well as 5 other critic favorites. I bet their list will match or come close to the Oscar nominations.

So how is this going to affect the winner of Best Picture? I don’t think it will throw at off at all. Even with a list of 10 there is always 1 front runner. The 1 film that wins most all of the predecessor awards is always heavily favored to win the Best Picture Oscar and usually does win it. There are some exceptions like Crash beating Brokeback Mountain in 2005 but Crash was on most critics top 10 lists. And the question is raised that since there are only 5 Best Director slots, does this put more merit on the 5 Best Picture nominees that have Director nods too? Oscar overwhelming likes to match Best Picture and Director.

It is going to make it tougher to predict the actual nominees. I do not think they will put the big summer blockbuster type films in the mix. But there will be more films that are critically acclaimed and seen by a wide audience such as the Dark Knight. It is going to make it hard to remember 10 nominees for sure.

I hope this will be a good year for film and that the nominations will reflect it. We can only hope for 1939 which had film classics like Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith goes to Washinton in the 10 nominations.

Sean Marshall

Curious Case of Benjamin Button equals Forrest Gump Redux

I have talked to many people about how The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has many story lines that are identical to Forrest Gump. This is not a new concept on the web but I thought I would go over them here.

This contains spoilers:

Both films span the life of a less then ordinary man and center on the people that he meets as he ages.

Benjamin learns to walk without his crutches…Forrest bursts out of his braces and learns to walk

Benjamin has Daisy his childhood and one true love…Forrest has Jenny his childhood friend and one true love.

Benjamin has an endearing mother figure…Forrest has an endearing mother

Benjamin works on a fishing boat…Forrest works on a shrimp boat

Benjamin is friends with this sea boat Captain Mike…Forrest is friends with Lt. Dan who goes out with Forrest on the Shrimp boat

There is a hurricane coming while Daisy tells the story of Benjamin to her daughter…There is a hurricane that Forrest and Lt Dan get caught up in while on the shrimp boat.

Benjamin sees action in World War II...Forrest does time in Vietnam

Benjamin has a child with Daisy…Forrest has a child with Jenny

There are some I probably don’t have here. If you think of some more please feel free to leave a comment--Sean Marshall Metcalf

Quick DVD reviews by Sean Marshall Mecalf

Doubt ****

Doubt is one of the best films of 2008. It is a drama that plays out like a suspense film. Meryl Streep is perfect as the strict Sister Aloysius, the Headmistress of a catholic school, who believes without a shadow of a doubt that that Father Brendan has had an inappropriate relationship with a boy at the school. The film is almost like a courtroom drama without the courtroom, where the viewer gets to play the jury. As the accusations are made against Father Brendan, it is very much a case of circumstantial evidence. Amy Adams is great as Sister James, a kindhearted teacher at the school. It is Adams that has the most complex character arc in the film. As the accusations are made her character starts waning away from her sweet kind hearted nature. She is caught between her trust and like of Father Brendan and her devotion to the Headmistress Sister Aloysius. I cannot talk about Doubt without talking about the film’s powerhouse performance by Violia Davis who plays the mother of the boy that Father Brendan is accused of inappropriate relations. In her 10 minutes on screen she even manages to out shine Meryl Streep. On DVD April 4, 2009

The Reader ***

In The Reader, Kate Winslet gives her Oscar Winning performance as Hanna Schmitz, a 36 year old German Bus Conductor in post World War II Britain. Her paths cross with 15 year old Peter Berg (David Koss) and the two begin a love affair. As they continue their affair Peter starts to read classic literature to her after they have sex. As Peter gets older and goes away to collage the two drift apart. But they come together again when law student Peter gets to sit in on a Nazi War Trial in which Hanna is one of the defendants. The film jumps time a third time with Ralph Fiennes playing the older Peter. His performance is less then stellar. It is Koss as Peter that shines in the film. Winslet is good in the film but she seems to play mood instead playing a real character. As I have said before I much prefer her in Revolutionary Road. The film was also nominated for Best Picture but I think it pales in comparison to Doubt which did not receive a Best Picture Nomination. On DVD April 14, 2009

Out on DVD--Quick reviews by Sean Marshall Metcalf

Slumdog Millionaire ****

Slumdog Millionaire is such an enjoyable film. It has been called a feel good film but I think that is selling this or any film short. The story is a simple one. Jamal is a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. As he answers the questions, the events of his life unfold and show why he knew the answer. It seemlessly weaves in and out of Jamal's adult life and his life as a kid. It is a well crafted film down to even the music which is a big part of what makes the movie work. It is the winner of 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. DVD March 31, 2009



Bolt ***

Bolt surprised me. I wanted to not like this John Travolta/Miley Cyrus animated movie but it got me hooked with a fun and smart story. It plays out like any fish out of water, journey to find home, animated animal buddy flick. But it has a funny script, developed characters, great animation, and most of all some heart. As dog movies go, I much preferred it over Marley and Me. DVD March 24, 2009

Marley and Me **1/2

As dog films go Marley and Me is just okay. I would have liked to have seen less relationship between Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston and more of the dog Marley. Both actors have a great chemistry with the various dogs who play Marley through out his life, but don't have much chemistry with each other as husband and wife. But really, the reason to watch the film is not the actors themselves but the dog. And what keeps the film entertaining is seeing what Marley is going to do next. When the film was all over I did have to go and hug my Boarder Collie mix Ziggy. DVD March 31, 2009

Race to Witch Mountain

**1/2 out of ****
By: William Moon
The latest loosely-based remake or as Disney likes to call it "re imagining" of 1975's "Escape to Witch Mountain" isn't exactly bad. It just lacks the heart, soul and character development that made the original so magical and engaging.

That's not to say you shouldn't waste your time by passing the film up altogether. It has a lot going for it, and by that I mean it delivers great performances from its lead actors, Duane Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb and newcomer Alexander Ludwig, along with enough action to keep you fully entertained for an hour and a half.

I believe a lot of the critics gave this film the correct rating, but for the wrong reason. Many took the film too seriously, questioning the logic situation of an actual band of SWAT team chasing a couple of teen aliens with a robotic-looking Predator-like creature following them as well, and really, I think many of them criticized the film in the wrong areas.

Yes, it's a very implausible plot, but lets look at the given genre and targeted audience, here. This is targeted to preteens and promises to be a fun, action thrill-ride and in my opinion, is much more successful than the recent Twilight, in that regard. However, the effects are just about as bad, if not worse, and the believability of these characters in these situations were erased for me every time it was so obvious they stood in front of a green screen.

I know I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief and pass all of that by, but the film simply only seems to go through the motions of the action and not focusing on the heart. And while the actors are convincingly good and the music befitting for the so-called race, the effects, themselves are not so much. There is a relationship formed between Johnson's character Jack Bruno and Alex (played by Carla Gugino), which seems about as unnecessary as Robb's character breaking down and crying in her farewell in the end. If you're going to try and add a romance and break the rules of the aliens feeling emotion (because in the beginning of the film they were about as robotic as Stepford children), please fully flesh out your emotions. These are just a couple of minor quibbles I had with the film, and they're hardly noticeable, seeing as how 90 percent of the film involves the children and Jackson running for their lives.

Watching this film, I can't help but be reminded of last years City of Ember, which I felt had much more depth, better effects and a script than this film did. The original material of Escape to Witch Mountain had a lot going for it. So why would there be a point in remaking the film and simply have the characters running for 90 minutes and still calling it the same thing? I'm not a stickler for keeping things strictly to the original sources, but I think some of the development could have been left in this time. I'm not saying I didn't have a good time watching the three characters running through the entire movie. In fact, I had a blast. The dialogue ranges from everywhere of being flat-out goofball to pure comedic timing and wit, thanks mostly to depending on the deliverance's of the actors.

This is actually quite an enjoyable, fun, action-packed good film for children. I can't necessarily say it's a good film for adults, though. I enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean I thought it was good. I think the film didn't completely go out with its campy side, or have the best of effects and script to make it fully a serious film either, but if you do choose to see it, please, just take it for what it is: a fun popcorn, caffeinated adrenaline ride. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want something more substantial, stick to the original.

Twilight The Review by Sean Marshall Metcalf

Twilight is on DVD March 21, 2009 and I thought I would give my take on the film.

Twilight **1/2

Twilight is a moody dark tale of teen angst that is not particularly a great cinematic achievement. It is however a great packaged piece of cinematic pop culture. It is Lost Boys meets Dawson's Creek.

Bella moves to Forks, Washington. She is drawn to the mysterious Edward Cullen and like Bella we are too. It is no big surprise that he is a vampire. And so the romantic saga begins. As a romantic goes, Edward is kind of over protective voyeuristic and creepy. Bella is headstrong and seems kind of emotionally detached from the world around to everything but the hypnotic stare of Edward. The two make love work because Edward some how resists the urge to feed on her, but the romance is challenged when another vampire, James, wants feed on Bella. And the battle for Bella begins with Edward and James.

The production values are slick on Twilight. The make up on Edward as well as all the vampires in the movie is very heavy handed but it is some what balanced out by the washed out cinematography. It kind of makes them cool and goth. There are voice overs in the film by Bella and I did not understand the use of them in the film. Nothing that Bella said in the voice overs told me anything that the plot and the characters themselves did not already tell me.

Twilight is not a bad film. I still could not get out of my head that I was watching some teen drama on the CW or ABC Family channel. It is entertaining enough and is a slickly packaged teen angst meets horror film. Twilight is for me is kind of guilty pleasure movie. One that I might watch again on a rainy day and i feel like watching a moody teen angst horror film.

Sean's take on Watchmen

Watchmen--Sean's take

by Sean Marshall Metcalf

I give Watchmen *** as well. From what I have read Zach Snyder used the graphic novel of Watchmen as his storyboard. Does going shot by shot from the source material make him a good director? There is no doubt it makes for a visually stunning film. And Snyder had a big under taking here. Not only did he have to make try to make a good film but he had to make a film that would be accepted by Watchmen's legion of fans.

The opening credits montage was a great way to show the timeline of the heroes up to 1985. After the credits I had a hard time figuring out what the film was really going to be about. Not to say I was enjoying what I was watching. As the story played out I found myself drawn most the the storyline of Rorshash, who is played brilliantly by Jackie Earl Haley. He is very much an anti hero and his voice overs reminded me of a hard boiled detective in a Film Noir film. The film is very melodramatic and much plays out at times like Days of Our Lives as if it were directed by Roy Lichtenstein. Each melodramatic moment is framed like a Lichtenstein painting.

The make-up was a bit cartoon like especially Nixon. He looks like he walked straight out of a political cartoon in the editorial section of the newspaper. The old age make-up on the 67 year old is a bit much but I could look pasted it because her performance as a retired hero was good.

And yes the blue penis was very distracting. Are we not as used to seeing male full frontal nudity on screen because it seems that the female form is exploited most of the time in film?

Watchmen is not the best of the comic book/graphic novel inspired films. I enjoyed Dark Knight or even V for Vendetta (Another Alan Moore graphic novel) more. But Watchmen is a highly entertaining and visually stunning film.--Sean Marshall Metcalf