Sharing my love of all things Oscar. I see all the movies with nominations so you don't have to - and I do my best to research and help pick the winners. Subscribe, share your comments, and feel free to share with others. Follow me on Twitter @JodiBee.
PHILOMENA Actress in a Leading Role - Judi Dench Best Picture - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers Music (Original Score) - Alexandre Desplat Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope The day I went to see Philomena, as I was getting settled in my seat, a woman in the row in front of me leaned back and said, "this is my second time seeing this movie. You won't believe the places it will take you and if you like it, please tell as many people about it as possible." She didn't have an accent so she probably wasn't Steve Coogan's (producer, writer, actor) mother. Philomena recounts the tragic story of young, unwed, Catholic mothers who go to live in a convent and whose children are adopted out primarily to rich Americans, while they live and work in hard conditions. It is unclear whether this adoption process is against their will, but to some degree, it appears so. Fifty years after Philomena's child's birth, she shares her history with her daughter who enlists a journalist to help Philomena find her long lost son. Together, they take on the convent for leads (they get nothing) so they fly to the US and they pursue any nugget of information that they uncover, some of which leads them closer to her child. Unlike classic tales in which the victim finds a rescuer who takes over and saves her, Philomena never loses her newly developed sense of empowerment, and owns her choices each step of the way. Her journalist partner in crime becomes more enraged as they discover cruel choices that the nuns made along the way, but Philomena won't engage in the anger and even finds forgiveness and peace. (To find out if she finds and meets her son, you'll have to see the movie - I'm committed to a no spoilers policy for this blog.) I left the film inspired by this tale for so many reasons - was it the forgiveness the lead character was able to find despite terrible injustice? Was it watching a woman find her voice as she releases a lifelong sense of shame? Was it the redemption of a hardened journalist too self-important for human interest and human justice stories? Was it an unshakable commitment to a person's faith, no matter what they faced along the way? I don't know. I could probably list another ten themes that are done so well in the film that made seeing the film well worth it. I've seen every performance in the Best Actress category, and Judi Dench deserves it, hands down (I don't think she will win, but she should). Her performance is nuanced, touching, and important. She plays the broad spectrum of emotions and does it superbly. Philomena is only nominated for a Best Picture Oscar because of the expanded list of nine. Were we back in the days of 5, I doubt that it would have made the cut. It's a great film, but not necessarily an important film. But, to the people who survived this kind of shaming and injustice, and to the people who want a rich understanding of what can be perpetuated in the name of righteousness, there is little question that this film makes its impact. The writing is wonderful, and all of the elements work together to make an incredible story. Haven't seen the film? Watch the Philomena Movie Trailer
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Music (Original Song) - "Ordinary Love" - Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a surprising film in that it manages to laud the human rights struggle led by Nelson Mandela without portraying the man as a saint. It shows his greatness and his flaws, and the real challenges that those who were left at home continued to face while he was locked behind bars. I'm not sure that a biopic will ever truly do justice to any individual. When you google Mandela the man, you see not only his triumphs but also his dalliances with people and causes that we may or may not support. Right or wrong, Mandela (the film) shows some of these human failings, if not the political ones. But there is one element of the man that goes undisputed and that I consider to be Mandela's greatest achievement. After decades living under apartheid and being oppressed and beaten simply for being black, Mandela convinces a nation weary and bruised and eager for justice to use power for its true purpose - for leadership, for changing lives, for modernizing the country, and not simply for revenge. It is easy to see how anyone who continued to endure the systemic racism under Apartheid laws would be clamoring to teach those who had oppressed them what it is like to have the tables turned once they have been ousted from their perches. No, said Mandela the man, and no, said Mandela the leader. The goal of the fight was to eliminate injustice, not to perpetrate it on a different enemy. The song from this film captures it beautifully and is a strong contender for the win. I'm disappointed that this film did not get more nominations, particularly for Idris Elba who portrayed Mandela. By the end of the film, if you closed your eyes, you could hear the real Mandela's voice. It was a transformation that only the finest actor could accomplish and I genuinely feel that this was a terrible oversight in favor of lesser performances. (I'm looking at you, Christian Bale.) The same can be said for supporting actress, Naomie Harris, who played Winnie Mandela. (I'm looking at you, Meryl Streep.) These were not straightforward roles to play, and what they both had to endure to become their characters is worthy of top recognition. It is a disgrace that neither was nominated, particularly when you look at some of the performances in what would have been their categories. Frankly, I could name multiple categories for which Mandela would be worthy of nomination, and I'm merely relieved that it didn't go completely unnoticed by the Academy, even if it is just for its powerful song. (Click to see the youtube video accompanied by a slide show of the real Mandela's life.)
LONE SURVIVOR Sound Mixing - Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow Sound Editing - Wylie Stateman Lone Survivor is the true story of Marcus Latrell and his seal team whose assignment it was to go out and kill or capture a notorious Taliban leader. They find themselves discovered by a shepherd and two teenagers, and that begins a disastrous firefight against a couple hundred Taliban terrorists. Over time, each of Marcus' team members is killed, as well as two helicopters worth of soldiers coming to save the stranded team. Marcus is discovered by members of the village who risk their own lives to honor an ancient practice of hospitality and honor where a person in need becomes your responsibility if you find him. Lone Survivor is a well developed story, and is apparently very true to the actual events that transpired, down to the landscape in which the fight transpired. It's hard not to hold one's breath throughout the film, both because of the incredible circumstances and because of the risk the soldiers continue to face throughout the film. It reminded me a little bit of the movie Apollo 13, where we know the outcome and nonetheless we are still sitting on the edges of our seats the entire film. It is not an easy movie to watch, but it is outstanding. Both of Lone Survivor's nominations are classic Sound Mixing and Sound Editing choices. Action films with lots of explosions and guns and hysteria are perfect candidates for these nominations. (For further explanation of both categories, see my posts for All is Lost for Sound Editing and Captain Phillips for Sound Mixing.) They are both perfectly executed in this film, and very deserving of recognition. I'm only sorry that there weren't additional nominations for this film - it was a likely contender for several categories, and probably came in just short on several accounts. The acting was superb, the music was wonderful, and the screenplay was well executed. Lone Survivor is well worth the time. One last note: I am not easily lured into patriotism for patriotism's sake, and though I love being an American citizen, I am not the kind who is enthralled by the lengths our military must go, especially when people's lives are put at great risk. But this film made me very proud of our American soldiers, who do what they do bravely and with great loyalty to our country. I recommend the film highly. Watch The Lone Survivor Movie Trailer
THE LONE RANGER Makeup and Hairstyling - Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny Visual Effects - Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier The Lone Ranger might be the easiest of all the films with nominations to describe and review because I'm going to cut right to the chase. We all basically know the story, and this movie is the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) and his Native American sidekick Tonto's (Johnny Depp) origin story. Together, they ride the desert chasing a bad guy until they discover that his evil ways may just be a part of a larger, more corrupt, injustice. Sounds like a great legend story, right? Yeah, not this time. It sucked. It sucked so so badly. After watching the first hour and a half, I almost gave up when I realized that there was another full hour to go. But given how little had happened at that point showcasing either visual effects or makeup and hairstyling, I thought perhaps if I hung in there, I'd have a deeper (any?) understanding of how this film got two nominations. For OSCARS. I'm pretty sure the makeup rode the coattails of the hairstyling for the nomination because at least some of that was quite interesting, but keeping Johnny Depp looking like a Native American the entire movie probably took some effort. (Don't ask me why they couldn't find a single Native American actor to play the part, but that's a question for another time.) The visual effects were fine and there were some cool ones with train explosions, but I would hardly call this film a visual effects achievement. I'm again going to note that the Makeup and Hairstyling category has some pretty weak competitors this year. With only three nominees, one would think that they could identify a couple of better options that do more than make an interesting design on one person's face or age a young person to look old - both of which have been done in zillions of movies for dozens of years. When you put the visual effects up against any of the other nominees, it's almost an insult to the category that this film is included in the list. All in all, a true disappointment both as a movie and as a two-Oscar nominee. Haven't seen the film? Watch The Lone Ranger Movie Trailer
ANIMATED SHORT FILMS FERAL - Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden GET A HORSE! - Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim MR. HUBLOT - Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares POSSESSIONS - Shuhei Morita ROOM ON THE BROOM - Max Lang and Jan Lachauer This year's crop of Animated Short films was not as strong as in prior years, and there was probably only one that I would recommend as not to be missed. Thankfully, that one is a Disney film, so you have a pretty good chance of seeing it before one of their upcoming full length animated features. The thing about the animated shorts is that they are rarely what we are used to when we think of animated stories. The winners are not often children's stories, they are more often sentimental or ethereal and beautifully animated. The Nominees Feral is the story of a wild child living in the woods who is rescued by an adult who brings him to the city, cleans him up and tries to mainstream him. You can take the child out of the woods, but you can't take the woods out of the child. The animation is not the brightly colored kind, it's the more muted version where the faces are just non-specific shadows. There is at least one of this style of animation each year. This film was a sleeper for me. Feral Movie Trailer
Get a Horse! was the best of the lot. It was an incredibly creative take in which the black and white versions of our favorite Disney characters and scenarios are punched through the screen to the future where they are featured in color with modern technology. They cross back and forth and it's both adorable and incredibly innovative. Get a Horse! Trailer
Mr. Hublot was a high concept animated film set far in the future. An OCD man spots a robot dog on the street and takes him into his home. As he cares for the robot, the dog gets larger and larger so that he takes up most of the apartment space, and Mr. Hublot has to decide what to do as his solitary lifestyle is lovingly taken up by his companion. The thing about this film is that it is high concept and the story is fine, but the animation is incredible. It truly demonstrates the value of animation, where a set decorator and production designer would have a heck of a time accomplishing what this team of animators could with their imaginations and their computers. Mr. Hublot Movie Trailer
Possessions was a truly interesting film. A Japanese Mr. Fixit is traveling through a storm and he encounters the bringing to life of a Japanese legend where tools that are around for more than 100 years get up to all sorts of shenanigans. As he goes from room to room, he calmly embraces the objects and tenderly repairs all broken parts, overcoming the obstacles one by one. This film was the other animated film that I very much enjoyed, and if you're a recycling fanatic, you'll love watching a person who doesn't give up on things just because they are old.
Finally we reach Room on the Broom. Every now and then, there has been a nominee which brings to life a children's book with a power cast producing the voice overs. That's what Room on the Broom is this year, with Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins voicing the bird, and Simon Pegg and Gillian Anderson both participating, as well. The problem with these and movies like The Gruffalo (nominated in 2010 and produced by the same team that made this one) is that they take a long time (30+ minutes) and even as a child when you are listening to your parent read the book to you, it doesn't last 30 minutes. It is interesting at the outset, but just lasts too long for an animated short film to remain interesting, especially with a child's story. The animation is well done and the actors are fun to listen to, but it's mediocre at best. Room on the Broom Movie Trailer
In the end, it wasn't the strongest crop of films this year. In fact, two of the "highly commended" films shown at the screening were far superior to some of those which made the final list of nominees. Both "The Blue Umbrella" and "The Missing Scarf" were wonderful and creative films that I felt deserved one of the top 5 spots. So come on Academy, where's my ballot?
LIVE ACTION SHORTS AQUEL NO ERA YO (THAT WASN'T ME) - Esteban Crespo AVANT QUE DE TOUT PERDRE (JUST BEFORE LOSING EVERYTHING) - Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras HELIUM - Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson PITAAKO MUN KAIKKI HOITAA? (DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?) - Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari THE VOORMAN PROBLEM - Mark Gill and Baldwin Li I'm taking the short films together by category for a couple of reasons. First, you can't go see them individually. Second, there aren't enough days in between nomination announcements and Oscar broadcast to post one review a day if I don't take all three categories of shorts and do them each all together. Third, it allows me to draw comparisons between them. Fourth, they have been put together with commentary in between each from film makers who spoke eloquently about the benefit of short film producing, and I want to share some of that here. There is much to be said for making short films. They have very small budgets, so the filmmaker has very little noise to cloud his/her vision. They require discipline - the filmmaker must have a clear message to communicate and a tight plan for its delivery. There can't be a lot of side and subplots, there is no time for that, so the dialogue is often crisp, the action clear, and the direction has to be focused. When short films are done well, there is little middle ground for the audience to get lost in; you either like the story or you don't. And, they are a great training ground for young filmmakers because you can make them and move on to the next go, if they are complete failures. First, the film from Spain, Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me). It is the story in which the exploitation of African child soldiers and their plight is examined. We see how the humanity is actively drained from their souls, and we feel the fear of two foreign doctors and their driver as they are captured and threatened with execution. This film was the best of a very strong list this year. It seems that child soldiers is a very popular theme among the live action short film producers since there is one addressing this subject among the nominees almost every year, although I have yet to see one of these films win. Last year, I thought the film "Asad" (about Somali child soldiers) was the best of the bunch, but it did not win. But there is so much humanity in this one that it might finally be the year when child soldiers get the recognition they need to make this tragedy a priority in our world. Aquel No Era Yo Movie Trailer
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) is a nominee from France/Luxembourg in which we see a woman and her children escaping an abusive husband. She goes to her workplace for assistance and refuge, and we see the variety of reactions from her co-workers. I was alternately moved and disgusted, but it led me to ask myself, how would I act in this same situation? How would anyone? The palpable fear in this film is different from the first, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire film. Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) Movie Trailer
Helium hit me in the gut. It is the story of a dying child in the hospital and the custodian who befriends him, helping him not to be afraid of death. The custodian weaves a lengthy tale with the child of a magical land filled with balloons, people who love him, and wonderful peaceful homes once you get there. This story from Denmark had me in tears. Helium Movie Trailer
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have To Do Everything?) is the tribute to every working mom in the world. Running late to a wedding, the mom leaps out of bed and launches into getting everyone ready to go. She loses the wedding gift under the piles of mess and in each moment improvises one solution to each new problem. I laughed so hard at the end of this film, I was grateful that it was subtitled as I would have definitely missed the last few lines. This short film out of Finland was a welcome relief to the heavy subjects of the other nominees. Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) Movie Trailer
Finally, The Voorman Problem. Another funny one from our friends in Britain in which a supposedly insane prisoner maintains that he is a god and he has gotten the other prisoners to believe in him. A psychiatrist is brought in and sets before him a series of questions which are intended as litmus tests to prove that he is not, in fact, god. But the hilarity comes when we discover that this prisoner is hard to debate than expected. The Voorman Problem Movie Trailer
The short films take about 2 hours to view all together, plus the commentary from the movie makers in between. Each year, it is one of my favorite experiences and I highly recommend that if you haven't been making it out to see them (assuming they come to your town), that you go this year. It was a particularly good crop of films, and there wasn't a single bad one in the group. It's a whole different kind of movie making, and if you're like me and you love movies because of the stories they tell, short films are among the greatest tribute to pure storytelling. Don't miss them!
JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA Makeup and Hairstyling - Stephen Prouty When my sons, my brother, and my husband wanted to see this movie, I said, "go on without me, it's not like this is a candidate for an Oscar nomination." And then it happened. I'm not a complete prude - I could see the humor in Borat and other staged/real life films. I would hardly call this genre a personal favorite, mostly because it goes for the most prurient humor, and then it sinks a little further; nothing is too ridiculous to try. To explain a bit more clearly, there are a handful of actors "in on the joke" and they interact with regular people in the real world, acting more and more outrageously to see how they react. But ok, it got a nom so it got me. If I'm being completely honest, I actually did laugh out loud at a handful of scenes in the film. The story is simple - a grandpa takes responsibility for his grandson when the boy's mother is taken to jail. The boy is pretty cute and he clearly has some sort of earpiece so that he can say the things that will garner the greatest reactions. Johnny Knoxville (as the grandpa), too, does and says the most outrageous things to prompt a reaction. We know that the pranked people have to sign releases in order to appear in the film, so for me, the best part of the movie were the outtakes at the end in which everyone comes clean to the folks they've tricked, and for the most part, the reactions are good natured and understanding. It's kind of amazing. But, if you're like me and you're seriously over this genre, this film is a big pass. But what of the nomination? At first, I was pretty unimpressed - shall I spend a dozen pages where I list all of the movies that have taken a young person and aged that person with makeup and hairstyle? It's been done. And done. And done. So what makes this worthy of an Oscar nomination? I was mostly stumped until my husband reminded me that both had to be so convincing that they would not only play on the big screen where you can make all sorts of camera and lighting adjustments to achieve the illusion, but also had to play in real life where someone standing right next to Johnny Knoxville would be fooled into thinking that he was an elderly 86 year-old man. So, ok, I won't begrudge the nomination, but I still won't recommend the film. Havent's seen the film? Watch the Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Movie Trailer
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