The Film Lovers Thread!

[nita-karoliina]

I cant wait to see American Hustle! Still one month to go..love the cast!Bale

About these award movies, i have seen 12 years a slave, which was good but i prefer shame, wolf of wall street. It was okay, but no means Leo's best or Scorceses best. Dallas buyers club. Loved it! My favorite from these films at the moment. Storyline was original, acting superb exept jennifer garner, Captain Phillips was good also. Acting fantastic and i cried at the end.

 

[MyNameIs]

^Oh gosh, Jennifer Garner was stunningly bad in Dallas Buyers Club. She stuck out like a sore thumb amid all those great performances. I think she wasn't helped by how her character was written, but still, terrible performance.

I actually didn't care all that much for the movie either. The first hour was pretty good, but then once he gets into the drug business/fight, it was so conventional and boring. After a while I was just ready to move on. I get that the movie is about the Dallas Buyers Club, but I just didn't find it as compelling as it wanted to be.

 

[MyNameIs]

BTW, here's my personal awards lineup (so far)

PICTURE
1. The Hunt
2. Frances Ha
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. The Great Beauty
5. Her
6. Captain Phillips
7. All is Lost
8. American Hustle
9. Blue is the Warmest Color
10. Monsters University

DIRECTOR
1. Thomas Vinterberg, The Hunt
2. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
3. Paolo Sorrentino, The Great Beaty
4. Spike Jonze, Her
5. J.C. Chandor, All is Lost

ACTOR
1. Chiewetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
2. Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt
3. Christian Bale, American Hustle
4. Toni Servillo, The Great Beauty
5. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

ACTRESS
1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
2. Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
3. Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
4. Amy Adams, American Hustle
5. Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
2. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
3. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
4. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
5. Jeremy Renner, American Hustle

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Melissa Leo, Prisoners
2. Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
3. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
4. Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
5. Lea Sedoux, Blue is the Warmest Color

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Frances Ha
2. The Hunt
3. Her
4. American Hustle
5. The Great Beauty

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. 12 Years a Slave
2. Blue is the Warmest Color
3. Captain Phillips
4. Lone Survivor
5. Monsters University

 

[Not Plain Jane]

^ I wonder why The Hunt was so underrated in many of the awards - release date? Great film. I also really want to see The Great Beauty

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I thought Jennifer Garner was good enough in "Dallas Buyer's Club"; I mean she didn't stand out for me as great but nor did she seem horrible. She was fine as a supporting player. It was a pretty straight playing role. But it's definitely M.M. and J.L's film. In particular Jared Leto was so affecting as Rayon: totally unforgettable. He's deserved all the accolades. I found the film itself a little long; I don't mind long films at all, but I just think this one could've used a slightly stronger edit.

P.S. It's true Melissa Leo is a stand out in "Prisoners," but she hasn't received much notice has she? Hmmm.

 

[MyNameIs]

^I agree that DBC could've benefited from some tighter editing. The second our just felt so repetitive. I disagree about J.Garner. The role was fairly standard, but it's like she was in a whole other movie. Just did not mesh with the others at all.

Melissa Leo got some MVP notices for Prisoners when the film was first reviewed. I was hoping she'd pick up some traction with the awards, but alas, she did not.

With that said, she's no longer my Best Supporting Actress winner. After having seen Nebraska. I have it at #2 for Picture, Director and Original Screenplay, Winner in Actor (Dern) and Supporting Actress (Squibb), and I'd probably put Forte at #4 in my Best Supporting Actor lineup.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I heard an interview with Forte and it's made me want to see "Nebraska" ever since. Hopefully I can get around to that soon!

Re Garner: admittedly I have a soft spot for her, so maybe that affects how I saw her in the role, but I found her performance believable nevertheless. I've occasionally watched films where an actor/actress is so bad/pronounced that he or she can pull me out of the narrative. I didn't find that in this case. When she cried, it seemed genuine. The least believable moment, though, for some reason, is when she leaves that board meeting and tells the men to "F... Off." LOL. She didn't pull that anger off well. But the sadness? That I bought.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Interesting piece on Women in Scorsese's films - I've often longed to see a strong, happy woman in one of his films... but honestly I can't think of any. Some may be strong, but they are usually abused, cheated on, or something and don't end up happy. I don't think any are happy, lol. But neither are most of the male characters in the end. Scorsese tends to explore the dark side more often. Anyhow I haven't seen The Wolf of Wall Street, but those who have might find this of interest:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/martin-scorsese-wolf-of-wall-street-sexism-male-gaze

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Okay I know this is contentious, being connected to Woody Allen and all, but treading lightly, here's a piece on the costume design in Blue Jasmine and how the designer managed to get the right looks for the final piece on a minuscule budget. It sounds like they work at an insane pace. Interesting bits about Hawkins and her character, as well as Blanchett.

http://popstyle.ew.com/2014/02/12/blue-jasmine-costume-designer-woody-allen/

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Intriguing article on Her, which I've yet to see...

http://theweek.com/article/index/25...-love-mdash-but-a-flawed-exploration-of-women

 

[MyNameIs]

NPJ, have you seen The Act of Killing? I watched it a few days ago, it's riveting. I'm ashamed to admit that I knew nothing about this subject, but after having seen the documentary, it made me want to do some research about it and the country of Indonesia. It's such a fresh approach to the documentary genre, and the result is inspiring.

 

[nita-karoliina]

I hated Gravity. It was beautifuly made but that was it. And so many wins! Whyyyy! And all the hype.

 

[Razzer]

Off topic in terms of oscars, but relevant as there is a Derek Jarman retrospective at the BFI going at the moment, I just watched one of Jarman's last film "Blue" and what a masterpiece.

The IMDB synopsis explains the film perfectly with "Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue."

I am speechless as to how to describe the intensity of this truly tour de force of a film.

 

[wild roses]

I've seen one Derek Jarman (Jubilee) film, but I found mesmerizing. Netflix has some of his films. Also, Tilda Swinton appears to have been a muse of his (she starred in several of his films).

 

[Not Plain Jane]

NPJ, have you seen The Act of Killing? I watched it a few days ago, it's riveting. I'm ashamed to admit that I knew nothing about this subject, but after having seen the documentary, it made me want to do some research about it and the country of Indonesia. It's such a fresh approach to the documentary genre, and the result is inspiring.

No I have not yet seen it, but it's on my watch list. I've read a little on it, so I know the premise and so on. I have to see it!

-----

Razzer I've seen a few of his films. Queer Edward ii, was one I think, and Jubliee too. Don't think i've ever seen Blue. The BFI is great; loved visiting it when I was in the UK last spring.

 

[nita-karoliina]

Tell me your top 10 must see movies ?? I am a huge filmbuff