tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71321019926876824862024-02-19T21:31:25.125+11:00Best Oscar Picture WinnersMy husband and I decided to take on an experiment. To watch every best picture winning movie from 1927 onwards, rank them and determine which is the best of the best.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-26659033575332818402012-07-20T22:44:00.000+10:002012-07-20T22:48:38.298+10:00All that Jazz... "Chicago" (2002)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjTqNcllWw12TQfy3LbDlv4Cj3ob6Vtyh9r499ThrAFZVM-_5Q3LmdtKvQUAOCYCEVMsNuQWgyqEzTrSvvxSfdO0F5V1NZBySBmgbS1Vb7EMUr8pI6PFko9mfktQWTLNQeJhOk7Au3Eo/s1600/chicago-2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjTqNcllWw12TQfy3LbDlv4Cj3ob6Vtyh9r499ThrAFZVM-_5Q3LmdtKvQUAOCYCEVMsNuQWgyqEzTrSvvxSfdO0F5V1NZBySBmgbS1Vb7EMUr8pI6PFko9mfktQWTLNQeJhOk7Au3Eo/s320/chicago-2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And I’m back! After a hell of a year finishing up Masters I
actually have time to write for the blog again. I’m happy to be sharing my
return to form with a return to old school Hollywood form; “Chicago” was the
first musical to win a Best Picture Oscar since “Oliver” in 1968 and personally,
I think, deservedly so.</div>
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This movie has an interesting history, it started as a play
written in 1926 by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a reporter who covered the real-life
‘Jazz Killings’ in 1920s Chicago (she’s represented by Mary Sunshine in the
movie version) before it became a silent movie (1927), inspired another movie
in 1942 and finally the 1975 original Broadway show and 1996 revivals that the
2002 movie is based on. </div>
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From the opening belting bars of “All that Jazz” to the
grand finale replete with machine guns and vanity lights, this movie was a
show-stopper. Great sets, costumes, songs, orchestrations and a ‘killer’ story.
Renee Zellwegger and Catherine Zeta-Jones look and sound incredible, although I
have to say that Renee was way too skinny to be a 1920s ‘hot piece of ass’ as
Fred Casely puts it just before she ‘caps him’. </div>
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Richard Gere is a little clumsy, you can kind of see the
work that went into his portrayal and I can’t understand why they didn’t go
with someone like Hugh Jackman who was considered for the part. However, there were some absolute standouts; Queen
Latifah was the living, breathing, heaving bosom embodiment of Mama Morton, the
musical numbers featured amazing performers and staging and the dialogue is
sharp and snappy and so of the time.</div>
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The cheeky, irreverent and cynical tone works so well given the
subject matter and translates well from the time period it was set to now and contrasts beautifully with the upbeat,
cabaret-style musical numbers, although probably explains why 1970s audiences
didn’t take to the musical at first. I scored this <span style="color: purple;">85</span> and Mat gave it <span style="color: blue;">90</span>, as it
was thoroughly enjoyable and proof that musicals can still make it!</div>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-69372118774632818972012-07-06T23:24:00.000+10:002012-07-06T23:34:14.128+10:00It's all there in black and white - "The Artist" (2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nLPZUkD1cZVniFTqKvEswoH8ZKnzDcu46tOwlaIqYDZwBrn0XQc4HhdaU5JehQM2l8b6ssGpmJPQ0plXo0jMSbK3dtrFi40Z69lBrUpm-yX5XI7pTrrBOYZUjblAy8P05zK0tEGtK9w/s1600/the-artist-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nLPZUkD1cZVniFTqKvEswoH8ZKnzDcu46tOwlaIqYDZwBrn0XQc4HhdaU5JehQM2l8b6ssGpmJPQ0plXo0jMSbK3dtrFi40Z69lBrUpm-yX5XI7pTrrBOYZUjblAy8P05zK0tEGtK9w/s320/the-artist-poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mat here. I’d been looking forward to seeing The Artist since we saw its trailer before Iron Lady (a movie noticeably absent from this year’s Best Picture nominations). I thought there was no way that the world was ready for The Artist, but I was very wrong.<br />
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It almost seems like a movie made in a negative-gearing money making scheme from ‘The Producers’: an old-fashioned, French-made, black & white, silent movie with no bankable lead actors. Where did it go right?<br />
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George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent film star at the top. He gives a break to plucky extra Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and there’s sparks. But alas, The Talkies are upon us and George declares they’re just a fad and turns his back, while Peppy embraces them and becomes an overnight superstar. George pays for his pride and loses everything, but a few characters look out for him during his fall.<br />
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Familiar faces show up here and there: James Cromwell plays George’s loyal driver and assistant and John Goodman is the cranky studio boss. These are almost the only reminders that this film was made today and not 85 years ago.<br />
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The real scene-stealer is George’s dog, Jack, who must be the finest canine actor(s) in showbiz. Not only does Jack get a lot of laughs, he is secretly the heart of the film. Without Jack, George would be truly alone as he feels, and having his dog there to react and reflect the audience’s feelings gives the happy scenes a lift and the sad scenes an extra layer of poignancy.<br />
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To get the most out of The Artist, you gotta love old movies; Charlie Chaplin, Hitchcock, Fred & Ginger, and especially Gene Kelly. Dujardin even moves a bit like Gene Kelly, that light-as-a-feather glide as he walks. It would make a great double feature with Singin’ in the Rain.<br />
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Extra-authenticity points for The Artist as it was not shot in 16:9 widescreen but 1.37:1 (aka Academy ratio), the same as that used for the old silent films. There are also no ‘zoom’ shots in the film, as zoom wasn’t yet invented when the film was set.<br />
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Being a silent film, The Artist leans heavily on its soundtrack and it’s another area where this movie really shines. The score perfectly encapsulates every scene, so much so that you’re able to tell what’s happening on-screen even if you can’t see it (I had to duck out of the room in the middle of a scene and I knew a house fire had started on the screen just by the music).<br />
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The Artist did very well at the Oscars with Best Film, Best Actor (Dujardin), Director, Costume and Score.<br />
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The Artist ranks as one of the finest films I’ve ever seen – not just Best Picture winners – brilliantly conceived and executed, entertaining, charming and touching. I can’t recommend The Artist highly enough.<br />
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I gave The Artist <span style="color: blue;">94.5/100</span> (just shy of equalling Casablanca’s 95/100 from me) and Danielle gave it <span style="color: purple;">89/100</span>.<br />D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-39230021942876505022012-07-06T23:16:00.000+10:002012-07-06T23:32:33.117+10:00Wild West Avatar - "Dances with Wolves" (1990)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RoofyfJeJprog3rWyC6dOoJolRp7cUGjVuWRZWgJEwQ0wuKGp0mp5L4lJlEXN2DtAilajRXBpDcnOtDqY2DBXWrQPoufKcdRXGXCPZRpaU-MKykzRknwmzEkU4w29We-eOFybuhWTn8/s1600/dances+with+wolves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RoofyfJeJprog3rWyC6dOoJolRp7cUGjVuWRZWgJEwQ0wuKGp0mp5L4lJlEXN2DtAilajRXBpDcnOtDqY2DBXWrQPoufKcdRXGXCPZRpaU-MKykzRknwmzEkU4w29We-eOFybuhWTn8/s320/dances+with+wolves.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had seen Dances with Wolves way back in the early-90’s, but it was Danielle’s first time. Almost 20 years has passed between viewings so I was looking forward to re-watching Kevin Costner’s opus.<br />
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We meet Civil War soldier Kevin Costner on a very bad day. His leg is set for amputation, so rather than live like that; Costner tries to commit suicide by charging the enemy lines. This rallies the troops and Costner becomes an unwitting hero, is awarded the horse and given his choice of posts.<br />
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Completely isolated at his new outpost, due to the suicide of his C.O. and the scalping of Kevin’s driver, he befriends a lone wolf and is gradually accepted to the local Sioux Indian tribe. He stops fellow outcast white person Mary McDonnell (the President from Battlestar Galactica) from committing suicide – seems like all the whites are suicidal in this movie – and of course they hook up.<br />
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Things are good for a while, but we all know it can’t last. Everything goes to hell for Kev as his two worlds can’t come into contact without one being destroyed. A word of warning to animal-lovers – the animal kingdom fares about as well as the people in Dances with Wolves, i.e. not great.<br />
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Special mention goes to use of Lakota Sioux language throughout the film. So much subtitling was very unusual back in 1990, and it really ads to the authenticity of the film.<br />
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Whilst being grand, beautifully shot and willing to take it’s time with the story, I do feel Dances with Wolves sells itself short by staying too simplistic in its portrayals: white people (except for Kevin & Mary) are generally horrible and native Americans (except for the early scalpers) are universally good. In trying to portray the horror of the extermination of the Native American people, shortcuts have been taken and at times I felt more manipulated than moved.<br />
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In addition to Best Picture, Dances with Wolves won many other Oscars including Best Director (Costner), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Score (seven for those keeping score). It had some tough competition that year against Awakenings, Ghost, Godfather Part III and Goodfellas. Whether I agree or not depends on the day, as they’re all good (well, maybe not Godfather III).<br />
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I scored Dances with Wolves <span style="color: blue;">74.5/100</span> and Danielle scored it <span style="color: purple;">74/100</span>.<br />
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</div>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-77248828653069022162012-07-06T23:07:00.001+10:002012-07-06T23:30:43.234+10:00They call me MR Tibbs - "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqQedTHf3MlMZIF9KBvyip0VFFYc4y9Yth_wH0V8NuNEXPqkVLr7h3m1E6gpQGCupxYoVkuIagB_BXq7vdcL6DfHJConwAJnUaTzRP5gBTcDbEPAs7cPqsREdAjKlY0HxO7rv32J1Uvw/s1600/in+the+heat+of+the+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqQedTHf3MlMZIF9KBvyip0VFFYc4y9Yth_wH0V8NuNEXPqkVLr7h3m1E6gpQGCupxYoVkuIagB_BXq7vdcL6DfHJConwAJnUaTzRP5gBTcDbEPAs7cPqsREdAjKlY0HxO7rv32J1Uvw/s320/in+the+heat+of+the+night.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Mat here. This was another one we enjoyed with my parents – we tend to cram in quite a few Oscar films when they visit...<br />
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Sidney Poitier is no stranger to films dealing with race-relations. Here he plays homicide detective Mr Virgil Tibbs, who gets dragged in by a bigoted small town police chief (Rod Steiger) as a suspect in a murder investigation just because he happens to be in the South, and black.<br />
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Poitier and Steiger have to put aside their mutual distaste and unravel the mystery surrounding the murder, and a grudging respect forms between the pair. No-one’s happy to have poor ol’ Sid in town, and violence, hate and lynch mobs follow him wherever he goes.<br />
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This movie is home to some of the most memorable moments in film history: the scene where the wealthy property owner slaps Mr Tibbs like he was slapping a slave; and Mr Tibbs slaps him right back – electric. And of course the oft-quoted ‘They call me MISTER Tibbs!’ as he stands up for the rights and respect afforded him in the other parts of America.<br />
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Watching the film today tends to leave your mouth open in shock, with the ‘n-word’ being casually tossed around and Sidney Poitier being referred to as ‘boy’. Uncomfortable viewing in parts, but they were blazing a trail and sometimes, that’s not pretty.<br />
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In the Heat of the Night also received awards for Best Actor (Rod Steiger), Editing, Sound and Adapted Screenplay. Somewhat telling that the times are slow to change, Sidney Poitier wasn’t even nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.<br />
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This is one of the most deserving Best Picture winners, not just for being an excellent and entertaining film, but for being so important in getting the struggles of the Civil Rights movement onto the big screen.<br />
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We gave In the Heat of the Night the following scores: Danielle <span style="color: blue;">81</span> and Mat <span style="color: purple;">90</span>.<br />
</div>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-70401013725965446712012-07-04T18:47:00.003+10:002012-07-04T18:49:45.562+10:00I'm a hustler - "Midnight Cowboy" (1969)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2bw1AcRmN8hYvMSED5rxj5ZVtoSRAOqrK5T3ycN1ZtulICRfz3NjxvhiZcvnyjZ8Xz2-nLTt3jQzo7E1L2mtMbhn-uLYM7IygAh17Td6ZoBrpvy1ioUeYLt1iCrfBecL5dxpQkRN53E/s1600/midnightcowboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2bw1AcRmN8hYvMSED5rxj5ZVtoSRAOqrK5T3ycN1ZtulICRfz3NjxvhiZcvnyjZ8Xz2-nLTt3jQzo7E1L2mtMbhn-uLYM7IygAh17Td6ZoBrpvy1ioUeYLt1iCrfBecL5dxpQkRN53E/s320/midnightcowboy.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: Times; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mat here. We got together with friend of the blog Jason and settled in for the movie – we all knew of the film but had no idea what to expect from it.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, who’s set on escaping his small-town life by moving to New York and becoming a ‘hustler’ – male prostitute. Trouble is, he’s just to nice for this line of work and everyone he meets takes advantage of this poor hustler. Life in the Big Apple is one hard lesson after another for him.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joe finds an unlikely companion, and occasional pimp, in Dustin Hoffman. The review could also be titled 'Hey, I'm WALKIN' here!' as this is the film where Dustin Hoffman, as the delightfully grotesque Ratso Rizzo utters the immortal New Yorker phrase. According to IMdB, this was an ad-lib from Hoffman as they were filming on a closed street and one cab got sick of waiting, accelerated across the intersection and almost wiped out the two stars. Hoffman doesn’t break character and slaps the cab in anger as well. </span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joe and Rizzo stumble from one mediocre sexcapade to another, barely getting enough to live on and calling a condemed building home. New York’s winter threatens the pair and they set thier sights on the golden glow of Florida. Unfortunately the more they reach for a shortcut to the good life, the further away it gets.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The partnership between the two leads is the core of the film, and despite the griminess it is a surprisingly touching and affecting relationship. </span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The film also puts the excellent song ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson to good use, softening the harsh moments and making the light ones more poignant.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to Best Picture, it always won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Although it seems fairly tame by today’s standards this film was rated ‘X’ back in the day (due to it’s “homosexual frame of reference”) and remains the only X-rated film to win Best Picture.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This movie has a lot of scruffy charm and real heart. A deserving winner. </span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #222222;">Danielle gave this </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">81/100</span></span><span style="color: #222222;">, I gave it </span><span style="color: blue;">88.5/100</span><span style="color: #222222;"> and Jason awarded it </span><span style="color: red;">81/100</span><span style="color: #222222;">.</span></span></b>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-18064242924708117122012-07-02T22:40:00.001+10:002012-07-02T22:40:14.211+10:00Rats in the Ranks - "The Departed" (2006)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Mat here.</span></div>
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We saw The Departed right before we started doing our Oscar blog, so it was no big problem to watch this one again with a scoresheet handy. We rewatched this one with my parents, but it was their first time.</div>
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I'll try to stay spoiler-free for the folks who have yet to catch The Departed.</div>
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Set in Boston, state trooper Matt Damon is secretly working for Irish mob boss Jack Nicholson, feeding him info about raids and being his inside man. Meanwhile, Leonardo di Caprio is also a cop and is recruited by Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg to work as an undercover cop and infiltrate Nicholson's team.</div>
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The double dealing and cat-and-mouse (or rat, in the case of this movie) situations create some knife-edge suspense and some gut-wrenching twists and turns. There's a love triangle as well, which is probably the only weak spot in the movie as it strains believability just a bit more than it needs to be.</div>
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The entire all-star cast is at the top of their game, and I could watch this movie over and over. The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong series of films Infernal Affairs, condensed and repurposed to Boston.</div>
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Director Martin Scorsese was reportedly unhappy with the final film, but I couldn't disagree more - I think it's amongst his finest work. He won Best Director, and the Departed also picked up Best Adapted Screenplay and best Editing. Mark Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, playing a cop that he says is based on all the officers he met as a young car thief.</div>
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The Departed is an excellent movie and stands up well to repeated viewing. It was fun watching Mum & Dad gasp and cringe when we knew what was coming!</div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Danielle and I were tied on </span><span style="color: red;">87/100</span><span style="color: #222222;"> while mum and dad, ever harsher gave it </span><span style="color: blue;">82</span><span style="color: #222222;"> and </span><span style="color: lime;">85</span><span style="color: #222222;"> respectively.</span></div>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-9691903426271835412012-07-01T22:25:00.000+10:002012-07-01T22:37:27.652+10:00Sharp as ever! - "The Sting" (1973)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgjfv-YpWOMhGLGLUc1K6m8cOPulc5ISgBFaMfzV7NqXXUbKvdS2LU79appbEcZss6G0O3apQO8b4FONLX3Lyn7cjNKh9f1gVH4PmpMIcqYVDERCL2z2BpmJnnp0yxpRn1JOr19baAko/s1600/the+sting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgjfv-YpWOMhGLGLUc1K6m8cOPulc5ISgBFaMfzV7NqXXUbKvdS2LU79appbEcZss6G0O3apQO8b4FONLX3Lyn7cjNKh9f1gVH4PmpMIcqYVDERCL2z2BpmJnnp0yxpRn1JOr19baAko/s320/the+sting.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Mat here.</div>
<br />
My parents and I watch a lot of Oscar winners when
they're in town – and both of them are big Robert Redford & Paul
Newman fans, so we watched The Sting (1973).<br />
<br />
The Sting is a film
set in the 1930's about a couple of lovable con artists (Redford &
Newman) trying to grift a mob boss (Robert Shaw) for a big payday. Like
any good caper movie, there's double dealings and twists, but the viewer
is well-informed about the complicated set-ups and can enjoy the ride.<br />
<br />
This a very enjoyable Best Picture winner. In a field crowded with
dour war movies and serious biopics, The Sting always entertains. The
pacing is excellent, broken up into discrete acts with Evening
Post-style title cards, and the writing sparkles.<br />
<br />
Bizarrely, the script was found in a slush pile (a pile of
unsolicited screenplays). The man who discovered the script wrote to his
boss saying the script was "the great American screenplay" and "...
will make an award-winning, major-cast, major-director film." <br />
<br />
The Academy Award-winning music by Marvin Hamlisch needs a mention,
with Scott Joplin's piano piece 'The Entertainer' providing a theme
that's both memorable and really embodies the upbeat cheeky feel of the
film.<br />
<br />
The Sting also won Oscars for Directing, Original Screenplay, Art Direction, Costume Design, and Editing.<br />
<br />
In
a shocking display of favouritism, this was the movie to score over
100%, with Lyn awarding the acting 10/10... twice! A perfect ten for
BOTH Redford and Newman.<br />
<br />
The final scores for The Sting were: Danielle and Mat gave it <span style="color: red;">88</span>, Michael gave it <span style="color: #351c75;">91</span> and Lyn (who really can't be claimed to be objective about this) gave it <span style="color: magenta;">110</span>!!D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-22594127748083002992012-01-09T16:56:00.003+11:002012-01-09T16:56:49.558+11:00And now we're back!<br />
<br />
Just in time for this year's Oscars we've finally got around to the review of the Nominated Best Pics from last year! We'll be back to one a week from here on out (fingers crossed) - at least until I start the PhD next year!<br />
<br />
So as a blast from the past, here are Mat's reviews from our movie marathon weekend in February last year!<br />
<br />
<strong>The King's Speech (2010)</strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAJQU0nB0WmHLtOlkAYBvZLR3frQOKIRINb_Palt33_hsbkMVaSlTSeDE-KM-9noobBr8oCGVmjcDPb-gqtwVdLfHbBSLrYP5yFaJStmR7paGrJXj71n1B-dWJ1s21Qiew2tyW3gaTXg/s1600/the-kings-speech-review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAJQU0nB0WmHLtOlkAYBvZLR3frQOKIRINb_Palt33_hsbkMVaSlTSeDE-KM-9noobBr8oCGVmjcDPb-gqtwVdLfHbBSLrYP5yFaJStmR7paGrJXj71n1B-dWJ1s21Qiew2tyW3gaTXg/s320/the-kings-speech-review.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong><br /> </strong>The Best Picture winner is a heart-warming story of King George V trying to overcome his terrible stutter and his rocky rise to the throne. The writing and cast make this a pleasure to watch, but at times it is cruelly painful as well with Colin Firth struggling and gasping to even get a single word out. He really works for that Best Actor trophy, a powerhouse performance.<br />
<br />
Helena-Bonham Carter is excellent and understated as the Queen (quite a departure from Bellatrix Lestrange), and so is Geoffrey Rush as the Aussie vocal coach.<br />
<br />
The King's Speech is one of those movies that you can't really say a bad word against – it does everything wonderfully well. You laugh and cry and feel great at the end. The predictability is probably the only flaw – you know exactly what you're going to get, and you get it.<br />
<br />
It was probably this lack of surprise that saw The King's Speech with (comparatively) lower numbers than other great films. Lyn, Mike and I all scored it <span style="color: red;">86</span> while Danielle gave it <span style="color: magenta;">93</span>.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
<strong>Inception (2010)</strong><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm92BSo2WbYOSLtYXFlORhJTp9z9RUbkN0FnZinmEaky5v8Cm2yyFrrS8LbP7J_Un4T1x7_XmNfzK8uelkqHVFc4RBLqdpCQYHOxQIRvAVRyidQ_c8rN39UG_RNZHkf4FsUfW1Pp1b-IY/s1600/inception.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm92BSo2WbYOSLtYXFlORhJTp9z9RUbkN0FnZinmEaky5v8Cm2yyFrrS8LbP7J_Un4T1x7_XmNfzK8uelkqHVFc4RBLqdpCQYHOxQIRvAVRyidQ_c8rN39UG_RNZHkf4FsUfW1Pp1b-IY/s1600/inception.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Danielle and I had seen Inception at the movies, but Mum and Dad hadn't so we added this Best Picture-nominee to the feast.<br />
<br />
Inception is Christopher Nolan's dreamscape heist epic. Leonardo Di Caprio heads a very talented cast through layers of dreams within dreams. Called the thinking man's action movie, there are car chases, gun fights and enough slo-mo explosions to keep any action junkie happy, but it is more about philosophy and the nature of reality than violence. Like Black Swan, Inception forces you to think and question what you see, and analyse how it's coloured by who's telling the story.<br />
Inception's winding plot is notoriously tricky to follow, so here's an infographic (spoiler alert) to help keeping track of the different levels.<br />
http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news/19643/_1280109452.jpg<br />
<br />This role didn't ask as much of Leo as some of his previous roles (like The Departed or Shutter Island, which could be seen as a companion piece to Inception), and a frown is etched on his face throughout.<br />
<br />
Despite missing out on Best Picture, Inception collected numerous Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Visual Effects and Sound Editing.<br />
<br />
Christopher Nolan can only seem to make excellent films, and like it's spiritual predecessor The Matrix, Inception will be informing action movies for at least the next decade.<br />
<br />
Inception scored thusly: Lyn <span style="color: red;">69</span>, Michael <span style="color: #38761d;">72</span>, Mat <span style="color: blue;">90</span> and Danielle <span style="color: magenta;">86</span>.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
<strong>Toy Story 3 (2010)</strong><br />
<br />
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<br />
We put up a review of Toy Story 3 back when we first saw it, but despite it's obvious quality we were surprised that it recieved a Best Picture nomination. The last time an animated film was nominated was 'Beauty & the Beast' way back in 1991.<br />
Mum and Dad enjoyed their visit to Woody and Buzz's grown up toy land.<br />
<br />
Mum was a little reluctant to award any marks for acting, given that there were no flesh-and-actors on screen, but I made an impassioned plea about the quality of the performances the animators and voice actors brought to these little 3D models.<br />
<br />
I'm a self-confessed Pixar zealot, so I was always going to score this well, but it's good to see Danielle's score matching mine. Perhaps I'm not as biased as I thought.<br />
<br />
The scores for Toy Story 3 were: Lyn <span style="color: red;">72</span>, Mike <span style="color: #38761d;">84</span>, Mat & Danielle <span style="color: purple;">93</span>.<br />
<br />
Looking at both the scores we awarded to the four Best Picture nominees and the discussion afterwards, Black Swan was clearly our pick for Best Picture. We all commented that The King's Speech was a worthy winner, though, as it is an excellent film. It was a pity that so many great movies were all competing against each other. It was great fun comparing the nominees, and it made watching the Oscars much more interesting because we'd seen most of the films that were nominated for the big awards.<br />
<br />
I think we'll try and do this again next year! <em><span style="color: red;">(as it turns out - that will be next month or so)!</span></em>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-55673789738599774752011-12-11T21:28:00.001+11:002011-12-11T21:30:06.433+11:00We're coming back!!!I finished my thesis today and funnily enough one of the first things I want to do (aside from sleep for about a year) is get back into this blog!! So there will be a catch up of some of the best thesis-writing movies to watch ("How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", "Anne of Green Gables", "Two Weeks Notice" to name a few) before Mat and I get back to our Friday night Oscar winners and reviews. Watch this space....D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-89002081547639920252011-07-18T15:35:00.002+10:002011-07-18T15:39:15.797+10:00Oscar Madness - "Black Swan" (2010)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhTxlOjOx-LzXxv_H5ha7NgXvEzTk5kSscnY6JGyOYRBKhyttrHbvarkVzZWxeMaQ8mZbz4kpvs4nldj5L12YiQr5aVrb2913YVf8ZVMEe_-Ql1qePKvzPhs4yxmmKGg2A3rcxqSSZW8/s1600/black-swan_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhTxlOjOx-LzXxv_H5ha7NgXvEzTk5kSscnY6JGyOYRBKhyttrHbvarkVzZWxeMaQ8mZbz4kpvs4nldj5L12YiQr5aVrb2913YVf8ZVMEe_-Ql1qePKvzPhs4yxmmKGg2A3rcxqSSZW8/s320/black-swan_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630562563518924178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />Mat here. A weekend visit </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >(back in Feb! - it has been a while!) </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> by my parents turned into an orgy of Best Picture nominee-viewing.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Mum and Dad expressed an interest in seeing Black Swan, and along we went to the cinema. It was Danielle's second time, and she said it's a film that can benefit from repeat viewing to see things you miss or apply </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >some of the many</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> different interpretations </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >that the internet was buzzing with.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Black Swan is a psychological thriller about Natalie Portman, a promising young ballerina trying for the lead in Swan Lake (the lead plays both the White and Black Swan). She has some serious mother issues, and her serious mother </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >is</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> played to </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >psychotic</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> perfection by Barbara Hershey. The pressure of the role and her smothering home life takes its toll and her mind starts to unravel.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Trying to tell fact from fiction is one of the rewards of Black Swan, and Natalie Portman definitely earned her Best Actress award here. The film is wonderfully paced and shot, with a suitably spooky soundtrack from Darren Aronofsky's longtime composer Clint Mansell. The ballet scenes are </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >stunning </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">and there is a smattering of subtle (and not-so-subtle) visual effects that bring the film vividly to life.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />We left the cinema buzzing and, even though it wasn't easy viewing, both Dad and I said we'd be happy to watch the film over as soon as it finished.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The marks were unanimously high: Lyn <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">88</span>, Mike <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">87</span>, Mat <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">95</span> and Danielle <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">97</span>.</span>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-74473833145413339002011-07-03T01:21:00.002+10:002011-07-03T01:27:18.766+10:00Where have all the reviews gone?!?!We're still here and we're still watching - more to come in the very near future! We've just been a bit distracted by family/uni/work.... ok and we got new androids and can't stop playing with them!<br /><br />We have reviews of half the pictures nominated from this years Academy Awards, we'll refrain from bashing the poor drugged out hosts (oops) but will soon return with guest reviewers and comparisons of: <span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">The King's Speech</span>, <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">Inception</span>, <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Toy Story 3</span>, Black Swan & <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">The Social Network</span>.<br /><br />We've also kept up with some of the classics (new and old) and can't wait to share some of our musings on such widely different films as; Midnight Cowboy (1969), The Departed (2006) and The Lost Weekend (1945).<br /><br />See you soon!D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-14787019050979354082011-01-20T17:32:00.003+11:002011-01-20T17:36:34.604+11:00Avast me hearties! - "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9afgIJcr2oh8uGRNDeRnN8L2-6MJD47vLfqRkSap2MMLamL6gohKWDHu3pGVUGzjCgfw5PguxZzHcO0OIc6g0VM7C7c11hYaGl0bmNchSB1ohSaDoYO2TqgZBoqM8JspVSqnuHUO7l0/s1600/bounty_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9afgIJcr2oh8uGRNDeRnN8L2-6MJD47vLfqRkSap2MMLamL6gohKWDHu3pGVUGzjCgfw5PguxZzHcO0OIc6g0VM7C7c11hYaGl0bmNchSB1ohSaDoYO2TqgZBoqM8JspVSqnuHUO7l0/s320/bounty_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564152637030155666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Mat here.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">We were in the mood for some swashbuckling, and Mutiny on the Bounty fit the bill.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">This historical drama on the high seas retells the rebellion by the crew of the HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable), against the tyrannical Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton).</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />The film opens with a bunch of average guys being brutally press-ganged into the Navy to serve on Bligh's latest voyage. Things go from bad to worse as Bligh cruelly punishes any misdemeanours with the cat o' nine tails, a freezing stint in the crow's nest or a brutal keel-hauling.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />Fletcher finally reaches breaking point and wrests control of the ship, dumping Bligh and his loyalists into a longboat and setting sail for some downtime in Tahiti.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Amazingly, Bligh makes it back to England and then heads back for his mutinous crew.<br /><br />One of the mutineers ends up on Bligh's boat and is taken to England for court martial. The film ends with his trial, and covers some of the changes to nautical practice that were set in place to ensure the sailors' treatment that resulted in mutiny wouldn't happen again.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />Despite being a very old film, Mutiny on the Bounty had a lot of modern sensibilities. The action was fast-paced and the editing brisk. The pacing is a little uneven once the men get to Tahiti as we jump forward several years with little appreciation of the time passing.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">The rivalry between Bligh and Fletcher was more than acting as the two actors reportedly despised each other. Gable was a well-known homophobe and Laughton was openly gay, even bringing along his buff boyfriend to their island location shoot as his 'personal masseur'.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />Rather than being based strictly on the real events, Mutiny on the Bounty was based on the novel of the same name by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Thus there are some historical inaccuracies (such as Bligh is present at the court martial, or several men being killed in the mutiny) that follow the story of the novel rather than recorded history.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />Mutiny on the Bounty was an enjoyable, if at times brutal (well, for the 30's) adventure, but if I was casting around for a fun swashbuckling movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon, I'd pick Treasure Island over this!<br /><br />Danielle gave it 67/100 and I gave it 70/100 when I scored it quickly straight after we watched it and then 64/100 once I’d had time to reflect and score properly! So overall we'll say we agree and both gave it 67/100!<br /></span>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-61777682152155124952011-01-18T15:38:00.003+11:002011-01-18T15:41:15.994+11:00Slow and steady wins the Oscar - "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bD20xZ5YUVVSy_op_B0L4Bw6DP26k8E8zVOyrlottd3k8kYnq1gm0QriySVFFHfruQ5OOSgK4WKvZzREoOxDwn5n6_OA1e1-8w_Uym0tSJ5G5DrlfKyn9E99C8SGoJMMA_VpNY74uUk/s1600/DrivingMissDaisy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bD20xZ5YUVVSy_op_B0L4Bw6DP26k8E8zVOyrlottd3k8kYnq1gm0QriySVFFHfruQ5OOSgK4WKvZzREoOxDwn5n6_OA1e1-8w_Uym0tSJ5G5DrlfKyn9E99C8SGoJMMA_VpNY74uUk/s320/DrivingMissDaisy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563381271926671618" border="0" /></a><br />This was not an easy one to get Mat to watch – it definitely screams ‘chick flick’ and this is exacerbated by the fact that for some completely bizarre reason his high school teachers felt that this was appropriate and entertaining fare for the the 7-11 boys while the year 12s had their muck up days. Every year for 5 years Mat was herded into a smelly gymnasium with 1000 other equally unimpressed pubescent boys to watch Miss Daisy and Hoke meander there way across the US and the decades. So you can imagine how thrilled he was when this came out of the hat!<br /><br />But despite some fairly negative associations, he actually enjoyed this Best Picture Winner and rated it <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">69</span>. I gave it <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">79 </span>and our houseguest and guest reviewer, Gina, gave it <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">80</span>.<br /><br />This is a sweet and deceptively simple story that reflects the social change whipping through the south in the mid-twentieth century. The story follows the 25 year relationship between a stubborn Southern Jew and her African-American driver, a relationship that changes both of them and reflects the growing social changes in the South and the confusion many people must have felt as old divides and class distinctions became taboo.<br /><br />I love Jessica Tandy, I should say that now and I’m so impressed she won the Best Actress Oscar for this role (making her the oldest winner at 81 years old). Her performance is rich, subtle, never clichéd and she lends depth and charm to a rather cantankerous old woman so stuck in her ways she’d fire a man over a tin of salmon rather than have his presence disturb her status quo.<br /><br />Morgan Freeman plays a wonderful character; the proverbial stream wearing down Miss Daisy’s stone. He lends a grace and dignity to the role that you feel Hoke would have had to possess to survive for a quarter of a century!<br /><br />This is so different to many of the winners we’ve watched so far, it’s quiet and unassuming. The humour is soft and real, the dialogue true to life and witty and the direction and score are beautiful additions while never over powering the scene or the flow. It’s not a big story – there are no wars or battlefields or great and famous heroes or struggles, just two people and the difference they made to each others lives. This makes the characters and the story eminently relatable despite the period setting (and our lack of Southern Jewish or African-American blood) and I think a worthy winner of the Best Picture Oscar.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-88200241199498564642011-01-04T15:01:00.002+11:002011-01-04T15:04:24.422+11:00"From Here to Eternity" (1953) - Dirty soldiers 1950s style!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhq6V2qnD3t4tqmgck8XjmDW2AddudFs9amW5J9G7M9pSaE3BfCpGNDWcNjZD9rA2hNzvnkC8nCvl9KxYSzlCCLmh4hdPs08eJH6rr4Pu5CEzroM40Q4sykbNxx2d1LC8T9yn_zuOIk5o/s1600/eternity.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhq6V2qnD3t4tqmgck8XjmDW2AddudFs9amW5J9G7M9pSaE3BfCpGNDWcNjZD9rA2hNzvnkC8nCvl9KxYSzlCCLmh4hdPs08eJH6rr4Pu5CEzroM40Q4sykbNxx2d1LC8T9yn_zuOIk5o/s320/eternity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558176674559287698" border="0" /></a><br />This is another classic we’d been looking forward to watching where overall the background and gossip surrounding production were more interesting than the film itself.<br /><br />First off, just so you know, the iconic scene on the beach between Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster that has been emulated by everyone from Madonna (in her ‘Cherish’ video) to Bolle sunglasses is really not that integral to the plot. Those guys aren’t even the main protagonists; they’re more of a heavily edited side story.<br /><br />The main action is based on the novel by James Jones and takes place in Hawaii just before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour. We follows the indomitable Montgomery Clift’s character as he is bullied into boxing at his new army posting and an array of side characters that demonstrate a darker side to the US Army than the 1950s audience would have been used to.<br /><br />The acting is quite compelling and the parts of the story that actually made it to the big screen are interesting but I would have really liked to seen the less-censored version! To get it past the Army (and ensure their help in production) key locations, events and outcomes had to be altered (e.g., changing a brothel to a nightclub and showing the broken bureaucracy of the Army higher ups being addressed and amended). But in true classic fashion, the best drama was all going on behind the scenes…<br /><br />Montgomery Clift was his usual intense and method self on set, learning to play the bugle and move like a boxer and actually getting drunk for scenes that required his character to be drunk( although given that he was a lifelong alcoholic – that may not have been purely for the part!)<br /><br />Despite the studio having severe reservations about the non-soldier ‘probably homosexual’ actor playing this role, he delivers a really honest and riveting performance. In another casting controversy, this is supposedly also the movie that Frank Sinatra got a little ‘wink wink nudge nudge/offer they couldn’t refuse’ help to land the part of the irascible 'only my friends can call me a wop' Private Maggio (as fictionalised in ‘The Godfather’).<br /><br />Whatever the politics that went into this film getting made, we’re glad it did, it was entertaining, if a little too long and scored respectably for such a sanitised story. I gave it <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">59</span> and Mat scored it <span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">61</span>. (I may have taken off points for the film’s role in popularising Hawaiian shirts!)D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-52491763573740035662010-12-23T13:10:00.005+11:002010-12-23T13:15:07.653+11:00"Annie Hall" (1977) - can't hold a candle to "Mega-Shark"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojWX2oSa1Z7s4uvywsPU948vnJDcjLIp51eAME4_EM1uIvcwWNih3JVWThd6EkIhsIfHK_SD4rFWuNqQDrJKrg2jyk62yjDr1l9eUDaBP0sIAba7erCDJLFskSI12Q1DlmvwA3vQixKQ/s1600/annie+hall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojWX2oSa1Z7s4uvywsPU948vnJDcjLIp51eAME4_EM1uIvcwWNih3JVWThd6EkIhsIfHK_SD4rFWuNqQDrJKrg2jyk62yjDr1l9eUDaBP0sIAba7erCDJLFskSI12Q1DlmvwA3vQixKQ/s320/annie+hall.jpg" alt="" 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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >For the life of me I don’t understand the appeal of Woody Allen. Maybe I’m just coloured by the knowledge that he actually turned out to be an incestuous paedophile. Maybe I’m still sore that this piece of crap robbed ‘Star Wars’ of an Oscar. Honestly though, I think I’m just shallow and judgemental and the idea that a weedy, nerdy, puny little bald guy could actually be deemed irresistible by a veritable who’s who of 70s actresses just leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. </span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Woody Allen is at his obsessive compulsive peak in this reportedly ‘romantic adventure’ that follows the rise and demise of a narcissistic, neurotic comedian’s relationship with a narcissistic, neurotic singer. The shots are long and plodding, like their rambling and apparently never-ending psychotherapy sessions and nothing seems to have a particular beginning or end – not the shots, not the acts, not the script not even the core relationship we’re supposed to give a damn about! </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">There are some cutesy and accurate zings at the movie/tv business in general, and the LA/New York divide, but they mostly come across as the observations of a petulant child who isn’t allowed to sit at the grown ups table.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Annie:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">It’s so clean out here.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alvy:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">That’s because they don’t throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Woody Allen, like Kenneth Branagh and the man who Allen pipped at the post with this offering, Mr George Lucas, would all be far better served by letting someone else tell their stories. When someone else directs and manages their artistic temperament and ‘vision’, the product becomes far less indulgent and much more compelling (see, ‘Scenes From a Mall’ versus ‘Annie Hall’, ‘Othello’ versus ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Empire Strikes Back’ versus any of the prequels!). </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In all honesty the only way we managed to talk ourselves into watching this one all the way through was by bribing ourselves with the promise of ‘Mega-Shark versus Giant Octopus’ (which I may have to review at a later date). But the really sad part was, this schlock-mock horror movie with Deborah Gibson (of 80s big hair, pop light, lycra tights fame) tracking a prehistoric mega-shark and giant octopus through the ocean while they attack cruiseships and airplanes was 1000 times more entertaining than 1977’s Best Picture Winner, ‘Annie Hall’. </span></p> <span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >I did manage a<span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> 34</span> (which puts it in front of ‘Tom Jones’) and did manage to stay awake for this watching, but Mat only pulled out a <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">28</span> (probably because he had to spend so much time keeping me awake!)</span>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-33261085952473333822010-11-23T12:59:00.002+11:002010-11-23T13:02:36.852+11:00Sex-BOMB - "Tom Jones" (1963)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S94BaY6Lbbw6Mk0Gu3A6BwkUn3O06EwaMSubhzNF4FD8NzdYTrl62YegJucwq6lEnGr_IPP1n-QAGFy9-UDGFSl2wJwBEj46pU-vLew7oWrtTVM6Y4347CLQ9sTyzk3CI2NymfIbrk4/s1600/tom+jones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S94BaY6Lbbw6Mk0Gu3A6BwkUn3O06EwaMSubhzNF4FD8NzdYTrl62YegJucwq6lEnGr_IPP1n-QAGFy9-UDGFSl2wJwBEj46pU-vLew7oWrtTVM6Y4347CLQ9sTyzk3CI2NymfIbrk4/s320/tom+jones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542559215155895362" border="0" /></a>Wow this was bad. So bad. Can’t tell you how much we wanted to turn this off. Mat has actually said he’d rather sit through ‘Forrest Gump’ again than this one!<br /><br />So where to begin? I guess with the beginning which was actually kind of promising. It was quite a slapstick, funny opening, quite different for the times but the occasional witty dialogue and comical situations soon degenerated into a farce that Monty Python would have been embarrassed to produce.<br /><br />This is a costume/period drama set amongst the English countryside and aristocracy and Tom Jones is the natural child of someone (e.g., illegitimate) who grows into a debaucherous, lecherous tramp. The plot (if we can stretch it to that) is that Tom is set up by the jealous ‘good and true’ son/nephew and kicked out of the manor to traipse around the country side getting into scraps. At one point he even has sex with someone who may or may not be his mother – and that’s not even the most distasteful scene!<br /><br />The only reason it has scored even in the 20s (<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat = 22, D=24</span>) is because annoyingly Albert Finney who plays Tom is actually really good. Despite the trainwreck of a movie, he displays a great control and presence and doesn’t ham things up like his co-stars. He almost succeeds in making this incredibly unlikeable character sort of likeable.<br /><br />The other saving grace were elements of the script (that I believe were lifted straight from the book) which were actually very well written and could have produced a decent film if the filmmakers hadn’t decided to make a gyroscopic film version of Benny Hill meets Pride and Prejudice.<br /><br />Please don’t ever watch this one! No-one else should have to suffer through this piece of poorly executed, insulting, nauseating and discombobulating mess!D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-33279144187916895422010-11-23T12:34:00.002+11:002010-11-23T12:37:21.110+11:00Going Bing's Way - "Going My Way" (1944)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bhEm2NVj290bSK6W9k3vAhh_FX17FIL097bvqD_A0_Ckz6WPNdpIJPZwD0g2TdrgVzd7QqsXg-HndnYcXJRE9Bryiff-4vr6D3rvP2VwwDIAi0BCsmXLSY0Mlh489ootd5ZZVhZZcBY/s1600/going+my+way+good+poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bhEm2NVj290bSK6W9k3vAhh_FX17FIL097bvqD_A0_Ckz6WPNdpIJPZwD0g2TdrgVzd7QqsXg-HndnYcXJRE9Bryiff-4vr6D3rvP2VwwDIAi0BCsmXLSY0Mlh489ootd5ZZVhZZcBY/s320/going+my+way+good+poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542553216162374114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Mat here.<br /><br />'Going My Way' won Best Picture in 1944, and is a pleasant, but ultimately forgettable, star-vehicle for Bing Crosby. Bing plays Father Chuck O'Malley, a young, hip Catholic priest sent to help a failing New York church.<br /><br />Father O'Malley has some wacky ideas, like turning the local delinquents into a choir to keep them off the streets. His new-fangled ways don't sit well with old-fashioned Father Fitzgibbon (played by Barry Fitzgerald, who was nominated in both the lead and supporting actor categories for this role, and won best supporting - the rules have since changed so that this can't happen any more), but Father O'Malley's success gradually wins him over.<br /><br />The songs are definitely a highlight of the film, with Bing & Co. breaking into song often. The classic 'Swinging On A Star' comes from this film, and right picked up it's own Best Song Oscar.<br /><br />Between songs it tended to be a little dull, and the film is almost half an hour too long - there's a scene where the collection plate is going round and it's clear the church is going to be OK, then there's all this other stuff, including a giant church fire, that was all unnecessary. Cut from the collection plate scene to Bing packing up to go help another church in need and it would have scored better.<br /><br />I gave this one 54/100 and Danielle gave it 61/100.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-42083548485231659202010-11-23T12:18:00.007+11:002010-11-23T13:31:10.995+11:00Play it again, king of the world - 'Titanic' (1997) and 'Casablanca' (1943)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGK1zSCHrr5jYNWtO_w3yvrliRO4TUEKKrypLXJNCSPi5nRcoOL7yvZsEBc1gdhik6HHpQxiWQia_bOZEtalpM1CJsX_s6edTwEDGh96rRjg_gTyMdouIuoCbDJgWRfmQM7PbDpavskQ/s1600/2Titanic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 117px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGK1zSCHrr5jYNWtO_w3yvrliRO4TUEKKrypLXJNCSPi5nRcoOL7yvZsEBc1gdhik6HHpQxiWQia_bOZEtalpM1CJsX_s6edTwEDGh96rRjg_gTyMdouIuoCbDJgWRfmQM7PbDpavskQ/s320/2Titanic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542551105945997714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4wFdBVMgGWoiWsAqpft5k76qqj4cpHpvsF_5ihRxnzdkmKjybBDN2iu7-nWky7xOseqZ816rwpUrF2paKmI9DfuTvrBwYdC4ye5RA0wv-A1wI0DRs7FM63ncfKco1VRm7JozhqXQ9nQ/s1600/2Casablanca-Bogart_l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 119px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4wFdBVMgGWoiWsAqpft5k76qqj4cpHpvsF_5ihRxnzdkmKjybBDN2iu7-nWky7xOseqZ816rwpUrF2paKmI9DfuTvrBwYdC4ye5RA0wv-A1wI0DRs7FM63ncfKco1VRm7JozhqXQ9nQ/s320/2Casablanca-Bogart_l.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542551015367653058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We’re combining these two reviews because we’re running horribly behind with our weekly film-watching and reviewing goals but also because they’re almost at opposite ends of the classics spectrum and make for a good contrast! That’s what we’re telling ourselves anyway.<br /><br />They both deal with epic love stories against historically important backdrops and they both have key scenes that have worked their way into the cultural zeitgeist – albeit for fairly different reasons. How many people have caught a ferry in the last 10 years without trying to replicate Kate and Leo’s king of the world moment? And who doesn’t know the line, “this is the start of a beautiful friendship”?<br /><br />However, ‘Casablanca’ manages to deliver a poignant portrayal of one love story that reflected the choices, the conflicts and the sacrifice of so many people in wartime, while ‘Titanic’ takes an epic tragedy and turns it into an amusement park ride, complete with water features.<br /><br />'Casablanca' endures because whether you like Bogart or not (<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">mat – yes!</span>, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">me – no</span>), you care about the situation he finds himself in. You know this girl has hurt him and he’s learnt to rely on himself and do what’s best for him. Suddenly his loyalty and moral code are tested against his selfish desire for self-preservation and love. At the same time, Ingrid Bergman is faced with the ultimate pull between duty and love and I think we can all relate to the struggle between what we want to do and what we know we need to do.<br /><br />The war, the location and the stories of those in limbo in Casablanca only augment the themes of love, duty, honour and sacrifice. The whole film displays the tug-of-war between the values you have the luxury to treasure in ‘normal society’ versus what needs to be done in the extraordinary circumstances of war. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Mat scored this a 96</span> (making it one of his best rated movies), but <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">I only gave it 82</span> (although I think my Bogart-bias is showing here!).<br /><br />In the same way that ‘Casablanca’ managed to comment on life’s truths by showing us at our most stressed and vulnerable, ‘Titanic’ tried to comment on more overarching themes than ‘count the lifeboats before you sail’, but just can’t pull it off. The story is too manipulated and fabricated and that is the real tragedy. You only get snippets of what could actually have served as pivotal and important moments; the young Irish woman in the doomed third-class berths telling her children a bedtime story about everlasting youth or the elderly couple quietly holding hands on their gilded bed even as the water rushes in under them.<br /><br />Didn’t Cameron think there was enough drama with the sinking of the ‘unsinkable ship’ without having to throw in a class war, a forbidden love, then (god help us) a frame-up and chase scene complete with firearms through the sinking ship?!?!<br /><br />Having said all that, ‘Titanic’ is still pretty fun to watch, the underwater footage they shot of the real Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic is incredible and haunting, and the stars are likeable and watchable . <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Mat scored it a 62</span>, but <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">I could only get to a 56</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);"> </span>– I don’t like knowing when they’re trying to jerk my heart strings! A decent script and some heavy editing really could have pushed this into the lasting classics rather than the generational classic I believe it’s destined to be.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Mat here.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I had to add a quick word about Casablanca, as my score of <span style="font-weight: bold;">96/100</span> has put Casablanca ahead of all the other Best Picture winners I've watched.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">All of the elements of Casablanca come together to produce a film as close to perfect as I can imagine. Everything I look for in a film is here: engaging characters, an exciting setting, clever dialogue, actors at the top of their game, some of the best cinematography I have seen, genuine emotion and capped off with a very un-Hollywood ending.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">What more is left to say? Casablanca is not only the best Best Picture winner in my book, I would also argue that Casablanca is probably the best movie of all time. We haven't finished every film on the Best Picture list yet (not by a long shot), but I'm doubtful anything will approach the heights of Casablanca.</span>D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-53959129711733664262010-08-25T14:48:00.002+10:002010-08-25T14:52:12.276+10:00Green in Black and White - "How Green Was My Valley" (1941)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTFJ0lYFhyphenhyphen0BMw97AVJjBfh4q6UOGX_l9ps2KYHggul_CZhPOQNgjPyaHhZglEf0LrfqJfSyBhRL7W-EHFkJ8ZsdmV8qMz6mPThqtFX0rO7M_I0pMU_Rnz7VK9B5tjHMhEKN9QvJHThE/s1600/valley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTFJ0lYFhyphenhyphen0BMw97AVJjBfh4q6UOGX_l9ps2KYHggul_CZhPOQNgjPyaHhZglEf0LrfqJfSyBhRL7W-EHFkJ8ZsdmV8qMz6mPThqtFX0rO7M_I0pMU_Rnz7VK9B5tjHMhEKN9QvJHThE/s320/valley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509205693369673602" border="0" /></a><br />Mat here.<br /><br />The next film we reviewed was 1941’s ‘How Green Was My Valley’, based on Robert Llewellyn’s book of the same name. It tells the story of Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall) as he recalls his formative years growing up with his family in a small Welsh coal-mining village.<br /><br />The once-happy family is soon embroiled in a mining strike, Huw’s sister (the very pretty Maureen O’Hara) has an ill-fated romance with the local pastor and Huw is sent off to a very nasty school, even though he wants to be in the mines with his father and brothers.<br /><br />The acting from the entire cast is excellent, with Roddy McDowall putting in a very touching performance, and his parents (played by Donald Crisp and Sara Allgood) make a believable pair.<br /><br />Whilst not a tear-jerker like ‘Terms of Endearment’ (or ‘Toy Story 3’), there are a lot of hard times for the Morgan family, and the emotion of the film is heightened by the Welsh folk songs sung by the townsfolk.<br /><br />This film was shot in black-and-white because they couldn’t shoot in the United Kingdom due to WWII, and the area of California they filmed in did not match the colours of Wales at all.<br /><br />‘How Green’ is also notable as it took the Best Picture award away from a film that is widely considered to be the greatest of all time: ‘Citizen Kane’. Apparently William Hearst’s vicious media campaign against Orson Welles and ‘Citizen Kane’ (his little ego was bruised from the lashing it received as the thinly veiled subject of the esteemed film) ensured it did not receive the votes from the Academy, only scoring one award (script) to ‘How Green’s five.<br /><br />The five awards were Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Black-and-White Cinematography and Best Black-and-White Art Direction, and it was nominated for an additional five awards.<br /><br />We both loved this movie, with all of its heart and tragedy. Danielle gave it 79 and I gave it 82.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-53490374160082664782010-08-23T13:50:00.003+10:002010-08-23T14:57:07.167+10:00"My Fair Lady" - (1964) - as the Queen of Transylvania puts it 'est charmant'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EkpZyjDXp5WJcnb1VSxjUoUVIRb1fEf0_4oZratD_-nW-IkhWT3xL9Gfdn8x-iSFQCnQ2tvVgZvv6JMumGdJujTwXiOyqB6SPLpBtXYNvXVB9Aia9h4-wOLvBbCWgyDlROumAIR30VA/s1600/my_fair_lady.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EkpZyjDXp5WJcnb1VSxjUoUVIRb1fEf0_4oZratD_-nW-IkhWT3xL9Gfdn8x-iSFQCnQ2tvVgZvv6JMumGdJujTwXiOyqB6SPLpBtXYNvXVB9Aia9h4-wOLvBbCWgyDlROumAIR30VA/s320/my_fair_lady.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508464548756532658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags"</span><br /><br />As a young girl lines like this infuriated me to no end and made it very hard to enjoy the musical numbers and pretty clothes. 8 year olds don't know much about irony and the portrayal of misogynistic snobs as representations of the English (and European-inspired) patriarchal caste system - they just think Prof Higgins is a knob and don't understand why Eliza didn't throw his damn slippers at his arrogant head!<br /><br />Granted, I'd still like to see that (note to Emma Thompson who is currently working on the remake) but I can get a lot more positives from this movie and the enduring story of Pygmalion as presented in the 1964 Oscar winner, "My Fair Lady".<br /><br />Everyone is familiar with the movie itself, I'm sure, Eliza Doolittle is plucked from the streets of London by the emotionally stunted phonetics expert Prof Henry Higgins to win a bet that it is only the cockney slur of their speech that keeps the 'common class' from ascending in society.<br /><br />What had escaped my notice on earlier, more indignant viewings is that it is Eliza herself who seeks out his teachings to 'better herself' and gain employment in a flower shop. It is Eliza who works her butt off under his grating tutelage and endures hours of abuse with no sympathy from his equally unfeeling staff to grasp her class-raising grammar and enunciation and it is Eliza who decides to leave once the coup at the ball is achieved and who decides to return once Higgins has revealed his attachment to her and proven that he needs her far more than she needs him.<br /><br />But gender power struggles aside, the really interesting stuff was the politicking that was going on behind the scenes of this film! Rex Harrison plays Higgins with the self-assuredness that he earned in the role on Broadway, but was mightily displeased that his Broadway leading lady (Julie Andrews) was not to be cast as his film Eliza.<br /><br />The studio (specifically Jack Warner) decided she wasn't well known enough and wanted Audrey Hepburn for the role instead. Poor old Audrey (I think undeservedly) went on to cop decades of flack for this particular casting maneuvering. She spent months taking singing lessons on the understanding that it would be her voice used in the film, indeed she recorded all the songs for the movie and during filming her voice was what she was lip-syncing too, but the more accomplished Marni Nixon's voice was used in the end in all but a few sections of two songs (play the 'can you spot them' game for yourself!).<br /><br />Julie got her revenge 3 years later though! By this time "Mary Poppins" and "Sound of Music" had made her a star and Jack Warner was begging her to star in his version of Camelot - she refused and because of this, Warner lost his 3 other leads. The film flopped and Warner was fired!<br /><br />Almost like a real life Pygmalion!<br /><br />As for the movie itself, the set work is done really well (although again, why can't they go outside just once?!) and the choreography and shot set-up is remarkable. The songs are well-known and timeless and the arrangements flawless.<br /><br />And of course there's Audrey. Audrey is charming, I really don't care what anyone says! While the caterwauling and 'garn-ing' to begin with is painful to the ears, she does it with great comic timing and pathos and her dignified rise to the object of Prof Higgins eventual quasi-emotional awakening as he has 'grown accustomed to her face' is breathtaking and makes the movie the enduring classic it is today.<br /><br />Overall, Mat scored it 65 and I gave it 78 and I'll be happy to watch it again with my new found perspective on just who was teaching who in this transformation marvel.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-46417839299258296232010-08-23T13:48:00.002+10:002010-08-23T13:50:25.884+10:00"Terms of Endearment" (1983) - Stays dear<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZtivCNJzp-yhS4-5kMrncH8HOI7HWe9I6sBpn_dW3dkGDEXaaFLfY8YKzNz96nByGM-AfPPaUXMG8_fbqEzfmQhycjL2thGho7_Fgu4ROSzTfKh7hmH4KyoeSlHxNpIdd5G5RyWQAq0/s1600/Terms-Of-Endearment.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZtivCNJzp-yhS4-5kMrncH8HOI7HWe9I6sBpn_dW3dkGDEXaaFLfY8YKzNz96nByGM-AfPPaUXMG8_fbqEzfmQhycjL2thGho7_Fgu4ROSzTfKh7hmH4KyoeSlHxNpIdd5G5RyWQAq0/s320/Terms-Of-Endearment.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508447318945867490" border="0" /></a>Chick flicks often get a bad name and sometimes deservedly so. Often the female characters spend most of their time obsessing over every minutiae of small village life with their small minds occupied with nothing but quilting patterns and 'will he call' dilemmas. The male characters (if they make an appearance at all) are usually portrayed as shallow, insincere and 1-dimensional idiots.<br /><br />I am so happy to report that none of those stereotypes hold true in this Best Picture Winner! The writing is superb and captures all the nuances and subtlety of the central mother/daughter relationship that leaves most outsiders utterly bewildered.<br /><br />The supporting male cast, Jeff Daniels, Jack Nicholson and John Lithgow, while sometimes flawed, are completely believable and well-realised characters who play an important role in their women's lives, but are not central to their well-being or happiness.<br /><br />Overall it is a picture about strength and the 'slings and arrows' we endure because we have to; but in the midst of the melodrama, there are moments of beautiful sweetness and levity between the cantankerous and repressed Aurora and her seemingly long-suffering daughter, Emma. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the amorous astronaut is the stuff Oscars are made of, but in true chick flick style it is the female protagonists played with such pathos by Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger that steal the show.<br /><br />Whether it is Aurora arguing with her doctor at the head of a table full of male admirers about how old she actually is or Emma having a 'mother meltdown moment' in a supermarket, the ladies are always true to their characters and very true to life.<br /><br />Mat scored it 85 and I gave it 83 and although it was heart-wrenching at times, it is easily one of the more rewatchable Oscar winners we have encountered to date simply for the care and beauty it takes and shows between these wonderful characters.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-84261900450095284612010-08-01T19:21:00.004+10:002010-08-01T19:31:11.230+10:00Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - felt like 100 days<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7bdaTowktlnf39TglNkbFjVJnSfM1-IawhDnv1afKsGHBeV8JIpSrX-weJQuZd-GuxgW4IkBYdwAXrupEgFDkqMxut1PcvCAglnG6_obdUlCg0PlGxxAXFgP6zUMYkBZrB-lY4wzPn8/s1600/around-80days.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7bdaTowktlnf39TglNkbFjVJnSfM1-IawhDnv1afKsGHBeV8JIpSrX-weJQuZd-GuxgW4IkBYdwAXrupEgFDkqMxut1PcvCAglnG6_obdUlCg0PlGxxAXFgP6zUMYkBZrB-lY4wzPn8/s320/around-80days.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500371435536600482" border="0" /></a><br />Where to begin really…. So this was up against “The Ten Commandments” which I think beat it on the epic scale and “The King and I” which actually may be the only other film that could match this on political incorrectness.<br /><br />I’m sure you’re all familiar with the concept; it’s 1872 and foppish, honour-bound Brit, Phineas Fogg makes a bet (for no apparent reason) that he can make it around the world in 80 days. What follows is the 50s version of a mismatched buddy road movie with Phineas and his Mexican side kick, Passepartout, played by Cantinflas, (who was the highest paid Mexican actor of the 20th Century).<br /><br />So what follows is 183 mins (over 2 dvds!) of shockingly clichéd and stereotyped scenes from different countries on their whirlwind passage around the world; bull-fighting and flamenco dancing in Spain, elephant rides and human sacrifice in India and wild west brothels and arrow shooting, train-hijacking Indians in America. The best bit was probably when they save the Indian princess from ritual sacrifice only for us to discover that the heavily faked tanned damsel was played by Shirley Maclaine in what she has admitted was her most hideously miscast role.<br /><br />David Niven is suitably uptight and obsessive-compulsive as the globe-trotting Phineas and Cantinflas is actually very impressive in the role reprised by Jackie Chan in the 2004 remake, bull-fighting his way through the movie and avoiding becoming the comic relief to no purpose.<br /><br />Best of all, while painted up like an orange, Shirley Maclaine mercifully doesn’t attempt an Indian accent – which is explained away by her being ‘educated at Oxford’. It was interesting to get a look at the 1870s world through a 1950s lens and contains some incredible photography and very few trick shots. The main problem with the film is the sheer length. The entertainment value drops exponentially with every additional minute added and so many of the scenes are actually quite fun and interesting for the first 2 or 3 minutes, but once they’ve continued on for no apparent reason and supplied no further momentum or purpose to the overall story, they just get kind of boring. Overall Mat scored it 62 out of 100 and I gave it 54.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-42837420698947417092010-07-15T22:59:00.002+10:002010-07-15T23:06:47.755+10:00Saying goodbye to a friend - "Toy Story 3"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuU15LkOX7uxyhIhuGqke7Y6RGyJ2sEk444XHWXGqit_WRLgfSLoQbr8j37L1cW5kpcnnVyYJ7v6OCXcO_3HtHLZwtvCBRi74JGCTNGFTMpqBusuwHCkSyoIdQoFhWoVV9E5r8UbmPSI4/s1600/toystory3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuU15LkOX7uxyhIhuGqke7Y6RGyJ2sEk444XHWXGqit_WRLgfSLoQbr8j37L1cW5kpcnnVyYJ7v6OCXcO_3HtHLZwtvCBRi74JGCTNGFTMpqBusuwHCkSyoIdQoFhWoVV9E5r8UbmPSI4/s320/toystory3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494118587015325810" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had to make special mention of "Toy Story 3" the end of a trilogy and the end of an era, but most of all a beautiful example of what the movies should be.<br /><br />Sweet, real and all heart.<br /><br />Andy is all grown up and heading to college and leaving behind all childish things and this includes his old best friends. So what do you do when your sole purpose in life no longer needs you? You self destruct, then realise what life is all about and get on with it!<br /><br />All in 3D splendour and fun.<br /><br />Thank you Pixar! You have yet to disappoint.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-37466198756821045192010-07-12T15:31:00.002+10:002010-07-12T15:35:28.241+10:00"Grand Hotel" (1932) - A grand disappointment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hyM2Hw1E7cn_I8iP4fRzM2InoBmhG0dJaMWrVMolcRMK8oLR_oQ-63EnGcNhizChQn5ILdu9Ju79l8KLAPM2KP0HO3jwxXWUBWJ5KyYHd-SBIWAyacBdSzjFiTkoyLF8OJCRpQ-mZ_Y/s1600/grandhotelposter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hyM2Hw1E7cn_I8iP4fRzM2InoBmhG0dJaMWrVMolcRMK8oLR_oQ-63EnGcNhizChQn5ILdu9Ju79l8KLAPM2KP0HO3jwxXWUBWJ5KyYHd-SBIWAyacBdSzjFiTkoyLF8OJCRpQ-mZ_Y/s320/grandhotelposter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492889158393197874" border="0" /></a>This is the oldest Oscar winner we’ve watched to date, it won Best Picture at the 5th annual academy awards ceremony, before the nickname ‘Oscar’ was actually introduced to the Academy Awards (that didn’t happen officially until 1939).<br /><br />Tellingly this is the only Best Picture Winner in 82 years to not have a single other nomination in any other category and we can really see why. I think this was possibly one of the first ‘mega-cast disasters’. Recent films under that category would include; “The Player” (1992), (actually anything by Robert Altman in the 90s) and “Valentine’s Day” (2010) – these are the movies that you pay your money to see and walk out shaking your head, rubbing sleep from your eyes and saying, “But it was such a good cast…”<br /><br />And in the same grand tradition, “Grand Hotel” did have a stellar cast of who’s who in the 1930s. MGM broke the mould by using 5 of its top-ranked stars in this movie; Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery. Prior to this film, the conventional wisdom was to only use one or two stars and keep costs down – after this movie, they realised it wasn’t as important to keep the costs down as it was to keep the egos in check!<br /><br />Garbo wouldn’t speak to or even deign to be in the same room as Crawford. Crawford retaliated by constantly playing Marlene Dietrich songs between takes (Garbo and Dietrich had a long running rivalry). Beery insisted that for him to take the role of the amoral magnate he be the only cast member allowed to speak with a German accent (despite the entire film being set in Berlin and populated entirely with German characters like Felix von Gaigern and Flaemmchen) and reportedly did his best to steal every scene he shared with his famous co-stars.<br /><br />If you, my dear readers are wondering why I’ve gone on for 4 paragraphs without mentioning the movie it’s because it was a colossal disappointment to us! It was the first Garbo movie for Mat and myself and despite her delivering one of the most famous lines in history, “I want to be alone”, her performance bordered on the ridiculous. Whether it was completely her interpretation of her character or the director getting back at her for insisting on reshoots so she had equal screen time with Crawford, or perhaps that she couldn’t actually act, she was painful to watch.<br /><br />The majority of the relationships between the characters felt strained and false and even before we did some background reading we knew that this movie was not produced on a happy set. Several of the characters who were supposed to be in love seemed to actively despise each other.<br /><br />The real disappointment was that it starts off quite promising. There are some witty script moments, with some true 30s snap and sass, “Oh, you're a little stenographess? Fascinating. I don't suppose you'd, uh, take some dictation from me sometime, would you?” [said while he has her up against a pillar]. Some of the establishing shots of the hotel and background characters are really spectacular, but overall it’s just let down by the haphazard dénouement of the story and the forced feel of the characters relationships and predicaments.<br /><br />I scored it 46/100 and Mat a generous 42/100!D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7132101992687682486.post-4028470476924814832010-07-12T13:14:00.002+10:002010-07-12T13:18:35.548+10:00"Marty" (1955) - This ain't no dog!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXMIQQeGGhpLjS5P9mJf1Gh_BGt4AtaLFmc51yDfCgS8gSFEe3RVrsvVKsRtwSMJ-a8ANycI-veRj1Qabg6YM1kYuxNlGzQMu-qrUezGvRa0VccxrwfCYAh3mWo6IoFtAVLlDcy0fzzI/s1600/marty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXMIQQeGGhpLjS5P9mJf1Gh_BGt4AtaLFmc51yDfCgS8gSFEe3RVrsvVKsRtwSMJ-a8ANycI-veRj1Qabg6YM1kYuxNlGzQMu-qrUezGvRa0VccxrwfCYAh3mWo6IoFtAVLlDcy0fzzI/s320/marty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492853368322080882" border="0" /></a><br />We picked this because we were tired and it’s the shortest Best Picture Winner, but we were so glad we did! It kept us awake and interested and chatting long into the night! If there were one word to describe “Marty” it would have to be charming. Just charming.<br /><br />It’s a simple story of two lonely people defying societal expectations, familial pressures and their own pasts to find happiness with each other; not because their families are at war, or one is from ‘the wrong side of the tracks’ or has some hideous disability, but just because they’re both kind of ordinary looking and have faced rejection far too many times. One of my favourite lines comes from Marty himself and sums up the feeling of the two main characters before they meet, “You don't get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.”<br /><br />We follow their first date and watch as they gently encourage each other to come out of their respective shells and face life again. Then we see their struggles as they try and break out of the roles their families have happily but innocuously kept them in for so long; changing one part of any system will always necessitate change in the rest of the system, but those systems can be mighty resistant!<br /><br />This is a beautiful, simple and charming movie that was a lot of fun to watch (despite the occasional cringe factor as Marty clumsily tries to compliment his new friend “You know, us dogs aren't really so much of the dogs that we think we are.”) and an odd and (through modern eyes) seemingly misogynistic outburst from Marty 2/3rds of the way in.<br /><br />Overall I scored it 83% and Mat gave it, 76/100. We’d recommend this to anyone who has ever doubted they deserve to be loved or questioned if they would ever really find it.D and M Movieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04178539163484568956noreply@blogger.com0