Cinema--The King's Speech

or: The big Oscar nominee.

One word to sum it up: Uplifting.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed by The King's Speech. I think I was expecting the most amazing movie ever, because of all the hype. It didn't reach the highest of heights I'd had set up for it. However, despite my minor disappointment over this movie, it was pretty awesome. Well acted, if anything. Dear God, I think I would die if I had a stutter.

The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI (Colin Firth), the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother (Guy Pearce) abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.

A film about British royalty shouldn't be as exciting, nor as uplifting as The King's Speech is. This film has everything: drama, comedy, history...but most of all, it works as a very scary thriller. I swear, when this movie came to it's climax, I was on the edge of my seat. This was Colin Firth's film, because I'm not sure if one actor, on his own, can generate that much intensity in one scene. I don't even know how he managed to master that stuttering. All I know is that it was painful to watch him, but thankfully, it was the kind of pain that an Oscar is made of. I may have been a huge Eisenberg fan before, but after seeing Colin Firth's performance, if he doesn't get the Oscar, then that will be the biggest mistake the Academy has ever made.

Tom Hooper does a flawless job of directing, along with some enchanting cinematography. The script does a good job of telling the story simply, but intertwining various parts of history successfully without becoming a bore. Alexandre Desplat's score is, as always, a perfect touch to a great film. While the film belongs to Firth, there are three other standout performances within this film. Perhaps the best is Geoffrey Rush, who serves as some comic relief, and is forever attempting to outshine Firth (sometimes he does). Helena Bonham Carter is angelic as Queen Elizabeth, and, surprisingly, fits the royal role very well. The one that everyone would probably forget is Guy Pearce, who is simply amazing in this film. Why do people underrate him so much? He has come such a long way since the days of Neighbours.

Right when the credits rolled I wanted to stand up and cheer. It's a gem of a film, which deserves whatever accolades it will be getting. It just wasn't amazing.


THE VERDICT: The feel good hit of the year which also had some fantastic performances, particularly Firth's. Exquisite viewing.

8/10

Top 10 Oscar fails in 2011

The Oscars decided that they wouldn’t be the same as everyone else, and decided to snub deserving people left right and centre. You know what the number one snub is going to be here, but there are nine more reasons as to why the Oscars got it wrooooong.


10. Best Actor: Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine

I haven’t seen Blue Valentine, but I find it extremely disappointing that the Academy decided not to nominate Ryan Gosling for his performance or for anything other than Michelle Williams in the Best Actress category. I would have thought that it was one of those ‘nominate one, nominate the other’ kind of deals, but not to be. His spot was taken by Javier Bardem for his turn in Biutiful, which was a bit of a surprise, seeing as he hadn’t been nominated anywhere else but the BAFTAs.

9. Best Original Screenplay: Animal Kingdom – David Michôd

So this wasn’t nominated in many other places, but in my opinion, it should have been somewhere. It’s just a little sad that this film only came away with one nomination, seeing at it is one of the best reviewed movies of the years. Must be a case of ‘it’s Australian, who cares’. Hey, I’m a New Zealander, and I rustled up the energy to care about this movie. The screenplay for this movie was pretty darn good with its structure and plot, especially considering the fact that this was a debut feature for Michôd.

8. Best Animated Feature: Tangled

I guess this one goes for Despicable Me as well. Just because they aren’t as great as Toy Story 3 doesn’t mean they should have been forgotten. Tangled is the standard in animation, and it should at least be recognized for the amazing visuals and happiness it provides. Then again, with Toy Story 3 shaping up to be The Social Network of the animated feature category, it doesn’t really matter what else is nominated.

7. Best Supporting Actress: Barbara Hershey – Black Swan

I think anyone who has seen Black Swan would agree with me: Barbara Hershey is one scary mamma. Did anyone think that she was like Margaret White in Carrie? Black Swan is such a well acted film, so it is a little strange that it only got one acting nom (which will probably win). Hershey deserved the nomination, even if she only got a BAFTA nom along the way. No wonder Nina was such a damaged soul.

6. Best Visual Effects: TRON: Legacy

Didn’t this seem like a no-brainer? The effects were pretty much the only things that made TRON: Legacy worth sitting through, and to be honest, they were pretty darn good visual effects. Somehow, Iron Man 2 managed to sneak through (what the hell?). A movie which houses a young Jeff Bridges and an old Jeff Bridges (neither of which actually look like normal Jeff Bridges), more lights than the world knowingly has and some amazing set pieces surely deserves an Oscar nomination in this category, no?

5. Best Editing: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

You know how hard it is to put up a sign saying that Salt is ‘nominated for an Oscar’ but end up putting nothing by Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? Take a second to imagine the poor editor who had to go through that movie. They had to add all of those extra effects on screen making the movie as kick-ass as it was. Yet, no recognition. Jeez, if I had it my way I would nominate this movie in every bloody category. But I guess the Academy aren’t ‘cool’ enough for this movie. Prepare to die, obviously.

4. Best Supporting Actress: Mila Kunis – Black Swan

I was really disappointed when I saw that Mila Kunis wasn’t nominated. Come on, she totally owned on screen. While it was all Natalie Portman’s film, Mila too went through hell for this movie (dislocated shoulder, two torn calf ligaments...). She also got a Golden Globe and a SAG nomination. She’s also got a movie about a casual relationship coming out this year. So why no love for her, Academy? You disappoint me.

3. Best Editing: Inception

This really seemed like a no brainer. When you have to edit through all those different layers and put them together so they all make sense, then you should get some recognition. The editing in Inception should not have only been nominated, but it should have won. Anyone that edits a Nolan film should win.

2. Best Supporting Actor: Andrew Garfield – The Social Network

There was a small part of me that could see this coming (as the missing SAG nom probably harmed his chances), but ANDREW GARFIELD SHOULD HAVE BEEN BLOODY NOMINATED! In such a well-acted film, nominating just Jesse Eisenberg makes it seem like he is the only reason to go and watch the film. He is not. ANDREW GARFIELD IS THERE TOO! And, to be quite frank, Andrew has probably the biggest future ahead of him after this movie. He was the one that everyone put on their list as the ‘top rising star of 2010’. So why wasn’t he nominated? WHY?! I still love you, Andrew. Academy, you better lawyer up, assholes, because he's not coming back for just a nomination...he is coming back for everything!

1. Best Director: Christopher Nolan – Inception

WHAT. THE. HELL. So, you’ve probably read my rant or whatever, and now you probably think I’m crazy. But you don’t just not nominate Christopher Nolan and expect to get away with it. You don’t just nominate him in every other award show but not at the Oscars. You don’t just ignore him for The Dark Knight and then ignore him for Inception. You don’t just hate on Nolan, full stop. He is amazing (in my eyes, at least). To be honest, he doesn’t need a fancy Oscar nomination to prove that. It’s just a nice thought.

An Open Letter to M. Night Shyamalan Re: The Last Airbender

Dear Mr. Shyamalan,

In 1999, you made a fantastic movie starring Bruce Willis named The Sixth Sense. That was a perfect example of mind-messery. It was a real success. You had people believing that you were the next Hitchcock. And maybe you could have been.
Let's skip forward a few years, to when you made Lady in the Water. It failed, no? But that couldn't have been enough to quash the feeling that you wanted to make another fantasy sort of film. After that one, you made The Happening. No one seemed to like that movie. Which is a real shame, since it has Marky Mark and Zooey Deschanel in it. Now you had people believing that you were the next Uwe Boll.
In 2010, you released a movie called The Last Airbender. You had everyone looking forward to it because it had such beloved source material.
But you fucked it up, big time.
You see, when it comes to doing a film filled to the brim with special effects and CGI, you really have to be a master at that. You don't want to ever just throw effects around willy nilly. It distracts from the story, which is never really a good thing. Another thing that distracts from the story, which I'm sure is very simple and straight-forward, is the way that it's told. It's damn near impossible to have a clear idea of what is going on at some points.


The nice young boy in the lead role is totally miscast.

You've probably heard about the cast of your movie. If the original cartoon had Asians, then why didn't you cast Asains? In fact, why were all these different races thrown around when they all should have been one? Beats me. And I know that the cast were young, but you could have at least directed them to act better than they did. In conclusion, your live action version of The Last Airbender was a mess. I don't even want to imagine what it was like in 3D.
Mr. Shyamalan, I want you to know that I do not hold anything against you. You probably worked very hard on this film. But it just sucked. I'm sorry, but its true.

Yours sincerely,

Stevee

P.S. I'm sure you're aware that you have been nominated for the following Razzies: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor and Actress, Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D, Worst Ensemble, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Remake. I wish you every success at these awards.

The Internet Inception Movie Database

That last one is a little old, I know, but you get the point. I love the folks at IMDb.*

*...and I should say that I only contributed one vote to each of them.

Cinema--Tangled

or: Rapunzel! Let down your hair!

One word to sum it up: Charming.

I have to wonder why not many people were wowed by Tangled. I went to go and see it with my eight year old niece and her friend, and I think I enjoyed it much more than they did. Sure, it isn't really Disney's best work, but it serves as a great reminder that Disney films have some masterful storytelling. Its a great movie to mark the 50th film from the studio, so why all the hate? People these days...

After receiving the healing powers from a magical flower, the baby Princess Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is kidnapped from the palace in the middle of the night by Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy). Mother Gothel knows that the flower's magical powers are now growing within the golden hair of Rapunzel, and to stay young, she must lock Rapunzel in her hidden tower. Rapunzel is now a teenager and her hair has grown to a length of 70-feet. The beautiful Rapunzel has been in the tower her entire life, and she is curious of the outside world. One day, the bandit Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) scales the tower and is taken captive by Rapunzel. Rapunzel strikes a deal with the charming thief to act as her guide to travel to the place where the floating lights come from that she has seen every year on her birthday. Rapunzel is about to have the most exciting and magnificent journey of her life.

Its quite surprising that the Academy decided to go for only three nominations in the 'Best Animated Feature' category, meaning that this and Despicable Me missed out on a spot. However, Tangled managed to receive a well deserved Oscar nomination for Best Original Song-'I See the Light'. Last year, The Princess and the Frog served as a 2D animated musical spectacular, but this year, Tangled steps it up a notch by being a 3D animated musical spectacular. I never saw it in 3D, but the visuals were pretty amazing. Really, its the vocal talents of Mandy Moore and a surprising Zachary Levi which steal the show here. They're never too overreactive with their vocal acting, and their voices suit the songs perfectly, making this not become one of those phony-star-studded-animated-flicks.

The songs, written by Alan Menken, are spellbinding, even if some of them are particularly uninspired. They fit well with the story, which is masterfully told through several interesting characters. Of course, we see the usual suspect animal sidekick, but times two, with the cute chameleon Pascal and the scene stealing horse Maverick. Like I do in most animated films, I found myself in tears at the end, but that only came after lots of decent laughs. In short, I loved Tangled. It was a beautiful ode to the story of Rapunzel.


THE VERDICT: Tangled is a stunning example of why Disney animated films still rule, with great vocal talents to boot.

8/10

AAN: Inception score vs. The Social Network score.

Annual Awards Nerdism: With both of these lovely scores currently on replay on my iPod, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. Especially because I really cannot decide which one is better. Other people may not think so, but I reckon these two scores are the front runners in the Oscar race, and they also just may be among the best scores of all time.

OPENING TRACK:
Inception-Half Remembered Dream

The Social Network-Hand Covers Bruise


Inception opens with some piano 'pings' (as I like to call them) playing while the first studio logos come on, and then it proceeds into a sound that is actually the tune to Edith Piaf's 'Non, je ne regrette rien' extremely slowed down. Its such a clever way to open the movie-and the soundtrack-as the whole thing is infused with tones of 'Non, je ne regrette rien' (probably because it serves as the 'kick'). Within the short track it also has a lot of eerie sounds which contribute to the 'dreaminess' aspect of it, and the second half sees a bit of music which is used throughout most of the movie.
The Social Network, of course, opens with the infamous break up seen, but the titles see 'Hand Covers Bruise' accompany Mark Zuckerberg running to his dorm (it takes a very long time). Trent Reznor says "I liked this noble melody that feels damaged, fraying around the edges with strings in the background. I like the tension, the feeling of falling apart." That is exactly what this track is all about. Its played several times throughout the movie, but I feel its best use is when Eduardo is explaining to Gretchen about how everyone elses shares weren't diluted but his were. Its an interesting track, though some would hardly recognize it as 'music'. Nevertheless, it seems to contribute to the 'betrayal' theme of this movie, somehow.
Winner of this round: The Social Network

CLOSING TRACK:
Inception-Time

The Social Network-Soft Trees Break the Fall


Inception's score ends on a high note, whereas by the time you get to the end of The Social Network's, it has toned down immensely. Another difference the two have is the fact that 'Time' is played during the film and 'Soft Trees Break the Fall' is played after the credits start rolling. All in all, they are both really beautiful tracks, but since I am a long time fan of 'Time', it will always win.
Winner of this round: Inception

THE MOST INDIVIDUAL TRACK:
Inception-Mombasa

The Social Network-In Motion


In Inception's score, 'Mombasa' sticks out like a sore thumb. Everything else is so dreamy and overly dependent on an entire orchestra of strings, whereas this is seems so computerized. Yet it fits the 'reality' aspect of this film quite well, as when Cobb is running from Cobol Engineering in Mombasa, one of the guys says to him "You're not dreaming now, are you?" I guess the bombastic nature of this song seems to add to that statement. This song is probably best used when you are exercising or trying to type really really fast...its like a rush of adrenaline.
The second track in The Social Network's score is 'In Motion', which is used in the scene where Mark retreats to his dorm room and starts bitching about Erica and gathering photos for 'Facemash'. Its one of m favourite tracks, as it doesn't have those eerie themes of betrayal and ambition going with it. Instead, it is a fast and peppy song which conveys a great deal of geekery within it. And, for some reason, it always makes me type really fast or feel like hacking. Not that I know how to do the later.
Winner of this round: The Social Network

BEST USED TRACK:
Inception-528491

The Social Network-Magnetic


'528491', which is the number that is often planted in Fischer's mind throughout the inception stages of his dream, is also the song which corresponds with many of his scenes. We first hear it when we first see Fischer 44 minutes into the film, and it is played quite a few times through the film. Its best use, though, is when Fischer gets shot by Mal and Ariadne comes up with the plan to drag him out of limbo. The song escalates until they find themselves on the shore of their subconscious, where its like the whole song just 'drops' and we hear the famous 'brrrrrrrrrrrrm' again. Its as epic as epic can be!
'Magnetic' is one of my most favourite tracks off The Social Network's score. Its played during the first meeting between Sean and Eduardo and Mark, and boy, does it go with that scene well. You can almost here the disenchantment Eduardo has with Sean swelling around it, but the 'coolness' of Sean is covering it up. Its a pretty hip little song, too.
Winner of this round: Inception (mainly 'coz that song has been my ringtone for months now)

WEAKEST TRACK:
Inception-Paradox

The Social Network-3:14 Every Night


These two tracks have never really gelled with me. 'Pardox', which plays when the van is under the water and everyone is climbing out, just doesn't really reach the heights the rest of the score provides. In saying that, it is a nice bridge between 'Waiting for a Train' and 'Time', and it also serves as a nice entrance to 'Time'. But it just doesn't feel right for me. I have the same feeling with '3:14 Every Night', which plays during the scene where Divya informs the Winklevii about 'The Facebook'. It has such a strange sound going through it, which makes me a little uncomfortable (not in a good way). And it pisses me off a little that there is more piano towards the end of the track. I think that song's a little too sinister for a drama about Facebook.
Winner of this round (the better one out of the two): Inception

DEFINING TRACK:
Inception-Dream is Collapsing

The Social Network-A Familiar Taste


'Dream is Collapsing' is a song which will be most associated with Inception because of two reasons: it plays a lot during the film and it also the song that cuts into the spinning top, causing a lot of anger. When you listen to this song, its like being thrown straight into a sea of epicness (bad description, I know), so its exactly like watching Inception, just in 2 minutes 24 seconds. I put this as my ringtone once, and it gave each text a purpose. I'm strange like that.
'A Familiar Taste' is the song that plays when 'Facemash' is launched and everyone at Harvard is having a go at it. This track feels very dirty, but it epitomizes what the film has in store. It has those early themes of betrayal, power, greed and drive running rabid through it. I think it will always be remembered for the way it fits to that cleverly edited scene which combines the Phoenix party with the rest of the Harvard system and little old Mark and his buddies being at the centre of it all. Which pretty much sums up the rest of the film, don't you think?
Winner of this round: The Social Network (by a nose).

BEST OVERALL TRACK:
Inception-Time

The Social Network-In the Hall of the Mountain King


Of course, by a landslide, the best track on the Inception score has to be 'Time'. Listen to this song with the headphones in, the volume turned right up and your eyes closed...its fucking amazing. This song deserves an Oscar on its own. Such a thrilling end to an amazing movie.
I realize that 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' isn't exactly original to The Social Network, but the revamp that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross give it is amazing. Its all in the way it zips and zaps. Thank goodness this was the song that accompanied that beautiful regatta scene.
Winner of this round: Inception

THE OVERALL WINNER:
The Social Network got 3 votes, but Inception came away with 4, just edging it out.
Hopefully this will be the case at the Oscars.

DVD--Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

or: Sequels that come a long time after.

One word to sum it up: Disappointing.

23 years was all it took to bring Gordon Gekko back to our screens and rattling off his philosophy of greed being good to anyone who will listen. How could you go wrong with that? Well, being the modern Oliver Stone, who last directed the sadly failed George Bush biopic W., there has to be some way of not doing it the right way. Those expecting full on Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps will be sadly disappointed. Instead, he becomes a supporting player to a love triangle between Shia LaBeouf, money and Carey Mulligan.

In 2001, corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) completes a prison sentence for money laundering. No one is there to meet him. Jump seven years: Gekko is promoting his book, his estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) is a political blogger engaged to Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), a hot-shot Wall Street trader, and an old nemesis of Gekko's, Bretton James (Josh Brolin), devours the firm Jake works for. When Jake's mentor takes his life, Jake wants revenge and Gordon may be the perfect ally. With the fiscal crisis of September 2008 as background, can Jake maintain Winnie's love, broker a rapprochement with her father, get his revenge, and find funds for a green-energy project he champions; or will greed trump all?

The performances in this are all fantastic. Shia LaBeouf takes the lead role in one of his first performances since that movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He gives it his all, and carries those lulls in the script quite well. Carey Mulligan, who was Oscar nominated for her performance in An Education, puts on a perfect American accent and steals the show...like always. Her and LaBeouf had excellent chemistry, which made their somewhat ordinary story easier to watch. Josh Brolin, the star of Jonah Hex and upcoming True Grit, takes another role of a villain, and, as always, plays it quite well. But we all know that the star of this movie is Michael Douglas. His Golden Globe nomination was well deserved (also was the standing ovation he received for beating cancer). He makes Gordon Gekko as scary as he was in the first film, and even though he is a supporting character, he still makes the film.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a fine sequel which even after 23 years of being off screen, Stone still finds ways to connect with the last one. We see Gekko's rather bulky 'mobile phone' and a cameo from Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox. The one thing Stone didn't carry through was the intense drama. The story is overrun by the soapie story of Winnie forgiving Gekko. Its nice to watch, but sometimes it feels like it belongs to another film, and just ends up making the runtime a little longer. In saying that, the very modern direction from Oliver Stone makes this movie worth its time. It has everything that could make a movie: great performances, great direction, quite a clever and intelligent screenplay. It just should have been better, thats all.


THE VERDICT: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a slightly long performance driven piece all about money. Fans of drama will definitely go for this.

6/10

Classic--Wall Street

or: When Charlie Sheen was an actor...and suspenders were 'in'

One word to sum it up: Busy.

While Wall Street is a portrait of corporate espionage and someone screwing over another, its also a portrait which gives the young a good idea of what the world was like back in 1987. There were those rather bulky computers which had the bottom line in graphics. There were those mobile phones which look more like cordless phones and probably couldn't fit in a pocket. And there was Charlie Sheen. Before Two and a Half Men and before the drugs and alcohol made him one of the most controversial figures today. So, basically, Wall Street perhaps isn't the best film for the young and ignorant to watch, because it simply maybe too unbelievable for them.

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a Wall Street stockbroker in early 1980's New York with a strong desire to get to the top. Working for his firm during the day, he spends his spare time working an on angle with the high-powered, extremely successful (but ruthless and greedy) broker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Fox finally meets with Gekko, who takes the youth under his wing and explains his philosophy that "Greed is Good". Taking the advice and working closely with Gekko, Fox soon finds himself swept into a world of "yuppies", shady business deals, the "good life", fast money, and fast women; something which is at odds with his family including his estranged father and the blue-collared way Fox was brought up.

Wall Street is completely run by Michael Douglas and his towering performance as villain Gordon Gekko. Everything he does or says is just so scary. If you were to mess with Gekko, then you would probably be dead. I guess that's why Douglas got the Oscar. Gekko's cool demeanour also makes the character of Bud Fox interesting. Fox is an innocent being, but once he gets screwed over by Gekko, the decision he makes to retaliate is a very interesting one. Its like you'd have to resort to anything to take Gekko down. I imagine this movie would have been one of those 'zeitgeist' creations back in its day, but the movie has clearly had a resounding influence on some Hollywood films; most recently, The Social Network. Its themes of power, happiness, doing the right thing, and of course, greed are explored quite well. The backdrop being the money market only makes it more interesting.

The film is filled with clever dialogue and a smart look at a smart landscape. Sometimes it delves into becoming an over dramatic piece of work, but all in all, Oliver Stone did a good job with portraying humanity at its worst. Unfortunately, the modern mainstream viewer probably won't take to it that much since it has seemed to age really bad. Considering the attention it should be receiving thanks to the sequel's release, this could be a problem. However, those who put themselves right into this movie will probably get the most out.


THE VERDICT: A fearless portrayal of the money market in the 1980's, combining themes of power, revenge and greed perfectly. And it has that wonderful performance from Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko.

8/10

Reviews Round Up: Dramas-The Runaways, A Prophet & Charlie St. Cloud

The Runaways

I don't know why so many people hated this movie. Sure, it has the weird grainy filming that screams the 70s, and it doesn't really get to be an indepth biopic, but I found it to be really cool. Mainly because of the performances. This must be the first good performance Kristen Stewart has done since she started the Twilight saga ruined her career. I think that has something to do with the fact that she didn't touch her hair that much. Michael Shannon, who I'll always remember for his psychotic performance in Revolutionary Road, was pretty damn fantastic (as always) as the band's promoter Kim Fowley. To me, though, the performance Dakota Fanning gave in this was simply amazing, even Oscar worthy. It was so great to see her all grown up (well, she was 15 years old in the movie...if you would call that 'grown up'), and she really went for it in this movie. Floria Sigismondi delivers an always interesting look into the lives of those who start a trend and are loved for it...even if we have seen the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll thing many times before.

8/10

A Prophet

I didn't completely understand A Prophet, the much acclaimed French thriller directed by Jacques Audiard which was beaten by The Secret in Their Eyes to the foreign film award at the Oscars. In saying that, the concept was pretty good, and it seemed to have all the narrative devices well in place. I'm sure that on a second watch, I will really get it, and it will pack a bit more of a punch. Tahar Rahim's performance in this is exceptional. He really carries the whole thing. To go with his performance is some interesting and hauting direction, which also accompanies a brilliant soundtrack. A Prophet walks over some well trodden ground, but it's pretty original and definitely stands out.

7/10

Charlie St. Cloud

 

Charlie St. Cloud is arguably Zac Efron's first big lead role since that Disney business, and even though the material is a little shonky, his performance can't be ignored. Based on the book The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, Efron plays the titular character who can't escape from his past as he has made a promise to his dead brother, and a girl (Amanda Crew) he knew in high school comes back into his life and threatens to break his promise. It's really meddling stuff, but I found it shamelessly entertaining. It wasn't really that bad. I'm sure girls my age and up will probably be a wreck at the end of it (I wasn't particularly moved by it). As weird as it is to see Efron as a grown up, I think he has a real future. He just maybe needs to steer away from mindless movies like this and more into the direction that Me and Orson Welles was leading him.

6/10

AAN: My thoughts on the Oscar nominations (w/ Leo, Zuck and Steve)

I may have said that the awards season was becoming quite boring. Yeah, I wanted them to shake it up for the Oscars. But I didn't mean shake it up that much. *deep breath* Here I go with another post for Annual Awards Nerdism.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR: 127 Hours / Black Swan / The Fighter / Inception / The Kids Are All Right / The King's Speech / The Social Network / Toy Story 3 / True Grit / Winter's Bone
Predictions right: 10 out of 10

I was really happy when I saw this lineup. I mean, thank God there were 10 spots available, because movies like Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3 probably wouldn't have gotten a look in. Speaking of the latter, I am pretty sure we are going to see a trend of one animated movie getting nominated in this category every year. I'm so glad Toy Story 3 got nominated...it is truly the best animated feature I have ever seen. I don't know why everyone was thinking 127 Hours wouldn't get nominated. It looks like it is made particularly for awards season, and it would have been a bloody (no pun intended) shock if it didn't get nominated. Obviously, The Social Network will win, but there could be a Crash upset in the form of The King's Speech or, hopefully, Inception. Especially since The King's Speech leads the field with 12 nominations (and rightfully so, such a great movie).
The snubees: The Town, How to Train Your Dragon, Animal Kingdom, Blue Valentine.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Javier Bardem in Biutiful / Jeff Bridges for True Grit / Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network / Colin Firth for The King's Speech / James Franco for 127 Hours
Predictions right: 3 out of 5: Eisenberg, Firth, Franco. No Duvall or Gosling.

Really, there are only three actors in this race: Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth and James Franco. While I hear that Javier Bardem is good in Biutiful, and that Jeff Bridges deserves the Oscar more for True Grit then he did for last years Crazy Heart, I'm not completely convinced by their nominations. Javier only turned up in the BAFTA nominations (along with a Satelite award nomination), and is possibly the rank outsider in this race. Jeff Bridges has turned up in several categories, but isn't really considered as a 'lock' like the other three nominees. The great thing about Bridges being nominated, though, is the fact that Colin Firth will be able to beat him, just as he should have last year with A Single Man. Among these much experienced contestants is 27 year old Jesse Eisenberg and 32 year old James Franco. Given that Jesse's claim to fame is Zombieland (and Juno, apparently) and James's claim to fame is Pineapple Express, these two have done remarkably well, seeing as they have been nominated at every awards show for this category. I would love for them to upset, but if Firth doesn't win, someone is going to die.
The snubees: Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine, Robert Duvall for Get Low, Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island, Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter, Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right / Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole / Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone / Natalie Portman for Black Swan / Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine
Predictions right: 5 out of 5

This, I guess, is the perfect lineup of actresses. The only thing it's missing is Julianne Moore. Out of the five performances, I have only seen Natalie Portman's, and its fair to say, she deserves the award. The fifth spot, which has gone to Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine, has always been undecided. In the SAG nominations, it was taken by two time winner Hilary Swank for her turn in Conviction, and at the BAFTAs, it was taken Noomi Rapace for her turn in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. However, I believe they picked the right person, as Williams is always fantastic in her movies, and this award should also cover her snub for Wendy and Lucy. Everyone in this category has been nominated at least once, apart from newcomer Jennifer Lawrence. I haven't heard amazing things about Winter's Bone, but I've heard that she is really good, so it's great that such a young actress has made it this far. Nicole Kidman has already won an Oscar, so it's difficult to see her coming through and winning, but it is possible. Annette Bening, the biggest threat to Natalie Portman, gets her fourth Oscar nomination for her work in The Kids Are All Right, ahead of the oft-snubbed Julianne Moore. It's a shame to see that Moore is continuously forgotten for her role in this movie (or just plain forgotten).
The snubees: Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right, Noomi Rapace for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice, Hilary Swank for Conviction.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Christian Bale for The Fighter / John Hawkes for Winter's Bone / Jeremy Renner for The Town / Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right / Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
Predictions right: 4 out of 5: Bale, Renner, Ruffalo, Rush. No Garfield.

No, no, no, no, no. Where the hell is Andrew Garfield? I feel like him not being nominated is like saying Jesse Eisenberg's performance in The Social Network is the only one worthy of attention. Which it's not. Garfield was amazing in that movie, and probably came out of it with more promise then Eisenberg did. So why isn't he nominated? Must have something to do with his SAG snub. John Hawkes from Winter's Bone takes his place, which is great because I haven't really heard much about him, so that adds that 'mysterious new guy' factor to the category. Finally, Mark Ruffalo gets his well deserved Oscar nomination which has been a long time in coming.  Jeremy Renner gets nominated for the second year in a row for the much snubbed The Town, ahead of late co-star Pete Postlethwaite. I loved Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech, so it's great to see him nominated. But who could possibly beat Christian Bale? Finally, the guy gets the Oscar nomination he should have gotten years ago. Looks like his first nomination will get him his first win, too.
The snubees: Andrew Garfield for The Social Network, Justin Timberlake for The Social Network, Armie Hammer for The Social Network, Pete Postlethwaite for The Town, Guy Pearce for The King's Speech, Vincent Cassel for Black Swan, Sam Rockwell for Conviction, Michael Douglas for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Amy Adams for The Fighter / Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech / Melissa Leo for The Fighter / Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit / Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom
Predictions right: 4 out of 5: Adams, Carter, Leo, Weaver. No Kunis.

While I love the nominations they have here, I'm a little sad to see that both Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis were snubbed for their performances in Black Swan, leaving Natalie Portman as the sole acting nominee for that film. Otherwise, this lineup is great. It's always wonderful to see a young actress get a nomination, and Hailee Steinfeld (who probably belonged in the Best Actress category), in her first feature film at the age of 14, becomes an Oscar nominee. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing the wrong thing. My favourite nomination in this is Jacki Weaver. She is so great in Animal Kingdom, and it's nice to see that she alone makes the movie an 'Academy Award nominee'. It deserved so many more nominations, but, alas, the Oscars are American and the movie is Australian. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo will be preparing for battle over this award, because they probably have the best chance of winning. As for Helena Bonham Carter...well, we know she'll be there to congratulate whoever wins with a bitchy eyeroll.
The snubees: Lesley Manville for Another Year, Mila Kunis for Black Swan, Barbara Hershey for Black Swan, Marion Cotillard for Inception, Rooney Mara for The Social Network

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING: Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan / Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for True Grit / David Fincher for The Social Network / Tom Hooper for The King's Speech / David O. Russell for The Fighter
Predictions right: 3 out of 5: Aronofsky, Fincher, Hooper. No Boyle or Nolan (sob)

When I came out from Inception for the first time, I remember telling my friend that "this movie better win Best Picture, Director and Screenplay). Well, it looks like that dream is fading further and further away. Of course, I've already had my rant about Christopher 'God' Nolan not being nominated, so I won't put you through that again. I'd just like to say that the nomination of David O. Russell is a bit of a shock, because he was the rank outsider at the Golden Globes. Oh well, it saves Nolan from being beaten up by him at the Oscars for the award. If anything, I am very pro-Darren Aronofsky for this award, because I thought his direction in Black Swan was amazing. David Fincher may win, but I definitely think Aronofsky is the best in this lineup. As for the Coens, who got a somewhat surprising nomination, well, they've already won four Oscars (one for directing No Country for Old Men), so they probably don't need another one for True Grit. I would have preferred to see Danny Boyle in here.
The snubees: Christopher Nolan for Inception (he was the most tweeted of anything Oscar this morning, too), Danny Boyle for 127 Hours, Edgar Wright for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Ben Affleck for The Town, Debra Granik for Winter's Bone

The rest of the nominees and Leo/Zuck/Steve's after the jump...

HOW DARE THEY NOT NOMINATE CHRISTOPHER NOLAN FOR BEST DIRECTOR!

*offensive language follows*
What the FUCK is this fuckery?! Did the voters not see Inception? Or The Dark Knight? Or the rest of Christopher's fucking films? I am so fucking disappoint. He has been nominated everywhere else, but not here. No, David O. Russell, the guy that tried to beat him up, is fucking nominated.
Fuck the Academy, Christopher fucking Nolan is still the best fucking director alive.
At least he's nominated for best screenplay, which is goingto fucking win.

...and Andrew Garfield was snubbed. How dare they do that either?

I'll give you my Leo/Zuck/ STEVE reactions soon, once I have calmed down.

AAN: My predictions for the Oscar nominations.

I know that everyone is doing them, and everyone's nominations are probably all the same, but I really need to get these predictions down in writing. And then I am going to con someone into paying me for every nomination I get right. Mwahahahahahahahahahaha...

BEST PICTURE: 127 Hours / Black Swan / Inception / The Fighter / The Kids Are All Right / The King's Speech / The Social Network / Toy Story 3 / True Grit / Winter's Bone

BEST ACTOR: Robert Duvall for Get Low / Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network / Colin Firth for The King's Speech / James Franco for 127 Hours / Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine

BEST ACTRESS: Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right / Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole / Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone / Natalie Portman for Black Swan / Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale for The Fighter / Andrew Garfield for The Social Network / Jeremy Renner for The Town / Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right / Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Adams for The Fighter / Helena Bohnam Carter for The King's Speech / Mila Kunis for Black Swan / Melissa Leo for The Fighter / Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

BEST DIRECTOR: Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan / Danny Boyle for 127 Hours / David Fincher for The Social Network / Tom Hooper for The King's Speech / Christopher Nolan for Inception

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for 127 Hours / Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network / Peter Craig, Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard for The Town / Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit / Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Winter's Bone

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Max Heyman, Andres Heinz and John J. McLaughlin for Black Swan / Christopher Nolan for Inception / Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson for The Fighter / Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for The Kids Are All Right / David Seidler for The King's Speech

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: 127 Hours / Black Swan / Inception / The Social Network / True Grit

BEST ART DIRECTION: Alice in Wonderland / Black Swan / Inception / The King's Speech / True Grit

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Alice in Wonderland / Black Swan / The King's Speech / The Social Network / True Grit

BEST SOUND: 127 Hours / Black Swan / Inception / The Social Network / True Grit

BEST EDITING: 127 Hours / Black Swan / Inception / The King's Speech / The Social Network

BEST SOUND EDITING: 127 Hours / Black Swan / Inception / TRON: Legacy / True Grit

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Harry Potter 7 / Inception / TRON: Legacy

BEST MAKEUP: Alice in Wonderland / Black Swan / Harry Potter 7

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "If I Rise" 127 Hours / "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Burlesque / "Coming Home" Country Strong / "I See the Light" Tangled / "We Belong Together" Toy Story 3

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: A.R. Rahman for 127 Hours / Clint Mansell for Black Swan / Hans Zimmer for Inception / Alexandre Desplat for The King's Speech / Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network

Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Short Film, Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film I have literally no clue about.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Despicable Me / How to Train Your Dragon / The Illusionist / Tangled / Toy Story 3

Review Round Up: Comedies-Grown Ups & Vampires Suck

Since I'm lazy and so far behind in my reviews, I've decided to combine a couple of reviews just to save time and unnecessary space. Because I don't really think Vampires Suck quite deserves a whole place to itself.

Grown Ups

To be perfectly honest, and I will probably get shot for saying this, Grown Ups was quite entertaining. Like, I wouldn't say its the best comedy ever, and it sure does squander some of the funny men on display, but it was an easy watch. From a critical standpoint, though, this movie lacks focus. One minute it is trying to be a heavy slapstick comedy, then it is trrying to be all heart warming. I think the main message they were trying to get across was that kids these days are too obsessed with technology to see what's outside. But really, it just came across as these old people trying to relive their childhoods. It also proves that Adam Sandler doesn't have it anymore. And there's that irony that Grown Ups is a very immature comedy. My niece seemed to enjoy it, though.

5/10



Vampires Suck

I have never ever watched one of those spoof movies up until now. The only reason I bothered with Vampires Suck is the fact that it puts one of my favourite pasttimes into a feature length film: making fun of Twilight. Shame is, this movie is far worse than whole series and its insane fan base put together. The jokes are cheap, the various references to pop culture are awfully exaggerated and the way they try and make fun of the film by copying it word for word and just adding immature 'funnies' is horrible. I didn't laugh once. I mean, what the fuck?! Why do people make and watch SHIT like this?! Making Jacob a chihuahua, turning Bella into a burger or getting the 'werewolves' to dance to 'It's Raining Men' just isn't funny. I'd rather watch the spoofs they have on youtube, they are funnier. The only thing this movie has going for it is the fact that Jenn Proske, the girl who plays 'Becca', is actually really good at imitating Kristen Stewart. She has a future.

1/10

DVD--The Education of Charlie Banks

or: How a boy came of age.

One word to sum it up: Long.

Once upon a time, the Oscar nominee (well, I'm assuming he'll get the nomination) Jesse Eisenberg used to act in little known films which tried to prove his dramatic talents. Of course, none of them seemed to compare to his role in that film. Not even The Education of Charlie Banks, a coming of age flick of sorts. And its not Jesse who shines in this movie. What?!

Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) and his best friend, Danny (Chris Marquette), grew up in a rough section of New York, where they both knew Mick (Jason Ritter), a kid whose was much admired for his cool and equally feared for his talent for violence. When Mick got into a fight that left two teens nearly dead, Charlie was a witness, and when he was approached by the police, Charlie told them what he saw, though he later refused to testify against Mick in court for fear of his own safety. Several years later, Charlie and Danny have left the old neighbourhood behind and are students at a prestigious private university when Mick pays them an unexpected visit. Charlie has no idea if Mick knows that he informed on him to the police, and is afraid to find out, but in the meantime, Mick aggressively reintroduces himself into Charlie and Danny's lives. As Mick starts dressing like a wealthy college boy and dating a girl Charlie has a crush on, he seems to be transforming himself into someone who can be all Charlie is and more, but in time Mick learns he can't completely turn his back on his past.

As much as I hate using this term for a movie, I found The Education of Charlie Banks to be quite boring. I don't know why this was. I usually love coming-of-age flicks. This one was just...well, it just didn't really go anywhere. All I found out was that Mick was a dick, and he was bound to come undone one day, so the final act wasn't so much of a surprise. There wasn't much of a narrative which is always a problem with me. Instead, there was a very sub standard story, with a few perks which kept me watching. It's largely uneven, so I couldn't tell exactly what I was supposed to think of the people.

Jesse Eisenberg has developed that geeky awkwardness character which defines him, and it's certainly evident in his performance here. While its a good showing, it's hard to take the guy seriously sometimes, which has no doubt to do with the uneveness of the film. The best performance within the film, however, is from Jason Ritter as Mick. His performance was utterly fearless, which made me more and more interesed in this Mick character. The material may not have matched up with the characterization work Ritter did. There are quite a few people who admire this movie, but I couldn't really get into it. The end really shocked me, as it wasn't a particularly nice way to end a movie.


THE VERDICT: Stretched out to it's limit, The Education of Charlie Banks never really reaches anywhere, thanks to the uneven script. Performances are good, though.

4/10

AAN: For Your Consideration-The actors of The Social Network

It's not like The Social Network needs any more awards, because, quite frankly, it has this whole awards season won. While most people keep going on about how great the Aaron Sorkin script is or what a great transformation this is for Jesse Eisenberg, many seem to forget the other actors and actresses in this movie. Without their stellar, polished performances obviously made perfect by David Fincher's 50 take regime, this movie wouldn't have been nearly the Citizen Kane comparison it has become. Let's have a look at the people who have a sizeable part in this film:

Jesse Eisenberg has the lead in this film, and to the surprise of many sceptics, he does a star job which has seen him become a front runner in the awards race. Before this movie had come out, Jesse shot to fame in such films as Adventureland and Zombieland, but was quickly degraded to being another Michael Cera. As soon as The Social Network came out, people soon started to sing his praises. The thing is, you can't read too much into his version of Mark Zuckerberg, because we can't quite believe that someone could really be that deadpan. It's just the way that Jesse wraps himself around Sorkin's dialogue, where he finds himself having a million conversations rolled into one and subtly dragging people down to his level. If you dare try and look into his eyes, it's like nothing is happening, even though you can feel thoughts bouncing around his brain at a million miles an hour. It's a rare trait that Jesse possesses, which could see him nabbing the Oscar (that's if he can get past Colin Firth, which probably won't happen). The bad thing about his performance is that it outshines everyone, and all the other great performances within the movie are often forgotten.

Andrew Garfield serves as the most emotional part of the film, which seems to be working in his favour when it comes to the awards. His supporting performance is by no means the best, as there isn't really a lot for him to chew on, but he has made use of this opportunity to let his star shine. Whenever he's on screen, he seems to light it up, playing the Phoenix dreamer who is often misunderstood and forgotten. Andrew does a remarkable job, and once the second half unravels we see Eduardo Saverin becoming a main character, as we see all the bad things about Zuckerberg coming straight from his characters perspective. It’s a little strange that Andrew is getting so much attention for this role particularly, when he also starred in Never Let Me Go, which has been surprisingly missing from awards circuits. Though he hasn’t got the SAG award nomination to back him up, I’d be very surprised if he didn’t get nominated.

Thought Jesse had it tough when he had to play a cynical billionaire instead of being an awkward lovesick puppy? Well nothing could beat the difficulty Armie Hammer must have faced when he was chosen to play not one, but two characters. Instead of getting a set of twins to play Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, David Fincher opted to get two very different looking people to play the two, and then covered up Josh Pence’s face with Armie’s. The best thing about this is the fact that Armie is so great at playing both of them and pulls of the twin thing entirely. While they are identical and do everything exactly the same, you can always feel the difference in Armie’s performance. It’s a little scary watching the characters interact sometimes. I’m surprised that more people haven’t picked up on his performances. He plays the power-hungry, always a winner, and slightly arrogant pretty boy perfectly, times two.

Heads were turned and eyes were rolled when people found out that this movie starred Justin Timberlake. Sure, he had been in some decent movies, but he’ll always be the little teen idol from N*sync. I think you’ll agree, Timberlake was pretty damn good as Sean Parker. He does some great characterization, especially when there are all those hints of Sean’s possible paranoia. If we were to see another film about Sean, then it could be possible that he clearly has some mental issues. He’s like that kid who isn’t really that cool until he gets a lot of confidence, which is by no means natural. Even though Mark can’t see it, but the audience sees that Sean is a bit of a dodgy dealer and is not to be messed with. He always has to be at the centre of everything, and if anything, Sean is really the villain of this story. That is a point that Timberlake plays with by making the character very cocky. Once you confront him or put him down in any way, he falls apart, as seen in the moment where Eduardo goes to punch him.

Max Minghella, who plays the Winklevoss’s friend Divya Narendra, is often the most forgotten actor in this movie. Sure, Narendra isn’t the biggest figure in this movie, as he is often over shadowed by his twin friends, but without Narendra, there wouldn’t have been any Winklevoss’s. He’s the voice of reason for them, and is also the brain box who figures out their ideas and puts them into action. It goes without saying; he has one of the best lines in the film: “No, I wanna hire the Sopranos to beat the shit out of him with a hammer!” (which was outshone by Tyler’s line “I’m 6’5”, 220 points, and there’s two of me.”). His performance isn’t exactly awards worthy, but he doesn’t deserve being forgotten. After all, he managed to get nominated with everyone else for the ‘Best Acting Ensemble’ award at the Screen Actors Guild, ahead of the following actors.

One of the scenes most associated with The Social Network is its brilliant opening scene where we see Mark in conversation with his then girlfriend Erica Albright. This is barely what you would call a one man show from Eisenberg. Rooney Mara is perfect in this scene. As she is perfect in her brief second scene and her third scene, where she pushes Mark away in front of all her friends. She seems to be the only one in this movie who can take a beating from Mark’s words and retaliate quickly, leaving Mark lost for words (which is something that doesn’t happen often in the film). I love her power and soul in this movie so much that I rank her as one of my favourite supporting performances in 2010 and also one of the better performances within this film. Sadly, she didn’t make the cut for the ‘Best Ensemble’ award at the Screen Actors Guild, nor is she likely to get any other nominations, but I can see heaps coming her way once The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes out. Just you wait and see.

If people were paying attention to this film enough back in the early days, then their heads probably turned and their eyes would have rolled when they heard that Brenda Song was another Disney star joining the film. Brenda plays Eduardo’s psychotic girlfriend Christy Lee, who is maybe a little too clingy, a little too questionable and a little too overbearing, that she could have driven Eduardo to insanity if he didn’t abort ship. This is a perfect role for Brenda to break out of the Disney curse with, but she didn’t quite do that, as she is still tied to many Disney projects. She was great in the role, even if she was trying a little too hard to be really scary.

Another performance which is all too forgotten is Rashida Jones’ turn as Marylin Delpy, one of the people sitting in on the court cases which Mark found himself in. It’s a little silly that she is forgotten, because she has the last stab in this movie, with the line “You’re not an asshole, Mark. You’re just trying so hard to be.” Like Max Minghella, Rashida’s performance is by no means awards worthy, but she proves that she can carry her background role with the necessary means. Marylin may be the only one who believes in Mark in the end, which makes the decision to love or loathe him very hard.

Other performances within the film that should be recognized are: Joseph Mazzello as Dustin Moskovitz, Denise Grayson as Gretchen, and John Getz as Sy.

DVD--City Island

or: Dysfunctional family.

One word to sum it up: Funny.

Along with coming-of-age films, dysfunctional family films have always been a specialty for me. While Little Miss Sunshine may have had the quirk factor turned up to 100%, City Island is different in the fact that it is heartwarmingly funny, even though the characters tend to get on your nerves a little (in a good way). There aren't any dead grandpas in the boot (but there is Alan Arkin), nor is there a child dirty dancing. Instead, City Island adopts a romance that never happens and a rather...strange relationship.

The Rizzos are a family who don't share their habits, aspirations or careers with each other, and are often doing their own thing. The patriarch, Vince (Andy Garcia), who is a corrections officer, brings home a young ex-con, Tony (Steven Strait), one night, who he discovers is his estranged son. This man threatens to uncover the secrets in this family: that Vince wants to be an actor and spends his nights chatting with a fellow wannabe actor Molly (Emily Mortimer); Vince's wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is out to seek revenge on her husband going out all the time by starting an affair with Tony; their daughter, Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) isn't really attending college and she's actually a stripper; and their son, Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) has a very strange fetish...

Before I watched City Island, I wasn't in a very good mood, but this movie really cheered me up. It's by no means perfect, as it is occasionally dragged down by some squandering of valuable running time. Truth is, this movie is one of the better dysfunctional family comedies out there. I don't know what it is, but it just has that certain pizazz that not many of them have. Secrets within the family isn't exactly a new concept. Raymond  De Felitta (writer/director) just gives us some interesting new spins on them which are completely realistic, and manges to throw an idea around like a ball in a pinball machine until it falls nicely in place, so he'll move onto the next one. The good thing is that he can do this simultaneously to have a flawless effect, and to be honest, the end result is great. He has a knack for telling a family story exactly how it is. He doesn't linger too long on regrets or trying to keep the family together, because for most of the movie, the family is so apart that you wouldn't believe they are a family. It's interesting and funny to watch the fall and rise of the patriarch, and everything that goes on beneath him.

Making up the family is a great ensemble of actors. Andy Garcia takes the central role, which is one of his best performances in years. Julianna Margulies plays his long-suffering and temperamental wife who is obviously bored, but seems to revel in that by making everyone else feel her pain. Dominik Garcia-Lorido, who is in fact Garcia's real-life daughter, is the ordinary girl not doing what she should be doing. Steven Strait delivers a stand out performance as the con with a heart. I don't whether it was just me, but I absolutely loved Emily Mortimer in this. Perhaps watching Harry Brown a couple of days before helped, but she was perfect as the sort of romantic figure in here, who isn't seen to unravel until the very end. The family performances were fantastic, and added the perfect touch to such a great film that I'd definitely go for again.


THE VERDICT: City Island is a sweet and funny dysfunctional comedy which is to be seen by anyone. Its sharply scripted and well performed, and will undoubtedly manage to make you smile.

8/10