Sometimes what we have built up in our mind creates an unfair disadvantage … such was my struggle to get past one of the most iconic movies in history – “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) – and truly enjoy “Oz: The Great and Powerful”.

That’s not to say that this movie isn’t without merit, its just difficult to be fair with a movie that tells the backstory of a movie I have seen once in the theater and 30+ times on my home tv screen.

WARNING TO PARENTS: some of the images in the movie may be too scary for kids 5 and under, the movie is rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language.

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” poster courtesy Disney

(My spoiler-free review)

The scenery of “Oz: The Great and Powerful” looks incredible… we are immersed in this larger slice of the Land of Oz than we’ve ever seen before… the colors are so vibrant and vivid… everything around the characters just pops… like a storybook come-to-life.    The movie will likely get an Oscar nomination for Production Design and/or Visual Effects.

The costumes look good and the acting and writing is pretty solid.

The story is interesting and engaging and connects nicely to the original – explaining some things about what had happened *before* Dorothy arrived.

This “Oz” is fun and whimsy, but even though its a prequel, it will never live up to the original… and that’s almost unfair to try to compare it.

We get a fleshed out back story to who the Wizard is and how he ended up in Oz and why he uses the projection machine with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.  We learn about how the Wicked Witch and her sister became the Wicked Witch of the West and the East.  We find out why Glinda the Good is protective of munchkinland and why she travels by bubble.

One of the biggest strengths of story is that “Oz: The Great and Powerful” is a better prequel than “Revenge of the Sith” (2005) because we get a very clear and legitimate explanation of how the Wicked Witch of the West turned to the “darkside”.

I also enjoyed the loving nods to the original movie, in the areas they were able to do that without copyright infringement (see below).

There are also some fun little elements of comedy woven into this fantastical story… some will help lighten the mood or just make us smile.

BUT…. “Oz” still creates some new questions about things going in the classic movie: like the ruby slippers, and where did some of the other characters go?  We meet them here, but we don’t see them in “Wizard of Oz”.

I also didn’t like the witch’s transformation into the green skinned villain we all know… it needed to be less CGI and more practical… it also didn’t need to be risque… which we get several little moments of throughout the movie.  Which is unfortunate because the movie is a PG movie aimed at families, but “Oz: The Great and Powerful” is not completely family friendly – there are some not-so-family friendly themes and innuendos PLUS some scary images that may be too much for the young kids in the audience.

Some of the scenes seemed were way too much CGI compared to the original… to make it more seamless, it would have been a nice touch to be more practical with many of the effects to add to the believability that this is the same land we see in “Wizard of Oz”.

Those 30+ viewings of “The Wizard of Oz” had me trained to expect a musical number coming up in every other scene… while there was one… I almost wanted at least some music that border-lined on the feeling of the original.

And (sorry minor spoiler)…. (more…)

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” poster courtesy Disney

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” was filmed mostly – about 6 months – in 2011 at Pontiac’s Michigan Motion Picture Studios, which was then called Raleigh Michigan Studios (the name changed a few months after production wrapped).

“Oz: The Great and Powerful”is the largest film to ever be shot in Michigan.

The estimated $200 million dollar budget movie spent about half that in Michigan…  $105-million movie took over all seven sound stages for much of 2011.   “Oz” came to Pontiac because it was approved for a $40-million Michigan film tax credit.

The Disney 3D epic prequel was directed by Michigan native Sam Raimi (born in Royal Oak, MI).

L. Frank Baum’s book “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was heavily influenced by landmarks in Holland, Michigan where he would spend summers with his great-grandfather.   The  Yellow Brick Road was reportedly named after the winding cobblestone roads in the town.

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” was filmed in 3D, being released in traditional 2D, as well as in 3D and IMAX 3D format.

Lansing native Tim Holmes plays “The Strongman” in the 1905 Kansas Circus scenes at the beginning of the movie… he has a few lines of dialogue.

Michigan’s many connections to Michigan: http://youtu.be/aG5y4ZxJ9SU

2011 post about “Oz” coming to Michigan: http://blogs.woodtv.com/2011/05/13/no-place-like-michigan-wizard-of-oz-prequel-coming-soon/

I’ll post my review of the movie early Friday morning, just after midnight!

And I’ll have 2 stories on the production – with reaction from the cast and crew that made the movie possible.

-

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” poster courtesy Walt Disney Pictures

Subscribe to my blog (get email updates whenever I post a new blog): http://feeds2.feedburner.com/woodtv8-blogs-laff-at-the-movies?format=html

(more…)

Putting a healthy and delicious dish on the table doesn’t have to take all night or become a major construction project.  This is a good, green go-to from my “Weeknights with Giada” cookbook, a Christmas gift that keeps on giving. (Thanks, fellow foodie Amanda Harper!)  Tonight’s fare – Ricotta Cheese, Lentil and Brown Rice Rolls.

Here’s what they look like in progress. Me and my new baking bestie Giada love that dark green good-for-you color of the Swiss chard leaves that form the wraps for this easy to put together palette please-r.  No need to keep you waiting. Here’s all you need to know:

Ingredients:

5 large Swiss chard leaves
1 15-oz can cooked lentils, rinsed and drained.   Another option.  I cooked my own lentils, which took an entire 10 minutes.  Sort, rinse, boil, done.
1 1/2 cups ready cooked brown rice  Or – I am madly in love with my rice cooker and use it every weekend, so ready cooked brown rice?  Done.
1/4 cup (4 ounces) whole-milk ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 packed cup (1 ounce) baby arugula leaves, chopped. This is when I miss my garden most.
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint. Again, the garden missing.
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon Kosher sale
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) marinara or tomato-basil sauce  I used about half this much and was happy with the results.

Place oven rack in center of oven.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter an 8 X 8 baking dish and set aside.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Remove the thick stem from the center of each chard leaf.  Trim the ends to make each leaf half about 7 incheds long and 4 inches wide.  Here’s where I improvised a bit, having chard that didn’t seem to care how wide or long it was.  Add the leaves to the boiling water and cook for 10 seconds.  Seriously. This recipe says 10 seconds.  Not sure what kind of an oven timer you have, but mine goes off by the time I set it for 10 seconds.  I say, ‘boil quickly or until leaves become slightly limp’.  So, after you boil them, rinse them with cold water and let them drain on paper towels.

In a medium bowl, mix the lentils, brown rice, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup olive oil, arugula, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.  Spoon 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan.  Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup of the filling onto the end of each leap and roll up like a burrito, tucking in the sides as you go. Arrange the rolls, seam side down, in a single layer on top of the sauce.  Spoon the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Slide the baking dish into the oven an bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown and the rolls are heated through.  Cool for five minutes are serve.

Enjoy!

“Argo” wins best picture and breaks trend, “Life of Pi” leads a spread-the-wealth ceremony, and Daniel Day-Lewis makes Oscars history

Ben Affleck (center) in “Argo” photo courtesy Warner Brothers

 The 85th Oscars saw history, a break from the norm, and as I predicted – the wins were spread out amoung a handful of movies.

“Life of Pi” wins 4
It wasn’t a runaway hit, but “Life of Pi” picked up 4 Oscars (out of 11 nominations) for Best Director (Ang Lee), Cinematography, Musical Score, and Visual Effects.
["Life of Pi" - My Pick to see (video review): http://youtu.be/iEK5025AoSY ]

“Argo” wins 3
In addition to Best Picture, “Argo” also won for Adapted Screenplay and Editing for a total of 3 Oscars (out of 7 nominations).   With its Best Picture win and Ben Affleck’s snub from the directing category, 2013 saw a break in the 23 year trend of the Oscar winning Best Picture also having its director nominated.   1990 was the last time that a movie – “Driving Miss Daisy” – won Best Picture without its director at least getting a nomination.  That also happened in 1929 (“Wings”) and 1932 (“Grand Hotel”).    For the last 23 years, its almost been automatic that the same movie won both Best Picture and Best Director, “Argo” makes it just the 6th time recently that “split” has happened – “Crash” (2006 – Ang Lee won for “Brokeback Mountain”), “Chicago” (2003 – Roman Polanski won for “The Pianist”), “Gladiator” (2001 – Steven Soderbergh won for “Erin Brockovich”), “Shakespeare in Love” (1999 – Steven Spielberg won for “Saving Private Ryan”), and “Driving Miss Daisy” (1990 – Oliver Stone won for “Born on the Fourth of July”).
["Argo" - My Pick to see (video review): http://youtu.be/ByksH6cTP5Q ]

“Les Miserables” wins 3
“Les Miserables” also won 3 Oscars – Best Actress for Anne Hathaway, Sound Mixing, and Makeup & Hairstyle (8 nominations).

“Lincoln” wins 2
Then it was “Lincoln” with 2 wins (out of 12 nominations) for Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor and for Production Design.   Day-Lewis became the first actor to win a 3rd Oscar for Lead Actor (“There Will Be Blood” and “My Left Foot”).
["Life of Pi" - My Pick to see (video review): http://youtu.be/VZcRsOC3xas ]

“Django Unchained” wins 2
“Django Unchained” won 2 Oscars for Original Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino and Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz (who also won in same category for Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds”), “Django” had 5 nominations.

“Skyfall” wins 2
“Skyfall” – the 4th biggest money maker in the U.S. in 2012 – won 2 Oscars, the most ever by a Bond film,   for Best Song and Sound Editing (in a tie with “Zero Dark Thirty”), the movie was nominated for 5 Oscars.
["Skyfall" - My Pick to see (video review): http://youtu.be/dEkaP7oD6kM ]

Ohh, and the show went long – a total of 3 hours and 35 minutes, thanks in part to a 17 minute opening number.  Seth MacFarlane was good as first time host, while he was better than last year – overall the show was good, but not great… with some longer periods that lagged between awards… and memorable moments.

HERE’S A LOOK AT ALL THE CATEGORIES…

BEST PICTURE:
WINNER: Argo
Nominees: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

( Aaron’s Pick: Argo )

ACTOR:
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables),  Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)

( Aaron’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) )

ACTRESS:
WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Nominees: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour),  Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

( Aaron’s Pick: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) )

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
WINNER: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The  Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

( Aaron’s Pick: Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook) )

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
WINNER: Anne Hathaway
Nominees: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

( Aaron’s Pick: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) )

DIRECTING:
WINNER: Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
Nominees: Michael Haneke (Amour), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

( Aaron’s Pick: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) )

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
WINNER: Brave
Nominees: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph

( Aaron’s Pick: Wreck-It Ralph )

The rest of the categories continue below…. (more…)

“Argo” versus “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Lincoln” and “Life of Pi” and more!

“Argo” poster courtesy Warner Brothers

“Silver Linings Playbook”courtesy Weinstein Co.

Lincoln poster courtesy DreamWorks

“Life of Pi” poster Courtesy Fox 2000 Pictures

UPDATE: “Argo” wins Best Picture (3 total), “Life of Pi” won the most Oscars with 4, and “Les Miserables” also had 3 Oscar wins.
I went 13-of-22 in my picks (59%)… my lowest % since making my picks public/professionally.
The EightWest picks went: Rachael (5 for 7), myself (4 for 7), Terri (2 for 7)… so congrats Rachael – “Brave” won it for you!

This year may prove to be an odd year at the Oscars… I think we’ll see the love spread between several contenders, without one movie totally running away with all the awards.  AND THAT’S GOOD FOR AUDIENCES!

The biggest part of that may be a break in the 23 year trend of the Oscar winning Best Picture also having its director nominated.   1990 was the last time that a movie – “Driving Miss Daisy” – won Best Picture without its director at least getting a nomination.  That was only the third time in the Oscars’ 84 year history that had happened (“Wings” (1929), “Grand Hotel” (1932)).   For the last 23 years, its almost been automatic that the Best Director was smiling after his movie also won for Best Picture.

From 1990-2012, there were only 5 times that the same movie did not win both Director and Picture:
1990 – “Driving Miss Daisy” won, but Oliver Stone won for directing “Born on the Fourth of July”
1999 – “Shakespeare in Love” won, but Steven Spielberg won for “Saving Private Ryan”
2001 – “Gladiator” won, but Steven Soderbergh won for “Erin Brockovich”
2003 – “Chicago” won, but Roman Polanski won for “The Pianist”
2006 – “Crash” won, but Ang Lee won for “Brokeback Mountain”

This year there is a 4 in 9 chance (44% chance) of breaking the trend!

Four of the movies nominated this year for Best Picture: “Argo”, “Django Unchained”, “Les Miserables”, and “Zero Dark Thirty” are NOT nominated for best director.   Ben Affleck, Quentin Tarantino, Tom Hooper, and Kathryn Bigelow were not nominated for their respective best picture nominated movies.   There are many theories as to why such talented directors were snubbed, but its indisputable that there is a 44% chance to see a split with Best Picture winner going to one movie and Best Director going to a different movie.

So why does that matter you ask?  Just like in sports with expanded playoffs – the more teams with a chance to win at the end – the more exciting it is for everyone.  So this year, whether your “Team Argo”, “Team Les Mis”, or “Team Django”… we’ll still have a reason to waiting anxiously during the commercial break between Best Director and Best Picture – to see who wins!
[The Oscars air live Sunday night, February 24th at 7:00pm (ET) on ABC hosted by Seth Macfarlane]

AND NOW TO THE ANNUAL PICKS…..
( cast your vote for the five biggest categories at this link )

BEST PICTURE:
WINNER: Argo
Nominees: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Aaron’s Pick: Argo
Rachael’s Pick: Argo
Terri’s Pick: Les Miserables

ACTOR:
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables),  Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)

Aaron’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Rachael’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Terri’s Pick: Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)

ACTRESS:
WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Nominees: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour),  Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Aaron’s Pick: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Rachael’s Pick: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Terri’s Pick: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
WINNER: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The  Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Aaron’s Pick: Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
Rachael’s Pick: Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
Terri’s Pick: Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
WINNER: Anne Hathaway
Nominees: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

Aaron’s Pick: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Rachael’s Pick: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Terri’s Pick: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

DIRECTING:
WINNER: Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
Nominees: Michael Haneke (Amour), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

Aaron’s Pick: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Rachael’s Pick: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Terri’s Pick: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
WINNER: Brave
Nominees: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph

Aaron’s Pick: Wreck-It Ralph
Rachael’s Pick: Brave
Terri’s Pick: Wreck-It Ralph

EightWest Picks Tiebreaker #1: pick the Best Picture winner
EightWest Picks Tiebreaker #2: pick movie with most wins
Aaron’s Tiebreaker Pick: “Silver Linings Playbook” – 8 nominations
Rachael’s Tiebreaker Pick: “Lincoln” – 12 nominations
Terri’s Tiebreaker Pick: “Life of Pi” – 11 nominations

The rest of the categories continue below….

(more…)

He was the United States’ most wanted man.   She was the one intelligence operative who didn’t give up on finding him.

Through director Kathryn Bigelow’s meticulous vision, we experience the exhaustive, and sometimes brutal journey that took ten years, cost millions of dollars, and saw many lives lost to find Osama Bin Laden.

A warning for parents and adults: the early scenes of interrogation and torture techniques depicted are unsettling and uncomfortable… and have already sparked controversy and political backlash.

“Zero Dark Thirty” poster courtesy Columbia Pictures

(My spoiler-free review)

“Zero Dark Thirty” is a walk through recent history from September 11, 2001 through a series of post-9/11 terror attacks around the world and the events leading up to Bin Laden’s death in May of 2011.

But its not just a retelling of events – some fresh in our minds, some jogged from our memory – the characters in our story are carefully weaved into this timeline, making it more real, more believable, and more impactful than just a mere “report” movie.

Whether they are just politicized or reasonably critiqued for their accuracy and importance …. the opening torture scenes are difficult to sit through.   Seeing a defenseless man struggle through waterboarding and other techniques are hard to watch.  The scenes are also tough to accept that such techniques were used considering that U.S. is supposed to be a country with higher moral standards that follows humane treatment of prisoners.  While the exact message of these scenes can be viewed in different ways, Bigelow at least does not glorify the interrogations.

The movie is also a puzzle mirroring the intelligence puzzle that the CIA was trying solve in the wake of 9/11, the movie audience, like the intelligence community has to wade through a lot of information and names in the beginning before the search gets narrowed down to a few people.

Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty” photo courtesy Columbia Pictures

At the center of our story is the CIA officer “Maya” (Jessica Chastain), who quickly adapts from smart D.C. agent to a grizzled veteran of the field… enduring many challenges and losses along the way.  Chastain is great as a strong, smart, charismatic lead female that isn’t in need of rescuing, just in need of help from those around her to complete the ten year mission.  We get how passionate she is to find Bin Laden and how everyone involved wanted results and was willing to take measurable risks to reach the goal… but there was an emotional, mental, and physical toll that it took on everyone.

That help comes from Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Mark Strong, Mark Duplass, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, and Edgar Ramirez.   The solid supporting cast is compelling and gets different levels of depth, but this is larger in scope than  “The Hurt Locker” (8.9), so its less powerful, there’s less of a connection with all the characters like Bigelow’s Oscar winner from 2009.  The final scenes involving the S.E.A.L. Team 6 operation that infiltrated the Bin Laden compound are superbly done and shows more of Bigelow’s attention to detail and efforts to take the audience “along for the ride”.

“Zero Dark Thirty” looks great – with incredible details in production values – cinematography (both old fashioned locked down cameras and handheld), editing, lighting, wardrobe, etc – its patriotic but not shoved down your throat/Michael Bay patriotism.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

“Lincoln” leads the pack with 12 Oscar Nominations, 9 Best Picture nominees this year

Hal Holbrook (seated-left), Daniel Day-Lewis (center), David Strathairn (seated-right), David Costabile (standing-right) in “Lincoln” photo courtesy DreamWorks/ Touchstone Pictures

“Lincoln”, the story about President Abraham Lincoln’s push to pass the 13th Amendment gets 12 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Supporting Actor.   The Directing category had the biggest surprises by not including favorites Ben Affleck (“Argo”), Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Django Unchained”). 

“Life of Pi” had the second most nominations with 11, “Silver Linings Playbook” had 8 nominations, “Argo” and “Les Miserables” had 7 nominations each, while “Zero Dark Thirty”, “Django Unchained”, “Amour”, and “Skyfall” had 5 nominations a piece.

The Oscars could have had up to 10 nominations for Best Picture, this year the 9 nominees include “Lincoln”, the french language, Austrian produced old-age love story “Amour”; the Iran hostage thriller “Argo”; the independent hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; the slave-revenge narrative “Django Unchained”; the musical “Les Miserables”; the shipwreck story “Life of Pi”; the lost-souls romance “Silver Linings Playbook”; and the Osama bin Laden manhunt chronicle “Zero Dark Thirty.”

2012′s top movies at the box office received just a few nominations: “The Avengers” (which made $623 million in the U.S.) picked up 1 nomination for Visual Effects, while “The Dark Knight Rises” ($448 million) and “The Hunger Games” ($408 million) didn’t get any nominations. “Skyfall” (has made $297 million so far) and was nominated for 5 Oscars. The fifth biggest movie in U.S., “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2″ made $289 million and also didn’t get any nominations.

Most moviegoers haven’t seen many this year’s Oscar nominated movies, so see *below* for a list of where you can see all the Oscar nominated movies!

Best Picture: “Amour,” “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi”,
“Lincoln”, “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Actor: Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”; Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”; Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”; Denzel Washington,  “Flight” 

Actress: Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”; Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”; Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”; Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, “Argo”; Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”; Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”; Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “The Master”; Sally Field, “Lincoln”; Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”; Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”; Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook” 

Directing: Michael Haneke, “Amour”; Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”; Steven Spielberg,
“Lincoln”; David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” 

The Oscars will air live February 24th on ABC, hosted by Seth Macfarlane.

The rest of the Oscar nominated categories:

7. Foreign Language Film: “Amour,” Austria; “Kon-Tiki,” Norway; “No,” Chile; “A Royal Affair,” Denmark; “War Witch,” Canada.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo”; Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; David Magee, “Life of Pi”; Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”; David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” 

9. Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke, “Amour”; Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”; John Gatins,  “Flight”; Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, “Moonrise Kingdom”; Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty.”

10. Animated Feature Film:  “Brave”; “Frankenweenie”; “ParaNorman”; “The Pirates! Band ofMisfits”;  ”Wreck-It Ralph”

(more…)

Football… Psychotherapy… Family… and Romance.

That’s the recipe to “Silver Linings Playbook” … this Golden Globe nominated (and soon to be Oscar nominated) movie is full of memorable characters in a story that’s equal parts drama and romantic comedy.

Warning to parents: This movie is rated R for “language and some sexual content/nudity”… and much of the subject matter is not for kids.

“Silver Linings Playbook” poster courtesy The Weinstein Company

(My spoiler-free review)

“You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things” – the line from Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) that pretty well sums up who Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is… a guy with no filter in social situations… he can’t stop saying things that are wrong.

He is just getting out of 8 months of treatment at a mental institution while she is dealing with a bunch of her own issues… they’re on a collision course that will either lead to a relationship or one of them winding up in jail.

Pat has his family for support… or they may just be making things worse, between his Philadelphia Eagles obsessed dad (Robert DeNiro), his coddling mother (Jacki Weaver), and his do-nothing-wrong brother Jake (Shea Whigham).

This cast also includes a solid Chris Tucker as Pat’s best friend, Anupam Kher as his therapist, John Ortiz as his old friend Ronnie, and Julia Stiles as Ronnie’s wife.

Cooper’s role as the messed up son is easily the best of his career, while Lawrence shows once again (“Winter’s Bone” 2010) why she is no longer an “up and coming” actress.  DeNiro’s role as Pat Sr. is one of his best in years while Weaver and Tucker prove they belong in this cast of powerful performances.  Its no surprise that Cooper, Lawrence, and DeNiro have Golden Globe nominations for their roles.

ALL of these characters are developed and play important roles in helping or challenging Pat’s recovery.  This character depth helps the audience quickly submerse themselves in this family-friend dynamic that surrounds Pat as we start to understand his problems and what’s causing them.

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook” photo courtesy The Weinstein Company

To simply call this movie a romantic comedy would be a mistake, because it has so much more depth and meaning… and also adds some understanding for anyone who’s dealt with bi-polar, OCD, or other mental issues – whether its a family member, friend, co-worker, classmate, or themselves.  “Silver Linings Playbook” asks thought provoking questions to the audience while asking its own characters – “can you like all the parts about yourself?”  The movie looks at these issues from the inside out – seeing how other people act towards those who are known to have some mental issues.

Its good to see that the movie did not shy away from the issues here, having two people with similar mental issues works on multiple levels – because Tiffany understands Pat and he knows her problems, she can call him “crazy”… even though in most circumstances its a bad idea to use those words.  They can call each other out on their issues and hangups and also help one another.  They seem to be kindred spirits … but will they end up together?

There are lots of little dots to connect throughout the movie as the likable main characters interact with their community and start to form a bond, but the internal turmoil and external factors threatens a happy ending for this budding romance.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

They say timing is everything… had “Jack Reacher” hit theaters two weeks ago, the opening scene from the point of view of a sniper would have been considerably less uncomfortable to watch.

But we live in different times… in just the last two weeks, we’ve seen random public shootings in Portland, OR and Newtown, CT… plus countless other local shootings between people that knew each other.

So you’ve been warned, if the events of Newtown, Portland, or other shootings are weighing heavy on you, you will probably want to wait to see this movie.

“Jack Reacher” poster courtesy Paramount Pictures

(My spoiler-free review)

“Jack Reacher” is a great action thriller, with just the right amount of action and mystery, plus little doses of humor along the way.  Tom Cruise is very good as a butt kickin’ former military police investigator, based on the very successful books by Lee Child.  I haven’t read them, but screened the movie with someone who has read the books (*more on that later*).

If it weren’t for the very recent loss of 28 innocent lives in Newtown, CT and Portland, OR this movie would do very well at the box office.

Jack Reacher – both the movie and the main character are much grittier than most  Cruise characters and movies.  In his own words – he’s a good guy, but not a hero… he plays by his own rules, but he seeks justice.   Its the kind of character and story ripe for a franchise with sequels… its a thriller and action movie… its a movie that will appeal more to men, but is not just a “guy movie”.  This onion has plenty of layers to be peeled back an observed…. we get a lot of character depth with Reacher; who he was and where he came from, but it also seems like there is a lot more to learn and stories to be told.  Reacher is a character that, after a few minutes, feels like someone we’ve met before, but he still has his own style and edge… and darkness.  We root for him to get the bad guys…. but as cringe that he may be taking his methods just a little too far.

Jack and the police detective (David Oyelowo) that is investigating the sniper have a cat and mouse game going through the movie – with Reacher appearing to be just a little ahead of the local police in his efforts to put together the clues and solve what appears to be an open and shut case.

Cruise’s performance is good, he is bold and charismatic with that darker edge just below the surface.  He is joined by Rosamund Pike as the headstrong lawyer Helen – who’s chosen to defend the sniper, her father, the district attorney played convincingly by Richard Jenkins, Robert Duvall adds some veteran acting and adds to comedic relief throughout the movie.  Werner Herzog’s character as the mysterious “Zec” is a little over-the-top, but also a one note bad guy, who I hoped would have more depth.

The movie looks good, the ominous tone works with the story… and Reacher’s character.  Christopher McQuarrie’s adaptation of Child’s writing is strong, with smart and sharp dialogue for an action movie.  And while some of the action will make some of the audience uneasy, it also features a great car chase.  In addition to the depth of characters we get early on, I enjoyed that McQuarrie slowly ramped up the action with each sequence more intense than the last.  There’s not anything entirely new in the movie, but its very watchable.

**The main concerns of those who have read the books and are more familiar with Reacher and his exploits are that Cruise doesn’t fit the physical characteristics of Reacher… mostly in his size. Cruise is reportedly 5’7″ while Reacher is described as 6’5″.  Cruise is only two years younger than Reacher, and both can be described as “good looking”.  So while those who read the books may be bothered by the casting, I only had one problem with it… a 5’7″ guy fighting big angry thigs that are a foot taller.  But after a little research, I discovered that Reacher is very intelligent and uses mathematics in his fighting… so when taking on a larger opponent, he would just use his quickness or gravity to take down those big guys.  Seldom do books translate as well to the big screen as they are conceived in the minds of those who read them.  Between casting challenges, production issues, and budget constraints, most viewers who read the books leave the theater somewhat disappointed… but it was not as bitter this time around.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

You shouldn’t get lost watching “Guilt Trip”.

You certainly don’t need a GPS, road map, google maps, or any other kind of navigational tools to get through this “comedy”… its all pretty much spelled out for you.

There are so many road trip and mother-son cliches, it becomes mind boggling to count them all… from things that often happen during road trips to typical mother-son relationships.  Almost every joke is used… and could have been posted on the blue information sign one exit earlier… because you can see most of the jokes coming a mile away (or already saw them in the trailer)!!!

If you really wanted to see this movie… I recommend waiting to rent it…. just keep your expectations low.

“The Guilt Trip” poster courtesy Paramount Pictures

(My spoiler-free review)

Through reasons that are a bit absurd (considering his relationship with his mom),  Andy decides to take his mother Joyce on his cross-country road trip to pitch his invention.

Seth Rogen plays a guy who is kind of clueless about what it takes to sell his idea and he’s very much bothered by his an annoying smotherer of a mom, played by Barbra Streisand.  As much as they are an odd couple on the road and their troubled mother-son relationship, it seems like they could actually be mother and son.

Their chemistry actually works for this mostly mindless, sort-of funny mother-son road trip movie with more cliches than pit stops.

She babies him, sabotages his plans, makes him feel guilty, all while he rolls his eyes, whimpers, and mutters about what she’s done.  I think every road trip cliche except  a rest stop/bathroom joke and/or truck stop joke were covered here.

There were more problems than laughs with the story, the writing, the production values…. its easily one of the weakest movies of the year.  And if Streisand and Rogen have any acting talents left, they are wasted here.  Rogen is typical of most of his movie characters: loud, crass, mean, and self centered… it seems effortless, but it also feels like we’re watching the combination of virtually every other character he’s played.  In some scenes Streisand seems to be trying to rekindle her early acting prowess, then in other scenes, its as if she’s really trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all.  I didn’t grow to like either character, in fact I grew to like both characters less as time went on.   60 minutes into the 90 minute movie, it actually got a little better… for a few scenes… but then it just shifted back into cliche cruise control, and headed down the road of predictable.  This is a flop for director Anne Fletcher and writer Dan Fogelman.

“The Guilt Trip” can barely be called a comedy, because it only really made me laugh twice… on purpose.

My mother used to say if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

So I will skip to…. THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)