Best bets for Oscar wins
Written by Curtis J. Phillips
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 14:19
The Oscars are just around the corner and…to be honest…it is indeed a weak looking lot. Not all of the Oscar-worthy films hit town last year so I may not comment about who or whom will make the nomination list. With around 75 flicks viewed on the big screen last year I can certainly tell you though what my favourite movies were.
Here are a few snippets and a look back from my reviews in 2011 on flicks that caught my fancy. Contagion: Directed by Academy Award director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, 2000) and written by Scott Z. Burns, this is a smart, well-paced 105-minute action drama thriller which follows the epidemic infection genre of virus movies. It ranks right up there with 1995’s Outbreak which starred Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. This time around the main cast features Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Jude Law. In Outbreak the virus carrying host was a monkey. In Contagion the culprits are a bat and a pig. Soderbergh grabs our attention right away with a black screen and the sound of a person coughing. From there it sets the movie in motion with a documentary approach for the first few minutes showing us how the lethal airborne virus travels from one person to another, be it a cough, a handshake, touching a door knob or holding on to a pole on the bus. On a scale of one to five on the Pass Me the Hand Sanitizer scale we give this a solid four. Hugo: We are talking Oscar worthy here folks, with legendary director Martin Scorsese at his best. Set in 1930’s Paris, the plot finds a young 13-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) living between the walls of a train station where he keeps the giant clocks in working order. While secretly watching the world around him, he befriends a once famous movie director named Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) who is now a toy store owner. Together the old man and young boy discover and rediscover, new and old lives, thanks in part to an automaton. An automaton, in this case, is a non-electronic machine made with clock parts while resembling a human with human actions. Editing, cinematography, script, music and all the aspects of a movie that will create magic are seen here. On the scale of one to five on the Eiffel Tower scale we give this a four-and-a-half. The Muppets: In a trailer for the movie The Muppets, we find the ornery Muppet duo of Statler and Waldorf sitting in the balcony. Statler asks the other old-timer, “Is this movie in 3D?” to which Waldorf replies, “Nope! The Muppets are as one-dimensional as they’ve always been!” This is the true beauty of this 98-minute family musical comedy directed by James Bobin (famous for directing the Ali G Show) and written by one of it leads Jason Segel (screenplay) along with Muppets creator the late great Jim Henson (characters). There are no special gimmicks, computer wizardry, violence, foul language or sexual innuendoes. The Muppets is a simple feel good movie that will bring smiles to your face…appeasing old time fans (Muppets debuted 1969 on Sesame Street and on the silver screen in 1979 The Muppet Movie) and newbies. On the scale of one to five on the Wocka Wocka Wocka scale we give this a four-and-a-half. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape! Only one actor (legendary actor make that) comes to mind when the above phrase is spoken or read. His name is Charlton Heston as the character Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes (1968). So when actor Tom Felton (Who?) spoke those famous words in the recent release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes…it simply fell flat like a gorilla’s mug. This reboot of the popular Planet of the Apes sci-fi series rings a familiar tune to that of the fourth installment, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and despite the 39 year hiatus it is not a true sequel or prequel. Look for potential sequels. Although I am a true blue fan of the original Planet of the Apes with its campy dampy look and feel…Rise of the Planet of the Apes has the viewing public going bananas. On Barrel of Monkeys scale of one to five give this a three. I will go down the middle and give credence to both sides. First off, it is mind boggling that Kathryn Stockett’s book, on which this film is based, was rejected 60 times before it was eventually published. As mentioned earlier, some people found the film lacking in historical perspective with the maids filling the roles of the The Magical African-American friend. It is a role that finds the character “using of special insight or powers, helps the white protagonist. ‘He or she is patient and wise, often dispensing various words of wisdom, and is ‘closer to the earth.’” I may be opening a can of worms here, but I do not believe anyone of African descent is an Uncle Tom or Aunt Jemima for enjoying this film as some other writers have noted. People are shown in all colours and all forms of being. Remember…this is just a movie, not a documentary. In all The Help does not need any help in making the audience feel good. On the scale of one to five on the Workin -for-a-Living scale I give this a four.
The Help (www.thehelpmovie.com)The Help: The Help is a movie that brings us two trains of thought. A great feel-good chick flick to start the fall season or a historical flick about racism in the United States’ south during the 1960s, in which the housemaids are depicted as The Magical African-American friend.