True Grit and Winter's Bone reviews

True Grit: I didn't really expect much from this movie and I actually thought it was alright. Well made, and entertaining, but nothing Oscar-worthy, and it had a ridiculous story towards the end. Jeff Bridges was okay, but all he really did was mumble and act tough. He had some pretty good moments, but as I say, this isn't oscar-worthy. Matt Damon was actually funny and entertaining, a nomination for him would be deserved. It's pretty ridiculous though, that Hailee Steinfeld is being campaigned in Supporting, she's in every scene, basically! But her performance wasn't that great, it feels annoying, and she only excels in the last 20 minutes or so. So, an entertaining film that is worth a see, just nothing amazing.







Winter's Bone: This is a movie I was really looking forward to. It's about a girl (Jeniffer Lawrence) who's father goes missing, and she has to find him, either dead (Preferably) or alive. This movie and Frozen River have a lot a lot in common. They are both about people living at the edges of society and have to use they're bravery to make things better. They're also pretty realistic in how they're made. But I personally prefered Frozen River because the heroine is more likable and I got a lot more out of the story then this one. As I've said, it's pretty real and well made/written, but I really didn't get anything out of the story. Jeniffer Lawrence was okay, in fact, very good in a lot of scenes, but she's also pretty bad in others, with her sassy attitude, plus her rather wearing accent. I plan on re-watching some of her key scenes though, ones I thought were good, but I could see the acting in them. I think John Hawkes was really good though. He should be nominated. A good effort, but it just never really affected me.



Have you seen either of these? If you have, tell me your thoughts!

And unfortunately, I can't do a B.A 1977 profile in a while, because I want to save Diane for later, and the library's closed for the hollidays, so I can't check out Julia or The Turning Point yet.

Oscar predictions part 2

Now that the critics awards are rolling in, the odds have changed, though we still have no clear frontrunners yet in certain races.



Best Picture: The Scocial Network really has been sweeping these awards, and it will no doubt be a top contender. I haven't seen The King's Speech yet, but I doubt it will win, unless it's AMAZING. Usually, period pieces don't win, unless they're on the level of The English Patient, and this movie doesn't look like it is. But I'll decide when I see it. The Fighter is looking more and more to me like a strong possibility as an upset, but we'll have to wait till the Globes plus the B.F.CA to see.


Best Director: David Fincher , along with The Social Network, have been taking home all the awards, and I have a feeling that he could win, but his film does not get Best Picture. But it's still to early to say.



Best Actor: I just checked a precursor chart from an Oscar site that I follow and Collin Firth is in the lead, though James Franco is close behind, and Jesse Einberg in The Social Network as well. I still think Collin will win, but Franco is a serious threat. His performance got great word of mouth, plus he's an actor who's been very active these past couple years. Einberg is probably too young, though I still haven't seen the movie.


Best Actress: Natalie Portman's chances are increasing, but I'm afraid that Benning is still a threat, given her overdue status, and also if Sandra Bullock could build momentum out of nowwhere last year, anyone could. Lawrence will be nominated, probably, but I doubt she can win, though I still haven't seen her, UGH! I have it in my living room, but still haven't watched it. Nicole Kidman is a solid bet, but her chances of winning are very slim, though the role is quite interesting. I just read the play last week, and it was really good, though a bit bare. I wonder how they'll adapt to film. As for the last slot, I'm still unsure about. Neither Swank or Berry are going to make it, I think they're SAG/GLOBE nominations were just star-power. I'm going to say MIchelle Williams will get it for Blue Valentine . She's a hardworking actress, and the film looks wonderful.

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale will get nominated for The Fighter and he'll probably win too. Geoffrey Rush (The KIng's Speech) and Andrew Garfiel (The Social Network) will also get nominated, I think.

Best Supporting Actress: HBC, and the two Fighter ladies are in, but the other two slots are mysteries. I'll say Mila Kunis, (Black Swan) and Hailee Steinfelt will get in.


What are your thoughts? Have you seen any Oscar movies lately?

Best Actress 1977: Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl

Marsha Mason received her 2nd oscar nomination forf playing Paula in The Goodbye Girl. Paula lives with her 10-year old daughter ( Quinn Cummings), and has just been walked out on by her boyfriend. She is so depressed, and frustrated with her life, and before she knows it, an actor by the name of Elliot Garfield (Richard Dreyfuss)knocks on the door, telling her that her ex-boyfriend rented the apartment to him. Given that she has no choice in the matter and that he has the decency not to call a lawyer, they both compromise, deciding to share the apartment. It's unbearable at first, but sooner or later, they begin to fall in love.




In the beginning, Marsha Mason does a fantastic job: She's believable, funny, and loveable. She could have made this character stale and boring like all the other roles like this, but instead she chooses to play Paula in a tougher, stronger way that makes the performance so strong. Both she and Richard Dreyfuss have brilliant chemistry, they never make one wrong move in making they're relationship believable. But there are problems in her performance, that is both her fault and the films. Marsha Mason is engaging, funny, and completely enjoyable in the first half while Richard Dreyfuss is alright, but annoying and over the top. But as they start falling for each other, it reverses. Marsha Mason is still wonderful, but during some moments, I really felt I could see the acting. It's not that it's bad acting, it's not obvious in a bad way. it's still delivered perfectly, but it felt obvious, on the other hand, Dreyfuss is able to be funny, but also really natural. Also, the movie starts to become predictable, and I really wanted there to be more development, things got too rushed. Especially the ending. It seemed so unbelievable to me. And I think that Quinn Cummings should have been given more material to work with, but that's the script's fault and it doesn't really affect Marsha's performance.

But Marsha Mason still delivers an excellent, entertaining performance that along with Dreyfuss, makes the movie worth seeing. She gets

Black Swan review

After seeing both Requiem For A Dream and The Wrestler, I never thought I'd see something more gruesome or harrowing. Well, The Wrestler isn't that harrowing, but it sure is gruesome. Anyway after seeing Black Swan today, I have.


It is about a ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman), who is a complete shut-in: She shows no real emotion, and is shut in inside herself. It's really her mother's fault (Barbara Hershey, who is quite good) who not only pushed her, but kept her feeling like a child, never a woman, or her own person) . But eventually, she gets the dual role in Swan Lake and she is extremely happy, but since she show's no emotion, her dancing is all techinque, but no feeling, it's extremely hard for her to dance the Black Swan, something the director constantly points out. Soon, a new dancer arrives, who is exactly the opposite- She's outgoing, funny, and dances with feeling, she is able to let go. Nina is constantly afraid that lily will take the role away from her, and the role itself soons becomes so much stress, she is barely keeping it afloat, and soon a whole series of things start to happen that make the film so unpredictable. This is a fantastic piece of work-superbly directed, it was so surreal, and visionary, it was indeed a fascinating experience. But it is truly disturbing- it's even more then requiem for A dream, and I had to close my eyes more then once. But Natalie Portman really outdid herself here. She perfectly sets up and balances the character, making us really feel her paranoi and her feelings of being preassured. Portman makes us see that she wants to be a star, but doesn't really think she fits the bill. That's why she wants to be ''perfect". Quite a lot of her performance is very subtle and Natalie truly disappears into the part, making it her own. Who else could have played it? No one.


But I have a slight complaint. I felt that that she could have maybe have given a little more strength in some scenes and I felt that could have the change in her character slower, but that's really the script's fault. Which brings me to something else: I felt the movie was a bit too abrupt, and the script could have been more carefully thought out, especially with the director's character. But it was still a great movie anyway, and Natalie Portman is definetly worth seeing...

Best Actress 1977

The next year I'll be doing a ranking/profile on is 1977 and the nominees were:

Anne Bancroft in The Turning Point


Jane Fonda in Julia


Diane Keaton in Annie Hall


Shirley Maclaine in The Turning Point


Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl
























So, who do you predict? Who are you rooting for?


What Oscar stuff is on your mind now?

What to do now?

Hey! I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry about all these delays. It has been over two months since I've made a real post, and I stopped blogging for so long because my schedule has been so busy and I was burned out of of doing profiles. But I'm determined to start up again and although I said I would do 1958, my interest in the year has gone down a little and I've decided to save it. I'm not sure what I'll decide to do, but I'll decide by today. I'm olpen to any requests and anything you want to talk about it with me.

Random Post

Hey! I'm just going to say that I'm really sorry about the continuing delays. I have a lot of work to do, and until I get on top of that, I'm not sure when my next post will be. I might post Shirley's profile on here today, but I'm not sure. I'm really sorry about this....




Anyway, november is almost over, and Oscar season is heating up. But rather slowly. Nothing is really gaining steam, excdept for The Social Network, which I think is the frontrunner at this point. So far, nothing has really come out near where I live, though Love And Other Drugs is coming out next week, so yay! I'm a fan of Anne Hathaway, so I hope she does a good job. I guess I'll go ahead and make predictions:



Best Picture: The Social Network and The Kings Speech seem to be the ones with the most buzz, though I heard that Pixar is going for Toy Story 3 for the win. I'm just going to predict T.S.N right now.

Best Director: David Fincher seems to be the likely choice, even if it doesn't win. He's overdue, plus it looks like a big visionary acheivement.

Best Actor: The King's Speech cvould easily lose it's Best Picture momentum, but I'm sure that Collin Firth will be nominated, and right now, he's a shoo-in to win. But I've heard that James Franco could be nominated, and I think he could ewnd up a dark-horse.

Best Actress: Annete Benning seems to have a lock on this award, for her performance in The Kids Are All Right. But I don't think that she's a sure winner. Natalie Portman could also win, for her performance in Black Swan. Portman has been an impressive actress since the 90's, and her performance could be the hearet-wrenching, revolutiuonary performance that the academy can throw a win too, though it;'s usually a surprise. I'm also predicting a nomination for Lesley Manville for Another Year, who could be this year's Melissa Leo, unless she's put in Supporting, but I just read Sony Classic's is campaigning for her in lead.

Best Supporting Actor: I read tat Geoffrey Rush is supposed to be the frontrunner, but I don't think he'll win. Gone are the days when one film wins two acting awards. He could though if the competition is weak. Oh, and can someone tell me about the guys in The Social Network and if they are leading or supporting?

Best Supporting Actress: The most exciting race this year, since, unlike last year's Monique, it is wide-open. Helena-Bonham-Carter will probably be nominated, but it could be a really small role. I'll predict double nominations for Amy Adams and Melissa Leo, both being campaigned for The Fighter.

So, what do you think? Who will win? And again, I'm really sorry about the delays.....