Movie #738 ........................."Frankenweenie"

Movie #738 "Frankenweenie" was the last of the oscar nominated films I could get to see through streaming, renting dvds and seeing them in the theatre, and it was lots of fun. Good, dark animation, full of very eerie moments and characters. I'm not sure it's good for the little ones, but that middle age group should fine its concept and execution a lot of fun. And it handles the raising from the dead idea well at the end of the picture, too, and I was glad to see that done. Lots of chases and twists and turns in the journey this kid goes through, and I gave it 4 stars out of 5. I still liked "Wreck it Ralph" and "Paranorman" a tad better, but lots more fun than the stodgy "Brave" --- I recommend it. After his dog is killed in a car accident, an imaginative boy sets out to bring the canine back to life with an electrical experiment. Helmed by Tim Burton, this stop-motion animated tale is an adaptation of the idiosyncratic director's first film. Cast:Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Winona Ryder, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell, James Hiroyuki Liao, Tom Kenny Genre:Family Animation, Family Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animal Tales, Children & Family

Movie #737 ........................."Amour"

Movie #737 "Amour" winner of the Palm d'or from the Cannes this year, nominated for best picture and nominated for best foreign film --- yet, I did not enjoy watching this film at all. The style is much like a documentary in that you are watching all the tedious, heartbreaking moments of the decline in health of the wife, while the husband, who can hardly walk himself, finds he must care take more and more and more everyday until he just can't take it any more. Until the audience can't take it any more. The message is loud and clear --- this is many of us looking at our future ---- the way the last act plays out for us, and it's not a happy one at all. But my question is......... Why do we have to see this? Why do we have to stew on it? Why do we have to study it in so much detail as this film provides...So if you agree, you don't need to see this film. It's way too sad, with maybe one or two minutes of glimmers of hope out of the 2 hours and 7 minutes of sadness, weariness, and tediousness it offers to its viewers. I give it 3.8 stars out of 5 In this 2012 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner, Georges and Anne, retired music teachers in their eighties, have a time-tested love. But as Anne's health fails, Georges becomes her caregiver, and the couple's bond is tested like never before. Cast:Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud, William Shimell, Ramón Agirre, Rita Blanco Genre:Foreign, Indie Dramas, Romantic Dramas, Drama

Movie #736 .........................2013 Oscar nominated short live action films

Yesterday, late afternoon I got a chance to see a program of the live action shorts that the Academy Awards nominated this year, and I found it much better than last year's program. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. Below are synopses of each by Betty Sharkey from LA Times, and below that, are my comments. Live Action "Buzkashi Boys" (28 minutes). Even boys who seem to have no future have dreams in director Sam French's wrenching portrait of an Afghan street urchin and his best friend, a blacksmith's son. Watching the daring Buzkashi riders race their horses for control of a dead goat in the brutal tribal sport, the two friends begin to question the confines of their lives. French shows exceptional intelligence and sensitivity in capturing the spirit of youth and the weight of duty that test the boys. Their intensity and confusion is matched by Kabul's, a dusty, dramatic backdrop for this tale. The young stars, Fawad Mohammadi and Jawanmard Paiz, are exceptional. Together they create a different truth of Afghanistan — impoverished boys with rich imaginations, who dream of horses and heroes not shaped by war. From Donna; I think you can tell above that Ms. Sharkey preferred this one over the others --- me, not so much. I disliked a lot the violence shown to the goat in those scenes, and I found the movie a bit draggy and not as inspiring as she (above) seems to see in it --- but I also felt the two boys were very capable, and I enjoyed being the stranger in the strange land (Kabul, in this case) -- beautifully filmed. It might have a chance, but i noticed some of the critics called it "manipulative" --- I didn't see that so much at all. Good story. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. "Asad" (18 minutes). Director Bryan Buckley's incisive and moving piece is tied to another lost boy. Set in a Somali fishing village, an old man and the sea fight the swaggering pirates that traffic along the coast for a young boy's soul. Asad is clever but torn between a disappearing past fishing the sea and a brutal future. The boy's choice rides on the changing tides when the past and the future collide in one remarkable catch. From Donna: This one is getting a lot of attention because most people in the business don't believe this film was ever even made because it is so dangerous in Somalia right now, but I didn't think the narrative hung well at all --- and the acting was atrocious --- well, that's because they used the people in the area because of the lack of safety --- that' being said, all the lines sounded the same, and I didn't like it much. And I didn't find the ending that powerful! I would give it 2 stars out of 5. Watch! it will probably win this Sunday! "Curfew" (19 minutes). Writer-director-star Shawn Christensen has constructed an intriguing drama out of the way random events can change a life. In this case, a call from an estranged sister temporarily sidetracks Richie's deep depression. But it is his evening spent caring for his inquisitive 9-year-old niece Sophia (Fatima Ptacek) that could alter the course of his life. It is an irreverent and ironic journey to the dark side. From Donna: This one I most enjoyed and related to in the film (even shed some tears) --- and it has the best narrative ingredients, the best opening and closing, and best acting - esp by the young girl Fatima! I wish it would win, but it probably doesn't have a chance. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars. "Death of a Shadow" (20 minutes). Director Tom Van Avermaet's surreal examination of life and death begins when the shadow of a downed WWI soldier is captured. A mysterious shadow collector offers him a second chance in exchange for an additional 10,000 shadows in this black-and-white psychological thriller. On this bizarre journey to reclaim his life, the soldier finds there are things worse than death. From Donna: I also found this one quite intriguing and would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. However, my one complaint, and it's small, is that it could have given us more information --- if you judge it on if it was a complete film, just short, I would say no to this because I felt it could have been a longer film, one that answers a few more questions. Strong theme, though. Beautifully filmed! "Henry" (21 minutes). Director Yan England has created a lyrical tragedy out of the muddle that old age has made of Henry, his music and his muse. Shifting between fragments of a past framed by an enduring love for his wife and the duet they were meant to play and a present world made of nurses, restraints and medication, "Henry" is a story of incredible loss that, unlike the music, never stops. From Donna: sad, sad, sad, sad, sad! A bit manipulative, but then the situation is so darn universal! Growing old is the subject here, and a man's aged mind is opened up for all to see here. I thought the man's acting seemed kind of soap opera - y, but maybe that's because a lot of it was very intense. I would give it 4.0 out of 5.

Movie #735.........................2013 Oscar nominated short animated films

Yesterday, I sat through the screening of all the oscar nominated short films for 2013 and found the afternoon quite delightful, with never a word said in the nominees. This will be a tough year to choose which one the Academy will say is best ---- Below is the LA Times critics giving a synopsis of each one and below each of those, is my comment and score for the film. I would give 4 stars out of 5 for all the movies together...... "Paperman" (7 minutes). Director John Kahrs has created a love letter to romance — a beautifully rendered black-and-white piece that will sweep you away. It is sealed with a kiss from the beginning when a whimsical wind plays havoc with an office worker's heart, his papers and their chance encounter with a beautiful young woman's ruby-red lips — the only color in this small wonder. A perfect melding of medium and message. From Donna: this movie I had seen already before "Wreck it Ralph" and although I liked the black and white throw back to the 1940s, I felt it was pretty shallow ----- I saw the homage to meet-cute films, but found it a bit contrived, so it left me emotionally lacking for the main characters. That being said, it will probably win. It's the least controversial of the ones below. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. "Head Over Heels" (10 minutes, 21 seconds). Director Timothy Reckart has created heartbreak out of claymation, molding a long marriage in quiet crisis with extraordinary skill. Madge and Walter have literally lost their footing — she lives on the ceiling, he on the floor. Whether they can find a way back to the same plane becomes a moving existential question in Reckart's hands. From Donna: I LOVED this movie -- so creative, so Wallace and Grommit like with stop action, so symbolic --- it reminded me of the montage of the elderly couple in the movie "Up" --- I was emotionally drawn into this film, and I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. The ending was the most emotional out of all of them. One big reason this might or might not win, is that it is the only non american one ---not sure that matters so much. "Fresh Guacamole" (2 minutes). Writer-director PES rolls the dice, both literally and figuratively, in this mad (and I mean that in all possible ways) dash to create the delectable green dip out of found objects. Grenades factor in. Deliciously inventive, you'll never see chips and dip in quite the same way again. From Donna: How creative this is --- it's just a bit too short (it is THE shortest one ever nominated) but I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, as well. But it could be accused of being a one-note film. "Adam and Dog" (16 minutes). Watching director Minkyu Lee's painterly vision of the dawn of man and the first bond forged with man's best friend puts you in a musing museum state of mine. Lee captures the unfettered joy of discovery and how that feeling changes and expands when you're no longer alone. It feels like a seamless piece of expression until Eve's arrival upsets the apple cart. From Donna: This one I didn't like all that much --- I got that it was the Garden of Eden dog, and how things change once Eve arrives, and all that, but it ended in a bland fashion. I also didn't find it as lushly drawn, and I thought it was long. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars --- so it probably will win! "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'" (5 minutes). Director David Silverman is a longtime producer of Matt Groening's animated TV hit "The Simpsons," and you can feel that polish and precision in every frame of Maggie's misadventure in day care. Superbly crafted, packed with the wry innuendo that has come to mark the series, it is exactly the sort of satisfying fun you would expect it to be. From Donna: I would give this one a 5 out of 5 stars --- LOVED it. I've been reading what critics say, and they will bring up that this is a t.v. skit (some prejudice), and that there are 5 writers (5 writers!) on this short film, and that the t.v. show gets enough recognition and the award should go to new animators....blah, blah, blah, this is the neatest package, the funniest, the deepest (even though one top critic said it wasn't --- it is! how many people know Ayn Rand, for example????) and most creative and it has the best ending --- the ironic ending. And it entertains in the background while moving the story onward --- that's its gift. I wish it would win, but it probably won't.

Movie #734 ........................."Third Finger, Left Hand"

Movie #734 "Third Finger, Left Hand" was a delightful movie, the first half..............In fact, I mentioned to Dave after watching the first half, that I found an old people that someone should write a musical about -- it was that cute! And topical, because Myrna Loy was playing a Ceo of a magazine, and to get the "wolves" off her doorstep, she pretended she was married. As the script unfurled, I bought the first couple of twists -- they were hilarious! But the more these two spent together, the less I believed they would ever get together == a huge flaw in a successful romantic comedy. By the end, I was still convinced they both wanted two different lives, but the conventions of the genre MADE them get together............yep, only on the screen. So I can't really recommend this much ---- at least the end. But the two actors are so competent, so natural, so funny, it's like watching "His Girl Friday" with a different plot --- but, therein, lies the HUGE difference. The script isn't nearly as good, just the people are. 3.5 stars out of 5 Starring Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas - Magazine editor Margot Merrick pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleagues. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan when Jeff Thompson, a potential suitor, uncovers the deception and decides to show up at Margot's family home posing as her husband!

Movie #733 ........................."Suspicion'

Movie #733 "Suspicion" --- I can't remember sitting down and watching this all the way through, and I had some time this a.m. so I did just that, and I'm glad I did. I was reminded just how good it was. I have mostly seen the one famous scene from this film: Cary Grant carrying that lighted up glass of milk which his wife, played superbly by Joan Fontaine,think is filled with poison.......is it or isn't it? Only if you watch to the very end of the movie, do you find the answer. After seeing the biopic on Hitch, and knowing that was his own dog in the film, and that he had problems from the studio in doing this one because he kept being told that audiences wouldn't like Grant as any kind of villain, I found I enjoyed this film even more. It's easy to forgive a few moments that are a bit sudsy ---- but the story works well and in the Hitchcock way of maintaining suspense to the very end, it was a lovely film to watch and admire. I still don't like the awful mattes he used --- he's soooo much better when he can control light and cast those beautiful shadows onto the house, on her face, on his. Well done, Hitch, and worthy of a second look, for sure! I give this 4.5 stars out of 5 Suspicion 1941 NR 99 minutes Shy and beautiful Lina (Joan Fontaine, in an Oscar-winning performance) falls head over heels for handsome gambler Johnnie (Cary Grant) -- but after the couple elopes, she begins to fear for her life when she discovers Johnnie's true nature and dark past in this Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Lina's doubts about her husband are compounded when he expresses a growing fascination with poison and a colleague of his meets an untimely death. Cast:Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Alfred Hitchcock Genre:Classic Thrillers, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers, Classics

Movie #732 ........................."Paranorman"

Movie #732 "Paranorman" -- I watched this because 1) it is nominated for an Academy Award for best animated picture, and 2) I am a huge fan of Coraline, which I ended up liking a tad better, the story, that is (same people did both films. This one is filmed as well as the other, just the story didn't grab me very much, and it was a bit tooooooo long. The characters are cute, esp. the dead grandma (voice of Elaine Stritch), and there were some great funny moments, but not enough story to make this long of a film to me. And if I were a parent, I'd be leery about letting my kids watch this one --- I kept thinking why was this film made. And here's what I came up with. The film makers of this one wanted to watch 10-14 year old, mostly boys, scream in the movie theatre. By that age, they think they've seen it all in films, right? and then they watch this and the film is set up to make the audience jump out of their seats occasionally --- it's very successful that way.........it's all in good fun, but if I had watched the film at that age, I wouldn't be able to sleep some nights afterward. I watched a funny movie entitled "Canterville Ghost" when I was about 11 and I was convinced there were ghosts in my closet for years! So, parents, you've been warned. I would rate it 3.8 out of 5 stars ParaNorman 2012 PG 96 minutes When an army of zombies invades a small town, it's up to an odd local boy with a knack for communicating with the dead to save the day. But judgmental adults prove to be even more formidable adversaries. Cast:Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tucker Albrizzi, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein, John Goodman Genre:Family Animation, Family Adventures, Family Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Children & Family