State of The Race...Returns tomorrow!

It's been a month or two since i last wrote a state of the race update, so tomorrow comes a mega State of the Race article starting with the Acting races, part two will detail the screenplay and part 3 Best Picture and Director!

Up in The Air, in Review

A smart and profound romantic dramedy, Up in the Air is the rare mainstream film that successfully balances comedy with poignancy, and in a way that beautifully incorporates important issues faced by today's America. Adapted for the screen and directed with maturity by Jason Reitman, Up in the Air is the kind of movie all others should strive to emulate, and on top of that it's one of the best films of the year.

Ryan Bingham is a professional down sizer, constantly flying across the United States, working for companies to fire their employees. A self professed loner uninterested in settling down, Ryan loves the wayfaring disposition of his work. However soon bedlam threatens his lifestyle when he falls for Alex, a beautiful fellow frequent-flyer & basically a female counterpart of himself. At the same time, Natalie, a young dynamo at his company, convinces the management that jobs like Ryan’s could be much more cost-effective if done via teleconferencing, as in i-chat, rather than doing it in person. The gathering storm of these events leads Ryan to begin questioning whats important in his life, and subsequently boards him on the flight to what could very well be his final destination.

With a wonderful screenplay adapted by Jason Reitman that deftly balances the film's humor with touching resonance, Up in the Air is anchored by a trio of fantastic performances by George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

Giving a phenomenal performance in perhaps what is the role of his lifetime, George Clooney is perfect as Ryan Bingham, a man uninterested in the banality of settling down and having a family. Clooney's performance is extremely subtle and layered, yet plays off his costars with great chemistry and a smart handling of the film's lighter moments, an Oscar nomination seems assured. The perfect counterpart to Clooney's Bingham, Vera Farmiga is wonderful as the wry Alex, portraying her as a woman who is deeper than she appears at first. Her performance is the most touching of the supporting cast, and along with Clooney sees herself planted firmly in the awards race. Rounding out this trio is Anna Kendrick, who does great comedic work as the insecure upstart of a foil to Clooney brings the film some of it's better moment.

Although there might be a misstep or two in the film, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is a clearly personal film with a lot to say about the culture of alienation and technology Americans face today, as well as the worth of a life unshared with others. The film is brilliant in its handling of comedy and drama in their different variations, thanks mostly to Reitman's direction and fantastic adaptation, by Sheldon Turner and himself. The acting featured in the film is excellent all around, from Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick to the smaller turns from Jason Bateman and Danny McBride. The film is no doubt a top contender for many of this year's Academy Awards, and possibly the odds on favorite in the Best Picture, Actor and Adapted screenplay categories.

Ultimately, Up in the Air is a character study at heart, and a fantastic one at that. I strongly suggest that each and every person who reads this, find their way to a theatre come November, simply because this film is a masterpiece, and as such demands to be seen.

"Precious" In Review

Undoubtedly the two best films at TIFF, and the most buzzed about Oscar wise , Precious and Up in The Air are probably bound to become major Oscar players simply for the fact that no better American films have been released this year...so far.

First up is Precious, which today became the first film to ever win both The Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the TIFF's People's Choice Award. A beautifully crafted, wonderfully acted, affecting piece of work, Precious is for lack of a better term the most "real" film I've seen in quite a while. I left the screening knowing I had seen a masterpiece, a film that looked, sounded and felt so raw and realistic that there was times during the showing that I felt physically uncomfortable at what was happening on screen. Precious is a brutal theatre going experience, it is a movie filled to the brim with hate yet in the ends leaves you filled with a shred of hope.

Telling the story of Precious Jones, Precious bears to the screen some of the most vile things I have ever seen in a movie. Precious, a 16 year old mother of two, the result of being raped by her father, lives her life in Harlem, a harsh reality compared to the fantasy life she escapes to, which improbably saves her from the hellish existence she suffers through.

As if bearing two children from her own father isn't bad enough, her mother is possibly the worst to ever be conceived on the silver screen, if not of all of forms of fiction. Her mother constantly abuses her physically, as well as mentally, never sparing her from her anger and making her life miserable in general. Making matters even worse, Precious is expelled from school and is forced to enroll in alternative classing, an event that changes her horrific existence for the better. Cared for by her loving teacher Precious begins on a journey that leads to the birth of another child and another potentially devastating incident in the form of the HIV virus.

While a definitely uncomfortable viewing experience, the movie soars, an shining example of the power of cinema when placed in the hands of a wonderful film making collaboration. The acting is simply awe inspiring. Gabourey Sidibe is a revelation, bringing joy, sorrow and pain to screen in a showcase of raw acting talent, a performance as fine as I've ever seen from an actress. If Sidibe is snubbed for an Oscar this year, it will be a travesty and a major letdown on the Academy's part. She gives the best lead female performance of the year, and speaking of which, her costar Mo'nique gives the best supporting female performance of the year if not the last 5. Bringing a shocking lack of vanity in any form to the role, Mo'nique gives herself completely to the film shedding any sense of her own personality in favor of becoming the character so completely. She brings a terrifying presence to the screen filled with hate, and i downright disgusting and horrific as a woman who lost any parental affection over the years spent married to her monster of a husband, taking out her frustration on Precious an easy target for herself. Mo'nique, just like Sidibe is as of now the undisputed front runner for Best Supporting Actress of the year. Rounding out the impressive ensemble is Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Paula Patton and Sherri Shephard all of whom are great in their respective roles, Carey in particular surprised me, though I have yet to decide whether or not this was due to her deglamming role or her actual talent.

Precious is a raw, affecting and daring masterpiece, directed wonderfully by Lee Daniels and beautifully translated to the screen. The editing is fantastic, I enjoyed the photography and the rest of it's technicals are great as well. This is a film that is tough to get through, yet ultimately is a winning experience and a testament to the power of cinema. It is one of the best film's of the year, and as such a expect it to play heavily in this year's Oscar race, assuming the Academy has the cajones to honor such a brutally realistic film. See it the second it comes out in theatres.

Up next(no pun intended) in Part 2 of this article is Up in The Air, the thrid film from Jason Reitman, the Oscar nominated director of Thank You For Smoking and Juno.

Contender Tracker Shakedown

I've been thinking since I got home that the contender tracker feature here on the site has grown a bit too large, and I have decided that its time to eliminate some names from the list, which is why I am asking readers to comment on this post who they think should be removed, with the names recieving the most votes being taken off the tracker so please comment.
- Aaron Morales & Tyler j. Pratt
"The Oscar Hut"

"The Men Who Stare At Goats", "The Road" and "A Serious Man" Short Takes

Since they're first big paring back in 2005 with the Academy Award nominated Good night, and Good luck, Grant Heslov and George Clooney have made an excellent pair. Though many did not, I thoroughly enjoyed they're last film Leatherheads and had been eagerly anticipating The Men Who Stare at Goats since I first caught wind of it last year. Today, I am pleased to say that once again the two failed to disappoint.

The Men who Stare at Goats is humorous, well acted by everyone involved, and just flat out fun to watch. The story is interesting and almost believable, and the characters all feel fully fleshed out by the cast who just seem to be having a good time. Ewan Mac Gregor hasn't been this fun in years, same goes for Kevin Spacey, as per usual I loved Jeff Bridges' role, and George Clooney continues effortlessly to seem like the most likable guy in the industry. The movie is not perfect, but it is well written, acted and directed, so even though it may not receive any Oscar nods, it is still a great watch, and one that I recommend highly.

It seems so long ago that The Road was once considered a future Oscar front runner, a film of importance, and that it potentially could be one of the best screen adaptations of all time. Unfortunately, the film failed to live up to any of these expectations. While The Road is no doubt a beautifully designed and photographed & also featuring two great performances from Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall , it just fell short for me in the end. The filmmakers seemed almost too concerned with the visual feel, it's amazing but I feel that Hillcoat gave up on the the story in favor of aesthetic and it definitely shows.

The performances are, for the most part, very good, the weak links being Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy who I feel ruined the picture with his characterization, and Charlize Theron who could have been better despite a weakly written role. However, Robert Duvall and Viggo Mortensen are fantastic, providing wonderfully moving work in the film and are indeed its saving graces.

While Duvall, Mortensen and the look of the film are worth seeing, there is not much I else that I would pay to see again. The film adaptation will always be an incomplete one, and I am saddened that such a masterpiece in book form could not be translated as well to the silver screen.

The Coen brothers are geniuses. I have never been disappointed by any single film of theirs, all of which have inspired and fed my love for the art of film. After their bleak, Oscar winning success with No Country for Old Men and last year's fun, dark comedy Burn After Reading, the duo had left me wondering what they would do next, and with A Serious Man, The Coens have once again captured my fancy with their most thought provoking and personal film since Barton Fink.

Telling a tale of the moral trials beset upon Larry Gropnik, a mathmatics professor in the Minnesota of the 1960's, A Serious Man is about as good as it gets. Larry suffers relentlessly throughout the film; dealing with a divorce, an overneedy brother, and threats of law suits and losing his job, Larry begins to question the meaning of life, except his questions are presented in a flippant light hearted manner compared to the woeful issues beset on Barton Fink.

The film is smartly written ,as if it were directly ripped from the pages of the Coen's own upbringing, and superbly directed and acted, great performances coming from Michael Stuhlbarg who is deserving of awards attention for his brilliantly observed leading role, Fred Melamed as Larry's widdowed rival who steals his wife's affection, and Richard Kind who does the most he can with a role that was smaller than I had expected.
While it is unlikely the film will score in the acting and tech categories at this year's Oscars, it's brilliant screenplay is a shoo in, and the film could even find itself in the Best Picture race depending on how hard it is pushed.

Joel & Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, is a film that deserves to be seen by a wide audience. It is the kind of smart, thoughtful and mordant comedy that sinks in the more you think about it, and I feel that I may still be pondering the meaning of life, weeks from now. Pun aside, A Serious Man is one seriously good film.

"The Informant!" In Review

For the past 20 years, Steven Soderbergh has proven himself to be a filmaking chameleon, rarely repeating himself with the exception of the Ocean films. After his two part Che Guevara biopic last year, and his indie curiosity The Girlfriend Experience earlier this year, Soderbergh is back, and once again teaming with longtime collaborator Matt Damon in the Scott Z. Burns penned adaptation of The Informant!

Adapted from Kurt Eichenwald's book of the same name(minus the exclamation), The Informant! tells the story of Mark Whitacre, effortlessly played by Matt Damon, a rising star at ADM, a corporation based out of Illinois, who turns informant for the FBI in regards to the companies' price-fixing activities. The movie deals with Whitacre's ordeal as he struggles with bi-polar disorder, his own misdeeds, and the stress caused by three years of wearing a wire.

While the film is not what I would call a lough out loud comedy, it is smartly written and quietly hilarious throughout, allowing for the comedy to come from the character's actions and reactions to the events that unfold. Soderbergh's direction serves the film well enough, and I have to agree with Variety's review which called the film "Soderbergh's Richard Lester" movie. Damon is wonderful as the increasingly out of it Whitacre, playing him confidently and sharply, never making light of Whitacre's convictions and belief that he is doing the right thing, even when he isn't. The rest of the cast does well enough, Melanie Lynskey does her best with her role as Whitacre's devoted wife Ginger, even though there relationship and her character is weak and underwritten.

In the end, The Informant! is just about as good as one would expect from Damon/Soderbergh corporate dark comedy. Its funny without being flash, smart without placing attention on it, with good direction, a great adaptation by Scott Z. Burns, and a fantastic star lead from Matt Damon in his best role since The Talented Mr. Ripley more than a decade ago. While the film may not set the box office afire, I feel assured that Matt Damon will certainly find himself in awards contention, along with Burn's for adapted screenplay and it's great score which feels like a character unto itself at time. I would definitely suggest seeing this film in theatres.

Post-Venice/ Telluride/ Toronto Articles, Reviews and Updates coming Friday

Im sorry about the two week hiatus, things have been hectic with school and I am currently in Toronto attending the film festval, so i hopefully will soon be able to write about The Informant!, Men Who Stare At Goats, Up in the Air, Precious, The Road, A Serious Man and many of the other films I have seen so far at the festival. Regrettably this will not include Antichrist, Broken Embraces or Get Low all of which i missed.
Just to hold you guys over until friday here are 5 thoughts on how Toronto has affected the Oscar race so far..

1. Up in The Air is hands down the best film I've seen this year so far, and I feel confident in predicting it as the front runner for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Best Actor and possibly 2 supporting actress nods. Just a beautiful effort from Jason Reitman, and suffice to say, my reaction was somewhat akin to Drew McWeeny's: utter disbelief.
2. A Serious Man is better than No Country for Old Men, and is possibly not only the Coen Brothers most personal work to date, but there best since Fargo. Stuhlbarg is excellent, possible a darkhorse best actor contender, Richard Kind however will not recieve a nod, his part is a bit too small.
3. Precious is a work of art. Mo'nique might as well have her speech written as well, and Gabourey Sidibe will get nominated for Best Actress. The direction is very good, the editing is great, Precious is just an all around fantastic movie.
4. The Road was a misfire. Viggo could still get into the best actor race, but it will be tight. Kodi Smit-McPhee was shrill and in my opinion miscast as the son. Robert Duvall's cameo was handsdown the best part of the film, he had me in tears, and from the buzz ive been hearing, he might have a best actor shot with Get Low which I missed.
5. Matt Damon lives up to the hype in The Informant! He is just wonderfully funny, and the movie itself is a great effort from Soderbergh who created a film that was funny without being laugh out loud, smart without being to obvious about it, and the best adaptation I've seen in a while. Scott Z. Burns could see an adapted screenplay nod for his work.

So..till Friday, have a great week!

"I think this just might be my masterpiece..." Inglourious Basterds, In Review

"I think this just might be my masterpiece..." are the final words spoken by Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's World War II opus, and possibly sum up how Tarantino himself may view his 7Th film to date. The long gestating project, which Tarantino reportedly began writing nearly a decade ago, had been repeatedly pushed off to the side in favor of the Kill Bill saga and the Death Proof segment of Grindhouse. However, in the end Basterds has proven itself to be Quentin's most engaging, fun and purely brilliant piece of filmaking since 1994's Pulp Fiction, and I would indeed describe it, flawed as it may be, the work of a master filmmaker.

Perhaps what is most impressive about Inglorious Basterds is the clearly evident display of ambition and appreciation for the period in Quentin Tarantino's direction and script. Freeing himself from historical restrictions, Tarantino manages to create a World War 2 film that is riveting, action packed and hilarious through a story that by all means could have happened. With a screenplay that could have been laborious and boring, QT's film is full of wonderful moments packed with fantastic dialogue, suspense and clever scene set ups, most prominently the opening scene, the tavern card game and the entire theatre sequence( which btw is one of the years best climaxes), and Quentin's direction in these scenes is fantastic. It's almost as if after Death Proof he looked at himself in the mirror and decided to really make something great again. He also made some great technical choices with the film, especially in the hiring of legendary DP Robert Richardson who gives Basterds a beautiful look and some really fantastic shots. The editing is also good, the pacing of the film is near perfect in my eyes despite the running time, and the art direction and costumes were sublimely created and designed to perfect effect.

However, where Inglourious Basterds succeeds most is without a doubt in its casting, featuring great performances from everyone involved, one of which is the current front runner for this year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent and Michael Fassbender among many others, Quentin Tarantino has organized one of this year's most impressive ensembles by casting actors who seem to genuinely become their characters. And no where else is this more clear than in the performance from Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa of the S.S., in a role that not so much steals the film as it dominates it. On screen possibly more than any other character, Waltz's Landa is a menacing presence who, given the scene, makes the audience's blood run cold as he does in the film's excellent opening scene, induce their laughter with his giddy use of American expression, "that's a bingo!", and just balls out impresses them with his effortlessly fluid language transitions, all the while being charming, menacing and hilarious. Waltz flat out gives the performance of his career and I guarantee that he will go down as one of the greatest screen villains in the history of cinema. The film's other star, and as the movies advertising campaign likes us to believe only star, Brad Pitt is also impressive in Basterds albeit in a much smaller role than you would expect. Although it at first seems that his southern brawler attitude is the basis of his character, Pitt's Aldo Raine proves to be one of the film's more light hearted crowd pleasers, providing plenty of laughs with his exaggerated country bumpkin accent, especially during the film's climax where he trys on an Italian accent to hilarious results. Melanie Laurent, the film's main female character, is wonderful, giving a complex performance as a woman hell bent on revenge. Always hiding beneath a calm, cool facade, Laurent is at her best in her scenes with Daniel Bruhle, also excellent German war hero, and in particular a scene in which she is confronted by Colonel Landa 4 years after he had her family executed. Rapped with fear, Laurent's Shosanna's terror is clearly evident behind her eyes, yet she keeps the facade until the moment she knows she is safe and breaks down. It is a powerful piece of work from a young and inexperienced actress. The rest of the cast is also fantastic, with the exception of Mike Myers who I could not take seriously as a British general. Michael Fassbender is riveting during his short time on screen as a doomed British film critic turned spy, as is the aforementioned Bruhle. The eponymous Basterds are also a source of great work in the film, with Eli Roth, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, and Omar Doom doing good work as well as August Diehl as a gestapo officer. Even the more over the top performances of Martin Wuttke as Hitler and Diane Kruger(miscast but alright) were passable. This cast was just unbelievably good, almost redifining what it means to do a strong ensemble piece of filmmaking, and Tarantino directs wonderfully.

While Inglourious Basterds may years from now age horribly, today in the now it is hands down my favorite film of the year and the best movie going experience I've had this year, and based on the 38 million $ opening, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. Featuring an amazing cast, fantastic technical achievements, and great writing/directing from Tarantino to the tune of a great medley soundtrack, Inglourious Basterds is the must see film of the summer and perhaps one of this year's best cinematic offerings. Quentin Tarantino is back and better than he's been in the decade and a half since Pulp Fiction, here's hoping he can keep this momentum.

My Grade: A, definitely my favorite film of the year so far

Oscar Chances: I think Basterds will do relatively well awards wise this year. Besides Christoph Waltz's oscar lock on supporting actor, the film could pick up screenplay, editing, cinematography, art direction, costume design and possibly, given the ten nominee category this year, a Best Picture nomination. It truly is an excellent film.

In Review: Trailer Roundup Edition

So my computer is still down and out which, as I have aformentioned, has kept me from posting as regularly as i wish these past couple of weeks. However, tonight I was lucky enough to borrow a freinds latop from which I am uploading all these thoughts from the past couple of weeks.

To start off here are some thoughts on a few of the trailers to have been released recently, all of which can be seen before most prints of the excellent Inglourious Basterds, but more on that later. So lets begin shall we?

First off and perhaps most significant to cinephiles, was the release of the first teaser for James Cameron's long gestating sci-fi adventure, Avatatar. Just as the general reaction has been divided on blogs and message boards over the teaser, my opinion on Avatar is also split between fascination and disapointment. On one hand there were shots in the teaser that truly excited me, the scenes with human beings and the fighting. It seemed as if Cameron could be operating on Aliens mode and that he would be delivering an out of this world fantasy. That was until the audience and myself saw the Avatars. Besides the immediate snickers from the majority of the packed theatre, I found myself let down. They looked horrible, ridiculous, silly you name it, my reaction was negative and the theatres was negative, and when the two Avatars embraced at the end of the trailer one moviegoer in the row behind made sure he was loud enough to hear and bellowed "No Thanks!", the following laughs from the rest of the audience signaled solidarity. Avatar it seems, at least right now, is not going to be the revolutionary film its been buzzed to be.

My Grade: C+

Oscar Potential: F/X and sound so far

Also seen before Tarantino's latest was Inception, the latest film from Christopher Nolan, which featured no dialogue and the tagline "Your mind is the crime scene". This teaser basically gave me chills, and it is safe to say that Inception is easily my most anticipated film of next year. The visuals looked fantastic, the action was vaguely reminiscent of The Matrix,and i stress vaguely, and even Leonardo DiCaprio looked fantastic. Audience reaction was also fantastic, the second that music started people perked up and payed attention, and when it was over there was a sort of stunned silence amongst the audience that had been loud and talkative before the teaser had begun

I think we might have a box office smash/oscar contender for next year.

My Grade:A

Oscar Potential: All categories as of right now

The Wolfman trailer was also released this week riding on the news that it had been pushed back by the studio until next spring. Featuring some spectacularly creepy visulas and effects, The Wolfman certainly looks to be a promising old fashioned horror genre picture that could be a crossover hit. Benicio DelToro hasnt had this expressive a role in years and it will be interesting to see how he fares, the rest of the cast shines as well in the trailer. Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving look great and Anthony Hopkins stole the trailer with his line reading: "Very bad things Laurence.." color me excited for this new release next year.

My Grade: B +

Oscar potential: Giving its early release, it'll be minimal but who knows?

Reviews for District 9 and Inglorious Basterds coming soon...

...hopefully by Sunday along with my thoughts on the Avatar, Inception and Wolfman trailers, State of the race updates and more movie news.

As my computer is still out of commision I will have to post when I can so these updates may come slowly but I will do what I can to post in a timely manner.

On a side note we are still offering a position on the Oscar Hut team for anyone interested in covering general film and Oscar news, to apply for this assignment please e-mail me at tjpratt@bellsouth.net with a writing sample, and a brief essay on why you want to join the team!

Tyler j. Pratt & Aaron Morales

"The Oscar Hut Team"