The 85th Academy Awards

Now that we know who the winner of the 85th Academy Awards are, I'm going to blog about it, and mention the winners along with some personal opinions.

Best Picture
Winner: Argo

Best Director
Winner: Ang Lee (for Life of Pi)

Best Actress
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence (for Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Actor
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (for Lincoln)


Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Anne Hathaway (for Les Miserables)

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Christoph Waltz (for Django Unchained)

Best Writing- Original Screenplay
Winner: Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Argo- Chris Terrio from The Master of Disguise by Anthony J. Mendez & The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman

Best Animated Feature
Winner: Brave- Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: Amour (Austria)

Best Documentary- Feature
Winner: Searching for Sugar Man- Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn

Best Documentary- Short Subject
Winner: Innocente- Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine 

Best Live Action Short Film
Winner: Curfew- Shawn Christensen

Best Animated Short Film
Winner: Paperman - John Kahrs

Best Original Score
Winner: Life of Pi - Mychael Danna

Best Original Song
Winner: ''Skyfall'' from Skyfall- Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Best Sound Editing
Winners:
* Skyfall- Paul Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers 
* Zero Dark Thirty- Paul N. J. Ottosson

Best Sound Mixing
Winner: Les Miserables- Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, and Simon Hayes

Best Production Design
Winner: Lincoln- Rick Carter and Jim Erickson

Best Cinematography
Winner: Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Winner: Les Miserables- Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Best Costume Design
Winner: Anna Karenina- Jacqueline Durran

Best Film Editing
Winner: Argo - William Goldenberg

Best Visual Effects
Winner: Life of Pi- Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott

(Note: I haven't listed the other nominees because it would have taken a lot of time).

Personal opinions:

I haven't yet seen Argo. Among the Best Picture nominees, I have seen Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Miserables, and Lincoln. My favorites among these are Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook, and the least favorite is Life of Pi.

I didn't like Life of Pi very much, but it was a VERY well-directed film, and I am quite glad that Ang Lee has won the Best Director Award.

Two winners who were highly predictable were: Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor) and Amour (Best Foreign Language Film). It wasn't a surprise when they won.

I was extremely delighted when Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress) and Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress) won the awards. Jennifer Lawrence is one of my favorite actresses, and I think she is one of the most talented young actresses ever. She gave an amazingly brilliant performance in ''Silver Linings Playbook''.

Anne Hathaway isn't one of my favorites, yet she is a brilliant actress, and I like her a lot. She was excellent in Les Miserables. I was very happy when she won the awards.

I haven't yet watched Django Unchained, so I can't give my opinion about Christoph Waltz. The only Best Supporting Actor nominated films I've seen are ''Lincoln'' and ''Silver Linings Playbook''.

I am very happy about the 85th Academy Awards, and the winners all did a great job in the films for which they won the awards.
 
 
 

''The Haunting'' (1963 movie)- Review

Directed by: Robert Wise
Released: 1963
Country: United Kingdom

Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Rosalie Crutchley, Lois Maxwell

Genre: Psychological Horror

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

I would begin this review simply by saying what I felt about this movie: ''The Haunting'' is an excellent film, and a brilliant example in the horror genre. No, it has no cheap scares filled with gore that today's cliched ''slasher'' films have. Instead, it has real shocks, it has art and sophistication that is in no way similar to the slasher film cliches.

The plot centers around the Hill House, which, at a look at it's history, can be described as a haunted house. It has had a tragic and scary history filled with mysterious deaths. Dr John Markway (Richard Johnson), originally an anthropologist, is now, with full enthusiasm, researching about the existence of ghosts. He decides to research about the haunted Hill House, and earns the permission of the owner. The heir of the owner, Luke (played by Russ Tamblyn) has to accompany Dr Marway. Markway asks two women to accompany him, Theo (Claire Bloom) and Eleanor (Julie Harris), both of whom are connected with something paranormal. Soon after they arrive there, haunting and creepy things start happening.

But this is not just a haunting house film. The film is more about Eleanor. Eleanor had cared for her mother all her adult life, and feels guilty at the death of her mother. Life for Eleanor has been a troubled one. She has waited all her life for ''something'' to happen, and she thinks Hill House is the perfect place where she belongs. We hear Eleanor's narration of her feelings throughout the film, adding a strange lyric in the overall film.There is often a question whether something is really happening, or is it just Eleanor's hallucination. She thinks that the house knows her, and is trying to get to her.

I also found the relation between Eleanor and Theo touching. They become friends at their first meeting, and several times Theo tries to drive away Eleanor's fears by bullying her. The two quarrel bitterly a few times as Theo constantly bullies Eleanor, but their friendship remains something special throughout the film.

The four lead actors are all excellently cast in their roles, and the two people who really gets your attention are Julie Harris and Claire Bloom (Bloom is the actress who played Queen Mary in The King's Speech). Harris brings the character of Eleanor to life, and Claire Bloom is memorable for her portrayal of Theo, also a very memorable character.

Robert Wise (also the director of The Sound of Music) does an excellent job. Nelson Gidding's screenplay, adapted from the novel ''The Haunting of Hill House'' by Shirley Jackson, is pretty brilliant. The sounds are pretty brilliant: musical effects can be extremely scary at times and the score is awesome. 

There is no blood shown in ''The Haunting'', but it is scary, very scary. And moreoverm what is it, it is an artistic film, extremely well-written and well-acted, something of a masterpiece.

I can't just call it excellent. I think ''horror classic'' is a better word to explain this film.

4.5 out of 5

''The Kids Are All Right'' (2010 movie)- Review

 

Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Released: 2010
Country: United States

Genre: Comedy-drama

Cast: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Zosia Mamet, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review

''The Kids Are All Right'' is a comedy-drama film that remains quite light and at the end, it gives you a simple ending, not something fairytalish. It is an enjoyable, quite charming film, that may not touch your emotions, but remains a movie highly worth watching.

It is about a lesbian couple, Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening), and their happy family. They have two children, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska, ''Alice in Wonderland''). They were given birth using the same sperm donor. Joni is the elder, a sweet, charming, and intelligent girl who is to start college soon. Laser is the younger, sensitive, athletic and soft-spoken.

Now, Laser wants to get in touch with the sperm donor. But he can't do so as he's not 18 yet. Joni agrees to do so, and soon, they get in touch with their sperm donor. The person is Paul, played by the charming and handsome Mark Ruffalo. He runs a restaurant, and is a very likeable person.

Laser and Joni decide not to tell anything to their Moms. But however, soon they come to know about it, and they decide to meet Paul as well. Soon, Laser and Joni get very close to Paul, and Jules decides to design Paul's garden, as she has decided to start a business of landscape designing.  While Nic's relation with Paul remains distant, Nic and Paul start an affair. Soon, this starts bringing problems and tensions to the family.

No, it is not a love triangle film. It is far from that. Instead, it is rather a film about them, about Nic, Jules, Paul and their children.  Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, and the kids, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, are well-cast in their roles, and give quite excellent performances. The screenplay is witty and good. Cinematography is VERY praiseworthy. 

And overall, ''The Kids Are All Right'' may not be an excellent film, yet it is a smart, good, and enjoyable one.

3.5 out of 5 
 

''The Prestige'' (2006 movie)- Short review

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Released: 2006
Country: United States

 Genres: Mystery, Drama, Psychological thriller

Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, Ricky Jay

Rating: 3 out of 5

Short review

''The Prestige'' is a very complicated and very nonlinear film. Christopher Nolan does a brilliant work, and it is a well-directed, well-written, well-made and well-acted film. The plot is about two magicians, Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale), who had once been friends but then turned rivals as Angier believes Borden had killed his wife (Piper Perabo) during a trick. Over the time, the rivalry becomes strong as Angier tries to prove himself as a better magician and works hard to know the secrets behind Borden's most surprising trick, and eventually there are revelations. A very well-made film it is. I really liked the cinematography. It is a dark and good-looking picture. Well, the revelation is also good. But I think after watching 2 hours of complicated elements, extremely complicated, I didn't really have interest in the ending. So, this movie wasn't very fine with me. (That doesn't mean it is a bad film. It is a good film, but you just have to have patience while watching it).

3 out of 5

''Les Misérables'' (2012 movie)- Review

Directed by: Tom Hooper
Released: 2012
Country: United Kingdom

Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Samantha Barks

Genres: Musical Drama

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

Hugh Jackman is a powerful and mesmerizing actor, and gives a wonderful performance in this 2012 film version of the world famous novel, a movie to fall in love with. As well-made it is, so is it, along with being an excellent adaptation, an emotional journey and captivating musical film. Along with ''Lincoln'', ''Hitchcock'' and ''Silver Linings Playbook'', it falls in my list of the best films of 2012 (I haven't yet seen other best-reviewed films from 2012 like ''Amour'', ''Argo'' or ''Django Unchained'', but I'll soon see them).

It is an adaptation of the musical by Alain Boublil, and Claude-Michel Schönberg, which is based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, the film has a musical charm added to such a well-known story. Director Tom Hooper, whom you might remember as the director of ''The King's Speech'', amazingly directs this movie from a screenplay by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claide-Michel Schönberg, and Herbert Kretzmer. The film itself is, in a word, wonderful, with wonderful songs and music, the brilliant scenes created with the help of highly praiseworthy cinematography and production design, the score. The dark, beautiful cinematography makes it an extremely good-looking film.

Oh, the story? Here you are:

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) has been released from prison under parole, after nineteen long years of imprisonment for only stealing some bread. After being released, he is inspired by the grace of a Bishop, he works hard, breaks the parole, and starts a new life with a new identity. 

Eight years have passed, and Jean Valjean is known by a different name, and is now a mayor and factory owner. The prison guard, Javert (Russell Crowe) is still trying to relocate Jean Valjean and punish him.

One of Valjean's workers, Fantine (Anne Hathaway) has a daughter who lives far from her with the owners of an inn. She is fired by the foreman of the factory as she is thought to have no character. She has been informed that her daughter is very sick and she must send money to the innkeepers, for her daughter's treatment. Without any money or a job, she is forced to sacrifice her hair and two teeth, and has to become a prostitute. One day, she hits a man who was behaving badly with her, and Javert decides to arrest her. However, Jean Valjean saves her, takes her to his home, and after knowing everything about her, he decides to reunite Fantine with her daughter Cosette. But sadly, Fantine dies soon.

After some incidences, Jean Valjean's identity becomes known, and Valjean flees away, and after taking Cosette from the innkeepers, he starts a new life with a new identity, with Cosette, who he treats as a daughter. Then after nine years...

The performances are extremely wonderful. Hugh Jackman, as I had mentioned at the very beginning of the review, gives one of the best performances of 2012. Anne Hathaway is excellent, and I think she deserves to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for which she has been nominated for. Russell Crowe is yet another wonder; and he should have also been nominated for the Oscar for  Best Supporting Actor. Amanda Seyfried is amazing. Samantha Barks, making her film debut as Eponine, is a beautiful and wonderful actress. Eddie Redmayne is good. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are present as the cruel innkeepers with whom Cosette had stayed as a child. Bonham Carter and Baron Cohen were previously seen together in another musical movie, ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. 

It should have got two more Oscar nominations, one for Best Cinematography and another for Best Supporting Actor (Crowe). 

Despite it lacks some emotions and beauty of the original novel, this musical film is indeed a film to fall in love with, a 2 hour 30 minutes of wonderful journey. Beautiful!

4 out of 5


  

''Vertigo'' (1958 movie)- Review

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Released: 1958
Country: United States

Main cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore

Genres: Psychological thriller, Romantic-drama, Mystery

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review

I have been sick for the last few days, and having nothing to do.  I decided it was time to revisit Alfred Hitchcock's ''Vertigo''. The first time I had seen it, probably September or October of 2012, I realized that it was a great movie, but until now, I had considered ''Psycho'' to be Alfred Hitchcock's best. But now I consider, after watching ''Vertigo'' for the second time, that Vertigo is Alfred Hitchcock's best film. It is a moving poetry, a beautiful love story, a passionate tale.

There is a strange melody and a beautiful poetry running through ''Vertigo'' that is not generally found in Hitchcock's films. Among the Hitchcock films I have seen, ''Vertigo'' I have found most poetic. ''Vertigo'' is, along with it's emotional depth, a technical beauty, with the color red and green being often seen, and beautiful scores it has, and powerful acting it has, and a beautiful script it has.

The film's protagonist, Detective John Ferguson (James Stewart), known among his friends as ''Scottie'', has retired after his acrophobia has been the cause of an accident. His old friend, Gavin (Tom Helmore) meets him and gives him the job to follow his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak). Why? Because sometimes it seems she becomes a different person; she goes to different places about which she does not afterwards  remember anything, she behaves strangely. Though at first hesitant as he has retired, John, however, agrees.

James Stewart and Kim Novak in ''Vertigo''

He follows Madeleine, and after seeing everything, he is hinted that there is a connection with this with Madeleine's ancestor Carlotta Valdes, and it may be so that Carlotta's spirit is possessing Madeleine. The second day Scottie follows Madeleine, she unexpectedly jumps in the San Franscisco Bay. Scottie saves her, they are introduced to each other, and then follows a poetic and emotionally intense tale of love, loss, gain, betrayal, and revelations...

The film is not great just for it's story. Rather, it's the combination of everything that makes it a great movie. The script is amazing. The cinematography is extremely fascinating. A memorable scene in the film was the green light that was reflected on the curtains, that was reflected on Kim Novak's face. At times, suddenly, everything becomes reddish or greenish: for example, the background suddenly has reddish light, and reddish light is reflected on the characters' faces. All these brilliant light effects in this film are wonderful.

My two favorite scenes in this film were:

(1) when Scottie and Madeleine visit the Muir Woods. At that scene, some of the dialogues spoken by Kim Novak's character are extremely memorable and iconic.  Many of the trees in the woods are over a thousand years old. A tree has been cut down and there are records of the historic events that the tree had witnessed. Kim Novak's character says: ''Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice.'' It will be a very memorable quotation. 

(2) The very next scene, the scene at the shore, was also deeply memorable. Kim Novak's acting brings all the emotions to life, adding much sublimity to the two beautiful scenes.

In many Hitchcock films, there is a outspoken, carefree character. Here we have Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes) Scottie's ex-fiance, and a painter, with whom Scottie spends much time with. It is also a memorable character.

James Stewart and Kim Novak are amazing. And Vertigo is amazing as well, with it's powerful screenplay. The cinematography, and the so remarkable lighting, and the beautiful score, and the acting, so remarkable, everything are so memorable. By the time we have watched this movie, it seems like a poetry, a sublime, sad, emotional ride throughout.

5 out of 5!

Short reviews of the three films I saw most recently: ''12 Angry Men'', ''Anna Karenina'', and ''Carnage''

 12 Angry Men (1957 movie)

 


Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Released: 1957
Country: United States

Genres: Drama

Main cast: Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Leo J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber

Rating: 5 out of 5

Short review

''12 Angry Men'' is considered one of the greatest courtroom dramas ever. It rightly deserves this attention. It is a wonderful film with an excellent depth and arguments over a case, and proves to be a must-watch. The film is about a murder case. An 18-year-old slum boy has been accused of murdering his father by stabbing. Several witnesses and evidences are against him. The jury consisting of twelve jurors now have to decide whether the boy is guilty or not. The twelve jurors sit on a room, and then have a vote about who thinks the boy is guilty and who thinks he is not. Eleven of them think that he is guilty, but Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) thinks that he is not. He says that a person cannot be sent to electric chair without thinking of the case in depth. Then the jurors discuss the case, and Juror 8 explains the illogical matters in the evidences. What happens then? ''12 Angry Men'' has great performances, and those who deserve special praise include Henry Fonda (as Juror 8), Joseph Sweeney (as Juror 9) and and Leo J. Cobb (as Juror 3). The screenplay is excellent and the dialogues are wonderful. The characters are all interesting. Juror 8, Juror 1, Juror 3 (a very stubborn person, somewhat antagonistic), Juror 9 (an elderly man who is the 2nd person to agree with Juror 8), and all others, are simply wonderful. Camera movements are brilliant. The score, which is rarely heard in this film, is wonderful as well. A brilliant and great film, 12 Angry Men it is!






Anna Karenina (2012 movie)

Directed by: Joe Wright
Released: 2012
Country: United Kingdom

Genres: Drama

Main cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Matthew Macfadyen, Alicia Vikander, Olivia Williams, Emily Watson, Holliday Grainger, Shirley Henderson

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Short review

Imperial Russia, 1874. Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) is the charming wife of the aristocratic Alexi Karenin (Jude Law). On a trip to Moscow, she falls in love with Count Alexi Vronsky (Aaron Taylor Johnson, known for his roles in films like ''Kick-Ass'', ''Nowhere Boy'' and ''Chatroom''). Vronsky is also attracted to Anna. As Anna goes back to St Petersburg, Vronsky also follows her there. Soon, people begin to notice the mutual attraction between Anna and Vronsky. Little does Anna know that this affair will change her life, her affair with Vronsky would take away everything from her: her dignity, her popularity, even her son.  There is also a subplot involving Konstantin Dimitrivich Levin (Domhnall Gleeson), a friend of Anna's brother Stiva (Matthew Macfadyen). Konstantin's love for Kitty, Stiva's sister-in-law, is a subplot in the story.

After his masterpiece movies like ''Pride & Prejudice'' and ''Atonement'', wonderful film director Joe Wright gives us ''Anna Karenina''. ''Anna Karenina'' is a wonderful, excellently-made film. The production design is amazing, the score is beautiful, and the cinematography is so very beautiful. This is Keira Knightley's third collaboration with Wright, after ''Pride & Prejudice'' and ''Atonement'', and she gives a wonderful performance as Anna, bringing to life Anna's charm and sufferings. The screenplay, adapted for Leo Tolstoy's famous novel, is amazing. 

All these are very well, all right. But what I didn't like about this film is that at many parts, it seemed like it was a stage. Let me make it clear, many locations were like a theater or auditorium. At first, I enjoyed this unique thing, but later it felt a bit irritating. But keep it aside, ''Anna Karenina'' is a wonderful film by Joe Wright. Wonderfully made and acted!

(Uh-oh, this isn't quite a short review, is it!)



Carnage (2011 movie)
  

 
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Released: 2011
Country: France, Germany, Spain, Poland 

Main cast: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Cristoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, Eliot Berger, Elvis Polanski

Genres: Dark comedy 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review

In Roman Polanski's ''Carnage'', after two boys fight and one of them injures the other with a stick, their parents meet to settle and discuss the matter. The polite discussion soon turns into violent arguments and quarrels, and they start quarreling with each other, using offensive words, hurtful sentences, etc. I enjoyed this dark comedy, but sadly, it is a VERY forgettable film. Nevertheless, quite enjoyable!



 

   
  

Winners at the 66th British Academy Film Award (BAFTA)

The 66th British Academy Film Award took place in February 10, 2013. The winners are:

Best Film
Winner: Argo

Best Director
Winner: Ben Affleck (for Argo)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Daniel Day Lewis (for Lincoln)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Emmanuelle Riva (for Amour)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Cristoph Waltz (for Django Unchained)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Anne Hathaway (for Les Miserables)

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

Best Cinematography
Winner: Life of Pi

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Winner: Bart Layton (director) and Dimitri Doganis (producer) (for The Imposter)

Outstanding British Film
Winner: Skyfall

Best Documentary
Winner: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Original Music
Winner: Skyfall

Best Sound
Winner: Les Miserables

Best Production Design
Winner: Les Miserables

Best Special Visual Effects
Winner: Life of Pi

Best Costume Design
Winner: Anna Karenina

Best Makeup and Hair
Winner: Les Miserables

Best Editing
Winner: Argo

Best Film Not in English Language
Winner: Amour

Best Animated Film
Winner: Brave

Best Short Animation
Winner: The Making of Longbird

Best Short Film
Winner: Swimmer

EE Rising Star Award 
Winner: Juno Temple

In Wikipedia, there is a full list of winners and nominations, along with other notes:        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/66th_British_Academy_Film_Awards