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Waiting for “Superman”

Sorry, kids, Superman aint comin’. So it’s up to us mere mortals to try and save America’s very flawed – if not completely broken- public education system. That’s the take-home message of the new documentary, “Waiting for ‘Superman’”. The film is a call to action in the vein of Al Gore’s global-warming conscious-raiser, An Inconvenient Truth (same director). It’s Scared Straight for parents and politicians. And it’s quite effective.

Summer Movies

Summer is upon us and where are the blockbusters? Here is a list of some of the flix that people will be watching and talking about. Not too much that is exciting, in my opinion, but I am hoping that some of them are surprising. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until September for a dose of Clooney.

Babies

“Oh how cute!” That’s what I found myself saying out loud in the theater throughout the documentary Babies.  (I’d apologize to those sitting around me if they weren’t all doing the same thing.) The film follows four infants from four different parts of the world “from first breath to first step.” It’s like a nature doc with babies instead of animals. There’s no narration, no commentary from the parents, just a series of adorable infant vignettes.

Iron Man 2

Tony Stark, I fell in love with you the first time we met. But the second time around, well, some of the charm has worn off. I had high hopes for Iron Man 2. The wit and swagger of the first movie drew me in and kept me engaged the entire time we were together and I was expecting more of the same. Sure, there were still flashes of wit, and plenty of swagger, but this time I found it more annoying than endearing.  And sad to say, I kept looking at my watch wondering why our second encounter seemed to drag on so long, when really it was just a few minutes over two hours long.

And the winners are

Best Picture Oscar

It is just days until the Oscars and the ballots are being counted and recounted by those nerdy accountants they always drag out. With 10 pictures in the running for Best Picture this year, I think it may split the vote all over the place and make it a very close race with several movies; the bookies, however, have it down to a toss-up between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. The real question though is not who will win but who should win for Best Picture? Cast your vote and let’s see if we at chickflix think the Academy got it right. QuestionsView Results

Oscar

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released their 82nd Annual Oscar Nominations this morning. With all the other awards shows and announcements of best lists these days, it is sort of anticlimactic when they finally come out. Not a whole lot of surprises here. And I’m not sure the increase to 10 Best Picture nominees was such a great idea. Here are the nominees:

And the Razzie Goes to…

With all the best picture this and best actor that of the awards season, we would be remiss if we didn’t include the Razzie Award nominations for the worst of the year. This year there are not many surprises, and we Chicks missed most (though not all) of the nominated films. Since Sandra Bullock will no doubt be nominated for an Oscar, she will be the first actress to be both a Razzie and an Academy Award nominee in the same year. Yay, Sandra!

A Single Man

A Single Man is a good movie, but not an entertaining one. Colin Firth delivers a quietly stunning performance as George Falconer, a middle-aged college professor struggling to get through life after the accidental death of his longtime partner, Jim. The movie is set in 1962 Los Angeles against a backdrop of fear involving the Cuban Missile Crisis and an undercurrent of anti-gay sentiment. The story revolves around a single day in George’s life – a day in which he goes about his usual routine while also preparing to commit suicide. Brief, intermittent flashbacks provide a glimpse of his 16-year love affair with Jim, whose funeral George could not attend because it was for “family only”. George’s overwhelming sense of grief and isolation upon hearing of his partner’s death is palpable… It’s a scene that could probably do more for the current crusade to legalize same-sex marriage than any petition or referendum.

Another Robin Hood? Yes. But this one has Russell Crowe.

I know it’s awards season and there are tons of great movies in theaters for the holidays, but let’s take just a moment to look ahead to summer. On my “blockbuster” watch list – Robin Hood.  Normally, I wouldn’t get excited about another Robin Hood movie. I mean come on, there have been, what, dozens of incarnations of the story on the big screen (and small). But this one has something the others did not. It has Russell Crowe and it’s directed by Ridley Scott. That’s the same duo that gave us Gladiator, and god I loved Gladiator, and Crowe in it. And from the trailer, it looks like their Robin Hood is going to be very Gladiatoresque. So I’m in. Here’s the trailer, watch and enjoy.