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The White Ribbon

The White Ribbon won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the 2010 Golden Globe for best foreign film and seemed to have a lock on winning the Academy Award as well, but was surprisingly bested by The Secret in their Eyes. And now, having seen both, I understand why. The Golden Globes are voted on by a small group of foreign journalists, while the Academy Awards are decided by mostly American viewers. The sensibilities could not be more different.

Solitary Man

There are some movies that do not add up to the sum of their parts. Solitary Man is one of those films. The acting is great. Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker and especially Danny Devito all do their best. The script has some fine dialogue, and the cinematography is top notch. But it just isn’t a great film.

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.

Date Night

If you’re a couple enjoying a rare date night, don’t waste your time (and money) on this movie, unless you’re too tired to care that it’s pretty boring. Date Night will make for a harmless time killer on an airplane or on the small screen soon enough. But as a feature film, it’s really weak, despite the general likeability of its stars, Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.

Seriously, A Serious Man?

Seriously? That’s what I thought when I heard the Coen Brothers film announced as an Oscar nominee for best picture. It’s out on DVD now and I have to admit I saw it a while ago but I struggled with my review because all I wanted to say about it was “I hated it.” I can’t help but think that if anybody but Joel and Ethan Coen (Academy darlings that they are) had made this movie, it would never have been nominated for an Academy Award.

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!

Avatar

I’ve heard it described as Dances with Aliens and that is a pretty good description, though I think Dances with Wolves had better character development. Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic soldier, Jake, who goes to the planet Pandora where evil corporate humans want to mine for a super-expensive, rare mineral, but the local population (Na’ vi) stands in the way. Jake is taking his dead brother’s place in a science program that infiltrates the Na’ vis by using avatars, earth people inhabiting Na’ vi bodies as they sleep in the lab. At first Jake is a gung-ho Marine ready to do his duty, but once he becomes a Na’ vi, falls in love with the head guy’s daughter and gets into their new agey lifestyle, he predictably decides to fight the power.

Nine

If you are already a musical fan, you might enjoy Nine. I, however, am not a big musical fan so I went to see it hoping that it would be transcendent. It was not. The star-studded cast drew me in. Daniel-Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, even Sophia Loren… how could I resist? But I left underwhelmed. Only Marion Cotillard gave what I considered an excellent performance.

Sunshine Cleaning

I will repeat what I said before; what is the deal with Amy Adams? I don’t get it that she is all over the place, pretty much playing the same role over and over. In Sunshine Cleaning, she is a sweet, well-meaning girl who is not making ends meet and not having the life everyone thought she would when she was a popular cheerleader in high school. Here she is a single mom, with a married boyfriend, barely making a living as a maid. Her kid has some behavior problems in school and they suggest she put him somewhere that can deal with him, i.e. private school she cannot afford. The married boyfriend who is a cop suggests that maybe she could make more money cleaning up after dead people – some homicides, a suicide or two and lots of people who died at home. And so she starts her Sunshine Cleaning business and hires her deadbeat sister to help her.

Fame

I went into this movie with an open mind – determined to view it through the eyes of a teenager, rather than the cynical (albeit musical-loving) adult that I am. After all, I was a (young) teenager when the original Fame debuted in 1980. So I was kinda psyched to see the new one, for old times’ sake. Whatever. This “updated” Fame is simply lame.