Best Picture Prediction

So the 82nd Academy Awards are March 7th and since I am very excited, I decided to predict the winner for Best Picture. This is always fun. Yay!

With the category expanded to 10 movies, the nominees are:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
District 9
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Inglourious Basterds
The Blind Side

To start, it'll be easy to separate the 5 who simply don't have a chance to 5 who would be nominated even if the category hadn't been expanded. The 5 films who simply have to suffice with the nomination is Disctrict 9, An Education, A Serious Man, Up, and The Blind Side. Let's face it, all 5 of these movies don't have the momentum to win this. Let's see why.

District 9 is a great film, no doubt. But if the Academy wants to go with something sci-fi this year, it's going to Avatar. Director Neil Blomkamp should be honored to be nominated for his first picture. An Education and A Serious Man simply don't have what it takes to win, from its small fan base and lack of awards in other shows. Up has its own category to win, Best Animated Feature. And finally The Blind Side. First off, I believe that this shouldn't even be nominated (I don't think it's anywhere as good as "Invictus" or even "The Hangover") and second, this film winning best picture is like saying George Clooney isn't handsome.

So that leaves Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Precious, and Inglourious Basterds, all great films. Precious is probably the most disturbing and uplifting of the 5, but then again doesn't have what it takes to pull off the upset. Inglourious Basterds is regarded as one of Quentin Tarantino's best films and has a huge fan base rallying behind it. But its lack of awards in award shows prior greatly hurt its chances of winning best picture. Up in the Air was my best film of the year, and as much as I want it to win (badly), I have to face the fact that it probably doesn't have a chance. Jason Reitman (Juno) writes and directs, in my opinion, a classic. But when you look at the two front runners, it's hard to say this has much of a chance. These two are James Cameron's Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. Both are tremendous films, but this is what it comes down to: if the Academy wants a film that has revolutionized the movie industry to win, they'll give it to Avatar. If they want to give the best picture to the real "best picture" in most critics' opinions, then they'll give it to The Hurt Locker. So what's my prediction?
My prediction: The Hurt Locker

"Shutter Island" review

Martin Scorsese is known as the great American filmmaker of the past 40 years, and after making the tremendous film "The Departed" (my best movie of the decade) in 2006, it's no wonder that many of his fans are excited about his new film entitled "Shutter Island", based on the highly acclaimed novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone). This is also his fourth project with actor Leonardo DiCaprio after making the intense "Gangs of New York", the meticulous biopic "The Aviator", and of course "The Departed". Can you really go wrong with these two? No, not really. In fact, after going 3 for 3 in successful films together, it is very easy to say that their fourth movie together is a perfect swish. Martin Scorsese wanted to try his hand at a gothic horror and psychological thriller type film, and it feels good to say that it was an amazing success. This movie grips you, from start to end. The cast is ultimately flawless. The script is moving. The score is surprisingly one of the biggest strengths of the film. And of course, the film is equipped with expert direction from the legend, Martin Scorsese.

U.S. Marshalls Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are assigned to an investigation in Shutter Island, a mental hospital for the criminally insane. Their job is to figure out how a woman by the name of Rachel Solondo seemingly disappeared despite the most security that one could possibly recieve. With the help of Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), they try to figure out clues to her disappearance. There seems to be problems, though, especially since Daniels has post-traumatic stress after being in the war. The film goes to several flashbacks of Nazi deathcamps to show what occurred. Teddy's wife, Dolores (Michelle Williams), died beforehand, and throughout his stay at Shutter Island, he is faced with constant images of her. Now I'm going to stop there. Going any further into the story can be a possible spoiler. The twist to this film is crazy.

Leonardo DiCaprio, in my opinion, gives his best performance of his career. What the character of Teddy Daniels demands out of DiCaprio forces him to put himself into a former soldier's shoes, that is, a soldier who has seen haunting things that he can't forget. It's his most emotional and complex acting job that he has ever done by far. Definitely Oscar-worthy. Mark Ruffalo, who you may know from countless chick-flicks, is perfect here. He has a simple screen prescence of someone who doesn't demand attention but automatically receives it. Sir Ben Kingsley shows once again that enraged calm that he has mastered throughout the years. With three mentioned, there's no forgetting the others who just did so well. Michelle Williams and Max von Skydow in particular. They are all so good. This is probably due to director Martin Scorsese. How can you possibly not bring your A-game in front of this guy?

"Shutter Island" is a great film that is destined to be a classic. No, I don't think this is Scorsese's best movie, but it's definitely one of his countless masterpieces. I was genuinly gripped by the film's captivating story and never came close to losing interest for the movie's 2 hours and 18 minutes. Each shot is filled with striking images of color and symbolism, making this perhaps Scorsese's most beautifully made film to date. Simply put, he has done it again. This is the type of movie that you will talk about for days after you see it. It's nearly flawless.
Rating: 4 out of 4

"Valentine's Day" review

What's with the huge hate towards this movie? Sure there are many flaws, but c'mon. How do you not have some kind of fun with about a hundred of A-list stars? Well, that's what I had. Some kind of fun. It was entertaining, I'll say that. Was it emotionally touching and screams out "quality" instead of "quantity"? No it doesn't. If you are looking for a movie that fully depends on its big-name actors to sell it, then here it is. There are so many people in this movie, it might be easier to list those who WEREN'T in the movie. Nevertheless, I will list them here: Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Emily Watson, Queen Latifah, and of course George Lopez. I think I'm missing some, but that's fine. I think I've proven my point. And though this cast may sound attractive, this is one of the flaws of this movie. It jumps from story to story unevenly. There was a point here where I thought it was finally done with the new stories, then all of a sudden in comes a new one. Yes, they weren't that hard to keep track of, but do we really NEED that many? "Valentine's Day" offers up some laughs, and I was seriously amused in some parts. The problem, though, is that the humor wasn't consistent. There were some jokes that simply didn't work for me and were just plain stupid. But let's be real here. I'm just being critical because that's what a "movie critic" does. If you want to go see it, go for it. Real talk, even if you can't deny its shortcomings, it'll be kind of hard not to have fun watching this one. I like Taylor Swift, so yeah.
Rating: 21/2 out of 4

"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" review

So what did I think when I first saw the title of this movie? I thought it was ridiculous. Who needs a title that long? Name it "Percy Jackson" for goodness sake. I also told myself, after seeing the trailer, that I would never see that movie. It's just not my type. Well, something told me to go see this movie. Maybe because it was a Friday night and I didn't have the appropriate companions to see "Valentine's Day". Probably. But there was easily one thing for sure. After watching this movie, I was satisfied. The story, the action, the acting, and the surprising humor all worked for me. Coming in, I thought this would just be another made-for-kids movie that wasn't meant to fulfill the adults' entertainment needs. I was wrong.

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is the son of the Greek God Poseidon, who is the God of the seas. Percy doesn't know this at first, but soon realizes it after something unusual occurs at a museum. With this said, he is accused by Zeus, another Greek God, that he stole his lightning bolt. He then threatens Percy's father that if he doesn't bring the bolt back, he will kill him. Percy, who obviously didn't steal it, has no choice but to confront Zeus and explain to him his situation. With the help of his friend, a human-goat named Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and a strong female warrior who also happens to be the child of a God (Alexandra Daddario), Percy goes on an adventurous quest. The girl's name is Annabeth and together with Percy, they seem to like each other. This is simply the jist of the story. Going into further detail will make this review look like Greek mythology.

This movie surprised me. It was genuinely exciting in some parts and captivating in others. This is a very good thing because it overshadows the fact that the special effects are poor especially in this day an age with "Avatar" out. With that said, the story kept my interest and it was almost always entertaining throughout. What can I say? It was fun!
Rating: 3 out of 4

"Edge of Darkness" review

Once, Mel Gibson was the very definition of a star. He had the screen presence of a true man that the audience could count on. That was then, this is now. Is he as big a star as he was then? Not even close. Is he on a good path to not reaching, but coming close to where he was in the movie world? Yes. Why? Because he's in a dynamite action thriller that doesn't ultimately fulfill Gibson's status as an A-lister, but starts him off well. After a few years of inactivity, you might think that Gibson was perhaps "washed-up" or way past his prime as an actor. Watch this movie and prove yourself wrong. This is nowhere near his best performance, but he remains the same Mel Gibson that many out there admired. From director Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale") and writer William Monahan ("The Departed"), this is a flawed but satisfying movie that hardly lets up.

Gibson plays a man named Thomas Craven, a police officer who truly misses and loves his daughter. That's right, I said daughter. Is this forshadowing to a similar story to "Taken"? Well, it's the same basic idea. His daughter, named Emma Craven, is shot right in front of his eyes. He's devastated, and vows to find the men behind this murder. At first, some believed that the bullet might have been intended for Mr. Craven. Further evidence shows that the bullet was indeed meant for his "innocent" daughter, or so he thought she was innocent. The secrets that are revealed is shocking, and you get it more and more as you watch this film. So what separates this from "Taken" other than Mel Gibson instead of Liam Neeson? I see it this way: this film, as opposed to "Taken", has a brain. It isn't mindless, but rather somewhat smart. You actually have to use your nogin to figure this one out.

Other than Mel Gibson, another standout is Ray Winstone, though at times I couldn't understand him due to his strong accent. Still he compliments Gibson perfectly and they just gel in their scenes together. With that said, the main focus here is still Mel Gibson. He gives a very good performance in a very good film, and I know that as soon as the credits start rolling, you will (if you haven't already) finally confirm him as a true action hero.
Rating: 3 out of 4

"The Blind Side" review

Sandra Bullock was in a number of movies in 2009. What makes this one any different? Well this one is actually good. And unlike "The Proposal" or "All About Steve", Bullock is good in it. She plays a good-hearted mom who takes in a needy, large, black young adult named Michael Oher. His real mom is a druggie and abandoned him. I say "real" because later on he refers to Bullock's character as his new mom. Oher attends this christian school and discovers his talent as an offensive tackle. With this said, he is definitely up for a scholarship. As expected, problems and hardship occur not only in his football career but in his relationship with his new mom. Based on a true story, this is undoubtedly inspirational stuff, and you root for the guy. Now I said this is a good film. By no means great. But give this one a chance. Bullock carries this movie and Michael Oher's road to changing his life is interesting.
Rating: 21/2 out of 4

Top 10 Films of 2009

10) The Hangover

9) Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

8) District 9

7) An Education

6) Invictus

5) Avatar

4) Inglourious Basterds

3) Up

2) The Hurt Locker

1) Up in the Air