Hearts, But No Minds

I thought my post for "Valentine's Day" would be short and sweet. Something like, "Well, it ain't no 'Love Actually'", but as it turns out, there's a lot to say about this film. First, let's look at the cast list from these two films.
"Love Actually"
Emma Thompson
Alan Rickman
Hugh Grant
Bill Nighy
Colin Firth
Liam Neeson
Kiera Knightly

Okay, now "Valentine's Day"
Ashton Kutcher
George Lopez
Jessica Biel
Jennifer Garner
Queen Latiffa
Topher Grace
Tyler Lautner
McDreamy
McSteamy

See? The Valentine's bunch aren't exactly from the RADA graduation list. Why remake what some think is the best romantic comedy ever made if right from the casting process you decide you can never be as good? The purpose here isn't storytelling, it's copy catting. It's cashing in on someone else's great idea and excellent execution. Shame on everyone associated with the making of this movie.
The first finger-pointing should be at the producers for lack of imagination and sheer greed, but once you get past that, a question remains. What the hell is Garry Marshall thinking? I have never seen such clunky staging and awkward chemistry that actually made it in to the final cut. Granted the clunky dialogue doesn't help but come on. Was he running out of film? Now it's is no easy task, directing-wise, to keep this many story lines bouncing in the air (and let me tell you, there are a LOT of story lines). But this structure is lifted directly from "Love, Actually" so he's not exactly reinventing the wheel. Garry Marshall is just a caricature of himself as a director, incapable of bring any honesty or emotion to the scenes. Instead he relies on goofy tricks and inside jokes like an airport scene that has drivers holding up signs for "Unger" and "Madison". Please. The direction is just inexplicably goofy.
There are simply too many actors to go through the the yea's and nay's of performance, and since no one is really trying it seems doubly pointless (although trotting out Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizando like they were museum pieces seems particularly egregious) but I'd like to say something about the big debut of Taylor Swift since she seems destined to be one of those cross-over stars. There are two teen girl roles in this film. One is a character role, a ditzy cheerleader type, no not type, she is ACTUALLY a ditzy cheerleader. The other is a straight forward virgin considering sex for the first time. Marshall cast Swift in the character role, a part that isn't even close to who she is. Swift has no experience and apparently no direction so what you get is a cliche ridden throw-away. Swift isn't good but it is not her fault. She was used. She was sand-bagged. She deserved better for her first role. Now, since I am not a teen girl (I'm the opposite) I took the time to see what all this Taylor Swift fuss was about. I listened to some of her music and let me tell you, her pop/country lyrics have more insight into young love than this movie ever does by a long shot. Forget the role, they should have had her work on the script.
It pisses me off that this film is making money. The producers don't deserve it. It relies on a pop culture audience that doesn't know any better, but I guess it's working. It's for people who don't know or don't care a thing about what love is, actually.

Fish Tank

If "An Education" and "Precious" had an out-of-wedlock child the result would be "Fish Tank". This is a rough and tumble coming of age story set in the lower class projects outside of London. It has little to do with "An Education's" comfortable suburbia and unlike "Precious", the abuse in "Fish Tank" is really self-inflicted. But they each have everything to do with young women trying to find themselves during their sexual awakening and the struggle for identity in the face of overwhelming obstacles. In "Fish Tank" Mia, played by newcomer Katie Jarvis with unnerving authenticity, is a troubled teen in the projects outside of London who develops a crush on her shiftless mother's new boyfriend. He befriends her and disarms her anger, but what are his motives? He seems to be the only one who can break through her tough exterior. What ensues is a rash of bad teenage choices informed by bad parenting (same as "An Education" and "Precious", to one degree or another).
Not much happens in the first hour or so of this movie and the accents are thicker than treacle in December, which makes for a film that need some stick-to-itivenes. (really, they might as well be speaking Slovakian at times) but some plot twists toward the end and the cumulative effect of characterization makes it worth the ride.
One interesting note on the character of the boyfriend, played by Michael Fassbinder. Deflowering a fifteen-year-old would normally make your character one-sidedly evil especially in these days zero-tolerance pedophilia. Not so here. The director's approach to this character is soft, almost sympathetic, so that Mia shares the responsibility and blame in the bad decision-making. She is not entirely a victim here, unlike, say, a "Precious". The sex seems inevitable by circumstance and the fact that it was a bad experience almost a given. Age is not the point and the boyfriend seems less to blame than the world they live in. That is an unusual perspective and director Andrea Arnold deserves a lot of credit for that kind of bold choice. According to critics A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips, she's a director to watch. So I'll be watching.

Darwin At Home

Paul Bettany and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly are husband and wife in real life and in the new film "Creation". Bettany plays Charles Darwin, wrestling with his conscience as he tries to decide if he should publish his seminal work "The Origin of Species",which he knows to be scientifically sound, even as his wife frets about where they'll end up in eternity. God vs. Science. Sounds interesting right? You'd think so wouldn't ya. Before I offer up an opinion on this, I'd like to propose my own scientific theory on a relevant subject. That subject is Jennifer Connelly. Her credentials speak for themselves. She has an Oscar for cripe's sake. She's dark and beautiful. But she has never, never, never brought anything even close to a sense of humor or even a light touch to any role she has ever played. My theory? She is a black hole of comedy. Jennifer Connelly could suck the funny out of a Marx Brothers marathon. I have never seen any actress bring less of a humorous slant to anything she does. Well, you say, she's a dramatic actress. True, and she plays drama with intelligence and honesty. But every role has opportunity for comic choice simply because every life has moments with the capacity for humor. She has never mined any choice for its lighter possibilities. It's bizzare and really unsettling. This movie gives me a chance to rant like this because "Creation" is in dire need of something, anything funny.
Charles Darwin is a figure who opened up the entire world to the truth of our history and our nature and yet in this film you'd barely notice that. Instead the film makers chose to tell an overwrought domestic drama that has more in common with a Gothic ghost story than the tale of a great thinker that changed the world. This is the Darwin story you chose to tell? (I used this same line in reference to "Invictus" which relegates Nelson Mandela's story to the back seat in favor of a RUGBY story).
"Creation" is long on night sweats and creepy little girls and short on both science and character. Well, like I said, at least Jennifer Connelly is perfect for overwrought Gothic horror.

The Nominations

Well, the nominations are out and I must say The Oscar voters did OK. They usually get it at least in the ball park and this year is no exception. I will pat my own back and tell you that out of the fifty major nominations I called 43 on the button and missed seven (for me that's an average year)and I didn't miss more than one in any one category including Best Picture. I got 9 out of 10 pics, missing only "Crazy Heart". The surprising and deserving "District 9" took that last spot.

Omissions:
There where only a few that stood out. Poor Alfred Molina (An Education) got passed over again. That sucks. Matt Damon is a fine actor, but you wouldn't know it by "Invictus". Maybe the worst omission of the year was "500 Days of Summer" being left off the Original Screenplay list. Ben Foster and Samantha Morton (both from The Messenger) were more deserving than say Morgan Freeman and Penelope Cruz. Both Abby Cornish (Bright Star) and Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria) did Oscar-worthy work.

Good Calls:
Glad "The Messenger" got recognized for screenplay, if it couldn't be "500 Days of Summer". 'District 9" was a pleasant surprise for Best Picture. And the Foul-mouthed but very funny "In The Loop" was a great choice for Adapted Screenplay.

My Best calls:
I got Maggie Gyllenhall for "Crazy Heart" when nobody was calling that. And 9 out of 10 Best Picture predictions is pretty Psychic Hotline of me.

...and as usual with the Foreign Film nominations, "What the hell...???"

My Predictions

Oscar nomination day is my favorite day of the year. I think I like it more than the actual award show which is often easy to predict. Here are my picks for 2009-2010:
BEST PICTURE
Up In The Air
Precious
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Up
An Education
The Blind Side
A Serious Man
Crazy Heart

Actor
Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney "Up In the Air"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"
Morgan Freeman "Invictus"

Actress
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side"
Meryl Streep "Julie and Julia"
Gabby Sidibe "Precious"
Emily Blunt "The Young Victoria"

Sup Actor
Christopher Plummer "The Last Station"
Christoph Waltz "Inglorious Basterds"
Stanley Tucci "The Lovely Bones"
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"
Alfred Molina "An Education"

Sup Actress
Mo'Nique "Precious"
Anna Kendrick "Up In The Air"
Vera Farmiga "Up In the Air"
Samantha Morton "The Messenger"
Maggie Gyllenhaal "Crazy Heart"

Director
Katherine Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron "Avatar"
Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"
Jason Reitman "Up In The Air"
Lee Daniels "Precious"

Adapted Screenplay
"Precious"
"Up In The Air"
"Julie and Julia"
"An Education"
"District Nine"

Original Screenplay
"A Serious Man"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Up"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"500 Days of Summer"

Animated Feature
"Up"
"The Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Coraline"
"Ponyo"
"The Princess and the Frog"