Movie Faves of 2006
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, but I want to wait a bit before I offer my picks. The offerings at the local theaters are slim, especially if you are interested in seeing anything in a language other than high-school level English. But I'm hoping today's nominations will encourage the Cedar City theater chain to offer something besides teen comedies and "family safe" features for a change. (Oscar-nominated Babel only debuted here last week, and Dreamgirls arrived a week before that. No sign here yet of stuff I'm dying to see like Letters from Iwo Jima, Pan's Labyrinth, or Children of Men. I'm holding out hope that I'll get to see these in a theater before they get released to DVD and/or the Oscars are awarded.)
Anyway, since I have last year's movies on the brain, I thought I'd offer a short list of the films I did manage to see that I consider Oscar-worthy, whether or not they actually scored any nominations.
The Queen
I was prepared to disbelieve the hype surrounding this film, especially after I learned that it involved the death of Princess Diana. However, the film's depiction of the political self-interest, merciless class snobbery, and general human failings of the English royal family is Shakespearean in its icy observations. The camera that follows these people doesn't need to be judgmental; their actions tell us everything.
The Departed
I wouldn't call this any kind of masterpiece, especially in comparison with some of Scorsese's other films, but I found a great deal of satisfaction while watching it, mainly because of the sense of reassurance I felt in seeing a movie made by someone who not only enjoys what he is doing and takes his work seriously, but who also knows how to captivate an audience without manipulating them or resorting to cheap tricks. I will see anything this director does, Jack Nicholson's accents notwithstanding.
Casino Royale
This is the first Bond film I've seen that I didn't feel the need to designate as a guilty pleasure. While it doesn't entirely break free of the Bond stereotypes, it goes a long way towards making Bond a realistic human being, and showing us the effects of living a life devoted to murder. When Daniel Craig finally delivered his trademark introduction ("Bond. James Bond."), I felt more frightened than amused. By that point in the film, Craig's Bond has shut himself off from nearly all human emotion, and we realize what a monster we've created.
Little Miss Sunshine
Like most great comedies, this film is less of a deliberate farce than a documentary-like portrayal of an interesting (and disturbed) group of people in an unusual situation, more sad than funny. Even its most deliberate comedic moments (particularly the climax) are achieved with honesty and a touch of sympathy.
A Scanner Darkly
I'm not sure why this film was animated, or animated in the rotoscopic style of Linklater's Waking Life, but if you can get past the hypnotic distraction of the visuals, this becomes a rather chilling projection of our drug culture, and even includes Philip Dick's sobering personal roster of
the victims who beat him to the grave. More prescient than the trailer would lead you to think.
Marie Antoinette
I hated it at first. I still feel the need to see it a few more times before I'm comfortable with my reaction to it now. I think Sofia Coppola's heritage is working for her in unexpected ways--by trying to distance herself from the epic scope of her father's classics, she humanizes the epic mythology of Marie's life, bringing it down to the level of a teenager sporting Chuck Taylors and listening to Bow Wow Wow. The beheading is never shown, but, like any teen who is given access to all her immediate wants (other than sex), Marie loses her head long before we want to cut it off of her. We leave her at sunset, when we are suddenly reminded why the smile on her face is dying.
Anyway, since I have last year's movies on the brain, I thought I'd offer a short list of the films I did manage to see that I consider Oscar-worthy, whether or not they actually scored any nominations.
The Queen
I was prepared to disbelieve the hype surrounding this film, especially after I learned that it involved the death of Princess Diana. However, the film's depiction of the political self-interest, merciless class snobbery, and general human failings of the English royal family is Shakespearean in its icy observations. The camera that follows these people doesn't need to be judgmental; their actions tell us everything.
The Departed
I wouldn't call this any kind of masterpiece, especially in comparison with some of Scorsese's other films, but I found a great deal of satisfaction while watching it, mainly because of the sense of reassurance I felt in seeing a movie made by someone who not only enjoys what he is doing and takes his work seriously, but who also knows how to captivate an audience without manipulating them or resorting to cheap tricks. I will see anything this director does, Jack Nicholson's accents notwithstanding.
Casino Royale
This is the first Bond film I've seen that I didn't feel the need to designate as a guilty pleasure. While it doesn't entirely break free of the Bond stereotypes, it goes a long way towards making Bond a realistic human being, and showing us the effects of living a life devoted to murder. When Daniel Craig finally delivered his trademark introduction ("Bond. James Bond."), I felt more frightened than amused. By that point in the film, Craig's Bond has shut himself off from nearly all human emotion, and we realize what a monster we've created.
Little Miss Sunshine
Like most great comedies, this film is less of a deliberate farce than a documentary-like portrayal of an interesting (and disturbed) group of people in an unusual situation, more sad than funny. Even its most deliberate comedic moments (particularly the climax) are achieved with honesty and a touch of sympathy.
A Scanner Darkly
I'm not sure why this film was animated, or animated in the rotoscopic style of Linklater's Waking Life, but if you can get past the hypnotic distraction of the visuals, this becomes a rather chilling projection of our drug culture, and even includes Philip Dick's sobering personal roster of
the victims who beat him to the grave. More prescient than the trailer would lead you to think.
Marie Antoinette
I hated it at first. I still feel the need to see it a few more times before I'm comfortable with my reaction to it now. I think Sofia Coppola's heritage is working for her in unexpected ways--by trying to distance herself from the epic scope of her father's classics, she humanizes the epic mythology of Marie's life, bringing it down to the level of a teenager sporting Chuck Taylors and listening to Bow Wow Wow. The beheading is never shown, but, like any teen who is given access to all her immediate wants (other than sex), Marie loses her head long before we want to cut it off of her. We leave her at sunset, when we are suddenly reminded why the smile on her face is dying.
Labels: Movies
posted by Chazzbot at 11:32 AM
3 Comments:
If it wasn't for DVD, I'd never get to see certain movies. I definitely understand your frustration with the lack of variety at the local theaters. Did you see Meryl Streep's acceptance speech at the Globes? Even someone as wealthy and seemingly powerful as Meryl is frustrated with how limited some movies are with their distribution.
BTW, I loved Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen. Marie Antoinette. I saw that one. :-)
Did you notice how diverse the nominees are this year? It's incredibly multicultural and multigenerational (Abigail Breslin AND Peter O'Toole!). Is it a PC tactic or is Hollywood finally recognizing some very worthy people? Helen Mirren all the way!
I just checked out Cedar City's film listing. Aside from Dreamgirls and maybe the Pursuit of Happyness, there ain't much there that I'd bother with. Thank you Blockbuster online!
A slight bit of "I know something you don't" gloating subtly disguised as a reassuring comment about a future movie outing of yours:
Children of Men is fantastic. I sat in stunned silence throughout the credits, and two days later still had parts of the film wandering through my waking thoughts.
Eat your heart out.
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