Oscar nominees for Best Picture reviewed (except Milk)

The Oscar nominees for Best Picture are: Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and I am ready to review most of them as I have yet to see Milk anywhere.

I've already reviewed the Benjamin, so I'll provide a link instead. (Curious Case review)

Frost/Nixon

Starring: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella

Directed by Ron Howard

Universal Pictures

Richard Nixon is the only president in the United States to ever resign from office, and despite the resignation he still didn't confess about Watergate. A year after the resignation, David Frost- a successful talk show host in Australia and London- decides to try to take America by storm by interviewing the man. People say that Frost isn't the right man for the job, and the production is already financed by debt, so everyone is already fretting for its success. Still, a war ensues...

First and foremost, the most noteworthy thing is most likely the cast. Of course. The cast gives extremely strong performances, and if Frank doesn't get an Oscar, I'll throw a rampage. Seriously, the performances are worth the ticket alone. The two make the movie very gripping, intense and sweaty, despite the fact that one would already know the outcome.

Like many others, I will certainly compare this to a boxing match- only with words, brains and charisma- the two have their respective 'coaches', there is a big audience watching in suspense, and everyone is waiting if the challenger can beat the veteran. It's that intense.

There are some parts one may find boring (although it may become impossible since the meaty stuff are constantly shown in alternation with some documentary-esque segments), and the contents aren't always understandable since it is after all American history, but this history lesson is very much welcome for anyone who wants to find out the happenings beyond Nixon's resignation and Watergate.

If anything, all this success should not only be credited to the actors involved, but also to the well-written script. If you want to see a monumental argument, this is one for the ages.

Rating: 9.3/10

The Reader

It's a Holocaust story that's not that amazing.

*WARNING: SPOILERS*

You can say that it's simply mediocre at best, but the thing is, Kate Winslet also manages to elevate the movie a slight bit- which is perhaps the factor that influenced Oscar voters to nominate this. I mean, Ralph is also a great actor, and the two of them don't really deserve this movie. I think that this movie needs to simply be forgotten, and yet because of Winslet, it just barely passes the mark.

Anyway, it's about a German teen named Michael who gets sick. Kate Winslet's character Hanna takes the stranger in. Suddenly, in a very random fashion, they engage in sexual activities! WHY? Well, I don't know, but Hanna becomes sex guru to Michael and they meet everyday. Suddenly, Hanna factors in a book reading session... JUST BEFORE they engage in their daily activity, thus the title.

Unfortunately, this part of Michael's life is too mundane and takes too long to progress. The

meaty part is that trial that occurs as this is where Winslet radiates. I mean, yes she already saves the production from going down under in the first part, but this part is where she really gets to let everything out. What is she doing? She's defending her dignity as she is ashamed to admit her illiteracy and because of this, she gets convicted for something she didn't even do, well, technically. That's because she was part of the troops of Hitler and she with a several few more women soldiers were accused of letting Jews die, but she wasn't the one who decided upon that.

Yes, her illiteracy could've changed everything.

Expectedly so, Michael gets to know about this fact, but he decides not to turn the case around just so she can have her self-esteem... for herself.

Another really unnecessarily long sequence follows, revealing Michael- now very old- recording tapes of books and sending them to Hanna. Hanna learns to read during her sentence, and they meet.

The ending? Oh God, it somehow makes the whole movie extremely pointless. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it does that. I mean, she has more reason to be prouder of herself by that time, and she could restore her life, at least for just a bit. Hmm, at least the ending was shocking!

*SPOILERS OVER*

It feels overly long thus making it boring, and boy does it need a better story. Not really amazing, at first captivating, and it tries to emit this facade of being a very deep story. Unfortunately, it emits more snores than captivation. Yup, I don't see the point of this being nominated at all aside from Kate Winslet.

Rating: 4.5/10

Slumdog Millionaire

Probably my favorite of the lot, Slumdog Millionaire is that kind of movie that comes once in a blue moon. It's unique in its execution, its hybrid of film genres works, the aural and visual elements jive together extremely well like a newlywed couple, and the performances are just top-notch.

While I predict that the girl who plays Latika won't win the top plum, I'm betting my balls that the whole damn movie wins Best Picture. I seriously love how charming it is and how it reaches into your emotions without being overly sappy.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me give a synopsis. So we have our protagonist Jamal being tortured by some guys. We find out that one of them's actually the host of the Indian version of the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and then you get pulled into the movie. Why is a host of a rather rusty game show torturing the young man? How did the 'slumdog' become a 'millionaire' when he hasn't even received much formal education? Why did he join in the first place?

Well, the refreshing way of how it introduces you to a series of flashbacks enable you to become even more curious of Jamal's life as a child in the slums and the reason as to his situation in the introduction. After going in, you'll never ever get out. This is one movie you'll never want to skip a frame of, because not only is it stylish, the visual flair also blends with a harmony for the ears- a great soundtrack. There are only a few vocalized songs, yes, but both elements blend to give a real feast for the senses- somehow reminiscent personally of movies like The Dark Knight or Benjamin Button.

The performances are very good as well. I mean, the kids- they're awesome performers. Extremely convincing and natural, the kids. The grown-ups are also very strong performers, and since the lead is unknown, the man is a pretty fresh face to see in a movie.

You will root for Jamal, your stomach will churn as the climax arrives, and you will receive a mixture of emotions in the ending. I mean, the ending... that's the only con I have with the movie. I'm fine with the outcome itself, but the way it's presented? It's a mix of emotions over there. I mean, you see a certain event, and then you see another event that is its entire opposite, so you'll be like "No, wait! I'm not finished feeling this emotion yet! What the hell is happening? No! Stop! Pause... OK, now play.". Maybe I'm exaggerating, but for me, it's just one of those moments.

That dance number, you'd probably already heard of it if you're craving for it to reach theaters or reading the reviews, and that adds to the mix of emotions. It's like implying that ignorance is bliss or something.

Still, the movie as a whole is extremely entertaining, and hard not to love. Despite the seemingly basic romance story, it still feels extremely fresh and unique. It truly is worth a watch and you won't forget it any time soon.

Rating: 9.6/10

Oscar/Golden Globe-nominee/winner review #5: No Country For Old Men

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen

Released by: Miramax Films, Paramount Vantage

Noms: Globes Best Picture- Drama, Best Director,Best Screenplay, Oscars Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing,

Wins: Globes Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Oscars Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay

Tomatometer: 94%

In a nutshell: The film definitely creeped me out, but not in that atypical paranormal sense (because it's obviously a Western thriller). Superior acting and technical polish will especially suck you in, though I never really got that ending (it's not much of a bad thing, though).

Ah, the Coens. I've heard of them. And this is pretty much the first film (made by them) that I've ever seen, but I feel pretty compelled to hunt for their work. Why? It's pretty obvious, no? But I'll elaborate anyway.

It all starts with a man named Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) who goes to a part of the desert just to see the aftermath of a drug deal gone awry. He looks at the crime scene, and then sees the suitcase of a dead Mexican dude that contains 2 million dollars. He would bring the satchel home and well, pretty much set to motion a series of cat and mouse races for his life. A sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) would also try to help him, but this psycopathic killer (Javier Bardem) is unlike any other, though he kind of knows what his next move is in a sort of philosophical manner.

OK, vague description, but that's because I wouldn't want to spoil anything about this movie. All I can say about it though, is that it definitely, successfully maintains that level of fear throughout the entire movie, even in those parts where you don't have to, because you just feel that Anton (Bardem's character) would sort of just appear and shoot everybody. And those times are just so unpredictable to boot! Plus, the cat and mouse chases between Llewelyn and Anton equally thrilling and scary, so much that it will put you at the edge of your seat (luckily I was on a bed, so yeah, that screams BOOTLEG! PIRATED! DVD!). And my mother, who would normally sleep in the middle of a movie, was definitely awake here. So I'm not exactly alone.

Speaking of DVD, it just seems a fact that genres like these, whether the movie in general is bad or not, is definitely more effective in the theater. So if you can just imagine what I felt during the screening of this movie in the comfort of home, who knows what would happen if you (and I for that matter) were to view this in a theater!

Joel and Ethan Coen definitely make a terrific job in the screenplay and direction, because they execute the near-impossible with perfect ease, and makes you feel like a character even. I can't pick out the words as to how I can tell this to you in detail, but yesterday's (March 1, 08) Inquirer review pretty much said it for me.

And as a bonus, you get to witness Javier Bardem at all his sinister glory, as he kind of almost steals Brolin's presence on-screen. But in case you're wondering whether he is the very loud type of cackling villain you'd stereotypically expect, he's not. He didn't really need to act all over-the-top and all that, and was actually the contrary. Ahh, silence is indeed more evil... and scarier than the screen villains I've seen for a decade.

Oh but good things come to an end, and its ending is pretty strange in the sense that it will make you think to the point that you have to re-view it a second time. But then again, it was already 1 in the morning when we finished. And I was hella tired. But I couldn't sleep though, Anton Chigurh was still etched in my mind, looking for me, wanting to kill me. (-shiver-)

You should definitely watch this gem, though. No, really. Watch THIS. It is indeed the definitive movie of the year of 2007 for me.

Rating: 9.8/10 (My 2007 movie of the year has finally arrived.)