Some Oscar Award Potentials
"Dallas Buyers Club"
starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Michael O'Neill, Dallas Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Kevin Rankin, J.D. Evermore, Deneen Tyler
directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee
I saved a few of this year's Oscar contenders for right around the actually award ceremony (mostly because these hard hitting films are usually released late into the year- re: Christmas season- so as to really stick in people's minds). "Dallas Buyer's Club " is definitely one of my favorite films of the year, too. It's in large part due to Matthew McConaughey's performance as well as Jared Leto's supporting role. Now, Jared Leto plays a transgender, crossing AIDS victim the way that Heath Ledger played The Joker in "The Dark Knight." That is to say, perfectly. And he is sure to earn a well-deserved Oscar for his performance. McConaughey also deserves some accolades for his transformation into Ron Woodroof, being that he is almost unrecognizable due to his significant weight loss, mustache, and all around frail figure. Thankfully, you can immediately recognize his voice.
Now, the entire film basically rests on McConaughey's narrow shoulders and depends solely on Woodroof completing his transformation from misogynistic, homophobic, Texas cowboy into a AIDS victim and drug-prescription advocate to help ease the inevitable death of AIDS victims (including himself) as he also takes his battle to the courts against the pharmaceutical companies.
The film starts with almost one of the most perfectly scripted, underlying metaphors, and performance. It sets the tone for the rest of the film, not to mention the transformation that needs to happen. Woodroof, as played by McConaughey, comes off as an unrepentant scoundrel as we find him in a behind-the-scenes act at a bull-riding rodeo, in which he engages other men in betting, and then having impassioned sex with two bullrider groupies before snorting coke off their backs. You can tell this is somewhat of a ritual for Woodroof (and perhaps the main reason why he ending up contracting AIDS). Now, let's take into consideration also the metaphor the screenwriters and filmmakers have laid before us with the bullriding. Woodroof is the man who is forced to square off against an unbeatable enemy (AIDS) much like a bullrider tries not to fall off. Throughout the film, McConaughey finds himself in situations were he is forced to play the changed hero, even though, he basically starts off searching for cures and medicines for his own disease in a selfish manner, he ultimately comes to realize and see firsthand how devastating the disease is to all its victims, not just him. He ultimately finds himself a bigger purpose as he begins to see that the pharmaceutical companies do not necessarily want to cure such a bankable and deathly disease. He becomes his own, self-serving drug mule as he travels across a few countries borders bringing back with him different assortments of drugs that help ease the pain of AIDS as well as prolong a victim's life- this coming after Woodroof is given 30 days to live.
In one sense Dallas Buyers Club is the story of a man's struggle to endure, following the crushing news that he has only 30 days to live. In another it's about repairing his moral and mental bearings after the utter destruction of his body, which he'd previously exploited as a pure receptor for soul-corroding pleasure.
Woodroof decides to profit, economically as well as physically. Running his gray-market business out of a local motel, he emerges as a crusty savior figure for Dallas's bewildered AIDS population. This marginalized group gets personified by Rayon (Jared Leto), a trans woman possessed with a similar enterprising spirit, whose local connections earn her a quarter share in Ron's business. Director Jean-Marc Vallee portrays his two main players with just enough humanism that they come off as slightly better than conventional characters in another sad story about AIDS (re: "Philadelphia").
..............................................................................................................
"Her"
starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Matt Letscher
written and directed by: Spike Jonze
This film had the potential to be a satirical disaster and become its own joke, but Spike Jonze craftily avoids any pitfalls it could've endured (well, besides that one "scene" where Phoenix's character has virtual/phone sex with his operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson- all while we stare at a black screen).
Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly to a perfectly depressed T. Now, he's not so depressed that he is immobilized or suicidal. That wouldn't make for a good film. He is more likely suffering from a self-imposed and perpetual downward spiral funk thanks to his marriage's ending. He is in his funk essentially because he is not ready to move on, there's still a glimmer of hope inside of him that his soon-to-be ex-wife (played by Rooney Mara, looking younger here) will want to get back with him and give him a second chance. That's why he doesn't want to sign the divorce papers.
In his world, Theodore has wrapped himself up in his comfortable cocoon of melancholy and (infinite) sadness. With that reality we have the set up of a decent story about self-rediscovery and redemption, hopefully. And now, add to that the choice that Jonze makes to set his story in the perhaps not-too-distant future and it becomes rather interesting. Theodore works for a company in which he ghostwrites people's letters to significant others. I found this element most interesting because of the love story that becomes is a great parallel to his job as a ghostwriter.
Early on, Theodore upgrades to a new operating system that signals yet another revolution in technology – the first-ever artificially intelligent OS. Theodore’s OS names itself Samantha. At first, the OS functions like a digital life coach, cleaning up Theodore’s hard drive and getting him to meetings on time, but as Samantha sponges up data and experience, she rapidly evolves and tangles with the idea of her own personhood. Also: She and Theodore start dating.
The brilliance of "Her" lies in how it uses a sci-fi concept to reconstruct the traditional arc of a romance, from getting-to-know-you to growing apart. There are other iterations of that arc, enacted by the gentle Joaquin Phoenix – expert at both open-faced and evasive looks – and three exceptional supporting actresses, Rooney Mara, Amy Adams, and Olivia Wilde. These 3 real women in Theodore's life each play a key and crucial role in his acceptance of truth and reality (about love and what it means to love).
Jonze's treatment of the themes is fully adult and keenly sensitive to the complexities of sexual intimacy – how it relates to emotional intimacy, whether or not a flesh-and-blood body is required to achieve it. With Her, he hits a nerve – an age-old one, in fact, dressed up in futuristic trappings – that we’re all still dialing up, searching for a connection. Let's face it, we all live in a technological savvy world where we have less and less face-to-face contact with the one we fall in love with and end up with in the end. We are a digital world now, where this story could essential find itself a reality.
This is a great film, totally worth watching. Try not to scoff at it or the main character, because it could be you someday.
......................................................................................................
"12 Years a Slave"
starring: Chiwetel Ejiofar, Dwight Henry, Bryan Batt, Ashley Dyke, Kelsey Scott, Taran Killiam, Chris Chalk, Adepero Oduye, Storm Reid, Tom Proctor, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Liza J. Bennett, Sarah Paulson, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt
directed by: Steve McQueen
There are not many films that are brutally uncomfortable to watch because they are based on reality and true stories, as they tend to depict a piece of history that many people would long to forget about. "12 Years a Slave" is based on a true story, the memoir of a freed slave named Solomon Northup, who lived in Saratoga, New York with his family before being kidnapped, beaten and sold back into slavery only to find himself in the horribly-conditioned South.
The film is brutal at almost every single turn of events, from one scene to another, but it is also elegant in how the story is presented, thanks to director Steve McQueen's keen eye for detail and his signature move of hanging on scenes for a really long time (and perhaps that's what makes this particular film so uncomfortable, since it is about slavery).
This film embraces a transcendent authenticity. With the exception of a chance conversation between Northup and a Canadian abolitionist (played expertly by Brad Pitt, whose film studio actually produced the film, so of course he found himself one of the most integral parts of the story) about the morality of slavery toward the film’s end, nothing rings false here. This aforementioned scene is integral to the conclusion of Northup’s harrowing ordeal. The refusal to sentimentalize the story’s overwhelming emotions or to manipulate its solemn themes bestows "12 Years a Slave" with a graceful dignity, as personified in Ejiofor’s mournful performance as a man of constant sorrow. Those moist, watery eyes communicate the despair of a human being who has inexplicably lost his freedom but dares to hope to regain it one day. Northup never loses hope that he will be rescued once somebody believes his story of being kidnapped, even though he takes on the role of his slave-given name, Platt.
Michael Fassbender comes in about halfway through the film as Northup's second slaveowner and his portrayal of such a vicious man with no sense of moral bankruptcy is an acting revelation. McQueen must see something in Fassbender that he wants everyone else to see, because he has cast him in all three of his feature films (re: "Hunger" and "Shame").
As I mentioned before, I love McQueen's attention to long-extended scenes and here he uses that talent masterfully to almost force the audience to feel uncomfortable while at the same time not being able to take your eyes off the screen.
Case in point: His neck in a noose hanging from a tree in the plantation yard and his bare feet barely touching the muddy ground below him, Northup performs a grotesque dance as he struggles to keep upright in the liquefying muck. In time, other slaves enter the yard to perform daily tasks and children begin to play nearby; all the while Northup carefully and intently maneuvers to stay alive, one slip away from certain death. The scene goes on for what seems like an eternity. It is a horrible thing to witness, and yet you can’t look away from this man’s determination to survive.
I absolutely loved this film for every single minute. It's a work of art. It cashes in well-acted performances from each of its actors, even including the supporting roles. And it's the work of a director whose talent is growing and maturing right before the audience's eyes.
starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Michael O'Neill, Dallas Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Kevin Rankin, J.D. Evermore, Deneen Tyler
directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee
I saved a few of this year's Oscar contenders for right around the actually award ceremony (mostly because these hard hitting films are usually released late into the year- re: Christmas season- so as to really stick in people's minds). "Dallas Buyer's Club " is definitely one of my favorite films of the year, too. It's in large part due to Matthew McConaughey's performance as well as Jared Leto's supporting role. Now, Jared Leto plays a transgender, crossing AIDS victim the way that Heath Ledger played The Joker in "The Dark Knight." That is to say, perfectly. And he is sure to earn a well-deserved Oscar for his performance. McConaughey also deserves some accolades for his transformation into Ron Woodroof, being that he is almost unrecognizable due to his significant weight loss, mustache, and all around frail figure. Thankfully, you can immediately recognize his voice.
Now, the entire film basically rests on McConaughey's narrow shoulders and depends solely on Woodroof completing his transformation from misogynistic, homophobic, Texas cowboy into a AIDS victim and drug-prescription advocate to help ease the inevitable death of AIDS victims (including himself) as he also takes his battle to the courts against the pharmaceutical companies.
The film starts with almost one of the most perfectly scripted, underlying metaphors, and performance. It sets the tone for the rest of the film, not to mention the transformation that needs to happen. Woodroof, as played by McConaughey, comes off as an unrepentant scoundrel as we find him in a behind-the-scenes act at a bull-riding rodeo, in which he engages other men in betting, and then having impassioned sex with two bullrider groupies before snorting coke off their backs. You can tell this is somewhat of a ritual for Woodroof (and perhaps the main reason why he ending up contracting AIDS). Now, let's take into consideration also the metaphor the screenwriters and filmmakers have laid before us with the bullriding. Woodroof is the man who is forced to square off against an unbeatable enemy (AIDS) much like a bullrider tries not to fall off. Throughout the film, McConaughey finds himself in situations were he is forced to play the changed hero, even though, he basically starts off searching for cures and medicines for his own disease in a selfish manner, he ultimately comes to realize and see firsthand how devastating the disease is to all its victims, not just him. He ultimately finds himself a bigger purpose as he begins to see that the pharmaceutical companies do not necessarily want to cure such a bankable and deathly disease. He becomes his own, self-serving drug mule as he travels across a few countries borders bringing back with him different assortments of drugs that help ease the pain of AIDS as well as prolong a victim's life- this coming after Woodroof is given 30 days to live.
In one sense Dallas Buyers Club is the story of a man's struggle to endure, following the crushing news that he has only 30 days to live. In another it's about repairing his moral and mental bearings after the utter destruction of his body, which he'd previously exploited as a pure receptor for soul-corroding pleasure.
Woodroof decides to profit, economically as well as physically. Running his gray-market business out of a local motel, he emerges as a crusty savior figure for Dallas's bewildered AIDS population. This marginalized group gets personified by Rayon (Jared Leto), a trans woman possessed with a similar enterprising spirit, whose local connections earn her a quarter share in Ron's business. Director Jean-Marc Vallee portrays his two main players with just enough humanism that they come off as slightly better than conventional characters in another sad story about AIDS (re: "Philadelphia").
..............................................................................................................
"Her"
starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Matt Letscher
written and directed by: Spike Jonze
This film had the potential to be a satirical disaster and become its own joke, but Spike Jonze craftily avoids any pitfalls it could've endured (well, besides that one "scene" where Phoenix's character has virtual/phone sex with his operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson- all while we stare at a black screen).
Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly to a perfectly depressed T. Now, he's not so depressed that he is immobilized or suicidal. That wouldn't make for a good film. He is more likely suffering from a self-imposed and perpetual downward spiral funk thanks to his marriage's ending. He is in his funk essentially because he is not ready to move on, there's still a glimmer of hope inside of him that his soon-to-be ex-wife (played by Rooney Mara, looking younger here) will want to get back with him and give him a second chance. That's why he doesn't want to sign the divorce papers.
In his world, Theodore has wrapped himself up in his comfortable cocoon of melancholy and (infinite) sadness. With that reality we have the set up of a decent story about self-rediscovery and redemption, hopefully. And now, add to that the choice that Jonze makes to set his story in the perhaps not-too-distant future and it becomes rather interesting. Theodore works for a company in which he ghostwrites people's letters to significant others. I found this element most interesting because of the love story that becomes is a great parallel to his job as a ghostwriter.
Early on, Theodore upgrades to a new operating system that signals yet another revolution in technology – the first-ever artificially intelligent OS. Theodore’s OS names itself Samantha. At first, the OS functions like a digital life coach, cleaning up Theodore’s hard drive and getting him to meetings on time, but as Samantha sponges up data and experience, she rapidly evolves and tangles with the idea of her own personhood. Also: She and Theodore start dating.
The brilliance of "Her" lies in how it uses a sci-fi concept to reconstruct the traditional arc of a romance, from getting-to-know-you to growing apart. There are other iterations of that arc, enacted by the gentle Joaquin Phoenix – expert at both open-faced and evasive looks – and three exceptional supporting actresses, Rooney Mara, Amy Adams, and Olivia Wilde. These 3 real women in Theodore's life each play a key and crucial role in his acceptance of truth and reality (about love and what it means to love).
Jonze's treatment of the themes is fully adult and keenly sensitive to the complexities of sexual intimacy – how it relates to emotional intimacy, whether or not a flesh-and-blood body is required to achieve it. With Her, he hits a nerve – an age-old one, in fact, dressed up in futuristic trappings – that we’re all still dialing up, searching for a connection. Let's face it, we all live in a technological savvy world where we have less and less face-to-face contact with the one we fall in love with and end up with in the end. We are a digital world now, where this story could essential find itself a reality.
This is a great film, totally worth watching. Try not to scoff at it or the main character, because it could be you someday.
......................................................................................................
"12 Years a Slave"
starring: Chiwetel Ejiofar, Dwight Henry, Bryan Batt, Ashley Dyke, Kelsey Scott, Taran Killiam, Chris Chalk, Adepero Oduye, Storm Reid, Tom Proctor, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Liza J. Bennett, Sarah Paulson, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt
directed by: Steve McQueen
There are not many films that are brutally uncomfortable to watch because they are based on reality and true stories, as they tend to depict a piece of history that many people would long to forget about. "12 Years a Slave" is based on a true story, the memoir of a freed slave named Solomon Northup, who lived in Saratoga, New York with his family before being kidnapped, beaten and sold back into slavery only to find himself in the horribly-conditioned South.
The film is brutal at almost every single turn of events, from one scene to another, but it is also elegant in how the story is presented, thanks to director Steve McQueen's keen eye for detail and his signature move of hanging on scenes for a really long time (and perhaps that's what makes this particular film so uncomfortable, since it is about slavery).
This film embraces a transcendent authenticity. With the exception of a chance conversation between Northup and a Canadian abolitionist (played expertly by Brad Pitt, whose film studio actually produced the film, so of course he found himself one of the most integral parts of the story) about the morality of slavery toward the film’s end, nothing rings false here. This aforementioned scene is integral to the conclusion of Northup’s harrowing ordeal. The refusal to sentimentalize the story’s overwhelming emotions or to manipulate its solemn themes bestows "12 Years a Slave" with a graceful dignity, as personified in Ejiofor’s mournful performance as a man of constant sorrow. Those moist, watery eyes communicate the despair of a human being who has inexplicably lost his freedom but dares to hope to regain it one day. Northup never loses hope that he will be rescued once somebody believes his story of being kidnapped, even though he takes on the role of his slave-given name, Platt.
Michael Fassbender comes in about halfway through the film as Northup's second slaveowner and his portrayal of such a vicious man with no sense of moral bankruptcy is an acting revelation. McQueen must see something in Fassbender that he wants everyone else to see, because he has cast him in all three of his feature films (re: "Hunger" and "Shame").
As I mentioned before, I love McQueen's attention to long-extended scenes and here he uses that talent masterfully to almost force the audience to feel uncomfortable while at the same time not being able to take your eyes off the screen.
Case in point: His neck in a noose hanging from a tree in the plantation yard and his bare feet barely touching the muddy ground below him, Northup performs a grotesque dance as he struggles to keep upright in the liquefying muck. In time, other slaves enter the yard to perform daily tasks and children begin to play nearby; all the while Northup carefully and intently maneuvers to stay alive, one slip away from certain death. The scene goes on for what seems like an eternity. It is a horrible thing to witness, and yet you can’t look away from this man’s determination to survive.
I absolutely loved this film for every single minute. It's a work of art. It cashes in well-acted performances from each of its actors, even including the supporting roles. And it's the work of a director whose talent is growing and maturing right before the audience's eyes.
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