What Movie Did You Watch This Weekend?

[suelyblu]

Have just watched the film "Rabbit Hole" ....starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest.

It's about a married couple who are mourning and trying to come to terms with accidental death of their 4 year old son. Wonderful acting. Their pain is palpable.

[Passion]

I went to The Artist today.  I was kind of dragged....I know it got good reviews but I wasn't really in the mood for a silent movie!  Well, I really liked it!!  I am glad that I went.  The lead actor was excellent (....Jean Dujardin)  I would love to see some more movies with him. Supporting cast was great....I told my friend that the maid and the butler were Jack's parents in BBM!  Of course I was totally wrong......I guess I was seeing things or wishing!  I think The Artist is a must see on the big screen.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And it got a boat load of oscar nominations today.  Michelle Williams did, too, and so
did Kate Mara's sister, Rooney.  Films that were nominated:

11 nominations
Hugo

10 nominations
The Artist

6 nominations
Moneyball
War Horse

5 nominations
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

4 nominations
The Help
Midnight in Paris

3 nominations
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter/Hallows Part 2
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life

2 nominations
Bridesmaids
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn
A Separation

1 nomination
The Adventures of Tintin
Anonymous
Beginners
A Better Life
Bullhead
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Dimanche/Sunday
Drive
Footnote
The Ides of March
In Darkness
Jane Eyre
Kung Fu Panda 2   
Margin Call
Monsieur Lazhar
The Muppets
Puss in Boots
Rango
Real Steel
Rio
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
W.E.
Warrior
Wild Life

[dback]

"Rabbit Hole" just wiped me out--what an amazing film.  Great acting, though I wish Nicole Kidman had not had so much work done that, in a couple key scenes, you can tell that her face doesn't have the fluidity and expressiveness that she had in, say, "Eyes Wide Shut" some 14 years ago. 

(Trying not to offer SPOILERS):

I really liked "The Five Senses," but I think the very ending of the movie (involving the misunderstanding with Mary Louise Parker) is a mistake that kind of ends the movie on an abrupt note.  I think she should've returned to the apartment and realized how wrong she was.

[ingmarnicebbmt]

Have just watched the film "Rabbit Hole" ....starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest.

It's about a married couple who are mourning and trying to come to terms with accidental death of their 4 year old son. Wonderful acting. Their pain is palpable.

I loved that movie!!

[ingmarnicebbmt]

I went to The Artist today.  I was kind of dragged....I know it got good reviews but I wasn't really in the mood for a silent movie!  Well, I really liked it!!  I am glad that I went.  The lead actor was excellent (....Jean Dujardin)  I would love to see some more movies with him. Supporting cast was great....I told my friend that the maid and the butler were Jack's parents in BBM!  Of course I was totally wrong......I guess I was seeing things or wishing!  I think The Artist is a must see on the big screen.

Couldn't agree more, all of it !

I hope it wins some of the oscars it was nominated for. Loved the soundtrack!

[Lyle (Mooska)]

The Screen Actors Guild awards are this weekend and I was noticing,
if you look at the SAG noms there are only THREE differences out of 20,
with the oscar acting nominations, mostly at the expense of J.EDGAR.
 
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
 
DEMIÁN BICHIR – “A BETTER LIFE”
GEORGE CLOONEY – “THE DESCENDANTS”
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO – “J. EDGAR”   (SAG)
GARY OLDMAN - "TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY" (OSCARS)
JEAN DUJARDIN – “THE ARTIST”
BRAD PITT – “MONEYBALL”
 
I think Leo shoulda been nominated myself, but I can't get mad
at Oldman being nominated.  I haven't seen the film, but he coulda
had several noms the past two decades and this is his FIRST one.
Leo has been nominated 3 times.  However, in a year of good actor
performances I don't get the love for Demian Bichir in A Better Life.

Demian:  "I got a nomination and you didn't."

Leonardo:  "Bichir, please."

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
 
GLENN CLOSE – “ALBERT NOBBS”
VIOLA DAVIS – “THE HELP”
MERYL STREEP – “THE IRON LADY”
TILDA SWINTON – “WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN” (SAG)
ROONEY MARA - "THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO" (OSCARS)
MICHELLE WILLIAMS - "MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”
 
Haven't seen Dragon.  The Tilda movie seems to be hard to take for a lot of people,
though.


Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
 
KENNETH BRANAGH – “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”
ARMIE HAMMER – “J. EDGAR” (SAG)
MAX VON SYDOW - "EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE" (OSCARS)
JONAH HILL – “MONEYBALL”
NICK NOLTE – “WARRIOR”
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – “BEGINNERS”
 
I like Armie (!!!) but was actually surprised he was nominated.
Max is good in Ext. Loud, so don't mind.  Nolte is crap, though,
what's up with that?  Someone from Midnight in Paris deserved
a nomination, but which one do you pick out from a big cast is
always a problem.


Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
 
BÉRÉNICE BEJO – “THE ARTIST”
JESSICA CHASTAIN – “THE HELP”
MELISSA McCARTHY – “BRIDESMAIDS”
JANET McTEER – “ALBERT NOBBS”
OCTAVIA SPENCER – “THE HELP”

[gattaca]

Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002) demonstrates his ability to make the most visually stunning and gorgeous pictures. Jet Li plays a mysterious, but highly trained martial artist who claims to have killed three assassins who attempted to kill the King of Qin, who is himself is waging war on neighboring kingdoms in an attempt to create a Chinese empire. But the king wisely surmises that this man may himself be an assassin even more powerful than the previous three. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFK2Iuo5eE

That's funny.  I just had this out my desk trying explain how some days at work I felt like the guy in "Hero" with 10,000 arrows hurling toward him... only to be left by the outline. 

I agree a great and wonderful film to watch if you just let go and enjoy the martial choreography and saturated colors... another top rate by QT.    Later, Vincent

[janjo]

Mr Janjo absolutely adores Zhang Yimou's films, in fact he has quite a lot of serious Chinese films. It was one reason that he was only too happy to come to see Brokeback Mountain with me, he has a lot of respect for Chinese directors.

[ingmarnicebbmt]

Too bad for Leo...

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Anyone think it was because of the gay themes in the film and since
critics and audiences weren't all that enthralled with the film they felt
they could ignore it altogether?  Just queryiing.

[garyd]

Anyone think it was because of the gay themes in the film and since
critics and audiences weren't all that enthralled with the film they felt
they could ignore it altogether?  Just queryiing.

Perhaps but I really don't think so.  
Rather than me blather on, here is a decent take that reflects my personal view of the film and the performance.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/08/DD4D1LRAKM.DTL

[suelyblu]

Sorry no brand new film reviews from me !!

There are some films that you can watch over and over and never get tired of seeing them. This is one of mine....I watched it again today......."The Third Man" starring Orson Wells, Joseph Cotton and Trevor Howard. It is filmed in black and white...which adds to the fabulous atmosphere of the movie. The cinematography is some of the best I have seen. Some scenes are unforgettable. To mention just two ......  someone walks into the square late at night ....and the lamp light makes him cast a huge shadow on the walls of the houses...and when the camera pans in on him.....it's a little old man selling balloons!! But the best scene for me is when Harry Lime (Orson Wells) who is supposed to be dead....is hiding in a dark doorway ......and he strikes a match that illuminates  just his face. It makes me tingle to watch it!!
The music that flows through the film fits so well . It was written and played by Anton Karas. Just the one instrument is played all the way through the film....the zither. I adore the music. Perfection.
I have talked about this film before here.....but when a thing is above "brilliant".....let it be known !

[janjo]

We went to see J. Edgar, and really enjoyed it. We thought it was an excellent film and that DiCaprio's performance was astounding. The way he has matured as an actor is a wonder to see.
The only reason we could think of that it wasn't nominated for an Oscar for something at least, was that Clint Eastwood must have upset someone...........................

[gattaca]

I saw "Shame (2011)"  in a very limited release.   This is a disturbing film in which Fassbender reveals a very dark side of unrelenting sexual addition.  The film is rated NC-17 I'm sure for the full-frontal male nudity (talk about double standards) and other explicit sex scenes  but the mental subject matter and the unrelenting pursuit of Brandon (Fassbender) in his attempt to find something or someone to care about is gut wrenching.  He's trapped in an unending spiral and a desire he cannot vacate from his mind, ever.   Even the ending shots leave you wondering.  

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723811/

I delayed reading Ebert's review until I'd seen it and on a whole I agree with his analysis.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111130/REVIEWS/111139997

I read another review yesterday in Newsweek for the Oscar nods and Fassbender seems to be taking a ribbing for his full frontal exposure. Tilda Swinton was having lots of fun.   My comment is he is certainly in the shower camp.    Vincent