What to see this weekend: A Good Man

This documentary comedy tells the story of an Australian farmer who decides to open a brothel to support his growing family which includes his quadriplegic wife. This doc has been making its way throughout film festivals in Australia and is now playing in NYC, Feb 25- March 3 at Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street.

The Best Perfomance(s) of the Year!

While all of the on screen individuals share very little in common with each other, their off screen counterparts have one thing definitely in common: they're great actors.

Actor in a Leading Role Nominees

• Javier Bardem
• Jeff Bridges
• Jesse Eisenberg
• Colin Firth
• James Franco

My Pick: Colin Firth

Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees

• Christian Bale
• John Hawkes
• Jeremy Renner
• Mark Ruffalo
• Geoffrey Rush

My Pick: Geoffrey Rush

Actress in a Leading Role Nominees

• Annette Bening
• Nicole Kidman
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Natalie Portman
• Michelle Williams

My Pick: Natalie Portman

Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees

• Amy Adams
• Helena Bonham Carter
• Melissa Leo
• Hailee Steinfeld
• Jacki Weaver

My Pick: Hailee Steinfeld

And the Oscar goes to...

I have to acknowledge that it has taken me awhile to start writing here again, but I think I can safely say after completing some timely tasks I am back with force. I was a little underwhelmed with the films that came out in 2010, but will also say that a handful of very good work did come out this year. As the 2011 Oscars approach, I find myself reflecting on the categories and their potential new winners. So lets countdown until Sunday with some picks!

Best Picture Nominees:

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King's Speech
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

My Prediction: The King's Speech

In all fairness to Winter's Bone I did not see it and if the Oscars are anything like the Grammy's perhaps all bets are off on guessing a winner. If we're trying to predict the Academy's vote however, I think The King's Speech will take Best Picture. A quick rundown on why I don't think the other films will or should not win:

Black Swan- Great performance by Natalie Portman, but compared to the other films on the list, this picture does not seem strong enough to take it. I will always have a soft spot for Vincent Cassel though.

The Fighter-Another good "performance" film. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo propel this film to another level in my opinion. I think their performances should be celebrated, but the overall production will unlikely be victorious on Sunday.

Inception & The Kids Are All Right: Audience movies. My comment is that if the category were not extended to have so many seats, these two would not have made the cut. Worth watching...doubtful either will win.

The King's Speech: This film screams oscar bait. With due respect however- acting was great, writing was amazing and directing was above par. The producers here knew what they wanted, how they wanted it and seemed to get all the pieces of the puzzle to come together and click.

127 Hours: I think this one does have a chance. Good acting, story and directing are all there. I just don't know if it will be the favorite- my gut still goes with the above.

The Social Network: Am I the only person in the world that did not think this movie was that good? Perhaps. Mediocre for me. Jesse Eisenberg does a great Mark Zuckerberg, but can someone explain to me why Rashida Jones is even in the film? Her character serves very little purpose. Sorry fans of this film- sure its with the times but I just don't feel like I ever need to see it again.

Toy Story 3: I would applaud for this to win- although I have not seen it, so I cannot cast my vote. I have only heard good things about this film, but I sense a discrimination against animation in the Academy and don't know if we've progressed to an age where this will come out as the winner.

True Grit: Amazing, amazing, amazing! Will it win? It is deserving, but I think it is at battle with King's Speech and something tells me Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are going to win the Academy over with their banter in the end.

Tomorrow's analysis: Best Actor & Actress in a Leading Role.

Movie Review: Never Let Me Go

When I saw that this film starred two of my favorite actresses, Keira Knightley (Atonement)and Carey Mulligan (An Education), I knew I could not pass it up and with respects to the acting this was true. Exceptional performances were given by Knightley and Mulligan who play Ruth and Kathy; two young women born into inescapably frightening circumstances. Andrew Garfield (Boy A) who completes the top billing for the film gives his own gravity to it with his character Tommy. Particularly intriguing however are the wonderful performances by the child actors who play the young Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy, with the most being the young Kathy played by Izzy Meikle-Small.

While giving a big applause to the acting in the film, the story line and script leave the audience with a sense that something is missing. That something? I'll have to read the book first to really know. The film is based on the novel by the same title, published in 2005 and in the same year winning the award "Best Novel" by Time Magazine. The story also has an amazing hook...
It is approximately mid-1950s and scientists and doctors have made great leaps in the field of medicine. Organ transplants are now seamlessly completed, leaving people to exceptionally long life expectancies and a high need for healthy organ donations. The film opens in Britain at a boarding school where children (assumed to be orphans) are bred to be the aforementioned organ donors when they reach their full growth period (late twenties). The three main characters Ruth, Tommy and Kathy are pulled together by friendship, jealousy and ultimately love as they come to terms with their perilous inevitable fate.

It is true that I recommend renting this film when it is available. The final scene in itself makes the whole movie worth watching. But I did leave feeling slightly robbed of something that could have been far more powerful, had there been stronger screenwrighting for the talented cast to use.

Comedy on the radar; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead

This is one is so ridiculously ridiculous it needs no intro or explanation! Checkout the trailer below...the film comes out in select cities on Friday.

Movie Review: Happythankyoumoreplease

You might recognize Josh Radnor from tv's How I Met Your Mother but the screenwriter/director in him has made its debut in the upcoming movie Happythankyoumoreplease. I saw a screening of the film at the GenArt Film Festival occurring over the next week here in New York and was overwhelmingly pleased with the entire evening's film presentations.

In Happythankyoumoreplease you're introduced to the character of Sam Wexler, played by Radnor, who although thinks himself to be a good guy, is slightly selfish outside of his immediate circle of friends. This all changes when Sam meets a young child who is separated from his foster care family on the subway. The film also highlights the lives of Sam's friends who bring alot of layers and poignancy to the storyline. Also starring in the film are Malin Akerman (Watchmen, Couples Retreat), Zoe Kazan (Revolutionary Road, It's Complicated), and Kate Mara (Entourage, Iron Man 2).

Check out an interview with Radnor below from the Sundance Film Festival where the film premiered and acquired distribution and a limited release date of August 27th. This is definitely a New Yorker's movie, as it was shot here, mostly in the downtown areas all in a matter of 5 weeks!

Movie to checkout: Bluebeard

Bluebeard (Barbe Bleue) originially premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last February and is slowly making its way around the globe. The film, which is directed by Catherine Breillat, takes an intrigueing and dark twist on the classic children's tale. It centers around a rich tyrannic lord who has a habit of making his young wives dissapear. When his newest acquired spouse realizes his habits she must outsmart him to save her skin. No word on regular releases and such but it's saved in my Netflix queue nonetheless. Check out the trailer below: