The Red Shoes

V: Only I watched this - a favorite of mine from childhood. NOT that this is a children's film, no, no, no. But I loved ballet, and this was about ballet, so I loved it. It's difficult for me to give it a very honest review because it is so tied to my nostalgia. I had seen it so often, knew the lines so well. What did I gain from it watching it 20 years later? Mostly an appreciation for Anton Walbrook, who played the obsessed owner of a ballet company, Lermontov. He was fantastic! The film is an artistic portrayal of the Hans Christian Anderson story, The Red Shoes. Particularly, the ballet that they produce of the same name, in the film, departs from reality to show what the ballerina, Victoria Page, is going through in her own struggle with her desires for both dance and love. It is a beautiful film, beautiful music, beautiful dance. Sad story. A classic. I love it. 4 stars

The Illusionist

V: A beautiful, bittersweet film. It is worth seeing just for the animation. It is interesting, even though there is not much said, and what is said is in French or another language. It depicts quite naturally human interactions and desires - how we come and go and change each other. Old vs. New. It tugs at your throat a little. See it. 3 1/2 stars

M: Kind of a downer, but hands down the most beautiful animation I have ever seen. 3 stars.

The King's Speech

M: Colin Firth is officially amazing. Loved it. It felt real. I was transported, and it felt effortless. The best performance I have seen all year. Geoffrey Rush was also fantastic. No explosions, no schemes, but a fantastic show with outstanding acting. A must see. 4 stars

V: What a wonderful film! Great acting, great filming, great music. I would recommend this to anyone. It is rated R, as you've probably heard, because they say the f-word a few times. But it's all in good fun. No really, it's pretty funny. It's not meant to be offensive. Loved it. 4 stars

My Fair Lady

M: Here is another movie that V introduced me to. A classic with great music and great characters. The dialogue is witty and fun. Audra Hepburn is fantastic, although it is a bit weird at time with the voice-over singing. Also, it seems to me that Professor Higgins, although enjoyably portrayed by Rex Harrison, should probably sing, instead of just talk. But, all in all, a great movie worth seeing. 3 1/2 stars

V:  I love this movie!!  I loved watching it as a kid, and I love it much more now that I understand the irony.  Cool costumes, wonderful music.  Rex Harrison is so great. This got Best Picture and Best Actor at the Oscars that year.  The dubbing in of Marnie Nixon's wonderful voice was a little rough sometimes.  But still . . . 4 stars.

Gone with the Wind

M: Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie. V finally got me to watch it. Great movie, beautifully acted. Nearly flawless. 4 stars

V:  It's a classic.  Vivienne Leigh is terrific.  I really liked Clark Gable, too.  Great acting, interesting characters.  I even enjoyed watching all the "making of" and actor biographies attached to the DVD.  4 stars.

Ben-Hur

V: So I dragged out another classic for M to see. (It had been a long time since I'd seen it -- as evidenced by the fact that I remember the burping scene as my favorite. Yes, there's a burping scene, not really the most important part of Ben-Hur - which you surely realize if you've seen Ben-Hur. I mean, deep and heavy sweeping epic BEN-HUR . . . and I remembered the burping scene. I was young, OK?) The movie goes a little slowly for our modern taste. The people kind of pause and stare at each other for uncomfortably long, dramatic periods of time. And I wonder . . . did people really used to do that, y'know, back in the day? Were they actually slower than we are now? I digress. It is really, still, a very cool movie. Did you know it held the record for most academy awards until 1998's Titanic? Almost 40 years! It has amazing costumes and sets - and the chariot race! Even people who haven't seen Ben-Hur have seen the chariot race. And M's boss's dark humor was revealed when we watched the galley scene. "We keep you alive to run this ship. Row well . . . and live." Hey! says M, That's what my boss is always telling the associates! Ha, ha, ha. (watch this scene and you'll see. It's hilarious.) It's long. It's good, though. And I even watched the long making-of documentary afterward. (Well, this spread over a couple of days.) It's a winner. Who am I to say otherwise? 4 stars

M: I agree that Ben-Hur is, well, epic. It is absolutely amazing how many costumes and actors are in this movie. No special effects, just tons of man-power and time. And a 3 1/2 hour originally composed sound-track to boot. Really pretty amazing. For me, the whole religion thing clashed a bit with the rest of the show. I know it was an important part, and I am probably a bad person for saying that, but it didn't quite fit for me. That is perhaps the only thing keeping this movie from getting absolute top marks. Even still, Ben-Hur is amazing to watch. There is no way this movie could ever be made today. No way. I cringe when I hear that Titanic broke the record for academy awards. Titanic?! My nemesis. Check out Ben Hur. It is worth seeing an epic that doesn't rely on computerized graphics. A classic. 3 1/2 stars

Blindside

V: A very touching story. I like the characters. But not perfect. 3 1/2 stars

M: Pretty Good. 3 stars

The Oscars

M. Okay, my rant. Last night we stayed up late and watched the Oscars. Once again, they showered awards on movies nobody has seen, wants to see, or would have ever heard of if the Academy had not nominated them. It seems to me, and this is just my opinion, that the Oscars are so far removed from reality, that they have lost all of their credibility as an award show. They appear to be based strictly on politics and campaigning. What they are not, is an award for the best movies or the best actors. I don't claim to have any expertise in video editing, sound mixing, or makeup, so I won't pick on those awards. But anyone can watch a movie and know if it is good. Why then, year after year, are all the awards given to movies that nobody cares about. We haven't seen them, and if we have, we certainly don't want them in our movie collection.

I, like everyone, have gotten used to the awards going to movies portraying the most "raw" and "real" depiction of some politically hot issue. But, when a movie and actress are nominated and awarded for the portrayal of a woman's affair with a fourteen-year-old boy (I think the current term is pedophile), I have to conclude that they have gone too far. I am not saying that the awards should go to whatever movie makes the most money, or has the most explosions. I am just saying that we deserve an award ceremony for the best movies. Right now, we don't have it.

The Golden Compass

M: Woody Allen said, "This food is terrible . . . and such small portions."

This movie felt like it tried to cram so many characters and scenes into its - actually not so short time allotment - that the story just bounced randomly from character to character and event to event. The movie wasn't exactly short, but I can only explain the splintered presentation by a lack of time to present an un-splintered version. I didn't feel like I knew, or liked for that matter, any of the characters. Because I didn't know or understand them, I didn't know why they did the things they did (like the little girl going into a scary tent by herself in the night). The movie was definitely made for people who have read the book and know what is going on. For the rest of us, it makes no sense. And the discussion of "dust" just doesn't matter, who cares. Give us an idea of what you are talking about and maybe we can get on board. Instead, I was just bored. The movie was very pretty and and well made, but it was very high on the "what the" factor. After pausing the movie for a brief intermission, we came back, pushed play, and discovered to our amazement that the movie was actually over. A major "what the" moment. After sitting through over 2 hours of head shaking moments, the movie presented us with a "leaves you wanting more" moment. Woody Allen's refrain fits: the movie was terrible, yet it was too short and it ended too soon. 2 stars

-

V: I was looking forward to seeing this, and it left me quite underwhelmed. When it ended, we were both asking, "Really? Really, that's it?" (We know they hope for a sequel, but still.) The positive is that it is very, very beautifully done. (Oscar for Best Visual Effects, nominated for Art Direction) It might even be worth watching just for that. Maybe just mute the sound. No, the script isn't that bad, but it does have a few of those obvious "power" lines that the characters repeat later in the film (or a couple of lines later) for dramatic effect. My biggest complaint was that it just quickly jumped from event to event with little lead-up or suspense. It was incongruous and inconsistent. For example, we asked (spoiler!) why the bear was nothing without his armor, owed his life to the girl for (very quickly and casually) helping him get the armor back - then spent so much time without it - then had it again after traveling long distances. Stuff like that bugged us. A shame as it is obvious that a lot of money and effort was spent on the rest of this film. We'd heard Tom Stoppard was hired then fired for this film - now that might have been a great movie. And the religious controversy - it's pretty harmless. (I would say more about that, but this is already getting long.) I'm adding half a star because it's so pretty. 2 1/2 stars

All About Eve

V: Today was a sick day for V. I usually don't like to watch movies without M, but since I had hours of lying in bed ahead of me, and it was an old show, I thought I'd go ahead. I had picked up a pack of old Best Picture winners from the library and out of four, this was the one I picked.

All About Eve (1950) garnered a record 14 Oscar nominations (not tied until Titanic in 1998). The star, Bette Davis, didn't win the best actress Oscar, (but got the Golden Globe, NY Critics, and Cannes award) though many felt it was the best performance of her career.

All About Eve is the story of a young woman who flatters and deceives her way into stardom at the expense of those who offered her help. It is also the story of an actress who is beginning to feel less valued because she has reached the ripe old age of 40, worrying about her identity as an actress and a woman. The script is great. The acting is really great. The story is interesting and engrossing as you follow the variety of characters. I'd heard of this movie and have meant to see it for a long time. I'm glad I did. It was especially fun for me to see Bette Davis in action, who is a Hollywood legend, but of whom I knew little. I would be embarrassed not to give this film 4 stars, since it is one of the classics, and who am I to say otherwise. But I also think it really deserves it. There is great tension throughout, great story, great characters. 4 stars

M: Oooh. Sounds good.

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

This is the Emma Thompson version, for which she won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. M&V read the novel just before watching this, and we'll be watching the 2008 version soon.

V: I'm always a fan of Emma Thompson. She's a great actress and did a good job adapting the novel into a screenplay - of which, editing, seems the biggest challenge. Lots of characters were chopped, which is good in an Austen movie. (Too many Miss This's and Mr. Thats and so-and-so's cousin...) So to cut a lot and keep it cohesive is a hard task. I thought it was really good. She gave Margaret a life, who was just a footnote in the book. I liked the casting of Edward (Hugh Grant), Lucy, Marianne (Kate Winslet) and Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman.) And though Emma Thompson did a great job, she was, I think, a little old for the part. (She was 36 at the time. Her character is in her early twenties.) One critique of the adaptation was that Colonel Brandon says he's offering Edward a parsonage in order to enable him to marry quickly, when in the book, he offers it just for some small financial support but says it's too small to allow him to marry - which was great because it gave the reader a bit of hope, before it was dashed again . . . (I'll try not to give the plot away.) I think it's tough to always be happy with an adaptation right after you've read the book. Oh well. All in all, it was a very good movie. 3 1/2 stars

M: Sense and Sensibility is not as good as Pride and Prejudice. Can you compare two books like that? I think so. Although the book is good, the characters are fairly static and the story is not as enjoyable as Pride and Prejudice (see our movie review, also right after reading the book). Still, the book is good, and this movie is even better than the book. Partially because, as V pointed out, many unnecessary characters were left on the editor's floor. Also because the characters were so well cast and the parts so well played. Also, is it fair to single out Emma Thompson as the "old" one. All of the characters in the movie were technically too old. For crying out loud, in the book, Maryanne went from 17, in the beginning, to the ripe old age of 19 by the end. So this was the 90210 of the Austin movies, thats ok. Who wants to watch adolescents act anyway. 3 1/2 stars

The Sea Inside

It was foreign film night at our house last night. We thought, hey, let's watch a film in Spanish since it's Cinco de Mayo. But this film is actually from Spain, not Mexico. Anyway . . . This film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film 2005, and stars Javier Bardem (Best Supp. Actor in No Country for Old Men) And just an interesting note, I kept seeing the same name pop up in the credits: Alejandro Amenabar. This guy is a true auteur -- co-writing, directing, producing and even writing the music for this film. (Incidentally, he also directed "The Others", our favorite scary flick.) This film is about euthanasia, and Ramon, who wants to die. (This same year the Best Picture Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby. Hmmm. Whoever said Hollywood isn't political?) Rated PG-13.

V: This is a beautiful film. (You gotta call foreign movies "films" y'know, because you feel kind of cool and important watching them in the first place.) The filming, acting and music is really great. There are particularly moving sequences when the main character imagines himself out of his confining position and the camera takes you away with him, in impressive single shots that are minutes long, travelling over land and sea. Bardem does a fabulous job. His character is touching, sympathetic and frustrating. The film is a little long (125 min), but I felt, worth it, as you really feel compelled to stay with the characters. It is thought-provoking, poignant and not simplified. Euthanasia is one of those tricky subjects, and though the movie does eventually take a stance, it is not overwhelming in that they give you plenty of reasons to be persuaded both ways. But mostly, it's a moving personal story about Ramon. 3 1/2 stars

M: V is right that this is a very moving film. However, for me, it was frustrating to see this man, who was capable of having such a positive impact on the lives of those around him, want so desperately to end his own life. Nevertheless, Bardem gave a stirring performance and the movie is a show that is worth seeing. A bit thick on the political persuasion. 3 stars