You Don't Know Jack (2010)

It is easy to loose sight of the fact that there are some good films that go straight to television or straight to dvd. We get wrapped up in films that gross at the box office and become eligible for Oscars, etc. A good way to keep an eye out for these films is to check out the Golden Globe and Emmy category of "Made for Television Movies." They usually feature stars you are familiar with, and subject matter that for whatever reason the studios didn't think would make money [rom.com's and action films...].

This film won the Golden Globe in this category last year, and lost to Temple Grandin [another HBO film, but starring Claire Danes] for the Emmy. The film is a biography of Jack Kevorkian [Al Pacino], and includes John Goodman as his assistant, and Susan Sarandon as a friend.

The film starts at a point where Jack is already a retired doctor, he has spent many years watching people wither away in hospital beds in great pain and fully believes that doctors should be allowed to end patients lives upon their request. Now Jack is a man who likes attention and flirts with pushing the limits of the legality of euthanasia. Rather than fight to get the law changed, he chooses to break it, proves it is unjust, and change it through favorable court rulings. Some may say this is a ridiculous method, but it drew attention, worked favorable for him many times, and did create change.

It is not an easy subject matter, and the acting in this is fantastic. It is a view point of a man you probably have been told is crazy, and maybe he was. Regardless of how you feel on the subject this film will really make you think. Probably a top 10 of the year for me.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132623/

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Pollock (2000)

I've been meaning to see this one for a little while now, it actually helped me finish watching all Oscar winners of the last decade. The film is directed by and starring Ed Harris, and he was nominated for an Oscar... but the winner was Marcia Gay Harden for actress in a supporting role. I guess I never looked at the movie poster because I though this was a war film, or a film about an immigrant because I confused Pollock with "Polak," e.g. someone from Poland.

The film is actually about the famous American artist Jackson Pollock. Jackson had mental issues, struggles with being an alcoholic, but he was one of the most influential figures in the abstract expressionist movement. Here is a cool website that will give you a chance to making your own abstract painting: JacksonPollock.org.

Harris has been nominated for 4 Oscars and never won. He has been a part of films that have one, but it is impressive that the first film he directed by himself he manages to pull in an Oscar for Harden, and a nomination for himself. If you aren't a fan of Harris your haven't seen enough of his film, he did a great job with this film and I'm very glad I went back and watched it.

A tragic drama that is not really a family film. Nevertheless it is a compelling and interesting biography of famous man in American culture. Check it out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183659/

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Iris (2001)

Kate Winslet and Judi Dench split starring roles in this film about the biographical film about the novelist Iris Murdoch. Winslet plays Iris as a college age woman who meets her eventual husband, John Bayley [Hugh Bonneville]. Dench plays Iris from the point that she starts to get Alzheimer's disease, Bayley is then played by Jim Broadbent. I watched this film since it won an Oscar a decade ago for Jim Broadbent's performance. Sure you would assume that Winslet or Dench, both nominees, would be the reason to watch this film, but it was in fact Broadbent that shines the most.

So why did I not like this film? For starters it as depressing. I didn't need to see a film about a woman that loves herself and her writing more than her husband. Interesting that this screenplay was written by John Bayley... Too much Winslet boobs, I didn't need to see her swimming around topless over... and over... and over. So sure, I get it, she is a free spirit. It didn't help that I got the feeling that Bayley regretted his life with her after a scene that probably won Broadbent the Oscar.

Anyways, I can definitely see why this is one of those supporting actor wins that gets ignored. not worth your time.


Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280778/

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The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Teh 3 hours Oscar Best Picture winner starring William Powell [My Man Godfrey and The Thin Man]. The film is full of musical performances, but I have trouble labeling it a musical. It is really an epic biography about a performance manager that follows his life from promoting a weightlifter to musical talents to complete and elaborate stage shows.


I'm a big fan of Powell, probably because I've seen his very best films only, and I really like him in comedic roles. So a drama was a little hard for me because I found it dull most of the time. The problems with his marriage never really got very intense, like a film nowadays would have, and his financial troubles were taken lightheartedly as well.

It was just way too long. I couldn't find the time to commit to a film that was this dull, and it ended up taking me 4-5 days to get through. I did a pretty good job of watching it for 30-40 minutes in each sitting, but it was never compelling enough for me. I definitely wouldn't suggest it.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027698/

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Casino Jack (2010)

Not to be confused with Casino Jack and the United States of Money the documentary about Jack Abramoff and the corruption of D.C. Lobbiest. This film is actually a dramatic retelling of the events that took place.

Starring Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston, and the unwatchable Jon Lovitz, this movie didn't just fall flat it was hard to watch. One thing you need to understand is that Abramoff was indited because he was dumb enough to put all the illegal things he did in e-mails. This left a paper trail that gave him no defense, and he took the fall for many bad people. The thing I hated about this movie, was instead of showing him text his friends or send an e-mail, they converted these e-mails to script lines. They came off as really really bad acting. Apparently Abramoff liked to do impersonations, so Spacey played Abramoff doing a bad impersonation, and it came off as Spacey just acting really bad.

I knew the plot, I knew the events, I knew a lot about this film going into it. Maybe that is why I didn't like it. I've heard that you have to understand what Abramoff was like to get it... well not for me. There is a reason you didn't hear about this one.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194417/

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The King's Speech (2010)

It is interesting how you can get behind a film so much that you can be against a film you haven't even seen yet. I wanted to see The Social Network win so bad, that I almost wanted this film to be bad. Now that I've actually seen it, I've changed my mind.

This film was actually really good. Colin Firth was excellent as the stuttering Duke of York, and Geoffrey Rush did an excellent job also playing Lionel his teacher. The film is about a stuttering Duke who gains confidence as he loses his stutter thanks to the help of an unorthodox teacher. Set in the early 1900's with the onset of the 2nd World War approaching this is the perfect era of film for the Oscar voters. The acting is more heartwarming, but the subject matter is less appealing.

Helena Bonham Carter annoys me to some degree, her minor role was minor enough to be likable. The rest of the supporting cast was good, but nothing really stands out. My only qualm with the film is that Firth seems a little old for the character, he even looked much older than his older brother in the movie. That really didn't work for me, but was so minor, and some people just look older than they are. Check it out, it is sure to win some awards.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/

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American Splendor (2003)

On a number of top 10 lists for 2003 and given an Oscar nomination for it's screenplay. This is the biography of Harvey Pekar, the average guy made into a comic strip called "American Splendor."

Pekar is played by Paul Giamatti, Giamatti is now famous for his angry on film persona. To me this was a warm up for Sideways, the film that actually made him popular the following year. Pekar is an average guy with a short temper. He enjoys collecting records, and while making his rounds at garage sales one weekend he starts to get hooked on comics. Feeling like he has something to say but useless when it comes to actually drawing the comics himself, he partners with an artist friend who animates his life.

Bouncing between his comic version, Giamatti as actor, and the real Pekar the film pulls you in, then pushes you back out in a very unique manner. It is dangerous to show the REAL Pekar and the actor playing Pekar because the audience starts to compare the two. However, with good acting and a clever script it works quite well. I found the film a little dull at times, but overall it was pretty good. It is always hard for me to give a film a "worth watching" in the Dec-Feb time frame while I'm concurrently watching the current years best picture nominees.

In horror month I probably would have given this an 8 or 9, but for when I'm watching it, 7/10. This might be something you would like, if you like character studies with a strong actor and a somewhat slow plot.


Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/

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Chaplin (1992)

I stumbled across this film last year and thought I'd hold onto it and give it a chance eventually. Guess that time finally came around.... An early 90's biography film about Charles Chaplin starring Robert Downey Jr. and nominated for three Oscars.

I'm very glad that it took me so long to find out about it because I now have seen a large large amount of Chaplin's films and a better familiarity with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, so I got a lot more out of this film that I would have otherwise. This is actually quite an all-star cast for the 90's with Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Kline, Milla Jovovich, and Diane Lane.

The follows his autobiography and starts in his childhood, the cool part is that Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie's real life daughter, playing the part of her own grandmother Hannah. A performance good enough to get her a golden globe nomination. It was nice to see Robert Downey Jr. do well in a role before all of his legal problems, but the film was far from perfect. It labored on at the end reflecting back on his life, it really could have used some better editing to cut this down to about two hours. It would have been nice if they focused a little more on his acting career than his revolving door of wives. I didn't watch this to see all of that, although interesting, I cared more about his films. Good if you are familiar with Chaplin, Faribanks, and Pickford. Not great if you aren't.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103939/

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The Social Network (2010)

Only the 2nd film of the year I have given a 10/10 and for many good reasons. Since I expect this post to be heavily reviewed I'll do my best to justify why I really liked this film and am not just jumping on the bandwagon of what everyone says is the best this year.

First off much like a have said in the past, this is one of the few movies I've completely lost track of the time, got lost in the film, and before I knew it, it was over. Second, Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band, so the soundtrack done by Trent Reznor is fantastic. Third, the acting was excellent, the joke I've recently heard is that Mark Zuckerberg plays a great Jesse Eisenberg, I haven't been a huge fan of Jesse to this point. Adventureland annoyed me, and I started to warm up to him in Zombieland. Rooney Mara did so well we will get to see her try and pull off Lisbeth Salander in the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo later in 2011. Supporting roles by Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake were fantastic as well, and might pull in a few awards.


So a little about the film. This is an Adapated Screenplay from the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, who is the same guy who wrote "Bringing Down the House," which was turned into 21 by thesame production company a few years ago. The film documents the rise of facebook, following the inventor through the development process. Told in flashback were the "present day" is meeting with lawyers determining settlements for co-founders.


Since this was based on a novel I can't knock if for leaving out some controversial issues with facebook over the last several years. Mainly the privacy clause and Zuckerberg's quotes about how we are all stupid people willing to just give away our personal information to anyone. Then of course if the facebook integrating with our phones, other media devices. As well as opening it past the University level to children and adults well out of college. The film did not make him a hero, but seemed to attempt to portray his personality as realistically as possible. It appears to be pretty authentic.

A very good film, that I expect to win many awards. Well worth watching.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/

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Jean de Florette (1986)

Nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988, this duology directed by Claude Berri remains his crowning achievement.From the title I expected this film to be a romance about a girl named Jean, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was far from the case.

The film includes star of 1953's The Wages of Fear, Yves Montand, as well as Gérard Depardieu, better known to me for his role two years later in the film Green Card, which won the Golden Globe for best Comedy/Musical.

The film is about an Uncle and Nephew, Montand and Daniel Auteuil, who decide to change crops. They come to the conclusion that the land that their neighbor has is more suitable and plot to purchase it. After an untimely [forced] death of the owner, Jean and his family move in. The Uncle/Nephew then go to work making the man fail.

It is a sad film and we see signs of failure and success. I really enjoyed the acting and the plot was compelling. The only flaw, which really isn't much of one, is that you have to watch the sequel. Made basically right after this film, and intended to be seen at a "part 2," the story is very incomplete without it. A pleasure to finish several imdb top 250 lists for me.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091288/

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Baarìa (2009)

An Italian epic film about a village in Sicily. An autobiographical film following three generations of the Tornatore family. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and focusing mainly on his fathers generation, this film was very long and hard to stay interested in.

Nominated for a golden globe, in a foreign language category that the more I watch the more I feel is much much weaker than the Oscar category. The film seems to lack direction as it wanders through the decades, it becomes difficult to tell exactly where we have progressed to. To top that off I was not impressed with Francesco Scianna's acting. The director is famous for his film Cinema Paradiso, and this almost seemed like a nomination to make up for that film.

That probably isn't fair, but the fact is that there were some really good foreign films last year and this was not one of them.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1081935/

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Il Divo (2009)

I'm not quite sure were to begin with this one. It was nothing like what I expected from seeing it on people's "Best" lists. The film was nominated for an Oscar last year for some sort of film editing. It starts out with some fantastic action sequences introducing countless characters with cool visuals flashing either names up from behind building, etc.

The problem with this film is that it is not made for an international audience. It just makes no sense at all. They follow this guy who is like a political godfather in Italy. He has knocked people off to get as powerful as he now is, and we get to see him running for President. We don't really get to see the side that is trying to bring him down, and we actually spend most of the film talking about how so-and-so took out so-and-so, therefore so-and-so is linked to so-and-so. It is so utterly confusing that you only get the point that we know he is linked to the killings but cannot prove it in court.

Trying to follow this film was painful and pointless, unless you know Italian politics then forget it.

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1023490/

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Coco Before Chanel (2009)

Nominated for an Oscar for costume design, basically the end scene showcasing the Chanel line was enough for the nomination alone. On the other hand the entire film has great costumes, but the main thing is that the film has substance as well.

I consider this a sleeper. Nothing was mentioned about the acting or script at awards season but this one really impressed me. I love a good biography and I felt that I not only got a good feel for the life of Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, played by Audrey Tautou. But I also got a good plot with conflict and surprises. The men in her life were not easy to pin as either villain or hero, rather they had redeeming qualities and it seemed very realistic. I had to choose for myself what I thought was the better choice for her, rather than a Hollywood film that makes the villain so bad and the hero so good that you don't even need to think for yourself.

Foreign, so be ready to read, but this one is good.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1035736/

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The Last Station (2009)

Not exactly the most exciting movie from last years Oscar ballot. Thought it had something to do about an old man sitting around at a train station. Can't say my assumptions were too far off. I haven't been very excited about writing this review, because the movie was kinda boring.

The film is actually a biography about Leo Tolstoy played by Christopher Plummer. Tolstoy, of course, is the famous Russian writer responsible for War & Peace and Anna Karenina.
Helen Mirren plays Sofya Tolstoy his faithful wife who helped him type out his works. In the film she is in a conflict with Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) over who is entitled to his fortune in his will.

There is a side story romance between James McAvoy and Kerry Condon. Quite unnecessary to the plot and added to make this a feature length film. Overall this movie was so dull that this side story did very little to make it worth watching.

I will give it one thing. Unlike films like Bright Star, it opened by giving you a background into what you are about to watch. I hate when movies assume you have already ready a movie review, or watched the trailer, or just know what the subject matter is before the film starts. You aren't missing anything here though.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824758/

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The Soloist (2009)

Jamie Foxx stars as a homeless man who dropped out of Juilliard School. Some joke and call this "Ray II" because he is stars as another African-American with extraordinary musical talents. First as a blind man, then as a mentally challenged man.

I think this assessment is harsh and unjust. Universal (the production company) had to decide between pushing Changeling or this film at awards season in 2008. They decided to postpone the release of this film until February to back some of their other films. The result was this one fell through the cracks. It wasn't even considered in the 2009 nominees and was overlooked by audiences.

This is a pity, because it was an excellent film. Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent job in the leading role. Catherine Keener turned in a great supporting performance, and the film was overall a very good story.

I highly suggest this one. There were a few details I rather not mention, because they might ruin the story that kept it from being a 9 or 10. But this one should remain high on your list of films to go out and see.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/

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From the Manger to the Cross (1912)

I was not aware of the production date when I first watched this silent film. Now seeing that it was made in 1912 surprises me even more. It was a fantastic film about the life of Jesus. I found it very interesting that they stopped at the cross and left out the resurrection. The resurrection being what some denominations tend to disagree on.

So why am I surprised this was made 100 years ago? Well first off silent films tend to have this running dialogue that you can't hear and yields a one sentence subtitle cut in. This film was very clear on the story, easy to follow, and just well put together.

This was a good film to watch Easter weekend and a great addition to the National Film Registry. I don't see myself watching it again, or even suggesting it so I gave it a 7 instead of a 8, which I feel is the cusp between watching again and not. There are so many good movies about the life of Jesus out there that have been made in the last 100 years. For historical purposes I'm glad I watched this one.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0002199/

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Frida (2002)

Salma Hayek plays Frida Kahlo a famous Mexican painter. The film starts with Frida as a teenager and follows her entire life. The entire film is in English, which was a big surprise to me as I was preparing for a Spanish film. Also, Hayek is the only actress to play Frida in the movie [e.g. there are early childhood scenes using a child actress].

The story was interesting, the acting was a little above average. There was quite a bit of nudity since her husband Diego (Alfred Molina, Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2) is a womanizer. Also Hayek herself has her love scenes.

There are some very interesting animated clips in this film, mainly when Frida is in a coma. These were the most interesting parts to me and for the most part out of the blue. Plus the few times we got to see some of her later artwork made me actually pause the movie to get a better look. I found most of the content that was centered around Diego was boring. There is a surprise appearance from Edward Norton, another small scene with Antonio Banderas, and she tangos with Ashley Judd at one point, so lots of stars.

I just don't see myself wanting to see this again, it wasn't very memorable, but it wasn't bad.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120679/

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Before Night Falls (2000)

This is a film that follows the life of Reinaldo Arenas played by Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) who was born in 1943 in Cuba to a very poor family. It goes through his childhood quickly and focuses on his life as a writer.

He is an openly gay individual and if you though Brokeback Mountain and Milk were hard to watch then you will have a lot of trouble getting through this one.

The communist party in Cuba does not like homosexuals and through his anti-Communist writings and publishing's he is sent to jail where he meets a cross-dressing Johnny Depp in the role of Bon Bon. Who manages to smuggle an entire book for Arenas in portions through his anal cavity... yuck.

Arenas eventually escapes to America and continues to write and speak out against the Cuban government, until his eventual death (from AIDS).

It is a pretty good story, Bardem was a little early with this movie when it comes to acceptance of gay films. This is probably why it was not up for any awards. It had some scenes I really could have done without. You don't have to prove people are straight by showing sex scenes, why do you have to do this for gay people in film now?

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247196/

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Julie & Julia (2009)

I expect this will be on next years Golden Globe nomination list. Meryl Streep plays Julia Child, and Amy Adams plays Julie Powell in a story intertwining the life of Julia Child and the project of Julie Powell.

Julia Child and her husband Paul Child, played by Stanley Tucci (you would recognize him from a slew of very minor roles through the years, this is most significant supporting role and by far his best thanks to working alongside Strepp), they live in France and Paul works from the US Government. Julia learns to cook and eventually starts writing a cookbook.

Flashforward 50 years and Julie Powell with the encouragement of her husband decide to start a blog, "The Julie/Jula Project" (http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/) and she sets out to cook all 500+ recipes in Julia Child's book in one year, while blogging about each one.

As a new blog writer I completely share her excitement when you get new followers, people post comments, and your site gets more hits. It is easy to feel that you are writing to yourself, and confirmation that someone cares means a lot.

There are a few parts of the story I felt they left out, for instance I don't know if the two women ever met. Overall it was a fun movie, for a potential awards movie it was good, not too long, and had some strong supporting actor/actress roles. This is worth watching.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/

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Everlasting Moments: Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick (2008)

This film takes place in Sweden in the early 1900's and follows the life of Maria Larsson, a working class woman with a large family and abusive husband. With advice from her parents to not get divorced after being beaten the first time she toughens up, finds a hobby [photography], and cares deeply for her kids. Her husband Sigfrid goes through worker strikes, World War I, and prison following one of his attacks on Maria. We also get some glimpses of the life of the children growing up in this time.

The films main focus though is the "Everlasting Moments" that come from taking pictures. The fascination with the ability to take pictures and the advent of the cinema. There are some heartwarming scenes, but overall this is an average film that does not compare to some similar American made films in recent history. It might be too slow from some, couple that with the subtitles and this made for a very average film.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961066/

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