Oscar Season 2013 Update

Now that the LA Film Critics, the Boston Film Critics, AFI have, the Golden Globe nominations, the SAG Nominations have been announced let’s see how the Oscar race has changed. 

The LA Film Critics has had a track record of going its own way with Best Picture and it doesn’t usually line up with the Oscars but their acting picks are good indications of were the buzz is going.  And since the actors are the biggest voting branch for the Oscars their selections of the SAG awards are an important indicator and The Butler gets the biggest bump because of that.  AFI lists 10 movies in no particular order and no big surprises it’s pretty much the same 10 movies everyone has already been talking about.  The Golden Globe Nominations with their splitting of categories between Drama and Comedy make it hard for any movie to really gain momentum but the lack of nominations for Saving Mr. Banks might hurt it a bit.   Also this year their decisions on what is a drama and comedy seem a bit odd.  Anyway here are my predictions and the actually winners are listed below. 

Best Picture

Very Likely Nominations

12 Years a Slave-Still my pick to win it all. 

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

American Hustle-getting some backlash already so but still likely to get a nom.

Her-Added this to the likely nomination because it is getting a lot of praise.  Not sure if it can pull out a win though. 

Probable Nomination

Nebraska

The Wolf of Wall Street

Saving Mr. Banks

Captain Phillips

Fruitvale Station

Long Shot

Philomena

The Butler

Blue is the Warmest Color

All is Lost-Despite everyone loving it seems not likely to get a nomination but definitely an acting nomination and possibly a screenwriting.

Best Director

Very Likely Nomination

Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

The Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Possible Nomination

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Long Shots

Spike Jonze (Her)

Lee Daniels (The Butler)

Best Actor

Likely Nominations

Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Possible Nominations-with those 4 almost guaranteed a nomination hard to say who the 5^th spot will go to. 

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Oscar Issacs (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)

Long Shot

Forrest Whitiker (The Butler)

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Best Actress

Likely Nominations

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Emma Thompsons (Saving Mr. Banks)

Possible Nominations

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Long Shots

Brie Larson (Short Term 12)

Best Supporting Actor

Likely Nominations

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)

Possible Nominations

Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Long Shot

James Franco (Spring Breakers)

James Gandolfini (Enough Said)-he is gaining momentum but still don’t see it happening. 

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Best Supporting Actress-

Likely Nominations

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station)

Possible Nominations

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

Long Shot

Scarlett Johansson (Her)

Best Original Screenplay

Likely Nominations

The Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks)

Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)

Probable Nominations

Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Eric Singer and David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Long Shots

J.C. Chandor (All is Lost)

Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Likely Nominations

Terence Winter (Wolf of Wall Street)

John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)

Probable Nominations

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight)

Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope (Philomena)

Tracy Letts (August: Osage County)

Long Shots

Steve Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)

Best Foreign Film

Likely Nominations

Blue is the Warmest Color -The only movie right now that is a lock for Best Foreign Film

Probably Nominations

The Past

The Great Beauty

Best Animated Feature

Likely Nominations

The Wind Rises

Frozen

Probable Nominations

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Monsters University

Best Documentary

Likely Nominations

The Act of Killing

Stories We Tell

Probable Nominations

Blackfish

The Square  

LA Film Critics

Film:

Tie, Gravity and Her

Director:

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity (Runner-up: Spike Jonze, Her.)

Actor:

Bruce Dern, Nebraska (Runner-up: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave.)

Actress:

Tie, Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine, and Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color.

Documentary:

Stories We Tell (Runner-up: The Act of Killing.)

Supporting actress:

Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave (Runner-up: June Squibb, Nebraska.)

Supporting actor:

Tie, James Franco, Spring Breakers, and Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club.

Screenplay:

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight  (Runner Up: Spike Jonze, Her)

Animation:

Ernest & Celestine (Runner-up: The Wind Rises.)

Cinematography:

Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity. (Runner-up, Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis.)

Film Editing:

Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity. (Runner-up: Shane Carruth andDavid Lowery, Upstream Color.)

Score:

T Bone Burnett, Inside Llewyn Davis (Runner-up: Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett, Her.)

Production design:

K.K. Barrett, Her. (Runner-up: Jess Gonchor, Inside Llewyn Davis.)

Foreign-language film:

Blue Is the Warmest Color. (Runner-up: The Great Beauty.)

Boston Film Critics

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

Best Actor

Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor

 James Gandolfini for Enough Said

Best Supporting Actress

June Squibb for Nebraska

Best Director

Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave

Best Screenplay

Nicole Holofcener for Enough Said

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity

Best Documentary

The Act of Killing

Best Foreign-Language Film

Wadjda

Best Animated Film

The Wind Rises

Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer)

Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill for Rush

Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy) - 

Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station

Best Ensemble Cast

Nebraska

Best Use of Music in a Film

Inside Llewyn Davis

AFI

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Fruitvale Station

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Saving Mr. Banks

The Wolf of Wall Street

SAG AWARDS NOMINATIONS

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyers Club

Lee Daniels' The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels' The Butler)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

James Gandolfini (Enough Said)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels' The Butler)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

All is Lost

Fast & Furious 6

Lone Survivor

Rush

The Wolverine

 

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

Best Motion Picture - Drama

"12 Years a Slave"

"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity"

"Philomena"

"Rush"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

"American Hustle"

"Her"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Nebraska"

"The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"

Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"

Judi Dench, "Philomena"

Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks"

Kate Winslet, "Labor Day"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years A Slave"

Idris Elba, "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom"

Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips"

Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Robert Redford, "All Is Lost"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Amy Adams, "American Hustle"

Julie Delpy, "Before Midnight"

Greta Gerwig, "Frances Ha"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Enough Said"

Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Christian Bale, "American Hustle"

Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Joaquin Phoenix, "Her"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"

Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"

Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years A Slave"

Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"

June Squibb, "Nebraska"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"

Daniel Bruhl, "Rush"

Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"

Michael Fassbender, "12 Years A Slave"

Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"

Paul Greengrass, "Captain Phillips"

Steve McQueen, "12 Years A Slave"

Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"

David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Best Screenplay

Spike Jonze, "Her"

Bob Nelson, "Nebraska"

Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, "Philomena"

John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"

David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Best Animated Film

"The Croods"

"Despicable Me 2"

"Frozen"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

"All Is Lost"

"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"

"Gravity"

"The Book Thief"

"12 Years a Slave"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Atlas," Coldplay ("The Hunger Games: Catching Fire")

"Let It Go," Idina Menzel ("Frozen")

"Ordinary Love," U2 ("Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom")

"Please Mr. Kennedy," Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver ("Inside Llewyn Davis")

"Sweet Than Fiction," Taylor Swift ("One Chance")

Best Foreign Language Film

"Blue Is The Warmest Color" (France)

"The Great Beauty" (Italy)

"The Hunt" (Denmark)

"The Past" (Iran)

"The Wind Rises" (Japan)

Oscar Season 2013

This week we saw the first two critic awards of the season.  First The New York Film Critic Circle announced their awards on Tuesday then The National Board of Review announced their awards on Wednesday.

To sum it up after 2 awards there are no clear front runner.  The NYFCC named American Hustle as Best Picture while American Hustle got shut out at The National Board of Review as they named Spike Jonze's Her as Best Picture.  What I like about NBR is that they list their Top 10 so while their winner doesn't usually win Best Picture their Top 10 usually is a good indicator of what movies we will be taking about the next month.  Worth noting is that American Hustle didn't even crack the NBR's Top 10 but The Secret Life of Walter Mitty did which has not been getting much buzz at all.

What does this all mean? Well of course it's too early to say. But it is obvious that this year has a crop of movies that at this point are all kind of equal.  While I still think 12 Years a Slave is the front runner but it is still early.  Also The Wolf of Wall Street is kind of an unknown as most critics have not seen it.

Here are the my predictions at this point

Best Picture
Very Likely Nominations
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis

Probable Nomination
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street
Saving Mr. Banks
Captain Phillips
Fruitvale Station
All is Lost

Long Shot
Philomena
The Butler
Blue is the Warmest Color

Best Director
Very Likely Nomination
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
The Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Possible Nomination
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks)
Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Long Shots
Spike Jonze (Her)
Lee Daniels (The Butler)

Best Actor
Likely Nominations
Robert Redford (All is Lost)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Possible Nominations
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Oscar Issacs (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)


Long Shot
Forrest Whitiker (The Butler)
Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Best Actress
Likely Nominations
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Emma Thompsons (Saving Mr. Banks)

Possible Nominations
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Long Shots
Brie Larson (Short Term 12)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)-Never thought I would list Meryl Streep as a long shot but have not heard much buzz at all.

Best Supporting Actor
Likely Nominations
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)

Possible Nominations
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Long Shot
James Gandolfini (Enough Said)

Best Supporting Actress-
Likely Nominations
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station)

Possible Nominations
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

Long Shot
Scarlett Johansson (Her)

Best Original Screenplay
Likely Nominations
The Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks)
Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)

Probable Nominations
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Eric Singer and David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Likely Nominations

Terence Winter (Wolf of Wall Street)

John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)

Probable Nominations
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight)
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope (Philomena)

Best Foreign Film
Blue is the Warmest Color -The only movie right now that is a lock for Best Foreign Film

Best Animated Feature
Likely Nominations
The Wind Rises
Frozen

Probable Nominations
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Monsters University

Best Documentary
The Act of Killing
Stories We Tell

Here is how the awards went.

NYFCC Award winners

Best Film
American Hustle

Best Actor
Robert Redford, All Is Lost

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best Director
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Best Foreign Language Film
Blue Is The Warmest Color

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Animated Film
The Wind Rises

Best Screenplay
American Hustle

Special Award
Frederick Wiseman

Best Cinematography
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis

Best First Film
Fruitvale Station

Best Non-fiction Film (Documentary)
Stories We Tell


The National Board of Review Awards

Best Film:

Her

Best Director: 

Spike Jonze, Her

Best Actor: 

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Best Actress: 

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actor: 

Will Forte, Nebraska

Best Supporting Actress: 

Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station

Best Original Screenplay: 

Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis

Best Adapted Screenplay: 

Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature: 

The Wind Rises

Breakthrough Performance: 

Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station 

Breakthrough Performance: 

Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color

Best Directorial Debut: 

Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station

Best Foreign Language Film: 

The Past

Best Documentary: 

Stories We Tell

William K. Everson Film History Award: George Stevens, Jr.

Best Ensemble: 

Prisoners

Spotlight Award: Career Collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Wadjda

Creative Innovation in Filmmaking Award: Gravity

Top Films

(in alphabetical order)
12 YEARS A SLAVE
FRUITVALE STATION
GRAVITY
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
LONE SURVIVOR
NEBRASKA
PRISONERS
SAVING MR. BANKS
THE SECRET LIFE OF MITTY
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Top 5 Foreign Language Films

(In Alphabetical Order)
BEYOND THE HILLS
GLORIA
THE GRANDMASTER
A HIJACKING
THE HUNT

Top 5 Documentaries

(In Alphabetical Order)
20 FEET FROM STARDOM
THE ACT OF KILLING
AFTER TILLER
CASTING BY
THE SQUARE

Top 10 Independent Films

(In Alphabetical Order)
AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
IN A WORLD . . .
MOTHER OF GEORGE
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
MUD
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
SHORT TERM 12
SIGHTSEERS
THE SPECTACULAR NOW

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: The Perverts Guide to Ideology and Google and the World Brain

I saw these two movies back to back and both are movies that are designed to make you think and ask big philosophical questions so I decided to give them one review.

Lets start with The Perverts Guide to Ideology.  This documentary features Slavoj Zizek and uses movies to explain his theories on ideology.  Google and the World  Brain is very different but asks some big philosophical questions.  When Google attempted to scan every book in the world to make a world library accessible to everyone it sounded like a great idea at first but soon people became suspicious.

Slavoj Zizek is an interesting person.  He has a fun and interesting way of describing his thoughts on what ideology is.  The movie starts with him using the classic horror movie They Live to describe how ideology makes us blind to how things really are.  From there he moves on to other movies like The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Taxi Driver, The Dark Knight, and Titanic.  One of the more interesting connections he made was when he discussed what Jaws had in common with Nazism. That really blew my mind.  The movie is over 2 hours and even though he makes it fun and interesting it does feel like a 2 hour philosophical class.  The other problem with the movie is he has such a strong accent I didn't understand some of the things he was trying to explain.

Google and the World Brain is a fascinating documentary. The movie gets its name from the H.G. Wells concept of a world brain.  Wells concept was a where all the worlds knowledge was in one place and anyone could get access to it.  Well with the internet we are one step closer to the world brain concept then ever before.   When Google decided it would scan every book in the world into Google books they were taking it one step closer. But ethical and legal questions began to arise.  Was it legal to scan books that had active copyrights? Is it ethical for a private for profit company to be able to control access to the worlds books?  Obviously Google didn't think they did anything wrong but several lawsuits were filed and the legal battle began.  The documentary was interesting. At first it sounds like a great idea.  Everyone in the world should have access to whatever information they want but who should be the ones providing that access?

Overall  two documentaries that make you think. One about philosophical questions and the other about legal and ethical questions.
The Perverts Guide to Ideology - 3 out of 5
Google and the World Brain -4 out of 5

The 100 Most Influential Movies

Let's start with saying that we are not film historians or ever took a class on making movies. But when we were asked what the 100 Most Influential Movies are we combined our knowledge and did research and this is what we came up with.

This is not a list of our favorite movies or best movies but a list of movies we feel influenced the future of film.  Some of them started a genre others were a technical breakthrough and other introduced a new way of story telling that would often be imitated. For one reason or another these are the 100 Most Influential Movies in our opinion.
We are sure people will have lots of opinions and let us know.


100 Influential Movies the Official List 

1. A Trip To the Moon 1902
2. The Great Train Robbery 1903
3. Gertie the Dinosaur 1914
4. Birth of a Nation 1915
5. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligarai 1920
6. The Kid 1921
7. Nosferatu 1922
8. Nanook of the North 1922
9. The Ten Commandments 1923
10. Battleship Potemkin 1925
11. Metropolis 1927
12. The Jazz Singer 1927
13. The Broadway Melody 1929
14. M 1931
15. City Lights 1931
16. Little Caesar 1931
17. Dracula/Frankenstein 1931
18. King Kong 1933
19. Duck Soup 1933
20. It Happened One Night 1934
21. Triumph of the Will 1935
22. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves 1937
23. Gone With the Wind 1939
24. Stagecoach 1939
25. The Wizard of Oz 1939
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939
27. Fantasia 1940
28. Citizen Kane 1941
29. The Maltese Falcon 1941
30. Casablanca 1942
31. Double Indemnity 1944
32. The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
33. Rashomon 1950
34. The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951
35. The Robe 1953
36. La Strada 1954
37. Rebel Without a Cause 1955
38. The Searchers 1956
39. 12 Angry Men 1957
40. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad 1958
41. Vertigo 1958
42. Some Like it Hot 1959
43. The 400 Blows 1959
44. The Imitation of Life 1959
45. Breathless 1960
46. Psycho 1960
47. L’Avventura 1960
48. Lawrence of Arabia 1962
49. Dr. No 1962
50. 8 ½ - 1963
51. Dr. Strangelove 1964
52. A Fistful of Dollars 1964
53. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 1966
54. Persona 1966
55. Bonnie and Clyde 1967
56. Night of the Living Dead 1968
57. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
58. The Wild Bunch 1969
59. Woodstock 1970
60. Shaft/Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song 1971
61. The Godfather 1972
62. Deep Throat 1972
63. Enter the Dragon 1973
64. Mean Streets 1973
65. Blazing Saddles 1974
66. The Exorcist 1973-
67. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974
68. Jaws 1975
69. Star Wars 1977
70. Annie Hall 1977
71. Animal House 1978
72. Days of Heaven 1978
73. Halloween 1978
74. Apocalypse Now 1979
75. Airplane! 1980
76. Tron 1982
77. This is Spinal Tap 1984
78. The Breakfast Club 1985
79. Blue Velvet 1986
80. Top Gun 1986
81. The Thin Blue Line 1988
82. Akira 1988
83. Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989
84. The Abyss 1989
85. Do the Right Thing 1989
86. Batman 1989
87. Roger and Me 1989
88. Jurassic Park 1993
89. Pulp Fiction 1994
90. Toy Story 1995
91. The Matrix 1999
92. The Blair Witch Project 1999
93. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000
94. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 2001-2003
95. The Harry Potter Series 2001-2011
96. The Bourne Supremacy 2004
97. Brokeback Mountain
98. The Passion of the Christ 2008
99. The Dark Knight 2008
100.Avatar 2009

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: Maidentrip

One of the great things about The Milwaukee Film Festival is that they give teachers the opportunity to bring their class to a movie for free. This year one of the films that was part of the education screenings was Maidentrip.  A friend of mine brought her class and one of her students wrote a review. 

So I am happy to present our first guest blogger 7th Grader Takayla.

Maidentrip is about an amazing 14-year-old girl named Laura Dekker from Holland. Laura had an amazing life-long dream to sail around the world. She spent practically her whole life on boats. Her father loved boats and her mother didn’t because she’d always get sick. 

    

      She got her first boat when she was 8 years old. Laura got a new boat when she was 10 year old. By this time she had sailed by herself and her parents had separated. When she was 14 years old, she got a boat and she named it Guppy. When Laura told people she wanted to be the youngest person to sail around the world alone, child welfare tried to take her from her dad. They went to court, and she and her dad won. 

         In 2010 Laura sailed out from Holland to start her two-year voyage around the world. She recorded her voyage by herself. Speaking French, Dutch, and English, she traveled 27,000 miles over 519 days and she had crossed the finish line. Laura had stopped at a lot of places, like: South America, the Canary Islands, and St. Martin, filming all of the beautiful scenery. Laura Dekker is the youngest person to sail around the world alone. 

I thought the movie was amazing, but kind of boring. There were a few people falling asleep. There was no action, but there was a little bit of comedy. If you’re not mature and well rested, don’t go see this movie. There’s a lot of cursing involved, but overall I give this movie a 4 out of 10.

-Takayla, 7th Grade 

Westside Academy II

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: Blancanieves

As the Milwaukee Film Fest moves along I realize that my I am writing my reviews quicker and the quality might be decreasing.  Sorry about that but I do hope I give these movies the credit they deserve.  

Blancanieves is a retelling of the classic Grimm fairy tale Snow White. The movie takes place in 1920's Spain and is filmed as a movie from that era. It is a black and white silent film. The story follows Carmen whose mother dies giving birth to her.  Her father is a famous bull fighter and he is horribly hurt the same day she is born.  He is not able to even look at his daughter so she is raised by a nurse.  But at the same time another nurse takes care of him and uses him for his money.  Eventually Carmen is forced to live in the same house as her dad and step mother and this is where the movie starts following the classic Snow White tale.  Eventually she meets up with The 7 Bull Fighting Dwarves which does bring some comedy.  

The movie is beautifully shot and well acted. It really feels like a classic.  Unlike The Artist which was a comedy and had the essence of a Chaplin film, Blancanieves is more of a drama and feels more like the 20's classic The Passion of Joan of Arc. I loved that it was the familiar story but with a distinct Spanish feel. The bull fighting aspect really makes it stand out from the typical Snow White story.  

Overall: 5 out of 5.  I really loved this movie and hope like The Artist more people see it and realize how powerful silent films can be and it motivates people to seek out some other classic silent films.  

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: Short Term 12

Every year during the Milwaukee Film Festival they have one screening that is just for members and they don't tell you what it is until right before the movie starts.   This super secret screening is usually one of the best movie of the festival.  This year they amazed us with the great film Short Term 12.

Short Term 12 refers to a group home for troubled teenagers.  The daily activities are overseen by Grace (Brie Larson) and her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.).  Every day is an adventure for them as they never know what to expect.  But when a new girl Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) joins the home it stirs up emotions from Grace's past.   To make  things more complicated Grace is pregnant and other ghosts from her past are coming back to haunt her.

The movie manages to balance all the drama with comedy.  It is heartbreaking at times but lighthearted at other times.  The main focus is on Grace and her struggles but everyone in the movie has a complicated back story. We learn about some of the kids and their stories all feel real and never slow the movie down.  As Grace heads to her breaking point we wonder what she will do but as dark as the movie gets it never gets too dark.  And that is all thanks writer and director Destin Cretton.  In  his second feature film he has proven he is a force in the future of film.

The other credit for how good this movie is goes to the incredible cast. Brie Larson does such an amazing job of keeping the character grounded. While we don't know her history at first we understand that there is something going on in her head. As we learn more we begin to empathize with her.  Look for her to get an Oscar nomination come award season. She is surrounded by a great supporting cast. John Gallagher Jr. Plays her loving goofball boyfriend to perfection and Rami Malek has some of the funniest scenes as newcomer Nate who is way over his head. Of course the movie wouldn't be what it is without the talented child cast lead by Kaitlyn Deever as the troubled Jayden and Keith Stanfield as Marcus who is about to turn 18 and be released on his own.

Overall: 5 out of 5. Great cast and great story. The balance of drama and comedy is just right and it never lets you get too depressed and treats each character with respect.   

Milwaukee Film Festival: Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington

Restrepo was one of my favorite documentaries in recent years so when I heard that one of the co-directors Tim Hetherington had died it was a sad occasion.  Sebastian Junger the other co-director of Restrepo made a moving portrait about the life of his friend Tim Hetherington.

The movie uses archival footage and interviews with Tim's parents and friends to trace his life and how he it led him to become a photojournalist.  Luckily for everyone Tim did a few interviews before his death so we get to hear  him talk about how he approaches his work.  What set Tim apart from other photojournalists that covered war was he wanted to show normal people and the quiet moments.  While I don't understand all that photography mumbo jumbo you can tell that Tim had a different way of taking his pictures.  He also had a different philosophy.  While some photojournalist likes to remove themselves from their subjects Tim always interacted with them to make them more at ease.  Whatever he did it is apparent that he was able to get some great pictures.

This is such a moving portrait of a great man.  It is obvious that Sebastian Junger and Tim became great friends and Sebastian wanted to make a movie tribute to him.  I think he succeeded.  You get the feeling that Tim's career was just taking off.  He just started dabbling in movies and I can't help to think that he would have made some more great documentaries in the future.  His love of the people affected by the war was so immense and he wasn't that adrenaline junkie you get the feeling some war photojournalists are.

This is the second movie I have seen during the festival that deals with photojournalists.  The first one was during the documentary short Eddie Adams: Saigon '68.  It would have been amazing to see these two sit down and discuss what it means to be a photojournalist because I think they had different philosophies.  In the Eddie Adams documentary the big question is can a single picture tell the whole story? While this doc doesn't get into that much there is a clip of Tim saying that no a single picture can not. It is interesting going to a film festival and watching movies about photographs.  But a single shot can convey so much emotion and tell at least part of a story.  I feel I have a new appreciation for photojournalists and will be recommending both movies to my photography loving friends.

Overall:  5 out of 5.  Loved learning more about the man and how he approached his profession.

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

I will have to admit I didn't know much about Elaine Stritch before hand.  All I knew of her was she played Alec Baldwin's mom on 30 Rock which turns out is just a small blip in her storied career.

The documentary follows the 87 year old through the highs and lows of what it means to be an aging performer.  There is archival footage of her past to give those of us who know little about her career at little background but the majority of the film is a candid look at her life now.  From struggles with alcoholism and diabetes to the joys of performing on stage.

What made this movie truly great was the openness and unfiltered access we get to her.  The film does not shy away from showing the non glamorous side.  We see her as she gets frustrated with forgetting song lyrics and as she becomes confused when her blood sugar drops.  The most touching real moment in the movie is when we see her being discharged from the hospital after being there a few days for her diabetes. But then we also get to see her talking and hanging out with other celebrities like Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and John Turturro. Elaine is blunt and calls it like she sees it and creates some funny moments.  One of the sadder moments was when she was hanging out with the late James Gandolfini.  He seemed to have such great admiration for her and it is sad that he is no longer with us.

Overall: 5 out of 5.  It feels refreshing to see a movie about a celebrity as raw and unfiltered as this.  It was great to have Elaine at the film and do a Q&A afterward.  She was exactly how you would expect her to be, gracious and funny.

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: The History of Future Folk

Day 3 of the Milwaukee Film festival brought me into a fantastic world of aliens and folk music.  Sound ridiculous?  Well it is a whole lot of fun.

The History of Future Folk is the story of aliens from the planet Hondo that come to earth to destroy everyone on it.  Before General Trius (Nils d'Aulaire) can release the virus he hears music for the first time.  Falling in love with music and believing that a race that can put sounds to for music must have some good he spares the Earth.  But the people on Hondo are not happy. He was supposed to kill everyone so their world can be spared.  They send the Great Kevin to Earth to assinate General Trius.  But Trius who now goes by the name of Bill has been on Earth for a while and has gotten married and had a kid.  When the Great Kevin catches up with him Bill plays music for him and they end up starting a folk band together.

My synopsis doesn't do the movie justice.  There are so many little quirky and funny bits in the movie that it is hard to summarize.  Needless to say the leads are great and their songs are hilarious.  The movie zips along fairly quickly and keeps everything moving. It is funny and has a little romance, action, and music.

Overall: 5 out of 5. Some movies at festivals make you think or challenge your beliefs and some are just fun.  This is the later. It will have you laughing at the shear ridiculousness and tapping you feet to the catchy tunes. 

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: Drug War

My last movie of the first day of the festival was the Chinese action movie Drug War directed by famous Hong Kong director Johnnie To.  

The movie is about narcotics officer Captain Zhang (Honglei Sun) and his team as they try to bust a large crystal meth operation. After getting caught Timmy Choi (Louis Koo)  begins to turnover names and places of his accomplices to save himself from the death penalty.  This leads Zhang to have to pretend to be various criminals to work his way to the top of the chain. Also, as Zhang gets closer the motives of Choi and how much he can be trusted is questioned.

The movie starts off with action and some pretty weird scenes where a whole bus full of drug mules is captured and forced to poop out their drugs.  I am glad that scene didn't have smell-a-vision.  The back and forth between Zhang and Choi is what keeps the movie interesting at the beginning.  We never really know what Choi's motives are.  But I have to admit it started losing my interest part way through and I kept waiting for something to happen.  When it did happen it was explosive.  There are massive gun fights, high speed chases, and lots of death.  The cast of characters were interesting which included a drug dealer named ha-ha which had an annoying laugh and two deaf brothers who get a cool shoot out scene.

After seeing the movie I read a little more about it and this is Johnnie To's first Chinese movie and pushed the limits of what the Chinese censorship board would allow.  I found out that there are two endings and apparently we got to see the Chinese approved ending.  The politics behind it is fascinating but lost on me as I don't know that much about Chinese cinema.

Overall: 3 out of 5.  Some good action and interesting characters. But didn't hold my interest all the way through.   

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: When the King Tilts

For my second movie of my first day at the festival I decided to go with a local film When the King Tilts.  This movie was filmed at a Bed and Breakfast in Door County and is the feature directoral debut of Drew Britton.

The movie is about Sam the owner of a Bed and Breakfast who after closing for the season comes back to find two women Carol and J.L.  have made themselves at home.  They are looking for a place for a family reunion and wanted to check out his place.  After convincing Sam to let them stay the three of them start a psychological journey as they deal with the unknown and each other's secrets.

Sam is a guy who thinks he has everything figured out. He has been running the B&B for a long time and has seen almost everything. He believes he has his life in balance. When the two women show up it throws everything out of whack. They are brash but at the same time alluring. He doesn't know much about their past but it is the mystery that makes them so interesting. He is also a secretive guy that doesn't let people get close. Things get more complicated when he starts having feelings for Carol. 

As one guy put it in the Q&A this is a slice of life movie. Which is both unique and frustrating. As the movie is about secrets I kept waiting for a big reveal. But as in real life we don't always find out what everyone's  secrets are. 

What this movie does have going for it is the incredible cast. The manage to fill each scene with increasing tension. This was apparently accomplished by filming in chronological order over 7 days.

It presents a situation that could possibly happen with all the complexities that go along with encountering the new and different.  It leaves you thinking about your own experienced when new people come into your life for a short period of time and turn your world upside down. 

Overall: 4 Out of 5 stars. Great cast but wished it hade explained more of the backstory of the characters. 

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013 Shorts: Stranger than Fiction

Even though this was the second day of the Festival it was the first day I was able to attend.
Decided to start my festival experience off with the documentary shorts.

Documentary shorts are one some of my favorite movies.  There are so many interesting people and things in the world that short films can highlight.  And spending 10 - 15 minutes learning about them is perfect.  This is the first year that I have been going to the festival that they have had a whole program of documentary shorts and it did not disappoint.

First up in the program was The Flogsta Roar. This 18 minute documentary is about a university in Uppsula Sweden.  Every night at 10 pm the students yell out their window.  This is a ritual that has been going on for over 20 years.  We meet some students and teachers that live there and learn about their anxieties.  The movie brought back memories of my college experience.  There are ups and downs and just weird people.  There is some one stealing food from a fridge, a teacher that is obsessed with the pots and pans and also a student who had someone in the dorm room next to her commit suicide.  But they all get a chance to release their anxieties and tensions at 10 pm when they yell out their windows.  It's ridiculous, humorous, and sad all at the same time.  It manages to capture that unique environment that is college.

Next up was the short Pouters. This short was about pigeon enthusiasts in Scotland. I honestly had no idea what was going on. It appears that there is some kind of weird competition where you try to get someone else's pigeon to come to your coop.  These people are odd and extremely obsessed with pigeons.  This was one of my least favorite of the shorts but definitely interesting.

This was followed by Vladimir Putin in Deep Concentration. This 9 minute doc quickly goes through the life of Vladimir Putin.  I have to admit I know very little about him and his rise to power.  What this movie does it tells some of his backstory but comes to the conclusion that we know very little about him personally and he is a master at image control.  For a short doc I learned about one of the most powerful man in the world and this is one person that probably deserves a full feature doc.

From Russia to Christmas.  Mr. Christmas tells the story of a man who every year puts on one of the most extravagant Christmas light displays.  It is a fun and touching story as we learn his process of putting up the lights and his motivation.  This is a fun charismatic guy who loves Christmas, misses his wife, and loves his cat.  A fun enjoyable short.

After celebrating Christmas the next stop on our short film road trip was to India for Unravel.  Every wonder what happens to clothes that are sent to be recycled?  Well they are sent to India where they are sorted, torn up, and made into thread to be used for blankets.  The movie focuses on the India women who work at the factory that tear up the garments.  These women live in a small town and try to imagine what kind of people wear these clothes and why they would just throw them away.  The movie makes you think about our love of clothing and the excesses we have.  It is funny to see how they imagine the Westerners.

Back in the US we head for We Will Live Again. This is a fascinating doc and a little disturbing that challenges some of our beliefs.  We have all heard of Cryogenics but I have never see the inside workings of one.  This short takes us on a tour of The Cryonics Institute from the delivery to the freezing of their "patients".  The manager doesn't consider them dead just "metabolically challenged" and refers each one as a patient.  A perfect example of what a documentary short can be.  Takes us to a world we have never seen and challenges us.

For the last short we head to Saigon in 1968.  Eddie Adams: Saigon '68 tells the story of a single iconic picture from the Vietnam War.  The amount of power a single picture can have is amazing.  We learn about the famous photographer Eddie Adams from his diary and interviews from those that knew him and were there when the picture was taken. The picture in question is the Pulitzer Prize winning image of a South Vietnamese police officer shooting a Vietcong prisoner in the head.  The story of who the officer was and who he shot is told as well as the effects the picture had on support of the war and on Eddie Adams himself.  A powerful look at how one picture changed many lives and a discussion if a single picture can tell the whole story.  Definitely my favorite doc of the program.

The 8 Movies I am Most Excited for at The Milwaukee Film Festival

Every year I impatiently wait for The Milwaukee Film Festival to release their program book. I then flip through and look to see what they have in store for me.  What I love about the film festival is that there is always something for everyone.  I am not going to say these are the eight movies you should see at the festival but these are the ones that most intrigue me.  One of the great things about film festivals is that you get to experience movies that you have never heard of.  I really recommend looking through the program guide finding a movie that sounds interesting and see it. You can download the guide from their website here http://mkefilm.org/docs/Programs/MFF2013_ProgramBook.pdf .  I guarantee it will be an experience you will not forget.  Good, bad or bizarre it will leave an impression on you so don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and see something. 

As far as my picks go most of these are movies I have already heard of but I will be checking out many more that I haven’t.  Movies like The History of Future Folk, The Crash Reel and The Perverts Guide to Ideology have caught my eye.  Also movies with Wisconsin connections like Free the Mind, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, and Citizen Koch might be worth checking out. 

In Alphabetical Order The 8 Movies I am Most Excited to See

1     The Act of Killing – The first time I heard of this movie it was from an interview with Werner Herzog and Error Morris two of my favorite documentarians.  So when they recommend a movie I listen.  This is a documentary about the mass killings in Indonesia told from the perspective of the people that did the killings.  Where this movie takes on a life of its own is that the director Joshua Oppenheimer has the people that committed these atrocities reenact them. Which they excitedly do.  The movie promises to blow you mind and leave you in awe.

2.     August: Osage County – A big time cast with lots of Oscar hopefuls. The movie is about a family from the Midwest in crisis.  When the strong willed women are forced to live together and take care of their mother you know there will be meltdowns and some dark comedy.  And when you got Meryl Streep in your movie you almost guarantee Oscar talk.  So when I saw that this was going to be playing at the festival I was excited. This is your opportunity to see it before the buzz really takes off and you will be able to say you were one of the first people to see it. 

3.     Billy Club – This is actually a movie I had not heard of before the festival but it looks amazing.  Every year one of the highlights of the festival is its horror program and what makes this movie even more exciting is that it was made by Milwaukeeans.  Billy Club looks to bring some of that awesome 80’s slasher movie vibe back.  About a group of friends that reunite 15 years after the murder of their Little League teammates.  Even if we weren’t partnering with this movie it would be a must see but since we are partners with this movie I have to tell you that you ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE THIS FILM.  

4.     Earth – Another highlight of the film festival has been their ability to get silent films and get an orchestra to play a live score.  This year it is the Soviet Silent Classic Earth. A movie I know very little about but with the 18 piece Milwaukee based orchestra Altos playing the score makes this an event not to be missed for both film and music lovers. 

5.     The Milwaukee Show –The first year I attended the festival I had no idea what exactly the Milwaukee Show was but it now a must see.  The Milwaukee Show is a collection of short films from local filmmakers.  You never know what will be there. Last year we had everything from touching documentaries to trippy music videos.  But the highlight is always the film that came from the collaborative cinema program. The program is for high school students who want to get into filmmaking.  They attend workshops to write a screenplay and one screenplay is selected to be made and shown during the festival.  This event always draws large sellout crowds so if you want to go get your ticket early. 

6.     Shorts: Stranger than Fiction – Having volunteered on the shorts selection committee for the past couple of years I can attest to the great quality of documentary shorts each year at the festival.  Every year I always ask if they will have just a short documentary program. And this year they do.  What I love about documentary shorts is that they give you a quick glimpse at things or people you wouldn’t know about.  Sometimes these people would not make great subjects for feature docs so these short docs are the best way to learn about them. 

7.     Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley first broke on to the scene as a young actress on the Disney show Road to Avonlea and movies like Go and Dawn of the Dead. But recently she has been getting rave reviews for her directing and writing.  She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay academy award for Away From Her and her film Take This Waltz got great reviews also.  Now she is back with her first documentary (is there nothing she can do).  This movie has been making the festival circuit for about a year and have been hearing only good things about it.  I am glad it is finally coming to Milwaukee.    In the movie Polley takes a look at her youth with interviews from friends and family with reenactments mixed in. 

8.     Which Way is the Front Line from Here: The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington -  Tim Hetherington was a photojournalist that liked to risks and photograph some of the most violent places. He teamed up with Sebastian Junger and they co-directed the Academy Award nominated documentary Restrepo.  Shortly after Hetherington was killed while photographing the Libyan Civil War.  Junger directed this movie about his good friend and the loss of a talent that was on the cusp of really breaking out. 

Only God Forgive - The 5 Obstruction Blogathon Obstruction 2

Every time my mom comes and visits we usually try to see a movie.  The past few years we have seen movie that would go on to be nominated for Oscars like Life of Pi, The Help, and Inglourious Basterds.  This visit I decided we will do something different and rent Only God Forgives on VOD a movie that will not likely get any nominations come Oscar time.  And since this is the second month of the 5 Obstruction Blogathon I decided to interview my mom on her thoughts.

Only God Forgives is the latest movie from Nicolas Winding Refn the director of Drive and Bronson. He re-teams with Ryan Gosling who also starred in Drive.  In this movie Gosling plays Julian an American living in Bangkok's underworld.  Julian and his brother Billy run a boxing club that covers for a drug smuggling ring.  When Billy rapes and murders a young girl the cop on the case Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) lets the victims dad kill Billy in return.  When Julian doesn't exact revenge on the dad because he decides that Billy got what he deserved his domineering mother Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) flies to Bangkok to take care of it.

I have to admit I have only seen two or Refn's work Drive and Bronson and have heard that this movie more closely resembles Valhalla Rising as far as tone and pacing. This is a slow and I mean very slow moving movie.  There is hardly any dialog and if you thought Gosling was quiet in Drive he pretty much mute in this movie, but nobody does silent brooding like Gosling.  Kristin Scott Thomas isn't in the movie for many scenes but she has the most dialog and she delivers a monster of a performance.  She is one of the best villains in a recent memory.  She controls her sons using any means necessary.  There are lots of hints that she had an incestuous relationship with both her sons, and she constantly puts them and everyone else down.

Besides the great acting there are a few things this movie has going for it.  Refn knows how to shoot beautiful scenes.  You get the feeling that every scene is very thought out and the lighting and shadows are all there on purpose.  It all looks amazing.  The other thing that Refn is known for is extreme violence and this movie has that.  There are several scenes that are very graphic.  Refn re-teamed with Cliff Martinez who scored Drive and the score in this movie might not be as good but is memorable.  

The big problem with this movie is that it makes no sense, and that is a very big problem.  You get the feeling Refn has something he wants to say but it never really comes across.  This is one of those movies that leaves you scratching your head and frustrated.  It leaves a lot to interpretation if you are willing to spend the time thinking about it.   I still haven't figured it all out.  Refn has said that the movie is about a man who wants to fight God and a man who thinks he is God.  The movie appears to take place in a mythical version of Bangkok.  Chang dishes his own brand of justice with a sword that he seems to pull from thin air.  An example is after letting the father kill Billy Chang cuts off the guys arm for letting his daughter become a prostitute.  Meanwhile Julian internalizes everything.  He appears to be a masochist.  He watches a stripper while his hands are tied down and constantly clenches his fists.  But he also has visions of Chang leading me to believe he knows his future.  In discussing the movie with others one theory is that the movie is about being a man and getting your hands cut off is symbolism for castration.  I think it is a story of atonement and Julian realized that his family must pay for their sins and even though he does try to save himself and his mom the final outcome can not be changed. But like the title says Only God Forgives and no one in this movie is God or forgiving.  There are no good guys in this movie only people that think they are doing what is right.

So watching a movie with graphic violence and incestuous relationships is odd with your mom.  But I was glad there were no graphic sex of nudity.  But since this movie was such an odd movie I wanted to get her thoughts on the movie.  So here are 10 Question with my mom about Only God Forgives.

First I wanted everyone to get an idea of what kind of movies she likes so I started off with a few easy questions.

What are some of your favorite movies?

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Life of Pi, Fiddler on the Roof, Dogma, Princess Bride, Young Frankenstein  and any movie that has Fred Astaire in it.  There aren't any movie I don't like. 

What do you in movies?

Action, music, good lines and happy endings.   

What did you think of Only God Forgives? and Why?

It sucked.  It was not entertaining at all and very confusing.  

How does it compare to other movies I have made you watch like Memento and Requiem for a Dream?

Even Memento had a better story line, and they weren't as graphic.  And neither one gave me nightmare.  

What did you think of the violence?

I didn't think the violence fit the crimes.  It was too over the edge.  Too graphic it gave me nightmares.  

The title is Only God Forgives. Some say the movie is a religious metaphor. What do you think?

Strange way to see God.  If that is what God is then I might need to become an Atheist.  

You said you liked Life of Pi which also had religious metaphors how do you think they compare?

Life of Pi didn't portray an angry or vengeful God.  Also, it told Pi's spiritual journey.  

The director Nicholas Winding Refn said this movie is about a man who wants to fight God and a man who thinks he is God What do you think about that?

Chang thinks he is God and doles out punishment.  Julian tried to avoid any confrontation and didn't want to be bothered.  He was no match for Chang and I don't even know why he asked for the fight.  

A lot has been said about the score and look of the movie. What did you think?

Music wasn't bad but not that memorable. Everything moved so slowly that I lost interest and didn't care. 

Would you recommend this movie to your friends?

No, I would recommend they don't waste their time.  

Overall: I would give it a 3 out of 5 but only for people wanting to put the time in to dissect the movie.
My mom would give it 0 out of 5 it is too slow and made no sense.