Another Year

It's time to assess this year's Best Pictures...

(P.S. I haven't watched all the movies but the minimalist posters looked awesome)

 This is one heck of a movie. Strong performances from the ensemble cast. It could be another trainwreck idea of a movie. But seeing Chris Nolan weaves the emotional part into this bold concept of dreams and their dreamers gave me chills. Take everything you know about the real world and chuck them out because this movie just blows your mind literally. Well-deserved nomination.

 (Didn't see it)

 (Didn't see it)

 Really love this movie even though it's a dark psychological thriller. Darren Aronofsky takes the most basic shots and crafted an amazing picture. The cinematography is chosen purposefully and it adds to the  overall dynamic feel. It's such a personal experience and it presents itself as a First Person Narrative. Everything we see, we see it through Nina's eyes. The jealousy, the fragility, the perseverance of the character is shown and all this couldn't been done without Natalie Portman's tour-de-force performance. Highly recommended. Never have I been left breathless at the end of a movie.

 Thought this was a weird choice for best picture. If an animated movie gets nominated for best picture, wouldn't it mean that it's a sure win for Best Animated Feature? It's a great, great addition to the Toy Story series and it's third entry solidifies Toy Story as one of the greatest trilogies of all time. It's funny, it's touching, it's relatable... Who knew the idea of talking toys could move an entire generation to tears? I know I cried when I watched it. Toy Story 3's theme just goes straight to the hearts of millions.

 The Social Network is just amazing to watch. Pay attention though because the dialogue literally goes on like a machine gun. It's fast and deadly. Aaron Sorkin's script has the best dialogue I've ever came across. Of course, dialogue isn't enough. With poor direction and cast, the movie will never go anywhere.

Here comes in director David Fincher, juicing grade-A performances from a bunch of unknown young actors. It could be easily be made as a TV-movie but David Fincher really knows how make a movie flow from shot to shot, scene to scene. The camera work is brilliant, the overall haunting techno/strings music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross gave the movie a totally distinct feel. David Fincher deserves Best Director for this one.

 Just watching the opening credits of this movie, it is so clearly distinct that this is a Danny Boyle film. Its heart-pumping music and dynamic direction reminded me of his previous efforts, Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire. James Franco gave his most sincere and heartbreaking performance as a free-spirited adventurer. The amputation scene was wonderfully done with the clever use of fake blood and static sound to represent the pain Aron Ralston was going through. Overall, it was nothing special.

 Highly entertaining for a period drama about a stuttering monarch's struggle to voice on the behalf of his people. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush's relationship is the highlight of the movie. Their impeccable chemistry as a mentor/student that blossoms into a friendship at the end is inspiring.  This could be a very dull movie but there are simply too many moments of comic relief and heartfelt dialogue that your eyes can't pull away from the screen. The editing is what made this movie flows from scene to scene effortlessly.

Having said all that praise, Tom Hooper did not deserve Best Director Award. Nomination yes, but not Award-winning. Oh! Did I mention the production design was really good? I don't usually like period drama but the actors and the script made it so good.

(Didn't see it)

So that's all folks. Even though you may not read my post, it's fine. Just enjoy the posters... I dare you. =P