The Movies I’d Like to See Nominated for a Best Picture Oscar…
If I was able to cast an Oscar ballot for this year’s Best Picture nominees, I 
would go with:
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” I was blown away by this movie. You have the emotionally scarred Lisbeth Salande alongside a defeated Mikael Blomkvist, joining forces to solve a mystery that is set in the harsh wintry weather of Sweden. I love how director David Fincher goes with two different movie styles during the first half of the movie as he switches between the darkness of Lisbeth and the professional world of Mikael Blomkvist and then blends them perfectly together when they finally join forces in the second half. This movie isn’t for the weak of heart. There are scenes that will make you squirm, but the movie doesn’t back down from those moments. And one has to mention Trent Reznor, because his music drives the movie forward.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.“ I am a Harry Potter fan. This movie ends the series in wonderful style. Wizards. Battles. Good vs. Evil. There aren’t any stupid Quidditch-moments. We get to finally say “goodbye” to evil Voldemort. Sometimes life isn’t about having fun, sometimes it is about life and death and this movie takes us on that journey.
“Hugo“. A love story to the beginning of movie making. And along the way we get to watch a story where adults and children learn from each other.
“Bridesmaids.” The funniest movie of the year. (more…)
FILM REVIEW: ‘YOUNG ADULT’
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It could be my imagination, but Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron are starting to look like sisters.
Okay, “Young Adult” is about Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), an author of a young adult book series (a book series that is coming to an end). That is her job, but as a person, she is a self-absorbed narcissist, and partially delusional. We see this within minutes when she goes on a date. The guy talks about how he spent time in Asia, teaching. Not all of us are meant to leave the US and take a job in some foreign country, teaching underprivileged youth; however, Mavis’ response is to show pity that he was exiled away from the big city of Minneapolis. Of course, this doesn’t stop her from sleeping with the guy. Her inability to grow out of her high school queen attitude is perhaps driven by her career choice. Due to her young adult writing, she is constantly watching teenage reality television and eating out at teen hangouts.
She gets a baby party invite from Beth Slade (Elizabeth Reaser). Beth is now married to Mavis’ high school boyfriend, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson). Mavis initially interprets this as a slight by Beth. She hasn’t been back to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota in years and doesn’t consider them to be close friends. To her, this is just Beth sending a reminder that she is married to Buddy. With her teacher-one-night-stand still sleeping in her bedroom, Mavis decides she’s off to Mercury. Somewhere between getting the invitation and her one-night stand, she decides that she is going to win Bubby Slade back and show folks that she is still the prom queen.
As she drives through Mercury, you can almost see her distain for her hometown. To one side, she sees a Staples. On her other side, she sees a KenTacoHut. (Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut). Never mind that she had just shopped at a Staples store in Minneapolis. And never mind the fact that (more…)