War Horse (2011) Review | Jamie Daily

War Horse (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 6 awards.
Nominated for Best Picture (Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy), Cinematography (Janusz Kiminski), Art Direction (Rick Carter, Lee Sandales), Music – Original (John Williams), Sound Editing (Richard Hymns, Gary Rudstrom), and Sound Mixing (Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson).
Watched December 29, 2012.

 

What can I say about you, War Horse?  It is a technical genius and a simplistic, clichéd display of love and devotion that leaves half of the critics baffled and the other half in adoration.

 

Steven Spielberg will forever be a cinematic genius whose technicality in the art is boundless.  However, I have grown so accustomed to his polished cinematography and overall composition that I was less impressed with the technical aspect and therefore more distracted by the unlikely plot line.  It is simple in almost a bad way.  There was very little character depth and the actions of all but the horse (Joey) were extremely predictable.

 

Despite its shortcomings in story, I still enjoyed it, partially because I am a huge horse lover.  It is a war movie without the gore of today’s films.  Spielberg did not feel the need to show every battle field in detail and to draw out the exchange.  Instead, he took a much more simple, abstract approach that lets the audience know what has occurred but does not necessarily show the act itself.  This was one of my more favourite aspects of the film, which leads me to my viewing advice.

 

If you have the ability to suspend reality (something that most movie-goers should be well versed in) and accept the fact that War Horse is going to test you, then you should certainly see it.  It is a walking cliché–a tale of innocents on all sides, despite the gruesome war surrounding it, and the joy that is found despite the death, destruction, and separation.

 

Joey begins his life as a playful, half-thoroughbred who is bought at auction at a young age by a farmer who needs a plow horse.  Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) was tempted by the astounding beauty of the horse, his landlord’s clear desire for the animal, and his drink.  His wife Rose (Emily Watson) is furious when he brings the young, small, untrained horse home, but his son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is ecstatic.  He takes the horse on himself, names him, and trains him, and in one of the more unlikely bits of the film, plows an entire field with him in order to save his family’s farm.

 

Despite their efforts, the farm is still in jeopardy.  When World War I finally breaks upon them, Mr. Narracott sells the horse to a Captain James Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston).  Heartbroken, Albert vows to Joey that he will find him again one day.

 

It is soon after this that the most brilliant scene of the film occurs.  The Captain and his company are led to believe that a German camp lays close by, unsuspecting, and thus their calvary rides into it. They ride through the camp at full gallop but once they reach the woods at the other side, they are cut down thoroughly by machine guns.  Instead of watching the horses and their riders fall at extreme length, we instead see one shot of the riders charging at full gallop and in the next the horses are leaping over the guns–riderless.

 

Joey finds himself in German hands, and along with his gorgeous black stallion friend, jumps from master to master and from England to Germany to France and back again, much in the same way that Black Beauty would share his tale of owners.  He spends time on a French farm, pulling guns in the war, and even brings the entrenched British and German soldiers to a temporary truce as they try to free him from barbed wire.

 

It is not the most brilliant nominated film this year, but it is certainly deserving.  Although the end shots are certainly a sort of sentimental pride with Spielberg, as is evidenced by their drawn out screen time, the majority of his execution is so flawless that I longed for a dirtier edit and a more experimental cinematographer.  If you have missed War Horse somehow, I would certainly suggest watching it, especially if you are in a good mood and are willing to set aside your firm grasp on reality for some more innocent fun.

 

 

Sources: Fan Pop, Awards Daily, DreamWorks Studios, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times, The Guardian, John Likes Movies, The Best Picture Project

Anonymous (2011) Review | Jamie Daily

Anonymous (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Costume Design (Lisy Christl).
Watched November 11, 2012.

 

I think that everyone has a bit of a conspiracy theorist inside of them, and this film certainly delves unabashedly into the theory that William Shakespeare was not the author of his famed plays and sonnets, but that it was actually an Earl who wrote them.

 

Shakespeare is probably the most famous English playwright in existence.  His works spread light on his time in history, as well as contributed immensely to the expansion of the English language.  His brilliance, however, is a source of discontent among those who believe that a son of an illiterate man in the time of hierarchies could not possibly possess the wit to create such masterpieces.  The Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) in Anonymous plays this part quite well–he is an actor who is portrayed as being a few cards short of a full deck, if you know what I mean.

There are all sorts of things we could say about this.  Whether Shakespeare was the author or it was the 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), that is not the purpose of this blog.  If you are able to lay aside all preconceptions and watch the film for what it is, I would highly encourage you to see it.

 

It is exceedingly dark in everything–lighting, art design, and story.  The Queen (Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson) is a fascinating character, with a trail of lovers and heirs that amuse her almost as much as her plays.  There are plots twists, deaths, and best of all, the performances of Shakespeare’s plays in their natural habitat.  The costume design is flawless and deserved more than just a nomination, in my opinion.

 

Whether or not the film is historically accurate, I could not say.  It is exceedingly fascinating and entertaining.  It makes you believe in its theory, if only for the time you are viewing it.  Its execution, acting, characterization, and realness is all you can ask for in a period piece and I would gladly add it to my ever growing personal library.

 

Sources: Quickflix, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, NY Times

God Is The Bigger Elvis (2011) Review | Jamie

God Is The Bigger Elvis (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Documentary Short (Rebecca Cammisa, Julie Anderson).
Watched November 11, 2012.

The only information I ever had about nuns is what I have seen in the movies.  Thank you, Whoopi Goldberg for your contributions to my worldview!  I have never known a nun personally, and since seeing this documentary short, I have gained an enormous amount of respect for the lovely ladies who choose to completely give their lives over to serving God.

 

There are many different ways to serve God, and being a nun is not for everyone, but it was for Hollywood actress Dolores Hart.  Some of you may know her as Elvis Presley’s famous first on screen kiss in “Loving You,” as well as from several other films from 1957 – 1963.  She was living the dream, both in films, broadway, and love.  She starred alongside big names and was engaged to an architect, but still felt unfulfilled.  A few years into her career she visited a monastery in Bethlehem, Connecticut to rest and meditate after a draining stint on Broadway.  She was fascinated, but was sent away at the end of her rest with promises that being a nun was not for her.

 

The documentary jumps back and forth from the present, showing Dolores, now Mother Prioress as a 73 year old nun who still radiates the same beauty that she did as a 19 year old woman.  She talks about the blessings of her life, as well as the difficulties.  She discusses her Hollywood life with extreme transparency and it is almost as if it is the most normal life one could live.  She now mentors novice nuns and helps them adjust to their new life.

 

There are a few plot turns, including her ex-fiancé, but as Mother Prioress says, “The abbey was like a grace of God that just entered my life in a way that was totally unexpected.  And God was the vehicle.  He was the bigger Elvis.”

 

I found the documentary completely fascinating and inspiring and would recommend it to everyone, no matter your religious opinions.

 

Sources: NY Times, Word & Film, IMDB, Dial M For Movies

Bridesmaids (2011) Review | Jamie Daily

Bridesmaids (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 2 awards.
Nominated for Supporting Actress (Melissa McCarthy) and Writing-Original (Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig)
Watched November 4, 2012.

 

The time has come and now the world knows it–women can, in fact, be funny.  Not only that, but they can be funny in exactly the same way that men can be.  This Hangover for women is a romantic comedy completely different from what we have become conditioned to.  There is little dependency on man, and an incredibly realistic representation of the absolute chaos, jealousy, and selfishness that comes with being a bridesmaid.

 

Granted, not everyone has a bad experience being a bridesmaid.  I myself have had three very good experiences.  However, one cannot deny the cost, the jealousy, the attempts at being selfless for the bride, and the semi-awkward moments with the fellow bridesmaids who the only thing you have in common with is the bride.  Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo do a very good job at bringing comedic reality to the American women–something realistic, although extreme, and something that does not have the main character falling apart because she doesn’t have a man.

 

Annie Walker (Wiig) has been friends with Lillian (Maya Rudolph) since childhood, and even though they have been a little distant lately, Lillian still has no hesitations in asking Annie to be her Maid of Honor after she and her significant other, Dougie (Tim Heidecker) get engaged.  Annie, who is going through a personal crisis after losing all of her money in a failed business as well as a failed relationship, is ecstatic and panicked at the same time.  On the one hand, this is what girls dream and talk about their entire lives–weddings.  On the other hand, she experiences extreme jealousy, not necessarily of Lillians engagement, but of her fiancé who gets the privilege of taking her best friend away from her.

Annie’s first encounter with the other bridesmaids is at the engagement party, where she immediately realizes she is out of her league.  Lillian’s cousin Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is a married mother whose disgust for men is spilling out of her over-tight dress, Becca (Ellie Kemper) is a naive newlywed, Megan (Melissa McCarthy) is Dougie’s extreme tom boy sister, and most auspicious of all is Helen (Rose Byrne), the wealthy, perfect, jealous, mega planner of a nemesis.  It is immediately clear than she is out for Lillian’s hand in best friendom.

 

There is a bit of romance for Annie in the film, in the unlikely and completely precious form of Officer Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd), but the state of her life and her selfish preoccupation because of it means that she barely even notices what she has standing in front of her.  Her hate for Helen, her money stresses, job problems, and incredibly invasive and weird roommates distract her from the silver lining and amazing support she really needs.

 

Through food poisoning, disastrous plane flights, and even a missing person, Bridesmaids has its share of serious moments among the hilarious, as well as the disgusting.  The story line follows a typical pattern at its most basic level, but the way in which is gets there is quite well done.  Both nominations definitely seem deserved, although I would have loved if McCarthy could once again be depicted as the beautiful person she was in Gilmore Girls for seven years.

 

If you have a stomach for the R rated humor of today’s generation, I would encourage you to see this film.  It is hilarious, it takes its characters to the extremes of reality, and at times makes you wish you were somewhere else because it is just that gross.  A fan of Hangover should certainly enjoy this film, and can definitely point out the similarities to you.

Sources: Fan Pop, That Film Guy, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, The Guardian, Smells Like Screen Spirit, NY Times

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (2011) Review | Jamie Daily

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Documentary Short (Robin Fryday, Gail Dolgin).
Watched November 7, 2012.

Out of all the films I have been seeing lately, I am ecstatic to begin watching the documentaries.  My genre, my niche, my love.  The Barber of Birmingham was a fairly good way to start off.  If anyone is curious, it is currently available for viewing on the PBS website and is less than thirty minutes in length.

 

No matter your political affiliation, this was certainly a touching film.  It features James Armstrong, an 85 year old man who lives in Birmingham, Alabama.  He is a hero, by our standards–one of the many foot soldiers of the civil rights movement.  A man who once stood at the court house steps to argue with the sherif about his voting rights and was one of the first to integrate his children into white schools, the film shows his awe, joy, and pride as Obama becomes the first black President of the United States.

 

There is a little bit of story telling through dialogue, but also a lot through stillness and reflection.  There are a few other interviews featured, but it is primarily about Mr. Armstrong.  He is a barber.  One of his most impactful stories was about how many times he had been arrested in his life, or his wife, or even his daughter when she was only thirteen years old.  He also recalls the Bloody Sunday march for voting rights, and walks the bridge every year in remembrance.  After living a life like his, and then going on to witness the inauguration of our nation’s first black President, he is almost speechless with joy and pride.

 

I enjoyed The Barber of Birmingham.  It was very touching and I feel as if it communicated well through its simplicity and quietness.  It had a big message but didn’t push an agenda–it just was.

 

Sources: IMDB, Paste Magazine, The Independent Critic, Indie Wire