2 Surprises - Nightcrawler & Glen Campbell

I couldn't wait to see Jake Gyllenhaal  in Nightcrawler as a skulking weirdo with those big buggy eyes of his, so I went right to it when it first came out.  Ugh!  The guy he plays is one of the worst characters I've seen on the screen.  There is nothing redeemable about this a-hole.  Forget it.
Now I wasn't expecting much when I went to see Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me, but this is one very fine film.  GC has Alzheimer's and embarks on a farewell tour that is truly astounding.  A courageous effort all around and a remarkable in-depth look at this dreaded disease.  Many greats in the music world chime in here in this engrossing documentary.  Don't miss it.  Should get an Oscar nod.

Birdman, Baseball & Snowden

Birdman is over the top in emotional engagement.  An actor, Michael Keaton, has written, and is directing and acting in a Broadway play based upon a Raymond Carver story.  It's a full-on, let it go performance by Michael Keaton and many others is this fantastic cast, including Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Zach Galifianicis.  Keaton is a past prime movie star with severe doubts about whether he can perform and survive.  There is an amazing scene here between him and Emma Stone, playing his daughter, where she slices him to pieces and he seems to feel better.  Clearly, one of the best movies of the year.
Then there's baseball.  The Giants won the World Series with an extraordinary surge of talent and sheer grit behind their superstar pitcher, Madison Bumgarner, who, aside from his smooth-whip pitch delivery, is so calm and stoic, which is an aspired-to trait that is common on this team and in this sport.  What a contrast to Birdman!  
As for Snowden and Citizen Four, read the New Yorker piece on Laura Poitras, the director.  It is far more gripping.

Ray Donovan

This tv series is intense, gripping, funny, sad and engaging.  A script that won't quit with good performances all around, especially from Liev Schreiber, playing Ray, and the amazing Jon Voight in a role that he's got down pat, a tough and witty con man.  This is a full flush performance.  I'll eat my cell phone if he doesn't get a golden globe nomination.

Calvary p.s.

And it's tragic.  Yes, that too.

Calvary

Oh my god!  An Irish priest (Brendan Gleeson at his best) grapples with idiosyncratic citizens of a small coastal community and his visiting fragile daughter, (very attractive Kelly Reilly).  These edgy, cynical and mostly angry folks are challenging beyond expectations.  A powerful script, a connected soundtrack and spectacular environs make for an entirely engaging film that never lets up.  Do not even think of missing this movie.  This movie is exactly what draws so many of us to the movie house. Honest, sometimes hilarious, hard hitting and loving.  I just can't say enough.  It's 4 stars plus.

Boy oh boy. Boyhood

An extraordinary film by Richard Linklater filmed over a 12 year! period.  Masterful performances by the growing boy, Ellar Coltrane, and his divorced parents, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette.  A long movie, nearly 3 hours, that never stalls, with scenes edited in a way that make you wonder, why the cut away?, but quickly make sense in the ongoing story.  These parents evolve into thoughtful, mature and loving people, with a Linklater script that continues to surprise, but then fits in harmoniously with the actors and the music. A truly amazing film. Do not miss this one.
P.S. Look for the next post on samoblog about Calvary.  Oh my god!

Third Person

Paul Haggis (Crash) has written and directed another extraordinary, complex, multi-character film.
I saw this film a second time thanks to our friend, Masten, who clued us in to a plot twist that I had missed after the first viewing, that left me pretty confused.  With concern for avoiding being a spoiler, I will only say - pay close attention to the lead character, played masterfully by Liam Neeson, and what he does.  The superb cast includes Maria Bello, James Franco, Kim Basinger, Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, Moran Atlas and a very suave Adrien Brody.

Locke

A movie about a guy driving in a car and talking on the phone.  That's it for 84 minutes.  Tom Hardy is the only actor in the movie, and, boy is it and he good!

Television

Mad Men continues to be the most compelling series on tv, especially now that it appears Don is "coming back".
Bill Maher is at the top of his game with his weekly show, always interesting guests and issues to be wrestled with.  He also is executive producer of the show Vice, which probes matters of global and local concern to depths that bring them into view.  It's a provocative and informative show and is not to be missed.
Yes, Bill Maher, Robert Reich and Randi Rhodes.  Randi Rhodes is a radio talk show host, soon to go off the air, unfortunately.  Seek her out.  She's a straight-forward, no b.s. type.  In fact, these 3 all have these traits in common.  As far as I'm concerned I could listen and watch them and know I'm getting information I can trust.  Not always that easy to find.

Anita

Whew!  I just got through a busy period.  I haven't seen many movies, but this one is not to miss:  Anita.
Here is one very courageous woman standing up to the weak, uneducated and nasty Senate Judiciary Committee, consisting of all white males in 1991.  She brought up the issue of Clarence Thomas' character in light of his sexual harassment and intimidation of her on the job.  This so called  "elite panel" failed miserably to deal with this issue and thus confirmed the kind of Supreme Court justice they deserved, but we citizens sure didn't. What a blatant example of why congressional ratings are so low!  Her engrossing book about this matter is very aptly titled, Speaking Truth to Power.  Although the movie is technically flawed, I strongly recommend it for its historical value.  Two other movies I've recently seen that I'd recommend:  Child's Pose and Le Week End.  Child's Pose is an intense Romanian drama featuring a mother who is trying to help her son even though he hates her.  Le Week End is about a senior couple wrestling with demons and each other as they bop around Paris.  Another very special performance by the always reliable Jim Broadbent.

Oscar Time

Top10
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Past
About Time
Her
Prisoners
Dallas Buyers Club
Blue Jasmine
20 Feet from Stardom
Before Midnight
American Hustle

Honorable Mention
Muscle Shoals
12 Years a Slave
Inequality for All
Nebraska
After Tiller

Best Below-the-Radar Movie of the Year
About Time

Most Astounding and Unnominated Acting Performances
Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue is the Warmest Color
Joaquin Phoenix in Her

Best Cast
The Past 

Best Big Hollywood Movie This Season - Her

Hollywood has been spewing out its biggies for the last month or so.  Her is the best of the lot.  Joaquin Phoenix is astounding is this very demanding role, falling in love with his computer's operating system.  I was totally engaged with this move.  Hmm.  4 stars!

Oscar Nominations - OMG!!!

Blue is the Warmest Color and The Past don't get nominated for Best Foreign Language film.  Actually, I just read that The Past didn't qualify in this category because it was first shown after the deadline.  So, why on  earth was it not nominated for Best Picture?  And what about the amazing performance by Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue is the Warmest Color?  And Inequality for All and Muscle Shoals are bypassed for Best Documentary.  These oversights will certainly make the Oscars a lot less interesting for me.

The Past and The Wolf of Wall Street

The Past is a real life and fully engaging movie.  It centers around a woman, her husband, who she wants to divorce, and the man she wants to marry.  I quote now from my good friend, Brooks Roddan:  " I  can't remember seeing a movie in which all the characters were  so admirable in such a human way; I cared for each of them.  Or a movie in which conscience, the thing that separates us from other animals, was so deftly portrayed that it became a character."  We saw the movie together.  Now The Wolf of Wall Street is a Hollywood big glamor movie, like American Hustle, but not as good.  It's about greed and excess to the max and ultimately gets boring.  Now tell me, which of these 2 movies would you rather see?