At last!

It's been a long spell for me before seeing a movie as extraordinary as Sarah's Key. This is such a compelling story and an engaging film. I just saw it yesterday and immediately went out and bought the book. Kristen Scott Thomas has the lead role here and seems perfectly suited for it. It involves the roundup and sending to the death camps, Jews in Paris in 1942 by the French! police. This is a modern day quest to determine the truth, a most noble goal, but not easily obtained or appreciated by all, and there are unanticipated consequences. Not to be missed.

2 Movie Gems

The Tree of Life contains some of the most astounding photography and images I've ever seen. This gem is precious. The central story of the family is at times repetitive and boring. The cinematography is so spectacular with the music accompaniment that this just doesn't matter.
Midnight in Paris is another very special movie. Woody Allen comes through again. He loves Paris, like so many of us. The long sequence at the beginning pulled me in deep. The story is funny, of course, and I got a huge kick out of his take on Ernest Hemingway. These two films will be up for lots of awards.

Good new TV series + 2 movies to see

The Killing is quite an extraordinary new series on AMC. It a tough crime drama without the bullshit (hyped, implausible, oversexed crap). An excellent cast and writing with a thorough vetting of the issues. What more can I say? This series is up there. Don't miss the Oscar's best foreign film, In a Better World. An engaging and gritty story with a satisfying, non-sappy ending. Also a very good movie is The Lincoln Lawyer. Based on a Michael Connelly novel, this film stars Matthew McConaughey in his best performance yet (not a lot of competition there). The twists and turns here make this a compelling film.

2 More Good Films

Biutiful is a movie not to be missed. It is a harsh and wrenching depiction of the conditions people live (and die) under and should be seen by everyone, if for no other reason than to remind most of us how fortunate we are. The film features Javier Bardem in, again, an extraordinary performance. Another Year is also a very good movie and stars the irrepressible Jim Broadbent. I think there could be a fantastic film festival created if it were to show only movies in which he has appeared.

Oscar Time - February 2011

Top 10
Winters Bone*
King's Speech*
Blue Valentine
The Fighter
The Town
Fair Game
The Kids Are All Right
Ghost Writer
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Social Network
*Tied for first place

Honorable Mention
Black Swan
Genius Within: Glenn Gould
Carlos
Client 9, The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer
Art of the Steal

Best Under the Radar Movies
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Genius Within: Glenn Gould

Best Scene
When Ryan Gosling plays his ukulele and sings "You Always Hurt the Ones You Love" to Michelle Williams in a storefront in Blue Valentine

Biggest Oversights in Nominations
The Town for Best Movie, Ryan Gosling for Best Actor in Blue Valentine and Mark Wahlberg for Best Actor in The Fighter

Best Soundtrack
Social Network

The Fighter and Blue Valentine, also True Grit and Somewhere

Mark Wahlberg takes quite a beating as he makes amazing comebacks in The Fighter, a film with the momentum of an oncoming train. This movie is clearly one of the top films of 2010. Another one is Blue Valentine, with outstanding performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. This is a love story that goes real sour, but the editing keeps the connections between this couple very close in time as you watch the movie, so that a budding love scene might be followed closely by one quite the opposite. The flashbacks seem quirky at first, but once in the rhythm, the film becomes fluid - loving and wrenching, and thoroughly engaging. Another good movie is True Grit. I did not find this movie as gripping or as entertaining as No Country For Old Men, but still found it clearly worth the ticket. Now, I'm not so sure about Somewhere. I had to see it because of Sofia Coppola, but in a few words, not much happens. As my movie mate said after it was over, every place is somewhere, and that sums it up for me.

The King's Speech and Black Swan

The King's Speech is an astounding film, a fascinating story with exceptional acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. This is why we go to movies. When you come out of this movie, you know that. No one should miss seeing it. Academy Awards will follow. Black Swan is a very good film. Natalie Portman is extraordinary. She portrays a dancer and a woman who is so psychologically damaged, it's a wonder she got the prima ballerina role in Swan Lake. I never pay much attention to make-up, but here, it is screaming and brilliant and impossible to overlook, especially the black swan.