The last two Best Picture nominees to be reviewed are Michael Clayton and No Country for Old Men. After watching both films, I had similar reactions to each and felt it only fair to review them together.

Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney in the title role, is about a lawyer who works for a large law firm in New York City. Michael Clayton is known as a ‘janitor’ and is used by his firm to clean up messes left by their clients. He finds himself in the midst of a dispute concerning their client, a large corporation, and a small family. Throughout the film, we, the audience, discover that the corporation also has a ‘janitor’ and they will stop at nothing to make sure their record is clean.

I felt that this story was reminiscent of Erin Brockovich. Each had a similar plot in that it was a David vs. Goliath case and lawyers were pitted against other lawyers. However, I thought that Erin Brockovich was a better movie because the viewer can relate to the issues of the defendants and the lawyers in that case. In Michael Clayton, there’s nothing to relate to because the film doesn’t paint a complete picture of any of the characters making it virtually impossible to understand them.

No Country for Old Men shows the truly dark nature of humans. It is set in and around small Texas towns in the year 1980. The film opens with a rather distinguishable voice over describing a criminal that was incarcerated for heinous crimes he had committed. The story was told by the officer who caught him. Throughout the introduction quiet images of the small Texas town are shown to provide background. The first character shown is a man dressed completely in black. The first action to take place is a killing by this character. Later on, another character is introduced. This man is a hunter who stumbles upon a large amount of money. His greed drives him to take it and then run from the man in black throughout the rest of the movie.

I found this film interesting because of the lack of music. It is totally driven by dialogue and sound effects. I felt that made the villain more threatening and the film more suspenseful.

I had high hopes for both of these films. The hype surrounding them and their nominations for Best Picture stirred my interest in them. Unfortunately, they each fell flat. The interesting thing is that they both fell flat the same way. Each film had an exceptionally good build up, but little or no climax. I think I would have felt more fulfilled had I been more drawn in by the story. The cinematography and filmmaking in each movie was spectacular as was the acting. I also felt that the writing, dialogue-wise, was brilliant. It just wasn’t enough to win me over.

Oscar Notes: I see both of these films being big winners in categories other then Best Picture. After seeing all of the Best Picture nominees, I feel that There WIll Be Blood is probably the favorite. My personal favorite from the category is Juno because it is enjoyable to watch, followed by Atonement, which was the 2008 Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture.

Michael Clayton - nominated in the following categories.

• Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
• Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
• Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
• Achievement in Directing
• Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
• Best Motion Picture of the Year
• Original Screenplay

No Country for Old Men - nominated in the following categories

• Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
• Achievement in Cinematography
• Achievement in Directing
• Achievement in Film Editing
• Best Motion Picture of the Year
• Achievement in Sound Editing
• Achievement in Sound Mixing
• Adapted Screenplay

By definition, atonement means “reparation for a wrong or injury”. It is most commonly used with Christianity in reference to the Atonement, or the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ. The amazing thing about the next Best Picture nominee, Atonement, is that the definition of the word describes the film so perfectly.

Looking at the face value of Atonement, the trailer portrays it as another romantic period piece starring Keira Knightley. I can, however, assure you that there is much, much more to this film. Based off of a novel by British romance writer, Ian McEwan, Atonement shows you that things are not always what they seem.

The story takes you through the romance between Cecelia Tallis (Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). Their rather sordid affair leads Cecelia’s younger sister, Briony, to believe that he is an evil man. She witnesses many acts that she feels are true, but as in many cases, what you see, is not always what you get. Briony witnesses a crime, in which, she believes Robbie to be the criminal and her account of that act tears the lovers apart.

The film shows the audience what Briony sees and then what really happened. In my opinion, it is an interesting approach to telling this type of story. At first, you are disoriented by the jump in perspective, but similar to the ABC series, LOST, you quickly find your way through the plot.

As much as I enjoyed Juno, so far Atonement is my favorite of the Best Picture nominees. It has passion, story, fantastic performances and the filmmaking is outstanding. I also felt that the sound editing/mixing was phenomenal. Bits and pieces of the lives of the characters are wrapped into the score through sound effects.

Oscar Notes: In my review of There Will Be Blood, I reported an incorrect number of nominations for Atonement. It is nominated for 7 Academy Awards, not 8. Here’s the breakdown. While these nominations are well-deserved, I also feel that Atonement should have been nominated for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

• Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Saoirse Ronan (Briony)
• Achievement in Art Direction - Sarah Greenwood (Art Direction), Katie Spenser (Set Direction)
• Achievement in Cinematography - Seamus McGarvey
• Achievement in Costume Design - Jacqueline Durran
• Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) - Dario Marianelli
• Best Motion Picture of the Year - Tim Bevan, Eric Feliner and Paul Webster (Producers)
• Adapted Screenplay - Christopher Hampton

Loosely based off of Oil! by American author Upton Sinclair, There Will Be Blood is the second Best Picture nominee on my list. This film is not for the casual film viewer and if you are looking for a ‘feel good’ movie, look elsewhere.

There Will Be Blood tells the story of a prospector, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis, The Ballad of Jack and Rose), in the early 1900s. He begins his business and with his son, H.W., and they build an oil business based out of land leased in New Mexico. The plot thickens when a young man by the name of Paul (Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine), visits Plainview in order to turn him onto some land where there may be some heavy oil prospects. Once Plainview investigates this hunch, he begins to con the small community in order to buy the tracts of land needed to achieve his goals.

This was a difficult movie to watch. I found myself feeling uncomfortable and depressed while I sat in the darkened theater. However, I realized that was the general mood of the main character. In that respect, the filmmakers succeeded into drawing me into the life of Daniel Plainview. Artistically, it’s beautiful and extremely well-made. The acting is phenomenal and as I mentioned before, the writing draws you into a dark, dreary, oily world.

One thing I think will really be overlooked in this film is the musical score. I am always of the opinion that music drives movies, but that is especially true with There Will Be Blood. The score is another character in the film. It plays its own role and has a definitive mood throughout the picture.

OSCAR NOTES: Towards the end of last year, I began seeing ads for There Will Be Blood. Each ad I saw eluded to possible Oscar nominations. In the end, the Academy has given 8 nods to the film in the following categories:

• Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Daniel Day Lewis
• Achievement in Art Direction - Jack Fisk (Art Direction)/ Jim Erickson (Set Decoration) Achievement in Cinematography - Robert Elswit
• Achievement in Directing - Paul Thomas Anderson
• Achievement in Film Editing - Dylan Tichenor
• Best Motion Picture of the Year - JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi (Producers)
• Achievement in Sound Editing - Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
• Adapted Screenplay - Written for the Screen by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Two of other Best Picture nominees (Atonement and No Country for Old Men) also received 8 nominations tying There WIll Be Blood for the most nominations. Despite what seems a negative review, I did enjoy this movie as a piece of art. It was striking and I can see how it was nominated for so many awards.

During the month of February, I will be departing from the regular movie review format to bring you something a little different. It is Oscar month and even with the writers of Hollywood on strike, some pretty amazing work was done in the movie world this past year. In the weeks leading up to the Academy Awards, I will review each of the five nominees for Best Picture as well as give predictions for the other categories. The first Best Picture nominee is Juno.

Juno is the story of a girl in a predictable situation that acts in an unpredictable way. Juno, played by Ellen Page (nominated for Best Actress), finds herself pregnant after having sex with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She realizes that her situation while life altering for her could potentially benefit someone else. With the help of her friend, Leah, Juno finds a couple who have been unable to conceive a child and are looking to adopt. Once Juno decides to give her baby to the couple, played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, she then has to carry the child to term and deal with the stares and moral judgments of others.

I really enjoyed this movie. Not only was it fun to watch, but it also takes a serious social issue and shows how to make the best out of a not-so-good situation. The acting and writing was incredible and the ensemble cast really made this picture work. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) brought the picture together beautifully. I would recommend Juno to anyone who enjoys the independent-type films.

OSCAR NOTES: I really feel this film deserves to be nominated for Best Picture, although I felt it was a departure from the ‘norm’ of Best Picture nominees. In that respect, I was surprised to see it on the list. I think it was probably nominated based on the writing and superb storytelling in Juno. It was nominated in three other categories: Best Achievement in Directing - Jason Reitman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Ellen Page, and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - Diablo Cody.

See Jane. See Jane run. See Jane plan. See Jane scream. Jane is a simple woman. She only wants to live happily ever after with the man of her dreams, George. Unfortunately, George only has eyes for Tess. Soon they become engaged and Jane, who, by the way, is Tess’s older sister and maid of honor, is forced into the horribly awkward position of planning the wedding of the man she secretly loves. At least, she has experience.

27 Dresses is an exciting romp through the world of weddings told through the eyes of a perpetual bridesmaid. Jane, played by Grey’s Anatomy star, Katherine Heigl, has been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings and has the dresses to show for it.

As we women are most certainly aware, many bridesmaid dresses aren’t exactly the thing you can wear more then once. In fact, some of them are down right awful. Well, 27 Dresses shows just how terrible a bridesmaid dress can be. The parade of bridesmaid dresses is definitely a highlight of the film. However, rumor has it that the wardrobe department for 27 Dresses was hard pressed to design dresses for Katherine Heigl that would look bad on her.

Written by Aline Brosh McKenna (Devil Wears Prada) and directed by Anna Fletcher (Step Up), 27 Dresses is sure to become a romantic comedy classic. The entire cast turns out fantastic performances. In addition to Heigl, James Marsden (Enchanted), Ed Burns (One Missed Call) and Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid) round out the cast as Kevin, George and Tess respectively.

While 27 Dresses leaves very few surprises, I still found myself incredibly involved with the film. At the end of the movie, I actually wanted to applaud. It’s a feel-good movie that will leave you smiling. If you’re in the market for a romantic comedy, 27 Dresses is a must see.

I find it interesting how attached we all become to our favorite actors. They become a part of our lives even though we never meet them. Seeing their movies and watching their lives unfold on television, makes us invested and it seems as though we are simply catching up on what’s been going on with them. At some point, they have played a role in something that touched us so deeply that we connected with them. Even though it was just a role they played on some silver screen, they made it real to us.

On occasion I am appalled by how much our society weighs in on stars’ lives. We continually want updates about how Britney’s court hearing went or how Lindsey’s rehab is progressing. But, I suppose we do these things because we are tuned into their actions and sometimes we forget they are just people. Real people with family, friends, careers and dreams just as real as ours.

Heath Ledger died Tuesday afternoon in New York City. Although I have yet to see what most people call his shining moment on the big screen, Brokeback Mountain, Ledger has been near and dear to me since A Knight’s Tale (2001). In his role as William, the squire turned knight, he refused to yield to society’s boundaries. He dreamed of becoming something great. He played a similar role as Gabriel in The Patriot (2000). Again, his character believed in something greater then himself. He fought for freedom, not only for himself and his family, but also for his country.

I know that many people will remember him as Patrick Verona from 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) when he took a bribe to attend a school dance and found himself in love. Maybe you remember Ledger as Skip from the Lords of Dogtown, Jacob from The Brothers Grimm or The Joker in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. We are lucky because we knew him as the many different characters that he played. And to us, he will always exist. To his friends and family, he will simply be Heath and he is gone.

Though tragic and too soon, his death will mark yet another memory for his fans. And he will live forever in his films, his characters and the hearts of those who truly knew him.

photo courtesy of New York Times

Director Matt Reeves’ film, Cloverfield aims to look at the monster movie genre from a different angle: the first-person perspective. The movie is shot entirely with a hand-held camera that was intended to be used to film the going away party of one of the main characters, Rob (Michael Stahl-David). The cameraman, Hud (T.J. Miller) becomes the unwitting documentarian of what turns out to be a horrific night in New York City, and assists Rob and several of his party guests in a search for a lost lover in the rubble of the creature’s attack on the city.

Cloverfield brings to mind multiple similarities to 1999’s Blair Witch Project. Like Blair Witch, Cloverfield follows the exploits of several twenty-somethings in shaky, herky-jerky camera fashion as they come to terms with an unknown danger. This time, however, instead of running around lost in a forest, the protagonists are running around the streets of what looks to be a post 9/11 New York City. Characters are lost along the way in typical horror movie fashion, but Reeves does succeed in breathing some new life into the genre.

The movie sets up a typical blossoming love story at its start, cleverly inter-cut into the first twenty or so minutes of the film by purposefully awkward camera restarts by the camera operator. This editing technique brought a level of humor and realism to the film, and offered a unique look into the past of the two lovebirds in question.

The party sequence feels a little forced, drawing upon typical mid-twenties angst, booze laden “man-up” discussions, and awkward on-camera flirting with a lot of dialogue that felt out of place. Most of the first part of the film was a clear ploy for us to warm up to the characters, but they weren’t likable enough to really care about.

Where the film does deliver, however, is the seamless CGI action on and under the streets of New York. One has to accept the fact that the animators had to have referenced lots of footage of the 9/11 attacks, and like it or not, disaster movies such as this now will be held up visually to the disaster that affected this country nearly seven years ago. There was some discomfort in seeing buildings topple in the same manner as they did that fateful day in September, and if that was the reaction Reeves was looking for, he succeeded in that. It brings to mind, however, the following question; why is New York always the scene for disaster films like this? The answer must be that NYC is the heart of the country, and to see it destroyed brings out fear in all of us.

Reeves teases us with little glimpses of the creature early on in the attack, slowly revealing more and more as the film progresses. It is amazing how well the animation syncs up with the fast paced camera movements, and is able to maintain perspective and believability in the quick pans of the camera.

The movie attempts some big sudden scares, but unfortunately misses the mark. One would hope that the uniqueness of the style of filming would overcome the typical, predictable horror movie techniques. Even so, dislikable characters aside, the movie was thrilling to watch, if not the adrenaline rush the trailer made it out to be. As a CGI driven blockbuster, it is most certainly meant to be seen on the big screen, and Showplace Cinemas’ DLP digital projectors bring the movie to life that can’t be achieved on the small screen.

For the fanboys out there that are jonesing for the big monster movie soundtrack; wait until the credits actually start to roll. Though the film does not have a soundtrack per-se, the end credit sequence leaves you with what all good monster movies need: thundering bass drums and Valhalla spewing operatic themes. Whether you like the film or not, the music will leave you walking out of the theater with a smile.

There’s no better way to spend Christmas Day then to share it with family and friends. Because we don’t really have any little kids in the family anymore, my family recently began a new tradition of going to the movies in the afternoon of Christmas Day. This year our movie selection was Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. I’ll admit that a big part of why I wanted to see it was because it was released on Christmas Day and to me, the timing was comedy gold. One of the tag lines for the film was, “This Christmas, there will be no peace on Earth”.

I have been a fan of the Alien and Predator movies and thought the original AvP was pretty good. The premise behind this edition is that a Predator ship that has Alien eggs as its cargo crashes on Earth. The Alien face-grabbers emerge from the eggs, find human hosts and begin to wreak havoc on a small mountain town.

Although this is the directorial debut for The Brothers Strause (Colin and Greg Strause), the pair has been in the business for quite some time working as visual effects supervisors. This expertise shows on screen with Alien vs. Predator: Requiem where the Brothers Strause pulled double duty also working as the visual effects supervisors.

This movie was gory and done in classic Alien/Predator style. I would actually stick my neck out and say that this is perhaps better then the first AvP. That being said, I do have a few critiques. My biggest criticism is that the entire film was too dark. It was very difficult to distinguish one figure from the next on screen. It’s hard to really enjoy a movie if you don’t know what’s going on.

I would also say that while the general story was good, there were too many plot devices. The story had too many places to go with the human characters and I would have liked to see the focus more on the Aliens and Predators. If they had focused more on the Alien/Predator aspect, some underdeveloped parts of the plot could have been more fully explained.

Despite my problems with this movie, I did enjoy it. I guess I’m just waiting for an AvP film to draw me in like Aliens. I would suggest this film for any fans of the genre and series. Little kids might be frightened or disturbed by the monster aspect of it. I will watch it again when it’s out on DVD.

Poor tortured, demented Sweeney Todd. His story is not a happy one. He started out life as Benjamin Barker, a barber in London and is wrongly thrown into jail when a corrupt judge lusts after his beautiful wife. Once Benjamin is released from prison, he returns to the streets of London to seek out revenge under the name of Sweeney Todd. It all goes downhill from there.

Based off of the Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd marks the sixth collaboration between director, Tim Burton and actor, Johnny Depp. As an avid fan of both Burton and Depp, I am totally biased about the film. However, I thought it was amazing and that all the performances were spectacular. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen are also a part of the talented cast. Bonham Carter masterfully plays Mrs. Lovett, the proprietor of the restaurant below Todd’s shop. She aids Todd by befriending him and helping him with his revenge. Rickman plays the lustful Judge Turpin and Cohen plays Pirelli, an apprentice of Benjamin Barker.

I found it fascinating that the actual development of this film began in the late 80s when Burton approached Sondheim about it. Although other projects took him away from Sweeney Todd at that time, Burton jumped at the chance to work on it in 2006 when another project fell apart. According to an article on Wikipedia, Burton was drawn to Sweeney Todd because of “the music and its sense of macabre”. Burton’s projects are classically dark and mysterious and my opinion is that no other film director could have captured the tone of Sweeney Todd like Burton.

The story, of course, is about revenge and Todd’s inner torment about his two lives. And with a name like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, what else can you expect, but a gruesome tale about a serial killer? It is bloody, but Burton was going for a Kill Bill feel where the gore is present, but not about being bloody. It’s more about Sweeney’s release of anger and hate then how much blood is spilled. There were a few moments that made me cringe, but for the most part it seemed campy rather then authentic.

I will definitely be adding this movie to my collection when it is released on DVD. It exceeded my expectations in practically every way. It was beautiful and tragic done only the way Tim Burton can. I would highly recommend this film to any fan of Burton or Depp and would caution those against taking children to it. After all, how often is there is a movie-musical about a serial killer?

Nothing says family togetherness like going to the movies over holiday weekends. I kicked off the past weekend with a bang by going to see Hitman.

Hitman is about orphans who are trained to be assassins. The hero, Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant, Live Free or Die Hard), is one of those orphans who finds himself being hunted by ‘the organization’. Agent 47 befriends a target (Olga Kurylenko) in order to stop whoever is trying to kill him.

After seeing the trailer for Hitman, I really wanted to see it. I wasn’t aware that it was a movie based off a video game until after my friends informed me. With that knowledge, I was a little weary of spending the money to see it. I have seen video game movies before and they always seem to fall short of my expectations. Hitman seems to work well as a movie. It has a decent plot and reminded me of a cross between The Saint and the Bourne trilogy.

Overall, it was a fun movie to go see. The fight scenes were well choreographed and the dialogue wasn’t overly hokey. I also really enjoyed the musical score. It was like another character in the movie. I could see this movie branching into a franchise, but don’t know how far they could take it. I wouldn’t recommend taking young kids to it. It’s pretty violent and there is some nudity as well.

With it being a particularly long weekend, I also went to see Enchanted. With the exception of the Pixar franchise, I have felt that Disney movies have been falling flat since Tarzan in 1999. Enchanted intrigued me because it was a new concept and approach by Disney.

Enchanted begins in the fairy tale world (aka, animated world) where a young maiden, Giselle (Amy Adams, Talledega Nights) falls in love with Prince Edward (James Marsden, X-Men). They begin to plan ‘happily ever after’ when Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), Prince Edward’s stepmother tricks Giselle into going into the real world. Lost and confused, Giselle befriends a little girl, Morgan, and her father, Robert (Patrick Dempsey) who offer to help Giselle.

I thought that this would be a lame attempt by Disney to revive a dying franchise, but Enchanted exceeded my expectations. It was a cute movie that made me feel like a little kid again. I was on the edge of my seat rooting for the good guys and was impressed with the story. Disney brought back the talents of Alan Menken (composer, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) and Stephan Schwartz (lyricist, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame) for the film’s score, which is a standout in the Disney repertoire. Enchanted is good for the whole family. I would suggest it if you are young, or just young at heart.