The Ginormous Film Post

Here it is the long awaited Sundance 2010 Recap, with a side of Top Ten movies of 2009, and a dash of Oscar observations.

Son of Babylon

This movie is set in Iraq after the fall of Saddam and follows a young boy and his grandmother traveling from their remote Kurdish village to Baghdad and beyond searching for the boy’s father who has been missing since being forced into the Red Guard nearly a decade before. The main characters are all played by natives who have never acted before, which lends itself to the raw emotion and power of this movie. It was heart breaking to see the characters searching through the mass graves, sometimes digging in the dirt to unearth the bones themselves, fruitlessly searching for a son and father who has probably been dead for as long as he has been gone. But it was also inspiring to see the characters find allies in the most unlikely of people and circumstances. All in all the film is about hope and forgiveness. Grade: B

Freedom Riders

In the early 60’s a group, made up of both white and black students, decided to test out America’s new laws regarding desegregation of interstate bus services - which included terminals, waiting rooms, and restaurants – by riding buses into the deep South. Even though the doctrine of “separate but equal” had been denounced, there were still states in the deep South that refused to desegregate. The Freedom Riders set out to challenge this practice. They were met with extreme violence and hatred. During one stop a mob of white people came and tried to burn their bus to the ground while they were still in it. In Alabama a crowd beat them with metal pipes and other implements while the police stood by and watched. Eventually, albeit reluctantly, the Kennedy administration sent a representative down to try and sort things out. This led to a reduction in violence, but also to the eventual incarceration of over 400 people. Once the nation saw what was happening, the Freedom Riders grew from just a small group of college students from the east coast to people from all over the nation. People who knew they would be jailed but came and participated in the freedom rides anyway.

I have to admit that this documentary was hard for me to watch. I probably cried through about 75 % of the entire movie. I just can’t understand how human beings can treat other human beings with such hatred and violence. It has never made sense to me to dislike another person based solely on their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc. I honestly just don’t get it. And that we live in a world where people will kill you because you are black or Jewish or what have you breaks my heart. But I guess the point is that you can achieve change if you have the courage and passion of conviction to take a stance, take a risk, and let your voice be heard. And wouldn’t the world be a better place if we were all brave enough to step up. Grade: A

Dry Land

On the surface this move is about a man returning from war to his hometown and family and old life. But once you start to peel back the layers you realize that it is never easy to return to normalcy after experiencing the brutality of War. The main character struggles with post traumatic shock which left untreated spirals into episodes of rage and violence, culminating in a scene which could have been cliché had the director not decided to end on a note of hope. This movie is not anti war, but rather an illustration of how we “as a nation” do not provide enough support to our returning soldiers. When asked about the ending, the director stated, that he felt there was enough in the world to be sad and gloomy about and that we needed as a nation to feel that there was hope. Grade: B-

Jack Goes Boating

Directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and based off the play of the same name, this movie is a love story of sorts. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a limousine driving, awkward, Rastafarian music loving kind of guy who has never had a real girlfriend. His best friend encourages him to go out on a blind date with his wife’s co-worker, another very awkward character. Surprisingly, the two seem to bring out a new found confidence in one another. So much so that Hoffman’s character strays completely from his comfort zone in order to learn how to cook so that he can make her a nice meal, and to swim so that he can take her boating in the spring. It really is quite sweet. The movie feels very much like it was based on a play, which is something I love - because to me, this means, very tight dialogue with interesting character development. All in all I would say that Hoffman did a great job in his directorial debut. Grade: B+

Shock Doctrine

This documentary is based off a book by the same name by Naomi Klein. The premise is that some free market principles have been forced into countries after natural disasters or political upheavals when the people are more concerned about the basics like food and shelter and less likely to put forth any opposition. The Shock Doctrine posits that the United States, with the help of the C.I.A., tried to force Milton Friedman’s concept of free-market capitalism on to developing nations. However, since most developing nations have neither the infrastructure nor knowledge to maintain free market deregulation, what in turn happened were widespread poverty and a society of Haves and Have Not’s - which also resulted in widespread violence. One of the earliest examples they give of this is the overthrow of Allende in Chili in the 1950's. The documentary was very interesting, and provided a lot of food for thought. I did think that it was disjointed at times and did not always support its thesis, which is why I am curious to read the book to see if it is anymore clear. Grade: B+



Winter’s Bone

This movie is stark and raw. A story set in the Ozarks of Missouri that is at times so dreary that you almost feel a chill. The story centers on a girl of about 17 who is left to care for her younger siblings and “crazy” mother after her father jumps bail and disappears. To complicate things, her father posted their house as collateral for his bail. The girl must then go on a journey to find her father so that they will not lose their home, during which she encounters resistance and danger from the close knit mountain clans who guard their secret drug running enterprises like the mafia. This movie won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance this year and like many of its predecessors it is not easy to watch due to its slow pacing and desolate subject matter. But in the end, one is rewarded with a subtly, and emotionally real story that stays with you for days. Grade: B

happythankyoumoreplease

The Audience Award winner at Sundance is always a good one, last year it was Precious, in years past we have had Hustle and Flow, The Station Agent, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, etc. Something for everyone it would seem, and this year is no different. This year’s winner was happythankyoumoreplease, directed by Josh Radnor of “How I Met your Mother” fame. (BTW – he is cute) The story is about a group of New Yorkers who struggle to balance various types of relationships – be it love or friendship. The underlying message is that we are all worthy of happiness, but that we are at times our own worst enemies. We need to be open to accepting goodness and happiness, and if we send gratitude out into the world, the world will return “more”. I really liked this movie, it was a feel good movie with some depth, and I enjoyed the positive message. Which can be rare in a Sundance showing, as some of you may know. Also, this was another directorial debut from an actor. So good job Josh Radnor and Philip Seymour Hoffman! Grade: A-

Top Fifteen Movies of 2009 (in no particular order)

Up in the Air
The Hurt Locker
Up
The Young Victoria
Star Trek
District 9
Harry Potter
Avatar
Crazy Heart
Precious
An Education
Inglorious Basterds
The Cove
500 Days of Summer
The Princess and the Frog

The Oscars

Meh. I didn’t really love the show, which is too bad since it was a historic Oscars and all. It is pretty cool that Katherine Bigelow is the first female director to win an Oscar AND it was for a movie that didn’t suck either, so that is nice.

Some observations –

Weirdest Moment – Acceptance speech for Best Documentary Short
Nicest Acceptance Speech – Sandra Bullock
Most Touching Moment – Jesse James trying not to cry during Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech
Favorite Dress – Sandra Bullock
Least Favorite Moment – Interpretative dance to nominated scores. Really? A dance set to the music of the Hurt Locker?
Second Least Favorite Moment – Anything to do with Miley Cyrus. She needs to stand up straighter.
Pleasantly Surprised – Cameron Diaz actually looked pretty and didn’t wear something that looked like a train wreck.

Also, I got all but 4 of my predictions right. It has been a long time since I was right about all the acting categories, picture, directory, editing, and writing (well half of the writing, I really thought Up in the Air would take one of these).

So there you have it, one big jumble of movie madness.

What did you think was the best movie of last year?

What did you think of the Oscars?

Any films that you are exicted to see this year?

I am eager to hear your thoughts. Let's dish.