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queenofdenile wrote:I got a very different impression. The end feels like such a hollow and empty victory that I thought a lot of the film WAS critical of the war on terror, and especially torture, considering that

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I felt like we were supposed to empathize with the CIA agents' mission but not their methods.

I completely agree. The ending left me very much with a sense of "You reached your goal, but at what cost?" Doesn't feel too triumphant. I don't really understand how many people think this movie condones torture. I was left with a serious pit in my stomach from watching those scenes... I mean, there's no character that point-blanks questions/condemns torture, but I thought that was kind of the point. When you're part of those institutional structures, most people will go along with whatever is prescribed to get to an end because of the sense of urgency. I thought the last line,

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I think a lot of people tend to equate acknowledging something exists to endorsing or promoting it. They're either too lazy or don't know how to look deeper into the story to work out what a movie or book or whatever is actually trying to say about that subject. Our culture really doesn't encourage people to do that, as complex, critical thinking is bad for business and bad for politicians trying to get support for their pet causes.


But then again, I haven't seen that movie, so what the hell do I know.

I don't think the film "glamourizes" torture, or as some in the CIA and the politcal world continue to call it "enhanced interrogation," but I do think it implies that the detainee program was a source of good information and helped the CIA in their tasks--as well as the fact that it shows the people doing this as committing these acts in the name of the greater good and presents them as "good" guys we are supposed to root for. Maybe my view is different because I live in the Beltway and the issue continues to be debated.

Just saw Argo and it was fine. Maybe the hype had me expecting something more, but even though I was engaged throughout, I left thinking "Huh. That's it?" The performances were good--but Alan Arkin got an Oscar nom for that? I thought Bryan Cranston did wonders with his role--and the pacing was good since the 2 hours flew by. And I do think Ben did a good job creating tension for a plot where the outcome is known. But I guess I was expecting to be BLOWN AWAY or to come away with really strong feelings about it and I just...didn't. But good on Ben for a solid job, and he did look fantastic. I'm still going to go with The Town for his best directorial effort though.

I went to see Mama which was a super freaky show and had some nice emotionally affecting stuff, very similar to The Orphanage which I love love, and del Toro is clearly a fan of the same themes. Definitely worth seeing in the theater and I have to say while I don't hate Jessica Chastain, this is the most I've ever liked her.

To reach my goal of seeing all of the nominated films in the Picture/Director/Acting/Screenplay categories, I finally saw a showing of The Master, and I have no idea what the hell I watched. I seriously have no idea. I do know it was a half an hour shorter than Django Unchained and felt twice as long, and I felt like I needed a shower to get the grossness of Joaquin Phoenix's character off of me.

Ha, I was planning on watching The Master this weekend. Something to look forward to, yay!

I'm still working my way through the Best Picture nominees, so this week I saw Life of Pi and Argo. I felt the same way as truecrystal about Argo. It was really good, but not what I thought it would be. The ending especially was so ridiculous and over-the-top that it didn't sit well with me, particularly because I know Affleck is better than that. I'm so confused! Despite stanning for Ben for years, even through Bennifer I and the strippers and, well, everything, I now find myself less than excited that he's going to win all these awards. I do want him to win, just not for this, I guess.

Life of Pi was very strange. Looking back on it, I can't point to a single memorable moment in the film. Every single scene was sort of blah, but when they were put together, it was magical. I felt such a sense of joy when I walked out of the theater that I didn't want to go back outside into the real world. I remember wanting to immediately pay to go see it again, but with a little distance now I can't remember why. I'm definitely going to catch it again if it's still playing when I have time. I also want ALL THE OSCARS for this movie, but I know it will never happen. Le sigh.

blixie wrote:I went to see Mama which was a super freaky show and had some nice emotionally affecting stuff, very similar to The Orphanage which I love love, and del Toro is clearly a fan of the same themes. Definitely worth seeing in the theater and I have to say while I don't hate Jessica Chastain, this is the most I've ever liked her.

I saw this last night and really enjoyed it. If I can nerd up for a moment, the developmental psychologist in me thought the portrayal of feral children was quite realistic. They developed bonds unusually quickly, though I suppose they had to for the movie's sake or we'd all still be there. But the going barefoot, being relatively impervious to cold, the scrabbling around on all fours, not sleeping in a bed, that all rang true.

I saw Warm Bodies last night and loved it! It was cute, funny, and touching, and the acting was just all-round excellent. I'm pretty much of a wuss when it comes to gore and such things, but thankfully for me that sort of action was pretty restrained. So if you like your zombie movies scary, gross and gory, this definitely isn't the movie for you.

I had read the book and liked it, but while there were some obvious changes between book and movie, I can't say that I missed anything it left out or revised. I liked it so much, in fact, that I think I'll probably be buying the DVD when it comes out, which is about as high a recommendation as I can give a film these days.

We saw Lincoln tonight and mostly enjoyed it. My husband was annoyed that Spielberg didn't incorporate more of Team of Rivals, and I was annoyed by the guy next to me who texted throughout the entire movie, even after I asked him to knock it off.

I thought DDL was phenomenal, and so was Sally Field. I thought she did a good job of making Mary seem crazy but not unsympathetic. And James Spader totally stole the show. The scene

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This is now two movies where Lee Pace is a total douche this winter.

AND and, the cameo by Law & Order's Lt. Van Buren at the end was totally my favorite part.

I saw Warm Bodies last night. I loved the ending, although I think it would have felt like a better payoff if the director, Jonathan Levine, had upped the sense of danger both from R and the corpses as well as the boneys. The whole movie felt very... pleasant and sweet. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nicholas Hoult is so soulful and pretty I can hardly stand it. High school/college-aged me would have been Twilight-levels of stanning over him and this movie.

So, I saw Zero Dark Thirty last night and Kathryn Bigelow was so not robbed of an Oscar nomination. That the screenplay was overhauled completely during preproduction was unfortunately apparent. It was a mildly politically informed revenge flick. The first two acts were so lumbering that I took a nap. I thought I slept at least an hour, but I was informed it was only 10 minutes.

I agree with the poster above that there is a habit in the media not to apply critical thinking to movies. The people I have met who join the military and secret service agencies and are talented enough to rise through the ranks are on the gnarlier end of patriotic/traditional/proud so it seems realistic to me have a fair probability of viewing torture enhanced interrogation techniques on some guy they consider a mortal enemy through a Cheneyan lens. The movie showed it effecting them - Dan alleviating his exhaustion gaining some emotional respite by playing with the monkeys (Jason Clarke was fantastic, and I wished the movie was about him and not Maya), and in reality we did saw those guys in Abu Ghraib who gleefully treated them like animals.

(I have read some hilariously misguided evaluations of these scenes - according to one blogger who is lucky enough not to comprehend Cycle of Abuse 101, it wasn't the torture that broke that first guy, but because Dan was nice enough to provide him a hummus picnic outside.)

I have also never seen Jennifer Ehle in anything except P&P in which she has not annoyed the shit out of me. Not only was her character an imbecile but her acting choices made it worse. I cringed every time she opened her mouth. And I found Jessica Chastain quite bland. There's a thing with classically trained stage actors were they make a textual reading of the script in performance, and some of the times they just miss the obvious. She's not the "girl who fucks", so she's is the girl married to her job. But in her performance she didn't channel any of that sexual lifeforce into her work, so she ended being Joan of Arc without that virgin warrior's spiritual ardour. She's a supergeek without the supergeek's curiosity and self-possessed edginess. Loners often radiate an animal energy without compromising their beliefs, and it made me wish that Rooney Mara hadn't turned the role down.

I have also never seen Jennifer Ehle in anything except P&P in which she has not annoyed the shit out of me. Not only was her character an imbecile but her acting choices made it worse. I cringed every time she opened her mouth.

She annoyed me too. I didn't even know the backstory on that character in real life and yet it couldn't have been more obvious what was going to happen to her. She played the character as far too stupid to have risen to the position she was in.

So, I saw Zero Dark Thirty last night and Kathryn Bigelow was so not robbed of an Oscar nomination. That the screenplay was overhauled completely during preproduction was unfortunately apparent. It was a mildly politically informed revenge flick. The first two acts were so lumbering that I took a nap. I thought I slept at least an hour, but I was informed it was only 10 minutes.

Overall, I was disappointed with the movie. The raid scene was well done, particularly the helicopters flying through the dark mountains, but a lot of the lead-up to that point was slow and draggy.

I don't think it was really Ehle's fault. That entire

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Soleil wrote:I saw Warm Bodies last night. I loved the ending, although I think it would have felt like a better payoff if the director, Jonathan Levine, had upped the sense of danger both from R and the corpses as well as the boneys. The whole movie felt very... pleasant and sweet. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nicholas Hoult is so soulful and pretty I can hardly stand it. High school/college-aged me would have been Twilight-levels of stanning over him and this movie.

I thought the book did a better job of relaying all of that. The movie was good; the book was great!

I watched Anna Karenina yesterday. It was beautiful. It was filmed like a play, with the sets either moving around the actors, or the actors crossing a stage to move between sets. Many of the indoor scenes, especially parties, took place on a stage. It was colourful and highly stylised; I would probably compare it to a Baz Luhrmann movie, but not as nauseatingly manic. I was initially sceptical about Keira Knightley and Aaron Johnson as Anna and Vronsky, but they were great. And Aaron Johnson, I get it now. 10 thumbs up.

Bad Username wrote:I watched Anna Karenina yesterday. It was beautiful. It was filmed like a play, with the sets either moving around the actors, or the actors crossing a stage to move between sets. Many of the indoor scenes, especially parties, took place on a stage. It was colourful and highly stylised; I would probably compare it to a Baz Luhrmann movie, but not as nauseatingly manic. I was initially sceptical about Keira Knightley and Aaron Johnson as Anna and Vronsky, but they were great. And Aaron Johnson, I get it now. 10 thumbs up.

I really liked it, too, and will be rooting for it on Oscar night in the Production Design and Costume categories. I thought Jude Law was superb as Karenin and suprisingly sympathetic, as I disliked the character in the book and have never liked the character in any of the other adaptations that I've seen.

Jordan Baker wrote: I thought Jude Law was superb as Karenin and suprisingly sympathetic, as I disliked the character in the book and have never liked the character in any of the other adaptations that I've seen.

I feel this way too. I didn't think Karenin was supposed to be sympathetic, but he did take in Anna and Vronsky's daughter, so I may not have been playing close enough attention in the book. To be fair, Levin did go on about farming a lot.

Jude was excellent. I thought he acted circles around Kiera Knightley, and I generally don't like his performances. I wish she would stop doing period pieces. Something about her seems so modern to me.

OMG. My mom will kill me. I still haven't taken her to see that movie. I wish it were showing in more theaters so I would quit forgetting that it exists. It looks like an excellent movie from the trailer, and it's been awhile since I've seen a Keira Knightley movie so gotta make more of an effort to catch this one!

Saw screeners for Amour and The Impossible. (Thanks, SAG-voter friend! Now I've seen all the Oscar nominees in the top 8 categories!)

Amour is so very much a foreign movie. Everyone is miserable, there's elderly nudity, almost no music, and long interrupted shots of not much happening. The performances are devastating. Oh, my heart.

The Impossible is a movie about the Asian tsunami, and the Asian character with the most lines was the Chinese man who took our order when we called for takeout. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about The Impossible. Even most of the suffering extras in the background are white. The actors were all strong, though, especially Tom Holland as the eldest son, and the filming of the tsunami itself was very well done.

queenofdenile wrote:Amour is so very much a foreign movie. Everyone is miserable, there's elderly nudity, almost no music, and long interrupted shots of not much happening. The performances are devastating. Oh, my heart.

I can't imagine seeing this a few years ago, because this movie reminded me so much of what I saw happening with my parents when my dad was dying back in 2003. It was tough enough for me, and it's been almost 10 years. Based on what I saw, I thought the script was honest to the point of brutality, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

That young man from The Impossible was great, wasn't he?

The only "major" category movies we haven't seen are The Master and The Sessions.

Went to see This is 40, mostly because I read one very glowing review and I was in the mood for a laugh. I was not a huge fan of Apatow's style of comedy - though I thought Forgetting Sarah Marshall was pretty funny - but my God did I despise this film. Shrill, annoying characters with unrelatable, privileged white people problems screaming at one another for over two meandering hours. I'm sorry if I don't find Judd Apatow's wife and friends' barely-workshopped improv stylings to be that compelling. Even Melissa McCarthy couldn't save it.

What got me the most was how mean-spirited it was. For some reason, the audience was expected to like Leslie Shrieking Mann and Paul Boring Rudd's godawful relationship and sneer at everybody else, whether it be the grey-haired crone who had the temerity to be pregnant, or the Indian doctor with his funny funny accent. Loathsome film.

I think I'm starting to realize why Apatow is such a supporter of Lena Dunham.

Grainne Mhaol wrote:Went to see This is 40, mostly because I read one very glowing review and I was in the mood for a laugh. I was not a huge fan of Apatow's style of comedy - though I thought Forgetting Sarah Marshall was pretty funny - but my God did I despise this film.

I haven't seen This is 40 (although I have heard reviews similar to yours), but Forgetting Sarah Marshall was written by Jason Segel, not Apatow (he produced). When I had that realization, I looked it up and discovered that I really don't like Apatow's writing. The exception being 40-year-old Virgin, which he co-wrote with Steve Carrell. Apatow by himself is icky.