Because it's Oscar season, one of my favourite things to do in the lead-up is to try and see as many Oscar movies as I can get to. Sometimes that can result in multiple weekly movie trips. Sometimes even multiple daily movie trips. It's just super.
This weekend was the start of it all and we kicked it off by being the last group of people in the free world to see Juno. It was well worth the wait. This movie is perfect in so, so many ways. It's perfectly cast, perfectly written, brilliantly scored and just the right amount of heartbreak and sap to please almost everyone. My parents even liked it! Dennis and I both talked about liking it because it seemed so real and seemed to be the actual way 16 year old kids would react etc. Our teacher friend Alison quickly dispelled that myth insisting that 16 year old kids are not, in fact, that clever at all. I tend to believe her. But you can agree that the subject matter was handled without the slightest bit of "after-school special" to be found anywhere. I laughed almost the whole way through, my heart broke in the minutes after Juno's delivery when she finally cries and then all was right with the world when they sang their duet on the steps. Speaking of their duet -- I had absolutely no idea that Kimya Dawson did the music for this movie and was SO happy when I saw her name show up on the screen! I could not have picked better music for this movie if I tried (and I often do that very thing in my head after I see movies). The Mouldy Peaches, Belle and Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Cat Power....be still my heart. I distinctly remember in 2002 when we got Kimya Dawson's solo record "I'm Sorry That Sometimes I'm Mean" in the mail at the radio station. My co-host and I played the crap out of the song "Anyone Else But You" followed closely by "Everything's Alright." My heart got all nostalgic and fuzzy when I heard the first few notes play in the movie. I know, silly but I can't help it. Her music is just so fun and honest. Anyway, music aside, this movie made me want to be 16 and in love. Hell it made me happy to be 30 and in love! Ellen Page was just too adorable and who doesn't love Alison Janey as a mom? Her role in American Beauty I think is one of the most heartbreaking roles in all movie history. But the dogs, the turtlenecks -- loved it. Even Jennifer Garner who I usually think is about as interesting as a set of patio furniture really turned it out for this. I was completely on her side and thought she did a really stellar job. Loved every second of this film and I can see it being a multiple watcher for sure.
Sunday we switched gears and went to see No Country For Old Men. This movie was a huge reminder of why the Coen brothers are probably my favourite filmmakers. Fargo is easily one of my favourite movies and this movie had so many Fargo-esque moments I couldn't help but love it. The whole small time cop paired with dim bulb small time cop wrapped up in a crime much bigger than they are was reminiscent without being a rip-off. I also love the way they are able to capture the regional nuances of small town life. They did it with North Dakota in Fargo, this time it was rural Texas, trailer trash culture in Raising Arizona....few do it better I say. Also, this movie had zero music!!! Not one note! And yet they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat more than any cheap horror movie laden with pulsing "something's about to happen" music ever has. I love how they can so easily use dead silence to their advantage, not to mention vast scenery and slow-moving scenes. They use the same cinematographer every time and I think this is an example of a creative team at work without going back to the same old tricks. A Coen brothers film is very recognizable -- big fat scenic shots, a variety of point of views, specific colours -- same as a Tim Burton film is very clearly a Tim Burton film. Casting wise, darn near perfect I'd say. Josh Brolin??? Good on you! And really, I could generally take or leave you but this time you finally stepped up your game. Where have you been hiding this?? Perhaps you'll be more than just the stepson of Babs? And what do you say about Javier Bardem other than creepy with a capital creepy. Forget Hannibal Lector my friends. From now on your nightmares will be that Anton Chigurh is coming to gitcha. Holy crap was he scary. I loved this movie in a hundred different ways.
Sunday we switched gears and went to see No Country For Old Men. This movie was a huge reminder of why the Coen brothers are probably my favourite filmmakers. Fargo is easily one of my favourite movies and this movie had so many Fargo-esque moments I couldn't help but love it. The whole small time cop paired with dim bulb small time cop wrapped up in a crime much bigger than they are was reminiscent without being a rip-off. I also love the way they are able to capture the regional nuances of small town life. They did it with North Dakota in Fargo, this time it was rural Texas, trailer trash culture in Raising Arizona....few do it better I say. Also, this movie had zero music!!! Not one note! And yet they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat more than any cheap horror movie laden with pulsing "something's about to happen" music ever has. I love how they can so easily use dead silence to their advantage, not to mention vast scenery and slow-moving scenes. They use the same cinematographer every time and I think this is an example of a creative team at work without going back to the same old tricks. A Coen brothers film is very recognizable -- big fat scenic shots, a variety of point of views, specific colours -- same as a Tim Burton film is very clearly a Tim Burton film. Casting wise, darn near perfect I'd say. Josh Brolin??? Good on you! And really, I could generally take or leave you but this time you finally stepped up your game. Where have you been hiding this?? Perhaps you'll be more than just the stepson of Babs? And what do you say about Javier Bardem other than creepy with a capital creepy. Forget Hannibal Lector my friends. From now on your nightmares will be that Anton Chigurh is coming to gitcha. Holy crap was he scary. I loved this movie in a hundred different ways.
On a side note, Ellen Page's new movie Smart People looks to be potentially quite charming. Happy to see Thomas Haden Church again but to be honest, the Dennis Quaid and the Sarah Jessica Parker presence doesn't really make me want to run to the theatre. It's got great producers though so I'll go anyway.
1 comment:
Just to clarify - I agree with you and Dennis, the teens in Juno reacted as real teens would (especially Bleeker's silent confusion), but very few are as devastatingly clever as Juno. I loved every minute of this movie.
Post a Comment