Best Picture Showcase 2012 Part II

First thing you should know about Hugo, is that it's not really about Hugo.  It's about Martin Scorsese. If you aren't aware, Martin Scorsese's pet project is saving film from further decay.   If you know this, you can really see the message in the film.  Therefore the whole thing gets a big "eh" from me.  The self aggrandizing thing doesn't really do it for me, it really detracted from from my like of the film.  That aside, it was visually stunning.  Done in 3-D, it wasn't as distracting as it's been for me in the past, but I'm of the opinion that if the only thing you can say about something is that it wasn't distracting is that it was probably unnecessary. The visuals on their own were more than enough to carry it without using gimmicky 3-D. For more on that, I loved this article written by Roger Ebert on that subject.  I thought the actors were all well cast and did great in their roles. the story was entertaining for the most part, but I wanted much more of the father and son and far less of the godfather's past.   It was also probably a good half hour too long, I think if it had been more tightly cut, it would have gotten a lot better marks from me.  As is... eh.

The Help.  Based on the novel of the same name it's easily one of the best film adaptations of a book I've seen. While of course it lacked the detail of the book (it's a two hour movie) it perfectly captured the same feel and told the same story.  The casting was absolutely phenomenal.  It's really too bad the Oscars doesn't have a "Best Ensemble" category, because these ladies were all equally amazing.  Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone deserved nominations not to mention Allyson Janney and Sissy Spacek, just a shame they didn't seem to get the recognition they deserved. I think the biggest reason this one didn't get more attention is that for some reason it has the reputation of being a "chick flick" I guess because the cast is almost solely women? I don't know, but it most definitely is not, it's about race relations in the 60's told from the perspective of women.  I think one of the reasons this book and movie have been so popular is the unique voice it has.  Definitely one of my favorites from this year's crop.

Excessively Loud and Increasingly Close.  Or the movie no one can get the name right.  Decent.  It told the story well and it wasn't boring BUT I didn't really connect with any of the characters and therefore didn't really have the emotions it wanted me to.  My heart didn't break for the boy as it should have, I didn't have the empathy I should have had for the Mother and I didn't hate the person I should have.  The whole thing just left me feeling really neutral. I think it could have benefited from better casting of the boy.  He really seemed to be "acting" in many of the scenes and therefore not really believable.  The best I can say is that it was o.k.

The Artist.  This was by far the one I was looking forward to the most.  I'm also fairly certain it's going to win the best picture Oscar is all the scuttlebutt is to be believed.  Does it deserve it? Hmmm... maybe.  It is absolutely, certainly unique. It's cute.  It's entertaining. It's sweet. I really, really liked it.  I think it's been been way too hyped though.  I think the ironic thing is that one message of the movie is that silent movies died out because it's all just "mugging" for the camera.  And what did the actors mostly do in this movie? Mug for the camera. I'd say go see it, but definitely, if possible see it on the big screen. I don't think it would have held my attention well enough otherwise.

Midnight in Paris.  I shamelessly loved it.  Such a fun story, one that really plays on the fantasy of many including myself. I felt really connected to Owen Wilson's character because of this and was really invested in his adventure.  I also shamelessly love Paris, even though I've never been, so seeing so many wonderful sights from my dream city was another big plus for me.  I thought OW really got his character just right.  The stunned disbelief even when he does believe it's all really happening was pitch perfect and he was really able to bring a new nuance to the traditional neurotic Woody Allen characters by being somehow mellow about his neurosis.  Wonderfully light movie to end on.  Loved it.  If you think you aren't a Woody Allen fan, this one might change your mind, then go back and watch one of my favorite movies of all time.  Annie Hall.

That's it! One other observation.  Every single movie this year ended on a mostly happy note.  Certainly NOT the case every year.