Oscar Nominated Film IV: Argo

Deserving the Oscar for Best Movie this year.  A well-written script and the pace of directing was tight.  In terms of casting, Alan Arkin and John Goodman were striking as 2 Hollywood executives.  More screen time should be devoted to the 6 escape US officials though.  The ending was a bit unnecessary dramatic.  Overall, recommended.

Jack the Giant Slayer movie review

An unofficial sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk.  Plot could be stronger and story telling a bit weak.  The writers may be struggling between writing for the young but still cater to the adults.  The cast in general was average.

What I enjoyed most was the humans under siege and trying to fend off the giants. 

Overall, it is a watchable movie, more for the second half. 

Oscar Nominated Film III: Lincoln

It pays to read up on the history of events before entering the cinema so that you would appreciate the movie better. The movie concentrated on how Lincoln managed to secure the votes for the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution so as to abolish slavery in America.  I had a good introduction on this topic, though I would like to know the various characters better.  It is difficult however, given the length of the movie.  Maybe a TV series would be better.  In addition to securing the votes, we saw Lincoln's relationship with his wife (they lost a child) and also his son who was eager to serve.  Too many side events, so taxing on Lincoln, and audience were so busy following the various subplots.

The cast is great.  Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Oscar (though Denzel Washington is also deserving, well...) Sally Field is equally great as Lincoln's wife, I thought she acted better than Anne Hathaway.... but Sally already had 2 Oscars.  Tommy Lee Jones, though, reminded me of his other grouchy roles.  The other ensemble cast was impressive too.

Overall, I would recommend this movie, more for the good acting rather than the plot.  Somehow, the movie did not move me that much.

Oscar Nominated Film II - Flight

The main attraction of this movie would be Denzel Washington, who was nominated for best actor in 2013 Academy Award.  He gave a great performance as an airline pilot Whip high on drugs and drinks, but managed to save the lives of 102 passengers and crews during an emergency.  The movie could have explored more on the dilemma between convicting someone who was unfit for duty and how the same person steered the plane to safety.  The movie also did not dwell much into the relationship between Whip and another junkie Nicole, played by Kelly Reilly.  Having said that, this is still an enjoyable movie, with good acting and of course, the memorable flight diaster scene.  Recommended.

Oscars Nominated Films

The Oscar ceremony is coming.  I have yet to see some of the major films, and missed a few.  Nevertheless, it is a good recap of what I have seen over the past months.

Amour:   A moving story about an old couple coping with life, in particular when the wife is suffering from dementia.  A bit depressing though.  Good performances from the 2 leads: Jean Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.  I like the pace of the film.  Maybe Best Foreign Film?

Silver Linings Playbook.  A simple story well told.  A good cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.  Jennifer Lawrence really stood out. Best actress?

Life of Pi.  The adventure with the Tiger seemed a bit long, and I hope that the adult Pi could have more screen time.  The philosophical part of the journey was not fully exploited.  The visuals are beautiful even in 2D. 

Les Miserables.  Mentioned in earlier blog.  A good adaption, but the stage version is still better.  Anne Hathaway is impressive as Fantine.

Wreck It Ralph.  The bad guy character in the arcade game wants to be good.  Entertaining.  Nominated in animation feature.  Saw the other entries on planes etc, but not much impression.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  The movie was 20 minutes too long and it seemed like a British television show.  Hopefully momentum would pick up for part 2 and 3.  Nominated for technical awards.

Skyfall.  A decent movie, but still think Casino Royale is better in terms of Daniel Craig's Bond.  Nominated for best song (sung by Adele) and other technical awards. 

Les Miserables: The Movie

For the fans of the musical Les Miz, this must be one of the keenly anticipated movies recently.   Even though reviews have been mixed, I still decided to watch it nevertheless. 

It is always a challenge to bring a successful musical onto the screen.  Overall,  director Tom Hooper did a decent job.  His choice of zooming in on the actors could be weird at times, and his handling of big scenes like One Day More, which always got the theatre audience cheering, was a let down.

Ah Boys to Men

The good news.  Ah Boys to Men is now the second highest grossing local film and managed to recoup the costs.  A relief to the Singapore film industry.

But did I enjoy the movie?