All in Blog
For the past couple of months I have been watching all of these films, and reviewing them on my site in an attempt to form an informed opinion about who I thought deserved to actually win the awards. I covered everything from “Selma’s” controversial shutout, to lackluster inclusion of issue films, to my love of Linklater’s “Boyhood,” and general surprise that it didn’t win more awards.
Julianne Moore was the easy choice for Best Actress at this year’s awards. An old Hollywood pro, Moore had previously been nominated a whopping four times, one year in two different acting categories.
The plot revolves around factory worker Sandra (Cotillard) who has had a nervous breakdown, which has left her depressed and anxious. She’s medicated, but still jumpy, and her family has trouble taking care of her.
Most of the film is set in the wilderness, where Cheryl battles sexual predators, rain, hunger, and herself. There are also numerous flashbacks to her life before the PCT. Laura Dern was given a Best Supporting Actress nomination for this film, and she shines through the murkiness and somber setting.
The performances are solid; undebatable. Joaquin Phoenix does wonders as the pot smoking, almost vagrant detective “Doc.” Since coming back to the world of the living after his stunt with Casey Affleck, Phoenix has taken on complex, ethos pondering, crooked characters, that both entertain with their density, and enrage many with their brilliance.
The songs are amazing, melding seamlessly with the story, and they also punch up the action. If you take anything good from this film, it’s that you get a great soundtrack and a view into the original West End production.
While the intermittent times he is home demonstrate his issues with real life, they don’t go anywhere. He is troubled, but not depressed; only wanting to get back to his friends, who are being picked off by a rogue Iraqi sniper, who is killed in the film.
This is just as much a story about Mark and David Schultz. Du Pont creates himself in the image of a father-figure for Mark (Tatum) who has always relied on his older brother for support and guidance.
Despite the award season fervor having ended, and life going back to usual, I will not give up on reviewing the Oscar nominees and putting them up on the site. Lately I have not written anything, as I have been gleefully bingeing on these films in one way or another, and then trying to digest them enough to form a cohesive, informed opinion.
In all the years that I have defended the ceremony to film friends, I have found that the one complaint among supporters is that it is very difficult to watch all of the films nominated before the ceremony, mostly because many are released in theaters at the end of the year.
