Oscar Movie reviews

Yesterday the hubby and I went to see all 5 Best Picture nominees. We did this last year as well. I enjoy it, although it is a long time in the theatre and I do not drink enough water, so by the end of the evening I am feeling a little off. I will say this year’s nominees are not as strong as last year’s movies.
I will review them in the order we saw them, not in the order of which I like best.

1) “Michael Clayton” This is a solid film. It is not wondrous, but it is enjoyable. It is about Michael Clayton, who is a “fixer” for gigantic law firm. He is sent to fix a lawyer who has gone off his meds. However, they mess around with the timeline at the beginning. So the stuff at the beginning actually happens in the middle of the narrative. There did not seem to be a reason for this. I do not mind messing with time if it matters to the story, like in “Memento”, but I did not see the point of it in “Michael Clayton”. It is a good movie, but not a phenomenal movie. I will be the first to admit I am not a huge George Clooney fan. He does a good job in the movie. However, Tom Wilkinson does a great job as a lawyer gone rouge. There were no really nice knits in which of course also knocks it down a bit. I am giving it 2 ½ knitting needles out of 4.

2) “There Will Be Blood” This is old school drama. It is a period piece that takes place in the western US at the turn of the last century. It tells the story of Daniel Plainview, Oil Man. It is based on the book “Oil!” by Upton Sinclair. I have not read this book but I have read other Sinclair novels. Sinclair was a socialist so the character of Daniel Plainview is a villain because all he cares about is money. This movie is great because of Daniel Day-Lewis. He puts in a phenomenal performance. I liked this movie a lot. It is well made and the acting superb. There were people who complained about the ending, but I am sure that was the ending in the book. I am also sure there was a lot more stuff in the book which no doubt contributed to the ending. However, the movie was 2 ½ hours long as it was and I think whatever they did not put in did not take away from the film a great deal. There were no nice knits, but there some great lamps so it sort of evens out. I am giving it 3 ½ knitting needles.

3) “Atonement” I am not sure why this movie made it to the top 5, I know I saw better movies than this last year, “3:10 to Yuma”, “Waitress”, and “Lars and The Real Girl” to name a few. It is about a girl who lies and what damage it causes. They also mess with the time line. Why? I assume so at the end we can be shocked and stunned, but I reality it was just sort of irritating. The movie was okay, it is watchable, but there are parts which seem to drag and other parts that seem to be missing. It is trying too hard to be arty and beautiful and meaningful and it really does succeed as a movie. Although Keira Knightly and James McAvoy are very pretty. Plus there are very few knits, which is wrong since this is England in the 30’s and 40’s and there would have been a lot of people wear hand knits. I give it 2 knitting needles.

4) “Juno” This was the only film I had seen before so it has already been rated and I am sticking to that rating. It is a good film, funny, touching etc. However, seeing it again, I noticed a couple of things. Juno is wearing some really cute fair isle vests at the start of the movie. Also, there is a driving scene and you can see mountains in the background. Now this movie is supposedly taking place in MN, there are no mountains any where near MN. I have lived here all my life, it is pretty flat, there are some parts of the state which have rolling hills, but nothing that you could mistake for mountains. This is something that bothers me, just because I think it can be avoided by being careful with the shots.

5) “No Country for Old Men” This is a great film about a guy who stumbles across a crime scene and gets himself involved. It is a tight film, has great acting and it is wonderfully shot. I love the Coen brothers movies and this one does not disappoint. Javier Bardem is amazing as a hired gun. As is Tommy Lee Jones as the sheriff who has seen more than he cares to of humanity. This is my pick for the academy award. It is excellent and I give it 4 knitting needles.

I also discovered that I can knit in the movies, but I can not tink in the dark.