My Review: Hugo/ Best Picture Nominee #3

I'm totally bummed that I didn't get to see this in 3D. The closest theater that had it in 3D was way to far to go by bus, so I was stuck with 2D. But, even though it probably would have been a lot cooler in 3D, it was still an amazing film. I swear I was alternating between laughing and crying every five minutes while watching this movie. It is just further proof of the amazingness of Martin Scorcese. Not only does he do amazing with violent gangster movies, but he can do really amazing family films as well. I enjoyed every second of Hugo. Being a Film Studies major I loved it that much more because a major part of the plot had to do with George Melies (I've watched Trip to the Moon in several of my film classes) and the early days of cinema. It was just fantastic seeing the montage of all of the early silent films. This isn't the first time Scorcese has paid homage to early cinema either. At the end of Goodfellas he has a little nod to The Great Train Robbery when Joe Pesci shoots the gun straight at the camera. I thought that the little boy who played Hugo did a great job. You just can't help but cry when you see those big blue eyes of his get sad. Chloe Grace Moretz is great as usual as a girl who befriends him, and I loved Ben Kingsley as George Melies. I knew right away that the little robot used to belong to him because of his reaction to the notebook, but it was a delightful surprise when we found out he was George Melies. It was just heartbreaking seeing his films get burned to make shoe heels. It is disgusting how many old films have been lost forever. There was also a great performance by Sasha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector. He was an interesting character because he was a villain who sent little boys to orphanages, and yet he was also a pretty sympathetic character. I just couldn't help but feel bad for him the first time he tries to talk to the girl with the flowers and his leg brace stiffens up on his way there so he just gives up. It was just sad (like I said I was basically crying this whole movie). This movie was had great performances, was just visually stunning, and was really fun to watch. My rating: 10/10

Spotlight On: Cate Blanchett

This spotlight is on the lovely and talented Cate Blanchett. I have been a huge fan of hers since I was around 12 and I saw Charlotte Gray on television. Since then I have pretty much loved her in everything that I have seen her in. Here are my favorite films of hers (the Elizabeth movies are not included because I have not seen them...)

Charlotte Gray

This is kind of a weird movie for a 6th grader to love, but I watched it every single time it was on TV. Blanchett plays a Scottish woman who goes undercover in France to help fight the Nazis.



Lord of the Rings

Who else could they have possibly cast to play the beautiful elf Galadriel? Blanchett is perfect in this role! One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is when she is giving her gifts to the fellowship. I just love how Gimli (a total elf hater) ends up completely taken with her beauty. You can find that link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRGB1kmTyFc&feature=related

The Aviator

Here Blanchett won an Oscar for playing legendary movie star Katharine Hepburn. Bringing Up Baby and The Philadephia Story are some of my favorite movies, so I'm a big fan of Hepburn, and I think that Blanchett did a great job with her voice, and she definitely has her cheekbones.



Notes on a Scandal

Here Blanchett plays a high school art teacher who has an affair with one of her students. It is pretty creepy because he is so young! I think he is supposed to be 15, but he looks around 12. Blachett's best part in this movie is definitely when she is yelling at Judi Dench's character. It is a very intense scene, and Blanchett pull it off marvelously.



I'm Not There

I didn't really care for this movie as a whole, but it is worth watching to see Cate Blanchett's version of Bob Dylan.



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

In this film, Blanchett plays a ballerina who falls in love with a man who ages backwards. It is really quite sad how few years they get together, considering that he was an old when she was child, and that while she starts getting wrinkles, all of his go away.



Upcoming: we get to see Blanchett plays Galadriel in The Hobbit Part 1 and 2.

Spotlight On: Juliette Lewis

This week's spotlight is on a woman who is not only one of my favorite actresses, but one of my favorite singers as well. I was so pissed when I didn't have enough money to go see her at El Corazon when I lived in Seattle! I'm just going to have to see her the next time she comes to Minneapolis. This will be my first spotlight where I am going to post about someone as an actress and a musician. I'm going to start with some of my favorite films featuring Juliette Lewis

Cape Fear

I have never seen the original Cape Fear, but there is no way that it could be creepier than Martin Scorsese's version. Even with all the violence done by Robert DeNiro's character in this film, the creepiest scene has to be the one with him and Juliette Lewis in the school. It is really unsettling because she is so sweet and innocent. This is the film that got Lewis an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.



Natural Born Killers

Love this movie!!! Lewis and Woody Harrelson play Mickey and Mallory Knox, a Bonnie in Clyde type couple. After they kill her father, Mickey and Mallory set off on a crime spree. This film features Juliette as her most badass! I love every scene from this movie.



Strange Days

Strange Days is a really interesting sci-fi movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow that also stars Ralph Fiennes. It is worth seeing simply for the scene of Juliette singing PJ Harvey's Hardly Wait.

From Dusk Till Dawn

In From Dusk Till Dawn, Lewis plays a girl whose family has been taken hostage by two criminals and then brought to a bar that is full of vampires!!! I haven't seen this movie in forever, but I really want to watch it now! Here is what is probably Juliette's most memorable scene.



The Other Sister

This is a movie that my sister and I would watch whenever it was on TV. Juliette plays a mentally challenged girl who falls in love with a mentally challenged guy. It is a really cute movie.



Old School

Although she doesn't have a very big part in this movie, she is in one of the funniest scenes, where her boyfriend comes home to find her in the middle of a "gang bang." I'm pissed that I can't find a video of the scene!

Whip It!

I love this movie, and I love her in this movie! Juliette plays the villainous character who is on the rival roller derby team of the main character played by Ellen Page. I just love how she is such a bitch.



Upcoming: Lewis has some really cool looking movies coming up, including Open Road and Foreverland. She also stars in an upcoming TV show called The Firm.

Juliette was also the frontwoman of one of my favorite bands, Juliette and the Licks. After they broke up, she went solo and continues to make awesome music. Here are some of my favorite songs of hers.

Spotlight On: Jack Nicholson

My mom's birthday was earlier this week, so that is why this week's spotlight is on her favorite actor Jack Nicholson. He is not only her favorite actor, but he is one of my favorites as well because every single performance he gives is just brilliant. I don't think that I have seen any film with Jack Nicholson that I haven't liked. I didn't want this post to be too long, but it is going to have to be because I really didn't want to cut out any of the films that I wanted to write about. Here are my favorite films of his...

Easy Rider

He isn't in Easy Rider for very long, but he definitely plays an important role and left a lasting impression. This was the film that first got Nicholson some serious attention as an actor. It was one of his first major films and it was also the film that got him his first Oscar nomination. He has tons of great moments in this movie, but my favorite part is when he gives his speech about freedom.



Five Easy Pieces

This isn't my favorite film of his, but it is definitely worth watching simply for the scene at the diner. All he wants is some toast!!! Love it!



Chinatown

I saw this movie once and it was a long time ago, so I don't really remember too much about it. I'll never forget seeing this part, though...



One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

This is the movie that won Nicholson his first Oscar, and is also one of my favorite movies. He plays a guy who goes to a mental institution so that he can get out of jail, but then finds out that it is not as easy as he thought it would be.




The Shining

Here Nicholson stars in another of my favorite films. He plays Jack Torrance, a man who starts going crazy when he watches over a hotel with his family. "Here's Johnny!"



Reds

Although I like both Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty, the scenes with Jack Nicholson are by far my favorites in this movie. My absolute favorite scene is when Keaton's character tells him that she got married.



Terms of Endearment

This is the movie that got Jack his second Oscar win. While this film is a little too sappy for my taste, I love Nicholson's performance as Garrett Breedlove.



Prizzi's Honor

I actually liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. Nicholson plays a hitman who falls in love with a woman who is in the same line of work. I love him in this movie because he plays such a dumbass. My favorite part of this movie is probably the last scene.



The Witches of Eastwick

Such a great cast! I love all of the leads in this movie. It not only has Nicholson, but also Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Cher!!! He plays a Casanova type character who charms the three lovely ladies and helps them find their inner witches. I couldn't find a video I could embed of my favorite Jack moment in this movie, but you can watch it HERE

Batman

"Wait til they get a load of me!" Nicholson's performance of the Joker is classic! People like to compare it to Heath Ledger's performance, but I don't see the point. They were both brilliant, but their approaches were just different. I love both, so I don't have a favorite.



A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth!" I honestly don't think that I have ever seen this entire movie. The only times that I have seen it are when my mom watches it on TV, so I always just catch the ending. I've seen the ending courtroom scene a million times. Probably the best courtroom scene ever...



Wolf

I love werewolf movies and Jack Nicholson, so this is just a win-win for me.



As Good As It Gets

I love this movie. Nicholson plays won another Oscar for playing an asshole writer with OCD. I love the scenes with him and Helen Hunt, especially at the restaurant.



The Departed

More proof that Nicholson makes an excellent bad guy! I love the entire cast of this movie, and is one of my favorites from Scorsese. I just love the part where he says "don't laugh!!!"

My Most Anticipated Movies for 2011 (Part 2)

My last list only went up to July, so here are the movies that I plan to see from August through December.

August

I am a huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes movie with Charlton Heston, and I didn't think that the Tim Burton version was as bad as everyone says it was. Also, I adore James Franco, so this is a movie that I am really excited to see. What I am really curious about is how the timeline of this fits into the timeline of the original film.

I really like all four of the leads in this movie, and after seeing the trailer, I think this movie looks really funny.

I loved the original Fright Night, and am really curious as to how they will update the story, since the orginal was very 80s. Plus, what beats Colin Farrell as a sexy vampire?

I had this movie on my first list because it was supposed to come out a long time ago!!! I was pissed when they changed the release date, but now it is only a month away!! It is a rarety that a movie trailer can scare the hell out of me, and this one made me scream the first two times I saw it. (Once on my laptop, and once before I saw Let Me In.)



September

Two reasons I want to see this. 1. I'm a sucker for boxing/ fighter movies. 2. Tom Hardy

This is another movie that was supposed to come out a long time ago. I think that this movie looks super cute, and I really like Mia Wasikowska. Plus, I'm curious if Henry Hopper is as good of an actor as his father (who is one of my favorite actors)



I actually haven't seen the trailer for this movie (and can't watch it right now because my speakers are broken), but the cast alone is enough to make me want to see this movie. I heart Joseph Gordon-Levitt!



October

This is supposed to be a prequel to The Thing, so I don't know why they would give it the same title. I guarantee that this is going to be nowhere near as good as the original, but I plan to see it out of curiousity. I'm hoping that it's not all CGI, and that they use practical effects like they do in the original.

I've read both good and bad things about this movie, but I like Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy is one of my favorite movies!), and I am curious about how he does directing a film in my favorite genre...

I am really excited to see In Time, which looks like a modern day version of Logan's Run. Justin Timberlake plays a man who tries to run away from a society where you can't age past 25. Interesting...

You put Johnny Depp in a movie, chances are that I'm going to go see it. Here he is starring in The Rum Diary, which is another Hunter S. Thompson story, which is really cool since I love Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

November

My Week with Marilyn should be pretty good, I think that Michelle Williams will be a great Marilyn Monroe. What I am most curious about is how Kenneth Branagh will be playing Laurence Olivier. 

Hugo is a Martin Scorcese film. 'Nuff said...

Love The Muppets!! My favorites are the Swedish Chef, Professor Honeydew and Beaker, and Animal. I know I'm just going to love this movie! Plus, it was co-written by Jason Segal, so it should be good!!

December

I thought that the first Sherlock Holmes movie was just okay, but I still want to see the sequel. I'm curious to see Noomi Rapace in something besides  the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies...

Speaking of the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movies...This is my number one most anticipated movie that I want to see for the rest of the year. It looks amazing! While I was skeptical about Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander at first, I have decided that I think she is going to be great. Can't wait until December!!!

Spotlight On: Martin Scorsese

I never realized that I was a big Martin Scorsese fan until one day I realized that I have loved every single movie of his that I have seen. Crime/ gangster films have never been my favorite, but for some reason I just love Scorsese films. They are always really cool and have really great dialogue. Plus, a good majority of them feature Robert De Niro, who is one of my all-time favorite actors. Here are the films of his that I have seen.

Mean Streets

I actually just saw this movie for the first time around a week ago. I believe that this was the film that first started to get Scorsese some notice, and was also his first collaboration with Robert De Niro.



Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver is one of my favorite Scorsese films. It has an interesting story, a great performance by De Niro, and is just a classic. It also features one of the most famous scenes in cinema history...



Raging Bull

I've always hated sports films, but for some reason I just love ones about boxing. In my opinion, the greatest boxing movie of all time is Raging Bull. Both De Niro and Joe Pesci are brilliant in this film, and it also features some of the greatest boxing scenes ever. Like the one HERE. There are just tons of great scenes in this film, like the one HERE. One of the other main things about this movie is La Motta's jealousy which is shown in the clip below...



The King of Comedy

This movie is quite a bit different than most Scorsese films. It features De Niro as an aspiring stand up comedian that ends up stalking and kidnapping the star of a talk show. Rupert Pupkin is one of the saddest characters in film history, and is also another great De Niro performance.



Goodfellas

Although I've never been a big Ray Liotta fan, I do like Goodfellas. De Niro and Pesci give more great performances, along with a great performance by Lorraine Bracco. This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest gangster films of all time.

Cape Fear

I have never seen the original Cape Fear, but I guarantee that the villain in that film is nowhere near as creepy as De Niro is in this film. The accent he has in this film just makes him ten times as creepy. This film also features a young Juliette Lewis in an Oscar nominated role.



Gangs of New York

This is Scorsese's first collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. To be honest, I don't know if I have ever seen this entire movie. What I remember most is Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Bill the Butcher, which is one of his many brilliant performances.



The Aviator

This biopic features DiCaprio as film director Howard Hughes. Being a huge fan of Katherine Hepburn, I think that Cate Blanchett did an amazing job playing the famous movie star in this film. Blanchett gives an Oscar winning performance of an Oscar winner...



The Departed

After decades of brilliant filmmaking, this is the film that  (finally!) won an Oscar for Director for Scorsese. If features great performances by DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Vera Farminga. My favorite performance in this film, however, is Mark Wahlberg as Staff Sergeant Dignam.



Shutter Island

Probably my least favorite of all of the Scorsese movies I have seen, but it does have its good moments. Plus...you gotta love that BAAW-ston accent.



Upcoming:
I'm really excited for Hugo Cabret, which comes out in November. If features Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Jude Law, and Chloe Moretz. Silence with Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro is set for 2013, and he is also going to direct a biopic of Frank Sinatra. I think that that is really cool, but who in the hell are they going to get to play the Chairman of the Board?