Continuing my Oscar run...

Les Misérables (2012) - In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.

I previously knew nothing about the novel or the musical so the story and music were all new to me. I'm surprised I actually liked it. I suppose it appealed to the goth in me, hah. Anne Hathaway was great once again. 1/2 (out of five)

[Edited 1/27/13 8:39am]

"Mama"

6 1/2 outta 10

creepy as hell.

Amour (2012) - Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.

It was beautiful how director Michael Haneke let each scene linger. A more conventional director would have edited this movie heavily, but here the viewer is allowed to bathe for awhile in every moment. Near perfect. 1/2

[Edited 1/27/13 8:42am]

The Arbor – 5/5 – A ‘documentary’ about British playwright Andrea Dunbar and her children, with most of the focus on her half-Pakistani daughter Lorraine. Most notable for using what I thought was a pretty novel technique: the filmmaker made audio recordings of Dunbar’s family members, and then hired actors to lip-synch performances to those recordings, with some archival footage and re-enactments of Dunbar’s plays mixed in. The story could have stood on its own (it’s incredibly bleak and ends tragically) but I think the style (called verbatim cinema) made it into something really unique.

[Edited 1/27/13 5:41am]

Dark Horse – 2.5/5 - This is the first Todd Solondz movie that I think I genuinely did not like. All the classic elements were there, but it seemed very rote with little of the bite that I enjoy so much in most of his movies. Christopher Walken’s looks of disgust for his son are the best moments here.

[Edited 1/27/13 5:57am]

MAMA

While Jessica Chastain gets some props for a decent portrayal of PunkMistress, as per usual, this is just another horror flick with much promise that just deflates by the end. It is definitely above most of what the genre puts out and it starts out with some really great creepy imagery (I found the feral kids WAY creepier than anything that was offered by way of the title character). About the first 3/4 are engaging and then by the end...meh. The more they show of Mama, the less creepy she becomes and the imagery in the final scene is best suited for a fantasy film as it is way to "pretty" to be horrific in any way.

3 out of 5

LOOPER

I enjoyed this movie, but just can't get past the premise. If future mafia can handle time travel, you'd think they'd figure out that they can save themselves a lot of issues by just not having dudes closing their own loops. Like the worst mob move everrrrr.

Other than that I really enjoyed it. I did find Levitts face distracting. I forgot he was in it and kept telling my partner "That dude has a weird face. He looks like a cgi morph of other dudes."

3 1/2 out of 5

THE LORAX

3 out of 5

Barbara (2012) - A doctor working in 1980s East Germany finds herself banished to a small country hospital.

The stark direction is a nice parallel to the lonely East German province where Barbara works. I think the trailer gives away too much, but I included it anyway. Love the ending. 1/2

poster edit

[Edited 2/2/13 9:46am]

Took the kids yesterday.

It was fast-paced and just enough bloodly gore to keep it from being "boring".

But all throughout the film, I kept thinking; "Hawkeye and the princess from Persia are trying to kill Dark Phoenix."

PurpleJedi said:

Took the kids yesterday.

It was fast-paced and just enough bloodly gore to keep it from being "boring".

But all throughout the film, I kept thinking; "Hawkeye and the princess from Persia are trying to kill Dark Phoenix."

I'm assuming you saw Hansel & Gretel since I can't see the photo.

Searching for Sugar Man (2012) - Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

What a fantastic story. The music was amazing as well. 1/2

Some X-rated movie- 4/5 stars

sexton said:

Searching for Sugar Man (2012) - Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

What a fantastic story. The music was amazing as well. 1/2

Now, this is the type of film I would definitely get into. Great find and I'm on the hunt for "I Wonder"

This weekend I watched:

Hotel Rwanda - 4.5 out of 5 stars. I'd give it 5, but I have a hard time watching that kinda movie. It was well made but it's tough to cry for nearly 2 hours straight.

Footloose, the remake - 3 out of 5 stars. It was cute. They incorporated the old tunes very cleverly. I still don't think it needed to be remade but I appreciated it for what it was.

Silver Linings Playbook - 4.5 out of 5. I'm still not sure I like the ending, but overall a very well-made movie. Great performances all around.

sexton said:

It was beautiful how director Michael Haneke let each scene linger. A more conventional director would have edited this movie heavily, but here the viewer is allowed to bathe for awhile in every moment. Near perfect. 1/2

[Edited 1/27/13 8:42am]

I saw that last Thursday. I give it 5 out of 5.

It was positively beautiful. Very, very well-made. I absolutely love how nearly every shot is just sort of mundane but not really. Not quite.

sexton said:

Amour (2012) - Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.

It was beautiful how director Michael Haneke let each scene linger. A more conventional director would have edited this movie heavily, but here the viewer is allowed to bathe for awhile in every moment. Near perfect. 1/2

[Edited 1/27/13 8:42am]

So there is another Austrian you know . And Christoph Waltz too I am sure .

[Edited 1/29/13 6:48am]

sexton said:

PurpleJedi said:

Took the kids yesterday.

It was fast-paced and just enough bloodly gore to keep it from being "boring".

But all throughout the film, I kept thinking; "Hawkeye and the princess from Persia are trying to kill Dark Phoenix."

I'm assuming you saw Hansel & Gretel since I can't see the photo.

Sorry 'bout that.

Yeah..."Hansel & Gretel" was the flick.

Take Shelter (2011) -- A film criminally overlooked by the Academy. Michael Shannon's and Jessica Chastain's performances were nothing short of extraordinary, and though it ran a bit too long, the story and character development were on point.

[Edited 1/30/13 8:11am]

Hunger - 4/5

namepeace said:

Take Shelter (2011) -- A film criminally overlooked by the Academy. Michael Shannon's and Jessica Chastain's performances were nothing short of extraordinary, and though it ran a bit too long, the story and character development was on point.

:

Agree with all that. When I first watched Take Shelter I was one of those who was a little unhappy with the ending, but after reading about other interpretations and some of the filmmaker's comments I've made my peace with all that and I now think it's one of the best films I've seen in recent years.

namepeace said:

High Fidelity- 2.5/4 or maybe 7/10

Whoops take that back.

Bladerunner 2/4 or 5.5 out of 10

Serious said:

sexton said:

Amour (2012) - Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.

It was beautiful how director Michael Haneke let each scene linger. A more conventional director would have edited this movie heavily, but here the viewer is allowed to bathe for awhile in every moment. Near perfect. 1/2

[Edited 1/27/13 8:42am]

So there is another Austrian you know . And Christoph Waltz too I am sure .

[Edited 1/29/13 6:48am]

I like many of his films--Caché, The White Ribbon, the original Funny Games (although I would never watch that one again) and my favorite, The Piano Teacher.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

Overlong and repetitive, but it looked great in IMAX 3D. 1/2

Life of Pi (2012)

[img:$uid]http://www.curlydianne.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/life-of-pi.jpg[/img:$uid]

First of all , forget the dumb ass caption and hollywood writers' fetish for comparing things

I enjoyed it thoroughly, aside from the beautiful cinematography, the story took me by surprise. I think I might enjoy reading the book more, which is in my wish-list.

A lush, poetic odyssey following the lives of swampland/wetland Lousiana culture, with ebullient characters that practically jump off the screen. The child who played Hushpuppy was absolutely brilliant in what she pulled out of herself for this role.

4.5/ 5

Ottensen said:

A lush, poetic odyssey following the lives of swampland/wetland Lousiana culture, with ebullient characters that practically jump off the screen. The child who played Hushpuppy was absolutely brilliant in what she pulled out of herself for this role.

4.5/ 5

ZombieKitten said:

Ottensen said:

A lush, poetic odyssey following the lives of swampland/wetland Lousiana culture, with ebullient characters that practically jump off the screen. The child who played Hushpuppy was absolutely brilliant in what she pulled out of herself for this role.

4.5/ 5

ZombieKitten said:

Just watched Beasts of Southern Wild. I felt the same ease watching this as when I saw Boy - although their situations are shocking and dire, as seen through a child's eyes things are still magical and wondrous. The little ones have to be strong and brave despite lack of any regular style of parenting 4/5

I watched this last week.

Turns out to be an incredible film. I think for all of us, a part of us wants to rescue that child whose resilence suggests so much potential.