Best Picture- 2000 and Beyond

Check out the new addition to the blog- I'll be reviewing Best Picture Nominees from 2000 to the present.  There's a link on the upper right hand side of the page

Bear Creek- Brandi Carlile

I'll just go ahead and say it- Bear Creek is Brandi Carlile's strongest effort yet.  On Bear Creek, she experiments with several different sounds- the opener, "Hard Way Home" has more of a country feel than anything Carlile's released so far.  "Raise Hell" is a barnburning, Johnny Cash-style stomp (not a surprise that she would go down that road- she's covered Cash many times in concert). "Keep Your Heart Young" was a song that grew on me with each listen- at first it sounded a little corny but after a few listens it's a favorite track.  The train-whistle style intro to "Rise Again" is stirring.  Every track is solidly written, with great harmonies and even some cello.  I consider the last track to be "In The Morrow", with "Just Kids" being more of a hidden-track curiosity. Overall, Bear Creek is one of the best albums I've listened to in a long while. 

Bernie

Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) was a renaissance man.  He worked at a funeral home as an assistant director, gave eulogies, led church choirs, and was a hit with the ladies (mostly the older ladies).  He struck up a friendship with Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a widow unpopular with her town.  The friendship turned to Bernie being more of a servant to Marjorie, and she demanded more and more of him.  Bernie snaps and shoots Marjorie, and is tried for the crime by Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey).

Bernie is an average film- it does have some good laughs in it, but the film might have benefited from being 20-30 minutes shorter- there's a lot of exposition in the form of interviews with the townspeople and others that knew him.  Jack Black is very restrained as Bernie and McLaine just the opposite as Marjorie, but the conflict in the movie never hits a high level, so the film doesn't leave a lasting impression.

Keane- Strangeland

I was a big fan of Keane's Hopes and Fears when it came out a few years back.   H and F's first song, "Somewhere Only We Know", remains one of my favorite songs, but after that first album, I lost interest- subsequent CDs didn't really capture my attention.  Recently, Keane released Strangeland, which is an intriguing title if nothing else.

Turns out the title is more intriguing than anything on the actual CD.  The last track on the CD, "Sea Fog", is actually the best- it's a quiet, pondering, solo piano song, and it's what I was actually hoping for on the rest of Strangeland.  The 12 other tracks range from corny to overdone (anytime you actually say "wow" out loud, and not the good "wow" is not a good sign), and there are an inordinate amount of songs written in the second person, and a couple of tracks about having "a lot of life in front of you".

I listened to Strangeland twice and had the same conclusion each time- "Black Rain" and especially "Sea Fog" are good, solid tracks, but I'd skip the rest.

About A Boy

No man is an island.  So quotes Hugh Grant's character, the aptly named Will Freeman.  Will thinks he's built a good life for himself- no commitments to anyone, no one relying on him, and he's not relying on anyone.  He doesn't work, living off the royalties of a popular Chrismas song (one of the more interesting movie reasons of why a character wouldn't work), so he has a lot of free time. 

Will needs a new way to meet women, so he invents a son and meets a single mom at a support group for single parents.  This single mom has a friend, Fiona (played by Toni Collette) suffering through severe depression, and her son (played by Nicholas Hoult) needs someone to latch onto.

The movie is narrated by Will and Marcus, and the two characters are looking for completely different things at the beginning of the movie- Will's looking simply to date women and stay unattached, while Marcus is looking for stability. 

About A Boy worked for me for many reasons.  The movie is based on a Nick Hornby book, so the characters and dialogue are well written and believable, and the story never becomes corny or overdone.

Rain Man- favorite movie, performance by an actor

It's not often that a movie seen during childhood holds up over time, but one movie that sticks with me with every viewing is Rain Man. When I saw it as a kid, I was mesmerized by Dustin Hoffman's performance as an autistic savant.  Of course, it was easy to mimic Raymond Babbitt (and I still do sometimes), but the depth of his character was stunning back then.  When I was a kid, I was rooting for Raymond to be left with brother Charlie (Tom Cruise), but watching as an adult, that's clearly not an option, as Raymond has too many needs and a sheltered environment is obviously best.  Charlie goes from practically holding Raymond hostage for part of an inheritance to not wanting to part with him.  Heartrending movie, my favorite, and Dustin Hoffman's performance is so far my favorite performance.

The Five Year Engagement

The Five Year Engagement is the story of Tom Solomon (played by Jason Segel) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt), a couple from San Francisco that met at a New Year's Eve "make your own superhero party".  They fall in love, Tom awkwardly proposes, and the planning for the wedding begins, then sputters, as Violet, a psychology post-grad student, lands a position at the University of Michigan.  Violet fears how Tom will react when she has to tell him the news, but Tom is calm, reassuring, and positive.  The wedding is continually postponed as Violet agrees to stay longer at Michigan.

It's a relatable premise, and there is promise for a solid film here, and in better hands (and with a better screenplay), this film could have been entertaining.  Instead, The Five Year Engagement doesn't really know what it wants to be.  It doesn't function well as a comedy (when one partner's miserable, laughs rarely follow, and some of the jokes and gags are almost painful), and doesn't work as a drama, as every chance the film gets to be intense is offset by a joke.   Most of the characters are pretty much surface-level and not fleshed out, or reduced to crudeness in an attempt for a laugh.

Overall, watching Five Year Engagement wasn't a totally miserable experience.  There were a few laughs and a few good moments, but it was more frustrating that had Segel (who co-wrote) and Nicholas Stoller (also a co-writer and also the director) chosen a more firm direction and not gone for the laugh at the serious times, they could have had a really solid film.