It’s Oscar
season! The nominations have been
announced, the date is set, and my party planning is in full-force! This year, we three are trying to catch as
many Best Picture nominees as possible…although given Greenville’s lack of
artistic-film interest, we may miss a few.
Jason and I did catch August:
Osage County as a Sunday matinee, and the three of us saw American
Hustle last night for movie night. Here’s
our thoughts:
Movie #1: August: Osage County (2013, with Meryl Streep, Julia
Roberts)
So this is an Olympic-sized ensemble cast— the formidable Meryl,
Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, the impeccable
Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Abigail
Breslin…. This movie is worth all the
hype based solely on the performances.
There was some fantastic acting in this piece. Truly.
It’s very character-driven, rather than being plot-heavy. It’s basically a week in the life of an
extremely dysfunctional Oklahoma family, and the secrets that are pulling it
apart.
My warning—the previews and commercials make this movie seem
like it is a comedy. This is NOT a
comedy. It is dark, it is heavy, and
there is an excessive use of very strong profanity. There are, however, moments of subtle comedy,
but even that has a very dark undercurrent.
Initially, I didn’t think I liked the movie because I felt I’d been led
in there under “false pretenses”.
However, if I’d known the tone of the film going in, I’d have
appreciated it more. This is not a
light-hearted “popcorn” movie, so just don’t watch this when you’re
depressed. PSA over now.
Jason and I thought that at times, the fights between Meryl
and Julia (mother and daughter, respectively) went almost into “over-acting” to
the point of campiness. Think Bette
Davis and Joan Crawford in Whatever
Happened to Baby Jane. However, there
are some very poignant and practically heart-breaking moments with Meryl and
then with the middle daughter. If the
acting hadn’t been so good in this movie, I don’t know that I would have liked
it at all. Jason and I both agree…. The performances
in this are what make it.
Ratings: Jason—4.5;
Me—4 (only because of the “false
advertising”)
Movie #2: American Hustle (2013,
with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper)
This is one of those movies where Jason, Kathy, and I just
can’t seem to agree. We usually all have
the same feelings about most movies, but there are some now and again that just
have us on opposing sides. And that’s
okay… that speaks to our differences and variances as individuals, which is a
good thing. This movie is a time capsule
of sorts on the end of the ‘70s. You’ve got the leisure suits, the music, the
hair, women refusing to wear bras…. You get the picture.
Where Osage County
is character-driven, this movie is definitely more plot-driven. It’s the story of a con-man, his
mistress/associate, and the FBI-agent using them to make a name for
himself. You find yourself dropped in
the typical, organized-crime shake-down, but
the twist is figuring out exactly who is conning whom in this thing. It looks at relationships, trust, betrayal,
self-control, right and wrong (and what determines that), greed, and blind
ambition.
Jason couldn’t seem to get into this movie. Con/spy movies aren’t really his thing. He said he felt like he was watching folks
play dress-up on Halloween. It just didn’t
connect with him. Kathy really enjoyed
the acting—particularly Jennifer Lawrence.
She liked it for the most part.
Me… I loved it (but then… I did love Snow
White and the Huntsman, and they both HATED that movie… again, we’re just
proving that we’re all different, and that we don’t always all have to like the
same things. The world would get boring
quickly if that were the case, I guess.)
I loved the attention to details, although I do think they should’ve
included just a touch more disco music.
Following the cons and the federal shake-down throughout the movie, I
just felt there was something very Shakespearean in the portrayal of behaviors
and motivations in all the characters, seeing what people do and what it is
that makes them do it—good or bad, right or wrong. But then, that may just be the writer in me… See it and judge for yourself.
Favorite Moment: Seeing hunky and manly Bradley Cooper wearing perm curlers and fussing with his mother. (Although Christian Bale's tedious toupee application and comb-over styling was a close second.)
Favorite Moment: Seeing hunky and manly Bradley Cooper wearing perm curlers and fussing with his mother. (Although Christian Bale's tedious toupee application and comb-over styling was a close second.)
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| After dinner and before seeing the "Hustle". Kathy took the pic, otherwise she'd be in it! |
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