Category Archives: Oscar Nominee

The Queen (2006)

First off, let’s get it out of the way. Helen Mirren is outstanding. I’ve always been impressed with her ability to remain youthful as she ages, to maintain at least some element of sexiness in her age. Here though, she dispenses with all that and embodies a kind of inhuman stoicism you can only imagine coming from conservative royalty. Her inability to grieve or even consider the possibility of grieving is both maddening and impressive. Michael Sheen‘s Tony Blair is great too. In the end I think I found myself identifying with him the most. Caught up on the favorable side of a political battle, Blair remains true to his country and its best interests.

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Babel (2006)

To me, where Iwo Jima is the film of an older, less progressive Hollywood, Babel is the future. It defines its own structure. It plays with time and story and relationships. In the end, you feel like you figured something out, you unlocked a truth. That is one of the most important things a film can do. Make you read the text and meet the author halfway, find his message on your own, opposed to just watching the Powerpoint.

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Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

Tedious. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. Over two hours and I looked at my watch often.

The essential flaw here is that Clint Eastwood‘s not saying anything we haven’t really heard before. The message seems to be “war is bad.” Did nobody know this? I suppose there’s a finer point having something to do with the archaic nature of certain cultures, and that change is important and sometimes it can take extreme duress for people to realize that. But again, is there anybody in America who thinks that self-sacrifice in the name of honor is a tradition worth being upheld? I doubt it. So, in the same way that Crash was about twenty years late in its message, so is Iwo Jima about fifty years too late. Continue reading

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

I think at the end of it all, what really got me was how thoroughly unprepared I was for the film as a whole. It’s infinitely darker and more violent than I thought it was going to be, but the darkness is wrapped up in this kind of overwhelming intensity that you’re hard pressed to find in violent films. By that I mean none of the violence ever felt gratuitous, or unnecessary. Further, the fantasy aspect was both beautiful and terrifying. I really don’t find myself scared too often watching a movie, but there were moments here where I was on the edge of my seat with my hand over my mouth, holding my breath. Continue reading

Children of Men (2006)

Fifteen minutes or so into the film I started thinking about stories like 1984 and Brave New World. Dystopic futures that motivate us to get some perspective on the state of the world and the state of the potential future. The film takes place 30 or 40 years in the future in a world where women can no longer have children. Everything comes into light when the human race is about to end, and obviously instead of making the necessary changes, we would fall into a massive downward spiral of fear and violence. Smart and thought provoking and very relevant.

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Brokeback Mountain (2005)

I love love stories. Some of the most genuine emotions you find onscreen come in dramatic love stories and this was a very clear example of that. I will admit that it took me a little while to separate Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal from their straightness and completely commit to believing the relationship. Once I had, everything fell into place.

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Munich (2005)

Some of Steven Spielberg‘s best work. As he is gaining the freedom to do what he wants, he is taking advantage of it in a really great way. Making message films that won’t necessarily please a universal audience. My only complaints were that it felt a wee bit patronizing by the end. The entire movie is setting up this idea of “war and the warrior-is it worth it in the end and if not, why do we continue to fight so passionately?” Granted, this is a powerful message and should be made clear, but it’s more powerful when the audience can find it on their own. Continue reading