Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Oscar-nominated documentary 'The Invisible War' charts the staggering, traumatic problem of rape, mostly of women, in the U.S. military.
This week, I thought I would review one of two Oscar-nominated documentaries I saw recently: The Invisible War. Will it win on Oscar Night, February 24, 2013? We will just have to wait and see. The Invisible War is a night and day difference from Searching for Sugar Man (which I reviewed last week)…in not only subject but also tone. Sugar Man is never too deep or heavy but Invisible War is weighty right from the start…all of which is attributed to the more serious subject matter of Invisible War…serious, dark, disturbing and all too true, apparently. Earlier: Review of Oscar-nominated Searching for Sugar Man That subject matter is about sexual crimes (mostly against women, but one or two male victims are interviewed as well) in the …
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The English-language version of Stiegg Larsson's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' novel proves just as strong as the Swedish version.
This week, I’ve decided to look at the film that received five Oscar nominations this year, including one for Best Actress...The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve previously reviewed the Swedish version of this film and to quote myself from that December 21, 2010 review, “…The gloomy, mysterious look and mood of this film are really what makes it stand out as a top-notch thriller…The American version will have a tough time topping the harsh reality this Swedish film captures in spades.” Well, my predictions here were mostly incorrect. The David Fincher film is a great film…which stands on its own from its Swedish cousin. But, where I mostly got it wrong was that the English version knocks the visual “reality” out of the park. Where …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Movie about race in 1960s Mississippi is riveting because of strong, fierce performances.
For my final Oscars-related selection, I have picked The Help, a movie that I loved when I saw it over the summer. Based on a very popular and fantastic book by Kathryn Stockett, The Help is not a movie without problems. First, one of its major problems is the story. It’s about blacks and white in early 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. But, not just any blacks and whites--black maids and their white employers. Stockett’s book took a lot of this heat when it came out, but because the movie is on a broader scale, the controversy only increased when The Help hit the theaters. Many people claimed that this story should not be told since this is a period in history we would all like to forget. Some felt like this story just emphasizes that …
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Brad Pitt makes baseball film work, whether your reaction to sports is 'yay' or 'yawn.'
While the excitement of Oscar Night dazzled movie fans Sunday, the good news is that we can still enjoy the nominated films for years to come. While I reviewed many before the celebrity-studded event Feb. 26, there's a few more gems to get to. This week, I’ve selected Moneyball…a film that was nominated for six Academy Awards this year (including Best Picture) and though it doesn't win any awards at the Oscars, it is still a great film. It also is a film that I truly did not understand. I would have seen it regardless of the subject (um, two words…Brad Pitt) and the fact that I did not understand it does not mean I didn’t like it. I did. Moneyball is a strong film about baseball. And math and statistics. I like baseball. I am not a …
Friday, February 24, 2012
Also, local options to view the nominated films.
Oscars weekend is here, and there are plenty of nearby opportunities to view the films nominated for Best Picture. If you’re looking to rent, as of Friday afternoon, Family Video, 1990 S. Wolf Road in Wheeling, had all four of the films that have been nominated for Best Picture, and have been released: "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life." The store will have "Hugo" beginning on Tuesday. Earlier: House survived transformation of Graceland Avenue from sleepy street to condo country. Local movie theaters also offer several opportunities to check out this year’s nominees. “The Artist” is showing at Muvico Rosemont 18, 9701 Bryn Mawr Ave., the Catlow, 116 W. Main St. in Barrington and AMC Showplace Niles 12, 301 …
Friday, March 4, 2011
Proud parents Pat and Mary Ann watch at home in Morton Grove as their daughter Karen O'Hara accepts an Oscar in Los Angeles.
Newly-minted Oscar winner Karen O'Hara, who grew up in Morton Grove, was almost sure the set decorator from Inception would take home the gold statuette, she said in an interview from her Pasadena, CA home on Thursday. “I was shocked,” she said, when Tom Hanks read her name and that of Robert Stromberg, the set designer she worked with on Alice in Wonderland. She rose from her seat, wearing a gown and heels borrowed from a next-door-neighbor. (She had wanted to wear the same dress she bought for the BAFTA awards, but her friends nixed the idea. “What if people Google you and you’re wearing the same thing?” she said they told her.) “I was speechless, and started to feel like I might cry,” she said. “But when I was walking down the aisle I …
Virginia Llorca
12:56 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Kind of you to bother to rethink it. Accountability is a word that needs to be "tossed" about as much as some others are. more ›