Movies to remember (and forget) (Update)

Ok....I think I can finish my movie comments. I cannot call these remarks of mine any kind of actual reviews because I am really only giving a quick personal comment and recommendation. If you did not, read my previous blog for quite a few of the movies out now and especially those on the Oscar track. I mentioned then I had not yet seen a few of the favorites and I forgot to mention Quenton Tarentino's Inglorious Bastards so I will start with it.

Inglorious Bastards is really worth seeing. It is quirky in a very creative unique way which is why Tarentino remains a favorite with young film-makers. Brad Pitt is proving himself as an actor and one with a sense of humor. This is not your usual Nazi, WWII movie. It surprises you and makes you smile every now and then. Not bad.....

Crazy Heart is really a very good movie. It is a nice example of how good acting can lift a very ordinary script. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal do just that. I was very skeptical of them, the knee-jerk May-December relationship storyline and the boozy protagonist who turns it around. We have seen this so many times that the thought of even going to this movie bored me. I was wrong. Jeff Bridges deserves the Oscar (and I am still hoping for Colin Firth) and I am pleased his Lady Maggie got a nomination. Bridges does more than ordinary acting to deliver this story of survival and while you do not like him initially, you find yourself rooting for him by the end. This will play well on the small screen too.

Of the movies nominated for the Oscar, Up, the animated film is nice and fun to watch but should not be in the best picture category, not because it is animated but because it is not that good. Take the family and enjoy but the word "pleasant" is all I have for you.

The other surprise is District 9 (should have been Star Trek), a futuristic drama that explores prejudice and bias except rather than gender or race, it is an alien society here on earth, separate but equal. Well, probably not equal. I can recommend this movie and I think you will like it. Again, if there is an Oscar nominee slot for a SyFy kind of movie, Star Trek is the better choice.

An Education is a movie I put off seeing because the relationship is between an older man and an underage girl. I think it is wrong to call this a relationship but the makers of this movie do everything they can to make it ok. The man is quiet, nice, pleasant and respectful. He does not rape her, he respects her and obliges her guidelines of conduct. Dress it up anyway you want, it is still illegal for a man over thirty to have sex with a woman under 18 and no matter how you minimize it, this man is a predator playing a game with a girl and her parents; one he has played many times before and his victims are getting younger. The fact that sex doesn't actually occur until her 18th birthday is putting lipstick on the pig. It is still a pig and he is still a sexual predator. I wish critics would not praise this kind of movie that sends all the wrong messages to young girls and definitely not honor it with an Oscar nomination. I cannot say anything about the acting because who cares? I do not want to give it any more space or thought than I already have.

The White Ribbon-- this is the only foreign film nominated that I have seen and it is very, very good. Michael Henecke who also directed Cache presents a Hickok's kind of "Who Done It?" crossed with the eerie "Children of the Corn". From the very beginning the lack of color and a winter environment sets an ominous tone that stays with you throughout. One terrible thing after another happens in the small rural village but no one knows who is behind the events and everyone is suspect. There have been a lot of discussions about the rise of Fascism as a theme for the movie but who knows. For a thorough review, go to Rogerebert.com.

I still did not see everything....haven't seen Precious nor A Serious Man but I will keep trying.