My Predictions for the Golden Globes

My Golden Globe Predictions:

The Golden Globes have always been a foreboding of what the Oscars have in store, but this year it is hard to tell which films will have the rise to fame, when the most that have come out recently have received both critical acclaim and financial success. This year has shown us new worlds, complex ideas, downward spirals, and even the creation of Facebook, but which films will become golden globe winners, let alone Oscar winners?

Best Actress:

This year has had its share of noteworthy female performances, such as Natalie Portman in "Black Swan", and Amy Adams in "The Fighter", but although many of the nominated performances were good, only one can take the globe.

My Prediction: Natalie Portman went above and beyond in this film, making a turn from a galactic princess to a beautiful ballerina. The film was excellent, but its intensity and beauty came from Natalie Portman’s Oscar worthy performance.

Best Screenplay:

My Prediction: Inception and Social Network are both noteworthy screenplays, Inception had a complex script and story that was both well executed and well acted, while Social Network fit a couple hundred paged screenplay into a mere hour and a half movie.

Best Score:

My Prediction: Hans Zimmer made the soundtrack to one of the blockbuster hits of the summer, which was a movie about dreams. Inception has a fantastic cast, great story, and solid music that added a more emotional tone toward the second half of the film.

Best Director:

My prediction: Christopher Nolan is a breakout director who has reboot a dead franchise (Batman), and has also made many Critical Hits (The Prestige, Memento), but the fact that he helmed and wrote a film about dreams, and made it both complex and accessible, while having emotion and depth is a feat of its own. 

Best Actor:

This Year didn’t see many note worthy male performances, but those that were nominated had some of the best this year. Jesse Eisenberg was excellent in "The Social Network", while Mark Wahlberg brought the emotion in "The Fighter".

My Prediction: James Franco in "127 Hours", helped make a straightforward film more enjoyable and gave it a performance that made the film more enjoyable and more intense. James Franco has come a long way from the Green Goblin and Pineapple Express, giving his career more variety, making him an Actor to keep a eye on.

Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a comedy/Musical:

This year had some horrible nominees in this department, due to the lack of noteworthy performances in comedies and musicals, honestly if Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp win for the Tourist than the Golden Globes are turning into the Peoples awards (Twilight winning over Inception and Social Network).

My Prediction best Actress: Emma Stone had a breakout performance in "Easy A" making the film more enjoyable and more humorous. Emma will surely be a enjoyable cast member in the upcoming "Spiderman" reboot, but she has also shown her maturity and wit in otherwise straight forward roles.

My prediction Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale has had his share of hits (The Dark Knight) and misses (Terminator Salvation), but very few actors have the commitment that he has to the film and characters, leading to him putting himself in the characters mind set and sometimes physical state.

Best Picture:

This year had its share of good films and bad, yet the ones that really stuck out made up for it. Black Swan was expertly executed and emotionally satisfying, while "The Fighter" added depth the a clichéd story with noteworthy performances, and strong execution. The Kings Speech told a great story that many might not be familiar with, yet made it accessible and featured Oscar worthy performances. "The Social Network" was geared to be a financial flop yet grossed nearly 200 million in the box office, and was one of the best reviewed films of the decade. Inception is old school filmmaking at its best, featuring solid action sequences, and complex storytelling, along with a strong cast that made the story all the more emotional.  

My Prediction: Most of you thought I was going to say inception, but I believe Social Network will be the king of the golden globes. The fact that the film fit a couple hundred paged screenplay into a mere 80 minute runtime, while delivering a great story, and well rounded performances, ensures this film the crown.

The Town Review:

The Town is an excellent film that helps show the directorial skills of Ben Affleck, along with engaging the audience in a heist thriller like no other. The movie tells the tale of Doug MacRay whom is leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers, who have been perform professional heist in the district of Charlestown. After a bank heist goes wrong, Doug must than deal with the repercussions of his actions, while preparing his crew for one last heist. The films story is well told and executed perfectly, the acting is well tuned, along with immersing the audience into the troubles and conflicts that the characters are facing. The supporting cast gives great performances all around, especially last year’s Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), whom gives the story a lot more tension and emotion as you uncover the origins of his character. Ben Affleck does a fantastic job of executing the various action sequences, and building a lot of tension around each of the firefights, at some points it hard not to root for the main characters, although they are the bad guys. The performances are phenomenal, the execution perfect, and the overall experience is one of the best this year. The Town is a triumph with its great use of its low budget, and cast. Although this year has shown its fair share of innovative films, the town shows that creativity and worthwhile movie going experience aren’t in short supply.

4 out of 4

Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal activity was one of the most significant sleeper hits (a movie that makes more money than expected)  of the decade, having been demanded by audience, and climbing the charts at the box office. The film alone grossed over 190 million dollars worldwide, with only a budget of $15,000 making the film one of the most successful movies of all time, along with “Blair Witch Project” and “Mad Max”. Only a year later Paranormal Activity 2 has now hit theaters hoping to have the same success as its predecessor, but with a new director and much bigger budget, will this sequel be a hit? Paranormal Activity 2 is a prequel, taking place before the events of the first film, with the last five minutes acting as the sequel for the film. The story follows relatives of the predecessor’s protagonist as they encounter numerous paranormal events, and the same entity that haunts the main characters in the last film. The movie offers more scares than its predecessor, but at points gives off a been there done that feel, as many of the paranormal events are replicas of the first films.  The film still has the slow build up of the mockumentary genre, but always has you feeling like something scary is just around the corner. Although the film has a much bigger budget, much of the originality remains in tack and never feels too special effect oriented, rather than past mockumentary films such as “The Last Exorcism”. The acting is solid and helps make you believe that the characters are reacting to real events. The film is well made and has a much more structured and professional feel which is what the predecessor lacked. Although the film does drag in the beginning with numerous cheap scares, it makes up for it in a finale that most movie goers wont see coming.  It is disappointing that the film doesn’t have much innovation, but is definitely  more entertaining and engaging than its predecessor was. This is a rare sequel that takes what the original had and improves it on nearly ever level, the scares get better as the film goes along, and the story isn’t as unbelievable as the last film, with the box office success that the film has had so far, hopefully Paranormal activity 3 will bring something new to the table, rather than repeating the same story over and over…………..Saw would be a great example of that.

3 out of 4

Devil Review:

  

     Its hard to believe that m.night.Shyamalan is even allowed to have anything to do with cinema lately, thanks to his past projects such as "The Last Airbender". Yet M.Night's latest thriller does deliver on the thrills, but falls short as far as plot, and begins to drag on due to repetition. Devil tells the story of a group of people who are are trapped on a elevator with the devil, luckily the plot deepens as you discover more about each characters past, ultimately leading to a emotional confrontation with the devil him or herself.
     Throughout the movie you begin to learn more about the characters backgrounds, and ultimately what connects them, the only issue with the characters is that most of them get killed off before any attachment can be made. The cast does a great job of making their reactions believable, unlike many other horror films where the acting is only secondary. The script has plenty of twist and turns and thanks to the distinct personalities of the characters, at points its hard to decipher who the devil is.
      The movie has enough detail to the story that it doesn't feel like a live action "Guess Who", but at the same time becomes overly repetitive midway through the film. The film also does a great job of building up tension, but unfortunately the plot is hard to take seriously, mostly due to its premise. The film fell short as far as its plot, and felt overlong and generic in the middle, but the movie was original and had a great finale. All in all M.Night made a interesting tale that provided a great twist in the ending, but the events leading up to the finale fell short, but this movie isn't as bad as "The Happening", but not as good as "The Sixth Sense".

Resident Evil:Afterlife Review

     There are very few game adaptions that can entertain and satisfy fans, along with connect with audiences that aren't familiar with the source material, Resident Evil Afterlife does none of the above. Imagine a movie full of slow motion, and does very little to keep the viewer intrigued and immersed into the characters and story. Everything about the story just feels like they were trying to add in as many elements from the game as possible, although they don't justify it with the plot, nor give them the emotion or fear that they showed in the game. The movies action is nothing but slow motion fight scenes, and numerous fade to blacks after each short strip of dialogue. The movie plays out in a very pathetic way giving the viewer no insight into whats going on and why the characters are the way they are. The plot has plenty of references to the game but many of the plot twist, and many appearances by key characters fall short. To call afterlife a good movie is hard, but to say that it is entertaining can be justified, due to the numerous action sequences, and after years of watching the characters develop, you actually want to see what will happen to them. The opening to the film was excellent and unexpected, but unfortunately from that point of the film becomes repetitive with its action sequences, and many of the characters feel like their just there to be killed off. I was disappointed in the 3-D effects in afterlife and feel the the film, was far from worth the $13 for admission. If you want a entertaining gore-fest than Afterlife is for, but if you want a great story and phenomenal action sequences, than plenty of the other films out will deliver on just that.

Kickass Review:

Kickass

    The past decade has offered many successful comic adaptations, which not only nail the feel of the comic, but also entertain fans and audiences alike. In 2008 we were given “The Dark Knight” which is undoubtedly the most successful comic adaptation of all time, but the newest adaptation “Kickass” could very well be held to “The Dark Knight’s” standards.

     Kickass is a well made, hilarious, and highly entertaining comic adaptation that grabs the viewer in and doesn’t let them go till the credits roll. The acting is excellent and the visuals are stunning, but the best part about “Kickass” is it’s well told and well executed story.

     “Kickass” tells the story of a teenager named Dave Lizewski who dreams of being a superhero and eventually sets out to be one, throughout the film he meets more vigilantes, such as “Big Daddy” and “Red Mist”, but the most memorable of these heroes is “Hit Girl”, due to her excellent acting and hilarious dialogue. Eventually things get out of hand and it’s up to our heroes in order to save the day. The story gets more complex as you unravel each characters back story and the intentions of the villains. Much like past films like “Watchmen” the best part about the film is the characters backgrounds. Each character is given a decent enough back story that both keeps you intrigued and immersed into the characters, especially Nicholas Cage’s character “Big Daddy”.

Actors such as Nicholas Cage (no he doesn’t mess this up like “Ghost Rider”) actually make the film more enjoyable and well worth the ticket fee. Aaron Jackson does a great job in the lead role and Christopher Mintz-Plasse/McLovin is hilarious as “Red Mist”.  Chloe Moretz is the star of the show by far, but if you don’t like little girls killing bad guys and cursing throughout, than Kickass isn’t for you.

The film is violent, but not to the point of being unnecessary. Every fight scene is well executed and the film always has a signature style that helps it stand out. Kickass is definitely a comic adaptation for the books; it nails the comic’s feel, along with giving great performances and action sequences. It rises to fame, much like the “The Dark Knight” rather than plummeting like “Ghost Rider” (Sorry Nicholas Cage). Kickass is by far one of the best comic movies of all time, and all though a sequel is likely, I highly doubt that Matthew Vaughn  (Director) can top this. I recommend Kickass to anyone who wants a solid movie with great action, and dialogue that will surely be remembered. Hopefully Iron Man 2 will succeed like this.

4 out of 4 stars.

La Vie En Rose Review:

La Vie En Rose

La Vie En Rose is a fascinating and deeply moving, depiction of the famous French singer Edith Piaf. The film chronicles the life of Edith Piaf as you see her life change from living in the slums, all the way to her rise to fame. The film starts out with Edith as a little girl as you see of how hard her life was with her father joining the circus and her mother neglecting her. The film than takes a turn showing Edith as a young woman, along with giving an overview of how her talent was discovered. The film than concludes with the fall of Edith as you see her character fall apart due to a heroine addiction. The movie becomes more and more engaging as you see the beginning of Edith’s life become a depressing and dark future. Edith Piaf is portrayed by Marion Cotillard whose mesmerizing performance helps bring La Vie En Rose to life. Throughout the 2 ½ hour runtime, the film becomes more and more fascinating and moving as you see the rise and fall of the highly successful singer. The film never loses steam and is always a mesmerizing experience. The set design and pacing are impressive, but the biggest achievement is Marion Cotillard’s performance mostly due to the immersion that she puts into the character. The film has very few short comings that mostly include the lack of depth in the other characters in the movie, yet they are saved by the films excellent pacing. La Vie En Rose is a landmark in character immersion and is a fascinating portrayal of Edith Piaf life.
4 out of 4 stars