The Artist

2011- The Artist

 
 A couple of weeks ago I finally rented and watched The Artist. After watching the movie I sat back on my couch and wonder for quite some time how this movie won best picture. It didn't bother me that it was in black and white and it also didn't bother me that it was a silent film. To me there was nothing extraordinary about this film that made it a winner. I was talking to my parents about this and we were thinking that maybe because it was silent and in black and white in this day and age that that was the reason it won. Let's be honest how many kids today watch movies that are silent or in black and white? I still believe the movie The Help should have won best picture. Even though the movie I wanted to win lost at least Moneyball with Brad Pitt lost too. I won't bother you with the details in this post about why I am glad Moneyball didn't win. If you want to know why then look in my earlier posts for the answer.

1982, 1981,1980 and 1979 Best Picture winners are...

 It has been for ever since I have updated the blog. Before I had a part time job so it was pretty easy to watch a lot of movies and then blog about it. I now have a full time job which is great but it has not made it easy to do this blog. I have missed doing the blog and I will try to be better at keeping it up to date.

1982- Chariots of Fire

 

I have mixed feelings about this movie. It was a good movie but there were times that it got a little boring. I think that the reason it was kind of boring to me was that I couldn't get interested in two people running. To be honest I really didn't know that much about this movie. I have heard of the title and have seen the clip of the group of guys running on the beach. I had no idea that this movie was based on real people who went to the 1924 Olympics. I might watch this movie again and even though I couldn't really get into the movie I would still recommend it to any one who wants to watch it.

1981- Ordinary People

 
 I thought this movie was a really good movie. It's a sad movie but it's not a cry your eyes out sad type but more of a you feel bad for the family kind of said. It's about a family that pretty much falls apart after the accidental death of the older son. So here is a random fact about this movie, it was the directorial debut of Robert Redford. I believe this is the first movie I have seen where Donald Sutherland is much younger and doesn't have white hair. Donald plays the father to the son that died. With him being younger it is easier for me to see the resemblance to his son Kiefer Sutherland. Mary Tyler Moore is also in this movie and she plays a character that is so out of her usual characters that she plays. She plays the mother to the son that died. She doesn't really show affection to her other son. She is more worried at keeping up appearances than what's going on with her son and her marriage. Even though it is a sad movie I would still recommend the movie and I might watch it again.

1980- Kramer vs. Kramer

 

I thought this movie was a sweet and a little bit sad. I still really liked it though. It's about a man who becomes a single parent when his wife leaves him and their 6 year old son. It's sweet to see the relationship grow between father and son. It's sad to watch him work so hard for him and his son when one day his ex wife comes back and wants custody of their son. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep do a great job in this movie. I would watch this movie again and I would recommend it to any one who wants to see it.

1979- The Deer Hunter

 

I liked this movie. I feel weird saying that since it's about a couple of friends that go to the Vietnam War. Robert De Niro is in this movie and I'm not a big fan of his but I actually liked him in this movie. I feel like in most of his movies he plays this tough, I don't take crap from no body type of guy and I just don't like that. In this movie he isn't such a tough guy. He cares for his friends and he tries his best in his dealings with people.

Christopher Walken is also in this movie. He plays one of Robert's friends and is a nice guy who ends up getting amnesia and stays in Vietnam. Even though he is nice I still don't like him. He creeps me out and I think he will always creep me out. I don't know if it's the way he looks or his voice or maybe it's the characters he has played but like I said he creeps me out. 

I wish this movie didn't have so many F bombs in it but that's what happens when you watch a rated R movie. I really don't get why they have to use it. It doesn't make the situation any better when you use it and it also just sounds stupid when you say it.


There is a scene where Robert De Niro's character and his friends get captured while in Vietnam and their captures force them to play Russian Roulette for their amusement. I know that it is a film but who would enjoy watching people play that game. Who in their right mind even thought up that game. Yes I want to play a game that consists of me holding a gun to the side of my head and pull the trigger to see if I live or die. It's a stupid, awful game.

I probably won't watch this movie again cause it is such an emotional movie. I don't even know if I would recommend it. It is a very well done movie and it was very interesting to watch but would you want to watch a movie about the Vietnam War and see the affects it had on those who went. I know that the actors didn't really go to the war and it's just a movie but it's hard to think that people really were captured and who knows what they were forced to to.

Coming Attractions: 1978 and 1977 Best Pictures

1984 and 1983 Best Picture winners are...

1984- Terms of Endearment



I was looking on-line to see when the Academy Awards aired and it was on April 9, 1984. That is exactly a year before my birthday. Speaking of my birthday it is in 20 days. Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you that I just love my birthday and also love counting down to my birthday. I will start counting down at 6 months. I think my mom probably gets tired of hearing me count down but I just love my birthday. It's the only day of the year that it's all about me. Anyway on to the movie.

The movie is about the relationship between mother and daughter. It also shows that different people show love in different ways.

I really liked this movie and I would watch it again. I would also recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in watching. It is a tearjerker so if you don't like crying in movies this is not for you. I was sobbing like a baby in this movie.

When I found out that Jack Nicholson was in this movie, I didn't know what to think. In most of his movies he plays an awful person. I was pleasantly surprised that he actually plays a decent human being in this movie. This is the first time watching a movie of his that I didn't automatically think of the Joker. Usually when that happens the movie is ruined for me cause all I can see is that creepy Joker makeup. I was talking to my mom about how I liked him in this movie and she told me that maybe this movie has helped changed my mind of him. I told her that maybe it has but it probably won't last long cause the next movie that I will watch him in is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. So I might be freaked out by him again after I watch that movie.

In this movie there is a scene that after watching it I wish I could remove it from my memory or maybe pull my eyes out. In this scene Jack's character comes to the door wearing a bathrobe that barely covers his man parts. So it is a REALLY short bathrobe. No one needs to see that especially on him. There is another scene where he is not wearing a shirt. Believe me you don't want to see him shirtless. Here is a little advice, if you have a hairy chest and a beer belly going shirtless is NOT an option. Do the world a favor and keep your shirts and the rest of your clothes on.

1983- Gandhi



This movie is about Mahatma Gandhi who first started out as a lawyer but would become the leader of Indian revolts against the British rule through his non-violent protests.

This movie was really good and I would watch this movie again. If you are interested in watching this movie I think you should. I know a little about Gandhi but this movie taught me so much more about him.

One thing that I thought was interesting was that the film doesn't show or even talk about his younger years. It starts off with the assassination of Gandhi and then it goes back 55 years to 1893 when he was a lawyer in South Africa. For me I would have liked to have learned more about his younger years. You usually just hear about the things that Gandhi did. I'm not saying that what he did wasn't important but that's all you hear. It would have been interesting to see what he was like as a child, teenager and young man before he became a lawyer. Oh well. Also I thought Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi did a fantastic job playing him. I truly felt like I was watching the real Gandhi. No wonder he won the Best Actor award for this movie. The makeup people for the movie did a very good job of making Ben look like Gandhi.

For fun here is some fun trivia about the movie:

*Anthony Hopkins was considered to play Gandhi. I am so glad that he didn't get the role. I could not watch Hannibal Lecter play Gandhi.
*Many of the natives thought Ben Kingsley looked so much like Gandhi that they thought he was Gandhi's ghost.
*Ben Kingsley's paternal family was from the Indian state of Gujarat which is where Gandhi also was from.
* Dustin Hoffman expressed that he was interested in playing the title role but was offered to be in the movie Tootsie. Tootsie was nominated for Best Picture the same year as Gandhi and Dustin Hoffman was also nominated for Best Actor for his role in Tootsie but sadly he lost the award to Ben and Tootsie lost the award to Gandhi. Interesting how things go.

I was watching The Big Bang Theory a while ago and Raj made a comment about Gandhi and I thought I would share it with you guy. Before I share the quote let me explain the scene real quick, Raj and the other guys are playing some video game and they are really getting into the game:
"When Gandhi advocated his philosophy of non-violence, I bet he didn't know how much fun it was killing stuff."

Coming Attractions: 1982 and 1981 Best Pictures