I left the house for the cinema at 9:30. Put some gas in the car, picked up Tony and got there around 10:15. We claimed some choice seats, but not the coveted 4RC (sorry Jay). The films started promptly at 11:00 and ended about 12 hours later.
Michael Clayton: Of the five, the first was my favorite. Nice story structure and satisfying ending. Excellent Soundtrack.
There Will Be Blood: I was really looking forward to this film, but, in many ways, it might be my least favorite. Make no mistake, the film is a worthy watch and Daniel Day Lewis is fantastic. In between films we had a bit of a talk back with people nearby. I was the only one who thought that Paul and Eli were not brothers as Paul had said, but rather the same people. Eli was a bit off his rocker, and it made me think that Paul must have been his "nicer" personality. In the end, this perplexed me, but made perfect sense that Eli thought that Daniel had made the deal with him, and Daniel reminded him that the deal was made with Paul. Anyways, I want to read Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" which the film was based upon. Brilliant Soundtrack.
Atonement: I was not looking forward to this film. In many ways, it was exactly what I thought it was going to be until the last five minutes. And then it all comes together. Seriously, just wait for the ending. Casting did a fantastic job of matching actresses to Briony in her different ages. The evacuation of Dunkirk was surreal, and has a fantastic uncut (apparently) shot that last nearly three minutes. Favorite Soundtrack featuring a type writer as a percussive instrument.
Juno: Like last year's "Little Miss Sunshine," I am a bit perplexed as to why this film was nominated. I really liked it, but when compared with the other films it seemed out a place. You know, "one of these things is not like the other." kinda different. Otherwise, dialogue was smartly written. Utterly forgettable soundtrack.
No Country for Old Men: I really wished they would have not placed this last in the line up. By the end, I could feel myself nodding off during long stretches of dialogue. Very well written dialogue. It was an interesting story, but I am not sure I got it. At first, it seemed to be a very straight forward crime drama with a relentless assassin armed with a very clever weapon. It settles into a chase film and ends up … well, I can't tell you that. But, it doesn't end in the way you think it will. I really don't think I missed it, I just think I was getting to run down to concentrate. Was there a soundtrack?
2 comments:
I liked Michael Clayton, liked No Country better, and haven't seen the other three. My only call for No Country is that it spent 3/4 of the movie as one thing, like you said, and then switched to another thing which more closely followed the actual title of the film. I thought it was a brilliant switch - almost but not quite like Star Wars, where you watch three movies about Luke unly to find that this story might really be about Anakin.
I'm impressed - I haven't seen any of these movies at all! I was a little lost watching the Oscars last night, but I was disappointed that Johnny Depp didn't win because I think so much of his raw talent.
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