Midnight in Paris Review

Summery
Allen’s confident, masterful direction and writing, combined with a charming performance from Owen Wilson create a heart-warming feel-good film that revels in it’s characters and themes and makes them shine.

Full Review
It might be committing some form of critic suicide to say that up until watching Midnight in Paris, I had never seen a Woody Allen film, but I won’t hesitate in saying that this very unique movie makes me want to explore his work further. And it is, truly, a unique film. There aren’t many films that can get away with not giving a shred of explanation to their central plot point, but Midnight in Paris manages it, indeed, it works to the films advantage.

Midnight in Paris tells the story of Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, a successful but unfulfilled Hollywood screenwriter, currently making his first tentative foray into the world of fictional literature. He and his fiancé are in Paris, the reason for which is never explicitly stated, again, to the films advantage, and every night at midnight, Gil finds himself able to travel back to the time and place he most wants to be: Paris in the 1920’s. He meets and liaises with famous artists of the time, such as Ernest Hemmingway and Pablo Picasso, and eventually, a beautiful woman named Adrianna, played by Marion Cotillard.

How Gil is able to make time his proverbial “bitch” isn’t explained, and doesn’t need to be, because it isn’t an issue that one fixates over, it’s an irrelevance, taking a backseat to Gil’s nocturnal adventures that bring him such clear joy, one can’t help but revel in the experience with him. Credit must go to Owen Wilson who, while I won’t for a moment pretend that he possesses a modicum of dramatic depth or hasn’t made some truly awful career choices, gives a great performance in a role that admittedly suits him down to the ground. The writing is great as well, and it and Wilson’s performance really bring to life and flesh out Gil as a character. He’s a charming character at the heart of a charming film, and it would take a very hard heart indeed to not experience the infectious feel-good nature that Midnight in Paris exudes. Marion Cotillard gives a good performance as well, and the two have a wonderful chemistry together.

It’s simply a brilliantly well made film from start to finish, every cog in the machine doing it’s job with panache, and Allen fully deserves his Best Director academy award nomination, in addition to it being one of the best written films of the year. The film is also shot beautifully, there are some truly lovely shots of Paris, and the camera knows when to take a step back and when to create a more intimate feel. It can’t be understated what great camerawork can do to suck the viewer into the film, a fact which Midnight in Paris doesn’t ignore, and when it’s combined with Wilson and Cotillard’s great chemistry, it leads to some beautiful scenes, which make up, on the whole, a beautiful film.

Should I see it?
It’s hard to conceive of a type of viewer who wouldn’t enjoy Midnight in Paris from start to finish. Definitely see it.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards: Final Predictions

Well we are into February, and we’re just 21 days away from the 84th annual Academy Awards. A while back a did a blog predicting the nominees, and now I’m going to try and predict the winners. Let’s not waste any time, and dive straight in

Best Picture
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: The Descendants
Should Win: Hugo
Biggest Snub: The Ides of March

What I thought was a much closer race at the time of my last blog has now become almost a formality for Michael Hazanavicious’s love letter to cinema, The Artist. It has been gathering momentum, and it’s competitors’ momentum has been waning. All in all, I think it’s going to be a comfortable win for another supremely overrated film. If not The Artist, then The Descendants is probably the next in line, but don’t hold your breath.

Best Director
Will Win: Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Could Win: Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Should Win: Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Biggest Snub: Bennet Miller - Moneyball

The race Best Director is a little more interesting. I predicted Scorsese to do well here in my last predictions, and after his Golden Globe win, I’ve seen nothing to change my mind. With that said, I didn’t think The Tree of Life, great film though it is, would trouble the Oscars this year, so if the Academy are in the mood to nominate it, perhaps they’re in the mood to give Terrence Malick a directing nod, where it fares a much better chance than the Best Picture category.

Best Actor
Will Win: George Clooney - The Descendants
Could Win: Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Should Win: Gary Oldman - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Biggest Snub: Michael Fassbinder -Shame/Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar

The Best Actor race looks pretty straightforward, with Clooney looking the odds on favourite to take home the statue. Brad Pitt could cause an upset, but it’s Clooney’s Oscar to lose.

Best Actress
Could Win: Viola Davis - The Help
Could Win: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Should Win: Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Biggest Snub: Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Probably the closest race in the major categories, the Best Actress award really could go either way, with Viola Davis and Meryl Streep set to battle it out for the statue. The Academy may wish to reward The help, it would no doubt be seen as a good PR move, given The Help’s racially themed subject matter, but the Academy love Streep, and they love Britain, and they love seeing great Actors/Actresses giving great performances of British politicians during a time of strife in the country, such as war, such as The Falklands war, for those of you who don’t know your history. If you pushed me, I’d probably say Streep will take the award, but it really could go either way.

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Could Win: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Should Win: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Biggest Snub: Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides of March

Yeah, this is definitely my “stick-your-neck-out” prediction of this year, everyone and their mother things Plummer is going to take home the statue, but personally, I’m not feeling it, I think the hype behind Plummer’s performance has set him up to fall victim to a scalp, and I think the most likely source is Kenneth Branagh as Sir Lawrence Olivier, it’s the kind of role and the kind of actor that The Academy positively drools over, and it may be going against conventional wisdom, but I think Branagh is going to nick it

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Could win: Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Should Win: Idunnolol
Biggest Snub: Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Spencer probably takes the statue, but I can’t help but feel that The Academy smuggling Bérénice Bejo into a category she clearly doesn’t belong might just be a sly ploy to give The Artist another award. It should also be said that the other three nominees are all in with a shot, and it’s shaping up to be a tight race.

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Could Win: Michael Hazanavicius - The Artist
Should Win: Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Biggest Snub: There really weren’t any

All in all, it’s very difficult to see this going to anything except Midnight in Paris. The Artist is probably the most likely film to cause an upset, but I’d say Midnight in Paris is a pretty safe bet.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball
Could Win: George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon - The Ides of March
Should Win: George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon - The Ides of March
Biggest Snub: Idunnolol

Difficult to predict, there’s no one powerhouse screenplay that seems poised to take the cake, I’m going to say Moneyball, but take it with a pinch of salt.

Best Animated Feature
Will Win: Rango
Could Win: Chico and Rita
Should Win: None of them
Biggest Snub: The Adventures of Tintin

After the baffling snub of The Adventures of Tintin, Rango is probably the most likely candidate to take the statue.

Best Foreign Film
Will Win: A Seperation
Could Win: Nothing Else
Should Win: A Seperation
Biggest Snub: I don’t see many foreign films lol

Easiest call anyone will make all night, A Seperation will win, hands down.

My knowledge gets a little hazy and my predictions less well informed after this point, so take everything after this with a pinch of salt

Best Documentaries/Short films
Haven’t a clue, I’d be flat out guessing here

Best Original Score
Will Win: Ludovic Bource - The Artist
Could Win: John Williams - The Adventures of Tintin
Should Win: Howard Shore - Hugo

Best Original Song
Will Win: “Man or Muppet” - The Muppets
Could Win: Well, “Real in Rio” - Rio, seeing as it’s the only other nominee
Should Win: Haven’t heard either of them

Best Sound Editing
Will Win: Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis - Drive
Could Win: Ren Klyce - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Should Win: Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis - Drive

Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: David Parker, Ren Klyce, Michael Semanik and Bo Persson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Could Win: Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Peter J. Devlin - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Should Win: David Parker, Ren Klyce, Michael Semanik and Bo Persson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Art Direction
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2


Best Cinematography
Will Win: Robert Richardson - Hugo
Could Win: Jeff Cronenweth - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Should Win: Robert Richardson - Hugo

Best Makeup
Will Win: Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Could Win: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland - The Iron Lady
Should Win: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland - The Iron Lady

Best Costume Design
Will Win: Mark Bridges - The Artist
Could Win: Anonymous - Lisy Christl
Should Win: Sandy Powell - Hugo

Best Film Editing
Will Win: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Could Win: Thelma Schoonmaker - Hugo
Should Win: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Visual Effects
Will Win: Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Could Win: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barret - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Should Win: Will Win: Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Review: Drive

Summery
A slick, well crafted success, Drive expertly blends adrenaline with pathos, and is an engaging thrill-ride with plenty of substance to go with it’s style.

Full Review
Ryan Gosling is the rising star in Hollywood at the moment. In 2011 he appeared in two of the years best films. One was The Ides of March. The other was Drive. At bottom, Drive is an action film, but it’s no Mission Impossible or Pirates of the Caribbean, it does so much more than throw as many fast paced scenes into a 90-minute window as it can. Drive is slick, smart, emotionally substantive, and, as has been pointed out by every one else on the internet, very stylish.

Ryan Gosling stars as a man simply known as “The Driver”, a mechanic who works part time as a stuntman, and part part time as a getaway driver. It’s not the most demanding role he’ll be asked to portray in what will probably be a long and successful acting career, but Gosling plays The Driver with competence and confidence, easily leaping any hurdles in front of him.

If one were to go into Drive expecting an unceasing barrage of bullets and CGI, one might find themselves instantly sucked in by the excellent opening before wondering if they were watching the right film, as Drive spends the next 30 minutes introducing characters, setting up events and developing romance. It doesn’t do this badly, though it does take perhaps a little longer than it should in getting where it needs to go, but Drive arrives at it’s destination in a whirlwind of gritty, thunderous moments, particularly when The Driver assaults a would-be attacker in an elevator in what is one of the most brutal scenes in a film all year.

Few films blend visceral carnage with emotional resonance as well as Drive does, and the performances from Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan have to take a lot of the credit for that. The film is cinematographed beautifully, featuring some truly memorable shots and the film ends on an emotional, bittersweet note that is guaranteed to be replayed in one’s head for a long time after the credits finish rolling.

Drive isn’t without fault. As has been said, the intro is terrific, instantly sucking you into the film, but the next half-hour passes at a crawl, it’s not that the events on screen aren’t being done with competence, it’s simply poorly paced. Another thing is that, for all it’s brutally violent scenes, and there are many, there are also many scenes that are extremely underwhelming, such as when The Driver drowns someone in the sea. Drowning is certainly not a peaceful way to go, but given the context of the scene, and given that the camera is positioned  about 40 feet away from the incident, it can leave one feeling a little under whelmed.

It’s faults don’t do enough to taint what is otherwise a very good film. It’s well acted, featuring particularly memorable performances from Albert Brooks and Carey Mulligan, as well as Gosling himself, wonderfully shot, and viscerally and cerebrally gripping, and is by far the best action movie of 2011.


Should I see it?
Drive is one of the best films of 2011 and it shouldn’t be missed. See it.

Overall Score
82/100