An Exciting Start!

     After 2013 being a hit and miss year for films I was hoping for a good start to 2014. I have not been disappointed with the first three films I have seen this year:


American Hustle

I am not surprised this is being nominated for awards. American Hustle is a great film by David O. Russell about a con man (Christian Bale) and his partner (Amy Adams) who are forced to work with the FBI. Christian Bale once again shines bright. He also goes all out for his performance physically, sporting a weighty stomach. He has morphed his body before in The Machinist, losing an incredible amount of weight and in Batman he pumped up to become very muscular. So he deserves credit in what he does, but I don't know if this will mean an Oscar.
Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence also deserved to be mentioned for their strong performances. American Hustle is a exciting, funny and well written film and will do well throughout the Award season.

Stars ****


 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller is main star and Director in one of his best films to date. Stiller plays the part of the day dreaming Walter Mitty wonderfully. Being a day dreamer myself I connected well with the character. I loved the score and this is a lovely film to go and see.

The only criticism I have is maybe it all happened a bit too easily or quickly from Walter Mitty being the under achieving lonely day dreamer to breaking that mould and going on an adventure. Apart from that there's very little to knock about this movie and Stiller has done a rare act and that is make a film that is not based on a true story...albeit a remake...

Stars ****


Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

A biopic is always difficult, for the simple reason that there's too much to say in such a short time. Therefore a film about the life of Nelson Mandela was always going to be a tricky one. However, I believe that they did a good job. The film was always going to be long, weighing in at 2 and a half hours. But I didn't feel like it went on for too long, nor was it especially rushed. Saying that, I do believe the story could have been better told in some sort of a 10 part TV series.
When I heard the brilliant Idris Elba was going to be portraying Nelson Mandela I was slightly sceptical because I didn't see a resemblance. However, Elba was brilliant. He went out of his comfort zone in many aspects in my opinion., but sometimes (especially when he played the young Mandela) all I could see was Idris Elba rather than Mandela. This distracted me from the story at times. Long Walk To Freedom is still a remarkable film and I'm surprised at how Elba and Naomie Harris were both shunned from the Baftas and the Oscars.

Stars ****

My Oscar Nominations

These are my nominations for the best that film has had to offer over the past year. Unlike the Oscars I don't neglect everything that was more than 6 months ago.


Best Film

Winner - Seven Psychopaths                                                

Runners up - Django Unchained
                    Skyfall
                    Moonrise Kingdom
                                                                           

Best Director

Winner - Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained

Runners up - Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
                     Ben Affleck - Argo
                     Wes Anderson - Moonrise Kingdom


Best Actor

Winner - Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln

Runners up - Jamie Foxx - Django Unchained
                     Brad Pitt - Killing Them Softly
                     Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Looper            


Best Actress

Winner - Judi Dench - Skyfall/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Runners up - Noomi Repace - Prometheus
                     Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
                    Kara Hayward - Moonrise Kingdom


Best Supporting Actor

Winner - Christopher Waltz - Django Unchained

Runners up - Matthew McConaughey - Killer Joe
                    Javier Bardem - Skyfall
                    Woody Harrelson - Seven Psychopaths                  


Best supporting Actress

Winner - Juno Temple - Killer Joe

Runners up - Emily Blunt - Looper
                    Charlize Theron - Snow White and the Huntsman

Lincoln

  Steven Spielberg has redeemed himself with his new film Lincoln, after the awful War Horse. Lincoln has been nominated for a bunch of Oscars and other awards and it very much deserves to win the majority of them. Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln is faultless. I actually forgot that it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was that good. The supporting cast were also superb, Sally Field, David Strathairn and Tommy Lee Jones were all excellent.
   Although the film was a serious historical drama set in 1865 during the American Civil War, humour was interwoven perfectly into the story. Lincoln wanted to pass the 13th Amendment by the end of January 1865, so his Secretary of State (Strathairn) hired three men to help procure the votes needed to create a majority in the Senate. These three men added an extra comedic value to the film, which helped break up the tension of the storyline.
   I really did love this film and if Lewis doesn't get the Oscar for Best Actor I will be nothing short of astonished.

For fans of history, true stories and Oscar winning performances.

Stars ****