It’s Complicated: Actually, It’s Surprisingly Simple

Nancy Meyers has never been known for making “deep” cinema. What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday– none of these can be accused of being rife with emotional complexity. However, they do create a certain comfortable level of emotional catharsis. Love can be found, lessons can be learned, adversities like our own can be overcome. While they’re more facile in execution in a Meyers film, there’s still a sense of truth that can be found. If the sketch is more broadly drawn, it is easier for people to see themselves in the characters and fill in the details for themselves. It’s Complicated is anything but, yet as we sense our three main actors, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin playing, there’s a pervading sense of fun that rubs off on the audience.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: Nicolas Cage At His Cracked Out Finest

Nicolas Cage gets a bad rap from most critics. Ever since clips of Neil Labute’s ill-advised remake of The Wicker Man went viral, it’s been en vogue to call Nicolas Cage one of the worst big name actors around. Admittedly, sometimes his operatic style of acting can seem hammy if not harnessed correctly or put into the right vehicle. However, people forget that in films like Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation., Matchstick Men, and now Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Nicolas Cage gives some of the most daring, interesting, and deep performances that any marquee Hollywood star is capable of. Werner Herzog, king of the cracked out film, gets an epic performance from Cage in this film, making this remake an absolute must-see for any Cage hater needing reformation and for anyone who desires to see one of the most memorable films of 2009.

The Top Ten Moments in LOST History

To celebrate LOST, perhaps the most fascinating and cinematic TV drama of my lifetime, I have included the ten defining moments of the show for me. I could have included more– I could have done this all day. Instead, these are the ten that really stuck out in my head and refused to let me quit this show, even if the pace slowed and questions went unanswered. If you’re a Lostaholic, enjoy these clips after the jump.

The 2010 Oscar Nominations, and My Thoughts

I got 42 out of 45 of my predictions right on the eight major categories. I don’t know whether that speaks to my abilities as a prognosticator, or to how predictable this year’s nominations are. Still, not too much to be too angry about. The official nominations are below, along with my thoughts.

My Predictions of the 2010 Oscar Nominations

These aren’t my choices for the best, these are the ones who I think will be announced as the nominees come tomorrow morning. With the exception of about five of the Best Picture slots, most of these are very safe bets. Or so they would seem. Here are the predictions, plus an upset special choice that might sneak onto the ballots.

Crazy Heart: I “Crazy Heart” This Movie

So what the boozy aging country star attempting to turn his life around isn’t the newest of ideas? Crazy Heart benefits from three things that work enormously in its favor: 1. The writing and direction of Scott Cooper, who lets the film take a slow pace and doesn’t hesitate to let the camera linger on a moment, filling the movie with more heart than the average. 2. T-Bone Burnett, the soundtrack’s producer and co-writer of many of the tunes, reminds us that a movie about music better have amazing sound and top-drawer songs in order to work. 3. Jeff Bridges, one of the best and most under-appreciated actors of his generation, turns in one of his best performances, and carries the film so ably that I would hope he’d finally get his due and win an Academy Award.

A Serious Man: The Coens’ Newest is Seriously Good

A Serious Man, which was criminally slept on and under-released, brings to mind the greatest films of the Coen Brothers’ past. It’s their funniest since The Big Lebowski and their most challenging since Barton Fink– and when you’re referring to the best filmmakers of their generation and comparing this film to two of their greatest, you know that this is truly something special. From its opening parable to the Job-like suffering of the main character Larry Gopnik to the haunting final images, The Coens tackle religion, family, and their usual subject of ethics, and they never take a misstep. Add it to the shelf like it’s not a big deal: the Coens have dropped yet ANOTHER classic.

Precious: A Stunning Portrait of Dreams and Despair

Between the undeniably powerful emotions and the heart-wrenching acting, it’s understandable why everyone glosses over some of the awkward transitions or strange moments in Lee Daniels’ Precious. It’s also understandable why many are calling Lee Daniels a genius, since he throws several stylistic flairs into the film that a safer director wouldn’t do, and even though some of them don’t gel, some work to outstanding effect. I can even understand why some people don’t want to see this movie– it’s unrelenting truthful, which can be hard for some to face. What I can’t understand is how Mo’Nique hid all that acting talent underneath her comedienne exterior. It’s a performance that’s a lock for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, full of the big emotional scenes and brave acting that the Academy loves to reward. Precious as a film is a bit like its main character: it might not be perfect, but it has a beautiful soul.

An Education- Carey Mulligan Teaches Young Actresses a Thing or Two

Every once in a while, a movie becomes less about the subject matter than it does about the birth of a star. The subject matter in An Education is compelling, and the script and supporting acting is all tight, but when it boils down, that’s not what I remember. I remember Carey Mulligan’s smile. Mulligan has a natural charisma, seeming completely at ease carrying this coming-of-age movie, and does it so effortlessly that anything strange or challenging in the film’s execution gets glossed over whenever Mulligan enters the room looking like a reincarnation of Audrey Hepburn. As the character experiences love, life, sex, and heartbreak for the first time, she emerges as a mature woman at the end, and just as the character comes of age, Mulligan comes to stardom, and we’re more than happy to come along with her.

Sherlock Holmes: Getting Back to 221B Baker Street’s Roots

The reboot of the traditional Sherlock Holmes we’ve seen on TV and film is not unlike the James Bond reboot a couple of years ago. Both characters are stripped of their previous film incarnations’ sense that they value gentlemanly behavior above all else. Holmes always was seen with the same hat and pipe, deep in thought, totally put together. In Guy Ritchie’s new film, Holmes is falling apart. He’s a shut-in, with no interest in the outside world other than his companion Watson, who is moving out. He does drugs, he is obnoxious, and he has a penchant for violence. In short, he fits perfectly into Guy Ritchie’s oeuvre. Sherlock Holmes is Ritchie’s best film, and while it all unravels at a bit too fast of a pace, Holmes was never one to spell it all out for us either. Most importantly, Ritchie realizes the entire film coasts on the chemistry of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the leads, so he keeps the camera firmly on them as often as possible.