Precious - Best Adapted Screenplay

Now this is a movie which is pretty hard to digest. In fact, some scenes are quite shocking and disgusting and it may determine a lot of people to just turn off the computer or TV. “Precious” is not a movie that everyone can understand. It is the drama of all dramas.

At the Oscar Awards, “Precious” took home two golden statues: one went to Mo’Nique for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the other one was for the Best Adapted Screenplay from the novel “Push” by Sapphire. I cannot say that “Precious” is impressive as much as it is shocking. In fact, I think I have not heard the word F**K so many times in one movie since I last watched “Casino”. The movie tries to teach us that life is precious. And Precious is the name of our heroine: Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) which has to endure a life in which most people would have killed themselves.

Raped by her father which left her pregnant twice and mentally abused by her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique), Precious is living a nightmare. School is her only refuge but her second pregnancy got her expelled. However, she starts following classes of a special alternative school, with people that, for one reason or another, were rejected by the modern society. With a teacher (Paula Patton) that fully confides in her, Precious starts to see that inside her she can find the power to take life into her own hands and that she alone is to decide what should happen next. This is the shocking life of Precious, a 16 year old girl who grew up in Bronx…

Mad Money - Money makes the world go round...

…Or was it love? Anyway, this movie really got me thinking about that saying “Money does not buy happiness”. If you loved movies like “The Italian Job” or “Ocean’s Eleven”, you will most likely enjoy this one as well. Sure, there is no George Clooney or Matt Damon and no kiss kiss bang bang action but it does show the story of a master plan to steal money without anyone noticing.

Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah play the roles of Bridget, Jackie and Nina, three women that end up working in a bank just to make a decent living. These women come up with an ingenious plan to steal money from the Federal Reserve Bank, money which was about to be destroyed anyway because the bills are worn out. The women plan to steal enough money to make a decent living… but, as you can imagine, they get greedy and decide to get some extra cash just have a bit more than a regular life. It really has you thinking about how greedy human nature really is. How far would you go to live the life you’ve always wanted?

This movie is definitely one with an unexpected ending (hmmm… that is why I’m writing about it, isn’t it?). Aside from the genius master plan that a desperate woman can come up with, this movie deserves a good round of applause because of the 3 charismatic actresses that play the leading roles. I mean, you just gotta love Queen Latifah…

Alice in Wonderland - Purrrrfect

I have been meaning to write this post on Monday but with all this fuss around the Oscar Awards I did not get the chance to share my experience from seeing “Alice in Wonderland” 3D. Since I had seen the cartoons when I was a child, I remembered pretty much of the action so the main reason why I went to see this movie was because of the 3D effects.

When I was a child, I was always scared by the Cheshire Cat from this story and I thought things would be different now that I was all grown up. WRONG! Tim Burton has managed to create a Cheshire Cat which is both lovely and creepy at the same time and if you will ask the people that have seen “Alice in Wonderland” which was their favorite character, most of them will tell you it was the cat. Johnny Depp manages to impress once again with the Mad Hatter role. In fact, every actor in this movie manages to play the role perfectly. However, “Alice in Wonderland” would have never had the same impact on me if I hadn’t seen it in 3D. Even if it does not leave you with the same WOW impression that “Avatar” does when it comes to special effects, this movie sends a special message to its audience: why shouldn’t you have the courage to act in real life just like you do in your wildest dreams?

“Alice in Wonderland” is still an amazing movie for the entire family no matter what critics have to say. It brings us to a world of fantasy where we forget about ourselves for a while. The action of this movie takes us to a wonder world, where Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has been chosen to fight the Jabberwocky, a horrible creature which represents evil and all that is ugly and once this creature is dead, the reign of terror of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) will end and the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) will make sure that peace is once again brought to Wonderland. A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon indeed!

And the Winners are...

1.) Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier & Greg Shapiro.

2.) Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges
Crazy Heart.

3.) Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz
Inglourious Basterds.

4.) Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side.

5.) Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique
Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire.

6.) Animated Feature Film: Up
Pete Docter.

7.) Art Direction: Avatar
Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration).

8.) Cinematography: Avatar
Mauro Fiore.

9.) Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Sandy Powell.

10.) Directing: The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow.

11.) Documentary Feature: The Cove
Louie Psihoyos & Fisher Stevens.

12.) Documentary Short: Music by Prudence
Roger Ross Williams & Elinor Burkett.

13.) Film Editing: The Hurt Locker
Bob Murawski & Chris Innis.

14.) Foregin Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
Directed by Juan Jose Campanella.

15.) Makeup: Star Trek
Barney Burman, Mindy Hall & Joel Harlow.

16.) Music (Original Score): Up
Michael Giacchino.

17.) Music (Original Song): Crazy Heart "The Weary Kind (Theme form Crazy Heart)
Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett.

18.) Short Film (Animated): Logorama
Nicolas Schmerkin.

19.) Short Film (Live Action): The New Tenants
Joachim Back & Tivi Magnusson..

20.) Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker
Paul N.J. Ottosson.

21.) Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Paul N.J. Ottosson & Ray Beckett.

22.) Visual Effects: Avatar
Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham & Andrew R. Jones.

23.) Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher.

24.) Writing (Original Screenplay): The Hurt Locker
Written by Mark Boal.

Oscar 2010 Nominees - Is "Avatar" taking home every statue?

Just as I promised, tomorrow I will post the winners of the 2010 Oscar Film Awards. But before we go on predicting who is the winner of each category, I have researched the list of the 2010 Oscar Nominees so you can now have your chance to guess which is the winner. The Oscar Awards will be broadcasted live tonight, at 3:30 A.M. Romanian time, on our local HBO channel.

1. BEST PICTURE
- Avatar (James Cameron & Jon Landau)
- The Blind Side (Gil Netter, Andrew Kosove & Broderick Johnson)
- District 9 (Peter Jackson & Carolynne Cunningham)
- An Education (Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey)
- The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier & Greg Shapiro)
- Inglorious Basterds (Lawrence Bender)
- Precious (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness & Gary Magness)
- A Serious Man (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
- Up (Jonas Rivera)
- Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman & Jason Reitman)

2. ACTOR IN LEADING ROLE
- Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
- George Clooney (Up in the Air)
- Colin Firth (A Single Man)
- Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
- Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

3. ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- Matt Damon (Invictus)
- Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
- Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
- Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
- Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

4. ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
- Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
- Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
- Carey Mulligan (An Education)
- Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
- Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

5. ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- Penelope Cruz (Nine)
- Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
- Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
- Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
- Mo’Nique (Precious)

6. ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- Coraline (Henry Selick)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson)
- The Princess and the Frog (John Musker & Ron Clements)
- The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore)
- Up (Pete Docter)

7. ART DIRECTION
- Avatar - Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro (Art Direction); Caroline Smith (Set Decoration)
- Nine - John Myhre (Art Direction); Gordon Sim (Set Decoration)
- Sherlock Holmes - Sarah Greenwood (Art Direction); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration)
- The Young Victoria - Patrice Vermette (Art Direction); Maggie Gray (Set Decoration)

8. CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Bruno Delbonnel)
- The Hurt Locker (Barry Ackroyd)
- Inglorious Basterds (Robert Richardson)
- The White Ribbon (Christian Berger)

9. COSTUME DESIGN
- Bright Star (Janet Petterson)
- Coco Before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)
- Nine (Colleen Atwood)
- The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)

10. DIRECTING
- Avatar (James Cameron)
- The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
- Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
- Precious (Lee Daniels)
- Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)

11. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- Burma VJ (Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller)
- The Cove (Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens)
- Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein)
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)
- Which Way Home (Rebecca Cammisa)

12. SHORT DOCUMENTARY
- China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears Of Sichuan Province (Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill)
- The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
- The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
- Music by Prudence (Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett)
- Rabbit a la Berlin (Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra)

13. FILM EDITING
- Avatar (Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron)
- District 9 (Julian Clarke)
- The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis)
- Inglorious Basterds (Sally Menke)
- Precious (Joe Klotz)

14. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- Ajami – Israel
- The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) – Peru
- A Prophet (Un Prophète) – France
- The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) - Argentina
- The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) – Germany

15. MAKEUP
- Il Divo (Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano)
- Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow)
- The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore)

16. MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
- Avatar (James Horner)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
- The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
- Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)
- Up (Michael Giacchino)

17. MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
- The Princess and the Frog – “Almost There” (Music and Lyric by Randy Newman)
- The Princess and the Frog – “Down in New Orleans” (Music and Lyric by Randy Newman)
- Paris 36 – “Loin de Paname” (Music by Reinhardt Wagner; Lyric by Frank Thomas)
- Nine – “Take it All” (Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston)
- Crazy Heart – “The Weary Kind” (Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett)

18. SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
- French Roast (Fabrice O. Joubert)
- Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell)
- The Lady and the Reaper (Javier Recio Gracia)
- Logorama (Nicolas Schmerkin)
- A Matter of Loaf and Death (Nick Park)

19. SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
- The Door (Juanita Wilson and James Flynn)
- Instead of Abracadabra (Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström)
- Kavi (Gregg Helvey)
- Miracle Fish (Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey)
- The New Tenants (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)

20. SOUND EDITING
- Avatar (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle)
- The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson)
- Inglorious Basterds (Wylie Stateman)
- Star Trek (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)
- Up (Michael Silvers and Tom Myers)

21. SOUND MIXING
- Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson)
- The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett)
- Inglorious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano)
- Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson)

22. VISUAL EFFECTS
- Avatar (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones)
- District 9 (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken)
- Star Trek (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton)

23. WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
- District 9 (Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
- An Education (Screenplay by Nick Hornby)
- In the Loop (Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche)
- Precious (Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher)
- Up in the Air (Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)

24. WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
- The Hurt Locker (Written by Mark Boal)
- Inglorious Basterds (Written by Quentin Tarantino)
- The Messenger (Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman)
- A Serious Man (Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
- Up (Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy)

Perfume - The story of a bit more than a murderer

I am not quite sure in what film genre I should place this movie. Sometimes, it’s a drama. In the next 10 minutes, the action turns to thriller. It is a movie about crime and human psychology… and at other times, it looks like a plain love story. I guess that this is what fascinated me most about “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”. I had never heard about Ben Whishaw before but his way of playing the role of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is really something else. Jean-Baptiste is a man with a superior olfactory sense which can distinguish each and every smell that he senses.

Living a harsh life but always wanting to take advantage of his gift, Jean-Baptiste ends up working for a perfume store and creating unique and astonishing perfumes. But as he grows to learn more about smell and scent, he is more eager to discover and preserve certain aromas which were not meant to be stored in a simple bottle. The plot thickens when Jean-Baptiste starts to discover that one of the smells that fascinates him most… is the scent of a woman’s skin…

Message in a Bottle - The greatest love story

There are no simple words to describe the feeling given by this movie. “Message in a bottle” is a movie about past love and new beginnings. Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn are Garret and Theresa, two people living in different cities which come to meet other through the help of love letters placed in bottles and thrown into the sea. It is very difficult to explain how this movie manages to impress the audience though words and feelings so I have decided to give you one of the letters from “Message in a bottle” and maybe you can get an idea about how this movie managed to impress me…

To all the ships at sea...and all the ports of call.


To my family...and to all friends and strangers.


This is a message and a prayer.


The message is that my travels taught me a great truth.


l already had what everyone is searching for...and few ever find:


The one person in the world...who l was born to love forever.


A person like me, of the Outer Banks...and the blue Atlantic mystery.


A person rich in simple treasures...self-made, self-taught.


A harbor where l am forever home.


And no wind or trouble...or even a little death can knock down this house.


The prayer is that everyone in the world can know this kind of love...and be healed by it.


lf my prayer is heard, then there will be an erasing of all guilt...and all regret...and an end to all anger.


Please, God.


Amen.

The Illusionist - The grand finale

Ever since I was a child, I have always been fascinated with magic and the explanation behind magic tricks. Edward Norton is Eisenheim, the illusionist that manages to astonish the world with his bold magic performance. This movie is captivating not only though its plot, but also thanks to the small details.

“The Illusionist” will always leave you wondering “now, how does he do it?” And just like all the good movies, we needed a love story between our hero and some damsel in distress. Jessica Biel is Sophie, the childhood friend of Eisenheim and his secret love. Due to certain social differences, Eisenheim and Sophie were separated by their parent when they were younger and never permitted to speak to each other again. The two are reunited after many years on stage, when she is a volunteer to one of Eisenheim’s illusions. But how do you separate the love of your life from the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), a man whose anger and frustration are only exceeded by his power.

So, what is there to do to gain the love of your life back when she is engaged to a man that will track them down and kill them both if they ever pulled a stun like that. However, when Sophie decides to leave the prince, we have a twisted turn of events which make the movie even more captivating than it was in the beginning.