Some movies simply don't require Oscars
The 83rd Academy Awards nominations were recently announced.
The nominees were pretty predictable. They were movies I had
heard of or one of my friends recommended for me to watch.
"Inception," "Black Swan," and "True Grit" are among the top
picks.
But I never got around to watching them.
The 83rd Academy Awards nominations were recently announced.
The nominees were pretty predictable. They were movies I had heard of or one of my friends recommended for me to watch.
"Inception," "Black Swan," and "True Grit" are among the top picks.
But I never got around to watching them.
I've only seen a handful of the nominated movies.
I've never been one to pay much attention to awards.
That's mainly because I'm the kind of movie watcher that will watch their favorite movie over and over again.
There's just something very comforting about each film.
"Up"
I really do like cartoons, mostly because they are so far from real life. I like the animated movie, "Up," because it does something entirely different. It was relatable. The first twenty minutes of the movie were some of the best documentations of the joys and sorrows of life. It shows an awkward kid finding his soulmate, marriage, miscarriage, death and meaning. Each emotion the main character went through, I thought I could go through too, if I was faced with a similar situation (minus the balloon ride and the talking dogs; although, I sometimes feel like dogs talk to me).
"Love Me If You Dare"
This is a French movie about two competitive childhood friends who engage in a life-long game to outdo each other with outrageous stunts. The two continue to challenge each other through high school, college and into adulthood. The last dare to be fully completed is when one of them asks the other to love them. I really enjoy foreign movies because it re-examines basic cultural ideas. The movie challenges me to look at the seemingly simple idea of love and re-examine what it really means.
"Lars and the Real Girl"
This movie is about Lars, a lonely and awkward man, who strikes up a relationship with a "girl" he finds on the Internet.
The movie crafts a strong story line for how Lars deals with an early childhood tragedy and the loneliness that is manifested because he refuses to connected with real people. But the movie has a happy ending, Lars finally decides connect with the people around him.
"You Kill Me"
Again, another movie about two people falling in love in an awkward situation. I'm starting to see a pattern.
An alcoholic, native-New Yorker hit man falls in love with a woman while he's going to alcoholics anonymous sessions on the West Coast.
He teaches her various killing techniques while she teaches him how to love while being sober.
It's a funny movie because it's so extreme. The two actors compliment each other perfectly.
"Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight," and (soon) "The Dark Knight Rises"
I'm a bit late on this one, since I finally sat down and watched the series this past Christmas.
Watching the first two movies in the Batman series back-to-back was such an adventure.
The story line is very strong and the cinematography is captivating.
I mainly enjoyed Heath Ledger's role as the Joker. But, the contrast between good and evil was tastefully done without going over the top.
Amy Phan is the Columbia Basin Herald's city reporter. Her column reveals her appreciation for Batman, and thus, superheroes. Her coworkers hope she soon finds the fun in "Mystery Men."