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Screen Best - by Andrew McMurtry

 
I'm a journalism student just looking to publish some movie reviews. I love movies and want to share my thoughts with the blogosphere. I hope you like my reviews and please comment, positive or negative, any are welcome. All images are found on Google images and all ideas are my own and based on things I've read. RATING SCALE 5 Stars – Absolute Classic, 4 Stars – Excellent Film, 3 Stars – Good, 2 Stars – Average, 1 Star – Why even bother, 0 Stars – I wanted to scratch my eyes out after seeing it

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2010’s 82nd Annual Oscar Nominations

March 5th 2010 12:25

2010 has been a year which has produced some actual competition for the major awards for the first time in several years. We all knew that Slumdog Millionaire had it in the bag before last years ceremony but this year is less easy to pick. Whether we have the sheer originality of “District 9” and “Inglourious Basterds” or the gloss and spectacle of “Avatar” and “Up”, the grittiness of “The Hurt Locker” or wit of “Up in the Air”, there are plenty of films and dazzling performances in all nominated movies that make this a truly unique and wonderful year in movies. Here are the nominees:


Actor in a Leading Role
•Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
•George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
•Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
•Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
•Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

ScreenBest Pick: Jeff Bridges has to win, and not because of his four previous nominations and him being a stalwart in cinema for so long. His performance as Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart” is brilliant and by far the best I have seen this year.


Actor in a Supporting Role
•Matt Damon in “Invictus”
•Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
•Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
•Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
•Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

ScreenBest Pick: Christoph Waltz was brilliant in “Inglourious Basterds” and should win but then again he may find some resistance from Woody Harrelson, Matt Damon and Stanley Tucci or so I think.

Actress in a Leading Role
•Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
•Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
•Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
•Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
•Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

ScreenBest Pick: Could be a difficult one to pick. Meryl Streep was great as Julia Child but Carey Mulligan has garnered great acclaim for “An Education” and Sandra Bullock is riding high on the back of her Golden Globe win.

Actress in a Supporting Role
•Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
•Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
•Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
•Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
•Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

ScreenBest Pick: Mo’Nique seems to be the frontrunner for “Precious” but Anna Kendrick’s breakout role in “Up in the Air” and Maggie Gyllenhaal was brilliant in “Crazy Heart”.

Animated Feature Film
•“Coraline” Henry Selick
•“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
•“The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
•“The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
•“Up” Pete Docter

ScreenBest Pick: “Up” will win and by a long, long way.

Directing
•“Avatar” James Cameron
•“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
•“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
•“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
•“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

ScreenBest Pick: Kathryn Bigelow has all the hype running into the Oscars and should win for “The Hurt Locker” but her ex-husband James Cameron for “Avatar” and Tarantino could also be seriously in the hunt.

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: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
•“Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

ScreenBest Pick: “Up in the Air” was exquisitely written and should win although “District 9” was a brilliant screenplay as well.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
•“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
•“Inglourious 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

ScreenBest Pick: I feel “Inglourious Basterds” should win from “The Hurt Locker”

Best Picture
•“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
•“The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
•“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
•“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
•“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
•“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
•“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
•“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
•“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
•“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

ScreenBest Pick: Tough call and I would’ve gone “Crazy Heart” had it been there, “The Hurt Locker” should take it. If “Avatar” wins it will be incredibly disappointing. “Avatar” was good but unoriginal and overrated, and it seems to only be a two horse race judging by the hype that’s reaching Australia.

And the rest:

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

Art Direction
•“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
•“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
•“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
•“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
•“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography
•“Avatar” Mauro Fiore
•“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
•“The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
•“Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
•“The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design
•“Bright Star” Janet Patterson
•“Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
•“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
•“Nine” Colleen Atwood
•“The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

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

Documentary (Short Subject)
•“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 à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing
•“Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
•“District 9” Julian Clarke
•“The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
•“Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
•“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

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

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

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

Music (Original Song)
•“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
•“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
•“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
•“Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
•“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

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 (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
•“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
•“A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

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

Sound Editing
•“Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
•“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
•“Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
•“Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
•“Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
•“Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
•“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
•“Inglourious 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

The Ceremony will take place on Sunday the 7th of March, which means it will be shown on the 8th in Australia.
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Just a Side Note

March 4th 2010 13:30
I know I haven’t written that many blogs lately but I’ve been busy doing work experience at the Australian film magazine FILMINK. Hopefully with what I have learned there I can deliver some better reviews and more illuminating features as well as some editorials in the weeks and months to come. I am going to try and get some new stories as well as the old reviews to make this a more illuminating site so please bear with me for a while.

For starters I am changing the rating scale to the money scale. So from now on, and because I get student rates as a Uni student, I am going to rate on a scale of $0 to $14 which is the price I have to pay to go to a movie at the Event Cinemas in Sydney as of the beginning of March.

I hope any regular readers will stick around and hopefully I can bring in some new followers soon when I get my act together and start producing.

Thanks,

ScreenBest
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REVIEW - Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief

February 12th 2010 13:44

Brilliant visuals of Greek mythology hit you right from the opening scene of the new franchise book adaption of Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. Under the bleak, dark sky of New York’s Empire State Building (of course America is home to the gods), a war is brewing after the world’s most powerful weapon, Zeus’ mighty lightening bolt, is stolen.

Percy (played by Logan Lerman) thinks he is a normal kid with normal problems. But after he discovers he is the son of Poseidon, he is dragged into the world of the gods, accused of being the thief, which strangely doesn’t worry him. His mother is being held hostage in the Underworld by Hades. What follows is the search for the bolt to earn his mothers freedom.

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief is a brilliant looking film. It is vibrant and bright, yet dark at the same time. It’s such a watchable film because of the brilliant special effects in a light, easy to follow story. It’s probably a bit too scary and intense for little kids but is perfect for teenagers. And despite a few kitschy moments found in a lot of teen movies, it is a great adaption. If only it were a bit more original. It seems to be trying to be the success Harry Potter was. The use of Christopher Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter films) makes sure of that. But it looks really good.

Logan Lerman is outstanding as demigod son of Poseidon, Percy. His New Yorker accent and swagger fit the character perfectly as he tries to be a bit edgy yet a loner. He looks to have a huge career ready for him if he continues along his current path. He already shows in this movie he can act the pants off the likes Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Sean Bean, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson and Steve Coogan. And with at least four more book sequels to turn into films, this kid, and the Percy Jackson franchise, will deservedly be around for a while yet.

To tell you the truth I haven’t read the books. I don’t know it has done differently or omitted. That said, I thought it was a pretty good teen movie. There were a few problems though. Pierce Brosnan is the big one. He is awful as the ‘teacher’ centaur. The same is to be said of Uma Thurman as Medusa. These experienced actors just phoned it in. There are also a few story holes, such as the thief’s explanation for stealing the bolt. But there is a lot to like, such as the awesome visual effects and creatures, and good acting from Logan Lerman as well as solid support from those around him.

The Harry Potter comparisons for Percy Jackson were always going to happen. It’s not a bad thing, even though Chris Columbus also directed the worst and first two Harry Potter films. He does a decent job with a good story but you leave still feeling as though he has skipped parts of the story. Hopefully this film will be a success because it seems to be a decent, well written story. It’s a bit ‘Hero Origin Story 101’ with the Heracles-type decent into the Underworld story but it has credibility with Logan Lerman in the lead. I’d give it 3 out 5.

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Golden Globes 2010

January 18th 2010 13:26

Well, the Golden Globes have come and gone for yet another year. The Globes are generally a good predictor for the Academy will choose for the Oscars. And we have a pretty eclectic group this year. It probably reflects the diversity and brilliant movie-making of this year as we move into the second decade of the 21st century.

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TV: Team Conan - I'M WITH COCO

January 14th 2010 15:33


As most people would have heard, NBC are thinking of tinkering with their late night line up once again. Last year, Conan O’Brien moved from Late Night, where he hosted for 17 years, to possibly television’s greatest institution “The Tonight Show” at about 11:30 made famous mostly by Johnny Carson. Jay Leno, who had held the position for the same amount of time, moved to prime time at about 10, before their news programming. Now, because of poor ratings, they are planning to move Leno back to 11:30 for a half hour show. And since Conan isn’t beating David Letterman on CBS, who’s been around for 17 years as well, NBC seem to not give a shit if they screw over their “Tonight Show” host


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SCREENBEST BEST OF 2009: Gran Turino (2009)

January 12th 2010 00:50

Clint Eastwood has once again shown how good a moviemaker he is. His last offering “Gran Torino” isn’t a no holds barred action thriller like the movies that made him famous but rather a modern view of suburban America and racial tensions that are occurring. It has poignant views of life, death and getting by. It still has humour; it still has heart and it doesn’t feel preachy but when you see it, it’s a movie you won’t get out of your head. Fantastic acting from the whole cast, especially Clint. This is an instant classic. “Gran Torino” looks at the post-automotive industry wasteland that Detroit has become, with gangs and violence the norm.

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REVIEW: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

January 10th 2010 10:31

The new Twilight movie just snuck up didn’t it. I had no idea it was going to come out. Of course I’d have to have been living under a rock on Mars underwater for that to be true. With intense and constant media attention since, well the first film, “New Moon” had such great hype and such great expectation. Oh well, I guess you can’t pick them all. “New Moon” is disappointing after such a great opening to the franchise with “Twilight”. Not to say it is horribly poor, it just hasn’t reached the standard the first one reached. New directors bring new ideas. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy probably showed best the benefits of having the same director for all the movies. Catherine Hardwicke did a great job with the first movie, despite some very teeny dialogue, and created a really good film. Unfortunately Chris Weitz made this film look very amateur in comparison and more like the early Harry Potter films, although he did probably the second hardest book (after the fourth one) to adapt.

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REVIEW: Twilight (2008)

January 9th 2010 08:51

“Twilight” is the vampire movie which has taken the world by storm since its movie release. I thought it was about time I reviewed it. It’s a good story, good film, despite all the naysayers. It makes an easy to watch film, which is the best thing about it. The vampire genre has truly gone insane since this book series and subsequent film production have started. TV series, book series and movies have sprung out of the woodwork about vampires. Many choose to make them look ugly and different from humans, whereas “Twilight” makes them look alike except for only a few subtle differences. It just makes them outcasts. But the real story is the forbidden love story which is well done in both the book and the film.

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REVIEW: The Lovely Bones (2009)

January 7th 2010 11:50

“The Lovely Bones” is a sad, but completely brilliant movie. I’m actually surprised that it hasn’t received better reviews from most people. It is an amazing film and a feather in the already brimmed cap of director Peter Jackson. He truly captured the sorrow of a family who had suffered through the loss of a much loved daughter while looking at the much bigger crumbling of the family structure in the search for her killer. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a fun movie. At times it is very hard to watch but it is a very good idea for a film and I think it is well done. There are some great visual effects, especially of the purgatory scenes. It won’t be a classic film for Peter Jackson but it reaffirms him as one of the better users of CGI technology. “The Lovely Bones” is one of the better movies I’ve seen this year and probably the launching pad of the careers of stars Saoirse Ronan and Rose McIver.

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REVIEW: Platoon (1986)

January 4th 2010 01:23

One of my favourite lines in any movies was in Gran Torino, when Walt Kowalski says “The thing that haunts a guy is the stuff he wasn't ordered to do.” That is what “Platoon” is. It’s all about the things that happen in the heat of war. Or sometimes the things that happen after the battle. It’s a heavy subject matter. Frustration at being so far from home, mixed with fear and testosterone make it a horrible image of war. Horrible but necessary, especially for those who have never fought and hope never to witness the atrocity of war. There is one scene in particular in a Vietnamese village, where a little girl has a gun pointed at her face. That is a brutal, haunting image. It also sees the harsh occupation by the Americans, torching the village, rape the girls and beating the locals. It’s intense and unforgiving, the way a war movie should be.

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