The Descendants

At its best, The Descendants is a lovely rumination on love, loss, togetherness — in the end virtually all at once. I'd seen it in one of those bigger NYC megaplexes wishing I was back in my hometown watching it in the smaller, cozier arthouse theater that I've been watching indies like this in for years. It just has that comfortably homey quality, ya know? The perfect indie movie that you can just pop in if you're in the right mood for it and really having a great night as a result.

Unfortunately, I think a lot if it really does bog itself down too much in on itself through extraneous storylines and characters and motifs they just drag on and on unnecessarily. Mainland-centric perspectives that exoticize Hawaii have always kind of bothered me, and while I realize much of the story is trying to kind of deglam mainstream perceptions of it the constant ukelele music and random splashes of the shore you can hear and seagulls just to remind you of where it is still just stunk to me of a really smelly legacy that only snowballed until the end when George Clooney gives that incredibly patronizing and corny speech about his ancestors' lands belonging to the Hawaiian people and whatnot. I mean, I realize that's probably just adapted from the source material but I just don't think they really made it work that well, the backdrop didn't seem to add much that it couldn't have done more effectively through other means.

It might seem like nitpicking but its things like that in addition to it that just seemed tacked on and, well, tacky. The random surfer kid who didn't really need to be there, and then they just randomly force some sympathetic back story on him to show that ~everyone's more complicated than they seem~ or something. The kids in general, including the littlest one, just seemed a little too cliche and just how old farts view children and not necessarily realistic. The search for Matthew Lillard was exhaustive and annoying and boring and didn't feel worth it as a viewer by the end. And that whole subplot of trying to get rid of the land at the end, just like, blah blah blah. Give me some more Shailene Woodley man! I think she showed here that she was probably the reason why The Secret Life was such a guilty pleasure to me in the first season (until they just gave up on it and had her deliver the damn baby mid-season) because my eyes always went to her and she was constantly the most interesting person on screen to watch despite her more emotional moments sometimes seeming a bit overcooked (probably leftover Secret Life syndrome).

As for everyone else in the cast, I admittedly went in skeptical of the Clooney "career best" notices because I feel like he gets those notices every time he has a new performance and it's never, like, THAT much better than any other performance he gives — not that he plays the same character, but I think his performances are generally of the same level and not necessarily a very high one. But yeah, I do think this was definitely a role that showcased a growth and maturity in his performative abilities as a vulnerable man with a world of responsibility on his shoulders between his cousins counting on him and trying to hold his family together and dealing with the bittersweet loss of an unfaithful wife. He doesn't make my top ten or anything but I wouldn't mind him being nominated (I guess not if he wins, either, though I don't really think he's going to). Robert Forster was understated but he did shine in his brief moments, especially near the end (although the whole peeking through the cracked open door thing seemed incredibly contrived) though I don't think he deserves significant recognition for it. Nor should Judy Greer, who was fine in her...scene, but she's no Viola Davis in Doubt or anything.

I do think there's a lot of good to recommend in it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it myself if under the right circumstances...but man that last speech really lowered it for me. Like what even was that. And in general I'm not a big fan of the Alexander Payne voiceover format. Read more!

MOB: The Artist — Best Picture Frontrunner

I got the opportunity to watch The Artist at the New York Film Festival, but never got the opportunity to write about it. It's a film of some lightness but it's incredibly lovely; the film draws you into its concept soon enough and, in spite of occasionally dipping into the more melodramatic and maudlin near the climax of the film, the very end goes off on a booming and spirit lifting note that has a full theater cheering at the end. I saw it among cinephiles and average moviegoers alike and the opinions were pretty much the same, and judging from the critical reaction it looks like it ticks off boxes for all relevant camps.

As far as the Oscar race goes, there appear to be three films that can conceivably win the top prize at this point — Alexander Payne's Clooney led The Descendants, Spielberg's War Horse and this. Sure, Michel Hazanavicius doesn't quite have the starpower of Spielberg's name nor does lead actor Jean Dujardin carry the crowd recognition of George Clooney. That said, anytime Dujardin's glowing smile isn't on screen, you wish it was. And we see last year with Tom Hooper beating someone at career peak like David Fincher last year that directorial star power doesn't quite go all the way every time. At this point, War Horse is more of a wildcard than anything. Spielberg this year has gotten off to a fine note getting a decent reaction for The Adventures of Tin Tin which was seen as being a lot riskier in reception than the film based upon the most recent Tony winner for Best Play.

The problem with Payne is that his films don't really hold up. Sideways positively swept the critics awards in 2004 and he may find similar passion among them this year, but in the general populace his films don't exactly hold up. Sideways loses impact upon repeated viewings while something like About Schmidt or Election are praised for little else than their respective central performances. Payne also had won an Oscar for the screenplay for Sideways and does seem to be perceived as more of a writer than a director, and George Clooney had been given his own Oscar not even that long ago while going up against Oscarless actors of similar star status like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Most damning for the film is the fact that, as far as the distinction vis à vis The Artist goes is that people like The Descendants...people love The Artist.

This much was evidenced by its audience win at the Hamptons Film Festival, among a few other places, since Hamptons is where many Academy members can be found trying to catch up on this year's crop of films. You might remember last year, another Harvey Weinstein vehicle, The King's Speech took that prize. The Artist missed out on the Toronto audience award that jumpstarted The King's Speech's campaign, but it has more going for it than The King's Speech, that being that it simply fits better within the framework of the more recent winners. Whether its win was balked or not by the majority of cinephilic communities, The King's Speech still may well have been the third best reviewed film nominated last year behind The Social Network and Toy Story 3, and Colin Firth had still managed to take 2 out of 3 of the central critics groups' awards; The Artist will likely inspire even more critical adulation. It has that distinguishable feature that almost certainly makes it stand out, being silent and black and white, that reminds me of Slumdog Millionaire's ascent into Best Picturedom. And while the more dramatic elements of the story remind older voters of the most traditionally pleasurable of Hollywood themes and entertainment, the story of a Hollywood star transitioning to major changes in the film industry could not be better timed with the onset of actors' fears of motion capture performance and 3D sales dominating the new industry business model. Read more!