OW11: The Descendants

Image via Wikipedia

The Descendants isn't a movie with a plot full of twists and surprises. It's not a movie with a sweeping love story where the endearing hero ends up with the girl of his dreams. It's not a movie about a quirky famiy that, against all odds, sticks together through thick and thin. But what The Descendants is is a truly honest story of a man whose personal world is coming down around him, the story of a man who has to pick through the pieces to remain true to himself. It's also a movie that has one hell of a performance by it's leading man, George Clooney. In fact, the performances in the film are uniformly strong behind Clooney, especially by Shailene Woodley, someone I was unfamiliar before seeing the film.

Given the events depicted in the film, it'd be extremely easy for the screenplay to come off extremely sentimental, cliché-ridden and clearly aiming for tears, but this was not the case in The Descendants. The writing here is very realistic, really adding to the honesty of the story. I didn't find the direction anything to write home about, but it certainly told the story as it should be told.

The Descendants is a film that will be most certainly be honored one way oyu another come Oscar time, that much is certain.

OW11: The Tree of Life

Image via Wikipedia

The Tree of Life, to me, comes off as two completely separate movies blended together: a sweet coming of age story and a National Geographic-esque documentary about the origins of life. Does that sound like a big 'ole mess to you? Because it is.

The coming of age story is quite strong, if not completely realized. You follow the life of this boy, his struggles with his strict father, his relationship with his younger brother, and, decades later, how he is unhappy with his life. The problem is that decades-long jump. Why is he unhappy? How did he get to where he is? Did he make a wrong choice along the way that we didn't see? All these questions could be answered if there was any development at all with the older version - instead, Sean Penn mopes around his completely kick-ass office building, culminating in a strange existential vision where all his family members are around him. Does he miss his family? Is that the point? I suppose that makes sense... but it's just not clear.

Then we have the NatGeo segment. I had no flipping idea what was going on. First there's galaxy images then there's lava then there's dinosaurs then there's an astroid. How is this at all relevant to the other story? I'm sure you can make some artsy connection that merely connects them, but it most certainly does not enhance the main story. It all comes off as trying way too hard to be important.

Am I missing the point of this film? Quite likely. I hope so. I hate for a movie to be a completely disjointed mess that comes off as obnoxiously self-important and artsy. 

Photo 365

I've decided to try (once again) to try a Photo 365 project... a picture every day for the next 365 days (well 366 this year... but that doesn't have the same ring to it). We shall how long I last.

http://timmmcphoto365.posterous.com

Check it out!

2011 Year in Review

What do I when I am really freaking bored at the end of December? I go through my box of tickets and come up with lists of things I did this year, of course! I'll put my top five in each category here, then my complete lists after the jump. Do check it out to see just how much money I wasted spent in 2011!

Top 5 Theatre Experience

1. American Idiot (Jan 30, St. James Theatre, New York City)


2. The Submission (Oct 16, Lortel Theatre, New York City)


3. La Cage aux Folles (Jan 30, Longacre Theatre, New York City)


4. Godspell (Oct 16, Circle in the Square, New York City)


5. Les Miserables (Nov 3, Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence)

It was a good year in theatre for me this year. I took four trips to NYC to see various shows, all of the shows being very enjoyable. My theatre-going excursions in the Boston area were rather light this season, something I hope to change in 2012. Honorable mention here goes to Daniel Radcliffe's star turn in How to Succeed, the much maligned Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the off-Broadway revival of Rent.

Top 5 Concerts

1. Bruno Mars & Janelle Monáe (May 7, Agannis Arena, Boston)


2. Sara Bareilles & Josh Radin (Aug 30, Bank of America Pavilion, Boston)


3. Jon McLaughlin (May 3, Brighton Music Hall, Boston)


4. The Script (June 8, Bank of America Pavilion, Boston)


5. American Idol Live! (Sep 1, DCU Center, Worcester) 

Looking back I initially thought of this as a good year for me in concerts, but listing them all out, it was kind of slim pickings. The ones I went to were good fun, but there isn't much to choose from for a top-5 list (at least for my likings!). Honorable mention here for Josh Groban at Providence's Dunkin Donuts Center.

Top 5 Movies (based on pure enjoyment, not quality or Oscar-worthiness)

1. Captain America: The First Avenger


2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo


3. 50/50


4. X-Men First Class


5. Super 8

Ugh, talk about tough. To do this, I narrowed my list down to 10 movies, then selected five... but in all honesty, there isn't much of a difference between 1 and 10 here. Like the problem I have when finishing my Oscar Watch series, it's so tough to rank movies that are so, so different. Each of the 10 movies I put down elicited different reactions from me, making me love them for different reasons. Tough stuff. The other 5 (in no particular order): Thor, The Muppets, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Black Swan and Footloose. Yes, Footloose.

Top 5 TV Series
Limited to series I saw the entirety of this season, based on 2011's new episodes and again on pure entertainment

1. Breaking Bad


2. Parks & Recreation


3. Friday Night Lights


4. Dexter


5. New Girl

This... this actually was not all that tough. Friday Night Lights's final season was technically in 2010, but it was aired on NBC in 2011, so it's included. I watched P&R in its entirety after realizing that The Office was leaving a void on my TV-viewing schedule (not that the Steve Carrell-less version isn't funny, it's just not AS funny...). P&R more than fills the void... and actually I think it surpasses it. I hesitated to put New Girl on the list at all, given that there's only half a season to go by, but I freaking love that show so far. Honorable mention to The Walking Dead... and for the record, I'd probably put Glee dead last. 

So that's that. 2011 was not a good year for me... so as you can see, I tried to fill it with as much escapism as possible. Hopefully 2012 is different, but still filled with lots of escapism. Because escapism is the best. :)

Full lists after the jump.

OW11: 50/50

Image via Wikipedia

What we have here is a beautifully written movie filled with absolutely wonderful performances. The script by real-life cancer-survivor Adam Reiser is heart-breaking, hilarious, touching, and full of hope, often all at the same time. The performances are all top notch, especially from the always wonderful Joseph Gorden-Levitt and the delightful Anna Kendrick. Seth Rogan was also surprisingly good, even if he was playing the same old Seth Rogan role (which I learned later was the point, as his character is based on... Seth Rogan).

In all, this movie is sure to go down as one of my favorites of the year. I typically find a "little" movie to root for at the Oscars... 50/50 will almost certainly be 2011's.