Three days have gone by, and three Oscar contenders have been watched on Blu Ray, here are my reviews:
The Help
The Help is the story of domestic servants in 1950's Jackson, Mississippi and the woman who hire them. After a very slow and contrived first half hour, the film really does become funny and emotional, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Emma Stone plays a young aspiring journalist, who struggles to be taken seriously due to being a woman. To stir the pot, she wants to write a tell all book from the perspective of "the help", but getting maids who are willing to talk is another story. Great performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer as two maids, and also from Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard as homemakers with different attitudes towards the help. I give the help 7 Ninja Stars out of 10 and recommend it. The film is directed by Tate Taylor.
Tree of Life
Probably the most insane movie I have seen since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but a different kind of insane. Not drug induced like Fear and Loathing, more....ADD induced? I would break down the plot but there really isn't one. Supposedly the film was supposed to be about a man in present day (Sean Penn) reflecting on his childhood in Texas with his loving yet tyrannical father (Brad Pitt) and loving mother (Again Jessica Chastain). However the film has a 25 minute break early on that shows "creation" from the planetary down to the cellular levels, then runs through history until they get back to the 1960's. No shot in this film last longer than 15 seconds. It is narrated by three separate characters, and the narration is basically the characters talking to God. The film is an attempted look at religion and family and the universe, but really is just quite random. While I completely see what the director was trying to do, he really did not succeed. The film gets great performances from Pitt and Chastain, and the director of photography definitely earned their paycheck, but other than that, its just too incoherent. I give Tree of Life 4 Ninja Stars out of 10. The film is directed by Terrence Malick.
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen seems to direct a movie every year, but only a few of them get noticed. Anyone remember Scoop or You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger? Ya me neither. But apparently those were his last two films prior to this according to IMDB. This one centers on a man, who is pathetic, and awkward, and pathetic, played by Owen Wilson. He is with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams) who is clearly cheating on him, and clearly hates him, and is an all around terrible person. They are in Paris with her parents on a business trip, and they clearly hate him as well. So at midnight one night he is walking, and is magically transported back to 1920's Paris to hang out with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and some other famous artists who we are led to believe all were great friends. He never really questions why he is in the 20's, and they never question why he dresses or acts the way he does. So each night at midnight, he goes back to hang out with his "friends" in the past. This movie was terrible. No way to sugar coat it. It is not funny, you do not feel for or like any of the characters, the acting is not good, and the film starts with a six minute montage of just still shots of Paris, the six minutes feels like three hours. Midnight in Paris was an hour and thirty minutes, but felt like it took weeks to get through. Why in the world anyone has liked this movie is something I will never understand. I give it 1 Ninja Star out of 10 and beg you never to suffer through it. It co-stars Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, and Marion Cotillard.
-Maximus
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