The Oscars

Michael Clayton and
No Country For Old Men
Juno

Sooooo... it is almost Oscar time. I think. Or at least Screen Actors Guild or Golden Globes or some-such. Normally I cannot be expected to pay attention to these things since my taste is... well... so much better then everyone else's. But this year... with the actors strike...why not?
So I went to see three of the movies that have received a lot of nominations. In fact they re-released “Michael Clayton” just for the nominations. I saw that one along with “Juno” and “No Country For Old Men”. Here are the best picture nominations for Best Picture: ''Atonement,'' ''Juno,'' ''Michael Clayton,'' ''No Country for Old Men,'' ''There Will Be Blood.'' I did not see “Atonement” or “There Will Be Blood” but I got the other three. All three were good but some thoughts:

“Juno” is just squeamish fun. Ellen Page kills as the too smart, too cool, too nice daughter that all of us are grateful that we do not have. Go see “Juno” but do not go to see it with your 15 year old daughter and one of her friends whose parents are somewhat circumspect about what movies their daughter goes to see. When the movie begins with Juno saying “It all begins in the chair”... pans to a picture of the chair sitting on the lawn and then flashes back to her mounting the dorky boy it is... well... awkward. Anyway, they march you through it and you do not see the not so happy ending that approaches but it is one of those movies that helps add perspective to life.

“No Country For Old Men” is deeply disturbing and forgetting about the devastatingly devastating performance Javier Bardem it is a tour de force of darkness. The adaptation of Cormac Mc Carthy’s book is so spot on and relentless in it’s brooding, graphic violence that it is hard to take. The violence builds slow and hits again and again but it is unavoidable and ultimately sends a strong message regarding the lack of goodness, sanity and perhaps ultimately God. See this one alone. I did. Do not take the wife. The movie is so stark, lovingly filmed, well scripted and well cast, that it is hard to take it all in... even when nothing is happening. Tommy Lee Jones is perfect as he narrates and wanders through (second hand) all the violence and forsees awful things happening that neither the victims or even his own deputy can understand. If you are watching it and you think the good guys might win... bet on the villian and take the points.

“Michael Clayton” is edgy and asks some hard questions about life and Tom Wilkinson plays the truest and scariest bipolar guy ever seen in the movies and even more unfortunately is a spot on trial lawyer. Hmmm. The movie is kind of annoying because: 1. George Clooney is in it and I hate him like cancer. 2. He plays a fixer and hustler who knows everyone’s secrets at a huge NYC Law firm but has to scramble for 75k to fix a debt for a failed restaurant he and his brother tanked. 3. The good guys win in the end... kind of. The main message is that “truth” is kind of a mallable concept and as a lawyer, sadly, I agree. The good guys are never so good and the bad guys never so bad. Go see it, you will be entertained and it will provoke some thoughts but do not expect to have your life changed..

These three are worth seeing. “No Country For Old Men” has the possibility of being one of the great all time films. I need to see it another time or perhaps another 10 times but it might... just might be like... “The Godfather” and that is high praise indeed. I think it sweeps best picture and Javier wins for best supporting actor. He also would make a good successor to Dick Cheney as Vice-President.