Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

A couple of weeks back, I focused on the new BD book release of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.  I did not get my screener copy on time to review it but I received it shortly afterward.  I wasn't having the greatest of days and a three-hour plus film seemed like the perfect way to get lose for an extended period of time.  Watching the classic made me realize just how much I love grand, epic romances, especially if the love meets a tragic end.  Honestly though, when does the love survive in these scenarios anyway?  Julie Christie is just as gorgeous in this movie as the breathtaking scenery.  If you have not had the chance to see DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and are looking for a good, long trip down Film History Lane, pick this one up.

Moving on to the week at hand ...

VALENTINE'S DAY

It's a good thing this Garry Marshall crammed almost every likable star in Hollywood into this two hour tribute to a day that ordinarily annoys me.  I can't say the filmic ode annoyed me any less but there were a few moments that made it passable.  Highlights include Anne Hathaway as a girl in a fresh and potentially satisfying relationship that has to hide her moonlighting job as a phone sex operator; Jennifer Garner and Ashton Kutcher are actually pretty adorable together as friends who could be more; and this one scene between Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo caught me completely off guard and had me weeping.  Essentially, I learned that to love someone means loving them for the parts that are hard to love just as much as the parts that are easy.  Mind you, I'm not sure how much advice about love I should be taking from Hollywood.

THE MESSENGER

If it weren't for the two unexpected Oscar nominations this Oren Moverman film earned this year, this quiet commentary about casualties of war may have fallen entirely into obscurity.  Instead, after picking up a Best Supporting Actor nod for Woody Harrelson and a screenplay nomination, it managed to pull in a little over $6 million at the box office.  It doesn't sound like much but given how limited it played and how bleak the subject matter is, it's not bad at all.  Harrelson's nod is well deserved and in any other year, Ben Foster would have joined him amongst the nominees.  Foster is usually a little over the top but his restraint here offers a perspective that is cutting and moving.  The entire case delivers actually with Samantha Morton rounding out the team with another incredible performance as the widow of a fallen soldier.  For the full length Black Sheep theatrical review, just click this link.

INVICTUS 

Two very talented actors, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, give great performances in this Clint Eastwood picture but once again, Eastwood himself is his own film's worst enemy.  Honestly, this historical account of how the South African soccer team helped its country unify during a controversial period that found Nelson Mandela as its first black leader, opens with Mandela being driven down a road in a cavalcade with black soccer players on one side of the road and white ones on the other side.  Could this new leader divide the gap between these races?  Eastwood is a genius ... at being ridiculously obvious in his intentions, that is.  He is almost incapable of subtlety and he looms over all his projects with an air of enlightenment when all it really is ignorance for just how delicate these situations really are.  It isn't his worst picture but you can miss it and not be any worse for it.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:

Harrison Ford and Brandan Fraser try to collectively cure some incurable disease in what looks like an overglorified made for television movie called EXTREME MEASURES.  Criterion goes on WALKABOUT with the 1971 Nicolas Roeg film.  Michael Winterbottom makes what arguably could be classified as art house pornography with 9 SONGS.  And Al Pacino favorite, CARLITO'S WAY makes its way to BD for the first time.

Source: bluray.com

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THE MESSENGER

Written by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
Directed by Oren Moverman
Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton


Dale Martin: Why are you here? Why aren’t you dead?

THE MESSENGER opens on an eye. This is an eye that has clearly been through difficult terrain and has seen its fair share of unnecessary horror. Its sadness and despair hang in its pupil, weighting in down as the tears inevitably fall from the corners. The worst of it is, that this eye hasn’t seen anything yet.


The eye to this particular world belongs to Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster). Will has been wounded in batter in Iraq and has been sent back to the United States to take on new responsibilities while he heals and completes the duration of his term with the army. Let alone that he doesn’t want to be back to begin with, he soon gets an assignment that he can’t stand. It is now his job to announce the deaths of American soldiers to their next of kin with the deepest of sympathies from the U.S. government. To you or me, this might seem like a relief but it isn’t long before Will wants back in the field.


He is literally the bearer of bad news and this is a burden that is shouldered bravely and strongly by a mature Foster. As Will, he is more contained than usual, holding his angst inside instead of letting it all out spastically. Like the character he is playing, Foster appears to have lived a little more and subsequently learned some more about life’s hardships. Working opposite veteran character actors, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, certainly doesn’t hurt either. Harrelson is his commanding officer and his own command of his internal conflict reminds us just how dynamic he is as an actor. Morton meanwhile pulls out a heartbreaking performance out of very little screen time as a new widow, unsure of how to proceed with her life.


Foster’s newfound control is certainly put to good use in THE MESSENGER. The army has a very strict policy about how the news of a dead soldier is to be delivered. First of all, it must be done in a timely fashion. With so many ways to get news out there today, if the army doesn’t get to the next of kin fast enough, they could just end up seeing live footage of the death online. Secondly, the job is to deliver the news, offer condolences and provide direction for the bereaved. At no time though is one allowed to console with a comforting touch. The worst news imaginable is delivered and sympathy is expressed but never shown.


Naturally, the news is never taken that well. Whoever hears it can sense that whoever is delivering it isn’t as sincere as they appear. The same can be said for first time director, Oren Moverman. Moverman presents himself as another messenger, just of a different kind. As THE MESSENGER exposes the desolate lack of emotion expressed by the army at these horrifying moments, Moverman hopes that we too will get his message of futility. Unfortunately, despite some great moments and performances, it is just as easy to see through Moverman as it is to see through the army.

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Oscars Out

Last week, Black Sheep gave you a head start on your Oscar viewing with a guide to all the nominated films that are available to rent now. By now, you should have at least seen THE HURT LOCKER and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and DISTRICT 9. If you haven't, you need to pick it up, people. The Oscars are less than three weeks from now and you still have a lot to watch, I'm sure. Now, as for what is still playing in theatres, five of the ten Best Picture nominees are available to you. While the chances are good that you saw AVATAR and THE BLIND SIDE already, you don't want to miss UP IN THE AIR, PRECIOUS or AN EDUCATION either. I thought rather than focus on the films you likely have the easiest access to, I would focus a little more on the films that may not make your final cut in hopes that you will squeeze them in.

Here are the five best Oscar nominated films you might not have seen yet:

CRAZY HEART
Nominated for:

BEST ACTOR - JEFF BRIDGES
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - THE WEARY KIND


CRAZY HEART is currently playing on a little over 1000 screens in North America and therefore shouldn't be too hard to find playing near you. Scott Cooper's film has a strong chance of taking home two Oscars come the big night, the first for Jeff Bridges and the second for the fantastic Ryan Bingham song. I'm not so sure how Maggie Gyllenhaal ended up nominated for her work here but she certainly doesn't take away from the film. CRAZY HEART is one of those quiet films about real people dealing with real problems that are just a little too real for some audiences. Bridges is so strong as alcoholic country singer, Bad Blake though, that it is easy to overlook the smaller budgetary issues.


THE LAST STATION
Nominated for:

BEST ACTRESS - HELEN MIRREN
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER


THE LAST STATION imagines the last days of Russian author and reluctant near-prophet, Leo Tolstoy. Christopher Plummer plays Tolstoy and Helen Mirren plays his wife, Countess Sofya. The two are a long time married, have been drifting for years and are finally reaching their boiling points over their issues. THE LAST STATION was not recognized in any other category but it is still certainly worth it to watch these two go at it as they are both incredible professionals. It doesn't hurt that James McAvoy is always around for eye candy either.


THE MESSENGER
Nominated for:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - WOODY HARRELSON
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY


The full Black Sheep review will be coming next week on THE MESSENGER but it has actually been playing in theatres here and there since November. I cannot say that I agree with the screenplay nomination for director, Oren Moverman and co-writer, Alessandro Camon. I found it lacked subtlety at times but it is still moving and engaging. The ensemble itself, rounded out by Ben Foster, who in a different year, could have easily seen his first nomination, and Samantha Morton, who should have quite honestly been listed amongst the nominees in place of Gyllenhaal, is dead on. And Harrelson leads the pack, capping off a great year with a well-deserved nod. THE MESSENGER opens in Canada on February 26.


A SINGLE MAN
Nominated for:

BEST ACTOR - COLIN FIRTH


The lack of Academy support for Tom Ford's debut feature, A SINGLE MAN, really surprised me when the Oscar nominations were announced. I expected Julianne Moore to pick a Supporting Actress nod. I hoped Abel Korzeniowski would pick up a nod for his sumptuous string score. I thought for sure it would pop up under Art Direction or Costume Design, considering how fashionable and stylish the whole thing is. I would have loved to have seen Ford himself recognized for his tender screenplay even. Sadly, I saw none of that happen. Still, if Colin Firth's nomination for his work as George is the only prize it takes, I will be thrilled.


THE WHITE RIBBON
Nominated for:

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY


I told a friend of mine the other day that I was going to see a depressing black and white art film this past weekend. She humoured me at first but definitely thought I was crazy when I told her it was two and a half hours long and in German. Despite her lack of understanding as to how that could actually make for a great afternoon, I would actually see Michael Haneke's THE WHITE RIBBON again. I knew nothing of its plot going in and I think it best if you go in as blind as I did. The resulting experience will be all the more bewildering. THE WHITE RIBBON is not a likely winner in the Cinematography category but could surprise and is certainly one of the top two contenders in the Foreign Language category.


Next up for Black Sheep's Oscar coverage, Black Sheep looks at the Animated Feature category this weekend. Look for reviews for the Oscar nominated films throughout the week. Now, get out there and see those movies!

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