DOUBLE OSCAR NOMINATED MOVIE REVIEWS: HER & NEBRASKA
I've never seen so many people in my life in a movie theater lobby. Apparently the must-see movie of the year (and take in the year is less than 20 days old as of this publishing) is Ride Along, a buddy cop movie with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. As original as a funny guy getting teamed up with a serious cop going through a series of wacky antics sounds, I chose instead to catch up on my Oscar movies. I'm happy to report that "Nebraska" and "Her" are small, pleasant films for anyone looking to avoid the January movie dumping grounds, and are competing against each other for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
NEBRASKA:
There isn't a single moment in Alexander Payne's latest family drama Nebraska that doesn't ring true. Growing up in a small, semi-rural town myself, the relatives of Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) are utterly authentic. You're probably familiar with the premise: Woody gets a notification claiming he needs to go to Lincoln, Nebraska to receive his $1 million. His son David (Will Forte) realizes his dad actually believes in this, or at least wants to believe anything that'll improve his life, with his tough-love wife Kate (June Squibb) nearly always jumping down his throat. On the way to Lincoln, they visit relatives in Nebraska, and Woody accidentally lets it slip about his "good fortune." Things snowball from there.
This is Bob Nelson's first script. Weirdly enough it says he wrote for Magic Johnson's talk show back in the day. If this is his break in Hollywood its deserved, with a Globe and Oscar nomination under his belt, Bob should start working more often: this is a highly authentic, original movie with great lead performances. We all know someone like Woody, an old, slightly bitter man wanting more for what's left of his life. Dern's character acting comes in handy here, he completely humanizes this curmudgeon. As his son, Forte isn't Oscar-worthy, but shows enough dramatic chops for strong promise. David basically represents the audience, wanting badly for Woody to realize this is a sweepstakes scam, but curious enough to not want to kill the old man's dream. Squibb has the film's best lines, and executes them with the timing of a woman only her seasoning could pull off. As I said, the locals are authentic and genuine, most country folk just do sit around shooting the breeze, and the end is an unexpected delight. Payne deserves his Best Director nod, and I wish Nebraska the best for March 2!
HER:
Buy into the guy falls for his phone premise and you're hooked into Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johannson, and written/directed by Spike Jonze. I adored Jonze's originality in Being John Malkovich, especially as an aspiring writer, but found his Where the Wild Things Are a confused mess. This film is certainly on the Malkovich end, but it's not the best film of the year. Its premise stems from society's truth: we're all falling in love with our phones. But Phoenix's lonely, sympathetic Theodore literally does so. His job is a poetic symbol of this movie: he writes love letters for other people. It's never for his lady. He purchases a new operating system (devilishly made to look like a new Apple product) and finds himself a her.
Johannson's utterly appealing voice gives the OS Samantha a life of its own, and her giddiness elevates the character to something I could work with. I can't help but imagine what Jonze would've done had he have gotten a non-famous voice to provide Samantha life with, I couldn't help but imagine Johannson talking into a phone the whole time to Phoenix. Besides this, the movie's stylish, colorful take on the future is utterly innovative. Theodore dresses in bright, primary colors, to establish his amorous potential and simple state of wanting to find somebody to love.
Phoenix himself is Oscar-nomination worthy here; he's the fixation of the camera's many intimate close-ups, as his facial expressions guide us through his roller coaster relationship with Samantha. Theodore isn't creepy (though he's called this by Olivia Wilde) or perverted, he's simply alone and kind of but not really divorced when he meets someone (something?) that can help him sort his feelings for love. Her chugs near the end to reach its climax, but the payoff is worth it, and so's your ticket to see this highly original contender that'll likely get Jonze an Academy Award to walk away with.
Rating for both: 3/4 stars, though I'd give "Nebraska" the edge for pure enjoyment and relatibility
NEBRASKA:
There isn't a single moment in Alexander Payne's latest family drama Nebraska that doesn't ring true. Growing up in a small, semi-rural town myself, the relatives of Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) are utterly authentic. You're probably familiar with the premise: Woody gets a notification claiming he needs to go to Lincoln, Nebraska to receive his $1 million. His son David (Will Forte) realizes his dad actually believes in this, or at least wants to believe anything that'll improve his life, with his tough-love wife Kate (June Squibb) nearly always jumping down his throat. On the way to Lincoln, they visit relatives in Nebraska, and Woody accidentally lets it slip about his "good fortune." Things snowball from there.
This is Bob Nelson's first script. Weirdly enough it says he wrote for Magic Johnson's talk show back in the day. If this is his break in Hollywood its deserved, with a Globe and Oscar nomination under his belt, Bob should start working more often: this is a highly authentic, original movie with great lead performances. We all know someone like Woody, an old, slightly bitter man wanting more for what's left of his life. Dern's character acting comes in handy here, he completely humanizes this curmudgeon. As his son, Forte isn't Oscar-worthy, but shows enough dramatic chops for strong promise. David basically represents the audience, wanting badly for Woody to realize this is a sweepstakes scam, but curious enough to not want to kill the old man's dream. Squibb has the film's best lines, and executes them with the timing of a woman only her seasoning could pull off. As I said, the locals are authentic and genuine, most country folk just do sit around shooting the breeze, and the end is an unexpected delight. Payne deserves his Best Director nod, and I wish Nebraska the best for March 2!HER:
Buy into the guy falls for his phone premise and you're hooked into Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johannson, and written/directed by Spike Jonze. I adored Jonze's originality in Being John Malkovich, especially as an aspiring writer, but found his Where the Wild Things Are a confused mess. This film is certainly on the Malkovich end, but it's not the best film of the year. Its premise stems from society's truth: we're all falling in love with our phones. But Phoenix's lonely, sympathetic Theodore literally does so. His job is a poetic symbol of this movie: he writes love letters for other people. It's never for his lady. He purchases a new operating system (devilishly made to look like a new Apple product) and finds himself a her.
Johannson's utterly appealing voice gives the OS Samantha a life of its own, and her giddiness elevates the character to something I could work with. I can't help but imagine what Jonze would've done had he have gotten a non-famous voice to provide Samantha life with, I couldn't help but imagine Johannson talking into a phone the whole time to Phoenix. Besides this, the movie's stylish, colorful take on the future is utterly innovative. Theodore dresses in bright, primary colors, to establish his amorous potential and simple state of wanting to find somebody to love.Phoenix himself is Oscar-nomination worthy here; he's the fixation of the camera's many intimate close-ups, as his facial expressions guide us through his roller coaster relationship with Samantha. Theodore isn't creepy (though he's called this by Olivia Wilde) or perverted, he's simply alone and kind of but not really divorced when he meets someone (something?) that can help him sort his feelings for love. Her chugs near the end to reach its climax, but the payoff is worth it, and so's your ticket to see this highly original contender that'll likely get Jonze an Academy Award to walk away with.
Rating for both: 3/4 stars, though I'd give "Nebraska" the edge for pure enjoyment and relatibility
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