Catching up with Oscar

How I spent my weekend -- Pictures courtesy of Ghoulardi Films and Fox Searchlight

by blogSpotter
This was a low-key Memorial Day weekend; Dallas had cloudy, humid weather and I came down with a cold. I managed to catch a couple of good movies on Apple TV during my convalescence. Apple is now offering newer movie releases in iTunes, so I’m only a little behind Blockbuster or Best Buy.

There Will Be Blood
This movie is based on a novel, Oil, by Upton Sinclair. The movie is an allegorical depiction of a greedy, rather despicable oil man who uses up all the people around him and eventually consumes himself in alcoholism and self-loathing. The movie is darkly poetic with its violin music and its somber blue, black and brown hues. It places us at the turn of the last century and also imparts the sad, lonely circumstances of its characters. Blood reminded me quite a bit of Christmas Carol with Daniel in the role of Scrooge. But Scrooge finds redemption in his tale – Blood has a shocking conclusion that is anything but redeeming.

Juno
Someone described this movie inaccurately as a “chick flick”. It’s really not about marriage or romance – it’s a cogent, well scripted social “dramedy” centering on a 16 year old, self-effacing tom boy named Juno who gets pregnant. Her boyfriend is also 16 – a high school track star who, like Juno, is immature and nowhere near parental readiness. Juno is helped by her father and step-mom in finding a “perfect” 30-something yuppie couple to adopt the infant when it’s born. The movie has one interesting twist at the end, but the main thing to glean here is the nuanced acting and believable, appealing characters. There aren’t really heroes or villains – just flawed humans searching for happiness or equilibrium however it may be found.

Both of these movies received Oscars and its easy to see why. Movie-making is so much more than story or dialog. It’s music, light, mood, cadence and many other things. You know when it’s done right and both of these movies are exemplary.

My other guilty pleasure this weekend was Indiana Jones and the Crystral Skull. For a pure adrenaline rush in an Amazon jungle, this movie surely delivers. At 65, Harrison Ford still has an athletic build and does his own stunts. The AMC audience had many older people in it, probably also in awe that Harrison can still pull it off. I’d like to say that I accomplished much more than watching movies this 3-day weekend, but nay. Given the state of my health and the weather, I’d say I chose some very good cinema to keep me entertained.

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