Tag Archives: Academy Award

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Nominated for Best Visual Effects

I chose the opportunity of the 84th Academy Awards to really get my review site up and running. The reality is that the awards ceremony is this upcoming Sunday and with plenty of movies still waiting to be watched, this year, unfortunately, I will not reach my deadline but will continue to review all of the nominated films until I complete them.

It will still be a chance to get out and see some of the best films of the past year, although I do tend to take the nominations with a grain of salt. This year, there were some contenders that shocked and befuddled my inner critic. Included in that roster was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Albeit, it was nominated for visual effects, but I still could not find an ounce of reason for praise of this film – until I took the time to watch it. What was a seemingly strange sci-fi turned into a poignant commentary on the human condition and the treatment of those who appear to be less intelligent, whether it be apes or the elderly.

The ‘Evolution’ of a Franchise

★★★★☆

Director Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a visually intriguing film that serves as an introduction to the Planet of the Apes franchise popularized in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

The film presents the human side of science fiction in the character of Will Rodman (James Franco) and his Alzheimer’s-ridden father, Charles (John Lithgow). Rodman takes in Caesar (Andy Serkis), a baby chimpanzee whose mother has been euthanized due to a seemingly botched anti-Alzheimer’s drug.

As Caesar grows in the care of Rodman, it is undeniable that his intelligence level (thanks to the ALZ-112 drug passed from his mother) is far superior to other apes. After a rescue attempt goes awry in the suburbs, Caesar is forced into a primate shelter where he is mistreated. Caesar slowly plans to free himself and the other prisoners, unbeknownst to Rodman.

Watching the baby (and digitized) chimp grow in a family home becomes an emotional agent that makes Ceasar’s incarceration and eventual rejection of Rodman the more moving.

The film features Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital effects to create the lifelike appearance of the primates, from chimpanzees to gorillas to orangutans. Rise of the Planet of the Apes involved the motion capture technique, allowing for on-location shooting.

Playing Ceasar is English actor Andy Serkis who is well-versed in WETA Digital effects thanks to his portrayals of Gollum (Lord of the Rings trilogy), King Kong (King Kong, 2005) and Captain Haddock in the also-nominated The Adventures of Tin-Tin. Not surprisingly, Serkis has been nominated for many awards in his portrayal of the lead chimp, including Best Supporting Actor at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, the San Diego Film Critics Society awards and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards. Serkis won the Favourite Hero award in his portrayal of Caesar at the IGN Summer Movie Awards.

The film took advantage of their reboot and created a realistic portrayal of how these simians became so smart in the first place. As one who formerly tended to stray from the nonsensical Planet of the Apes franchise, I was quite enthralled by the relationship developed between the primates and humans from the love Rodman gave Caesar to the harsh treatment by his captors.

Certainly a film not to be judged by its campy predecessors, Rise of the Planet of the Apes paves the way for a new franchise with a touching and entertaining back story.

*Image courtesy of http://cdn.screenrant.com
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“A Separation” Nominated for 2 Academy Awards

What a way to get an audience to sit through till the end of the credits! I’ve been hearing buzz about A Separation for awhile now and since its nominations in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay categories, it was bumped up to the top of my seemingly never-ending must-see list. I’m certainly no stranger to Iranian film as I am a big Kiarostami fan (go and see Ten), but I’m encouraged to check out more of Farhadi‘s films including About Elly, after which, he says, A Separation was “logically developed.” Academy nominations aside, if you’d like a great commentary on human nature and the family, check out my review of and go see A Separation.

Family: the same in every language

★★★★★

Teeming with emotion, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation is an award-winning film and Iran’s official submission to the Academy. A moving drama, A Separation invites a discussion on the topics of divorce, parental delinquency, the justification of life and the consequences of building on lies.

Nader (Peyman Maadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) have reached an end to their 14-year relationship and are confronted with the reality of having to split their belongings including 11-year-old Termeh (Sarina Farhadi, the director’s daughter and an impressive actor). When Nader is accused of assaulting Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a woman hired to help his father who suffers from Alzheimer’s, a web of lies is created that begins to take a toll on everyone, directly involved or not.

The film was made without government assistance and brings to light the true cultural similarities when it comes to family. Having the freedom to express and with limited to no censorship, Farhadi realistically portrayed Iranian lower- and middle-class familial lifestyles.

The unfamiliar faces of the actors contributed to the realism in the film and kept audiences on their toes, particularly in the final, agonizing three-and-a-half minute scene where Termeh’s parents await her decision of who she will live with. As disappointing it was to not find out Termeh’s decision, audiences are left feeling exactly how Nader and Simin feel: anxiety, impatience and worry.

But the major emotions drawn were the sympathies for the women involved who, with respect to the men in their lives, take many risks to help out. Whether it’s Simin who risks meeting with Razieh’s husband, Houjat (Shahab Hosseini), to barter a settlement or Razieh, who risks her husband’s hand to make money working for a single man, the women find a moral paradox in trying to be both a good wife and strong mother.

The film also exposes and sympathizes with the stereotypes of Iranian men, as in the scene where Houjat’s explosive temper has been blamed for causing Razieh’s miscarriage, not Nader’s assault. Houjat wonders why many are so quick to assume that men just beat their wives like animals.

When Razieh miscarries a son, I half expected the topic to turn to the true value of a male child. However, I was delighted to see there was no mention of any preference between the sexes and both families showed they truly valued their daughters.

The film subtly brings up the topic of what constitutes life as Nader comes close to being charged with murder in the death of Razieh’s 4-month-old pre-natal baby. Also, when Simin tries to convince Nader to leave Iran, she tells him to give up on his father. Since he has Alzheimer’s and can’t remember his son, it shouldn’t matter to Nader if he lives or dies.

With so many social and cultural topics on the table, it’s hard to find an end to the unraveling twists and turns of the plot. Though it wasn’t confusing, it did bring out a bit of anxiety in this critic as the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to dim as each lie spread and each situation worsened.

And, as is the truth in most cases, this difficult story does not have a clear ending in Nader and Simin’s divorce but a cloudy intermission where Termeh is left with the daunting challenge of “choosing” between her beloved parents. Termeh, who bore the weight of her parents’s troubles, now bears the weight of her guilt in having to choose.

Shot in a traditional real-time method, A Separation is a riveting, true-to-life representation of the family arc created by divorce, death, illness, adolescence and most importantly, misunderstandings. Certainly a deserving contender for the Best Original Screenplay category, A Separation will get your moral mind moiling.

 *Image courtesy of cdn07.film.com.
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“A Cat in Paris” Nominated for Best Animated Feature

After making the harrowing list of all 60 Oscar-nominated films I was to watch, I naturally found them and proceeded to watch. It wasn’t until after the fact that I would even venture a guess as to which category the film had been nominated. That being said, I will admit that I was a bit surprised to see A Cat in Paris nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. It doesn’t have your typical “Best Animated Feature” stereotypes like a Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks logo attached or English dialogue, but its status as the underdog almost makes me want to root for it just a little bit more. Anyway, here’s my review of A Cat in Paris.

“Ce n’est pas facile d’être un gangster”

★★★★☆

With the plot of a crime drama, the allure of the City of Lights and pointedly sleek animations, A Cat in Paris by directors Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol is garnering a lot of attention from the critics.

Clocking in at seventy minutes, the film follows Dino, a house cat to Jeanne and her daughter Zoe by day and cat burglar Nico’s assistant by night. As Dino’s two lives cross, Jeanne must begin to trust Nico in order to save young Zoe from the mobster Costa.

Drawn with the feel of a French art deco painting, A Cat in Paris is a true animated interpretation of the ultimate crime thriller. The music was unexpectedly sharp and fitting for the genre; a little bit of Parisian Hitchcock, if you will.

The storyline was fluid and captivating and almost transcended the animations for a real-life glimpse at the underbelly of crime in Paris. The inner city scenes gave off a gritty texture up close while almost glittering in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower when shot from afar. Action eventually leads the characters to the construction-ridden Notre Dame cathedral which towers against the city backdrop.

It had interesting plot twists and elements and great character development considering the film length, so A Cat in Paris is well-deserving of the Oscar nod. A purrfect family feature.

*Image courtesy of www.threeimaginarygirls.com.
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