Would I have seen these otherwise?

This past week or so, the husband and I covered a few more Oscar possibilities via Netflix and the Alamo Drafthouse Village. Let's see what I think...



"District 9" - I am pretty sure there is no way I would have ever chosen to see this movie. It ended up on the list because it was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay award at the Golden Globes. The movie is set in Johannesburg, South Africa (it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to remember where Johannesburg is) and centers around a 'mother ship' that stalls and hovers over the city. Once agents break in, they discover a race of aliens that are malnourished and proceed to bring them down to Earth and set them up in a tent city deemed "District 9." The aliens, termed 'Prawns' in a derogatory fashion, are unable to leave and as the weeks, months, years progress the tent city slides into a clapboard slum and the Prawns wreak havoc on the human population. Once I figured out the movie was set in South Africa, I found the parallels between the alien treatment and apartheid very fascinating. The cast and crew are all South Africans and of course, the parallels were the point. I was also really fascinated by the idea of inter-planetary diplomacy (has any other alien movie addressed this possibility?) and the natural decision to house and care for these unknown creatures - and then once it becomes permanent there is a slippery slope. I really feel like that is acccurate as far as human nature is concerned. The movie is set up in a documentary style and follows a South African man who is an international agent dealing with District 9. The movie was a bit gruesome, but the writing/concept/acting/action were great. Recommended if you like aliens and stuff like that.



"Avatar" - I mean, I had to see this one, right? Yes yes, we saw it in 3-D. So I really did like the movie. It was entertaining the whole way through and it just looked cool. It was entirely in 3-D - not just for shock value (no snakes striking in your face, Thank God), and I really liked his idea for Pandora and the Na'vi. It should probably win all of the special effects awards. But at the end of the day, this movie is really just "Fern Gully" meets "The Matrix." - my mom threw "Dances With Wolves" in there, too, but I haven't seen that. The story was pretty basic - nothing new there, and the acting wasn't anything special - although the guy who played the main character did a good job. We saw it on Sunday night rather than watching the Golden Globes. The Globes were finishing up when we got home and we saw the last award - Best Picture, Drama. It went to "Avatar." Didn't really agree with that. "Inglourious Basterds" was much better. GO SEE THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW IN 3-D. It's totally worth the experience. Good movie, just not Best Picture great.



"The Hurt Locker" - I'm still really trying to process this movie. It is about the Iraq war and follows an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) unit during the last 40 days of their tour in 2004. The movie is a string of their disposal outings as well as a small look at day-to-day life on the base. What really struck me is how accurate that portrayal seemed. My husband's best friend has served two tours in Iraq as a Marine and after his 2nd tour he showed us about 4 rolls of film he took during his time there. It was mostly he and his buddies rough-housing, funny pictures of livestock, and photos of Iraqi citizens he got to know. I think the movie was good and bold and I think it's important to show that war is a drug for some people. Maybe I just didn't get it - but it's all still kind of ruminating up there wondering if I liked it or not. I thought Jeremy Renner was great and I find it very interesting that this movie was directed by a woman. Interesting little tidbit...Kathryn Bigelow (the director of this film) was briefly married to James Cameon. Nuts, right?!


So would I have sought any of these movies out on my own? Probably not - but I did end up enjoying these movies, so - good for me!

Double Feature

This past Friday afternoon my husband surprised me by suggesting we make our evening a double feature. We had already planned on going to the movies, so once he took a look at the times he said, "if we leave now, we can see Up in the Air at 4:10 and then Precious at 7:50." He continued, I'm sure after seeing the stunned look on my face, explaining, "I feel like if I just don't go see Precious now, I'll lose interest and I just won't see it." So off we were, that moment, to the Arbor Movie Theatre.

The Arbor is a Regal Cinema in North Austin that really showcases indie/arthouse movies - maybe even better than the Dobie Theatre on the UT campus. Next to the Alamo Drafthouse, it's my favorite place to see movies in Austin. It's not stadium seating or anything super-special, really, it has maybe 6 screens. But the feel is so laid-back and the staff are SO friendly, that it's a pleasant experience, nonetheless. We find ourselves there particularly often during Oscar-time. Onto the movies...

We started with Up in the Air - all-star top-to-bottom. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking and Juno), written by him and his father (Ivan), starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Jason Bateman. Featuring Zack Galifianakis, J.K. Simmons, and Danny McBride. My brother and sister-in-law categorized it as more like Thank You For Smoking than Juno, and they were right. What started out as a satire (in its early stages of writing) became an interesting look on our life in America now - downsizing, obsessions with things and relationships, 'greener' business practices (referred to in the movie as 'glocal' - very clever, I thought). I did like the movie, although it wasn't as hard-hitting as his first 2 movies, but that may be the point. Right now, we're all just kind of up in the air...

If you're looking for hard-hitting, though, look no further than Precious. This movie grabs you by the face from the get-go and doesn't really let go. Some of the situations border on gratuitous, but don't go that far because, unfortunately, it feels believable. The movie runs you ragged with Murphy's Law - everything that can go wrong, does. However, it does end on 50% of a good note. One thing to be discussed is the acting performances. The actresses in this film deserve every accolade they have received. They deliver powerful performances and really become their characters. Like really, you don't think about the fact that Mariah Carey is sitting there playing a social worker - and that is good directing. At the end of the day, though, this may be a little too real for the Academy as it doesn't have the hopefulness of otherwise tragic movies - like last year's Slumdog Millionaire.

What's next? Well, the husband and I will be sitting down to "District 9" this evening and then "The Hurt Locker" is next on our Netflix queue. Our weekend has opened up a little, so maybe we'll make it back out to the cinema again...