The Descendants-Clooney all the way!!!

5 Oscar nominations:

Jim Burke,Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor-Best Picture
George Clooney-Best Actor
Alexander Payne-Best Director
Kevin Tent-Best Editing
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash-Best Adapted Screenplay(Winner)

It's not rare at the Oscars that the movie that you like the most does not end up winning, or gets ignored altogether.It's not rare that an Actor who you have grown up seeing acting more brilliantly with each passing movie is shunned for the one category he most deserves to win. It's not at all rare at the Oscars.
The Oscars have always been funny in a way. They definitely recogise gems and most deservedly award the statue to the most eligible. But shouldn't it be given to the most capable??
I'm sorry for beginning on such a negative note on the credibility of the Oscars, but when you see gems like these, it's tough to understand the Academy sometimes. Anyway let's get down to the review..
Nominated for 5 Oscars and Winner of 1, The Descendants is Alexander Payne's best work yet, with my previous favorite being Sideways ( again an Oscar Nominated Film).
Matt King, george Clooney's character in the movie is a Land Baron in Hawaii who is planning to sell of a huge chunk of Paradise that he and his siblings had inherited and are going to cash in on the biggest deal of their lives. Meanwhile, Matt King's wife, Elizabeth meets with a boating accident and is is Coma. Having not exactly been close to his 2 daughters, Matt now faces the daunting task of taking care of them and breaking the seriousness of their Mum's condition pone step at a time. In the meanwhile they discover things from Elizabeth's past and reveal more of themselves to each other as well. It;s the perfect family comedy drama without actually beinhg over the top. It's subtle and it's smart and that's what works best for the film.
Nominated for Best Actor and probably the most deserving, George Clooney delivers what could be his best performance yet and although he was wearing hawaiin flowery shirts tucked into his cotton trousers...The girls around me were still drooling over him(Dont Ask Me Why).the girls who play his daughters have done a fairly decent job too.
Now coming to the Oscar they actually won-Best Adapted Screenplay-Well, The Descendants is actually based on a novel of the same name which was written by Kaui Hart Hemmings. I have not read it and I don't know how much of the dialogue is actually from the book, but the screenplay is absolutely amazing-it's funny and it's quick. Extremely well written.
The descendants is the kind of movie you can see without the aura of being an OSCAR nomination movie. It's breezy and light and when it gets heavy, it does hit you..just the way a good movie should.
I'm going with 4.5 out of 5 fot The Descendants.

Dont Miss This One!!!

Keep reeling!!! 

The Iron Lady-Not Related to Robert Downey Jr!!



2 Oscar nominations:

Mark Coulier-Best Makeup(Winner)
Meryll Streep-Best Actress(Winner)

It's not often that movies win in every category that they are nominated for. But indeed for The Iron Lady it was exactly that. While Streep was the clear choice in the Best Actress category, Mark Coulier surprised even the makeup artists of Harry Potter to bag the award. So it was a good Oscar Night for them indeed.But why would a movie with such acting prowess not even be nominated for Best Film and many such categories..Well Read on.

The Iron Lady, for those who are unaware, is a biopic on the life of UK's First Female Prime minister-Margaret Thatcher. She was known as a lady who had a very controversial term at office and also an equally controversial personal life. Now, the movie is basically based in the present where she is an aged old lady living alone and suffering from Alzheimers. She is constantly imagining and speaking  to her dead husband, but those are the scenes that probably have the deepest effect on the viewers. The rest of her story-the younger life are all in flashbacks and althogh it is extremely interesting and a delight to watch with Streep at her best, it does not give you an insightful look into her life like a biopic should. Nevertheless, it definitelytells you a bit about how life was for a female prime minister who had to even compromise to the extent of letting her husband go for what shw wanted to achieve. She is ambitious and ruthless and NEVER takes no for an answer. It's definitely a character that will etch in your mind.

Now both the Oscars won are so well deserving and complement each other so much as well. How??..>Well The make up is brilliant. Streep is practically Thatcher herself.The look is so damn realistic. And beneath all that make up the real Streep manages to express herself in so many ways with not only her prosthetic makeup but also her body language. it's my favorite performance of hers since The Devil wears Prada.

Overall it's a movie that is surely worth watching, but only for the brilliant brilliant acting of Streep.
I'm going with 3 out of 5 for The Iron Lady.

keep reeling!!

Bridesmaids-A Serious Comedy!!

2 Oscar Nominations:

Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo-Best Original Screenplay

Melissa McCarthy-Best Supproting Actress

It's not an unknown fact that comedies or rather chick flicks do not stand a chance at the Oscars. Forget winning, even securing a nomination is nearly impossible. But last year's hillarious and serious movie-Bridesmaids was taken seriously enough for atleast 2 nominations. Some might argue that they didn;t get nominated for the top awards, but what the hell..It's not like they stood a chance against the more 'Oscar-Like' movies anyway.But the fact that this film secured these two nominations shows that atleast a part of the Academy is coming of age.

Predictably not winning either of the awards in their respective categories(Best Original Screenplay Winner-Woody Allen,Midnight in Paris & Best Supporting Actress Winner-Octavia Spencer,The Help) this movie is still probably among the most entertaining movies of last year. And I don't just mean 'Leave your brains behind' kinda thing...This genuinely makes you laugh and genuinely involves you in the seriousness of it.

The movie is about 6 friends, one of who is getting married(Lilian) and the disastrous lead up to her wedding. The misfortune ofcourse centers around our central character(Annie) who is played by Kristen Wiig, the oscar nominated writer of this very film. That is probably the best thing that worked for this film as she knew exactly how to express her writing. It's a twisted turmoil where in scenes you don't know whether to laugh or cry. And that's not because you would be confused. it's because all these emotions flow through you at the same time!!...Anyway coming back to the story, Annie has a rival who wants to be the maid of honor, Lilian's new best friend-Helen who upstages and sabbotages everything that Annie does. this involves everything from catfights to screaming wars to even creating a situation where everyone is shitting in the basin of a bridal store!!...Sounds gross, yes...but this is a ride that you have got to take. And all the other bridesmaids do serve as main elements at different stages in the movie but nothing that I'd like to get into the details of. Ofcourse I can't help but mention Melissa Mccarthy's Oscar nominated role of Megan who is the future sister in law of our bride-to-be Lilian. She is absolutely hillarious in every scene that she comes and she makes sure that the smile stays on for long. Definitely a nomination well deserved.

Overall I would say there are two ways of looking at this film:

1. It's a Comedy with a lot of Serious moments.

2. It's a Serious Movie that's way too funny..

However you see it, I'm going with 4 out of 5 for Bridesmaids.

This is One Oscar Nominated Movie that should not be missed!!!

Keep reeling!!