I really only have three overrated films I want to talk about, so you know to avoid them. Or so you can argue with me. Keep in mind this is
not a discussion of the worst movies of the year.
I don't want to make any enemies, but I don't really consider
Avatar to be a movie - it feels more like it belongs in an amusement park, where viewers can "ooh" and "aah" at the screen instead of marveling at its storytelling aspects. It's important for a movie to be visually pleasing (or at least coherent - and
Avatar is), but its even more important that the film be imbued with real characters and emotional storytelling. We should learn something about the human condition from movies, and
Avatar doesn't do that. The story is melodrama at best, eye-rolling at worst. Should it win Oscars for visual effects? Definitely. Does it belong as a Best Picture Nominee among films like
The Hurt Locker and
Up? Definitely not.
George Clooney is a great actor when he's not playing someone like himself. Ryan Bingham in Jason Reitman's
Up in the Air is too cool, too suave, too charming, too...Clooney. Conversely, his performances in
Syriana and
Michael Clayton were both remarkable.
Michael Clayton riffed off of Clooney's star power; in the film, Clayton was charming and cool-headed on the outside, but on the inside was a deeply damaged individual. You could sense that.
Up in the Air, however, felt phony and manipulative to me. Was Clooney's performance good? Yes, but that's because he was essentially playing Clooney. The dialogue felt pithy, the characters one-dimensional. For some reason I felt exploited by Reitman's condescension of Bingham, who is essentially paid to fire people from their jobs. Why are all these rich actors and directors (Reitman, Clooney, Farmiga, etc.) wagging their fingers at Bingham, a man who exploits misfortune for his own gain? Aren't they sort of doing the same thing?
Finally (and I hate to do this), I have to bring up issues I had with Lee Daniels'
Precious. Before I say anything else, I want to clear two things up: (1) Yes, the performances are all incredible - some of the best of this, or any, year. Mariah Carey, Mo'Nique, and Gabourey Sidibe are all extraordinary actresses, and I would love nothing more than to see them all rewarded for their devastating performances. (2) I hate to rag on a movie that has done so much from so little, but I have to. The movie is powerful, yes. But Lee Daniels' heavy-handed direction do the film no favors. The strange scenes of Precious' fantasies are carelessly mishandled. What purpose do they serve? We know Precious has dreams of having a better life than she does. Who wouldn't, living in the conditions she lives in? You don't have to
tell us that. It's as if the movie is screaming at us, telling us "HEY! LOOK AT HOW BAD THIS GIRL HAS IT! DOESN'T THAT SUCK?!" Perhaps a more naturalistic approach would have made the film more powerful. Hell, Daniels was halfway there with the grainy camerawork. All he had to do was sit back and let the camera and those in front of it do the talking. With such powerful actresses, a film can speak for itself. It doesn't need a director to help slap us in the face.
I don't want to make any enemies, but I don't really consider Avatar to be a movie - it feels more like it belongs in an amusement park, where viewers can "ooh" and "aah" at the screen instead of marveling at its storytelling aspects. It's important for a movie to be visually pleasing (or at least coherent - and Avatar is), but its even more important that the film be imbued with real characters and emotional storytelling. We should learn something about the human condition from movies, and Avatar doesn't do that. The story is melodrama at best, eye-rolling at worst. Should it win Oscars for visual effects? Definitely. Does it belong as a Best Picture Nominee among films like The Hurt Locker and Up? Definitely not.
George Clooney is a great actor when he's not playing someone like himself. Ryan Bingham in Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is too cool, too suave, too charming, too...Clooney. Conversely, his performances in Syriana and Michael Clayton were both remarkable. Michael Clayton riffed off of Clooney's star power; in the film, Clayton was charming and cool-headed on the outside, but on the inside was a deeply damaged individual. You could sense that. Up in the Air, however, felt phony and manipulative to me. Was Clooney's performance good? Yes, but that's because he was essentially playing Clooney. The dialogue felt pithy, the characters one-dimensional. For some reason I felt exploited by Reitman's condescension of Bingham, who is essentially paid to fire people from their jobs. Why are all these rich actors and directors (Reitman, Clooney, Farmiga, etc.) wagging their fingers at Bingham, a man who exploits misfortune for his own gain? Aren't they sort of doing the same thing?
Finally (and I hate to do this), I have to bring up issues I had with Lee Daniels' Precious. Before I say anything else, I want to clear two things up: (1) Yes, the performances are all incredible - some of the best of this, or any, year. Mariah Carey, Mo'Nique, and Gabourey Sidibe are all extraordinary actresses, and I would love nothing more than to see them all rewarded for their devastating performances. (2) I hate to rag on a movie that has done so much from so little, but I have to. The movie is powerful, yes. But Lee Daniels' heavy-handed direction do the film no favors. The strange scenes of Precious' fantasies are carelessly mishandled. What purpose do they serve? We know Precious has dreams of having a better life than she does. Who wouldn't, living in the conditions she lives in? You don't have to tell us that. It's as if the movie is screaming at us, telling us "HEY! LOOK AT HOW BAD THIS GIRL HAS IT! DOESN'T THAT SUCK?!" Perhaps a more naturalistic approach would have made the film more powerful. Hell, Daniels was halfway there with the grainy camerawork. All he had to do was sit back and let the camera and those in front of it do the talking. With such powerful actresses, a film can speak for itself. It doesn't need a director to help slap us in the face.
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