The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

The Academy Awards are in one week and with such little time, I would like to reflect on this year's nominees. There is much to say about some categories and very little about others. There are some upsets and some shoo-ins as well. Let's start with Best Supporting Actress.

Well actually, it's not really called Bes Supporting Actress this year. Nope, in my mind this category is owned and dominated by Mo'Nique as Mary Jones in Precious. It's been this way for a long time. No, I have not seen the film but one does not need to see the whole film to understand the power, the villainy and the conviction of Mo'Nique's performance.

If any one else wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, it will not only be an upset, it will be unfair. The rest of the actresses in this category just look better by having Mo'Nique amongst them.

Next, the Best Actress category. This one is less simple and straightforward. There are two nominees that completely deserve the Oscar. There are two others that don't deserve it. And then there's Helen Mirren, sorry Helen.

Gabourey Sidibe for Precious and Carrey Mulligan for An Education deserve the award, but neither of them has any chance of really winning. However Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (whom I love, but she doesn't deserve it) and Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side are both the current contenders for Oscar gold. This is ridiculous. It is so obvious that Carey Mulligan (a resurrected Audrey Hepburn) and Gabourey Sidibe (a dramatic force of nature on and off screen) have the best performances of the year.

Very rarely do I feel so strongly about two actresses but these two women deserve the award, either one of them. Now, Meryl Streep is obviously an amazing actress, probably the best actress alive but Julie & Julia is not her best performance nor the best performance of the year. It's a shame that she was nominated so many other times for so many other great movie and Julie & Julia had to be the won to win her another Oscar (um...Doubt?)

Sandra Bullock is another very talented artist. She has been in some other good roles and has proved herself worthy of a nomination. But for The Blind Side? The sappy, predictable, cheap feel-good movie? No. It wasn't a bad performance, it was very good. But she doesn't deserve an Oscar. It's a complete sham that the Academy would recognize these performances from these actress from so many other good ones they've had over the other two nominated. It's criminal.

So who will win? My money is on Bullock. She won the Golden Globe and her 'Oscar-winning campaign' is too revved up to be denied. I have a small, microscopic, infinitesimal hope that either Sidibe or Mulligan will get the Oscar this coming Sunday.

The saddest part is that this is a worthy host of great actresses: Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren and now these budding stars in the making. It's not a battle of worthiness, but of material.

Sincerely,

Jack for The Citizen Review

Average: A-

Jack says: A-

There isn't much I can say about Moon that doesn't give way to part of the plot's twist. What I can tell you is the good parts of this movie. Moon stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, a scientist on a lunar mission that was supposed to last three years. He talks to his wife and child via video messages, but there is no live feed, only sent videos. Sam Bell only has two more weeks left on the space ship and he's going a little stir crazy with just him and an always-helpful computer named GERTY (Kevin Spacey).

Sam Rockwell delivers a dynamite performance worthy of an Oscar, but of course there was no chance of him getting nominated (thank you, Oscars). It is directed by Duncan Jones, who does an outstanding job of directing Sam in the small confines of the space ship.

Like I said, there's not much I can say about the very awesome story line without disclosing something important. The plot is thin yet complex, and a brainy masterpiece. It's the best Sci-Fi movie in years and one of the best films of 2009. It gives you the ticking-bomb factor of a man at the end of his wits and offers the mystery of outer space and makes it seems effortless. Moon will have you guessing, laughing, jumping and feeling deeply for the characters within it. Yes, even a talking computer.

Matthew says: A-

Moon is an indie science fiction film. Doesn't that seem like an oxymoron? It does seem rather impossible to make a good science fiction movie with an indie budget. But Moon pulls it off breathlessly.

The story (the most essential element of a sci-fi film) is Sam Bell is on a 3 year contract on the moon. He is doing mining of sorts there for a major science company called Lunar Industries, much like NASA. The film starts with Sam Bell (played with powerful conviction by Sam Rockwell) counting down the days until he gets to go back to earth. He has only 2 weeks left. But then, something happens.

There isn't much one can say about a film like Moon. All you can say is, just see it. It is one of the best and most interesting and thought provoking science fiction movies in a long time. I can't even remember the last time a saw a sci-fi movie that actually had me thinking the whole time. The mysterious plot, and Sam Rockwell's powerful performance keeps us on edge until the last few shots, where everything comes together.

Average Grade: A-

Jack says: A-

Going in to see Shutter Island, I expected many things from viewing the trailers. I expected a film noir-esque mystery. I expected an eerie thriller. Well for the first hour and a half, that's what I got and it was great.

The film begins with U.S. Marshalls entering Shutter Island, a remote island with an institution for the "criminally insane" as Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) puts it. From the get-go, things seem a little fishy to Daniels on Shutter Island and he can't figure out what happened to Rachel Solando, the supposed missing "patient". Of course, Teddy has a haunting past. Throughout the film he has remembrances of World War II, being a soldier in Nazi death camps. He also has visions, or dreams of his deceased wife Dolores, who died in a fire.

The film isn't just creepy, it oozes creepiness and emits fear. There is a dark, dark shadow cast on all of the island that makes the viewer question the morals of everything that occurs on it, even of the main protagonists. Martin Scorsese has done something very impressive with Shutter Island, he made it as if he had resurrected Alfred Hitchcock from the grave and had him direct it with him. It's that good.

The performances are also great. Leo, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Michelle Williams all give Oscar-caliber performances. The film is also graced with great dialogue and many scenes are just Teddy and one other person talking. There is also a twist. Of course, a twist is expected from a movie like Shutter Island but this twist was beyond twisty. It doesn't just affect the main characters, it throws the whole movie you've been watching out of the water. I won't give it away but it's as if Scorsese has given us two films, something not quite pleasing but masterful.

There are great scenes in Shutter Island, some that are hard to watch. It will have you second-guessing the villains, the heroes, even yourself.

Matthew says: A-

The mysterious and eerie Shutter Island opens with a large boat slowly coming out of the fog, closer to the dark island. It's a classic, noir opening, much like the rest of the film. Shutter Island is shot with long winding shots, dark lighting and labyrinthine sets. The film draws you in with every shot.

Teddy Daniels is an FBI cop and comes to Shutter Island with his new assistant to investigate the missing case of a child murderer, played creepily by Emily Mortimer. No one knows how she escaped, it's nearly impossible to. But there's another reason why Teddy is here. Teddy has a dark past, much like most of the noir heroines.

Throughout the movie, you feel like there's something everyone knows but you. Teddy feels the same way. He continually drifts off into dark, eerie dreams, shot beautifully, but with the beautiful camera work, results in horrifying images.

Some critics complain, saying the ending wasn't worth the rest of the movie. But the rest of the movie is the mad brilliance of the final sentence. Shutter Island is a beautiful, horrifying, mysterious noir film that shouldn't be missed.

Average Grade: B-

Jack says: B-

It doesn't matter what you say to me, I will never believe that The Blind Side is Oscar-worthy in terms of Best Picture. I have finally seen the movie and I wasn't moved from my side of the fence. Did I enjoy this movie? Yes. It wasn't my favorite kind of entertainment but parts of it were worth watching.

One such aspect was the performance given by Sandra Bullock. There's no denying that Bullock is one of the finest actresses in Hollywood today, but not even her performance could save this movie which is drowning in it's cliches and drowsy montages. The worst part of this movie (aside from the lackluster, store-bought musical score) were the performances by the actors whose names weren't Sandra Bullock or Kathy Bates (yes, she snook her way into this one, too). The focal point of the story, Michael Oher, was played by Quinten Aaron and I'm sad to say it's one of the worst performances of the year.

Some of the scenes are good, but there are some scenes and montages that are just unforgivable in terms of acting caliber and believability. The movie isn't horrible but is it one of the ten best of the year? Not even close. As it remains, The Blind Side is one of the biggest outrages in Best Picture history.

Matthew says: C+

The Blind Side is a film that has been getting a lot of buzz around Christmas time, it being the inspirational film for the holiday season. That being said, this film isn't very inspirational or moving, or emotionally filled. It's one of the most emotionally empty "emotional" film I've ever seen. And that is certainly no thanks to the writer/director John Lee Hancock. Did this guy just say to read from the script and then leave the set?

I'm sure you all know the story of The Blind Side, then again, you only need to see the cover for the film, showing the black teenager and the rich white mother together, to know what this movie is about. The story is secondary to Hancock's vision for the film (or lack thereof). The only thing on his agenda is getting the audience to root for this story, no matter what it is.

One of the few good things of this movie, and without it this film would have been completely unenjoyable) is the performance of Sandra Bullock. Now, just because I said that, does not mean I think it is the best of the year. And, as you might have guessed, I certainly don't think it is one of the best pictures of the year. It is far from it.

Sandra Bullock. Best actress?

What is happening...

We're still in shock.

Sincerely,

The Citizen Review