1st Annual Citizen Awards

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in | Posted on 9:19 PM

The results are in! Here are the nominees and winners for TCR's first EVER Citizen Awards....sorry the statuettes aren't in yet : ).


BEST PICTURE
*DOUBT*
The Dark Knight; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Doubt; Slumdog Millionaire; Happy-Go-Lucky
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
*HAPPY-GO-LUCKY*

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
*DOUBT* & *THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON*

BEST DIRECTOR
*JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY - DOUBT*

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
*WALL-E*
Kong-Fu Panda; Horton Hears a Who; WALL-E

BEST LEAD ACTOR
*SEAN PENN - MILK* & *FRANK LANGELLA - FROST/NIXON*
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon; Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino; Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler; Sean Penn - Milk; Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
*MERYL STREEP - DOUBT*
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married; Meryl Streep - Doubt; Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road; Sally Hawkins - Happy Go Lucky; Melissa Leo- Frozen River

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*HEATH LEDGER - THE DARK KNIGHT*
James Franco - Milk; Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder; Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight; Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt; James Brolin - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*VIOLA DAVIS - DOUBT*
Amy Adams - Doubt; Viola Davis - Doubt; Kate Winslet - The Reader; Penelope Cruz - Vicky Christina Barcelona; Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

How well did we agree? Comment if you have some different winners in mind. 

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The Citizen Review Oscar Predictions 2008

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in | Posted on 2:15 PM

Here it is! Our Oscar precitions for the film release of 2008. The nominations will be released this Thursday.
BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
Milk
Frost/Nixon (M)
Doubt (J)
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hatheway- Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep- Doubt
Kate Winslet- Revolutionary Road
Sally Hawkins- Happy-Go-Lucky
Mellisa Leo- Frozen River (M)
Kristin Scott Thomas- I've Loved You So Long (J)
BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn- Milk
Frank Langella- Frost/Nixon
Clint Eastwood- Gran Torino
Mickey Rourke- The Wrestler
Leonardo DiCaprio- Revolutionary Road (J)
Brad Pitt- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (M)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis- Doubt
Amy Adams- Doubt
Kate Winslet- The Reader
Penelope Cruz- Vicky Christina Barcelona (M)
Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (J)
Marisa Tomei- The Wrestler
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin- Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman- Doubt
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
James Franco- Milk
Robert Downey Jr.- Tropic Thunder
Sincerely,
Jack and Matthew, The Citizen Review

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The Visitor (2007)

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in , , , | Posted on 1:42 PM

Average grade: A-
Jack says: A-


Thomas McCarthy's 'The Visitor' is about a man who is basically emotionally shut down and very few people in his life. He has his students, some colleagues and piano teacher (who he abrubtly cuts off lessons with in the first act of the film). This is a story about a man in need of something new and fresh in his life.

Let me just say that Richard Jenkins plays the stolid professor unerringly. Every move he makes as Walter Vale is perfect, and he truly creates a memorable hero.

Walter's colleague, Charles tell him that he needs to fill in for someone at a conference in New York. At the conference, Walter would demonstrate an essay he co-wrote. Walter tells Charles that he really only co-signed the essay with his colleague as a nice gesture, but he sends Walter to New York anyhow.

When Walter arrives at his New York appartment, he finds that is occupied by a young married couple, with mysterious alabis. I won't give away the secret but let's just say that the couple re-introduce Walter to his life, enriching him in thier culture and music and food. When the young man's mother visits, things progress even further.

'The Visitor' is testament to life, love and culture. It shows the importance of not letting your life pass before you and that it's never too late to start again. Also, that you may find inspiration in the craziest of places.

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Film Clip of the Week

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in | Posted on 9:01 PM

Three Scenes from 'Doubt'

Sincerely,
Jack and Matthew, The Citizen Review

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The Savages (2007)

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 8:04 PM

Average Rating:
A

Jack says: A


'The Savages' is such a satisfying film all around. When I watched it, I thought of it as the love child of 'Juno' and 'Away From Her' (both great films) The screenplay by Tamara Jenkins is dazzling. It is filled to the brim with quick wit, hilarious monolouges and touchingly poignant moments. I particularly loved the speech given by Hoffman about fancy nursing homes just being a lure to guilty sons and daughters of the elderly, it is a touching a hilarious moment.


The actors on the bill with this film, the fabulous Laura Linney and always-great Philip Seymour Hoffman) are so wonderful they could read the phone book and enthrall us (luckily they have that script I was talking about). The characters they portray are not your everyday middle-aged film characters. What with Wendy, the constantly-lying, pill-popping unsuccessful playwright and Jon, the rough and emotionally mixed theater professor. The picture they paint along with Philip Bosco is truely touching and is not just a movie about old age. It's a movie about deeply cut family wounds that need healing and how they still resonate years later.



Matthew says: A


"The Savages' opens up with a montage displaying the glossy fantastical look at nursing homes, and how society treats the elderly. But, as the movie unfolds, it shows how society really treats the elderly. The screenplay (written by Tamara Jenkins) is excellent. It has everything you could possibly want. It's witty, poignant, topical and features wonderful characters.


The acting is also excellent. Wendy Savage is played particulary well by Laura Linney. She is so meticulous in creating her character. Her character is a middle-aged women who is confused about finding the right guy and sticking to him (she's having an affair with a married man in his fifties.) She is trying to write a play, she is nearly addicted to pills. She feels guilty about not spending enough time with her father, and lies constantly to get her way. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also great in this movie. His character is a professor at a university in Buffalo, and is writing a book. He is sad that his girlfriend is moving to Poland, and a little envious of her sister. This movie is exhuberantly made, with a witty and poignant screenplay, and wonderful actors. It left me with a smile on my face.
Sincerely,
Jack and Matthew, The Citizen Review




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Our First Post

Posted by The Citizen Review | Posted in | Posted on 7:45 PM

Welcome to The Citizen Review!

This is our very first post.

This blog is run by me (Jack) & my brother, Matthew Meriwether. We both are die hard film lovers and that is why we created this blog. But that's not the only type of review you will find...

We review movies, television, books and music (all of which we LOVE!)Our ratings are based on a letter grade system.

Here's sort of how it works compared to a typical 4-star system:

F= 0 stars
D-= 1/2
D= 1
D+=1 1/2
C, C-= 2C+= 2 1/2
B, B-= 3
B+, A-= 3 1/2
A= 4 stars

(A+'s are rarely given and are only given as a special notation of true greatness in a movie, show book or album)

Considering this is 'OSCAR SEASON' we will be putting up lots of posts about the awards which will include our predictions for winners and nominees.

Any questions? E-mail us at thecitizenreview@yahoo.com We would LOVE to hear any personal questions about movies or whatnot or if you have an opinion about a movie you saw or anything like that.

THANKS SO MUCH!

-Jack, The Citizen Review

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