Sunday, January 6, 2013

Silver Linings Playbook, Life Of Pi, and The Silence Of The Lambs Review





I'll be posting these film reviews once I see all the Oscar contenders so you should expect to see reviews of Zero Dark Thirty, The Impossible, Lincoln, and possibly Argo very soon :). I'll also maybe throw in a random Oscar film like The Silence Of The Lambs which will be reviewed here:

Silver Linings Playbook: It's such a strange, weird, and off the wall movie, but somehow it all works!! Both bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence have fantastic chemistry together and both are superb. Jennifer (Who did not impress me in Winter's Bone) did a fantastic job here: She adds so much life and strength to her acting and completely understands and is the character. She is simply terrific. Bradley Cooper was also really great, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing him and he nails every little quirk. I also love Robert De-Niro who is incredibly funny and really entertaining in his part. My Hopes For Oscar Nominations: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay.

Life Of Pi: This was a dazzling film! I got to see it in 3D so it was all really spectacular. The story itself isn't particularly amazing, but the strength of the actor playing Pi and the Tiger (Yes, I am being serious) make it worth seeing. Try to see it in 3D if you can! My Hopes for Oscar nominations: Best Cinematography, Editing, Visual Effects.


The Silence Of The Lambs: I was debating between watching this or Dead Man Walking last night and I chose Dead Man Walking originally, but then I found out that the copy i have is a VHS video with only the directors commentary. Ugh!! So I chose the Silence Of The Lambs instead. It was a truly terrific film. Really suspenseful and brilliantly made. I thought Anthony Hopkins was really amazing and the script was great too. I also really like Jodie Foster as well, though I don't like her quite as much as others do. Perhaps that affected my opinion a little bit. I'd probably give her a 4 and a half, but I need to rewatch her focusing on her performance specifically to be sure. Perhaps if I ever do 1991 we'll see if she's my winner. However, the Buffalo Bill character disturbed me very much and it was a litte offensive, given I am a gay man myself and although I don't think the film targets homosexuals, I think it was unecessary to show the scene where he puts the skin suit and makeup on. I also think the film should have explained that Bill wasn't a transexual, mereley a self-hating man, as Demme said in interviews in regards to the controversy. Tell me your thoughts on this!

Anyway, it's an exciting and much better quality wise Oscar Season this year! Expect more reviews soon and G.G, B.C.C.A, SAG predictions, and perhaps nominee predictions this next week. See ya soon!


4 comments:

Louis Morgan said...

Silver Linings Playbook: I still need to see, especially since Cooper and De Niro are likely to be nominated.

Life of Pi: I quite enjoyed the film, even if it a took a little to get going. The two actors as Pi were very good.

Silence of Lambs: It is a terrific thriller with a great cast. Buffalo Bill was very well played by Ted Levine, and clearly was meant to be disturbing. I did not find him offense, although I guess I should say that I am not gay, because unfortuantely there are serial killers who have done very similar things with similar backgrounds.

joe burns said...

I know he was meant to be disturbing, but I just felt it was too much to see him doing all that in that scene and I was a little offended by it. I thought he was okay, but not super great or nomination worthy really.

dinasztie said...

The Silence of the Lambs is clear about Bill not being a transsexual. Lecter clearly states it and discusses it with Clarice thoroughly. But I understand that you are sensitive about it.

It's very much the same with me and Silver Linings Playbook. I'm already a bit terrified that it could make bipolar disorder seem like something quirky. I hope it finds the balance because getting manic is kind of mixed and it switches back and forth between ugly and fun in seconds. I have no problems with it being a comedy (at all, it's not that tragic), I just hope it's a more complex portrait. That's why I'm both dreading AND anticipating this movie like nothing else.

joe burns said...

He is bipolar, but I don't think it's as manic as one would expect it to be, it doesn't over do it to me.

You Go Olivia Colman!!!!