The Descendants

I'm sorry but this just isn't a Big Five. Nowhere near.

This movie is nominated for :

- Best Motion Picture,

- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (George Clooney),

- Best Achievement in Directing (Alexander Payne),

- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash),

- Best Achievement in Editing ( Kevin Tent).

Let me put this into perspective: if not for the missing Best Actress nomination, this flick would have made it to the very short List of Big Five (list of films which have been nominated for the so-called "Big Five" Academy Award: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and screenplay) - right up there with Gone with the Wind, Million Dollar Baby and Silence of the Lambs.

After watching The Descendants my reaction was WTF????? Either I missed this entirely or this year's selection is very poor. Unfortunately, it seems to be the latter (to be discussed in a later post).

This is by no means a bad movie, and I would still recommend you watch it - I just don't want you to get your hopes up with all the fuss surrounding the Golden Globes and Oscar's nominations and winners.

First, this is a mediocre performance by Clooney (far from the expressive From Dusk till Dawn or the imposing Syriana): while he is a very good narrator, he struggles as a commoner. Furthermore, Shailene Woodley's convincing performance definitely steals his thunder and makes you wonder who the real star is (it doesn't hurt that she is very easy on the eyes...)

As for Directing and Screenplay Payne tries to convince you that Hawaii and lost of money are not synonymous with happiness, introducing mortality and adultery in the mix. Unfortunately he does so in a very crude manner: when Clooney learn's that his wife was cheating, he takes an implausible trip with his kids and the comic-relief character (Nick Krause plays Sid, a doped teen that Payne repetitively employs using the same gag over and over again) do inform the man of his wife's misfortune.

However, Payne does manage to pull a few things off: beautiful sets (both from mainstream and seclusive Hawaii) used to highlight the sad moments, good writing and dialogues (although the daughter's swearing is used ad nauseam for comedy), and a fairly decent plot.

Overall, and nor being a big Payne fan (I wasn't thrilled with Sideways or About Schmidt) I have to say I'm still not convinced he is the Director everybody seems to claim he is. You should still watch this movie though, as you don't want to miss the young cast outshine Clooney on a beautiful scenery.

Name: The Descendants
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Date of Release: 2011
Director: Alexander Payne

Actors: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller

Rating: 6/10

Real Steel

Are you talking to me?

My wife is a big Hugh Jackman fan (not the Wolverine Jackman, the Leopold one) while I am a Sci-Fi sucker so this movie seemed like a match made in heaven. Furthermore, after the last Transformers movie, the bar was set so low that any robot movie was considered a genre saviour.

As I entered the theater, my expectations were pretty low although I secretly expected to be pleasantly surprised (not very hard). And I did! Not all good though...

Let me start with the good stuff: Wolverine is in it, so is that cute girl from Lost (Evangeline Lilly). Add to that cast AMAZING visual effects (thank you Mr. Spielberg - perfect blend of CGI and real models) and...  uh... and that's it.

I try to keep my posts short so I won't rattle on and on about how bad the rest of this movie is (although I could). Shawn Levy now leads my worst directors list, evidenced by two little examples below:

• Some shots are just simple garbage (close-ups with floating heads, or missing foreheads);
• A storyline my dog could write (so many clichés you can spoil it for yourself) and that is incoherent at best (the awareness (??) of the robot, the father-son future relationship, etc.)

Overall, this movie is a mixed bag of emotions. It can hurl you in in a moment's notice just to kick you in the gut right after. If you just want to clear your head and watch some good special-effects, forgetting the screenplay as you leave the theater, this is the movie for you: fast-paced and engaging at times. However, if you are the kind of viewer that stays for the end credits or if your the kind of person who knows what the Oscars are for (other than best movie and actors), then definitely steer clear of this (another) Levy's brain fart.

Name: Real Steel
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Date of Release: 2011
Director: Shawn Levy
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and Dakota Goyo
Rating: 5+/10