George Clooney in “The Descendants”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”

Actress in a Leading Role

Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller

Art Direction

“Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil

Cinematography

“The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki

Costume Design

“The Artist” Mark Bridges

Directing

“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen

Film Editing

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

Makeup

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″

Music (Original Score)

“The Artist” Ludovic Bource

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

Best Picture

“The Artist”

Thomas Langman, Producer

Sound Mixing

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin

Visual Effects

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen

directed by Alexander Payne

(D, FG, IN)

In short, the following phrase is somewhat spoon-fed to us at the get go of the film but it does summarize the movie quite well:
“Just because we live in a beautiful place doesn’t mean our lives are beautiful…”

George Clooney plays Matt King, the father of 2 girls and husband of a wife who is in a coma. In the film Matt is dealing with what to do about his wife in her coma that she will never wake from, finding out that his wife was cheating on him before her boating accident and if he going to sell his inherited acres of virgin Hawaiian paradise. Clooney’s character (Matt King) has many cousins that weigh in on his decision about selling the land and who to sell it to. So in turn we see what I call a ‘war of the Kings’ which plays into Alexander Payne’s tension building throughout out the film. Although it wasn’t hard, I applaud the juxtaposition of beauty behind the turmoil in the foreground (being the characters) and it really made me see a different side to Hawaii. What carries you through to the end is at the end of Act 1 when it takes off on a plot driven journey of revenge that isn’t quite as satisfying as you want it to be, but maybe that’s the point; of revenge and the intent of Payne. Thankfully the film does complete its journey with death being left behind them in the ocean and continues with a new united family.

The film does a good job of being funny and emotional and most importantly human. You are forced to deal with raw human emotion all throughout and at no point do you resent it or want out. Clooney’s character is oh so helpless and yet so relatable even if you’re not a dad. We definitely are seeing one of his best roles yet and most assuredly my favorite wardrobe selection of any film he’s been in. So I say go see this film to remind yourself that there are good filmmakers out there and movies still know how to give you an escape even if it is a bit palpable and human.

If you like any of the below movies, you will like this film.

-Sideways
-About Schmidt
-Fun with Dick and Jane
-A Streetcar Name Desire
-Kramer VS Kramer

HAPPY GO LUCKY

directed by Mike Leigh

starring Sally Hawkins, Alexis Zegerman and Samuel Roukin

(FG and IN)
This movie is about a girl named Sally who for lack of a better term is quite happy go lucky. She is so happy all of the time that it’s almost unbearable. She is a 30 year old primary school teacher that is single and lives with her best friend. For the most part she is surrounded by people who are quite normal and have their share of melancholy days. She is such an exhuberant charcater that you can’t avoid liking her, laughing with her and predicting her responses. She is quite flighty and whimsical, so much so that having her bike stolen barely puts a pause in her step. Sally is very quick to try anything and does so what with her trampolining, bike riding, flamenco classes and driving lessons. She takes life as it comes and it makes you smile inside. The true humor and drama comes when she meets people with different approaches to moving through life. Their juxtaposition makes not only the story instantly suck you in deeper but your soul stops and really pays attention to Sally and the other characters in these moments. You’ll also find that her inability to be offended lends itself to be a tool in noticing what is wrong with the world. The director, Mike Leigh is known for amazing films but this film contains some of the most realistic and in depth characters/acting performances I’ve ever seen. By the end you may find that Sally’s personality has rubbed off on you. This funny and heartwarming story will have you smiling with a deep “soul-smile” and have you wanting to stand and give the film an affirming round of applause.

One thing to note about Mike Leigh is his approach to filmmaking. If you’re not aware of his style you might be quite amazed and satisfied. He doesn’t actually write a script but comes up with a plot and characters. He then casts the film and workshops these characters with the actors for months and then shoots the entire film, still without a script. A great majority of his films are total improve that was created during the workshopping process. This is how he is able to create such captivating and dynamic characters that drive his films.

If you’re a fan of dry humor and whimsical story-lines you will like this film.

If you like any of the below movies, you will like this film.

REFERENCES:
-Toy Story
-Lars and the real girl
-Edward Scissorhands
-Shaun of the Dead

I will label this film under my “Feel Good” category.

Here is an amazing Art exhibition at the SALT Space gallery in Chelsea. It’s like Coral all over the ceiling and walls but its made of plastic and it seems to always have a new vantage point. I was there for 20 minutes and I still didn’t want to leave.

It was quite a privilege to see this work in person and I encourage all of you to go see it yourself. They are located at 1160 broadway 5th Floor
Here’s a link to all the details:
Roil_by_Jamey_Grimes

An interview with the artist:

The Color Red and Valentine’s Day from Mickey Micklos on Vimeo.

Here you can see more of my work:

http://vimeo.com/channels/mickeym