6 down...but still 3 to go

I recently reviewed three films I'd seen at the start of 2011.  I've since seen three more.  Here are my thoughts.  Spoilers follow.

Hereafter can first, starring Matt Damon as an ex-medium.  The film follows three storylines (Damon's character, a French journalist, and a bereaved child) and weaves them together.  This can be done with three characters (though not with many more...Love Actually, Crash...), and all three storylines held my attention.  I genuinely cared about the characters.  The plots were interesting and the film was entertaining.  Unfortunately, the ending was pants.  Very disappointing, given the previous 90 minutes.  The film tried to deal with death, and did this well in terms of the presentation of the characters' various experiences of death, but very poorly in terms of what it was trying to 'say' about death.  More could have been done in this area to make some sort of a point.  Not an awful film, but disappointing, as it could have been much better.

Next was Never Let Me Go.  I was pretty sure it would be very good, but wasn't certain.  Fear not, it was very good.  Best film so far this year, eclipsing Black Swan and The Fighter (see below).  The story is of three school children who discover they have been bred to be organ donors (it's set in an alternate England) and their friendships as they grow into their twenties.  The acting is excellent (even Keira Knightly does a decent job), the visuals are beautiful, and the plot is brilliant.  Carey Mulligan is simply incredible.  This film moved me more than most do...I think the only other films to have made me cry in the cinema are the three LOTRs.  Not a lighthearted film at all, not a happy ending at all...but those types of films are often the best.

Lastly, The Fighter.  I'd been looking forward to this one for a while, mainly because I am in love with Christian Bale.  The story is of a Boxer (Mark Wahlberg) whose career is doing down the drain, partly because his brother and coach (Bale) is a crack addict.  Enter ladyfriend Charlene (Amy Adams), and it all kicks off.  The three leads and supporting cast are great, the fight scenes are good, the interaction between the characters is mesmerizing (especially Charlene).  The biggest let down is the presence of Wahlberg's 6-or-7 sisters, who essentially act one character, just with 7 bodies.  No uniqueness, few names to get hold of.  Subsequently, I didn't care about them and they annoyed me.  Reducing them to 1 or 2 proper characters would have been better.  But other than that, another really good film.

Tentative ranking so far:
1   Never let me go
2= The Fighter, Black Swan
4= The king's speech, 127 hours
6   Hereafter

Having been to the cinema so much recently, there are another three films to see next: The Adjustment Bureau (Bourne meets the Matrix), Fair Game (looks proper intense), and The Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman, woop!).
Thoughts on these will follow.

Oscars 2011

Here's who I would pick, for the categories I can be bothered to write about.  Note that I haven't seen every film in the nominations, so these views are slightly flawed but as always highly opinionated.

Best Picture - Inception.  I've heard that The Social Network is very good but, frankly, if it was as good as Inception, someone would have tied me down and forced me to watch it by now.  I've yet to see The Fighter, and I expect that to be excellent, but I'd be amazed if it was quite as good as Inception.  Black Swan is quality, but not quite that quality.  The King's Speech, other than the acting, is very mediocre.  True Grit is by the Coen Brothers, and is therefore rubbish.

Best Director - Christopher Nolan (Inception).  Yes I know he's not nominated, but he should still win.  Of those who have been nominated, I could cope if Darren Aronofsky, David O Russell, or David Fincher won.  Just please, not the Coen Brothers.

Best Actor - Colin Firth.  No debate.

Best Actress - Natalie Portman.  One reviewer summed it up as a 'career-defining performance'.  Fact.

Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale.  He is going to be awesome in The Fighter.

Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams.  She is also going to be awesome.

Best Original Screenplay - Christopher Nolan (Inception).  By a mile.

Best Animated Film.  Toy Story 3, obviously.  Pixar should never, ever lose this award.  Unless it's up against Shrek 1.

Best Adapted Screenplay - The Social Network.  I've heard this is excellent.

Best Art Direction - Black Swan (not nominated, but since when did I care?)

Best Cinematography - Inception.  Do not argue.

Best Sound Mixing - Inception.  I said, do not argue!

Best Sound Editing - Inception.  You have been warned.

Best Original Score - Hans Zimmer (Inception)  You get the message?  It's one of the greatest films EVER.

Best Film Editing - Inception

Best Animated Short - Day and Night (Inception was neither animated nor short)

Best Visual Effects - Inception


Totals: Inception wins 9, The King's Speech wins 1, Black Swan wins 2, The Fighter wins 2, The Social Network wins 1, Toy Story 3/Day and Night wins 2.  I missed out Best Song, Best Costumes and Best Makeup, plus all the random ones.

I doubt this will come true, and therefore I will disagree, as I always do, with the award.  Oh well, I'm happy knowing that Inception is amazing, The King's Speech is overrated, and the Coen Brothers are crap.