War Horse (2011)
Film #21: War Horse (2011)
For the past half-decade, Steven Spielberg has been much busier producing films than directing them. Since 2005′s Munich, the only film he directed before 2011 was the regrettable Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Perhaps to make up for that dearth of direction, last year saw the release of two Spielberg-directed films: The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. While the former was released to much acclaim – even taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature – the latter had more of Spielberg’s ‘epic blockbuster’ feel to it. War Horse received plenty of accolades itself, nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, but its sentimental tale set during World War I didn’t quite win over everyone. After watching it myself, I’m not surprised.
2012 Oscar Plans and Drinking Game
EDIT: For a quick infographic with the Official JAJ 2012 Oscars Drinking Game, go here.
I’ve never posted anything besides a review on this blog, but I’m more than just an amateur film critic, dear reader – I’m a human being, too. I have dreams and desires. And plans. Plans for the Academy Awards this Sunday!
Although I’m not an indiscriminate fan of the film industry – I’ve got problems with the MPAA and the current trend for films to be painfully unoriginal, to name a few – I do make it a habit to watch the Oscars every year. It’s kind of my Super Bowl, not being into sports and all.
I usually have a few people over and we play an Oscars drinking game. Every year since I started doing this (2008), I’ve managed to catch at least all of the Best Picture nominees prior to the awards show (the exception being last year when I missed three of them – The Kids Are All Right, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone).
This year, all of those traditions were in jeopardy. I no longer live at my own place, I’ve yet to see four of the Best Picture noms, and, much to my surprise, Google couldn’t provide me with a single Oscars drinking game for the show this year.
But James A. Janisse, Analytic Critic, is no quitter. No siree.
I made accommodations as far as my living arrangements go so that I can still have some peeps over, I’m devoting the next four days to catching up on Oscar fare, and I’ve decided that I’m experienced enough in this whole “Oscar Drinking Game” situation that I can make my own.
So come here on Sunday and join me as I live-blog the Oscars. The live-blogging will get progressively more awesome as I continuously succumb to the first-ever Official JAJ Oscars Drinking Game (2012). I’m posting my unGodly creation below so that you can join me in this inebriating affair. See you on Sunday!
The Official JAJ Oscars Drinking Game (2012)
- Take 1 drink any time…
- …someone mentions Uggy the dog.
- …someone makes a (liberal) political statement.
- …someone mentions Whitney Houston.
- …someone says “Wow” during their acceptance speech (1 drink per “wow”)
- …the camera cuts to Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie
- Take 2 drinks any time…
- …someone thanks God in their acceptance speech.
- …someone says “Scorsese”.
- …someone says something that gets censored.
- …a muppet appears onscreen.
- …Billy Crystal makes reference to his hosting experiences in the past.
- Take 3 drinks any time…
- …someone’s acceptance speech gets interrupted by the orchestra playing them off.
- …someone makes a (conservative) political statement.
- …someone makes a reference to The Tree of Life being weird, experimental, pretentious, etc.
- …there’s a mention of Michael Fassbender getting screwed over in these awards.
- …there’s a reference to Twilight.
And the part of the game that will really test your resilience:
For every award being given, before the winner is announced, say:
1.) Which nominee you want to win
and
2.) Which nominee you expect to win
- If the winner is the nominee you want to win, congratulations! Take 1 drink!
- If the winner is the nominee you expect to win, you’re so smart! Take 2 drinks!
- If the winner is a nominee you neither wanted or expected to win, learn from your mistakes! Take 3 drinks!
- If the winner is the nominee that you both wanted and expected to win, nice job! GIVE 3 drinks out to someone else! (suggestion by Reddit user ajcfood)
Good luck on Sunday to all the Oscar nominees, and good luck to all of our livers!
–James A. Janisse
Minority Report (2002)
Minority Report is Steven Spielberg’s 2002 science fiction film loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Taking place in a dystopian 2054, when civil liberties and privacy are beginning to seem like mere memories, the film follows Tom Cruise as an officer of the Precrime divison of the Washington D.C. police. As part of this division, Cruise interprets vision from three “Pre-cogs”, and arrests people before they are able to carry out murder.
I didn’t see Minority Report for a long time, and in fact saw it after Avatar. By seeing it this way, it seems almost impossible to me to comment on the film without noting the similarities. From some psychological themes to the advanced technology that both movies employ, it almost seems like Avatar looked heavily toward Minority Report during its development. If I had to crudely compare the two, I’d say that Avatar has the clear upper hand in visual effects, no doubt due to its later production; however, whereas Avatar’s plot was middling at best, Minority Report offers a fantastic, if somewhat complicated, story that raises some serious philosophical issues.
Like Avatar, Minority Report is a perfect example of a well thought-out premise. Both the world in which it takes place and the issues surrounding Precrime’s mission to arrest people before they commit a crime are fully realized and discussed. Minority Report actually presents a sort of textbook case concerning determinism and free will. It touches on the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies and looks at these issues through a lens of neuroscience and metaphysics. It all makes the film very modern and authentic, and anyone with interests in such cognitive subjects will likely find the film engaging. Some have complained that the movie never offers a satisfying conclusion about the themes that it explores, but such closure is rare in philosophy, especially when dealing with free will. I feel like definitive closure on the matter would have simplified and detracted from the mature presentation of these ideas.
If Spielberg wanted to answer these questions, we should trust that he would have. The technology and world the film takes place in is certainly realized extensively. It’s not just spiffy technology such as elevator automobiles, mechanical police spiders, or Cruise’s giant board that he uses to interpret visions in a sort of holographic dance; it’s also the pervasive feeling that there is nowhere in this world that one can be alone in. Like other dystopian films such as Blade Runner, the Big Brother-esque world that this all takes place in produces a great feeling of anxiety. We may like the suggestions that Amazon makes to us right now, but how would we feel about holograms announcing those suggestions and your past purchases aloud in the store?
This anxiety and suspense is also heavily augmented by the look of the film. The whole time, we are subjected to a dark world, with heavily saturated colors and deep shadows. A blue wash helps to drown the world in a hopeless surrender to technology. It’s fantastically dreary, and extremely reminiscent of noir films.
That’s not the only thing that makes Minority Report a science fiction noir. Cruise’s character isn’t the cocky and goofy jock that you might expect him to be, but instead is much more akin to the hard-boiled detectives from dark noirs of yore. A lot of the common issues are present: The loss of a son, drug addiction, having to serve with inmates he helped put away. They’re tropes of the genre, but they never feel stale in Minority Report. I can’t say that it’s all because of Cruise, because I wouldn’t consider myself a fan and I don’t think he’s flawless in the film, but he certainly looks better as this character than many others I’ve seen.
Colin Farrel and Max von Sydow are both talented actors that bring interesting characters to the story. Samantha Morton delivers what’s probably the best performance as a very vulnerable and helpless Pre-cog that may help Cruise as he tries to fight wrongful accusation. There are some stellar scenes that stand out, especially one involving Cruise in a bathtub under threat of the government spiders. It’s great in suspense, and follows an appreciated cameo by Peter Stormarre.
Minority Report is a bit long, and the plot may seem too convoluted or confusing for some viewers. In the wake of Avatar, I’m sure that there will be countless who draw comparisons. Sadly, I suspect that some will champion Avatar because of its grandness and visual effects that seem like they’re from a different generation entirely. I would disagree with those people, because Minority Report has the brain that Avatar was lacking. The film is an outstanding science fiction work, and I can only hope it will be remembered that way in years to come.
Final rating: 8.5/10
–James A. Janisse
