Review - Everest

The Himalayas are an astonishing sight (or so I assume – never been there), and Mt. Everest reigns supreme. Drawing climbers from around the globe with the tantalizing challenge of standing at the very top of the world, Earth's highest mountain inspires awe, but what it deserves even more is reverence.
Beautiful things can be deadly, and this is no place for those who fear death.

It was a tragic lesson learned in the spring of 1996 when two commercial mountaineering outfits became stranded on the summit in the midst of a ferocious blizzard. Everest dramatizes this catastrophe extensively, cobbled together from what survivor accounts could be disseminated.

Unknown director Baltasar Kormákur was probably the least expected name to oversee a big-budget fall studio project with a large, starry cast. Accordingly, the movie he's delivered is not quite what you'd expect either. In fact, it's harder to peg down than ropes to an ice face in whiteout conditions.

My Awards nominations: Actor

Guess I'd better get started on these. I was going to leave them for after the Oscars, but it sorta just dawned on me how much time we have to kill until then. I still have a handful of films to see, so I'll start out with some of the categories that I've already pretty much set in stone, such as today's category: Best Actor.

Gotta say, this was by far the toughest one for me to narrow down this year. There are at least ten or eleven absolutely terrific performances that would be welcome here, and the quality of this year's leading men is well represented by the Oscar lineup as well. But tough decisions have to be made, so the five that I chose are:

Review - Lincoln

In a fashion uncharacteristic of his famously dazzling aesthetic, Steven Spielberg has produced one of the finest films of his career in Lincoln; a densely worded but deftly handled political drama that illuminates the man behind the myth as he fought to enact the 13^th amendment.

In the waning days the American Civil War, the two-term president (Daniel Day-Lewis) stares down the horns of a dilemma as put to him by his Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn): Either he can entertain negotiations from Confederate delegates to bring about an end to the conflict now in its fourth year, or he can push for the abolition of slavery, dangling it as a carrot before the divided House of Representatives as a quicker alternative to peace. Opting for the latter, “Honest” Abe is forced into some decidedly manipulative politicking. As behind-the-scenes history plays out, we see how freedom for the slaves was not so much won on the floors of Congress as it was craftily massaged into being from the smoky drawing rooms of Washington.

Review - The Sessions

Afflicted with polio from a young age, Berkeley scholar and poet/journalist Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) spent most of his life in an iron lung, which entombed him like a big metal coffin for the barely living. As he feels the weight of his own mortality weighing down on him, not unlike the pressurized air in the iron lung, he yearns to finally know carnal pleasure. But finding a willing partner has proven a challenge. Even his writterly way with words and decent character unable to overshadow his bodily disorder. With few alternatives, he hires sex therapist Cheryl Cohen Greene (Helen Hunt) – an educated professional who'll make you understand that she's no prostitute – to help Mark reconnect with his bodily sensations and at long last put a notch on his proverbial bedpost.

And so Ben Lewin's The Sessions takes us on Mark's mission to discover the joy of sex, or rather, as it turns out, the joy of the journey that is love. Despite Cheryl's insistence that the relationship between her and Mark must remain strictly a professional one, Mark inevitably develops feelings for his therapist. Even though she can't reciprocate, we can tell that she wishes she could, as the sex surrogacy sessions they embark upon together become liberating for both of them. He finds release from the confines of his own crippled person, and she finds escape from her not entirely satisfying home life.

One Category at a Time: Supporting Actor

What more is there really to say about this category? Or any acting category for that matter? The same four performers have won the BFCA, Golden Globe, and SAG awards and will all probably continue on to take the Oscars.

There's only one possible scenario I can envision in which Christian Bale does not win this; a bona fide sweep for The King's Speech. If the voters really are as lazy as that when they have their ballots in hand, and vote for the film in every category, Geoffrey Rush can ride that pony all the way to podium. But that's not gonna happen. Performances are one thing that Academy members will vote for based on their own merits, rather than the merits of the film. That, or they vote for whichever star they like, and the way Bale's been walking the rope line and charming his way through the circuit, I can't see him not winning this. It also helps that his performance is by far more complex and fully realized than Rush's good-humoured but comparatively thin one.

Oh yeah, John Hawkes, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo are all nominated too, but they're just along for the ride, which is too bad because they delivered some of the finest performances of the year, all of them making my own top five. Renner had us on edge all the way, Hawkes nailed nastiness and goodness all at once, and Ruffalo made easy-going look so much easier than it truly is! I really wish any of them could have won something this year, but you can't derail Bale!

Will win: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Should win: Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Should have been nominated: Ed Harris, The Way Back

SAG nominees!

And they are:

Best Ensemble
Black Swan
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Robert Duvall, Get Low
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Hilary Swank, Conviction

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham-Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

Best Stunt Ensemble
Green Zone
Inception
Robin Hood


Some observations:

-This week's critics awards have shown a lot of love for John Hawkes and Jennifer Lawrence, both of whom give great performances in Winter's Bone. They both earn noms with SAG as well. I'm thinking the Best Picture nomination about which I've long been skeptical could be in the cards after all.

-There's clearly a lot of support for Black Swan. It scooped a nod for Best Ensemble from The Town, and Mila Kunis completes the hat-trick of nominations from the BFCA, HFPA, and SAG. I think Best Picture is probable for this film as well.

-The shutouts of Blue Valentine and Another Year is a bitter pill to swallow for Oscar hopefuls Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling, and especially Lesley Manville, who could be falling victim to category confusion.

-Hilary Swank but not Sam Rockwell? Did not see that coming.